• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.593-611
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study is to explore the consumption cultural meaning of Community Currency Movement - a substitute currency institution - through an analysis of consumption behaviors and attitudes of Hanbat-LETS participants, who are recognized as the most active among Korea Community Currency Movements. The analytical method adopted in this study is the participation and observation method, along with the Focus Group Interview. Major findings are as follows: Hanbat-LETS participants experienced the following consumption behaviors and attitudes: economical consumption behavior creating the currency value, sustainable consumption behavior, consumption behavior shared with community, consumption behavior free from the need of competition and ownership, satisfaction from offering one's property, equal status and relationship among members, merry and happy attitude toward life. Community Currency Movement implies the consumption cultural meaning as followings: emergence of alienation through the realization of community society, practice of environment-friendly value, activation of region economy, development of one's ability and means of redemption of unemployment, construction of trustworthy society via trust.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.149-156
• /
• 2006

The followings are the findings of a study on university student's clothing disposition behavior depending on their personality and environmental consciousness: 1. University student's personality factors were classified into perceived consumer effectiveness, globalism, alienation, conservatism, and a sense of social responsibility. 2. The personality factors are found to have significant influences on both economic and altruistic disposition behavior. 3. In terms of the economic disposition behavior, people in the groups with high environmental consciousness tend to trade unused clothing with other things rather than to sell them for the benefit of economic gains. With regard to the altruistic disposition behavior, they also tend to give the clothing to their close people, for example family members or relatives, rather than to donate them to churches or charitable organizations.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
• /
• v.24 no.6 s.84
• /
• pp.195-208
• /
• 2006

This study investigated the characteristics of on-line auction users with addictive tendencies. A questionnaire survey was conducted on-line between September 9 and 14, 2005 and 1,608 adults who had experience in on-line auctions participated. As a result, 23.5 percent of the subjects in this study were shown to have addictive tendencies in their use of on-line auctions. The socio-demographic factor found was gender difference. That is, men were more likely to show addictive tendencies than women. The subjects who had addictive tendencies showed certain psychological characteristics such as lower self-esteem more symptoms of depression, and a higher sense of alienation compared to those without addictive tendencies. Finally, on-line auction users who had addictive tendencies were shown to visit on-line auction site more frequently and to stay logged on the auction site longer than non-addicts, reflecting that the frequent the use of on-line auction, the higher the possibility of addiction to on-line auction.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.53-66
• /
• 2007

The purpose of the study is to microscopically re-clarify the reality of renovation and conflicts that females faced within their families since the modernization period. The research method is the literature review. Families have been considered based on the formation of individual spaces for housing by husband and wife. The study will analyze changes in daily lives and housing consciousness to understand how such housing areas are transforming. The results of the study are as follows. From the perspective of symbolic interaction, in a traditional society, Korean females have been experiencing alienation and isolation in private areas in their daily lives due to family centrism and male chauvinism. Since industrialization, the female's role as the major consumer has been emphasized. Also, in terms of housing space, the symbol of family interaction was influenced more by utility, rationality, and equality than spatial hierarchy. From the perspective of the dailiness of phenomenological traditions, the modern girl's housing consciousness, which appeared during modernization under colonial rule, is considered as revolutionary from traditional society. Soon after in industrialized society, females appeared as leaders of 'sweet home'. They also became the main body to create the space for living by giving meaning to the interior of housing. Considering dailiness from the Marxist perspective, under the colonial social system, females became the subject of colonization through education, socialization, and the labor market. The modern public system presents the female as 'a wise mom and good wife' or laborer causing the colonization of her life. After industrialization, the socialization of housing and prioritization of spending caused the daily lives of females to become colonized by the consumption market.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.270-282
• /
• 2002

This study was established to understand how Arte Povera has affected the contemporary fashion based on the analyses of its characteristics and may provide a prospective view to predict style of future fashions. The results were as follows : 1) “The poverty” shows such characteristics as patch work, intentional mismatch, and tendency to prefer slightly used style. This meaning can be explained as direct expression from a sense of alienation, against to consumer economy, and dual-expression between poverty and wealth. 2) “Anti-formativeness” can be described for misinterpretations of creation, arrangement, and informal silhouette due to distortion of the human body. This expression includes such meanings as against to traditionalism, ignorance of rationality, and disorganization of the concepts between the beauty and the ugly. 3) “Naturalism” indicates as characteristics of use of natural materials and primitive expression. This expression could be generated from adaptation to the nature and desire toward uncivilized society due to skepticism about modern society. 4) “Symbolism” shows such expressions as an isolated feeling from society, and metaphoric sense from specific situations because there are too many applications of imported materials. This tendency can be also explained with the creations of spaces for opened concepts through disorganizations of territory, obscurity, and irregularity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.66-74
• /
• 2005

This survey was conducted to assess the consumer perceptions of food-related hazard in 500 housewives from all over Korea. The subjects were selected by stratified random sampling method. The survey was performed using structured questionnaire through telephone interview by skilled interviewers. The results showed that 34.6% of the respondents felt secure and were not concerned about food safety, and 65.4% were concerned about food safety. Logistic regression analysis showed that the increasing concern on food brands, food additives (such as food preservatives and artificial color), and imported foodstuffs indicated the current increasing concern on food safety. Other related factors indicating the increasing concern on food safety were education level and care for children's health. The respondents who cared about food safety expressed a high degree of concern on processed foodstuffs such as commercial boxed lunch (93.3%), imported foods (92.7%), fastfoods (89.9%), processed meat products (88.7%), dining out (85.6%), cannery and frozen foods (83.5%), and instant foods (82.0%). The lowest degree of concern was on rice. All the respondents perceived that residues of chemical substances such as pesticides and food additives, and endocrine disrupters were the most potential food risk factors, followed by food-borne pathogens, and GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). However, these results were not consistent with scientific judgment. Therefore, more education and information were needed for consumers' awareness of facts and myths about food safety. In addition, the results showed that consumers put lower trust in food products information such as food labels, cultivation methods (organic or not), quality labels, and the place of origin. Nevertheless, the respondents expressed their desire to overcome alienation, and recognized the importance of knowing of the origin or the producers of food. They identified that people who need to take extreme precautions on food contamination were the producers, government officials, food companies, consumers, the consumer's association, and marketers, arranged in the order of highest to lowest. They also believed that the production stage of agriculture was the most important step for improving the level of food safety Therefore, the results indicated that there is a need to introduce safety systems in the production of agricultural products, as follows: Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), and Traceability System (75).