• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.902-912
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• 2010

This study compares and contrasts the consumer decision-making styles (CDMS) of South Korean and American Generation Y females. A total of 117 American female and 206 Korean female consumers completed self-report survey questionnaires to assess their consumer decision making styles. Exploratory principal components factor analysis using varimax rotation was used to categorize the items into an underlying set of American and Korean decision-making characteristics. Two-tailed independent t-tests were conducted to examine the differences between the two groups when items appeared to have common factors. Factor analysis identified five common factors between the two samples (i.e., enjoyment, shopping aversion, price consciousness, brand consciousness, and quality consciousness). The t-test results report significant differences in the items reported in each factor between American and Korean females. Some of the factors are more indicative of American female Generation Y consumers than Korean female Generation Y consumers. For example, the American female sample seemed to enjoy shopping and prefer brand names more than the female Korean sample. Koreans females seem to have a higher aversion to shopping than Americans; in addition, Koreans females seem to be more accepting of discount and outlet stores, will wait until the price is low before buying a product, and prefer sales when shopping. Based on the findings, the instrument identified varying CDMS between the two samples used. Previous studies using the Sproles and Kendall (1986) instrument experienced the same issue (Bakewell & Mitchell, 2004, 2006; Bauer et al., 2006; Durvasula et al., 1996; Fan & Xiao, 1998; Hanzaee & Aghasibeig, 2008; Mitchell & Walsh, 2004; Siu et al., 2001; Walsh et al., 2001). The results support the idea that no single instrument can be used to examine CDMS in different cultures. This suggests that each country has a CDMS with internal characteristics. Limitations and research for future studies are also discusse.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.49-69
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• 2019

Over the last couple of years, digital diplomacy has become a fascinating area of research among Mass Communication, Peace and Conflict Studies, and International Affairs scholars. Social media and new technology open up new avenues for governments, individuals, and organizations to engage with foreign audiences. However, developing countries' governments are still lacking in the realization of the potential of social media. This study aims to analyze the usage of social media (Facebook & Twitter) by the two biggest countries in South Asia (Pakistan and India). I selected 10 government officials' social media accounts including prime ministers', national press offices', military public relations offices', public diplomacy divisions', and ministries of foreign offices' profiles. The study relies on quantitative content analysis and a comparative research approach. The total number of analyzed Twitter tweets (n=1,015) and Facebook posts (n=1,005) include 10 accounts, five from each country. In light of Kent and Taylor's (1998) dialogic communication framework, the results indicate that no digital engagement and dialogue occurs between government departments and the public through social networking sites. Government departments do not engage with local or foreign audiences through digital media. When comparing both countries, results reveal that India has more institutionalized and organized digital diplomacy. In terms of departmental use of social media, the digital diplomacy division and foreign office of India is more active than other government departments in that nation. Meanwhile, Pakistan's military public relations office and press office is more active than its other government departments. In conclusion, both countries realize the potential of social media in digital diplomacy, but still lack engagement with foreign audiences.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.30-40
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• 2022

Purpose: Pediatric acute appendicitis has a stable incidence rate in Western countries with an annual change of -0.36%. However, a sharp increase was observed in the Asian region. The Indonesian Health Department reveals appendicitis as the fourth most infectious disease, with more than 64,000 patients annually. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify and evaluate the risk factors and diagnostic modalities for accurate diagnosis and early treatment. This study also clarifies the usage of pediatric appendicitis score (PAS) for children <5 years of age. Methods: The current study employed a cross-sectional design with purposive sampling through demographic and PAS questionnaires with ultrasound sonography (USG) results. The analysis was performed using the chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests and logistic regression. Results: This study included 21 qualified patients with an average age of 6.76±4.679 years, weighing 21.72±10.437 kg, and who had been hospitalized for 4.24±1.513 days in Siloam Teaching Hospital. Compared to the surgical gold standard, PAS and USG have moderate sensitivity and specificity. Bodyweight and stay duration were significant for appendicitis (p<0.05); however, all were confounders in the multivariate regression analysis. Incidentally, a risk prediction model was generated with an area under the curve of 72.73%, sensitivity of 100.0%, specificity of 54.5%, and a cut-off value of 151. Conclusion: PAS outperforms USG in the sensitivity of diagnosing appendicitis, whereas USG outperforms PAS in terms of specificity. This study demonstrates the use of PAS in children under 5 years old. Meanwhile, no risk factors were significant in multivariate pediatric acute appendicitis risk factors.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.73-94
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• 2023

This study empirically analyzed the proportion and method of Open Access (OA) in Korea, China, Japan, the United States, United Kingdom based on the Web of Science (WoS) papers. In addition, through the verification of the moderating effect, it was verified whether there is a difference in the effect of the amount of citation depending on the maturity of OA according to the countries or academic fields. As a result of the analysis, the proportion of OA was the highest in the UK at 62.7%, and the lowest in China at 38.0%. Second, the UK and US had a high proportion of indicators through self-archiving and APC-based Gold Hybrid, while only the Gold indicators were found to be prominent in China and Korea. Third, in the UK, US and Japan, the higher the proportion of OA, the greater the effect of inducing the citations. However, Korea (B=-0.00003, p<0.01) and China (B=-0.00001, p<0.01) showed the opposite direction. In addition, in most academic fields, the OA proportion had an effect of inducing citation, but a negative effect was found in the engineering field (B=-0.00002, p<0.01).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.6883-6888
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• 2015

Background: Tobacco smoking is a major cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. Kreteks are clove-flavored cigarettes made from a combination of tobacco and ground-clove mixed with a sauce, smoked widely in Indonesia. Because health and social consequences of kretek smoking are potentially as great as those of traditional cigarettes, this study examines the prevalence of kretek smoking in Indonesia and associated risk factors. Materials and Methods: The study used nationally representative Indonesia Global Adult Tobacco Survey data. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to identify correlates of kretek smoking. Results: One-third of Indonesian adults smoked tobacco of which about 90.0% smoked kreteks. Prevalence of kretek smoking among men (60.9%) was more than 25 times the rate among women (2.3%). Overall, the highest prevalence of kretek use was in the age group 45-54 years (36.5%), followed by 34-44 (35.1%), 25-34 (34.2 %), and 55-64 years (32.8%). By wealth index, prevalence of kreteks smoking among those in the middle index was almost 50% above the rate for the wealthiest group (36.4% vs 24.8% respectively). Logistic regression results showed that being male, being older, having less education, and being less wealthy were significant predictors of kretek smoking, while urban vs rural residence was not. Conclusions: Kretek smoking is common in Indonesia and is entrenched in the sociocultural fabric of the country. However, potential consequences of kretek smoking, particularly as risks for noncommunicable diseases, underscore the importance of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control as outlined in the World Health Organization's MPOWER strategies.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.93-100
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• 2015

Purpose - The objective of this research is to investigate whether national culture influences consumers' service evaluations. The services industry is receiving increasing attention from academia and practitioners as its position grows in global markets. Standardization or localization is a traditional managerial decision in global business. As the boundaries of services expand across national borders, firms are required to decide whether to standardize services or adjust to local needs. Though it is imperative to reflect global perspectives in marketing theories, these perspectives are mostly based on Western conceptualization of the world. Through a comparison of consumer groups from two culturally remote countries, service quality evaluation mechanisms are examined based on similar stimuli. The study tries to expand service marketing perspectives across national borders. Research design, data, and methodology - Eastern and Western countries are known to be culturally distinct. One Eastern and one Western country were chosen: an Anglo-Saxon country (the U.S., England, and Australia) and South Korea. In Hofstede's cultural dimensions, the differences between the two are pronounced. The Anglo-Saxon based countries share many similarities. Samples of the same sites are targeted. Questionnaires using a service quality scale (SERVQUAL) and a customer satisfaction scale were distributed. Utilizing Hofstede's typology of culture, the service evaluation mechanisms of the respondents from the two groups are evaluated. Three hypotheses are proposed from the review of the literature. These are service evaluation habits, importance of service quality dimensions for the individualistic/collectivistic countries, and strong/weak uncertainty avoidance cultures. Consumers from the individualistic countries are considered to care about themselves and demand a higher level of responsiveness and assurance. On the other hand, consumers from high uncertainty avoidance cultures are assumed to rely more on tangible questions of service quality, as these are the only predictable service quality indicators. A t-test and regression analysis are applied to validate the constructs. Results - The respondents from the Anglo-Saxon countries are more generous on service evaluations than Koreans. Researchers have indicated that Americans tend to give higher service evolution scores than European, Mexican, and Korean counterparts. The tendency is the same here. The sample from Anglo-Saxon countries demonstrated higher service evaluation scores on every dimension of SERVQUAL. For the second hypothesis, the respondents from the collectivistic culture rely less on core service dimensions (assurance and responsiveness) due to their tendency to place more value on group harmony than individual interest. However, the third hypothesis was not validated. Conclusions - The study attempted to expand the scope of service marketing to reflect cross-national perspectives. Service quality is known to have a strong influence on customer satisfaction and loyalty behavior. However, this research demonstrated that individuals from different cultural territories respond heterogeneously to the same stimuli. Scholars argue that national cultures are main factors in such deviated behavior. Scholars and global managers should be aware of differences in consumer value judgment mechanisms such as satisfaction, expectations, and perceptions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.4825-4830
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• 2016

Background: In developed countries, awareness of cervical cancer screening is well documented. In contrast, in Oman as a developing country, public responses regarding cervical screening are unclear. This study aimed to assess the level of awareness about cervical cancer and Papanicolau (Pap) smear testing and to establish any correlations between knowledge and demographic factors among Omani women. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, participants were divided into three groups: patients who attended the Outpatient Gynecology Department in Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), Oman, female staff from SQUH, College of Medicine and College of Nursing at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and graduating female students at SQU. Data collection was through interview-based and online self-administered questionnaires. Cumulative scoring was used for data analysis. Results: There were 204 outpatients, 133 staff and 157 students. Outpatients (79.4%), staff (97.7%) and students (75.2%) had heard of cervical cancer. Nevertheless, their specific knowledge, regarding signs and symptoms, risk factors and Pap smear, was low at 38.7%, 35.3% and 7.6% among outpatients, staff and students, respectively. Some 39.9% of the married outpatients had adequate overall knowledge as compared to none of the single women. Educational level was found to be significantly associated with outpatient knowledge with the highest awareness levels among postgraduates and medical university graduates (61.5%). Conclusion: Specific knowledge of cervical cancer, its risk factors and cervical Pap smear is generally poor among Omani women. This lack of knowledge may be one of the contributing factors for the high incidence of cervical cancer in Oman relative to that in developed countries.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2757-2761
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• 2015

Background: Stomach cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death through the world. It is predicted that the number of new cancer cases will be more than 15 million cases by 2020. Regarding the lack of studies on this topic in the country, we have thoroughly examined the patho-epidemiology of stomach cancer in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross- sectional study data were collected retrospectively reviewing all new stomach cancer patients in Cancer Registry Center report of health deputy for Iran during a 6-year period (2003-2008). The study also examined the morphology of common stomach cancers. Trends in incidence and morphology underwent joinpoint regression analysis. Results: During the six-year period, a total of 35,171 cases of stomach cancer were registered. Average age standardized rate for females and males were equal to 7.1 and 15.1 per 100,000 persons, respectively. Most common histological type was adenocarcinoma, NOS with 21,980 cases (62.50%). The annual percentage change (APC) in age-standardized incidence rate (per 100,000) was increase in both females and males at 11.1 (CI: 4.3 to 18.3) and 9.2 (CI: 5.2 to 13.4), respectively. Conclusions: According to our results, the incidence of gastric cancer is increasing in Iran, so further epidemiological studies into the etiology and early detection are essential.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.231-241
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• 2014

This study is subject to compare the STEAM and the STEM education of Korea, the U.K., and the U.S. to find their differences and similarities, as well as the implications in implementing the STEAM education in Korea. In order to accomplish this, the educational objectives, contents and topics, teaching and learning methods, subjects and timing for education, and convergence curriculum were compared; also, after choosing the representative program of each country, a cross-comparative analysis was done for the teaching and learning method distribution ratio, content element distribution ratio, program distribution ratio, STEAM domain ratio, curriculum structure and domain ratio, frequency of inquiry process, basic inquiry, integrated inquiry frequency, hourly basic inquiry, and integrated inquiry process. As a result, it was possible to obtain 77 programs, a total of 656 class hours of Korea, 65 programs and 846 class hours of the U.S., and 75 programs and 774 class hours of the U.K. The results are as follows: Korea's STEAM and the U.K. and the U.S.' STEM all include science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, but in terms of frequency, Korea's STEAM has higher figure in arts. However, the U.K. and the U.S. have higher frequency of debate and discussion, and there were many cases of a student, after receiving feedback from other students, modifying the work.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.191-200
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• 2014

Employees overseas have a need to prepare according to the different environments and industrial structures between countries. Therefore, to investigate qualities for fashion designers to possess when they work abroad, especially in the United States, this study compared the level of knowledge required to fulfill the work of fashion design in both South Korea and the United States. Responses from workers who are engaged to fashion design from the representative online career information systems of two countries, 'Worknet' in South Korea and '$O^*Net$' in the United States, were used as data. Looking at the result derived from the analysis of this study, first by comparing various statistical indicators, results showed the difference between knowledge level required to fashion designer in South Korea and in the United States. Even with the same type of job, because environments and industrial structures of each country are dissimilar, a different level of knowledge will be required in order to perform their tasks. Second, fashion designers in both South Korea and the United States required a high level of knowledge in the 'fine arts', 'administration and management', 'production and processing', and 'design' to perform their duties as a fashion designer. As a result, both countries have similarities that fashion designers need to possess a high level of the knowledge in areas such as 'production of products' as well as 'sales of products'. Furthermore, human relationship field of knowledge such as 'counseling', 'psychology', and 'communication' appeared to be more necessary to fashion designers in South Korea than those in the United States. On the other hand, higher degree of knowledge of 'machines and tools', ' fine arts', and 'transportation' appeared to be more necessary to fashion designers in the United States than those in South Korea.