• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.59-69
• /
• 2010

Green or an environmental consciousness has been a major issue for businesses and government offices, as well as consumers, worldwide. In response to this movement, the Korean government announced, in the early 2000s, the era of "Green Growth" as a way to encourage green-related business activities. The Korean fashion industry, in various levels of involvement, presents diverse eco-friendly products as a part of the green movement. These apparel products include organic products and recycled clothing. For these companies to be successful, they need information about who are the consumers who consider green issues (e.g., environmental sustainability) as part of their personal values when making a decision for product purchase, use, and disposal. These consumers can be considered as eco-sumers. Previous studies have examined consumers' purchase intention for or with eco-friendly products. In addition, studies have examined influential factors used to identify the eco-sumers or green consumers. However, limited attention was paid to eco-sumers' disposal or recycling behavior of clothes in comparison with their green product purchases. Clothing disposal behaviors are ways that consumer can get rid of unused clothing and in clue temporarily lending the item or permanently eliminating the item by "handing down" (e.g., giving it to a younger sibling), donating, exchanging, selling, or simply throwing it away. Accordingly, examining purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion items in conjunction with clothing disposal behaviors should improve understanding of a consumer's clothing consumption behavior from the environmental perspective. The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide descriptive information about Korean eco-sumers who have ecologically-favorable lifestyles and behaviors when buying and disposing of clothes. The objectives of this study are to (a) categorize Koreans on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors; (b) investigate the differences in demographics, lifestyles, and clothing consumption values among segments; and (c) compare the purchase intention of eco-friendly fashion items and influential factors among segments. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on previous studies. The questionnaire included 10 items of clothing disposal behavior, 22 items of LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) characteristics, and 19 items of consumption values, measured by five-point Likert-type scales. In addition, the purchase intention of two eco-friendly fashion items and 11 attributes of each item were measured by seven-point Likert type scales. Two polyester fleece pullovers, made from fabric created from recycled bottles with the PET identification code, were selected from one Korean brand and one US imported brand among outdoor sportswear brands. A brief description of each product with a color picture was provided in the survey. Demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, marital status, education level, income, occupation) were also included. The data were collected through a professional web survey agency during May 2009. A total of 600 final usable questionnaires were analyzed. The age of respondents ranged from 20 to 49 years old with a mean age of 34 years. Fifty percent of the respondents were males and about 58% were married, and 62% reported having earned university degrees. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify the underlying dimensions of the clothing disposal behavior scale, and three factors were generated (i.e., reselling behavior, donating behavior, non-recycling behavior). To categorize the respondents on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors, k-mean cluster analysis was used, and three segments were obtained. These consumer segments were labeled as 'Resale Group', 'Donation Group', and 'Non-Recycling Group.' The classification results indicated approximately 98 percent of the original cases were correctly classified. With respect to demographic characteristics among the three segments, significant differences were found in gender, marital status, occupation, and age. LOHAS characteristics were reduced into the following five factors: self-satisfaction, family orientation, health concern, environmental concern, and voluntary service. Significant differences were found in the LOHAS factors among the three clusters. Resale Group and Donation Group showed a similar predisposition to LOHAS issues while the Non-Recycling Group presented the lowest mean scores on the LOHAS factors compared to the other segments. The Resale and Donation Groups described themselves as enjoying or being satisfied with their lives and spending spare-time with family. In addition, these two groups cared about health and organic foods, and tried to conserve energy and resources. Principal components factor analysis generated clothing consumption values into the following three factors: personal values, social value, and practical value. The ANOVA test with the factors showed differences primarily between the Resale Group and the other two groups. The Resale Group was more concerned about personal value and social value than the other segments. In contrast, the Non-Recycling Group presented the higher level of social value than did Donation Group. In a comparison of the intention to purchase eco-friendly products, the Resale Group showed the highest mean score on intent to purchase Product A. On the other hand, the Donation Group presented the highest intention to purchase for Product B among segments. In addition, the mean scores indicated that the Korean product (Product B) was more preferable for purchase than the U.S. product (Product A). Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the influence of product attributes on the purchase intention of eco product. With respect to Product A, design, price and contribution to environmental preservation were significant to predict purchase intention for the Resale Group, while price and compatibility with my image factors were significant for the Donation Group. For the Non-Recycling Group, design, price compatibility with the factors of my image, participation to eco campaign, and contribution to environmental preservation were significant. Price appropriateness was significant for each of the three clusters. With respect to Product B, design, price and compatibility with my image factors were important, but different attributes were associated significantly with purchase intention for each of the three groups. The influence of LOHAS characteristics and clothing consumption values on intention to purchase Products A and B were also examined. The LOHAS factor of health concern and the personal value factor were significant in the relationships with the purchase intention; however, the explanatory powers were low in the three segments. Findings showed that each group as classified by clothing disposal behaviors showed differences in the attributes of a product, personal values, and the LOHAS characteristics that influenced their purchase intention of eco-friendly products. Findings would enable organizations to understand eco-friendly behavior and to design appropriate strategic decisions to appeal eco-sumers.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.51-60
• /
• 2014

In this study, ICT medical service provider's level of knowledge fire fighting safety and methods on coping with fires in the regions of Gwangju and Jeonam Province of Korea were investigated to determine the elements affecting such levels and provide basic information on the manuals for educating how to cope with the fire fighting safety in medical facilities. The data were analyzed using SPSS Win 14.0. The scores of level of knowledge fire fighting safety of ICT medical service provider's were 7.06(10 point scale), and the scores of level of recognizing how to cope with fire fighting safety were 6.61(11 point scale). level of recognizing how to cope with fire fighting safety were significantly different according to gender(t=4.12, p<.001), age(${\chi}^2$=17.24, p<.001), length of career(${\chi}^2$=22.76, p<.001), experience with fire fighting safety education(t=6.10, p<.001), level of subjective knowledge on fire fighting safety(${\chi}^2$=53.83, p<.001). In order to enhance the level of understanding of fire fighting safety and methods of coping by the ICT medical service providers it is found that: self-directed learning through avoiding the education just conveying knowledge by lecture tailored learning for individuals fire fighting education focused on experiencing actual work by developing various contents emphasizing cooperative learning deploying patients by classification systems using simulations and a study on the implementation of digital anti-fire monitoring system with multipoint communication protocol, a design and development of the smoke detection system using infra-red laser for fire detection in the wide space, video based fire detection algorithm using gaussian mixture mode developing an education manual for coping with fire fighting safety through multi learning approach at the medical facilities are required.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.61-66
• /
• 2012

Purpose: This study was to compare the cumulative survival rate (CSR) of Br${\aa}$nemark machined surface implants and TiUnite$^{TM}$ imlants and to analyze association between risk factors and the CSR of the implants. Materials and methods: A retrospective study design was used to collect long-term follow-up clinical data from dental records of 156 patients treated with 541 Br${\aa}$nemark machined and TiUnite$^{TM}$ implants at Korea University Guro hospital in South Korea from 1993 through 2008. Machined implant and TiUnite$^{TM}$ implant were compared by CSR. Exposure variables such as gender, systemic disease, location, implant length, diameter, prosthesis type, opposing occlusion type, date of implant placement, type of edentulous space, abutment type, existence of splinting with natural teeth, and existence of cantilever were collected. Life table analysis was undertaken to examine the CSR. Cox regression method was conducted to assess the association between potential risk factors and overall CSR (${\alpha}$=.05). Results: Patient ages ranged from 16 to 75 years old (mean age, 51 years old). Implants were more frequently placed in men than women (94 men versus 63 women). Since 1993, 264 Br${\aa}$nemark machined implants were inserted in 79 patients and since 2001, 277 TiUnite$^{TM}$ implants were inserted in 77 patients. A total survival rate of 86.07% was observed in Br${\aa}$nemark and Nobel Biocare TiUnite$^{TM}$ during 15 years. A survival rate of machined implant during 15 years was 82.89% and that of TiUnite$^{TM}$ implant during 5 years was 98.74%. The implant CSR revealed lower rates association with several risk factors such as, systemic disease, other accompanied surgery, implant location, and Kennedy classification. Conclusion: Clinical performance of Br${\aa}$nemark machined and TiUnite$^{TM}$ implant demonstrated a high level of predictability. In this study, TiUnite$^{TM}$ implant was more successful than machined implant. The implant CSR was associated with several risk factors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.31 no.12
• /
• pp.1784-1792
• /
• 2007

This study set out to identify the problems with hat labels and to search for improvement measures by examining and analyzing consumers' practice of managing their hats. It also intended to provide accurate and enough information about how to keep and wash hats and thus help consumers use their hats for a long period. In an attempt to investigate how consumers wash and manage their hats, a survey was carried out to 395 individuals in their twenties and over who owned hats living in urban areas including Seoul, and were quota sampled according to age and gender. The survey period is March to April 2007. The collected data were statistically treated with the SPSS 12.0 program in terms of frequency, percentage, mean, standard error, cross tabulation, t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The findings were as followed. First, the respondents were in the average level of perceiving and practicing the washing methods of their hats. The female respondents who had more experiences with laundering than the males knew and practiced the washing methods for hats better than males. Second, compared to other clothing items, hat wearers were more likely to pay careful attention to their hats by putting their hats in a laundry net and applying a laundry detergent for wool fabrics when using a washing machine or washing their hats with their own hands. And third, most of the hat wearers were aware of the importance of hat labels and showed a lower level of trust in them than other clothing items. The suppliers need to offer accurate and practical labels in order to regain the consumers' trust. Many consumers had some difficulties figuring out the size system of hats. In particular, the male consumers had a low level of perception of labels, which implies that there should be specific efforts to educate them about general labels.

• Journal of Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.49-65
• /
• 2018

Astronomy is the subject that can easily draw students' interest in studying science, therefore plays an important role in developing scientific core competence. However, it is difficult to develop spatial thinking that is required in understanding astronomical concepts through the classroom lessons. Planetarium, along with the science museum, is one of the most representative informal educational institution where astronomical concepts can be taught beyond time and space constraints. In this study, we developed the astronomy education program that is operated in the planetarium and applied the program to the elementary, middle and high-school students to investigate the effects of the planetarium lesson compared to the classroom lesson. The duration of this research was about 8 months, and the number of the students involved is 761, including participants of the 1 night and 2 days camps in the Daegu National Science Museum. The newly developed planetarium lesson is comparable to the previous classroom lesson of which topics are cardinal points, constellation, and the rotation of the earth. Test items were developed to evaluate the understanding of the astronomical concepts. The study was conducted based on the pre- and post-test with non-equivalent groups design comparing classroom and planetarium lessons. The results of this study are as follows. First, planetarium lesson is more effective for understanding astronomical concepts such as the cardinal points, earth's rotation, and the constellation than classroom lesson. Second, planetarium has a positive effect irrespective of gender and previous knowledge. Third, planetarium for high school students has the same effect as additional observation activities followed by the classroom instruction. Therefore, planetarium can be used as an alternative, effective tool when night observation is not available. In summary, planetarium is an effective tool that helps students to understand the astronomical concepts.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
• /
• s.20
• /
• pp.75-86
• /
• 2010

Recently, as the number of female players has increased rapidly, the electronic gaming industry has begun to look at ways to appeal to the largely untapped female market. According to the latest game market investigative report by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the total number of game players in China increased by 24.8% in 2009, reached 69,130,000 people, and 38.9% of them are female players. This growth in the number of female player is corroborated by a series of investigative reports from IResearch Company in Shanghai, China: from 2003 to 2009, the number of female players grew from 8% to more than 49%. Therefore, no matter how much attention the game production companies have given to male players or how they have ignored the female players before, the companies would be sensible to face up this reality and adjust their marketing policy a bit more. This article analyzes gender preferences in video games which shows that male players are more likely to be attracted to elements of aggression, violence, competition and fast action in electronic game-playing, while female players are drawn to emotional and social aspects of the games such as an understanding of character relationships. The literatures cited indicates that female players also show apparent preference for games with familiar environments, games that allow players to work together, games that have more than one way to win, and games in which characters do not die. It also discusses the characteristics of female-friendly games from the aspect of emotion, pointing out that the simulation games involving pet, dressing-up, and social simulation games are very popular with female players. Because these are the most suitable game types to fill with emotions of love, share, jealousy, superiority, mystery, these are absolutely attractive to female players. Finally, in accord with the above, I propose some principles of designing female-oriented games, including presenting a good-looking leading character, making the story interesting with "live" NPCs(Non-Playing Characters), and finding ways to satisfy female nature instincts such as taking care of others and the inborn interest of classifying and selecting.

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.51-78
• /
• 2016

Online-to-offline (O2O) commerce is the new trend that merges online commerce with traditional industries in various fields. The primary purpose of this paper is to find out which factors influence customers' intention to switch from call-based driver-for-hire services to O2O app-based services. This study used variables and factors based on Theory of Switching Intention, and Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology in order to design research questions. We surveyed 500 users of call-based driver-for-hire services. According to the result of this study, dissatisfaction with the current call-based driver-for-hire services is estimated to be a significant factor that strengthens customers' intention to switch from the call-based driver-for-hire services to the app-based services. Loyalty to the previous call-based driver-for-hire services was not seen as a crucial motivator that causes customers to switch to the new O2O driver service. Switching cost also did not play a key role in explaining the relationship between dissatisfaction with the current call-based service and the intention to use the new app-based service. Performance expectancy, easiness in use, the level of user's knowledge or available assistance in relation to the use of app-based services, and expectancy for reasonable price was found to have meaningful impacts on customers' intention to switch from the call-based driver-for-hire services to the app-based services. Age, gender and user experience on the new service were found incapable of moderating the relationship between aforementioned factors which influence customers' choice of the app-based driver-for-hire service, and customers' intent to switch to the app-based service.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.158-175
• /
• 2005

Statement of problem. Every effort has been continually made to obtain objectivity in measuring the longevity of fixed restorations, such as by establishing unified judgement standard for deciding success and adopting statistical method that analyzes the data of successful and failed cases at the same time. In Korea, however desired level of development has not to be made in this field yet. Purpose. This study, adopting California Dental Association (CDA) quality evaluation system, established objective standard for deciding success, and inferred the longevity of fixed restorations and their failure analysis through adopting Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Material and method. In order to assess the longevity of flxed restorations serviced in Korea and causes of failure, a total of 1109 individuals (aged 15-74, 716 women and 393 men loaded with 2551 unit fixed restorations, and 1934 abutments) who lived in Kyung-In Province were examined and the findings were as follows : Results. 1. Length of service of fixed restorations serviced in Korea was 6.86$\pm$0.15 yr (mean), 5.5 yr (median), and the rate of success was 65.82% in 5 year survival, and 21.15% in 10 year survival. 2. When there was patient's need for replacing old prosthetics, longevity of fixed restorations was 7.51$\pm$0.27 yr (mean), 7 yr (median), and the rate of success was 61.08% in 5 year survival, and 17.57% in 10 year survival. 3. Longevity of fixed restorations was longest in the over-sixty age group(9.21$\pm$0.66) and that of the teen age group(3.39$\pm$0.28) was shortest (p<0.05). 4. Longevity of fixed restorations of women (7.38$\pm$0.18 years) was longer than that of men (6.00$\pm$0.26) (p<0.05). 5. As for the provider factor (such as unlicensed performers, university hospitals, and private clinic), there was no statistically significant difference in longevity of fixed restorations. 6. Defective margin (34.78%). periodontal disease (12.15%), periapical involvement (11.73%), was the most frequent causes of failure and poor esthetics group showed the longest life above all (p<0.05). Actual frequent causes of failure after removing old prosthetics were defective margin, periapical involvement, periodontal disease and uncemented restoration. In 75.67% of the cases, abutment state after removing old prosthetics was good enough for loading another prosthetics. 7. There was found to have statistically significant influence between longevity of single crown (6.35$\pm$0.20 yr) and that of 3 unit fixed restorations (7.60$\pm$0.30 y) (p<0.05). In each case the most frequent cause of failure was defective margin. 8. The number of cantilever pontic, pontic/abutment ratio, oral hygiene status were found to have no statistically significant influence on longevity of fixed restorations in all groups (p>0.05). 9. Longevity of fixed restorations made of non precious metal was longest (9.60$\pm$0.40 yr) semi precious and precious trailing behind(p<0.05). 10. Group function group (37.04%) and partial group function group (44.62%) were predominant in frequency but showed no correlation between them and among different types of occlusal plane and different types of occlusal surface (p>0.05). 11. Longevity of fixed restorations was longest in the centric interference group(9.35$\pm$0.62) (p<0.05) among different types of occlusal interference. Conclusion. We found that longevity of fixed restorations serviced in Korea is affected by age, gender and type of material, and that most frequent cause of failure is defective margin. In order to assess the accurate longevity of axed restorations, unified research design. overcoming inter-observer difference and establishing the objective research items are needed. Furthermore, it is thought that prospective approach through thorough study and regular follow-ups is needed just from the start of research. Nationwide detailed studies on length of service of fixed restorations manufactured in Korea are hoped to be conducted hereafter.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.184-193
• /
• 2007

Objectives:There is increasing evidence that the cerebellum plays an important role in cognition and psychiatric symptoms as well as motor coordination. The concept of cognitive dysmetria has been making cerebellar function in schizophrenia the focus of current studies. In other words, disruption in the corticocerebellum-thalamic -cortical circuit could lead to disordered cognition and clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. The purposes of this study were to determine cerebellar dysfunction in male schizophrenic patients semiquantitatively with ICARS and to investigate the clinical and cognitive correlates of ICARS in patients. Methods:We compared the scores of cerebellar neurologic sign using ICARS in 47 male patients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia with 30 gender and age-matched healthy control subjects. The semiquantitative 100-point ICARS consists of 19 items divided into 4 unequally weighted subscores:posture and gait disturbances, kinetic functions, speech disorders and oculomotor disorders. All subjects were also assessed with cognitive function test. Cognitive functions were evaluated by Korean-Mini Mental Status Examination (K-MMSE), Verbal fluency test, and Clock drawing test. The patients were administered Korea version of Positive and Negative Symptom Scale(K-PANSS) to assess the symptom severity. Results:Schizophrenic patients had significantly higher scores on the ICARS than control subjects with posture and gait disturbances, kinetic functions, and oculomotor disorders. They also showed more significant impairments in cognitive function tests than control subjects. There was a significant correlation between ICARS and negative symptoms of patients. In cognitive function test, Clock drawing test was significantly associated with negative symptoms. In addition, Clock drawing test was negatively correlated with the total score of ICARS. Conclusion:In this study, we confirmed that schizophrenic patients have significant impairments in cognitive and cerebellar function, and that those were related with negative symptoms of schizophrenic patients. These results support a role of the cerebellum in schizophrenia. It is meaningful that we used a structured, and reliable procedure for rating neurological soft signs, ICARS. We hope that future prospective studies using a similar design help that rate of neurological sign should have been visible with the progression of illness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.31 no.6 s.165
• /
• pp.974-984
• /
• 2007

The purpose of this study was to find differences in evaluation criteria and to find differences in preferred images based on benefits segmented groups of jeans products consumers. Male and female Korean university students participated in the study. Quota sampling method was used to collect the data based on gender and a residential area of the respondents. Data from 492 questionnaires were used in the analysis. Factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, cluster analysis, one-way ANOVA, and post-hoc test were conducted. As a result, respondents who seek multi-benefits considered aesthetic criteria(e.g., color, style, design, fit) and quality performance criteria(e.g., durability, ease of care, contractibility, flexibility) more importantly when evaluating and purchasing jeans products. Respondents who seek brand name considered extrinsic criteria(e.g., brand reputation, status symbol, country of origin, fashionability) more importantly than respondents who seek economic efciency. Respondents who seek multi-benefits such as attractiveness, fashion, individuality, and utility tend to prefer all the images: individual image, active image, sexual image, sophisticated image, and simple image when wearing jeans products. Respondents who seek fashion are likely to prefer individual image, and respondents who seek brand name more prefer both individual image and polished image. Mean while, respondents who seek economical efficiency less prefer sexual image and polished image.