• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.67 no.2
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• pp.85-112
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• 2015

This study examined the relationship structure among personal and social cognitive factors contributing to professional help-seeking decisions to relieve distress of those in low-income, then suggested an appropriate model to inform knowledge for better social work practice. Using data of a purposive sampling from 331 low-income people, covariance structural analyses were conducted in two stages of model exploration, one for TPB model and another for its extended model including the level of distress, family support, and willingness. As results, in the path analyses with the observed variables of the basic components of the TPB, subjective norm showed the strongest effect on the intention, following by attitudes towards help-seeking, then behavioral control the least; in turn both the intention, positively, and behavioral control, negatively, contributed to help-seeking decisions. In the second stage of the path analyses with the extended model of the TPB, each of distress and family support demonstrated direct positive effect on each of attitudes, subjective norm, and behavioral control; each of the attitudes, subjective norm, and behavioral control showed positive effect on both intention and willingness; in turn, while intention showed strong positive effect on help-seeking decisions, willingness had no significant effect and behavioral control had negative effect on decisions. There were significant indirect effects of behavioral control on intention through willingness and of willingness on decisions through intention. These results suggested that the TPB model is useful for modeling help-seeking decisions through personal and social cognitions, especially the significance of subjective norm implied the importance of social cognition for the people in low-income with distress. Further, it was implied that the extended model needs to address particularity of those people in low-income and the mechanism shown by behavioral control and willingness implied the importance of practicing respect for the client's autonomy and will for self-support in social work practice.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.59-67
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• 2014

Consumer information influences purchasing behavior; however, less is known about the relationship in the credit market. Credit markets offer consumers a complex array of different products when choosing mortgages. The current study examines whether borrowers search for the very best terms when making major decisions about borrowing money or obtaining credit as well as explores the relation between consumer information seeking and the cost of credit. This study demonstrates the existence of price dispersion between those who made an extensive information seeking and those who did not. When controlling for the proxies of creditworthiness and demographics of the respondents, it is found that those who made a great deal of information seeking tend to have lower mortgage rates than those who made almost no information seeking. This study offers financial educators and policy makers suggestions on how to help consumers make better financial decisions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.97-105
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• 2016

As information system is getting higher and amount of information assets is increasing, skills of threatening subjects are more advanced, so that it threatens precious information assets of ours. The purpose of this study is to present a strategic direction for the types of companies seeking access to information security. The framework classifies companies into eight types so company can receive help in making decisions for the development of information security strategy depending on the type of company it belongs to. Paired comparison method survey conducted by a group of information security experts to determine the priority and the relative importance of information security management elements. The factors used in the security response strategy are the combination of the information security international certification standard ISO 27001, domestic information protection management system certification K-ISMS, and personal information security management system certification PIMS. Paired comparison method was then used to determine strategy alternative priorities for each type. Paired comparisons were conducted to select the most applicable factors among the 12 strategic factors. Paired comparison method questionnaire was conducted through e-mail and direct questionnaire survey of 18 experts who were engaged in security related tasks such as security control, architect, security consulting. This study is based on the idea that it is important not to use a consistent approach for effective implementation of information security but to change security strategy alternatives according to the type of company. The results of this study are expected to help the decision makers to produce results that will serve as the basis for companies seeking access to information security first or companies seeking to establish new information security strategies.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.89-108
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• 2020

This study investigates key factors influencing customers' repurchase intention in the context of Airbnb. Positive and negative emotions formed after customer's first-hand experience are identified as vital antecedents in determining consumer's repurchase intention. This study posits authentic experience, amenities, and price fairness as the key characteristics of Airbnb. It clarifies the role of subjective norms and trend-seeking tendency in repurchase decisions. The proposed research model was analyzed for 306 customers with experience in using Airbnb via structural equation model. The analysis results showed that both positive and negative emotions have a significant effect on customer's repurchase intention. The results clarified the role of Airbnb's characteristic components on repurchase decisions. Finally, subjective norms and trend-seeking tendency had no significant impact on customer's repurchase intention. The results of this study are expected to help establish effective strategies for customer experience and marketing to achieve sustainable growth of Airbnb.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.155-178
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• 2010

Assessment of information credibility is a ubiquitous human activity given that people constantly make decisions and selections based on the value of information in a variety of information seeking and use contexts. Today, people are increasingly engaging in diverse online activities beyond searching for and reading information, including activities such as creating, tagging and rating content, shopping, and listening to and watching multimedia content. The Web 2.0 environment presents new challenges for people because the burden of information evaluation is shifted from professional gatekeepers to individual information consumers. At the same time, however, it also provides unprecedented opportunities for people to use tools and features that help them to make informed credibility judgments by relying on other people's ratings and recommendations. This paper introduces fundamental notions and dimensions of credibility, and contends that credibility assessment can be best understood with respect to human information behavior because it encompasses both the level of effort people exert as well as the heuristics they employ to evaluate information. The paper reports on a survey study investigating people's credibility judgments with respect to online information, focusing on the constructs, heuristics, and interactions involved in people's credibility assessment processes within the context of their everyday life information activities. Using an online activity diary method, empirical data about people's online activities and their associated credibility assessments were collected at multiple points throughout the day for three days. The results indicate that distinct credibility assessment heuristics are emerging as people engage in diverse online activities involving more user-generated and multimedia content. A heuristic approach suggests that people apply mental shortcuts or rules of thumb in order to minimize the amount of cognitive effort and time required to make credibility judgments. The paper discusses why a heuristic approach is key to reaching a more comprehensive understanding of people's credibility assessments within the information-abundant online environment.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2022.06a
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• pp.1226-1236
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• 2022

Because students majoring in construction-related fields must develop a broad repository of knowledge and skills, effective transferal of these is the primary focus of most academic programs. While inculcation of this body of knowledge is certainly critical, actual construction projects are complicated ventures that involve levels of risk and uncertainty, such as resistant neighboring communities, unforeseen weather conditions, escalating material costs, labor shortages and strikes, accidents on jobsites, challenges with emerging forms of technology, etc. Learning how to develop a level of discernment about potential ways to handle such uncertainty often takes years of costly trial-and-error in the proverbial "school of hard knocks." There is therefore a need to proactively expedite the development of a sharpened intuition when making decisions. The AGC Education and Research Foundation case study committee was formed to address this need. Since its inception in 2011, 14 freely downloadable case studies have thus far been jointly developed by an academics and industry practitioners to help educators elicit varied responses from students about potential ways to respond when facing an actual project dilemma. AGC case studies are typically designed to focus on a particular concern and topics have thus far included: ethics, site logistics planning, financial management, prefabrication and modularization, safety, lean practices, preconstruction planning, subcontractor management, collaborative teamwork, sustainable construction, mobile technology, and building information modeling (BIM). This session will include an overview of the history and intent of the AGC case study program, as well as lively interactive demonstrations and discussions on how case studies can be used both by educators within a typical academic setting, as well as by industry practitioners seeking a novel tool for their in-house training programs.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.21-47
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• 2021

Purpose - Offshoring has emerged as one of the major trends in international trade and has become one of the strategies for achieving competitiveness in the global market. In spite of this, the expected gains of offshoring can be offset by hidden costs and risks, such as those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the trade war between the USA and China, and the ongoing trade dispute between Korea and Japan. To obviate such business failure and prevent critical business blunders, offshoring strategies that efficiently consider both risk elements and potential wealth creation are urgently need. The first purpose of this study is to contribute to the development of more advanced offshoring strategies to help host countries select the best locations to manage supply chain risks and create unique value. The second purpose is to specifically analyze the current status of Korea and provide Korean companies with implications to be considered when deciding whether to offshore or re-shore. Design/methodology - A Network DEA model was applied to measure the comparative location efficiency of national competencies for offshoring strategy from perspectives of wealth creation opportunities (profitability and marketability) and supply chain risk management. The location efficiencies are compared among a total 70 countries selected from the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and globally attractive locations outlined by Kearney (2017). For the secondary analysis of efficiency, a t-test examining the nature of competitive advantage and the level of sophistication in production processes was implemented in three divisions. We then analyzed differences in offshoring performance in terms of the identified national traits. Moreover, Tobit regression analysis is conducted to investigate the correlation between value-added business activities and each divisional efficiency, seeking to determine how each degree of value-added business activity influences the increase in offshoring productivity. Findings - Regarding overall location efficiency for offshoring performance, only the USA and Italy were identified as being efficient as host countries for offshoring, under circumstances of advanced development, such as productivity and risk management. Korea ranks 13th among 70 countries. The determinants of national competitiveness depend on national traits (the nature of competitive advantage and business sophistication). Countries with labor/resource advantages and labor-intensive industries are more competitive in terms of marketability than others. In contrast, countries with strong technology-intensive industries benefit offshoring companies, particularly in the technology sector, with the added advantage of supply chain risk management. As the perception of a value chain is broader in a country, it can achieve both production sophistication and competitive advantages such as marketability and SCRM. Originality/value - Existing studies focus on offshoring effectiveness from a company perspective. This paper contributes to comparing country efficiency in producing core competencies related to an offshoring strategy and also segments countries into three performance-based considerations associated with the global offshoring market. It also details Korea's position as an offshoring location according to national efficiency and competency.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.239-248
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• 2010

This paper describes a collaborative project between academia and industry which focused on improving the marketing and product development strategies for two private label apparel brands of a large regional department store chain in the southeastern United States. The goal of the project was to revitalize product lines of the two brands by incorporating student ideas for new solutions, thereby giving the students practical experience with a real-life industry situation. There were a number of key players involved in the project. A privately-owned department store chain based in the southeastern United States which was seeking an academic partner had recognized a need to update two existing private label brands. They targeted middle-aged consumers looking for casual, moderately priced merchandise. The company was seeking to change direction with both packaging and presentation, and possibly product design. The branding and product development divisions of the company contacted professors in an academic department of a large southeastern state university. Two of the professors agreed that the task would be a good fit for their classes - one was a junior-level Intermediate Brand Management class; the other was a senior-level Fashion Product Development class. The professors felt that by working collaboratively on the project, students would be exposed to a real world scenario, within the security of an academic learning environment. Collaboration within an interdisciplinary team has the advantage of providing experiences and resources beyond the capabilities of a single student and adds "brainpower" to problem-solving processes (Lowman 2000). This goal of improving the capabilities of students directed the instructors in each class to form interdisciplinary teams between the Branding and Product Development classes. In addition, many universities are employing industry partnerships in research and teaching, where collaboration within temporal (semester) and physical (classroom/lab) constraints help to increase students' knowledge and experience of a real-world situation. At the University of Tennessee, the Center of Industrial Services and UT-Knoxville's College of Engineering worked with a company to develop design improvements in its U.S. operations. In this study, Because should be lower case b with a private label retail brand, Wickett, Gaskill and Damhorst's (1999) revised Retail Apparel Product Development Model was used by the product development and brand management teams. This framework was chosen because it addresses apparel product development from the concept to the retail stage. Two classes were involved in this project: a junior level Brand Management class and a senior level Fashion Product Development class. Seven teams were formed which included four students from Brand Management and two students from Product Development. The classes were taught the same semester, but not at the same time. At the beginning of the semester, each class was introduced to the industry partner and given the problem. Half the teams were assigned to the men's brand and half to the women's brand. The teams were responsible for devising approaches to the problem, formulating a timeline for their work, staying in touch with industry representatives and making sure that each member of the team contributed in a positive way. The objective for the teams was to plan, develop, and present a product line using merchandising processes (following the Wickett, Gaskill and Damhorst model) and develop new branding strategies for the proposed lines. The teams performed trend, color, fabrication and target market research; developed sketches for a line; edited the sketches and presented their line plans; wrote specifications; fitted prototypes on fit models, and developed final production samples for presentation to industry. The branding students developed a SWOT analysis, a Brand Measurement report, a mind-map for the brands and a fully integrated Marketing Report which was presented alongside the ideas for the new lines. In future if the opportunity arises to work in this collaborative way with an existing company who wishes to look both at branding and product development strategies, classes will be scheduled at the same time so that students have more time to meet and discuss timelines and assigned tasks. As it was, student groups had to meet outside of each class time and this proved to be a challenging though not uncommon part of teamwork (Pfaff and Huddleston, 2003). Although the logistics of this exercise were time-consuming to set up and administer, professors felt that the benefits to students were multiple. The most important benefit, according to student feedback from both classes, was the opportunity to work with industry professionals, follow their process, and see the results of their work evaluated by the people who made the decisions at the company level. Faculty members were grateful to have a "real-world" case to work with in the classroom to provide focus. Creative ideas and strategies were traded as plans were made, extending and strengthening the departmental links be tween the branding and product development areas. By working not only with students coming from a different knowledge base, but also having to keep in contact with the industry partner and follow the framework and timeline of industry practice, student teams were challenged to produce excellent and innovative work under new circumstances. Working on the product development and branding for "real-life" brands that are struggling gave students an opportunity to see how closely their coursework ties in with the real-world and how creativity, collaboration and flexibility are necessary components of both the design and business aspects of company operations. Industry personnel were impressed by (a) the level and depth of knowledge and execution in the student projects, and (b) the creativity of new ideas for the brands.