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Ethnosientific Approach of Health Practice in Korea (한국인의 건강관행에 대한 민속과학적 접근)

  • 김귀분;최연희
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.396-417
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    • 1991
  • In order that nursing care an essential quality of nursing practice be acceptable and satisfying, it is necessary that client's culture be respected and that nursing practice be appropriate to that culture. Since cultural elements are an important influence on health practices and life patterns related to medical treatment, recovery from and prevention of disease, nurses need to have an understanding and knowledge of social and cultural phenomena to aid in the planning of nursing interventions. To understand the health practices surrounding health and illness, the health beliefs and practices of both folk and professional healing systems should be ascertained. Cultural data are required to provide care of high quality to clients and to reduce possible conflict between the client and the nurse. It is nursing's goal to provide clients from various cultures with quality nursing care which is satisfying and valuable. The problem addressed by this study was to identify Korean health practices which would contribute to the planning of professional caring practice with the culture : ultimately this study was intended to make a contribution to the development of the science of nursing. The concrete objectives of this study were ; 1) to identify Korean health practices, 2) to interpret the identitial health practices through traditional cultural thought, and 3) to compare the Korean health practices with those of other cultures. The investigator used the ethnosceintific approach outlined by spradly in a qualitative study. To discover ancestral wisdom and knowledge related to traditional health practeces, the subjects of this study were selected from residents of a small rural mountain village in south west Korea, a place considered to be maintaining and transmitting the traditional culture in a relatively well -preserved state because of being isolated from the modern world. The number of subjects was 18, aged 71 to 89. Research data were collected from January 8 to March 31, 1990. Five categories of health practices were identified : “Manage one's own mind”, “Moderation in all thing”, “Live in accord with nature”, “Live in mutuality with others”, and “Live to the best of one's ability”. Values derived from these ways of thinking from Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism help fashion a traditional way of life, examplified by the saying “Benifience to all”. Korean thought and philosophy is influenced primerily by Confucianism, Confucian principles of ethics, embedded deeply in the peoples' minds, form the idea that “heaven and human being are intimately united” based on concept that “heaven is, so to speak, reason”. Twoe Gae's theory of existential subjectivity develops the concept of self which is the basis of the spirit of reverence in modern Confucian philosophy. The human md is granted from heaven out of the idea of matter, and what control the mind is the spirit of reverence. Hence the idea of “The primacy of the mind" and provided that one should control one's own mind. The precepts of duty to parents, respect for elders and worship of ancestors, and moderation in all behavior put a restraint on life which directed that one live earnestly according to Nature's laws with their neighbors. Not only Confucianism, but also Buddism and Taoism have had an important effect upon these patterns of ideas. When compared with western culture, Korean health practices tend to be more inclusive, abstract and intuitive while westerner health practices found to be mere concrete, practical and personal. Values and beliefs based and pragmatism and existentialism infuence western civilization, Ethical values may be founded on utilitarianism, which considers what is good for the persons in their circumstances as the basis of conduct and takes a serious view of their practical lives including human aspirations rather than an absolute truth. These philosophical and ethical ideas are foundations for health practices related to active, practical and progressive attitudes. This study should be enable nursing not only to understand clients as reflections of the traditional culture when planning nursing practice, but to dovelop health education corresponding to cultural requiments for the purpose of protection against disease and improvement of health, and thus promote sound health practice. Eventually it is hoped that through these processes quality nursing care as the central idea of the science of nursing will be achieved.

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What Is a Monster Narrative? Seven Fragments on the Relationship between a Monster Narrative and a Catastrophic Narrative (괴물서사란 무엇인가? - 괴물서사에서 파국서사로 나아가기 위한 일곱 개의 단편 -)

  • Moon, Hyong-jun
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.50
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    • pp.31-51
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    • 2018
  • The concept of 'monsters' have become popular, again, in recent times. A number of 'monster narratives' that discuss monsters such as zombies, humanoids, viruses, extraterrestrials, and serial killers have been made and re-made in popular media. Noting such an interesting cultural context, this article attempts, first, to find out some essential prototypical elements of a monster narrative and, second, to relate it with a catastrophic narrative. Correspondingly, the word 'monster' has been used as a conceptual prototype category that denies universal and clear definition, which makes it as one of the most widely used and familiar subjects of the use of metaphor. The prototypical meanings of various monster figures can be converged on a certain creature of being in this way held out as bizarre, curious, and abnormal. The monster figure that surpasses existing normality is also connected to 'abjection,' such as something that is cast aside from the body such as the bodily functions seen in its associated blood, tears, vomit, excrement, or semen, and so on. Nevertheless, both the monster figure and abjection produce disgust and horror in the minds of ordinary spectators or readers of media using this metaphor to heighten excitement for the viewers. The abject characteristic of the monster figure also has something in common with the posthuman figure, meaning to apply to a category of inhuman others who are held outside of the normal category of human beings. In the similar vein, it is natural that the most typical monster figures in our times are posthuman creatures embodied in such forms as seen with zombies, humanoids, cyborgs, robots, and so on. In short, the monster figure includes all of the creatures and beings that disarray normalized humanist categories and values. The monster narrative, in the same sense, is a type of story that tells about others outside modern, anthropocentric, male-centered, and Westernized categories of thought. It can be argued that a catastrophic narrative, a literary genre which depicts the world where a series of catastrophic events demolish the existing human civilization, ought to be seen as a typical modern-day monster narrative, because it also discounts and criticizes normalized humanist categories and values as is the result of the monster narrative. Going beyond the prevailing humanist realist narrative that are so familiar with existing values, the catastrophic narrative is not only a monster narrative per se, but also a monstrous narrative which disrupts and reinvents currently mainstream narratives and ways of thinking.

What Determines the Emotional Quality of Homepage\ulcorner - from the emotion, users and designers perspectives (무엇이 홈페이지의 감성 품질을 결정하는가\ulcorner -감성 측면과 디자이너의 측면 그리고 사용자 측면을 중심으로)

  • 박수이;최동성;김진우
    • Archives of design research
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.97-110
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    • 2002
  • As users environments change, users primary needs for homepages also change more complicatedly. Today, users do not only want usability for homepages, but also to feel appropriate emotional experiences. Despite users needs, users do not always experience appropriate emotions that are conveyed by designers through homepage. I In this research paper, we analyzed the related factors with the emotional quality, which means the degree that users feel target emotions intended by designers. For analyzing factors related with the emotional quality, three hypotheses were verified; the factor of an emotion, the factor of users and the factor of designers. As the factor of emotions, the first hypothesis is that unclear emotional dimensions in users minds are related with the emotional quality. The second hypothesis, as the factor of users, is that the diversity of users experiences by same homepage is related with the emotional quality. The third hypothesis, as the factor of designers, is that the appropriate selection of design elements is related with the emotional quality. In the previous research, we selected the basic 13 emotional dimensions and 30 representative emotional words based on the statistical results and evaluations by professional designers. For this research, we conducted an experiment and user survey. In the experiment, we asked 30 designers to design homepages focusing on the typical emotion that was presented by a researcher. Based on the designing process and user evaluation, we performed statistical analyses: ANOVA with Tukey post hoc method and Factor Analysis. We found the discrepancy between the emotions that designers intend and the actual emotions that users experienced from homepages. From the result of analysis, we know that the factor of users and the factor of designers related with the emotional qualities, but the factor of emotions did not. The definiteness of emotions did not relate with the emotional quality. However, the diversity of emotions that users feel seeing the same homepages and design elements that designers chose for conveying target emotion related with the emotional quality.

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Educational Reforms under the Bologna Process in Former Socialist Countries: An analysis of educational policy transfer (체제 변환기 러시아 및 동구권 국가들의 교육 개혁이 정책 전이 논쟁에 주는 시사점: 볼로냐 프로세스를 중심으로)

  • Kim, Sun
    • Korean Journal of Comparative Education
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.145-169
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    • 2017
  • The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of educational policy transfer on transitional countries by analyzing the impacts of the Bologna Process on the educational systems of former socialist countries in Europe including Russia, Ukraine, and Hungary. For this purpose, documents published by European Union and its associated educational institutions, as well as academic institutions and scholars were analyzed to evaluate the changes made not only in the systemic level but also institutional and personal levels. The Bologna Process, instigated by the rise of knowledge economy and globalization, is purported to be the most influential educational reform conducted by the member countries since the formation of EU. However, unlike its original intentions to promote the voluntary participation of universities and students, the Bologna Process strengthened the structure of centralized bureaucracy in the educational systems, and restricted the freedom of professors, since most of the universities in these countries relied on governments for their funding. This indicates that in analyzing the influences of educational policy transfer in transitional countries, it is important to analyze the roles and motivations of actors participating in the decision-making processes. Moreover, Bologna Process reforms, made under the direction and control of government, were often turned into cases in which administrators hurriedly implement new policies against the will of faculty members and students, thus impeding the efficient localization of the reforms. This case, thus, implies that while educational reforms driven by policy transfer can change external systems and policies of universities, the fundamental reforms in the minds of faculty and inner workings of organization can only come about after a careful consideration of the societal and cultural values embedded within society.

Is Religion Possible in the Age of Artificial Intelligence? - From the View of Kantian and Blochian Philosophy of Religion - (인공지능시대에도 종교는 가능한가? - 칸트와 블로흐의 종교철학적 관점에서 -)

  • Kim, Jin
    • Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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    • v.147
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    • pp.117-146
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    • 2018
  • This paper discusses, whether religion is possible even in the age of artificial intelligence, and whether humans alone are the subject of religious faith or ultra intelligent machines with human minds can be also subjects of faith. In order for ultra intelligent machines to be subjects of faith in the same conditions as humans, they must be able to have unique characteristics such as emotion, will, and self-consciousness. With the advent of ultra intelligent machines with the same level of cognitive and emotional abilities as human beings, the religious actions of artificial intelligence will be inevitable. The ultra intelligent machines after 'singularity' will go beyond the subject of religious belief and reign as God who can rule humans, nature and the world. This is also the common view of Morabeck, Kurzweil and Harari. Leonhart also reminds us that technological advances should make us used to the fact that we are now 'gods'. But we fear we may face distopia despite the general affluence of the 'Star Trec' economy. For this reason, even if a man says he has learned the religious truth, one can't help but wonder if it is true. Kant and Bloch are thinkers who critically reflected on our religious ideals and highest concept in different world-view premises. Kant's concept of God as 'idea of pure reason' and 'postulate of practical reason', can seem like a 'god of gap' as Jesse Bering said earlier. Kant recognized the need for religious faith only on a strict basis of moral necessity. The subjects of religious faith should always strive to do the moral good, but such efforts themselves were not enough to reach perfection and so postulated immortality of the soul. But if an ultra intelligent machines that has emerged above a singularity is given a new status in an intellectual explosion, it can reach its morality by blocking evil tendencies and by the infinite evolution of super intelligence. So it will no longer need Kant's 'Postulate for continuous progress towards greater goodness', 'Postulate for divine grace' and 'Postulate for infinite expansion of the kingdom of God on earth.' Artificial intelligence robots would not necessarily consider religious performance in the Kant's meaning, and therefore religion will also have to be abolished. Ernst Bloch transforms Kant's postulate to be Persian dualism. Therefore, in Bloch, even though the ultra intelligent machines is a divine being, one must critically ask whether it is a wicked or a good God. Artificial intelligence experts warn that ultra intellectual machine as Pandora's gift will bring disaster to mankind. In the Kant's Matrix, a ultra intelligent machines, which is the completion of morality and God itself, may fall into a bad god in Bloch's Matrix. Therefore, despite the myth of singularity, we still believe that ultra intelligent machines, whether as God leads us to the completion of one of our only religious beliefs, or as bad god to the collapse of mankind through complete denial of existence.

A study on the detailed treatment techniques of seoktap(stone stupa) in Jeollado province -in the groove for dropping water and the hole for wing bell of the okgaeseok(roof stone)- (전라도 석탑의 세부 기법 고찰 - 옥개석 물끊기홈과 충탁공을 중심으로 -)

  • Cho, Eun-kyung;Han, Joo-sung;Nam, Chang-keun
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.40
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    • pp.271-306
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    • 2007
  • One of the distinguishing features of late Jeosun's Hanshi (poem in Chinese) is the numerous creation of Yeonjachyung Keesokshi (serial poem on folklore) which describes the folk manner and folk way of life in detail. Keesokshi's subject matter is the folklike in general including local features, geography, climate, local production, humanity, social conducts, and daily labor for living as well. By its material characteristics, Keesokshi reflects detailed life conditions of the society members in each levels, and represents the local customs as well as the folk emotions. Among the several kinds of Keesokshis, a Sesi Keesokshi focuses only in reciting the folk customs on each seasonal festival days, and the great numbers of such serial poems appear during the latter part of the Jeosun Dynasty. Its overall background is the transition of artistic trend which came after many social changes such as expansion of realism, uprising national consciousness, shaken status system, and the rising of 'Jeosunsi' motives in the Hansi history. Moreover, each writer's various experiences and their interests in the reality and critical minds of common people contributed a crucial roll in creation of Sesi Keesokshi. 178 of the 584 remaining serial Sesi Keesokshi are written particularly about the folk customs in The Grand Full Moon Festival (the first full moon of a year by the lunar calendar). These Hanshis widely reflect the common ways of living by directly accepting the seasonal folk customs as the subject matters. Especially, close to the reality, these poems positively express the people's simple vigorous lives and create unrestrained lively image by describing the joys and sorrows of the folk existence along with their craving. Also, it is notable to have customs such as 'Shil-Ssa-Um' and 'No-gu-ban-kong-yang' as subjects for its rarity in other literatures.

A Reinterpretation of the Differences between the Tales of Jinmuk shown in The Investigation of Historical Remains of Patriarch Jinmuk and The Canonical Scripture: Highlighting Differences between Literary Transmission and Oral Transmission (『진묵조사유적고』와 『전경』에 나타난 진묵 설화의 차이에 대한 재해석 -문헌 전승과 구전 전승의 차이를 중심으로-)

  • Kim Tae-soo
    • Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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    • v.41
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    • pp.179-217
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    • 2022
  • Concerning the differences in the tales between the Investigation of Historical Remains of Patriarch Jinmuk (hereafter, IHRPJ), as well as those which appear in Jeungsanist Thought and Daesoon Thought, previous studies view such differences as Jeungsan's intentional modification of the original intent of the narratives or as indicating differences in beliefs and values. This style of interpretation seeks to reconcile both Korean Buddhism and Jeungsanist and Daesoon Thought based on the premise that the former and the latter two exhibit differences in values. This study accepts the above view of the differences in description according to values. However, the differences between the tales of Jinmuk that appears in IHRPJ versus those in The Canonical Scripture can be approached from a new perspective, i.e., the differences that exist between literary and oral traditions; rather than only stemming from potential differences in the world views espoused by Buddhism and Daesoon Thought. These refer to the IHRPJ, which was constructed first as literary narratives in the 19th century; however, there was also folklore that had been handed down from the 18th century. As a result of examining the relationship between Jinmuk and Bonggok via this interpretive horizon, the contents of the IHRPJ are found to reflect the values and intentions of the intellectual class, such those held by Master Cho-ui and Kim Ki-jong, whereas oral traditions can be seen as a reflection of the hopes of the people of the late Joseon Dynasty. Jeungsan should also be interpreted as having utilized folklore in his teachings. Meanwhile, the circumstances and intentions behind publishing the IHRPJ are analyzed in the context of the text's historical background and the relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism during the 16th through 19th centuries. In particular, through the Compilations of Wandang and the collection of writings of Buddhist monastics, I have evaluated that Confucianism needed to purify and correct materials according to the ideology of the times in order to promote a spirit of morality and courtesy. Likewise, Buddhist Master Cho-Ui also embellished records to benefit Buddhism and deleted oral records that could harm the reputation of Buddhism. On the other hand, when viewing Records of Shrine Renovation and existing oral traditions, it can be shown that some Jinmuk tales existed in the 18 th century which were not included in the IHRPJ. Thereby, Jeungsan's description of Jinmuk tales can be reappraised as accepting the oral secular tradition that conveyed the wishes of the people. In other words, compared to the IHRPJ, which reflects only the harmonious content of Confucianism and Buddhism due to political and social factors, The Canonical Scripture reflects oral traditions that were widespread during the late Joseon Dynasty. As evidence, it can be suggested that there are many narratives about the relationship between Jinmuk and Bonggok that center on Bonggok's jealousy and the murder of Jinmuk. Jeungsan aimed to encompass people of all classes according to their minds and wills rather than their political positions or statuses. Therefore, Jeungsan did not need to rewrite the narrative content that had been passed down via oral tradition. Instead he embraced those narratives as a projection of the voices of the people.

The Literary Discourse of Media Published in the Gaebyeoksa and Medium Topography of Colonial Chosun (1930년대 개벽사 발간 잡지의 문예 담론과 식민지 조선의 매체 지형 - 『혜성』(1931~32), 『제일선』(1932~33), 속간 『개벽』(1934~35)을 중심으로 -)

  • Kang, Yong Hoon
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.51
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    • pp.291-327
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    • 2018
  • 'Hyesung' and 'Jeilsun' are media that reveal the new searches of the Gaebyeoksa Publishing Company of the 1930s. However, studies in the past did not sufficiently analyze their significance. Furthermore, there are no analyses on how the critical minds of 'Hyesung' and 'Jeilsun' were linked to 'Gaebyeok', which continued publications in 1934. The 1930s when 'Hyesung' and 'Jeilsun' were published, was a time where the media of colonial Chosun was rapidly changing, and it was a time where literary magazines were increasing in quantity. In the 1930s, Gaebyeoksa attempted to actively respond to such changes reflected in the media. This was demonstrated through the publication of the new media 'Hyesung' and 'Jeilsun' and continuing publication of the 'Gaebyeok' magazine in 1935. This study analyzed the literary discourses shown in the magazines published by Gaebyeoksa in the 1930s based on 'Hyesung', 'Jeilsun', and the continued publication of 'Gaebyeok'. Through such analysis, this study examined how the magazines published by Gaebyeoksa perceived the culture and literature of colonial Chosun in the 1930s and in which direction it tried to reorganize this.

Kim Youngjak(金永爵) and the new material, 『A Collector of Correspondence from Chinese Intellectuals (中朝學士書翰錄)』 (금영작(金永爵)과 한중 척독교류의 새 자료 『중조학사서한록(中朝學士書翰錄)』)

  • QIAN, JINMEI
    • (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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    • no.34
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    • pp.167-206
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    • 2009
  • This paper discovers and introduces the collection of letters, "A Collector of Correspondence from Chinese Intellectuals (中朝學士書翰錄)" which was made by Kim Youngjak(1802~1868) who had collected the letters from Chinese intellectuals. "A Collector of Correspondence from Chinese Intellectuals (中朝學士書翰錄)" is a collector which contains handwritten letters to Kim Youngjak from Chinese people such as cheng gong shou(程恭壽), weng xue han(翁學涵), zhang bing yan(張丙炎), shao yan han(少言翰), and li wen yuan(李文源). Kim Youngjak had frequent meetings with Chinese intellectuals not only directly but also indirectly. He had exchanged letters with li bo heng(李伯衡), shuai fang wei(帥方蔚) for 30 years. In 1858, he went to Beijing and met Chinese intellectuals ye ming li(葉名澧), zhang bing yan(張丙炎), wu kun tian(吳昆田), cheng gong shou(程恭壽), and zhao guang(趙光). After coming back to Chos?n, he continued to exchange letters with them. "A Collector of Correspondence from Chinese Intellectuals (中朝學士書翰錄)" contains autograph letters by Kim Youngjak and Chinese intellectuals. It has ten letters for Kim Youngjak written by cheng gong shou(程恭壽), weng xue han(翁學涵), zhang bing yan(張丙炎), shao yan han(少言翰) and so on. One letter and five poems which zhao ting huang(趙廷璜) wrote to the son of Kim are also contained. The letters by zhao ting huang(趙廷璜) shows a sincere friendship with Kim Youngjak. The relationship between li bo heng(李伯衡) (who had exchanged letters with Kim for 30 years) and his son li wen yuan(李文源) proves that the cultural interchange between Korea and China had lasted successively. Kim Youngjak has not been widely known in academic circles yet but should not be ignored for the study in the cultural interchange between Korea and China. He proposed to have a relationship with li bo heng(李伯衡) and shuai fang wei(帥方蔚) first and they sent back positively. Therefore, they had a literal and private relationship by only exchanging letters each other. Also considering the fact that Kim Youngjak, as a man of high birth, had a close relationship with Chinese intelletuals, we can notice that Chinese and Korean intellectuals had open minds based on sincerity and trust. This was possible because many intellectuals before him like Hong Daeyong made a basis of the tradition of companionship. At this point, the relationship between Kim Youngjak and Chinese intellectuals and "A Collector of Correspondence from Chinese Intellectuals (中朝學士書翰錄)" have an important value. The collections of Kim Youngjak's works contain only several letters and poems which he sent to Chinese intellectuals. Accordingly, the letters in "A Collector of Correspondence from Chinese Intellectuals (中朝學士書翰錄)" are important to understand the aspects of their interchange.

If This Brand Were a Person, or Anthropomorphism of Brands Through Packaging Stories (가설품패시인(假设品牌是人), 혹통과고사포장장품패의인화(或通过故事包装将品牌拟人化))

  • Kniazeva, Maria;Belk, Russell W.
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.231-238
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    • 2010
  • The anthropomorphism of brands, defined as seeing human beings in brands (Puzakova, Kwak, and Rosereto, 2008) is the focus of this study. Specifically, the research objective is to understand the ways in which brands are rendered humanlike. By analyzing consumer readings of stories found on food product packages we intend to show how marketers and consumers humanize a spectrum of brands and create meanings. Our research question considers the possibility that a single brand may host multiple or single meanings, associations, and personalities for different consumers. We start by highlighting the theoretical and practical significance of our research, explain why we turn our attention to packages as vehicles of brand meaning transfer, then describe our qualitative methodology, discuss findings, and conclude with a discussion of managerial implications and directions for future studies. The study was designed to directly expose consumers to potential vehicles of brand meaning transfer and then engage these consumers in free verbal reflections on their perceived meanings. Specifically, we asked participants to read non-nutritional stories on selected branded food packages, in order to elicit data about received meanings. Packaging has yet to receive due attention in consumer research (Hine, 1995). Until now, attention has focused solely on its utilitarian function and has generated a body of research that has explored the impact of nutritional information and claims on consumer perceptions of products (e.g., Loureiro, McCluskey and Mittelhammer, 2002; Mazis and Raymond, 1997; Nayga, Lipinski and Savur, 1998; Wansik, 2003). An exception is a recent study that turns its attention to non-nutritional packaging narratives and treats them as cultural productions and vehicles for mythologizing the brand (Kniazeva and Belk, 2007). The next step in this stream of research is to explore how such mythologizing activity affects brand personality perception and how these perceptions relate to consumers. These are the questions that our study aimed to address. We used in-depth interviews to help overcome the limitations of quantitative studies. Our convenience sample was formed with the objective of providing demographic and psychographic diversity in order to elicit variations in consumer reflections to food packaging stories. Our informants represent middle-class residents of the US and do not exhibit extreme alternative lifestyles described by Thompson as "cultural creatives" (2004). Nine people were individually interviewed on their food consumption preferences and behavior. Participants were asked to have a look at the twelve displayed food product packages and read all the textual information on the package, after which we continued with questions that focused on the consumer interpretations of the reading material (Scott and Batra, 2003). On average, each participant reflected on 4-5 packages. Our in-depth interviews lasted one to one and a half hours each. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed, providing 140 pages of text. The products came from local grocery stores on the West Coast of the US and represented a basic range of food product categories, including snacks, canned foods, cereals, baby foods, and tea. The data were analyzed using procedures for developing grounded theory delineated by Strauss and Corbin (1998). As a result, our study does not support the notion of one brand/one personality as assumed by prior work. Thus, we reveal multiple brand personalities peacefully cohabiting in the same brand as seen by different consumers, despite marketer attempts to create more singular brand personalities. We extend Fournier's (1998) proposition, that one's life projects shape the intensity and nature of brand relationships. We find that these life projects also affect perceived brand personifications and meanings. While Fournier provides a conceptual framework that links together consumers’ life themes (Mick and Buhl, 1992) and relational roles assigned to anthropomorphized brands, we find that consumer life projects mold both the ways in which brands are rendered humanlike and the ways in which brands connect to consumers' existential concerns. We find two modes through which brands are anthropomorphized by our participants. First, brand personalities are created by seeing them through perceived demographic, psychographic, and social characteristics that are to some degree shared by consumers. Second, brands in our study further relate to consumers' existential concerns by either being blended with consumer personalities in order to connect to them (the brand as a friend, a family member, a next door neighbor) or by distancing themselves from the brand personalities and estranging them (the brand as a used car salesman, a "bunch of executives.") By focusing on food product packages, we illuminate a very specific, widely-used, but little-researched vehicle of marketing communication: brand storytelling. Recent work that has approached packages as mythmakers, finds it increasingly challenging for marketers to produce textual stories that link the personalities of products to the personalities of those consuming them, and suggests that "a multiplicity of building material for creating desired consumer myths is what a postmodern consumer arguably needs" (Kniazeva and Belk, 2007). Used as vehicles for storytelling, food packages can exploit both rational and emotional approaches, offering consumers either a "lecture" or "drama" (Randazzo, 2006), myths (Kniazeva and Belk, 2007; Holt, 2004; Thompson, 2004), or meanings (McCracken, 2005) as necessary building blocks for anthropomorphizing their brands. The craft of giving birth to brand personalities is in the hands of writers/marketers and in the minds of readers/consumers who individually and sometimes idiosyncratically put a meaningful human face on a brand.