• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.61-118
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• 2008

The purpose of this research is to construct research framework for international franchising based on existing literature and to identify research components in the framework. Franchise can be defined as management styles that allow franchisee use various management assets of franchisor in order to make or sell product or service. It can be divided into product distribution franchise that is designed to sell products and business format franchise that is designed for running it as business whatever its form is. International franchising can be defined as a way of internationalization of franchisor to foreign country by providing its business format or package to franchisee of host country. International franchising is growing fast for last four decades but academic research on this is quite limited. Especially in Korea, research about international franchising is carried out on by case study format with single case or empirical study format with survey based on domestic franchise theory. Therefore, this paper tries to review existing literature on international franchising research, providing research framework, and then stimulating new research on this field. International franchising research components include motives and environmental factors for decision of expanding to international franchising, entrance modes and development plan for international franchising, contracts and management strategy of international franchising, and various performance measures from different perspectives. First, motives of international franchising are fee collection from franchisee. Also it provides easier way to expanding to foreign country. The other motives including increase total sales volume, occupying better strategic position, getting quality resources, and improving efficiency. Environmental factors that facilitating international franchising encompasses economic condition, trend, and legal or political factors in host and/or home countries. In addition, control power and risk management capability of franchisor plays critical role in successful franchising contract. Final decision to enter foreign country via franchising is determined by numerous factors like history, size, growth, competitiveness, management system, bonding capability, industry characteristics of franchisor. After deciding to enter into foreign country, franchisor needs to set entrance modes of international franchising. Within contractual mode, there are master franchising and area developing franchising, licensing, direct franchising, and joint venture. Theories about entrance mode selection contain concepts of efficiency, knowledge-based approach, competence-based approach, agent theory, and governance cost. The next step after entrance decision is operation strategy. Operation strategy starts with selecting a target city and a target country for franchising. In order to finding, screening targets, franchisor needs to collect information about candidates. Critical information includes brand patent, commercial laws, regulations, market conditions, country risk, and industry analysis. After selecting a target city in target country, franchisor needs to select franchisee, in other word, partner. The first important criteria for selecting partners are financial credibility and capability, possession of real estate. And cultural similarity and knowledge about franchisor and/or home country are also recognized as critical criteria. The most important element in operating strategy is legal document between franchisor and franchisee with home and host countries. Terms and conditions in legal documents give objective information about characteristics of franchising agreement for academic research. Legal documents have definitions of terminology, territory and exclusivity, agreement of term, initial fee, continuing fees, clearing currency, and rights about sub-franchising. Also, legal documents could have terms about softer elements like training program and operation manual. And harder elements like law competent court and terms of expiration. Next element in operating strategy is about product and service. Especially for business format franchising, product/service deliverable, benefit communicators, system identifiers (architectural features), and format facilitators are listed for product/service strategic elements. Another important decision on product/service is standardization vs. customization. The rationale behind standardization is cost reduction, efficiency, consistency, image congruence, brand awareness, and competitiveness on price. Also standardization enables large scale R&D and innovative change in management style. Another element in operating strategy is control management. The simple way to control franchise contract is relying on legal terms, contractual control system. There are other control systems, administrative control system and ethical control system. Contractual control system is a coercive source of power, but franchisor usually doesn't want to use legal power since it doesn't help to build up positive relationship. Instead, self-regulation is widely used. Administrative control system uses control mechanism from ordinary work relationship. Its main component is supporting activities to franchisee and communication method. For example, franchisor provides advertising, training, manual, and delivery, then franchisee follows franchisor's direction. Another component is building franchisor's brand power. The last research element is performance factor of international franchising. Performance elements can be divided into franchisor's performance and franchisee's performance. The conceptual performance measures of franchisor are simple but not easy to obtain objectively. They are profit, sale, cost, experience, and brand power. The performance measures of franchisee are mostly about benefits of host country. They contain small business development, promotion of employment, introduction of new business model, and level up technology status. There are indirect benefits, like increase of tax, refinement of corporate citizenship, regional economic clustering, and improvement of international balance. In addition to those, host country gets socio-cultural change other than economic effects. It includes demographic change, social trend, customer value change, social communication, and social globalization. Sometimes it is called as westernization or McDonaldization of society. In addition, the paper reviews on theories that have been frequently applied to international franchising research, such as agent theory, resource-based view, transaction cost theory, organizational learning theory, and international expansion theories. Resource based theory is used in strategic decision based on resources, like decision about entrance and cooperation depending on resources of franchisee and franchisor. Transaction cost theory can be applied in determination of mutual trust or satisfaction of franchising players. Agent theory tries to explain strategic decision for reducing problem caused by utilizing agent, for example research on control system in franchising agreements. Organizational Learning theory is relatively new in franchising research. It assumes organization tries to maximize performance and learning of organization. In addition, Internalization theory advocates strategic decision of direct investment for removing inefficiency of market transaction and is applied in research on terms of contract. And oligopolistic competition theory is used to explain various entry modes for international expansion. Competency theory support strategic decision of utilizing key competitive advantage. Furthermore, research methodologies including qualitative and quantitative methodologies are suggested for more rigorous international franchising research. Quantitative research needs more real data other than survey data which is usually respondent's judgment. In order to verify theory more rigorously, research based on real data is essential. However, real quantitative data is quite hard to get. The qualitative research other than single case study is also highly recommended. Since international franchising has limited number of applications, scientific research based on grounded theory and ethnography study can be used. Scientific case study is differentiated with single case study on its data collection method and analysis method. The key concept is triangulation in measurement, logical coding and comparison. Finally, it provides overall research direction for international franchising after summarizing research trend in Korea. International franchising research in Korea has two different types, one is for studying Korean franchisor going overseas and the other is for Korean franchisee of foreign franchisor. Among research on Korean franchisor, two common patterns are observed. First of all, they usually deal with success story of one franchisor. The other common pattern is that they focus on same industry and country. Therefore, international franchise research needs to extend their focus to broader subjects with scientific research methodology as well as development of new theory.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.3225-3262
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• 1974

The purposes of this thesis are to clarify experimentally the variation of ground water temperature in tube wells during the irrigation period of paddy rice, and the effect of ground water irrigation on the growth, grain yield and yield components of the rice plant, and, furthermore, when and why the plant is most liable to be damaged by ground water, and also to find out the effective ground water irrigation methods. The results obtained in this experiment are as follows; 1. The temperature of ground water in tube wells varies according to the location, year, and the depth of the well. The average temperatures of ground water in a tubewells, 6.3m, 8.0m deep are $14.5^{\circ}C$ and $13.1^{\circ}C$, respercively, during the irrigation period of paddy rice (From the middle of June to the end of September). In the former the temperature rises continuously from $12.3^{\circ}C$ to 16.4$^{\circ}C$ and in the latter from $12.4^{\circ}C$ to $13.8^{\circ}C$ during the same period. These temperatures are approximately the same value as the estimated temperatures. The temperature difference between the ground water and the surface water is approximately $11^{\circ}C$. 2. The results obtained from the analysis of the water quality of the "Seoho" reservoir and that of water from the tube well show that the pH values of the ground water and the surface water are 6.35 and 6.00, respectively, and inorganic components such as N, PO4, Na, Cl, SiO2 and Ca are contained more in the ground water than in the surface water while K, SO4, Fe and Mg are contained less in the ground water. 3. The response of growth, yield and yield components of paddy rice to ground water irrigation are as follows; (l) Using ground water irrigation during the watered rice nursery period(seeding date: 30 April, 1970), the chracteristics of a young rice plant, such as plant height, number of leaves, and number of tillers are inferior to those of young rice plants irrigated with surface water during the same period. (2) In cases where ground water and surface water are supplied separately by the gravity flow method, it is found that ground water irrigation to the rice plant delays the stage at which there is a maximum increase in the number of tillers by 6 days. (3) At the tillering stage of rice plant just after transplanting, the effect of ground water irrigation on the increase in the number of tillers is better, compared with the method of supplying surface water throughout the whole irrigation period. Conversely, the number of tillers is decreased by ground water irrigation at the reproductive stage. Plant height is extremely restrained by ground water irrigation. (4) Heading date is clearly delayed by the ground water irrigation when it is practised during the growth stages or at the reproductive stage only. (5) The heading date of rice plants is slightly delayed by irrigation with the gravity flow method as compared with the standing water method. (6) The response of yield and of yield components of rice to ground water irrigation are as follows: \circled1 When ground water irrigation is practised during the growth stages and the reproductive stage, the culm length of the rice plant is reduced by 11 percent and 8 percent, respectively, when compared with the surface water irrigation used throughout all the growth stages. \circled2 Panicle length is found to be the longest on the test plot in which ground water irrigation is practised at the tillering stage. A similar tendency as that seen in the culm length is observed on other test plots. \circled3 The number of panicles is found to be the least on the plot in which ground water irrigation is practised by the gravity flow method throughout all the growth stages of the rice plant. No significant difference is found between the other plots. \circled4 The number of spikelets per panicle at the various stages of rice growth at which_ surface or ground water is supplied by gravity flow method are as follows; surface water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥ 98.5. Ground water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥‥62.2 Ground water at the tillering stage‥‥‥‥‥ 82.6. Ground water at the reproductive stage ‥‥‥‥‥ 74.1. \circled5 Ripening percentage is about 70 percent on the test plot in which ground water irrigation is practised during all the growth stages and at the tillering stage only. However, when ground water irrigation is practised, at the reproductive stage, the ripening percentage is reduced to 50 percent. This means that 20 percent reduction in the ripening percentage by using ground water irrigation at the reproductive stage. \circled6 The weight of 1,000 kernels is found to show a similar tendency as in the case of ripening percentage i. e. the ground water irrigation during all the growth stages and at the reproductive stage results in a decreased weight of the 1,000 kernels. \circled7 The yield of brown rice from the various treatments are as follows; Gravity flow; Surface water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥‥514kg/10a. Ground water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥‥428kg/10a. Ground water at the reproductive stage‥‥‥‥‥‥430kg/10a. Standing water; Surface water at all growh stages‥‥‥‥‥‥556kg/10a. Ground water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥‥441kg/10a. Ground water at the reproductive stage‥‥‥‥‥‥450kg/10a. The above figures show that ground water irrigation by the gravity flow and by the standing water method during all the growth stages resulted in an 18 percent and a 21 percent decrease in the yield of brown rice, respectively, when compared with surface water irrigation. Also ground water irrigation by gravity flow and by standing water resulted in respective decreases in yield of 16 percent and 19 percent, compared with the surface irrigation method. 4. Results obtained from the experiments on the improvement of ground water irrigation efficiency to paddy rice are as follows; (1) When the standing water irrigation with surface water is practised, the daily average water temperature in a paddy field is 25.2$^{\circ}C$, but, when the gravity flow method is practised with the same irrigation water, the daily average water temperature is 24.5$^{\circ}C$. This means that the former is 0.7$^{\circ}C$ higher than the latter. On the other hand, when ground water is used, the daily water temperatures in a paddy field are respectively 21.$0^{\circ}C$ and 19.3$^{\circ}C$ by practising standing water and the gravity flow method. It can be seen that the former is approximately 1.$0^{\circ}C$ higher than the latter. (2) When the non-water-logged cultivation is practised, the yield of brown rice is 516.3kg/10a, while the yield of brown rice from ground water irrigation plot throughout the whole irrigation period and surface water irrigation plot are 446.3kg/10a and 556.4kg/10a, respectivelely. This means that there is no significant difference in yields between surface water irrigation practice and non-water-logged cultivation, and also means that non-water-logged cultivation results in a 12.6 percent increase in yield compared with the yield from the ground water irrigation plot. (3) The black and white coloring on the inside surface of the water warming ponds has no substantial effect on the temperature of the water. The average daily water temperatures of the various water warming ponds, having different depths, are expressed as Y=aX+b, while the daily average water temperatures at various depths in a water warming pond are expressed as Y=a(b)x (where Y: the daily average water temperature, a,b: constants depending on the type of water warming pond, X; water depth). As the depth of water warning pond is increased, the diurnal difference of the highest and the lowest water temperature is decreased, and also, the time at which the highest water temperature occurs, is delayed. (4) The degree of warming by using a polyethylene tube, 100m in length and 10cm in diameter, is 4~9$^{\circ}C$. Heat exchange rate of a polyethylene tube is 1.5 times higher than that or a water warming channel. The following equation expresses the water warming mechanism of a polyethylene tube where distance from the tube inlet, time in day and several climatic factors are given: {{{{ theta omega (dwt)= { a}_{0 } (1-e- { x} over { PHI v })+ { 2} atop { SUM from { { n}=1} { { a}_{n } } over { SQRT { 1+ {( n omega PHI) }^{2 } } } } LEFT { sin(n omega t+ { b}_{n }+ { tan}^{-1 }n omega PHI )-e- { x} over { PHI v }sin(n omega LEFT ( t- { x} over {v } RIGHT ) + { b}_{n }+ { tan}^{-1 }n omega PHI ) RIGHT } +e- { x} over { PHI v } theta i}}}}{{{{ { theta }_{$\infty$ }(t)= { { alpha theta }_{a }+ { theta }_{ w'} +(S- { B}_{s } ) { U}_{w } } over { beta } , PHI = { { cpDU}_{ omega } } over {4 beta } }}}} where $\theta$$\omega$; discharged water temperature($^{\circ}C$) $\theta$a; air temperature ($^{\circ}C$) $\theta$$\omega$';ponded water temperature($^{\circ}C$) s ; net solar radiation(ly/min) t ; time(tadian) x; tube length(cm) D; diameter(cm) ao,an,bn;constants determined from $\theta$$\omega$(t) varitation. cp; heat capacity of water(cal/$^{\circ}C$ ㎥) U,Ua; overall heat transfer coefficient(cal/$^{\circ}C$ $\textrm{cm}^2$ min-1) $\omega$;1 velocity of water in a polyethylene tube(cm/min) Bs ; heat exchange rate between water and soil(ly/min)

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.155-167
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• 2005

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of Cobrotoxin on binding affinity of cobrotoxin with P50, $IKK{\alpa}$ and $IKK{\beta}$, activities of NF-${\kappa}B$, Cell viability of astrocyte, expressions of protein molecules of NF-${\kappa}B$ such as P50, P-$1{kappa}B$, $1{\kappa}B$ and iflammation related genes such as Cox-2, iNOS, cPLA2 in the SNP or LPS induced Inflammatory pathway of Rats' astrocytes. Methods : In this study, The expression of cytosolic phospholipase A2, Nitric oxcide, Cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitrogen oxide synthase was determined by western blotting with corresponding antibodies, and the generation of NF-${\kappa}B$ was assayed by EMSA method in astrocytes of rats. The Cell viability of astrocytes was determined by MTT assay, and Binding affinity of Cobrotoxin with P50, $IKK{\alpha}$ and $IKK{\beta}$ was assayed by Surface plasmon resonance analysis, and NF-${\kappa}B$ dependent luciferase activity was determined by luciferase analysis, and Uptake of cobrotoxin in astrocytes was identified by Confocal laser scanning microscope Results : 1. Compared with control, LPS-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ DNA binding activity was decreased significantly by 0.1, $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin in Astrocyte. 2. Compared with control, LPS-induced NF-kB dependent luciferase expression was decreased significantly by 0.1, 0.5 and $1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin in Astrocyte. 3. Compared with control, SNP induced P50, $I{\kappa}B$ expressions in astrocyte were decreased significantly by 0.1, 0.5 and $1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin and P-$1{\kappa}B$ expression was decreased significantly by 0.5 and $1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin. 4. Compared with control, LPS induced P50, $1{\kappa}B$ expressions in astrocyte were decreased significantly by 0.5 and $1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin. 5. Compared with control, SNP induced Cox-2, iNOS, CPLA2 expressions in astrocyte were decreased significantly by $1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin. 6. Compared with control, LPS induced Cox-2, cPLA2 expressions in astrocyte were decreased significantly by 0.1, 0.5, $1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin and iNOS expression was decreased significantly by 0.5, $1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin. 7. Compared with $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin, SNP-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ DNA bindins activity in astrocyte was increased significantly by Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with DTT 1mM and Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with DTT 5mM. 8. Compared with $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of Cobrotoxin, LPS-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ DNA binding activity in astrocyte was increased significantly by Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with DTT 1mM, Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with DTT 5mM, Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$with GSH 1mM and Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with GSH 5mM 9. Compared with $0.1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ of cobrotoxin, SNP induced P50 expressions in astrocyte were increased significantly by Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with DTT 1mM, Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with DTT 5mM Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with GSH 1mM and Cobrotoxin $0.5{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ with GSH 5mM. 10. The uptake of the labeled cobrotoxin into the cells was shown under a confocal laser scanning microscope. cobrotoxin was uptaken into the membrane and nucleus of astrocytes. Conclusions : In summary, the present results demonstrate that cobrotoxin directly binds to sulfhydryl group of p50 and IKKS resulting In the reduction of translocation of p50 and IkB release, thereby inhibits activation of NF-${\kappa}B$, and suggest that pico to nanomolar range of cobrotoxin could inhibit the expression of genes in the NF-${\kappa}B$ signal pathway.