• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.33-59
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• 2008

This paper aims to analyse the preference for German farm tourism among the German population. For this reason, we conducted an empirical study in Germany during summer 2007 and we applieda structural equation model based on partial leasts quares(PLS) to analyse the data. In the following chapters we will introduce the literature review and our conceptual frame work. We will then outline the procedures we adopted and the results of the empirical analysis. In the final part so me conclusions will be presented and a discussion will follow in order to draw the future directions of our research. According to our hypotheses, the possibility that agri-tourism enters in the evoked set of an individual is higher: H1: The higher the information degree about it. H2: The lower the influence of the social stimuli. H3: The higher the physical exposure to it (experience). H4: The higher the wellness image of agri-tourism. H5: The higher the traditional image of agri-tourism. H6: The higher the exciting image of agri-tourism. H7: The higher the perceived value for money. Our further hypotheses affirm that the possibility that agri-tourism enters in the evoked set of an individual is higher: H8: The lower the perceived risk. H9: The higher the motive to enjoy a holiday in the nature. H10: The higher the motive to enjoy a sport holiday. H11: The lower the motive to have an organized holiday. H12: The lower the motive to have a holiday abroad. H13: The lower the motive of action and night life. H14: The higher the motive to spend a holiday with the family. H15: The lower the motive to spend a city holiday. Finally, our model has some socio-demographics data. As we mentioned before, German agri-tourism has traditionally been the travel destination of large-size families, with low-to-middle income. For that reason, our final hypothesises are the following: the possibility that agri-tourism enters in the evoked-set of an individual is higher: H16: The higher the number of family members. H17: The lower the family income. Since in this study we use a path model with a PLS approach, we are able to state some interrelations among the exogenous latent variables: H18: The motive of sport holiday has a positive influence towards nature motives. H19: The physical exposition to agri-tourism has a positive influence toward information. H20: The motive of family holiday has a negative influence toward the motive of action and night life. H21: Social stimuli have a positive influence towards individuals risk perceptions. H22: Social stimuli have negative influence towards experience. Data for this study were gathered via administrated questionnaires during the summer 2007 within the frame of an academic "marketing research" course. The corresponding t-values are assessed using the bootstrapping method with 500 re-samples. In our model 61% of the degree of appreciation of German agri-tourism (evoked set) is explained by five independent variables: value for money ($0.335^{{\ast}{\ast}{\ast}}$) (H7) experience ($0.267^{{\ast}{\ast}}$) (H3), exciting image ($0.204^{\ast}$) (H6) organisation ($-0.162^{\ast}$) (H11) and holiday abroad ($-0.156^{\ast}$) (H12). The variance explained ($R^2$) for the other endogenous variables are the following: nature 24.3%, information 14.1%, action holiday 13.8%, risk perception 5.8% and experience 2.4%. An overview can be inferred from table 5. The results also allow us to test each of the proposed hypotheses. With exception of organization and abroad, none of the others travel style factors (H9 to H15) seem to have any significant impact towards evoked set which leads to the rejection of the respective hypotheses. As expected, social stimuli have a significant influence on individuals' risk perception (H21 accepted), however neither the former nor the latter have a valuable impact on evoked set (rejection of H2 and H8). Besides, since the influence of social stimuli towards experience is not significant, also H22 has to be rejected. Experience influences information (H19 accepted) but the latter does not affect significantly the evoked set (H1 rejected). Both H4 as well as H5, referring respectively to the perceived images of German agri-tourism as a wellness destination and the traditional image of the German farm tourism have to be rejected. Finally, none of the demographic data included in the model explains significantly the variance of the factor evoked set. Therefore neither H16 nor H17 has been accepted. As far as the interrelation between sport and nature (H18) and family and action (H20) are concerned, the stated relationship among these variables has been statistically confirmed. Our path model based on partial least squares shows the factors influencing the preference for farm tourism in Germany. Among others value for money and experience are the most significant ones. Practical implications are discussed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.1 s.52
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• pp.1-14
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• 1996

To evaluate the health risk of the workplace environment of a general hospital toward the hospital workers, a questionnaire survey on the perception of risk at the workplace environment and environmental measurements at 27 locations with 240 workers in the hospital were made from October 25th, 1993 to October 30th, 1994. The results were as follows ; 1. By the environmental measurements, 86 workers(36%) were found to be exposed to poor or harmful degree of general illumination, 193 workers(80%) were exposed to poor or harmful local illumination, 34 workers(14%) were exposed to poor or harmful degree of thermal condition and 180 workers(75%) were exposed to poor or harmful noise level, but nobody was exposed to poor or harmful dust and toluene concentration. Also nobody was exposed to poor or harmful level of radiation or anticancer/antibiotic agents. 2. The subjective perceptions on the environmental conditions felt by the workers were different from the objective findings by the environmental measurements. The workers underscored the poor illumination state and overscored the dust concentrations. Also workers oversensitized about the thermal condition, the noise level, the radiation level, the toluene concentration and anticancer/antibiotic agents 3. The sources of noise were the dialogue(179 workers) and the office instruments(131 workers). The sources of dust came from the clothes(108 workers) and the building materials(79 workers). 4. The questionnaire survey showed that the 28 workers were exposed to poor or harmful level of the antibiotics, 10 workers to alkali or acid and 6 workers to drug dust in the pharmacy but the above findings could not be proved by the environmental measurements.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2013

This study investigated the frequency, amount and consumption patterns of 50 potentially hazardous foods (PHF) along with consumers' risk perceptions towards PHF in Korea. A quantitative survey was performed from May through August by trained interviewers, surveying 1,000 adults aged over 18 who were randomly selected from six major provinces in Korea. Consumers perceived seafood, including shellfish, mussel, sashimi and sushi, as the top foods with the highest risk, followed by raw sliced beef. The food with the highest frequency intake per month was leafy vegetables, which is used to wrap other foods, followed by blanched vegetables, fried chicken, etc. The group of middle aged individuals with economic stability had the highest frequency intake of sashimi and sushi. Respondents living in small regions consume greater PHF portions at once. Food safety education with regard to the risk of PHF is essential for consumers, with high frequent intake of PHF.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.53-84
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• 2013

With rapid development of ICT (Information and Communications Technology), new services by the convergence of mobile network and application technology began to appear. Today, smart phone with new ICT convergence network capabilities is exceedingly popular and very useful as a new tool for the development of business opportunities. Previous studies based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) suggested critical factors, which should be considered for acquiring new customers and maintaining existing users in smart phone market. However, they had a limitation to focus on technology acceptance, not value based approach. Prior studies on customer's adoption of electronic utilities like smart phone product showed that the antecedents such as the perceived benefit and the perceived sacrifice could explain the causality between what is perceived and what is acquired over diverse contexts. So, this research conceptualizes perceived value as a trade-off between perceived benefit and perceived sacrifice, and we need to research the perceived value to grasp user's continuous intention to use of smart phone. The purpose of this study is to investigate the structured relationship between benefit (quality, usefulness, playfulness) and sacrifice (technicality, cost, security risk) of smart phone users, perceived value, and continuous intention to use. In addition, this study intends to analyze the differences between two subgroups of smart phone users by the degree of personal innovativeness. Personal innovativeness could help us to understand the moderating effect between how perceptions are formed and continuous intention to use smart phone. This study conducted survey through e-mail, direct mail, and interview with smart phone users. Empirical analysis based on 330 respondents was conducted in order to test the hypotheses. First, the result of hypotheses testing showed that perceived usefulness among three factors of perceived benefit has the highest positive impact on perceived value, and then followed by perceived playfulness and perceived quality. Second, the result of hypotheses testing showed that perceived cost among three factors of perceived sacrifice has significantly negative impact on perceived value, however, technicality and security risk have no significant impact on perceived value. Also, the result of hypotheses testing showed that perceived value has significant direct impact on continuous intention to use of smart phone. In this regard, marketing managers of smart phone company should pay more attention to improve task efficiency and performance of smart phone, including rate systems of smart phone. Additionally, to test the moderating effect of personal innovativeness, this research conducted multi-group analysis by the degree of personal innovativeness of smart phone users. In a group with high level of innovativeness, perceived usefulness has the highest positive influence on perceived value than other factors. Instead, the analysis for a group with low level of innovativeness showed that perceived playfulness was the highest positive factor to influence perceived value than others. This result of the group with high level of innovativeness explains that innovators and early adopters are able to cope with higher level of cost and risk, and they expect to develop more positive intentions toward higher performance through the use of an innovation. Also, hedonic behavior in the case of the group with low level of innovativeness aims to provide self-fulfilling value to the users, in contrast to utilitarian perspective, which aims to provide instrumental value to the users. However, with regard to perceived sacrifice, both groups in general showed negative impact on perceived value. Also, the group with high level of innovativeness had less overall negative impact on perceived value compared to the group with low level of innovativeness across all factors. In both group with high level of innovativeness and with low level of innovativeness, perceived cost has the highest negative influence on perceived value than other factors. Instead, the analysis for a group with high level of innovativeness showed that perceived technicality was the positive factor to influence perceived value than others. However, the analysis for a group with low level of innovativeness showed that perceived security risk was the second high negative factor to influence perceived value than others. Unlike previous studies, this study focuses on influencing factors on continuous intention to use of smart phone, rather than considering initial purchase and adoption of smart phone. First, perceived value, which was used to identify user's adoption behavior, has a mediating effect among perceived benefit, perceived sacrifice, and continuous intention to use smart phone. Second, perceived usefulness has the highest positive influence on perceived value, while perceived cost has significant negative influence on perceived value. Third, perceived value, like prior studies, has high level of positive influence on continuous intention to use smart phone. Fourth, in multi-group analysis by the degree of personal innovativeness of smart phone users, perceived usefulness, in a group with high level of innovativeness, has the highest positive influence on perceived value than other factors. Instead, perceived playfulness, in a group with low level of innovativeness, has the highest positive factor to influence perceived value than others. This result shows that early adopters intend to adopt smart phone as a tool to make their job useful, instead market followers intend to adopt smart phone as a tool to make their time enjoyable. In terms of marketing strategy for smart phone company, marketing managers should pay more attention to identify their customers' lifetime value by the phase of smart phone adoption, as well as to understand their behavior intention to accept the risk and uncertainty positively. The academic contribution of this study primarily is to employ the VAM (Value-based Adoption Model) as a conceptual foundation, compared to TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) used widely by previous studies. VAM is useful for understanding continuous intention to use smart phone in comparison with TAM as a new IT utility by individual adoption. Perceived value dominantly influences continuous intention to use smart phone. The results of this study justify our research model adoption on each antecedent of perceived value as a benefit and a sacrifice component. While TAM could be widely used in user acceptance of new technology, it has a limitation to explain the new IT adoption like smart phone, because of customer behavior intention to choose the value of the object. In terms of theoretical approach, this study provides theoretical contribution to the development, design, and marketing of smart phone. The practical contribution of this study is to suggest useful decision alternatives concerned to marketing strategy formulation for acquiring and retaining long-term customers related to smart phone business. Since potential customers are interested in both benefit and sacrifice when evaluating the value of smart phone, marketing managers in smart phone company has to put more effort into creating customer's value of low sacrifice and high benefit so that customers will continuously have higher adoption on smart phone. Especially, this study shows that innovators and early adopters with high level of innovativeness have higher adoption than market followers with low level of innovativeness, in terms of perceived usefulness and perceived cost. To formulate marketing strategy for smart phone diffusion, marketing managers have to pay more attention to identify not only their customers' benefit and sacrifice components but also their customers' lifetime value to adopt smart phone.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.75-97
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• 2012

Fostering trusting belief in financial transactions is a challenging task in Internet banking services. Authenticated Certificate had been regarded as an effective method to guarantee the trusting belief for online transactions. However, previous research claimed that this method has some loopholes for such abusers as hackers, who intend to attack the financial accounts of innocent transactors in Internet. Two types of methods have been suggested as alternatives for securing user identification and activity in online financial services. Control transparency uses information over the transaction process to verify and to control the transactions. Outcome feedback, which refers to the specific information about exchange outcomes, provides information over final transaction results. By using these two methods, financial service providers can send signals to involved parties about the robustness of their security mechanisms. These two methods-control transparency and outcome feedback-have been widely used in the IS field to enhance the quality of IS services. In this research, we intend to verify that these two methods can also be used to reduce risks and to increase the security protections in online banking services. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the effects of the control transparency and the outcome feedback on the risk perceptions in Internet banking services. Our assumption is that these two methods-control transparency and outcome feedback-can reduce perceived risks involved with online financial transactions, while increasing perceived trust over financial service providers. These changes in user attitudes can increase the level of user satisfactions, which may lead to the increased user loyalty as well as users' willingness to pay for the financial transactions. Previous research in IS suggested that the increased level of transparency on the process and the result of transactions can enhance the information quality and decision quality of IS users. Transparency helps IS users to acquire the information needed to control the transaction counterpart and thus to complete transaction successfully. It is also argued that transparency can reduce the perceived transaction risks in IS usage. Many IS researchers also argued that the trust can be generated by the institutional mechanisms. Trusting belief refers to the truster's belief for the trustee to have attributes for being beneficial to the truster. Institution-based trust plays an important role to enhance the probability of achieving a successful outcome. When a transactor regards the conditions crucial for the transaction success, he or she considers the condition providers as trustful, and thus eventually trust the others involved with such condition providers. In this process, transparency helps the transactor complete the transaction successfully. Through the investigation of these studies, we expect that the control transparency and outcome feedback can reduce the risk perception on transaction and enhance the trust with the service provider. Based on a theoretical framework of transparency and institution-based trust, we propose and test a research model by evaluating research hypotheses. We have conducted a laboratory experiment in order to validate our research model. Since the transparency artifact(control transparency and outcome feedback) is not yet adopted in online banking services, the general survey method could not be employed to verify our research model. We collected data from 138 experiment subjects who had experiences with online banking services. PLS is used to analyze the experiment data. The measurement model confirms that our data set has appropriate convergent and discriminant validity. The results of testing the structural model indicate that control transparency significantly enhances the trust and significantly reduces the risk perception of online banking users. The result also suggested that the outcome feedback significantly enhances the trust of users. We have found that the reduced risk and the increased trust level significantly improve the level of service satisfaction. The increased satisfaction finally leads to the increased loyalty and willingness to pay for the financial services.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.132-142
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception and information needs about food additives from the parents of elementary school children, and to develop a smartphone application (App) providing information about food additives, and finally to assess its educational effects. A survey was conducted in April 2013 by using a self-administered questionnaire, and total 358 responses were collected from the parents living in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. While purchasing processed foods, parents considered safety (40.5%) as the most important factor, and first checking item except production and expiration dates was origin labelling (35.4%), and chose foods with less food additives (63.1%). Parents recognized food additives as the most dangerous (42.7%), and 75.1% responded the level of danger as 'very dangerous'. However, 82.4% of parents didn't have experiences to get educations about food additives. Based on their information needs including the safety, legal standards and the foods containing food additives. a smartphone App designated as 'Catch up Food Additives' consisting of the definition, safety, food labelling guideline, management, animation about food additives was developed. When the App was exposed to the parents (n = 27), their negative perceptions on food additives were improved significantly. These results showed that providing information and education about food additives using smartphone App was very fast and effective for the promotion of risk communication on food additives with the parents.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.77-93
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• 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant social changes through government prevention and control measures, changes in people's risk perceptions, and lifestyle changes. In response, urban inhabitants changed their behaviors significantly, including their preferences for transportation modes and urban spaces in response to government quarantine policies and concerns over the potential risk of infection in urban spaces. These changes may have long-lasting effects on urban spaces beyond the COVID-19 pandemic or they may evolve and develop new forms. Therefore, this study aims to explore the potential for urban spaces to adapt to the present and future pandemics by examining changes in urban residents' preferences in travel modes and urban space use due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study found that overall preferences for travel modes and urban spaces significantly differ between the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. During the pandemic, preferences for travel modes and urban spaces has decreased, except for privately owned vehicles and green spaces, which are perceived to be safe from transmission, show more favorable than others. Post-pandemic preferences for travel modes and urban spaces are less favorable than pre-pandemic with urban spaces being five times less favorable than transportation. Although green spaces and medical facilities that were positively perceived during the pandemic are expected to return to the pre-pandemic preference level, other factors of urban spaces are facing a new-normal. The findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on urban residents' preferences for travel modes and urban space use. Understanding these changes is crucial for developing strategies to adapt to present and future pandemics and improve urban resilience.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.323-332
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of science classes using smart devices that combine augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) on the scientific attitude of middle school gifted students. In addition, it is intended to find out the perception of science classes using these smart devices. In addition to actual experiments, a science class program that allows students to experience science experiments virtually using AR and VR was applied to 15 middle school gifted students. Before and after the application of the program, the questionnaire is to investigate the interest in scientific classes, the attitude toward science exploration, and the professional interest in science, and the recognition of classes that combine AR and VR. In addition, through in-depth interviews, the perceptions of gifted students was accurately investigated. As a result of this study, the content of science classes and instructors showed high class satisfaction, but the smart devices and applications used during the science classes showed lower class satisfaction than others. As a result of comparing and analyzing the pre-post of gifted students, interest in science class, attitude toward science inquiry, and professional interest in science increased significantly among the sub-areas of the scientific attitude test. As a result of analyzing free responses and indepth interviews, gifted students responded with the advantage that classes using smart devices that combine AR and VR can be tested quickly and safely for a short time compared to actual experiments. On the other hand, they responded with low completeness of the application and dizziness when operating virtual reality. Based on this, implications for the development of applications and instructional programs using advanced technologies that can experience realistically limited scientific experiments such as experimental preparation, class time, and risk factors were obtained.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8135-8142
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Iranian women and usually features delayed presentation and late diagnosis. Interpretation of symptoms, as the most important step, has a significant impact on patient delay in seeking treatment. There is a dearth of studies on symptom appraisal and the process leading to seeking help in breast cancer patients. This study explored the perceptions and experiences of Iranian women with self-detected possible breast cancer symptoms. Materials and Methods: A qualitative method was conducted involving in-depth semi-structured interviews with 27 Iranian women with self-discovered breast cancer symptoms. Participants were purposefully selected from women who attended Cancer Institute of Tehran University of Medical Sciences during June 2012 to August 2013. The audiotaped interviews were transcribed and analyzed using conventional content analysis with MAXQDA soft ware version 10. The trustworthiness of the study was verified by prolonged engagement, member validation of codes, and thick description. Results: The main concepts emerging from data analysis were categorized in four categories: symptom recognition, labeling of symptoms, interactive understanding, and confronting the fear of cancer. Symptom recognition through breast self-examination, symptom monitoring and employing prior knowledge distinguished normal from abnormal symptoms and accompanied with perception of being at risk of breast cancer led to symptom labeling. Social interaction by selective disclosure and receiving reassurance from a consultant led to confirmation or redefinition of the situation. Perceived seriousness of the situation and social meanings of breast cancer as a stigmatized and incurable illness associated with loss of femininity were reasons for patient worries and fear. Conclusions: This study emphasized that entangled cognitive, emotional and socio-cultural responses affecting understanding of symptom seriousness require further investigation. It is suggested that programs aimed at shortening patient delay in breast cancer should be focused on improving women's knowledge and self-awareness of breast cancer, in addition to correcting their social beliefs.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.129-139
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• 2009

Objectives : This study evaluated the effectiveness of school-based mental health screening and treatment linkage programs, focusing on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adolescent depression. Methods : All 11,158 children and adolescents aged 8-14 years in Seoul received a school-based mental health screening, consisting of the Korean versions of the ADHD rating scale and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), for ADHD, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-DS) and the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior (SIQ-JR), for depression. The high-risk children's and adolescents' diagnoses were confirmed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV (DISC-IV). Treatment linkage programs were managed by the Seoul Metropolitan Community Mental Health Center (Program 1), the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (Program 2), or the Dongjak District Office of Education (Program 3). We estimated and compared the referral rates of the three programs. Results : Program 1 screened and referred 22.9% of ADHD youths to mental health services, Program 2, 68.8%, and Program 3, 40.0%. Program 1 screened and referred 22.8% of depressed youths to mental health services, Program 2, 53.8%, and Program 3, 88.9%. Key elements for successful screening and referral programs were an effective school/community mental health center/Office of Education network, the parents' financial support and perception of their child's mental health status as being problematic, and the teachers' active engagement. Conclusion : This is the first study investigating the effectiveness of school-based mental health screenings' linkage to treatment for primary and middle school students in Korea. An effective network for community mental health and improvements in parents' and teachers' perceptions regarding mental health are needed for more successful treatment linkage.