• Title/Summary/Keyword: school choice

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THE MORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATION OF HUMAN GINGIVAL FIBROBLASTS ATTACHMENT AND SPREADING ON THE MECHANICAL TREATED TITANIUM PLASMA SPRAYED IMPLANT SURFACE (기계적 표면 처리된 TITANIUM PLASMA SPRAYED IMPLANT에 대한 치은섬유아세포전개양상의 형태학적 관찰)

  • Whang, Yun-Hi;Lee, Jae-Mok;Suh, Jo-Young
    • Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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    • v.25 no.3
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    • pp.741-755
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    • 1995
  • Currently titanium is the material of choice for implants because of its biological acceptance. This high degree of biocompatibility is thought to result, in part, from the protective and stable oxide layer that presumably aids in the bonding of the extracellular matrix at the implant-tissue interface. Endosseous dental implants are interfaced with bone, connective tissue, and epithelium when implanted into the jaw bone. The soft tissue interface including connective tissue and epithelium is one of the most critical factors in the determination of implant maintenance and prognosis. For maintenance of failing or failed implants, it is essential to treat the implant fixture surface to remove bacterial endotoxins and make a surface tolerated by surrounding soft and hard tissues. In this study, the effect of mechanical treatment on titanium plasma sprayed implant on adhesiveness and proliferation of human gingival fibroblasts and changed surface characteristics were studied. titanium plasma sprayed discs manufactured by Friedrichsfeld company were treated with loaw speed stone bur, a rubber point and a jetpolisher. Its surface components were analyzed with Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to evaluate whether the surface characteristics were altered or not. To observe the spreading pattern of the human gingival fibroblasts which attached to the all specimens author used the scanning electron microscope. The results were as follows : Pure titanium and plasma sprayed titanium, stone polished titanium showed titanium peak and small amout of aluminum, so there was no alteration on surface characteristics. Under the scanning electron microscopic examination in the initial attachment of human gingival fibroblast, there was a slight enhancement in pure titanium, stone polished titanium than plasma sprayed titanium. After 6 hours, the pure titanium and stone polished titanium showed human gingival fibroblasts were elongated and connected with numerous processes. Human gingival fibroblasts were more intimately attached on the pure titanium discs than on the other discs. The human gingival fibroblasts attached on the plasma sprayed titanium by thin and elongated processes. After 24 hours, the human gingival fibroblasts connected with each other via numerous processes and compeletly covered the pure titanium and stone polshed titanium discs. Human gingival fibroblasts had multiple point contacts with more long and thin lamellopodia and showed a little bare surface on plasma sprayed titanium discs.

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A Study on Teaching-Learning and Evaluation Methods of Environmental Studies in the Middle School (중학교 "환경" 교과의 교수.학습 및 평가 방법 연구)

  • 남상준
    • Hwankyungkyoyuk
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.1-17
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    • 1994
  • This study was performed to determine appropriate teaching-learning and evaluation methods for Environmental Studies. To promote the relevance of our study to the needs of the schools and concerned educational communities of environmental education, we reviewed related literature, conducted questionnaire surveys, interviewed related teachers and administrator, held meetings with experts, and field-tested our findings. For selecting and developing teaching-learning methods of Environmental Studies, findings of educational research in general are considered. moreover, principles of environmental education, general aim of environmental education, orientations of environmental education, and developmental stages of middle school students in educational psychology were attended. In addition, relevance to the purpose of the Environmental Studies curriculum, appropriateness for value inquiry as well as knowledge inquiry, small group centered class organization, social interaction centered teaching-learning process, regional environmental situation, significance of personal environment, evaluation methods of Environmental Studies, multi- and inter-disciplinary contents of the Environmental Studies textbook, suitability to the evaluation methods of Environmental Studies, and emphasis on the social interaction in teaching-learning process were regarded. It was learned the Environmental Studies can be taught most effectively in via of holding discussion sessions, conducting actual investigation, doing experiment-practice, doing games and plate, role-playing and carrying out simulation activities, and doing inquiry. These teaching-learning methods were field-tested and proved appropriate methods for the subject. For selecting and developing evaluation method of Environmental Studies, such principles and characteristics of Environmental Studies as objective domains stated in the Environmental Studies curriculum, diversity of teaching-learning organization, were appreciated. We categorized nine evaluation methods: the teacher may conduct questionnaire surveys, testings, interviews, non-participatory observations; they may evaluate student's experiment-practice performances, reports preparation ability, ability to establish a research project, the teacher may ask the students to conduct a self-evaluation, or reciprocal evaluation. To maximize the effect of these methods, we further developed an application system. It considered three variables, that is, evaluates, evaluation objectives domains, and evaluation agent, and showed how to choose the most appropriate methods and, when necessary, how to combine uses of different methods depending on these variables. A sample evaluation instrument made on the basis of this application system was developed and tested in the classes. The system proved effective. Pilot applications of the teaching-learning methods and evaluation method were made simultaneously; and the results and their implications are as follows. Discussion program was applied in a lesson dealing with the problems of waste disposal, in which students showed active participation and creative thinking. The evaluation method used in this lesson was a multiple-choice written test for knowledge and skills. It was shown that this evaluation method and device are effective in helping students' revision of the lesson and in stimulating their creative interpretations and responces. Pupils showed great interests in the actual investigation program, and this programme was proved to be effective in enhancing students' participation. However, it was also turned out that there must be pre-arranged plans for the objects, contents and procedures of survey if this program is to effective. In this lesson, non-participatory observation methods were used with a focus on the attitudes of students. A scaled reported in general description rather than in grade. Experiment-practice programme was adopted in a lesson for purifying contaminated water and in this lesson, instruction objectives were properly established, the teaching-learning process was clearly specified and students were highly motivated. On the other hand, however, it was difficult to control the class when some groups of students require more times to complete their experiment, and sometimes different results. As regards to evaluation, performance observation test were used for assessing skills and attitudes. If teachers use well-prepared Likert scale, evaluation of all groups within a reasonablely short period of time will be possible. The most effective and successful programme in therms of students' participation and enjoyment, was the 'ah-nah-bah-dah-market' program, which is kind of game of the flea market. For better organized program of this kind, however, are essential, In this program, students appraise their own attitudes and behavior by responding to a written questionnaire. In addition, students were asked to record any anecdotes relating to self-appraisal of changes on one's own attitudes and behaviours. Even after the lesson, students keep recording those changes on letters to herself. Role-playing and simulation game programme was applied to a case of 'NIMBY', in which students should decide where to located a refuse dumping ground. For this kind of programme to e successful, concepts and words used in the script should be appropriate for students' intellectual levels, and students should by adequately introduced into the objective and the procedures of the lessons. Written questionnaire was used to assess individual students' attitudes after the lesson, but in order to acquire information on the changes of students' attitudes and skills, pre-test may have to be made. Doing inquiry programme, in which advantages in which students actually investigated the environmental influence of the areas where school os located, had advantages in developing students' ability to study the environmental problems and to present the results of their studies. For this programme to be more efficient, areas of investigation should be clearly divided and alloted to each group so that repetition or overlap in areas of study and presentation be avoided, and complementary wok between groups bee enhanced. In this programme, teacher assessed students' knowledge and attitudes on the basis of reports prepared by each group. However, there were found some difficults in assessing students' attitudes and behaviours solely on the grounds of written report. Perhaps, using a scaled checklist assessing students' attitudes while their presentation could help to relieve the difficulties.

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A Study of the Relationship to the Student's Health Behavior, Belief, Value and Health Service Utilization -With Emphasis on Family Structure and Other Variables- (학생(學生)의 건강행위(健康行爲), 신념(信念), 가치(價値) 및 보건의료(保建醫療) 이용(利用)에 미치는 영향(影響)에 관(關)한 연구 -가족(家族)의 형태(形態) 및 제특성(諸特性)을 중심(中心)으로-)

  • Chung, Yeon Kang
    • Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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    • v.6 no.1
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    • pp.9-44
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    • 1993
  • An explorative and descriptive study in order to determine the effect of family structure and other socio-demographic variables on health behavior, belief, locus, and value and utilization of public health service was carried out. Data were collected from 1,653 subjects randomly sampled in three areas, Seoul, Kyunggi province, and Cheju province. From Seoul 849 subjects were selected, 397 subjects Kyunggi, and 407 subjects from Cheju, respectively. Self-reporting questionaires were administered during the period from March to June, 1992. The major findings were as follows: 1) The subjects visited herb-doctor's at irregular intervals mainly to have tonic medicine prepared. They preferred herb-doctor's rather than with doctors at clinics and hospitals. Statistically significant difference was found among the regions studied (p<0.05). 2) The reason for visiting hospitals was primarily for treatment of diseases. They preferred hospital because they felt that the hospitals offer much highly reliable treatment services as well as medical accessibility. For the purpose of hospital utilization, statistically significant differences existed among sex, educational level, family type and region. However, no significance was found among sex, educational level, and region (p<0.05). 3) The subjects utilized general hospitals mainly for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. They preferred general hospitals because of their much better facilities and reliability. Statistical significance was found among sex, educational level, and region (p<0.05). 4) The subjects visited dentist at irregular intervals basis. They visited once half a year or three to four months. their purpose of visit was mainly for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Statistical significance differences were found among educational level, region and economic standard (p<0.05). 5) Whenever their illnesses were mild and the pharmacies was located in nearby they visited to pharmacies. They visited once a month and patient medicines. Statistically significant differences were found among sex, educational level and region (p<0.05). 6) The subjects believed that herb medicine was quite efficacious for treatment of some diseases, particularly by information handed down through time-honored tradition and experience. However, they recognized that the efficacy of folk medicine can vary with type and severity of diseases. Statistical significance was among sex, educational level, region and economic standard (p<0.05). 7) The reason why subjects believed that pray and superstition are effective for treatment of certain type of diseases, particularly in neuropathy, was the belief in God's almighty. Statistically significant differences were found among sex, educational level, regions and economic standard (p<0.05). 8) Most of subjects under same condition preferred western medicine because they believed that it is more scientific and prompts in showing therapeutic effect. Statistical significance was not found in the choice of type of public health service among, regions. But significant differences were found among sex, educational level and region (p<0.05). 9) The subjects looked for pharmacy if they thought the symptom was mild. However, they visited hospitals for chronic disease and general hospitals for emergency treatment. Statistical significances were found among educational level, region and economic standard (p<0.05). 10) Although most of students wanted to have a healthy life as for the component of health standard and value, they think that they are not healthy (p<0.05). As for the health behavior, significant difference was found in the proportion of smoking and drinking between educational level and region (p<0.05). The health locus was affected by educational level, and health behavior was influenced by region, sex and educational level. The utilization of type of public health service was influenced by family type and region, and health belief by region and educational level, and the health values by region and economic standard respectively, most of correlation showed statistical significance. Among them, the highest correlation was seen between locus of control and external/internal locus of control, which is quite obvious. The correlation between health belief and behavior was the next highest, but still low (0.343). All the other variables are low but significant except only a few of those. These findings indicate that health education should be incorporated into the curriculum so as to develop desirable health habit, and ability of self-control in accordance with their growth stages. A systematic and scientific understanding on the herb/folk medicine is needed, and greater reliability of the utilization of public health services are is still required. Health policy for equal distribution of health service throughout the country along the hierarchical health service system and complementary mutual assistance and cooperation among various health organizations are also required.

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A Spectrophotometric Study on Color Differences between Various Light-Cured Composite Resins and Shade Guides (광중합형 복합레진과 shade guide의 색차에 관한 연구)

  • Lim, Kyung-Min;Lee, Min-Ho;Song, Kwang-Yeob
    • Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.13-22
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    • 2009
  • The composite resin, due to its esthetic quality, is considered the material of choice for restoration of anterior teeth. To get a satisfactory result in the composite resin restorations, it is necessary to choose right shade. At present, most of the commercial composite resins are based on the Vita Lumin shade guides or shade guides that are provided by their company, but color differences among them might be expected even using the same shade in various materials. This study is to measure color differences between various light-cured composite resins and shade guides and to provide the clinicians with information which may aid in improved color match of esthetic restoration. Four kinds of light-cured composite resins (Gradia Direct (GD), Z250 (Z250), Clearfil AP-X (AP-X), Esthet X (E X)) and shade guides with A2 and A3 shade were used. Three specimens of each material and one specimen of each shade guide were made. Each composite resin was filled into the Teflon mold (1.35 mm depth, 8 mm diameter), followed by compression, polymerization and polishing with wet sandpaper. Shade guides were grinded with polishing stones and rubber points to a thickness of approximately 1.35 mm. Color characteristics were performed with a spectrophotometer(color i5, GretagMacbeth, USA). A computer-controlled spectrophotometer was used to determine CIELAB coordinates ($L^*$, $a^*$, $b^*$) of each specimen and shade guide. The CIELAB measurements made it possible to evaluate the amount of the color difference values (${\Delta}E^*ab$) between composite resins and shade guides. CIE standard D65 was used as the light source. The results were as follows : 1. Among the $L^*$, $a^*$, $b^*$ values of most of 4 kinds of composite resin specimens which are produced by same shade, there were significant differences(p<0.05). 2. Among all 4 kinds of composite resin specimens which are produced by same shade, there were color differences that is perceptible to human eye(${\Delta}E^*>3.3$). 3. Between most of composite resin specimens investigated and their corresponding shade guides, there were color differences that is perceptible to human eye(${\Delta}E^*>3.3$). 4. In the clinical environment, it is recommended that custom shade guides be made from resin material itself for better color matching. Shade guides supplied by manufacturers or Vita Lumin shade guide may not provide clinicians a accurate standard in matching color of composite resins, and there are perceptible color differences in most of products. Therefore, it is recommended that custom shade guides be made from resin material itself and used for better color matching.

A Study on the Propensity to Purchase Babies' Cosmetics (베이비화장품의 구매행태에 관한 연구 - 대구, 경북 지역을 중심으로 -)

  • Lee Kyung-Hwa;Kim Ju-Duck
    • Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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    • v.31 no.2 s.51
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    • pp.169-177
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    • 2005
  • The propensity to purchase babies' cosmetics is investigated and analysed for this research. The synopsis of this research paper is as follows. The first, the $68\%$ of all respondents do not how a manufacturer or brand name in the reality of variously emerging domestic and import cosmetics for babies. The second, in case of a child haying a fair, sensitive skin or atopy (atopic dermatitis), the respondents are careful in choosing babies cosmetics but in case of a child having a normal skin the older a child grows from a stage of a new-born, a baby and an infant to a primary-school child, the older its mother is, the more respondents use adults' cosmetics in common rather than use cosmetics only for babies. $7.6\%$ of respondents do not use babies' cosmetirs at ail. Especially, in using bathing goods such as a shampoo or a body cleanser, they frequently use adults' cosmetics in common. The third, the qualify is taken into the utmost consideration in purchasing babies' cosmetics. The Quality of imports is trusted and preferred better than that of domestic goods. The cost of purchasing babies cosmetics is less than 10,000 Won. consumers recognize that the price or cosmetics is rather high. The last, the improvement or babies cosmetics is 'the safety of goods', answered by $56.5\%$ of respondents. The respondents are generally not satisfied with babies' cosmetics. So, a baby's skin is threatened by a newly-built house syndrome, the increase of atopic dermatitis, etc., caused by an environmental pollutions, a change of diet and a change of residential life. Under these actual conditions, babies' cosmetics which can protect a delicate and sensitive skin of a baby should be developed immediately. Consumers should have a correct choice with precise recognition and information on a baby's skin and cosmetics and continually use the efficacious and excellent babies' cosmetics to prevent a baby from a skin irritation, and need to show a keen interest in a healthy skin of a baby.

Development of Customer Sentiment Pattern Map for Webtoon Content Recommendation (웹툰 콘텐츠 추천을 위한 소비자 감성 패턴 맵 개발)

  • Lee, Junsik;Park, Do-Hyung
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.25 no.4
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    • pp.67-88
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    • 2019
  • Webtoon is a Korean-style digital comics platform that distributes comics content produced using the characteristic elements of the Internet in a form that can be consumed online. With the recent rapid growth of the webtoon industry and the exponential increase in the supply of webtoon content, the need for effective webtoon content recommendation measures is growing. Webtoons are digital content products that combine pictorial, literary and digital elements. Therefore, webtoons stimulate consumer sentiment by making readers have fun and engaging and empathizing with the situations in which webtoons are produced. In this context, it can be expected that the sentiment that webtoons evoke to consumers will serve as an important criterion for consumers' choice of webtoons. However, there is a lack of research to improve webtoons' recommendation performance by utilizing consumer sentiment. This study is aimed at developing consumer sentiment pattern maps that can support effective recommendations of webtoon content, focusing on consumer sentiments that have not been fully discussed previously. Metadata and consumer sentiments data were collected for 200 works serviced on the Korean webtoon platform 'Naver Webtoon' to conduct this study. 488 sentiment terms were collected for 127 works, excluding those that did not meet the purpose of the analysis. Next, similar or duplicate terms were combined or abstracted in accordance with the bottom-up approach. As a result, we have built webtoons specialized sentiment-index, which are reduced to a total of 63 emotive adjectives. By performing exploratory factor analysis on the constructed sentiment-index, we have derived three important dimensions for classifying webtoon types. The exploratory factor analysis was performed through the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using varimax factor rotation. The three dimensions were named 'Immersion', 'Touch' and 'Irritant' respectively. Based on this, K-Means clustering was performed and the entire webtoons were classified into four types. Each type was named 'Snack', 'Drama', 'Irritant', and 'Romance'. For each type of webtoon, we wrote webtoon-sentiment 2-Mode network graphs and looked at the characteristics of the sentiment pattern appearing for each type. In addition, through profiling analysis, we were able to derive meaningful strategic implications for each type of webtoon. First, The 'Snack' cluster is a collection of webtoons that are fast-paced and highly entertaining. Many consumers are interested in these webtoons, but they don't rate them well. Also, consumers mostly use simple expressions of sentiment when talking about these webtoons. Webtoons belonging to 'Snack' are expected to appeal to modern people who want to consume content easily and quickly during short travel time, such as commuting time. Secondly, webtoons belonging to 'Drama' are expected to evoke realistic and everyday sentiments rather than exaggerated and light comic ones. When consumers talk about webtoons belonging to a 'Drama' cluster in online, they are found to express a variety of sentiments. It is appropriate to establish an OSMU(One source multi-use) strategy to extend these webtoons to other content such as movies and TV series. Third, the sentiment pattern map of 'Irritant' shows the sentiments that discourage customer interest by stimulating discomfort. Webtoons that evoke these sentiments are hard to get public attention. Artists should pay attention to these sentiments that cause inconvenience to consumers in creating webtoons. Finally, Webtoons belonging to 'Romance' do not evoke a variety of consumer sentiments, but they are interpreted as touching consumers. They are expected to be consumed as 'healing content' targeted at consumers with high levels of stress or mental fatigue in their lives. The results of this study are meaningful in that it identifies the applicability of consumer sentiment in the areas of recommendation and classification of webtoons, and provides guidelines to help members of webtoons' ecosystem better understand consumers and formulate strategies.

A Study on Measuring the Environmental Value of Gyeongnam Arboretum Using the CVM (가상가치측정법(CVM)을 이용한 경남수목원의 환경가치추정 연구)

  • Kang, Kee-Rae;Ha, Sung-Gyone;Lee, Kee-Cheol
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.39 no.1
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    • pp.46-55
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    • 2011
  • The importance of forests and plants are appreciated by all of us, but it is often overlooked because we are surrounded by it. The arboretum is one of facilities which provide users with education on the environment, knowledge about plants, and recreation, playing a role as a nature school by exhibiting and collecting plants of various ecosystems. Anyone can enjoy fresh air, a pleasant environment, and knowledge about a wide variety of plants on the condition that they aactually visit it and pay the entrance fee. However, it has not been measured whether the expense which users pay to enjoy an arboretum is a true value of arboretums. The environment that arboretums offer is extra-market goods, or public goods. A variety of ideas and methods to measure the value of public goods have been researched among economists, statisticians, and mathematicians. The Contingent Valuation Method(CVM) is most widely used a s an assessment method on environment goods and adopted as an estimation method for compensation for restoration of the environment by the American Supreme Court. The purpose of this study is to suggest a current monetary value correspondingent to the value of arboretums by applying the CVM. The survey suggested that when an arboretum provides a high educational value and when the respondents have a higher income, it is more likely that they would be willing to pay for entrance into the arboretum. The quantified value in monetary terms for the environmental value of Gyeongnam Arboretum is WTP mean \15,648; WTP median \13,648; and WTP truncated \15,449 per visitor. In annual terms, the amounts are calculated at WTP mean \8,408,265,024; WTP median \7,333,589,024; and WTP truncated \8,301,334,762. These quantified amounts can be thought to represent the value of conservation of arboretums and awaken users to the precious value of nature. Also, they are helpful to let the general public have proper knowledge about and recognize the value of arboretums and forests.

Reduced Ovarian Cancer Incidence in Women Exposed to Low Dose Ionizing Background Radiation or Radiation to the Ovaries after Treatment for Breast Cancer or Rectosigmoid Cancer

  • Lehrer, Steven;Green, Sheryl;Rosenzweig, Kenneth E
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.17 no.6
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    • pp.2979-2982
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    • 2016
  • Background: High dose ionizing radiation can induce ovarian cancer, but the effect of low dose radiation on the development of ovarian cancer has not been extensively studied. We evaluated the effect of low dose radiation and total background radiation, and the radiation delivered to the ovaries during the treatment of rectosigmoid cancer and breast cancer on ovarian cancer incidence. Materials and Methods: Background radiation measurements are from Assessment of Variations in Radiation Exposure in the United States, 2011. Ovarian cancer incidence data are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) of ovarian cancer following breast cancer and rectosigmoid cancer are from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data. Obesity data by US state are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mean ages of US state populations are from the United States Census Bureau. Results: We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIR) from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, which reveal that in 194,042 cases of breast cancer treated with beam radiation, there were 796 cases of ovarian cancer by 120+ months of treatment (0.41%); in 283, 875 cases of breast cancer not treated with radiation, there were 1,531 cases of ovarian cancer by 120+ months (0.54%). The difference in ovarian cancer incidence in the two groups was significant (p < 0.001, two tailed Fisher exact test). The small dose of scattered ovarian radiation (about 3.09 cGy) from beam radiation to the breast appears to have reduced the risk of ovarian cancer by 24%. In 13,099 cases of rectal or rectosigmoid junction cancer treated with beam radiation in the SEER data, there were 20 cases of ovarian cancer by 120+ months of treatment (0.15%). In 33,305 cases of rectal or rectosigmoid junction cancer not treated with radiation, there were 91 cases of ovarian cancer by 120+ months (0.27%). The difference in ovarian cancer incidence in the two groups was significant (p = 0.017, two tailed Fisher exact test). In other words, the beam radiation to rectum and rectosigmoid that also reached the ovaries reduced the risk of ovarian cancer by 44%. In addition, there was a significant inverse relationship between ovarian cancer in white women and radon background radiation (r = - 0.465. p = 0.002) and total background radiation (r = -0.456, p = 0.002). Because increasing age and obesity are risk factors for ovarian cancer, multivariate linear regression was performed. The inverse relationship between ovarian cancer incidence and radon background was significant (${\beta}=-0.463$, p = 0.002) but unrelated to age (${\beta}=-0.080$, p = 0.570) or obesity (${\beta}=-0.180$, p = 0.208). Conclusions: The reduction of ovarian cancer risk following low dose radiation may be the result of radiation hormesis. Hormesis is a favorable biological response to low toxin exposure. A pollutant or toxin demonstrating hormesis has the opposite effect in small doses as in large doses. In the case of radiation, large doses are carcinogenic. However, lower overall cancer rates are found in U.S. states with high impact radiation. Moreover, there is reduced lung cancer incidence in high radiation background US states where nuclear weapons testing was done. Women at increased risk of ovarian cancer have two choices. They may be closely followed (surveillance) or undergo immediate prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. However, the efficacy of surveillance is questionable. Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy is considered preferable, although it carries the risk of surgical complications. The data analysis above suggests that low-dose pelvic irradiation might be a good third choice to reduce ovarian cancer risk. Further studies would be worthwhile to establish the lowest optimum radiation dose.

Analyzing the User Intention of Booth Recommender System in Smart Exhibition Environment (스마트 전시환경에서 부스 추천시스템의 사용자 의도에 관한 조사연구)

  • Choi, Jae Ho;Xiang, Jun-Yong;Moon, Hyun Sil;Choi, Il Young;Kim, Jae Kyeong
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.153-169
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    • 2012
  • Exhibitions have played a key role of effective marketing activity which directly informs services and products to current and potential customers. Through participating in exhibitions, exhibitors have got the opportunity to make face-to-face contact so that they can secure the market share and improve their corporate images. According to this economic importance of exhibitions, show organizers try to adopt a new IT technology for improving their performance, and researchers have also studied services which can improve the satisfaction of visitors through analyzing visit patterns of visitors. Especially, as smart technologies make them monitor activities of visitors in real-time, they have considered booth recommender systems which infer preference of visitors and recommender proper service to them like on-line environment. However, while there are many studies which can improve their performance in the side of new technological development, they have not considered the choice factor of visitors for booth recommender systems. That is, studies for factors which can influence the development direction and effective diffusion of these systems are insufficient. Most of prior studies for the acceptance of new technologies and the continuous intention of use have adopted Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Extended Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM). Booth recommender systems may not be new technology because they are similar with commercial recommender systems such as book recommender systems, in the smart exhibition environment, they can be considered new technology. However, for considering the smart exhibition environment beyond TAM, measurements for the intention of reuse should focus on how booth recommender systems can provide correct information to visitors. In this study, through literature reviews, we draw factors which can influence the satisfaction and reuse intention of visitors for booth recommender systems, and design a model to forecast adaptation of visitors for booth recommendation in the exhibition environment. For these purposes, we conduct a survey for visitors who attended DMC Culture Open in November 2011 and experienced booth recommender systems using own smart phone, and examine hypothesis by regression analysis. As a result, factors which can influence the satisfaction of visitors for booth recommender systems are the effectiveness, perceived ease of use, argument quality, serendipity, and so on. Moreover, the satisfaction for booth recommender systems has a positive relationship with the development of reuse intention. For these results, we have some insights for booth recommender systems in the smart exhibition environment. First, this study gives shape to important factors which are considered when they establish strategies which induce visitors to consistently use booth recommender systems. Recently, although show organizers try to improve their performances using new IT technologies, their visitors have not felt the satisfaction from these efforts. At this point, this study can help them to provide services which can improve the satisfaction of visitors and make them last relationship with visitors. On the other hands, this study suggests that they managers along the using time of booth recommender systems. For example, in the early stage of the adoption, they should focus on the argument quality, perceived ease of use, and serendipity, so that improve the acceptance of booth recommender systems. After these stages, they should bridge the differences between expectation and perception for booth recommender systems, and lead continuous uses of visitors. However, this study has some limitations. We only use four factors which can influence the satisfaction of visitors. Therefore, we should development our model to consider important additional factors. And the exhibition in our experiments has small number of booths so that visitors may not need to booth recommender systems. In the future study, we will conduct experiments in the exhibition environment which has a larger scale.

How Enduring Product Involvement and Perceived Risk Affect Consumers' Online Merchant Selection Process: The 'Required Trust Level' Perspective (지속적 관여도 및 인지된 위험이 소비자의 온라인 상인선택 프로세스에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구: 요구신뢰 수준 개념을 중심으로)

  • Hong, Il-Yoo B.;Lee, Jung-Min;Cho, Hwi-Hyung
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.29-52
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    • 2012
  • Consumers differ in the way they make a purchase. An audio mania would willingly make a bold, yet serious, decision to buy a top-of-the-line home theater system, while he is not interested in replacing his two-decade-old shabby car. On the contrary, an automobile enthusiast wouldn't mind spending forty thousand dollars to buy a new Jaguar convertible, yet cares little about his junky component system. It is product involvement that helps us explain such differences among individuals in the purchase style. Product involvement refers to the extent to which a product is perceived to be important to a consumer (Zaichkowsky, 2001). Product involvement is an important factor that strongly influences consumer's purchase decision-making process, and thus has been of prime interest to consumer behavior researchers. Furthermore, researchers found that involvement is closely related to perceived risk (Dholakia, 2001). While abundant research exists addressing how product involvement relates to overall perceived risk, little attention has been paid to the relationship between involvement and different types of perceived risk in an electronic commerce setting. Given that perceived risk can be a substantial barrier to the online purchase (Jarvenpaa, 2000), research addressing such an issue will offer useful implications on what specific types of perceived risk an online firm should focus on mitigating if it is to increase sales to a fullest potential. Meanwhile, past research has focused on such consumer responses as information search and dissemination as a consequence of involvement, neglecting other behavioral responses like online merchant selection. For one example, will a consumer seriously considering the purchase of a pricey Guzzi bag perceive a great degree of risk associated with online buying and therefore choose to buy it from a digital storefront rather than from an online marketplace to mitigate risk? Will a consumer require greater trust on the part of the online merchant when the perceived risk of online buying is rather high? We intend to find answers to these research questions through an empirical study. This paper explores the impact of enduring product involvement and perceived risks on required trust level, and further on online merchant choice. For the purpose of the research, five types or components of perceived risk are taken into consideration, including financial, performance, delivery, psychological, and social risks. A research model has been built around the constructs under consideration, and 12 hypotheses have been developed based on the research model to examine the relationships between enduring involvement and five components of perceived risk, between five components of perceived risk and required trust level, between enduring involvement and required trust level, and finally between required trust level and preference toward an e-tailer. To attain our research objectives, we conducted an empirical analysis consisting of two phases of data collection: a pilot test and main survey. The pilot test was conducted using 25 college students to ensure that the questionnaire items are clear and straightforward. Then the main survey was conducted using 295 college students at a major university for nine days between December 13, 2010 and December 21, 2010. The measures employed to test the model included eight constructs: (1) enduring involvement, (2) financial risk, (3) performance risk, (4) delivery risk, (5) psychological risk, (6) social risk, (7) required trust level, (8) preference toward an e-tailer. The statistical package, SPSS 17.0, was used to test the internal consistency among the items within the individual measures. Based on the Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficients of the individual measure, the reliability of all the variables is supported. Meanwhile, the Amos 18.0 package was employed to perform a confirmatory factor analysis designed to assess the unidimensionality of the measures. The goodness of fit for the measurement model was satisfied. Unidimensionality was tested using convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. The statistical evidences proved that the three types of validity were all satisfied. Now the structured equation modeling technique was used to analyze the individual paths along the relationships among the research constructs. The results indicated that enduring involvement has significant positive relationships with all the five components of perceived risk, while only performance risk is significantly related to trust level required by consumers for purchase. It can be inferred from the findings that product performance problems are mostly likely to occur when a merchant behaves in an opportunistic manner. Positive relationships were also found between involvement and required trust level and between required trust level and online merchant choice. Enduring involvement is concerned with the pleasure a consumer derives from a product class and/or with the desire for knowledge for the product class, and thus is likely to motivate the consumer to look for ways of mitigating perceived risk by requiring a higher level of trust on the part of the online merchant. Likewise, a consumer requiring a high level of trust on the merchant will choose a digital storefront rather than an e-marketplace, since a digital storefront is believed to be trustworthier than an e-marketplace, as it fulfills orders by itself rather than acting as an intermediary. The findings of the present research provide both academic and practical implications. The first academic implication is that enduring product involvement is a strong motivator of consumer responses, especially the selection of a merchant, in the context of electronic shopping. Secondly, academicians are advised to pay attention to the finding that an individual component or type of perceived risk can be used as an important research construct, since it would allow one to pinpoint the specific types of risk that are influenced by antecedents or that influence consequents. Meanwhile, our research provides implications useful for online merchants (both online storefronts and e-marketplaces). Merchants may develop strategies to attract consumers by managing perceived performance risk involved in purchase decisions, since it was found to have significant positive relationship with the level of trust required by a consumer on the part of the merchant. One way to manage performance risk would be to thoroughly examine the product before shipping to ensure that it has no deficiencies or flaws. Secondly, digital storefronts are advised to focus on symbolic goods (e.g., cars, cell phones, fashion outfits, and handbags) in which consumers are relatively more involved than others, whereas e- marketplaces should put their emphasis on non-symbolic goods (e.g., drinks, books, MP3 players, and bike accessories).

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