• Acta Via Serica
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.89-112
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• 2017

Today, we face many problems at the planetary, national, local, and personal level. What is interesting and important is the fact that the environmental crisis that we have been facing since the 1960s is seen by many environmentalists as a crisis of Western civilization, a slow collective suicide, and "the defining challenge of our age." This fact has encouraged many environmentalists, thinkers, and activists to turn to the wisdom of the East for a better and deeper understanding of nature and humanity for a sustainable future. Moreover, environmental, social, and economic threats are aimed at everyone without discrimination, be they Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Buddhist. Therefore, the very nature of the environmental crisis and challenge requires a cooperative, global response. In this context, this study suggests that Eastern societies may re-discover the richness of their own traditions in the light of pressing environmental problems and offer new insights to respond to these problems. This paper will explore the possibility and relevance of Sir Muhammad Iqbal's (1877-1938) ideas for an attitude of reverence and care for nature. It will suggest that his ideas could enlarge and enrich our perspective of ourselves vis $\grave{a}$ vis nature, and raise our "ecological consciousness" and moral responsibility to take action for the environment. It will be argued that Iqbal, as a great and towering son of the Silk Road and a bridge between East and West, is still relevant for us.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.94-111
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• 2018

This study examines Korea's international development volunteer program as a citizen diplomacy initiative. Informed by a cultural perspective of transmission and relational models of public diplomacy, I examine the ways in which volunteer training incorporates cultural-learning into its program. The study finds that volunteer training is largely based on an instrumentalist approach to culture that places emphasis on learning the "explicit" side of culture, such as Korean traditional dance, art, and food as a strategy to promote the country's national image. In contrast, much less covered in the training program is a relational approach to culture-learning that is guided by a reflexive understanding of the "implicit" side of culture, or the values and beliefs that guide the worldviews and behavior of both volunteers and host constituents. Whereas the value of the volunteer program as a citizen diplomacy initiative is in its potential to build relationships based on two-way engagement, its conception of culture is mostly guided by that of the transmission model of public diplomacy. Based on the findings, this study calls for an integrated approach to culture-learning in volunteer training program to move the citizen diplomacy initiative forward.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.1-23
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• 2011

China's proposal of the CAFTA (China-ASEAN Free Trade Area) in 2001 prompted a great debate about whether China was a trade competitor of ASEAN, given their similarity in economic development levels and trade/export structures. That Beijing shifted its focus on economic cooperation from the international level to the regional level led to its proposal of the CAFTA. As the Framework Agreement (Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between China and ASEAN) showed, Beijing's careful consideration for four newer ASEAN members (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) intended not only to help all ASEAN members develop economically, but also to narrow the economic gap existing between them and the six old ASEAN members; in return, China was recognized as a full market economy, which it is not currently recognized within the framework of the WTO. The substantial rise in bilateral trade and the structural changes of the trade in goods between China and ASEAN member nations after 2001 proves that ASEAN benefited more from the CAFTA, particularly when the areas where ASEAN had the comparative advantages were designated as the priority cooperation areas between China and ASEAN. In sum, similarities existing in economic development levels and industrial structures between China and ASEAN made them natural economic competitors. However, closer studies of trade in goods of S1-7, S1-6 and S1-0 reveal that China acted as an increasingly complementary trade partner of ASEAN after 2001.

• Acta Via Serica
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.11-25
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• 2018

The Renaissance is generally said to be the rebirth of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome, and was centered around Italy from the 14th to the 16th century. This includes the temporal peculiarity of the Renaissance as a sudden phenomenon after the Medieval Ages, and the spatial peculiarity of what happened only in Europe. However, if we remove the European-centered bias here, the horizon for interpreting the Renaissance becomes much wider. There have been claims that similar cultural phenomena resembling the Renaissance existed in other civilizations at the same time. This paper seeks to investigate two possibilities. The first is the possibility of a spatial expansion of the Renaissance. This suggests that the Renaissance was created by long-term exchanges with the Eastern, Middle and Western Hemispheres. The second is the possibility of a simultaneity of the Renaissance in the 14th and 16th centuries. This suggests that it was a global phenomenon that occurred in different civilizations. The Renaissance, therefore, was a crystallization of a complex of civilizations created by the crossing of various cultures along the Silk Road, and should be referred to as the 'Global Renaissance' instead of the 'Western Renaissance.'

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.3-19
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• 2017

"Knowledge worker" is a term used to describe highly educated people whose role in the workforce involves the use of information and knowledge. Knowledge workers are key to the success of a great many organizations. Many Chinese companies find that the voluntary turnover rate among their knowledge workers is high. The purpose of this paper is to explore, from the perspective of knowledge workers and the characteristics peculiar to them, the factors that influence this high voluntary turnover rate. The models used in this paper, that will enable understanding of the characteristics of knowledge workers in China, are the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory and the Five Factors Model. In the case of Huawei, analysis using these models leads to the conclusion that the main factors that influence the voluntary turnover of knowledge workers in China are: age; gender; degree of extraversion and how open the person is to new experiences; family orientation; and occupation. This study leads to the conclusion that the company should pay closer attention to three groups: female employees who put a high value on their families; employees from non-R&D departments; and younger employees who show a high degree of openness to new experiences.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.93-109
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• 2017

Cross-culturally, acts of sharing are recognized as an effective method to initiate and maintain human relationships in real-life situations by promoting continuous reciprocal exchanges between donors and recipients. Specifically, this study examines the effects of sharing a media product from the perspective of the givers, as compared to effects on the receivers. "Gangnam Style," a Korean music video, is of interest because it was spontaneously shared worldwide by young adults who used it as a vehicle to build and strengthen social relationships, among young adults. While both the givers and receivers of the "Gangnam Style" benefited from bridging new relationships, the results of this study found that those who gave "Gangnam Style" benefited more in terms bonding already existing relationships, compared to those who received materials. This study provides further evidence in support of the "sender-effect" paradigm and enhances our understanding of how online sharing contributes to the construction of social capital among the young adults.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.157-173
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• 2021

In the transition to a multipolar international system, the literature has focused on great power competition while little attention has been given to the strategic possibilities of smaller states. However, as a result of globalization, states are so closely interconnected that the primary strategies of even major powers are not to achieve zero-sum solutions but to create asymmetric dependency through which they can influence the behavior of other states and non-state actors. States are assisted in this effort by a variety of tools, including setting up institutions, direct economic influence and through building different forms of infrastructure connectivity networks. By discussing asymmetric dependency situations from the perspective of the great powers, the literature presents smaller states primarily as passive actors, paralyzed by their dependence on great powers. Our paper argues that interdependence allows smaller states to effectively influence larger actors and examines strategies from which smaller states can choose in order to influence the behavior of larger states. Despite an extremely asymmetric relationship between Myanmar and China, actors in Myanmar have sought to influence China's Myanmar policy. We examine a case study of the Myitsone Dam, including Myanmar's strategic aims, chosen strategy and limitations in maneuvering space. Semi-structured interviews with local decision-makers and stakeholders are conducted in order to portray the full picture. Our study concludes that further research on the influencing strategies of small states in response to asymmetric dependence can contribute to a better understanding of the interdependence of states.

• 비교문화연구
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• 제28권
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• pp.87-114
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• 2012

The Maa speaking Torobo people inhabiting the southern portion of the Mau Escarpment in Kenya approach both individual and community survival from a relational orientation focused on ethnic identity and responsibility. This social responsibility to the tribe is in stark contrast to Torobo relationships with other ethnic groups. The purpose of the research is twofold. First, the paper explores how folkloric language through a trickster image reflects important cultural and social ideals, understandings, and patterns of thought in Torobo world view. A second purpose is to offer ethnographic information to scholars and students' alike necessary for world view studies of eastern Africa specifically focused on the interplay between anthropomorphic tales and the social context in which these stories are utilized. The key research question for this analysis asks how the trickster image in Torobo folklore conceptualize the life experience. A Torobo folktale entitled, The Clever Hare, is the text chosen for analysis with the hare character as the protagonist. A second query explores the importance of the trickster image in understanding Torobo world view categories of Self and Other. The analysis contributes an ethnographic perspective for the world view categories of Self and Other as well as trickster folklore by examining the nature of Torobo-ness using the tale of the cunning hare as a research tool.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.124-152
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• 2019

Smart city, which employs information and communication technology (ICT) to resolve urban problems, is gaining more research attention in the innovation research. However, most previous studies regard citizens as merely passive accepters of the smart city services, focusing on individual private values. The present study aims to expand existing limited perspectives by applying public value management theory. Drawing from the literature review, we developed a dual perspective that a smart city service should encompass: private and public value. Then we set up a causal relationship between the value recognitions and intention to adopt smart city services. We further related antecedent variables to the dual value recognition in terms of citizens' characteristics: prior knowledge, personal innovativeness, and citizenship. Two case subjects among currently operating smart city services in South Korea were selected to empirically investigate our hypothesis. Results confirm the recognition of both public and private value is significantly related to the citizens' personal characteristics and resultant attitude towards acceptance and support for diffusion of the smart city services. This study is expected to provide useful implications for a new angle for the recipient of the smart city services, value orientation of the services, citizen's participation, and method selection for promotion.

• 사상체질의학회지
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.36-64
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• 2019

Introduction The purpose of this study was to review thirty years of studies on psychological characteristics of Sasang types to delineate generalizable psychological theories pertaining Sasang typology. Methods Research articles providing psychometric characteristics of each Sasang types were extracted from five database written in Korean and English. Demographic features of the participants, clinical methods for the Sasang type classification, and psychological characteristics of each Sasang types were reviewed and summarized. Results A total of 59 peer-reviewed research articles were found to be published from 1991 to 2018, and the So-Yang and So-Eum Sasang type showed distinctive and contrasting psychological features. The overlap between Eastern and Western psychology in Behavioral Activation and Inhibition System was highlighted as for personality studies, but the anxiety as a pathological factor was not found distinguishable between Sasang types. Discussion The present systematic review provided insight on psychological perspectives of Sasang typology, and would be useful for establishing unique construct of Korean Psychology.