• Title/Summary/Keyword: Present Situation

Search Result 2,260, Processing Time 0.034 seconds

Comparative Study on Nursing Education System of Korea and China (한.중 간호교육제도 및 교육과정 비교연구)

  • Moon, Heui-Ja;Kim, Kwang-Joo;Park, Shin-Ae;Kim, Il-Won;Park, Hua-Shun
    • Journal of East-West Nursing Research
    • /
    • v.7 no.1
    • /
    • pp.32-47
    • /
    • 2002
  • This study is a descriptive comparative investigated one to analyze nursing education system and curriculum of Korea and China trans-culturally. 1) Education System The basic level of nursing education in Korea consisted of 65 3-year- junior college of nursing (7379 students) and 48 4-year-bachelor of nursing college (2345 students) in 2000 showing more 3-year-junior college of nursing and its students. In China, western nursing as well as Chinese nursing education system were operating. In 2000, 501 western school of middle technical nursing, 29 school of middle technical nursing of middle level education, and 89 3-year western and 24 Chinese junior college of nursing, and 42 4-year western bachelor of nursing college and 10 Chinese of high level education have been established. The presence of Chinese school of middle technical nursing system seemed to be in slower development in nursing than Korea, but that of Chinese nursing education seemed to be advanced with its national identification prior to Korea. Post graduate continuous education for RN-Diploma and RN-BSN program has been opened as in Korea. The Hosa(護士) system in school of middle technical nursing in China reflects lower level of education than Korea. But it can be a merit, other than in Korea, without nurses aids, when they are acting under supervision of nurses and led by them, and there presents a special course for promotion up to high level education. Graduate school in Korea is divided into general type opening a curriculum for MS in 1960 and as of 2000, 21 general types for majoring in nursing. The PhD course in Korea was established in 1978, and after that the PhD courses have been opening in 14 universities at present. China established master degree course in 1991 and as of 7 colleges are ongoing, and the doctoral course is now under planning, resulting slower development than Korea. 2) Education of theory and clinical practice in Korea and Chine (1) Korea's 3-year junior nursing college have 51 subjects, 49 subjects in China, which was not different. China was following education of ideology and medical. 4-year Bachelor of Science College has 92 subjects in Korea with cultural subjects and essential major studies/elective in theory education in Korea, while 63 subjects in China, showed wider selection in Korea's education. (2) Korea's 3-year and 4-year nursing colleges performed clinical practice education parallel with theoretical education for a certain period, block or theory/practice system. While China's 3-year and 4 or 5-year-colleges educated the theory first and then practice for one year in the last grade, integrating each situation of the departments and the theory. (3) Korea's oriental nursing theory in nursing education was performed in 28 colleges of 65 nationwide ones of 3-year junior nursing colleges, but only one school was educating clinical practice. In 4-year bachelor of nursing colleges, the oriental nursing theory was done in 14 among 48 investigated. And 1-4 subjects of them were doing, and 4 schools performed of clinical practice, showing more reinforced than the junior colleges. China's 3-year and 4-5-year western nursing colleges taught two subjects of Chinese medicine nursing. China's 3-year & 4-5-year College of Chinese medicine nursing, theory of Chines medicine nursing education taught eight subjects. (4) 5-year colleges of Chinese medicine western integrated nursing, theory of Chinese medicine nursing education consisted of twelve Chinese medicine nursing subjects and two of Chinese medicine western integrated nursing subjects. China was tempting a new development of a pattern of Chinese medicine nursing subjects reinforced. 3) The verification of Korean and Chinese nurse's license. The verification test of Chinese nurses license is differentiated at the level of education other than in Korea. Expire date is 2 years and a qualified test must be done to a renewal. And the continuing education hours are 72 per year, which is more enforced than Korean nurses (10 hours a year). In accordance with WTO regulations, we should prepare for opening foreign hospital, educating oriental nursing subjects. And on this, it is recommendable to settle a basic frame research to run the oriental nursing practice ongoing. 1. It is desirable to develop the oriental nursing subjects to apply its idea to the western nursing and differentiate Korean nursing. 2. It is desirable to certify oriental nurse's characters, to expand and develop the nursing areas to practice it, and to establish the oriental nursing system. 3. It is expectable to promote Korean nursing specialization to develop the oriental nursing as a professional and to create its demand.

  • PDF

A Study on the Mobile Medical Service Program -Based on the Community Diagnosis of a Remote Farm Area- (순회진료사업(巡回診療事業)의 문제점(問題点)과 개선방향(改善方向) (일부(一部) 무의지역에 대(對)한 지역사진단(地域社診斷)을 중심(中心)으로))

  • Park, Hung-Bae;Choi, Dong-Wook
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
    • /
    • v.11 no.1
    • /
    • pp.86-97
    • /
    • 1978
  • The mobile medical service has been operated for many years by a number of medical schools and hospitals as a most convenient means of medical service delivery to the people residing in such area where the geographical and socioeconomic conditions are not good enough to enjoy modern medical care. Despite of official appraisal showing off simply with numbers of outpatients treated and medical persons participated, however, as well recognized, the capability (in respect of budget, equipment and time) of those mobile medical teams is so limitted that it often discourages the recipients as well as medical participants themselves. In the midst of rising need to secure medical service of good quality to all parts of the country, and of developing concept of primary health care system, authors evaluated the effectiveness of and problems associated with mobile medical servies program through the community diagnosis of a village (Opo-myun, Kwangju-gun) to obtain the information which may be halpful for future improvement. 1. Owing to the nationwide Sae-Maul movement powerfully practiced during last several years, living environment of farm villages generally and remarkably improved including houses, water supply and wastes disposal etc. Neverthless, due to limitations in budget time and lack of knowledge (probably the most important), these improvements tend to keep up appearances only and are far from the goal which may being practical benefit in promoting the health of the community. 2. As a result of intensive population policy led by the government since 1962, there has been considerable advances in understanding and the rate of practicing family planning through out the villages and yet, one should see many things, especially education, to be done. Fifty eight per cent of mothers have not received prenatal check and the care for most (72%) delivery was offered by laymen at home. 3. Approximately seven per cent of the population was reported to have chronic illness but since only a few (practically none) of the people has had physical check up by doctors, the actual prevalence of chronic diseases may reach many times of the reported. The same fact was observed also in prevalence of tuberculosis; the patients registered at local health center totaled 31 comprising only 0.51% while the numbers in two neighboring villages (designated as demonstration area of tuberculosis control and mass examination was done recently) were 3.5 and 4.0% respectively. Prevalence rate of all dieseses and injuries expereinced during one month (July, 1977) was 15.8%. Only one tenth of those patients received treatment by physicians and one fifth was not treated at all. The situation was worse as for the chronic patients; 84% of all cases either have never been treated or discontinued therapy, and the main reasons were known to be financial difficulty and ignorance or indifference. 4. Among the patients treated by our mobile clinic, one third was chronic cases and 45% of all patients, by the opinion of doctors attended, were those who may be treated by specially trained nurses or other paramedics (objects of primary care). Besides, 20% of the cases required professional managements of level beyond the mobile team's capability and in this sense one may conclude that the effectiveness (performance) of present mobile medical team is quite limitted. According to above findings, the authors would like to suggest following for mobile medical service and overall medicare program for the people living in remote country side. 1. Establishment of primary health care system secured with effective communication and evacuation (between villages and local medical center) measures. 2. Nationwide enforcement of medical insurance system. 3. Simple outpatient care which now constitutes the main part of the most mobile medical services should largely be yielded up to primary health care unit of the village and the mobile team itself should be assigned on new and more urgent missions such as mass screening health examination of the villagers, health education with modern and effective audiovisual aids, professional training and consultant services for the primary health care organization.

  • PDF

A Case Study of Environmental Design from a Viewpoint of Hybrid and Features of User Experience (하이브리드와 이용자체험 특성으로 본 환경설계의 사례연구)

  • Jang, Il-Young;Kim, Jin-Seon
    • Archives of design research
    • /
    • v.19 no.1 s.63
    • /
    • pp.201-214
    • /
    • 2006
  • Modern society is an age of vagueness and confusion. In addition, vagueness, complexity and variety are seen throughout art including modern philosophy, literature, and environmental design. A phenomenon like this shows that modern society has integrated different components as an organic relationship frequently crossing the boundary of fields. This feature can be regarded as hybrid related with accepting contradictory components and binding them into one under relationship between part and whole. As new design concept, presented are attitude to accept the two instead of attitude to select one of the alternatives, abundance instead of dearness, and ambiguity instead of simplicity. This principle has a crucial influence on creative design providing opposing contradiction and several alternative plans as non-deterministic form not completed one and, above all, useful information in mutual dependence and mutual relationship. When it comes to hybrid, therefore, a strategy is needed to consider layer of several fields getting out of standardizing space into a single space. As an event of this situation and concept, space experience means behaving freely based on experience of users' body. It can be known that this experience brings about users' more dynamic experience in comparison with the experience of seeing environmental design from a viewpoint of visual ism on the existing simplicity. Such a practical experience is subjective, synesthetic, and non-observational one. Therefore, hybrid has brought active users to the stage, which is distinguished from synesthesia felt through body's experience, not through observational attitude and visual space which achieve former balance and harmony with non-determination. That's because hybrid creatures are turning to a product resulted from creative imagination instead of from reappearance which makes text visualized. Such experience performed by user's active participation collapses the boundary between special elite-centered art and daily life and it is the present progressive form showing creation process of future events and new esthetic experience.

  • PDF

CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TREATMENT COURSES OF THE CHILDREN WITH SELECTIVE MUTISM (선택적 함구증 아동의 임상특성 및 치료경과)

  • Chung, Sun-Ju;Hong, Kang-E
    • Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
    • /
    • v.6 no.1
    • /
    • pp.74-89
    • /
    • 1995
  • Selective mutism is a childhood condition defined by persisten failure to speak in specific social situation when speaking is expected, dispite preserved ability to comprehend spoken language and speak. Present study is to investigate clinical characteristics, treatment method and outcome of 23 children who were diagnosed as selective mutism by DSM-IV criteria at the child psychiatry ouptatient department of SNUH. The results were as follows : 1) The Sex ratio was 1: 4.8, female dominant Mear age of onset was 33 years old and mean age of first referral was 7.7 years old. 2) 22% of subjects had perinatal problem such as low birth weight, preterm birth, 26% of the subjects have history of delayed language development. There are subjects who had been separated with mam caretaker before 3 years old(26%) and who experienced physical or psychological trauma before 3 years old(26%). A few subjects had enurests(30%) and encoprests(4%). 3) Many subjects(65%) had symbiotic relationship with their mother. These families consist of dominant, verbally aggressive mother and passive father. Parents of 39% of all subjects were judged to have definite psychopathology(social phobic, depression, hysterical trait or alcohol problem) 26% of all subject, were reported physically abused. 4) The personality trait of the subjects were frequently described as follows(in order of frequency) ; Shy(100%), anxious(83%), stubborn(83%)m rigid and tense posture(78%), immature(65%) overdependent(65%), irritable(52%), manipulative(39%), depressive(39%). 5) The mean performance IQ of 16 subjects by KEDI-WISC was 88.3 Among them, the subjects with IQ below 69 were seven and those with IQ above 70 were nine. When comparing these two group(Mental retardation group vs Normal IQ group), we could find some difference in language development, personality trait, family dynamics and treatment outcome. 6) Among several treatment methods for selective mutism, play therapy was the most frequently used method(65%). Other commonly used treatment methods were pharmacotherapy(21%), behavioral therapy(8%), combined therapy(play therapy+pharmacotherapy+family therapy+behavioral therapy)(12%), 7) Regarding the outcome of treatment 8.6% was evaluated as Excellent, 30.4% as Good, 52% as Fair, 8.7% as Poor at the tinic of treatment. At follow up interview 21.7% was evaluated Excellent, 13% as Good, 21.7% as Fair, 34.8% as Poor. 8) We classified all subjects by Havden's 4 subtype. Symbiotic mutism was most common(65%) and other subtypes are Speech phobic mutism(8.6), Reactive mutism(13%) and Passive-aggressive mutism(30%).

  • PDF

Study on Development in Professional Work of Radiological Technologists (방사선사 업무의 발전에 관한 조사 연구)

  • Choi, Jong-Hak;Kim, Chang-Kyun;Kim, Won-Chul;Kim, Seung-Chul
    • Journal of radiological science and technology
    • /
    • v.29 no.3
    • /
    • pp.197-210
    • /
    • 2006
  • This study explored several agenda related to license system, education, professional work of radiological technologists(RTs) and a transition process of law for them to investigate a developmental strategy of RTs as a professional career. The results are as followings : 1. The national license system for RTs was started from 1965, 1965-1972 x-ray technicians(medical assistance), 1973-present(2006) radiotechnologist(medical technologist) since then. 2. The average pass ratio of national license examination(1965-2006) for RTs was 46.6%. The method, subjects and level of the examination should be improved. 3. The education term for RTs has been changed since 1963 ; 1963-1990 two year college, 1991-1999 three year college, 2000-2006 four year and three year college depending on universities and colleges. As of 2006, there are twelve 4-year universities and eighteen 3-year colleges. The total number of new students were 1,956. 4. The new developmental paradigm should be made for technology education of RTs corresponding to the development of medicine and science. 5. The qualification system of clinical specialists in radio-technology field needs to be operated not by the non-governmental body(The Korean Radiological Technologists Association) but by the governmental body. 6. The vertical relationship among RTs, doctors and other medical workers should be rebuilt through the revision of law. Especially, doctors and dentists 'guidance authority' for RTs should be changed to 'request authority'. 7. The service extent of RTs should be extended in medical fields corresponding to professional work of RTs and a revision of the law needed for this situation.

  • PDF

Development Plan of Guard Service According to the LBS Introduction (경호경비 발전전략에 따른 위치기반서비스(LBS) 도입)

  • Kim, Chang-Ho;Chang, Ye-Chin
    • Korean Security Journal
    • /
    • no.13
    • /
    • pp.145-168
    • /
    • 2007
  • Like to change to the information-oriented society, the guard service needs to be changed. The communication and hardware technology develop rapidly and according to the internet environment change from cable to wireless, modern person can approach every kinds of information service using wireless communication machinery which can be moved such as laptop, computer, PDA, mobile phone and so on, LBS field which presents the needing information and service at anytime, anywhere, and which kinds of device expands it's territory all the more together with the appearance of ubiquitous concept. LBS use the chip in the mobile phone and make to confirm the position of the joining member anytime within several tens centimeters to hundreds meters. LBS can be divided by the service method which use mobile communication base station and apply satellite. Also each service type can be divided by location chase service, public safe service, location based information service and so on, and it is the part which will plan with guard service development. It will be prospected 8.460 hundred million in 2005 years and 16.561 hundred million in 2007 years scale of market. Like this situation, it can be guessed that the guard service has to change rapidly according to the LBS application. Study method chooses documentary review basically, and at first theory method mainly uses the second documentary examination which depends on learned journal and independent volume which published in the inside and the outside of the country, internet searching, other kinds of all study report, statute book, thesis which published at public order research institute of the Regional Police Headquarter, police operation data, data which related with statute, documents and statistical data which depend on private guard company and so on. So the purpose of the study gropes in accordance with the LBS application, and present the problems and improvement method to analyze indirect of manager side of operate guard adaptation service of LBS, government side which has to activate LBS, systematical, operation management, manpower management and education training which related with guard course side which has to study and educate in accordance with application of the new guard service, as well as intents to excellent quality service of guard.

  • PDF

Current Status and Prospects of Community Nutrition in Korea (한국 지역사회영양의 현황과 전망)

  • 채범석;한정호
    • Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
    • /
    • v.1 no.1
    • /
    • pp.9-27
    • /
    • 1996
  • The nutritional status is strictly related with flood production, flood processing, and distribution along with habits, education and technological achievement, adapted and adjusted to socio-economic conditions. All these factors are independently affecting the nutritional status of populations. In addition to the above mentioned factors launch of it is useful to consider two points ; unification of the South and the North Korea and WTO. The present study gives and overview of basic knowledge about nutritional status of Korean by using availab1e data in relation to nutrition. The basic characteristics of Korean diet with proportions high in carbohydrate and low in fat, have been relatively constant for the past two decades. The average daily flood intake in terms of weight of flood per person is relatively constant throughout the years. Although the proportion of animal food intake tends to increase recently, the Korean diet is still insufficient in meat, eggs, milk, and fish. Moreover because milk has not been accustomed flood with the general population and not much used in traditional flood preparation in Korea, milk consumption was especially low in comparison with western countries. The total energy intake was relatively constant throughout the years from 1969 to 1993. However, changes in the composition have occurred in the past two decades. The amount and proportions of fat have been s1ightly increasing while the total amount of carbohydrate has been decreasing. The nutrition preblems of Korea have changed over the past severa1 decades. The general adequacy of protein and energy existing after Korean War(1950) was resolved now. Since then the average diet appears to be nearly desirable in terms of rapid rates of growth during childhood and attainment of progressively stature and body weight at maturity. The dietary habits of some young people in these days seem to be taking a more western style diets. This trends if established by habit may lead to a marked change in the traditional diet and health. I think Korean nutritional experiences have potential values for tole other countries in Asia and in western countries. Korean diet illustrates a high level of nutritional status and health attainable will a largely vegetable diet : high in complex carbohydrates, and dietary fibre, and low in tat, and reasonable amount of total protein. This is significant for developing and developed countries that must select specific goals fir adequate nutrition for the people. Compared to the western countries, Koreas different incidence of coronary heart disease and malignancy demonstrates the significance of environment and probably the prominent role of diet in the development of these diseases. The changes occurring in the Korean diet of fir the unusual opportunity to assess the effect of diet upon chronic degenerative disease. In the future, the Korean diet might be continue to change significantly These changes are being influenced by socioeconomic factors that have been emerging and growing stronger since mid-l980 and that probably continue to be potent. The expanded purchasing power of the consumer results in increased discretionary purchases. In the case of foodstuffs, the consumer demands appear to be directed toward items of higher protein content, which, being primarily animal products, are inevitably accompanied by an increased consumption of fat. The continued availability of these more expensive flood items depends upon the balance of foreign trade favouring their importation and domestic production. A regression of foreign trade could result in a decreased supply for the consumer, whereas continued growth of trade iou]d provide freedom for increasing availability to the consumer. In this latter situation the exact choice of foodstuffs is depending upon comsumer tastes and the pressures that may influence it.

  • PDF

Photoimmunology -Past, Present and Future-

  • Daynes, Raymond A.;Chung, Hun-Taeg;Roberts, Lee K.
    • The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
    • /
    • v.21 no.3
    • /
    • pp.311-329
    • /
    • 1986
  • The experimental exposure of animals to sources of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) which emit their energy primarily in the UVB region (280-320nm) is known to result in a number of well-described changes in the recipient's immune competence. Two such changes include a depressed capacity to effectively respond immunologically to transplants of syngeneic UVR tumors and a markedly reduced responsiveness to known inducers of delayedtype (DTH) and contact hypersensitivity (CH) reactions. The results of experiments that were designed to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for UVR-induced immunomodulation have implicated: 1) an altered pattern of lymphocyte recirculation, 2) suppressor T cells(Ts), 3) deviations in systemic antigen presenting cell (APC) potential. 4) changes in the production of interleukin-1-like molecules, and 5) the functional inactivation of epidermal Langerhans cells in this process. The exposure of skin to UVR, therefore, causes a number of both local and systemic alterations to the normal host immune system. In spite of this seeming complexity and diversity of responses, our recent studies have established that each of the UVR-mediated changes is probably of equal importance to creating the UVR-induced immunocompromised state. Normal animals were exposed to low dose UVR radiation on their dorsal surfaces under conditions where a $3.0\;cm^2$ area of skin was physically protected from the light energy. Contact sensitization of these animals with DNFB, to either the irradiated or protected back skin, resulted in markedly reduced CH responses. This was observed in spite of a normal responsiveness following the skin sensitization to ventral surfaces of the UVR-exposed animals. Systemic treatment of the low dose UVR recipients with the drug indomethacin (1-3 micrograms/day) during the UVR exposures resulted in a complete reversal of the depressions observed following DNFB sensitization to "protected" dorsal skin while the altered responsiveness found in the group exposed to the skin reactive chemical through directly UVR-exposed sites was maintained. These studies implicate the importance of EC as effective APC in the skin and also suggest that some of the systemic influences caused by UVR exposure involve the production of prostaglandins. This concept was further supported by finding that indomethacin treatment was also capable of totally reversing the systemic depressions in CH responsiveness caused by high dose UVR exposure (30K joules/$m^2$) of mice. Attempts to analyze the cellular mechanisms responsible established that the spleens of all animals which demonstrated altered CH responses, regardless of whether sensitization was through a normal or an irradiated skin site, contained suppressor cells. Interestingly, we also found normal levels of T effector cells in the peripheral lymph nodes of the UVR-exposed mice that were contact sensitized through normal skin. No effector cells were found when skin sensitization took place through irradiated skin sites. In spite of such an apparent paradox, insight into the probable mechanisms responsible for these observations was provided by establishing that UVR exposure of skin results in a striking and dose-dependent blockade of the efferent lymphatic vessels in all peripheral lymph nodes. Therefore, the afferent phases of immune responses can apparently take place normally in UVR exposed animals when antigen is applied to normal skin. The final effector responses, however, appear to be inhibited in the UVR-exposed animals by an apparent block of effector cell mobility. This contrasts with findings in the normal animals. Following contact sensitization, normal animals were also found to simultaneously contain both antigen specific suppressor T cells and lymph node effector cells. However, these normal animals were fully capable of mobilizing their effector cells into the systemic circulation, thereby allowing a localization of these cells to peripheral sites of antigen challenge. Our results suggest that UVR is probably not a significant inducer of suppressor T-cell activity to topically applied antigens. Rather, UVR exposure appears to modify the normal relationship which exists between effector and regulatory immune responses in vivo. It does so by either causing a direct reduction in the skin's APC function, a situation which results in an absence of effector cell generation to antigens applied to UVR-exposed skin sites, inhibiting the capacity of effector cells to gain access to skin sites of antigen challenge or by sequestering the lymphocytes with effector cell potential into the draining peripheral lymph nodes. Each of these situations result in a similar effect on the UVR-exposed host, that being a reduced capacity to elicit a CH response. We hypothesize that altered DTH responses, altered alloresponses, and altered graft-versus-host responses, all of which have been observed in UVR exposed animals, may result from similar mechanisms.

  • PDF

The Estimation of Marine Environmental Capacity for the Reception of Cooling Water from HTPP in Southern Waters of Cheju Island using a 3-D Hydrodynamic Model (화순화력발전소 주변해역의 온배수 환경용량 산정)

  • Kim Gwang-Su;Choi Young-Chan;Lee Moon-Jin
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
    • /
    • v.3 no.3
    • /
    • pp.3-12
    • /
    • 2000
  • The field surveys and the measurements of seawater temperatures were conducted every month from 1997 to 1999, and the distributions of seawater temperature were simulated and reproduced by a three dimensional hydrodynamic numerical model over the southern waters of Cheju island. In order to estimate the marine environmental capacity for the reception of the heat loads of cooling water discharged from Hwasoon Thermal Power Plant(HTPP) in the study area, the simulations for predicting the situation of unfavorable environment in which marine organisms might not be satisfied with change in seawater temperature were peformed using a three dimensional hydrodynamic numerical model by controlling quantitatively the heat loads of cooling water from HTPP Currently, HTPP discharges cooling water of 35.9℃ into the sea as much as 112,800m³/day in summer. As the results of simulations, the more the heat loads from the power plant increase, the more increase the seawater temperatures around the water areas adjacent to the power plant. In case the heat loads of cooling water from HTPP become about 5 times as high as the present loads, seawater temperatures at near-shore waters adjacent to HTPP appear to be increased to the extent of 0.5℃ above the existing seawater temperature in summer. The marine environmental capacity for the reception of thermal discharge from HTPP is estimated to be about 530×10/sup 6/kcal/day which is equivalent to the increase of a factor of 2 in the temperature of cooling water without any change in the discharge rate of cooling water or which is equivalent to the increase of a factor of 4.6 in the discharge rate of cooling water without any change in the temperature of cooling water. Comparing the case of the increase in the discharge rate of cooling water with the case of the increase in the temperature of cooling water on the basis of the same heat loads of 530×10/sup 6/kal/day, the former case is expected to increase seawater temperature a little higher and to extend the area affected by heat loads a little broader.

  • PDF

An alternative way of Animation Industry : Focusing on Avatar sevice's Lock-in Effect (애니메이션 산업의 대안적 연구 - 아바타 서비스의 소비자 고착화(lock-in) 전략을 중심으로)

  • Han, Chang-Wan
    • Cartoon and Animation Studies
    • /
    • s.6
    • /
    • pp.152-171
    • /
    • 2002
  • This study analyses the avatar service, which is recognized as an alternative strategy of animation industry. The research questions of this study are following: (1) How have the avatar services been developed and what are the present dominant types? (2) Which structural characteristics of e-business environment are needed for the success of avatar services? (3) What is the economic characteristics of avatar business model? To solve these research questions, the basic conditions and the structural characteristics of avatar services have been investigated. In the first place, two forms of avatar service are classified. One is the internet service site whole primary service is to provide chatting service based on avatar service. The other is the portal site in which many kinds of products and services are presented as bundles to meet the needs of internet users. So avatar service is one of bundles which those portal sites are providing with. In this study, the big five internet service sites are selected based on the profits they earned through the sales of avatar service. The result of analysis is that the pricing strategy of those big five sites is very different from those of traditional off-line markets. The pricing mechanism are based on the value which internet users endow with the avatar items, not based on the costs of making the products. Avatar is the representative informative goods. The informative goods have the original cost structures, constant fixed costs and zero marginal costs, so the providers of avatar services make much of the subjective values of consumers. The sayclub, which is the most successful avatar service site and earn the average sales of 3 billing won a month, takes the aggressive strategy of pricing avatar items at highest price in the industry. The avatar service providers which make lots of profits are planning of making differentiate the services, introducing well-known brand items and star-named items. Nevertheless, the fact that the members of the sayclub are not decreasing means that the network effect of the site is so strongly manifest. Moreover, the costs the members have paid for the avatar items are so big not as to switch from one site to the other site, it can be very costly. These switching costs are endemic in high-technology industries and digital contents industries. It can be so large that switching suppliers is virtually unthinkable, a situation known as 'lock-in'. When switching costs are substantial, competition can be intense to attract new customers, since, one they are locked in, they can be a substantial source of profit. The consumers of avatar items have switching costs if they subscribe for the new avatar service site. The switching costs can be subscription costs as well as the costs of giving up the items they already paid for. One common example of switching costs involves specialized supplies, as with inkjet printer cartridges. In this example, the switching cost is the purchase of a new printer. The market is competitive ex ante, but since cartridges are incompatible, it is monopolized dx post. So the providers of printer/cartridges set pricing printer so cheap and cartridges expensive. On the contrary, since the avatar service can be successful with the strong network effect, the providers of avatar services have to compete aggressively for new customers. So they allow the subscription at a low price(almost marginal cost) in the early market. The network effect can be maximized when the members are sufficiently growing. The providers which have the monopoly power with sufficient subscribers. begin to raise the prices over the lifetime of the product and make profits.

  • PDF