• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.262-268
• /
• 2010

Virtual communities (VCs) have developed rapidly, with more and more people participating in them to exchange information and opinions. A virtual community is a group of people who may or may not meet one another face to face, and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks. A business-to-consumer virtual community (B2CVC) is a commercial group that creates a trustworthy environment intended to motivate consumers to be more willing to buy from an online store. B2CVCs create a social atmosphere through information contribution such as recommendations, reviews, and ratings of buyers and sellers. Although the importance of B2CVCs has been recognized, few studies have been conducted to examine members' word-of-mouth behavior within these communities. This study proposes a model of involvement, statistics, trust, "stickiness," and word-of-mouth in a B2CVC and explores the relationships among these elements based on empirical data. The objectives are threefold: (i) to empirically test a B2CVC model that integrates measures of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors; (ii) to better understand the nature of these relationships, specifically through word-of-mouth as a measure of revenue generation; and (iii) to better understand the role of stickiness of B2CVC in CRM marketing. The model incorporates three key elements concerning community members: (i) their beliefs, measured in terms of their involvement assessment; (ii) their attitudes, measured in terms of their satisfaction and trust; and, (iii) their behavior, measured in terms of site stickiness and their word-of-mouth. Involvement is considered the motivation for consumers to participate in a virtual community. For B2CVC members, information searching and posting have been proposed as the main purpose for their involvement. Satisfaction has been reviewed as an important indicator of a member's overall community evaluation, and conceptualized by different levels of member interactions with their VC. The formation and expansion of a VC depends on the willingness of members to share information and services. Researchers have found that trust is a core component facilitating the anonymous interaction in VCs and e-commerce, and therefore trust-building in VCs has been a common research topic. It is clear that the success of a B2CVC depends on the stickiness of its members to enhance purchasing potential. Opinions communicated and information exchanged between members may represent a type of written word-of-mouth. Therefore, word-of-mouth is one of the primary factors driving the diffusion of B2CVCs across the Internet. Figure 1 presents the research model and hypotheses. The model was tested through the implementation of an online survey of CTrip Travel VC members. A total of 243 collected questionnaires was reduced to 204 usable questionnaires through an empirical process of data cleaning. The study's hypotheses examined the extent to which involvement, satisfaction, and trust influence B2CVC stickiness and members' word-of-mouth. Structural Equation Modeling tested the hypotheses in the analysis, and the structural model fit indices were within accepted thresholds: ${\chi}^2^$/df was 2.76, NFI was .904, IFI was .931, CFI was .930, and RMSEA was .017. Results indicated that involvement has a significant influence on satisfaction (p<0.001, ${\beta}$=0.809). The proportion of variance in satisfaction explained by members' involvement was over half (adjusted $R^2$=0.654), reflecting a strong association. The effect of involvement on trust was also statistically significant (p<0.001, ${\beta}$=0.751), with 57 percent of the variance in trust explained by involvement (adjusted $R^2$=0.563). When the construct "stickiness" was treated as a dependent variable, the proportion of variance explained by the variables of trust and satisfaction was relatively low (adjusted $R^2$=0.331). Satisfaction did have a significant influence on stickiness, with ${\beta}$=0.514. However, unexpectedly, the influence of trust was not even significant (p=0.231, t=1.197), rejecting that proposed hypothesis. The importance of stickiness in the model was more significant because of its effect on e-WOM with ${\beta}$=0.920 (p<0.001). Here, the measures of Stickiness explain over eighty of the variance in e-WOM (Adjusted $R^2$=0.846). Overall, the results of the study supported the hypothesized relationships between members' involvement in a B2CVC and their satisfaction with and trust of it. However, trust, as a traditional measure in behavioral models, has no significant influence on stickiness in the B2CVC environment. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on B2CVCs, specifically addressing gaps in the academic research by integrating measures of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in one model. The results provide additional insights to behavioral factors in a B2CVC environment, helping to sort out relationships between traditional measures and relatively new measures. For practitioners, the identification of factors, such as member involvement, that strongly influence B2CVC member satisfaction can help focus technological resources in key areas. Global e-marketers can develop marketing strategies directly targeting B2CVC members. In the global tourism business, they can target Chinese members of a B2CVC by providing special discounts for active community members or developing early adopter programs to encourage stickiness in the community. Future studies are called for, and more sophisticated modeling, to expand the measurement of B2CVC member behavior and to conduct experiments across industries, communities, and cultures.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.83-95
• /
• 2018

With recent technological advances in the shipbuilding industry, vessels have been improved in size and performance. As a result, an accident such as grounding, caused by a single ship-to-ship collision, could lead to a large-scale maritime disaster. Considering the seriousness of the situation, the international community has been consistently updating the standards for Electronic Navigational Chart(ENC) to improve the maritime safety. S-57, the existing ENC standard governed by the International Hydrographic Organization(IHO), includes standards for generating conventional binary-type ENC data sets. The S-57 standard, however, has not been updated since the release of Version 3.1 in December 2000. Since then, the standard has failed to reflect technological development regarding maritime spacial information, which has been consistently improving. In an effort to address this concern, the IHO designated S-100, i.e., the next-generation ENC production standard. S-100 differs from S-57 in data exchange type. Contrary to the conventional ENC standards, which use binary-type data, S-10X, based on the next-generation ENC standards, uses ENC data composed of Feature Catalogue, Portrayal Catalogue, and GML. Considering this fact, it is necessary to update S-58, the ENC validation check standard, or designate a new standard for ENC validation checks. This study is developed own software to implement validation checks for new types of data, and identified improvement points based on the test results.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.51-58
• /
• 1993

The integrated solid waste management for Seoul Metropolitan city can be established on the basis of the following hierarchy of priorities: 1. Efforts for source reduction should be propelled by both government and citizens to achieve the effects of resource conservation. The adequate production and consumption which are environmentally amenable and sustainable can be induced by the reasonable imposition of deposit money for waste treatment to one-time use products. To accomplish source reduction effectively, the induction of legal and institutional regulation of producer and consumer participation is requisite. 2. For resource recovery, wastes generated should be recycled as far as practicable. Community residents are responsible to separate discharge, the authorities concerned have responsibility of separate collection, and recycling industry should be assissted through tax reduction and financing. Resource separation facilities can be constructed at Kimpo Metropolitan landfill site for wastes not separately collected due to some unavoidable circumstances. 3. Garbage should be composted. Garbage is uneconomical for incineration, because it has high moisture content and low calorie, thus there is no reason for the incineration of garbage even though garbage is classified into combustibles. Composting facilities can be located at sites which are not densely populated and easily accessible to transportation, for example, Kimpo Metropolitan landfill site. Compost produced can be managed by the authorities for the use of fertilizer to a green tract of suburban land and farms. 4. Nonhazardous combustible wastes not recyclable can be utilized for thermal recovery at the incinerators which are completely equipped with pollution control devices. According to the trend of local autonomy and the equity principle of local autonomous entities, incineration facilities of minimal capacity required can be constructed at each districts of Seoul Metropolitan city which have organized local assembly. In case of Yangcheon district, the economically combustible waste quantity is about 260 tons/day which exceeds 150 tons/day, the incineration capacity of existing facility. But, from now on, waste quantity can be reduced substantially by the intensive efforts of citizens for source reduction and recycling and the institutional support of administrative organizations. Especially, it is indispensable for the government to constitute institutional and technological bases that can recycle paper and plastics form 43% of waste generated. A good time for constructing of incineration facilities for municipal solid waste can be postponed to the time that pollution control technologies of domestic enterprises are fully developed to satisfy the standards of air pollution prevention, because the life expectancy of Kimpo Metropolitan landfill site is about 25 years. Within this period, institutional improvements and technological advancements can be attained, while the air qual. ity of Seoul Metropolitan city can be ameliorated to the level to afford incineration facilities. 5. For final disposal, incombustibles and ash are landfilled sanitarily at Kimpo Metropolitan landfill site.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.55-65
• /
• 2009

By definition, smart clothing describes a garment whose functionality is enhanced by technological advancements in order to ease one’'s lifestyle. To know user’'s understanding and needs, the research had consisted of brainstorming sessions, personal interviews, focus group meeting, and a series of content analyses. Ten of the interview subjects and focus group panel were found by contacting women aged 56-64 in the Ithaca community, NY. They were prompted with general questions on style choices for their lifestyles and age group and then presented with two examples of smart clothing to discuss and critique. Meanwhile, the other three interview subjects, located outside of the Ithaca community, were aged either above or below the targeted bracket. These subjects were interviewed as a method of comparison on multiple levels. Findings had shown that there was indeed a need for smart clothing amongst the increasingly populated demographic of older women: devices to help one’'s body temperature regulation and vision problem, and well-designed clothing. However, the functionalities must be carefully constructed and conveyed in order to be taken seriously by the mainstream consumer market. Once successfully designed, the smart clothing will ideally create a greater sense of autonomy for older women.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
• /
• v.18
• /
• pp.225-245
• /
• 1992

The button is a part of costume. But it has the symbolism of costume in itself and reflects the sociocultural phenomena. The purpose of this study is to clarify symbolism of button of eighteenth and nineteenth century which had been most popular. This study is based on the library research. Through this paper, I reached conclusions as follows. The symbolism of button is found in various ways. First, Aesthetics is found in material, color, design and type etc. of button. Especially Indian silver button of abstract type shows well distinctive aesthetics of Indians. Second, The material and the number of button vary with one's status and show off one's privilege. I England, there was the rule, in which the symbol of the King was a silver button with a figure of lion. The livery button represents his family to the nble and shows the meaning of obedience to the servant. Third, The button on uniform varies with ranks. This is prominent in a uniform of a soldier or a policeman. Fourth Material and craft of button show one's economic position. The button gives a Very good picture of what one's life was then. Precious button with gold, silver, and other jewels is an index to one's property. Fifth, The button of political event is used for election, which shows the face and the name of runner. Besides that, there were buttons designed for the flag or the slogan for political event. Sixth, The button of social event reflects a social phase of life in war or revolution, for example, it satirizes the burning of the Bastille in the French Revolution, or the taxpayer bearing the burden. Seventh, the buttons that symbolize a historic event are made to commemorante an epochal and critical occurrence or an important person's birth, death, visit to some place, etc., Eighth, there were well-known persons, for example, a president, a king, a queen, a singer, or an artist in the buton of personality. Nineth, The button of one's company shows one's community in figures or pictures, that is, this button is used as a symbol one's community. Tenth, The button varies with the development of science and technology. It gives a very good picture of what it was and what the technological level was. Eleventh, The buttons that symmbolize on occupation most impressively are uniform buttons. Symbolic marks related with a particular occupation are carved on the buttons of compary employees' uniforms. Twelfth, Various natural phenomena are designed to appear on buttons, Some express themselves simply as they are, and others appear as a symbolic form such as environmental relationship between men and nature, four seasons, a constellation and all other natural things occurring during a year. Finally, The button of rebus is a motto expressed by a combination with objects figures, letters, words, or phrases.

• Korean journal of communication and information
• /
• v.57
• /
• pp.250-266
• /
• 2012

In neo-liberalism, the change-value of the market and of the machandise based on the individual as the consumer dominate the public sphere, and the capital power encroach on it. with the technological revolution. At the same time the public sphere as such represent the media sphere, which is more and more subordinate, and have no choice but to do to the governmental authority having political power privatized. The private usage of reason in the public sphere is carried out at the structual level. How can we call such a space in which the private usage of reason is generalized and dominant as the public sphere? And so now, we sound out the possibility of the public sphere such as a new space of the universality where the public usage of reason can be realized without any limits and with free. So, when we imagine the proletarian public sphere, in which co-exist the divers private interests, as a new public sphere capable to be constructed, we can address a question as follow. What is the caracteristic of the proletarian public sphere in modern society?, Is the public community able to be formed and realized in such space? How would have the proletarian public sphere the carateristics of the publis sphere? What is the attribute of the community that the proletarian public sphere would make, and what is its force of emancipation? The power is no longer stable and static. Rather, it is reconstructed and reorganized in the divers phases of the everyday life. It is the reason why we put on the order of the day the proletarian public sphere as alternative public space, which would be a place of divers hegemonic representation. And now, we are aware of the beginning of thses changes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.29 no.7
• /
• pp.1104-1116
• /
• 2019

In this study, we investigated the potential of using sediment bioelectrochemical systems (SBESs) for in situ treatment of the water and sediment in brackish aquaculture ponds polluted with uneaten feed. An SBES integrated into a laboratory-scale tank simulating a brackish aquaculture pond was established. This test tank and the control (not containing the SBES) were fed with shrimp feed in a scheme that mimics a situation where 50% of feed is uneaten. After the SBES was inoculated with microbial sources from actual shrimp pond sediments, electricity generation was well observed from the first experimental week, indicating successful enrichment of electrochemically active bacteria in the test tank sediment. The electricity generation became steady after 3 weeks of operation, with an average current density of $2.3mA/m^2$ anode surface and an average power density of $0.05mW/m^2$ anode surface. The SBES removed 20-30% more COD of the tank water, compared to the control. After 1 year, the SBES also reduced the amount of sediment in the tank by 40% and thus could remove approximately 40% more COD and approximately 52% more nitrogen from the sediment, compared to the control. Insignificant amounts of nitrite and nitrate were detected, suggesting complete removal of nitrogen by the system. PCR-DGGE-based analyses revealed the dominant presence of Methylophilus rhizosphaerae, Desulfatitalea tepidiphila and Thiothrix eikelboomii, which have not been found in bioelectrochemical systems before, in the bacterial community in the sediment of the SBES-containing tank. The results of this research demonstrate the potential application of SBESs in helping to reduce water pollution threats, fish and shrimp disease risks, and thus farmers' losses.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.76-89
• /
• 2023

One of the technologies in urban agriculture, hydroponics cultivation, has primarily focused on technological development, resulting in a lack of research on urban agriculture's cultural utilization aspects, encompassing cultural values associated with urban residents' leisure activities. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the participation constraints perceived by school community members when implementing urban farming activities using hydroponics and understand the structural relationships between the variables that influence decision-making from the perspective of leisure activities in urban farming. As a result, participation constraints in urban farming activities utilizing hydroponics were first categorized into intrinsic, interpersonal, and structural factors. Second, the results of hypothesis model verification showed that interpersonal constraints significantly influenced the participants' willingness to participate and their expected behavior. This study found the multidimensional perceptions of school community members regarding hydroponic urban farming conducted in urban spaces, particularly rooftops, and revealed the influence of decision-making factors on participation when conducting urban farming activities using hydroponic cultivation.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.273-278
• /
• 2024

The purpose of this study is to examine the limitations of university operating system changes as a result of the policy changes and outcomes of the university lifelong education system support project by project period, and based on this, to propose a development plan to support the university's adult learning system. In this study, we sought to investigate changes in the higher education environment and changes in lifelong education in universities through analysis of literature and various data. The changing times of technological innovation and changes in knowledge require continuous learning even after school education, and the need for re-education and improved education is increasing. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education have been actively carrying out support projects for lifelong learning-centered universities since 2008 to provide adult learners with opportunities to study. This project is centered around universities and the local community, and is promoting various types of changes in educational operation, such as reforming the university's academic system to be adult-friendly and operating night or weekend classes in order to provide educational opportunities for adult learners. Now, universities must play a role as a hub of regional lifelong education for the coexistence of the region and university, and as a key institution responsible for the contemporary tasks of sustainable development and coexistence between the university and the community.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.137-152
• /
• 1997

The siting process of municipal solid waste treatment facility consists of a structured set of policies that guide the implementation of waste management goals. The main problems of siting process are the social and political context or the community opposition. During the past, the traditional siting process has been obsolete in most pans of the country, so public officials and researchers have tried to experiment with new policies and procedures. A number of controversial issues offer insight into the factors that are related to the local residents opposition to new waste treatment facilities. The purpose of this case study focused on the establishment of criteria in the site selection of waste treatment facilities which can carry out resources recovery. incineration and landfill simultaneously. That is to say. the main points are to make concrete the quantification standards of assignment and take an objective allotment scale according to the assessment factors. The summarized results are as follows; 1. To promote the site selection based on the guideline such as rational. objective and due process of law, it is desirable to inform the local residents the methods of assessment in advance. 2. Totally 20 factors for the site selection are divided into 3 categories such as living environment characteristics, technological location characteristics and socio-economic factors. And the supposed magnitude of weight in all items are equally applied. 3. In regard to 20 assessment factors, the allotment of point is distributed by the specific location characteristics. Namely to make the assessment easily, each factors are set the scale from 1 to 5 points en masse along the data which are acquired in the region.