• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.37
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• pp.335-360
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether high-level(level 6) essay-writing questions in Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) have been presented appropriately so as to enable foreign test-takers to display their Korean writing ability properly, and to provide some suggestions on how those questions need to be changed. To accomplish this purpose, all the essay-writing questions were collected from the 33 TOPIK tests, from the 2nd in 1998 to the 35thin 2014, and analyzed from the perspectives of their topics and formats. The results are that high-level TOPIK essay-writing questions showed a strong tendency to take as their topics Korean sociocultural structures and phenomena, or current issues in Korea, and that they frequently employed guided writing formats by providing preset ideas or/and contexts for test-takers to write in a guided way; such tendencies were analyzed to shed a negative influence on test-takers displaying their writing ability and creativity, because those topics and preset ideas or contexts provided do not allow them to express their own opinions or positions freely. It is suggested that TOPIK essay-writing questions should be changed to deal with objective and general topics which enable test-takers to write freely and logically in Korean based on their experience, because TOPIK is not a test to check whether they have enough background knowledge about the Korean society and culture, but a test to assess their Korean proficiency.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.189-216
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• 2019

The frequent occurrence of overwhelming disasters necessitates risk communication systems capable of operating effectively in disaster contexts. Few studies have examined risk communication networks during disasters through social networking services (SNS). This study therefore investigates the patterns of risk communication by comparing Korean and international networks based on the social amplification of risk communication in the context of the Sewol ferry disaster (SFD). In addition, differences in language use and patterns between Korean and international contexts are identified through a semantic analysis using KrKwick, NodeXL, and UCINET. The SFD refers to the sinking of the ferry while carrying 476 people, mostly secondary school students. The results for interpersonal risk communication reveal that the structure of the Korean risk communication network differed from that of the international network. The Korean network was more fragmented, and its clustering was more sparsely knitted based on the impact and physical proximity of the disaster. Semantic networks imply that the physical distance from the disaster affected the content of risk communication, as well as the network pattern.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.107-127
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• 2008

Critics are inclined to interpret J.M. Coetzee's novels in South African contexts, which Coetzee's own background seems to support. One has to bear in mind, however, that Coetzee tends to "see the South African situation as only one manifestation of a wider historical situation to do with colonialism, late colonialism, neo-colonialism." In other words, putting too much emphasis on South African contexts may diminish or undermine significance of Coetzee's multi-layered novels. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to highlight what Coetzee has to say about American colonialism/imperialism and to emphasize importance of "postcolonial rhetoric of simultaneity" which is repeatedly shown in his fictional works. It gives a meticulous attention to and analyzes "Vietnam Project," the first novella of Dusklands, Coetzee's very first novel, which depicts and characterizes "what Chomsky in the context of Vietnam [War] called 'the backroom boys.'" "The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee," "When a Woman Grows Older," and Diary of a Bad Year are occasionally brought into discussion as well. This kind of study seems timely and pertinent especially when we take into account the rampant American imperialism which has devastated and almost traumatized the world.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.165-188
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• 2021

Purpose This study was conducted to identify the multidimensional role of institutional mechanisms in the linear relationship of satisfaction, trust and repurchase intention, which are used as an important concept in the research of e-commerce. To this end, a research model was proposed by combining concepts which are the concept of perceived effectiveness of institutional mechanisms for overall e-commerce environment(e.g., PEEIM) and the concep of perceived effectiveness of institutional structures(e.g., PEIS) of a specific marketplace based on the social cognitive theory. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted by dividing the data into two groups to identify institutional mechanisms and trust-building relationships according to the institutional contexts inherent in e-commerce. The institutional contexts were set up for the top two online companies and the bottom two online companies according to the results of the open market brand assessment from 2018 to 2019 in South Korea. Findings The result of this study found that PEIS had a direct impact on trust in both high and low groups respectively whereas PEEIM presented different paradoxical results in high and low groups. In the relationship between the satisfaction and the trust in the vendor of the high group, PEEIM showed negative moderating effects but in the relationship between the trust and the repurchase intention of the low group PEEIM showed positive moderating effects.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2021

While recent acoustic studies have reported associations of fronted sibilants (fricatives /s s⁎/ and affricates /tɕ tɕ⁎/) with gender in Seoul Korean, there have not been any studies examining the relationship of the variants with adult speakers' ages. The current study analyzes sibilant productions from 39 adult speakers born between 1942 and 2008 (19 females) in terms of spectral peak frequencies (SPFs) in frication, an acoustic index of place of articulation (POA). The results indicate some phonetic contexts where higher sibilant SPFs, i.e., fronter POAs, are associated with younger adults and those fronted variants are realized in a gender-differentiated manner -- tense affricates and word-initial tense fricatives before /i/ in the females' productions, and word-medial tense fricatives before /a/ in the males' productions. The findings confirm that the distributions of the fronted sibilants are accounted for not only by the speakers' gender but also by their ages, indicating that the fronted variants are innovative forms of realizing sibilants in Seoul Korean. In addition, the current results convincingly show that the fronted sibilant variants are not mere reflections of individuals' physiological differences since they are not observed across all of the examined phonetic contexts.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.285-309
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• 2021

It is commonly understood that students' autonomous motivation and individualistic orientations and instructors' autonomy support are important for student-centered learning (SCL). However, few studies have examined this assumption. To help researchers and practitioners design more engaging SCL experiences across diverse cultural contexts, this study examines the associations of these factors with SCL engagement and how these associations compare in different cultures. University students in South Korea and the United States participated in a bold SCL assignment, called Pink Time, in which students decide what and how they learn. Linear, multivariate models were estimated in each context to identify and compare relationships between SCL engagement and student characteristics and perceptions. We found that engagement was high in both contexts. Autonomous motivation, individualism, and perceived instructor support each had significant associations with SCL engagement in South Korea. In the US, which had a smaller sample size, only perceived instructor support was significantly associated. These findings suggest that SCL strategies can be effective across cultures. Also, the narrower classroom context, specifically instructors' support, may be a stronger driver of engagement than the broader societal context. This study contributes to the scholarly discussion regarding SCL in diverse settings and offers several implications for instructors.

• Journal of Wellbeing Management and Applied Psychology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study is a preliminary study to develop a comprehensive information avoidance scale that includes various search contexts. Research design, data and methodology: This study is a part of exploratory sequential design of mixed method for the development of information avoidance scale. Based on the themes derived from the analysis of the in-depth interview data collected in the qualitative research of the first stage of the study, 45 preliminary items on information search and avoidance were constructed. The factors related to information searching included information recognition, information seeking purpose, and information search expectations. Individual, information, time, and system factors were related to information avoidance. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed for the correlation between factor items, and Cronbach's alpha analysis was performed for the reliability analysis of the items. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to examine the construct validity of 35 items of information avoidance. Results: Among the information avoidance items, one of the less relevant among information purpose items, two information factor items, and one time factor item were excluded. Conclusions: A secondary survey should be conducted to confirm the validity and reliability of the scale composed of adjusted items (35) based on the results of exploratory factor analysis. The strength of this preliminary scale is that it was developed based on vivid qualitative data of ordinary people who had experiences of search and avoidance in various search contexts.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2022

Purpose: The purposes of this study was to describe the lived experience structures of married immigrant women with chronic diseases in reorganizing their lives in a variety of situations and contexts. Methods: This study applied grounded theory approach, and the participants were 15 married immigrant women with chronic disease. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews and then analyzed by the method in Strauss and Corbin (1998). Results: The extracted data were organized 41 concepts, 21 subcategories, and 8 categories. The central phenomenon was determined to be "Life turned into a chronic disease." The causal conditions were "Undergoing physical and mental stress from marriage", "Lack of information on chronic diseases." The extracted contexts was "The demand for health resources." action and interaction strategies, "Finding problems and solutions." The intervention conditions influencing the strategies was "Establishing a support system." The result of such action was "To settle down in a way of life that suits your conditions." Conclusion: By providing a comprehensive and integrative understanding of how married immigrant women with chronic disease reorganize their lives, the study is expected to contribute to the development of social systems and national policies.

• Journal of Smart Tourism
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.21-31
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• 2022

This review paper aims at providing a systematic analysis of articles published in various journals and related to the uses and business applications of big data. The goal is to provide a holistic picture of the place of big data in the tourism industry. The reviewed articles have been selected for the period 2013-2020 and have been classified into 8 broad categories namely business strategy and firm performance; banking and finance; healthcare; hospitality; networks and telecommunications; urbanism and infrastructures; law and legal regulations; and government. While the categories are reflective of components of tourism industries and infrastructures, the meta-analysis is organized around 3 broad themes: preferred research contexts, conceptual developments, and methods used to research big data business applications. Main findings revealed that firm performance and healthcare remain popular contexts of research in the big data realm, but also demonstrated a prominence of qualitative methods over mixed and quantitative methods for the period 2013-2020. Scholars have also investigated topics involving the notions of competitive advantage, supply chain management, smart cities, but also ethics and privacy issues as related to the use of big data.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.292-320
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• 2024

The amount of data a related to a person is so substantial that it appears that a digital version of them can be built thereon. They are usually handled as personal information, and the attempts made to understand personal information have led to bundling and unbundling of various data, yielding numerous fragmented categories of personal information. Therefore, we attempt to construct a generalizable lens for a deeper understanding of person-related data. We develop a theoretical framework that provides a fundamental method to understand these data as an entity of a digitally represented person based on literature review as well as the concepts of inforg and infosphere. The proposed framework suggests person-related data consist of three informational inforg dimensions that can preserve the archetype of a person, form, content, and interaction. Subsequently, the framework is examined and tested through several analyses in two different contexts: social media and online shopping mall. This framework demonstrates the suggested dimensions are interrelated with certain patterns, the prominent dimension can determine the data characteristics, and the dimensional composition of data types can imply the characteristics of the digitally represented person in certain contexts.