• Korean System Dynamics Review
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.25-45
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• 2009

The concept of social capital has recently been highlighted in most fields of social science because social capital is believed to be an alternative of market and government failures. However, social capital is of high ambiguity that hinders in conceptualizing and modeling that can differs from the premises, such as whether social capital lies in individual actors or collective substances, or whether social networks are functioning by rationality or emotion. This study therefore tries to examine the concept of social capital and suggest 6 types of it following by the anthropologic concept of 'reciprocity' as well as to provide fruitful discussions on the introduction of social capital variables to System Dynamics modeling of sustainable development. Conclusively, the introduction of social capital to the integration models of environment-economy-society should be based on strongly understanding the social networks, individual identities, and local particularities of the relevant localities in order to enhance the structural validity and applicability of sustainable development models in System Dynamics.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.168-199
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• 2012

Studies on innovation point towards the need for both in-house research and development (R&D) capabilities along with collaborations with external organisations or linkages with other firms, universities and research institutes. The argument is that innovation is not just a firm specific factor but requires support from several other factors which in turn involves developing linkages with various actors/institutions as sources of resources and/or knowledge for innovation. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study about the Malaysian biofuel sector as an innovation system. Instead of using the neo-classical approach and proposing policy interventions based on traditional market failure rationale (Bergek et al., 2008a), the functional analysis of the technological innovation systems (TIS) approach is used to analyse the biofuel sector in Malaysia to help reveal the strengths and weaknesses in terms of its fulfillment of seven critical functions which are necessary for the generation and commercialization of a product. In addition an attempt is made to reveal the inducement and blocking mechanisms affecting the Malaysian biofuel TIS and the seeking of improved poor functionality. These functional aspects of the Malaysian biofuel sector are analysed in different phases of its development to gain an understanding of the different institutions and their functions at different phases of the development of the innovation system.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.49-67
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• 2017

This article assesses the recent development of libraries in Myanmar and efforts to build the sector's capacity leading up to and after the first democratic elections held in the country in nearly 50 years, at the end of 2015. Cyclone Nargis in 2008 is viewed as a 'framing event' (Birkland, 1998) that led to national legal and policy reforms, an increase in national and international projects to support development of Myanmar libraries, and the strengthening of local actors including the Myanmar Library Association to coordinate and lead development activities. Although in need of modernisation, networking, and professional skills, the existence of a widespread number of all library types across the country provides an important foundation for further development. The current status and readiness of libraries is explored in the broader context of the rapid leap from limited to more widely available access to information and technology. The article finds that there is great potential for libraries in Myanmar to support the continued transition to democracy as evidenced by the role of libraries and access to information in other countries that have transitioned. Remaining challenges include the potential of backsliding on national reforms, and the need for significant investments in infrastructure and skills. Libraries must be transformed to meet the changing needs of information users in a young democracy.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2008

The study identifies gender stereotypes, examines the level of women's economic empowerment at the household level and explores the influence of factors on it. Data were collected from 159 randomly selected farm women using both qualitative and quantitative survey methods between January and March 2007 from three villages of the Mymensingh District of Bangladesh. Four key informants (2 local leaders and 2 development personnel) were questioned to elicit views in the light of boosting women's empowerment. Five constructs of empowerment covering 30 indicators were aggregated together to develop a cumulative economic empowerment index (CEEI) to obtain multidimensional views of women's empowerment. The findings show that there were some prejudices against women in allocating divisions of labour and access to education, food, property, decision-making and institutions. The distribution of the CEEI demonstrates that the majority of the respondents (86%) had a low to moderate level of empowerment. A multiple regression analysis showed positive significant effects of education, training, media contact and freedom of mobility on women's CEEI, while domestic abuse restrained it. It is concluded that interventions by development agencies in co-ordination with the local community was necessary to attain women's self-reliance in the study area. Development actors can undertake some core strategies to enhance women's level of awarencess, knowledge, skills, and productive resources through providing training, loans, and information. To change traditional beliefs, it is important to create awareness of various gender issues amongst rural people through different methods and media.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.287-306
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• 2017

Since the 1990s, political geographers have focused on the study of the process of border construction. They have shifted from the old morphological and functional approaches to boundary that have focused on the types and functions of boundaries. Recent scholarship on border studies understand boundaries and the border regions as entities with overlapping and competing relationships not as manifestation of territoriality. There has been the emphasis on the multidimensional actors and the historical and cultural legacies inherent in the border region as well. Based on these recent discussions, this study examines how the border region has been constructed by various actors and strategies in Dandong China, the border city between North Korea and China. Several sanctions including UN Security Council have been resolved and implemented in accordance with North Korea's nuclear and missile development, which is a relevant example to examine the "border as relationships" in which strategies of various actors are competing. In addition, this paper has a significance as a case study on the construction process of border and the characteristics of its materiality, which is a way to overcome the limitation of discourse-oriented critical geopolitical research.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.560-581
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• 2007

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework and a stage of development of trust building and to study the factors affecting on the trust building in economics space. Conceptual framework on trust building in economics space is combined of in the three approaches. The macro(structural and institutional) approach includes normative and regulative factors(laws, norms), and positionality in social and economic systems(beliefs, political ideologies, institutions). The meso(intersubjective) approach contains the personal fronts(expressive factors, social cues, significant symbols) and settings(physical space, intermediary such as technologies & knowledges). The micro(subjective) approach comprises the willingness(internalization of value) and calculation(risk and uncertainties analysis) of economic actors. According to sustainable cooperation among economic actors, trust building to the macro(structural and institutional) level, the meso(intersubjective) level, and the micro(subjective) level develop by stages. The factors such as long-term and repeated interaction, information sharing and reciprocity, interdependence and asset specificity, uncertainty, proximity, and culture & norm of corporate and formal institution are determinants on the trust building across economic actors in economic space.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.274-291
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• 2012

Since the advent of the internet as representative of the development of information communication technology (ICT), information transfer forms have changed rapidly these days. In the new techno-economic paradigms, I would ultimately consider how spatial structures of a knowledge-based service industry have been altered dynamically. To delve into this background, this study conducts an empirical case study of the internet advertising industry, particularly, among the whole advertising industry. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to identify dynamic characteristics of spatial networks among actors for knowledge creation in Korea's internet advertising industry. In addition, it also is to analyze the formative elements of spatial networks which would have an influence on constructing the space of new economic activities. There are multilateral approaches. This research is classified into types of actors such as inter-firm, intra-firm, and firm-customer, and categorized according to spatial ranges such as local, regional, global levels. In the meanwhile, formative factors of the spatial networks could draw a conclusion from two aspects: inter-firm networks in the process of business in the internet advertising industry, and individual networks in the nonoccupational aspect. Accordingly, the results of this study suggest that actors' networks of two perspectives would make mutually complementary relationships and create new relational spaces in the digital economy.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.93-121
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• 2016

The aim of this study is to reveal development processes of mothers with disabled children as active human agents utilizing social welfare institutions. Many social welfare studies have generally described welfare service users as passive subjects alienated from welfare information and subordinate to dominant welfare system. However, this investigation indicates that they do not merely remain as passive policy targets. They also perform as active actors who seek for useful information, strategically acquire profits in the given system despite institutional constraints, and create new welfare institutions. Through in-depth interviews with 11 mothers of disabled children with brain lesions, this study has derived a grounded theory on the mothers' maturation processes in interaction with social welfare institutions, which consist 6 stages(entering, awakening, exploring, struggling, resigning and utilizing period). This substantive analysis on the survival processes of mothers with disabled children in the social welfare system provides empirical knowledge and evidence about relationship between the structure and agents. It also suggests a practical policy proposal for disabled people and their families based on these stages.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.8 no.9
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• pp.355-362
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• 2019

In the past, when research and development(R&D) resources were absolutely scarce, the so-called 'choice and concentration' strategy of national R&D projects has been persuasive. Under the current situation where various actors such as GRIs(Government-funded Research Institutes) and universities supported by more abundant R&D resources conduct national R&D projects, this strategy cannot be applied without distinction. In order to see how the strategy has worked, this paper analyzes the concentration of research funds allocated to actors performing national R&D projects. Concentration is measured based on the amount of research funds supported by government from 2002 to 2016 using the Theil index to break down the concentration of individual actors in the overall national R&D project. The results from the Theil index were compared with concentrations using the Gini coefficient, a widely known indicator. As a result, the Theil index could be used to analyze the concentration and sub-components' contribution such as universities and GRIs that make up the entire national R&D system. The results also showed GRIs had the highest concentration, followed by universities, but their concentration has been somewhat reduced compared to 10 years ago. On the other hand, small-sized companies have maintained a certain level, although they are not highly concentrated. In other words, universities and GRIs tend to reduce the gap in the allocation of research funds among institutions, while small-sized companies tend to distribute them evenly.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.214-235
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• 2019

This study adopts the concept of social innovation cluster in which social economy organizations as one of the emerging axes of economic systems operate in collaboration with government agencies, investment institutions, intermediate supporting organizations and non-profit organizations, and investigates how the clusters of this kind grow in the context of the Korean socio-economic situation for the cases of Seongdong-gu and Eunpyeong-gu in Seoul, Korea. For this purpose, it has identified the actors of the clusters and their internal relations, and analyzed the process of cluster formation. A social network analysis of the partnerships between the actors has shown that Seongdong-gu has more diversified types of the network participation of universities, global networks and investment institutions than Eunpyeong-gu. It is interpreted that this pattern has resulted from the domination of private organizations in the former area, which is also confirmed by in-depth interviews with persons involved in the clusters. Although the facets of social innovation clusters are manifested in both areas, even in their initial stage, such factors as linkages between industrial actors and convergence with other clusters, which appear in the maturing stage of cluster formation, has yet to be found. It is suggested that the sustainable growth of social innovation clusters should be accompanied by information sharing and cooperation between the two areas on the future orientation of development.