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A Study on the Types of Dispute and its Solution through the Analysis on the Disputes Case of Franchise (프랜차이즈 분쟁사례 분석을 통한 분쟁의 유형과 해결에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Kyu Won;Lee, Jae Han;Lim, Hyun Cheol
    • The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.173-199
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    • 2011
  • A franchisee has to depend on the overall system, such as knowhow and management support, from a franchisor in the franchise system and the two parties do not start with the same position in economic or information power because the franchisor controls or supports through selling or management styles. For this, unfair trades the franchisor's over controlling and limiting the franchisee might occur and other side effects by the people who give the franchisee scam trades has negatively influenced on the development of franchise industry and national economy. So, the purpose of this study is preventing unfair trade for the franchisee from understanding the causes and problems of dispute between the franchisor and the franchisee focused on the dispute cases submitted the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency and seeking ways to secure the transparency of recruitment process and justice of franchise management process. The results of the case analysis are followed; first, affiliation contracts should run on the franchisor's exact public information statement and the surely understanding of the franchisee. Secondly, the franchisor needs to use their past experiences and investigated data for recruiting franchisees. Thirdly, in the case of making a contract with the franchisee, the franchisor has to make sure the business area by checking it with franchisee in person. Fourthly, the contracts are important in affiliation contracts, so enacting the possibility of disputes makes the disputes decreased. Fifthly, lots of investigation and interests are needed for protecting rights and interests between the franchisor and franchisee and preventing the disputes by catching the cause and more practical solutions of the disputes from the government.

Rethinking 'the Indigenous' as a Topic of Asian Feminist Studies (토착성에 기반한 아시아 여성주의 연구 시론)

  • Yoon, Hae Lin
    • Women's Studies Review
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.3-36
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    • 2010
  • This paper is based on the certain point that 'the indigenous', which have long been occupied by the Asian patriarchy or the local communities, now calls for the repositioning in the feminist context. 'The indigenous', in one part, generally refer to the matured long-standing traditions and practices of certain regional, or local communities, as a mode of a place specific way of endowing the world with integral meaning. In the narrow definition, it points to the particular form of placed based knowledge for survival, for example, the useful knowledge of a population who have lived experiences of the environment. In the other part, 'the indigenous' could be criticized in the gender perspectives because it has been served as an ideological tool for patriarchy and sexism, which have undermined women's body and subjectivity in the name of the Asian traditional community. That's why the feminists with sensitivity to the discourses of it, may perceive it very differently, still hesitating dealing with the problem. However, even if there are tendencies that the conservatives romanticize local traditions and essentialize 'the indigenous', as it were, it does not exist 'out there'. Then, it could be scrutinized in the contemporary context which, especially, needs to seek the possibility towards the alternatively post - develope mental knowledge system. In the face of global economic crisis which might be resulted from the instrumentalized or fragmented knowledge production system, it's holistic conceptions that human, society, and nature should not be isolated from each other. is able to give an insightful thinking. It will work in the restraint condition that we reconceptualize the indigenous knowledge not as an unchanging artefact of a timeless culture, but as a dynamic, living and culturally meaningful system towards the ecofeminstic indigenous knowledge. And then, indigenous renaissance phenomena which empower non-western culture and knowledge system and generate increased consciousness of cultural membership. Thus, this paper argues that the indigenous knowledges which have been underestimated in the western-centered knowledge-power relations, could be reconstructed as a potential resources of ecological civility transnationally which reconnect individuals and societies with nature.

The Crisis of AIDS and responses of South African Churches in the task of new national building (새로운 민주주의 국가건설의 과제 속에 직면한 AIDS와 이에 대한 교회의 반응과 과제: 남아프리카 공화국을 중심으로)

  • Kim, Dae-Yoong
    • Journal of the Korean Association of African Studies
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    • v.29
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    • pp.27-53
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    • 2009
  • At the start of the new century, South Africa probably had the largest number of HIV-infected people of any country in the world. The only nation that comes close is India with a population of one billion people compared to South Africa's figure of 57 million. The tragedy is that this did not have to happen. South Africa was aware of the dangers posed by AIDS as early as 1985. In 1991, the national survey of women attending antenatal clinics found that only 0.8percent were infected. In 1994, when the new government took power, the figure was still comparatively low at 7.6 %. The 2004 figure which has been published is 26.5%. This article tracks the epidemic globally, in the region and in South Africa. I explain some of the basic concepts around the disease and look at what may happen with respect to numbers. The situation is bad, and the number of people falling ill, dying and leaving families will rise over next few years. This will impact on South Africa in a number of important ways. This article assesses the demographic, economic and social consequences of the epidemic. It disposes of a number of myths and present the real facts. The AIDS in South Africa is not related to individuals only. It warns that AIDS in Africa is becoming a community and systemic problem. The acuteness of the problem does not stem merely from the fact that communities are affected, or could even be wipe out by the end of this decade, but from the fact that AIDS will place incredible burdens and obligations upon medical services, health care and religious communities such as churches. The facts confront churches' mission with the important question: who is going to take care of all the patients and where? The reality is that people dying of AIDS will have to be cared for at home by relatives and friends. A further question that arises is whether our people are prepared for this. AIDS was considered to be a homo-plague and the hunt was on for a scapegoat in the light of the fatal implication of the disease. At present we are in the strategic phase where we all realize that it will be of no avail to scare people with the ominous threat of AIDS AIDS destroys the optimism of our achievement ethics. This exposure of the culture of optimism is also an exposure of the so-called 'human basic fear which accuses Christianity that their concept of sin is a damper on man's search for liberation and basic need to be freed from all Imitation. AIDS is also a test for our ecclesiastical genuineness and the sincerity of our mission sensibility. It poses the question: How unconditional is Christian love? Is there room for the AIDS sufferer in the community of believers, despite the fact he is an acknowledged homosexual? The question to put to the church is whether the community of believers is an exclusive to put to the koinonia which excludes homosexuals. They may be welcome on principle, but in actual fact are not acceptable to the church community. As South Africa enters the new century, it is clear that the epidemic is not having a measurable impact. However, the impact of AIDS is gradual, subtle and incremental. The author's proposal of what is currently most needed in South Africa is that the little things will make a difference. It's about doing lots of little things better at grassroots level, with the emphasis on doing. There are so many community, churches and NGOs initiatives worth building on and intensifying. One must not underestimate the therapeutic value of working together in small groups to overcome a problem

Comparative Study on Perceived Effectiveness of Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo - 2013 and 2023 with a Focus on Visitors - (순천만국제정원박람회 개최효과 인지 비교 연구 - 2013, 2023년 방문객을 중심으로 -)

  • Kim, Tai-Won;Kim, Gunwoo
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.51 no.6
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    • pp.1-11
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    • 2023
  • By comparing and analyzing the effects of the 2013 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo and the 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo, designated as Korea's first national garden, this study aims to present basic data for the future operation direction and sustainability strategy. First, in both fairs, satisfaction throughout the event was high, 4.0 or higher. In particular, the satisfaction level of the 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo was higher than that of the 2013 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo. As the longest international event held since the COVID-19 pandemic, it reflected the citizens' demand for healing and recharging in natural spaces. Second, as a result of comparing the types of perceptions that affected satisfaction, it was found that economic, environmental, and ecological types commonly affected satisfaction at the 2013 and 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo. The 2013 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo established the brand value as an "ecological city" by creating a garden in the city center along with an ecological resource called Suncheon Bay. In addition, the 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo expanded the scope of the garden to the entire city center. It also attempted to create a city where humans and nature coexist by realizing values, such as responding to climate change and carbon neutrality. In other words, one of the ways to secure urban competitiveness is to attract corporate investment and tourists and build a differentiated brand in Suncheon by promoting the 2023 fair based on the potential ecological values of the region after the 2013 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo. Therefore, if the Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo continues to develop environmental and ecological content and programs in line with changes in society and tries to establish itself in citizens' perception through cooperation with local governments and residents, it will be able to establish its identity and brand power.

A Study on the Improvement of the Employee Stock Ownership Plans (우리사주제의 개선에 대한 연구)

  • Kwon, Yong-man;Shin, Won-chul
    • Journal of Venture Innovation
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.95-109
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    • 2020
  • The source of value-added creation in modern times has been transformed from material to man's value-added generating power, and ownership of the means of production has been converted from a particular landlord, capitalist to a person with value-added capacity, and a system of capital participation is needed beyond the profit-sharing system or performance incentive system in which workers of an enterprise participate in simple profits if they significantly increase the added value of the company. It is also necessary to introduce our private stock system as a means of addressing the problem of capital bias and for the stable development of capitalism. The purpose of Employee Stock Ownership Plans is to improve the economic and social status of workers and promote labor-management cooperation by allowing workers to acquire and hold shares of the stock company in which the employee ownership association is established through the employee ownership association, but the reality is that our stock ownership system has failed to achieve its purpose due to insufficient protection against the employee. In terms of welfare, the acquisition of our company shares should include active government support for the welfare of workers' ownership on a social welfare level rather than on the logic of the capital market, and in terms of investment, it would not be appropriate to apply the regulation for investor protection to see workers' acquisition of our company shares as 'investment' in the view of workers' willingness to own shares on the stock market. Therefore, as a way to support and deregulate employee's stock acquisition, 1. Expanding direct support, such as tax support, 2. As employee's stock ownership association is being discussed as a division's nature, it is less effective in terms of various management, not investment, and 3. Those who own stocks with 1% of the company's shares and 300 million won in face value will be classified as major shareholders. As a way to reduce the risk of management of our company owners and cooperative funds, As a measure to reduce the risk of management of our company owners and cooperative funds, only our employee shareholders' association shall manage the fund in a long-term deposit, and even though our employee's stock is managed by the association or company after the end of the deposit period, the management of each employee shall be allowed and In terms of improving the utilization of our company's stock and fund, 1. Employee's stockholders are prohibited from lending during the deposit period, but it is necessary to improve profitability by allowing them to borrow under strict restrictions, 2. It is necessary to make the use of the employee's welfare funds available for the preservation of losses, and to stipulate the redemption obligations of unlisted companies in order to improve the redemption system of our company.

Development of Social Entrepreneurship Multidimensional Model and Framework: Focusing on the Cooperation Orientation of Social Enterprises (사회적기업가정신 다차원 모형 및 프레임워크: 사회적기업의 협력지향성을 중심으로)

  • Cho, Han Jun;Sung, Chang Soo
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.1-20
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    • 2023
  • The purpose of this study is to identify the unique entrepreneurial behavioral attributes of social enterprises that are distinct from for-profit enterprises at the organizational level, derive a social entrepreneurship model that reflects the unique characteristics of social enterprises as strategic decision-making and organizational behavioral tendencies. In order to effectively achieve the purpose of this study, previous studies were reviewed, and qualitative studies were conducted using the grounded theory method based on this. In this study, social entrepreneurship was identified as five sub-factors through a series of analysis processes, and 'Social value orientation; Innovativeness; Pro-activeness; Risk taking; Cooperation orientation' was newly proposed. It also proposed a new social entrepreneurship framework that integrates and explains the multidimensional model of social entrepreneurship by reviewing and connecting the relationships between each sub-factor of the research model. The 'social entrepreneurship framework' classified the social entrepreneurship model into 'pro-social motivation', 'pro-social behavior', and 'entrepreneurial behavior' attributes and explained them by linking them with each sub-factor that constitutes social entrepreneurship. The most remarkable difference between this study and previous studies is that it identified and added 'Cooperation orientation' as a sub-factor constituting social entrepreneurship from the organizational-level behavioral point of view. Through this study, 'Cooperation orientation' was identified as a major behavioral tendency for social enterprises to materialize pro-social motivation, strengthen the economic foundation of business activities, and improve the efficiency of business operations. 'Cooperation orientation' is a major behavioral tendency that strengthens the legitimacy of business activities between pro-social motivation and profit-seeking of social enterprises, improves the performance of social value creation activities, and overcomes the difficulties of resource constraints through cooperation with the outside and improves operational efficiency. In addition, it was confirmed that 'Cooperation orientation' is a major behavioral tendency of social enterprises that is manifested simultaneously in social value-oriented activities and entrepreneurial activities pursuing profit. The 'Cooperation orientation' newly identified in the study supplements the previous research, increases the explanatory power of the theory of social entrepreneurship, and provides the basis for theoretical expansion to subsequent researchers.

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Changes in Agricultural Extension Services in Korea (한국농촌지도사업(韓國農村指導事業)의 변동(變動))

  • Fujita, Yasuki;Lee, Yong-Hwan;Kim, Sung-Soo
    • Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.155-166
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    • 2000
  • When the marcher visited Korea in fall 1994, he was shocked to see high rise apartment buildings around the capitol region including Seoul and Suwon, resulting from rising demand of housing because of urban migration followed by second and third industrial development. After 6 years in March 2000, the researcher witnessed more apartment buildings and vinyl house complexes, one of the evidences of continued economic progress in Korea. Korea had to receive the rescue finance from International Monetary Fund (IMF) because of financial crisis in 1997. However, the sign of recovery was seen in a year, and the growth rate of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in 1999 recorded as high as 10.7 percent. During this period, the Korean government has been working on restructuring of banks, enterprises, labour and public sectors. The major directions of government were; localization, reducing administrative manpower, limiting agricultural budgets, privatization of public enterprises, integration of agricultural organization, and easing of various regulations. Thus, the power of central government shifted to local government resulting in a power increase for city mayors and county chiefs. Agricultural extension services was one of targets of government restructuring, transferred to local governments from central government. At the same time, the number of extension offices was reduced by 64 percent, extension personnel reduced by 24 percent, and extension budgets reduced. During the process of restructuring, the basic direction of extension services was set by central Rural Development Administration Personnel management, technology development and supports were transferred to provincial Rural Development Administrations, and operational responsibilities transferred to city/county governments. Agricultural extension services at the local levels changed the name to Agricultural Technology Extension Center, established under jurisdiction of city mayor or county chief. The function of technology development works were added, at the same time reducing the number of educators for agriculture and rural life. As a result of observations of rural areas and agricultural extension services at various levels, functional responsibilities of extension were not well recognized throughout the central, provincial, and local levels. Central agricultural extension services should be more concerned about effective rural development by monitoring provincial and local level extension activities more throughly. At county level extension services, it may be desirable to add a research function to reflect local agricultural technological needs. Sometimes, adding administrative tasks for extension educators may be helpful far farmers. However, tasks such as inspection and investigation should be avoided, since it may hinder the effectiveness of extension educational activities. It appeared that major contents of the agricultural extension service in Korea were focused on saving agricultural materials, developing new agricultural technology, enhancing agricultural export, increasing production and establishing market oriented farming. However these kinds of efforts may lead to non-sustainable agriculture. It would be better to put more emphasis on sustainable agriculture in the future. Agricultural extension methods in Korea may be better classified into two approaches or functions; consultation function for advanced farmers and technology transfer or educational function for small farmers. Advanced farmers were more interested in technology and management information, while small farmers were more concerned about information for farm management directions and timely diffusion of agricultural technology information. Agricultural extension service should put more emphasis on small farmer groups and active participation of farmers in these groups. Providing information and moderate advice in selecting alternatives should be the major activities for consultation for advanced farmers, while problem solving processes may be the major educational function for small farmers. Systems such as internet and e-mail should be utilized for functions of information exchange. These activities may not be an easy task for decreased numbers of extension educators along with increased administrative tasks. It may be difficult to practice a one-to-one approach However group guidance may improve the task to a certain degree.

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Mature Market Sub-segmentation and Its Evaluation by the Degree of Homogeneity (동질도 평가를 통한 실버세대 세분군 분류 및 평가)

  • Bae, Jae-ho
    • Journal of Distribution Science
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    • v.8 no.3
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    • pp.27-35
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    • 2010
  • As the population, buying power, and intensity of self-expression of the elderly generation increase, its importance as a market segment is also growing. Therefore, the mass marketing strategy for the elderly generation must be changed to a micro-marketing strategy based on the results of sub-segmentation that suitably captures the characteristics of this generation. Furthermore, as a customer access strategy is decided by sub-segmentation, proper segmentation is one of the key success factors for micro-marketing. Segments or sub-segments are different from sectors, because segmentation or sub-segmentation for micro-marketing is based on the homogeneity of customer needs. Theoretically, complete segmentation would reveal a single voice. However, it is impossible to achieve complete segmentation because of economic factors, factors that affect effectiveness, etc. To obtain a single voice from a segment, we sometimes need to divide it into many individual cases. In such a case, there would be a many segments to deal with. On the other hand, to maximize market access performance, fewer segments are preferred. In this paper, we use the term "sub-segmentation" instead of "segmentation," because we divide a specific segment into more detailed segments. To sub-segment the elderly generation, this paper takes their lifestyles and life stages into consideration. In order to reflect these aspects, various surveys and several rounds of expert interviews and focused group interviews (FGIs) were performed. Using the results of these qualitative surveys, we can define six sub-segments of the elderly generation. This paper uses five rules to divide the elderly generation. The five rules are (1) mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE) sub-segmentation, (2) important life stages, (3) notable lifestyles, (4) minimum number of and easy classifiable sub-segments, and (5) significant difference in voices among the sub-segments. The most critical point for dividing the elderly market is whether children are married. The other points are source of income, gender, and occupation. In this paper, the elderly market is divided into six sub-segments. As mentioned, the number of sub-segments is a very key point for a successful marketing approach. Too many sub-segments would lead to narrow substantiality or lack of actionability. On the other hand, too few sub-segments would have no effects. Therefore, the creation of the optimum number of sub-segments is a critical problem faced by marketers. This paper presents a method of evaluating the fitness of sub-segments that was deduced from the preceding surveys. The presented method uses the degree of homogeneity (DoH) to measure the adequacy of sub-segments. This measure uses quantitative survey questions to calculate adequacy. The ratio of significantly homogeneous questions to the total numbers of survey questions indicates the DoH. A significantly homogeneous question is defined as a question in which one case is selected significantly more often than others. To show whether a case is selected significantly more often than others, we use a hypothesis test. In this case, the null hypothesis (H0) would be that there is no significant difference between the selection of one case and that of the others. Thus, the total number of significantly homogeneous questions is the total number of cases in which the null hypothesis is rejected. To calculate the DoH, we conducted a quantitative survey (total sample size was 400, 60 questions, 4~5 cases for each question). The sample size of the first sub-segment-has no unmarried offspring and earns a living independently-is 113. The sample size of the second sub-segment-has no unmarried offspring and is economically supported by its offspring-is 57. The sample size of the third sub-segment-has unmarried offspring and is employed and male-is 70. The sample size of the fourth sub-segment-has unmarried offspring and is not employed and male-is 45. The sample size of the fifth sub-segment-has unmarried offspring and is female and employed (either the female herself or her husband)-is 63. The sample size of the last sub-segment-has unmarried offspring and is female and not employed (not even the husband)-is 52. Statistically, the sample size of each sub-segment is sufficiently large. Therefore, we use the z-test for testing hypotheses. When the significance level is 0.05, the DoHs of the six sub-segments are 1.00, 0.95, 0.95, 0.87, 0.93, and 1.00, respectively. When the significance level is 0.01, the DoHs of the six sub-segments are 0.95, 0.87, 0.85, 0.80, 0.88, and 0.87, respectively. These results show that the first sub-segment is the most homogeneous category, while the fourth has more variety in terms of its needs. If the sample size is sufficiently large, more segmentation would be better in a given sub-segment. However, as the fourth sub-segment is smaller than the others, more detailed segmentation is not proceeded. A very critical point for a successful micro-marketing strategy is measuring the fit of a sub-segment. However, until now, there have been no robust rules for measuring fit. This paper presents a method of evaluating the fit of sub-segments. This method will be very helpful for deciding the adequacy of sub-segmentation. However, it has some limitations that prevent it from being robust. These limitations include the following: (1) the method is restricted to only quantitative questions; (2) the type of questions that must be involved in calculation pose difficulties; (3) DoH values depend on content formation. Despite these limitations, this paper has presented a useful method for conducting adequate sub-segmentation. We believe that the present method can be applied widely in many areas. Furthermore, the results of the sub-segmentation of the elderly generation can serve as a reference for mature marketing.

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Development and application of prediction model of hyperlipidemia using SVM and meta-learning algorithm (SVM과 meta-learning algorithm을 이용한 고지혈증 유병 예측모형 개발과 활용)

  • Lee, Seulki;Shin, Taeksoo
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.111-124
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    • 2018
  • This study aims to develop a classification model for predicting the occurrence of hyperlipidemia, one of the chronic diseases. Prior studies applying data mining techniques for predicting disease can be classified into a model design study for predicting cardiovascular disease and a study comparing disease prediction research results. In the case of foreign literatures, studies predicting cardiovascular disease were predominant in predicting disease using data mining techniques. Although domestic studies were not much different from those of foreign countries, studies focusing on hypertension and diabetes were mainly conducted. Since hypertension and diabetes as well as chronic diseases, hyperlipidemia, are also of high importance, this study selected hyperlipidemia as the disease to be analyzed. We also developed a model for predicting hyperlipidemia using SVM and meta learning algorithms, which are already known to have excellent predictive power. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, we used data set from Korea Health Panel 2012. The Korean Health Panel produces basic data on the level of health expenditure, health level and health behavior, and has conducted an annual survey since 2008. In this study, 1,088 patients with hyperlipidemia were randomly selected from the hospitalized, outpatient, emergency, and chronic disease data of the Korean Health Panel in 2012, and 1,088 nonpatients were also randomly extracted. A total of 2,176 people were selected for the study. Three methods were used to select input variables for predicting hyperlipidemia. First, stepwise method was performed using logistic regression. Among the 17 variables, the categorical variables(except for length of smoking) are expressed as dummy variables, which are assumed to be separate variables on the basis of the reference group, and these variables were analyzed. Six variables (age, BMI, education level, marital status, smoking status, gender) excluding income level and smoking period were selected based on significance level 0.1. Second, C4.5 as a decision tree algorithm is used. The significant input variables were age, smoking status, and education level. Finally, C4.5 as a decision tree algorithm is used. In SVM, the input variables selected by genetic algorithms consisted of 6 variables such as age, marital status, education level, economic activity, smoking period, and physical activity status, and the input variables selected by genetic algorithms in artificial neural network consist of 3 variables such as age, marital status, and education level. Based on the selected parameters, we compared SVM, meta learning algorithm and other prediction models for hyperlipidemia patients, and compared the classification performances using TP rate and precision. The main results of the analysis are as follows. First, the accuracy of the SVM was 88.4% and the accuracy of the artificial neural network was 86.7%. Second, the accuracy of classification models using the selected input variables through stepwise method was slightly higher than that of classification models using the whole variables. Third, the precision of artificial neural network was higher than that of SVM when only three variables as input variables were selected by decision trees. As a result of classification models based on the input variables selected through the genetic algorithm, classification accuracy of SVM was 88.5% and that of artificial neural network was 87.9%. Finally, this study indicated that stacking as the meta learning algorithm proposed in this study, has the best performance when it uses the predicted outputs of SVM and MLP as input variables of SVM, which is a meta classifier. The purpose of this study was to predict hyperlipidemia, one of the representative chronic diseases. To do this, we used SVM and meta-learning algorithms, which is known to have high accuracy. As a result, the accuracy of classification of hyperlipidemia in the stacking as a meta learner was higher than other meta-learning algorithms. However, the predictive performance of the meta-learning algorithm proposed in this study is the same as that of SVM with the best performance (88.6%) among the single models. The limitations of this study are as follows. First, various variable selection methods were tried, but most variables used in the study were categorical dummy variables. In the case with a large number of categorical variables, the results may be different if continuous variables are used because the model can be better suited to categorical variables such as decision trees than general models such as neural networks. Despite these limitations, this study has significance in predicting hyperlipidemia with hybrid models such as met learning algorithms which have not been studied previously. It can be said that the result of improving the model accuracy by applying various variable selection techniques is meaningful. In addition, it is expected that our proposed model will be effective for the prevention and management of hyperlipidemia.

The Determination of Trust in Franchisor-Franchisee Relationships in China (중국 프랜차이즈 시스템에서의 본부와 가맹점간 신뢰의 영향요인)

  • Shin, Geon-Cheol;Ma, Yaokun
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.65-88
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    • 2008
  • Since the implementation of economic reforms in 1978, the Chinese economy grows rapidly at an average annul growth rate of 9% over the post two decades. Franchising has been widely recognized as an important source of entrepreneurial activity. Trust is important in that it facilitates relational exchanges by permits partners to transcend short-run inequities or risks to concentrate on long-term profits or gains. In the relationship between the franchisors and franchisees, trust has been described as an important source of competitive advantage. However, little research has been done on the factors affecting trust in Chinese franchisor-franchisee relationships. The purpose of this study is to investigate what factors affect the trust in the franchise system in China, and to provide guidelines and insights to franchisors which enter Chinese market. In this study, according to Morgan and Hunt (1994), trust is defined as the extending when one party has confidence in an exchange partner's reliability and integrity. We offered a conceptual model of the empirical study. The model shows that the factors affecting the trust include franchisor's supports, communication, satisfaction with previous outcome and conflict. We also suggested the franchisor's supports and communication like to enhance the franchisee's satisfaction with previous outcome, and the franchisor's supports, communication and he franchisee's satisfaction with previous outcome tend to decrease conflict. Before the formal study, a pretest involving exploratory interviews with owners from three franchisees was conducted to make sure the questionnaire was relevant and clear to the respondents. The data were collected using trained interviewers to carry out personal interviews with the aid of an unidentified, muti-page, structured questionnaire. The respondents comprised of owners, managers, and owner managers of franchisee-owned food service franchises located in Beijing, China. Even though a total of 256 potential franchises were initially contacted, the finally usable sample consisted of 125 respondents. As expected, the sampling method was successful in soliciting respondents with waried personal and firm characteristics. Self-administrated questionnaires were used for all measures. And established scales were used to measure the latent constructs in this study. The measures tapped the franchisees' perceptions of the relationship with the referent franchisor. Five-point Likert-type scales ranging from "strongly disagree" (=1) to "strongly agree" (=7) were used throughout the constructs (trust, eight items; support, five items; communication, four items; satisfaction, six items; conflict, three items). The reliability measurements traditionally employed, such as the Cronbach's alpha, were used. All the reliabilities were greater than.80. The proposed measurement model was estimated using SPSS 12.0 and AMOS 5.0 analysis package. We conducted A series of exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses to assess the convergent validity, discriminant validity, and reliability. The results indicate reasonable overall fits between the model and the observed data. The overall fit of measurement model were $X^2$= 159.699, p=0.004, d.f. = 116, GFI =.879, NFI =.898, CFI =.969, IFI =.970, TLI =.959, RMR =.058. The results demonstrated that the data reasonably fitted the model. We also examined construct reliability and reliability and average variance extracted (AVE). The construct reliability of each construct was greater than.80 and the AVE of each construct was greater than.50. According to the analysis of Structure Equation Modeling (SEM), the results of path model indicated an adequate fit of the model: $X^2$= 142.126, p = 0.044, d.f. = 115, GFI =.892, NFI =.909, CFI =.981, IFI =.981, TLI =.974, RMR =.057. As hypothesized, the results showed that it is strategically important to establish trust in a franchise system, and the franchisor's supports, communication and satisfaction with previous outcome tend to reinforce franchisee's trust. The results also showed trust seems to decrease as the experience of conflict episodes increases. And we also noticed that franchisor's supports and communication tend to enhance the franchisee's satisfaction with previous outcome, and communication tend to decrease conflict. If the trust between the franchisor and franchisee can be established in a franchise system, franchising offers many benefits and reduces many costs. To manage a mutual trust of relationship with their franchisees, franchisor's should provide support effectively to their franchisees. Effective assistant services have direct effect on franchisees' satisfaction with previous outcome and trust in franchisor. Especially, franchise sales process, orientation, and training in the start-up period are key elements for success of the franchise system. Franchisor's support is an accumulated separate satisfaction evaluation with different kind of service provided by the franchisor. And providing support definitely can improve the trustworthy image of the franchisor. In the franchise system, conflicts of interests and exertions of different power sources are very common. The experience of conflict episodes seems to negatively relate to trust. Therefore, it is important to reduce the negative side of the relationship conflicts. Communication actually plays a broader role in reducing conflict and establish mutual trust in franchisor-franchisee relationship. And effective communication between franchisors and franchisees can improve franchisees' satisfaction toward the franchise system. As the diversification of Chinese markets, both franchisors and franchisees must keep the relevant, timely, and reliable communication. And it is very important to improve the quality of communication. Satisfaction with precious outcomes seems to positively relate to trust. Franchisors and franchisees that are highly satisfied with the previous outcomes that flow from their relationship will perceive their partner as advancing their goal achievement. Therefore, it is necessary for both franchisor and their franchisees to make the welfare of partner with effort. Little literature has focused on what factors affect the trust between franchisors and their franchisees in China. This study developed the hypotheses regarding the factors affecting trust in the transaction relationship. The results of data analysis supported the hypotheses strongly. There are certain limitations in this study. First, we may point out that some other factors missed in this study could be significantly important. Second, the context of this study, food service industry, limits its potential generalizability for all franchise systems. More studies in different categories of franchise system are needed to broaden its generalizability. Third, the model was tested empirically in a sample in Beijing, more empirical tests of the proposed model in other Chinese areas are needed. Finally, the analysis in this study was solely based on the perception of franchisees and the opinions of franchisors were not included.

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