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Analysis of Genetics Problem-Solving Processes of High School Students with Different Learning Approaches (학습접근방식에 따른 고등학생들의 유전 문제 해결 과정 분석)

  • Lee, Shinyoung;Byun, Taejin
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.40 no.4
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    • pp.385-398
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    • 2020
  • This study aims to examine genetics problem-solving processes of high school students with different learning approaches. Two second graders in high school participated in a task that required solving the complicated pedigree problem. The participants had similar academic achievements in life science but one had a deep learning approach while the other had a surface learning approach. In order to analyze in depth the students' problem-solving processes, each student's problem-solving process was video-recorded, and each student conducted a think-aloud interview after solving the problem. Although students showed similar errors at the first trial in solving the problem, they showed different problem-solving process at the last trial. Student A who had a deep learning approach voluntarily solved the problem three times and demonstrated correct conceptual framing to the three constraints using rule-based reasoning in the last trial. Student A monitored the consistency between the data and her own pedigree, and reflected the problem-solving process in the check phase of the last trial in solving the problem. Student A's problem-solving process in the third trial resembled a successful problem-solving algorithm. However, student B who had a surface learning approach, involuntarily repeated solving the problem twice, and focused and used only part of the data due to her goal-oriented attitude to solve the problem in seeking for answers. Student B showed incorrect conceptual framing by memory-bank or arbitrary reasoning, and maintained her incorrect conceptual framing to the constraints in two problem-solving processes. These findings can help in understanding the problem-solving processes of students who have different learning approaches, allowing teachers to better support students with difficulties in accessing genetics problems.

How to Reflect Sustainable Development, exemplified by the Equator Principles, in Overseas Investment (해외투자(海外投資)와 지속가능발전 원칙 - 프로젝트 파이낸스의 적도원칙(赤道原則)을 중심으로 -)

  • Park, Whon-Il
    • THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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    • v.31
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    • pp.27-56
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    • 2006
  • Today's financial institutions usually take environmental issues seriously into consideration as they could not evade lender liability in an increasing number of cases. On the international scene, a brand-new concept of the "Equator Principles" in the New Millenium has driven more and more international banks to adopt these Principles in project financing. Sustainable development has been a key word in understanding new trends of the governments, financial institutions, corporations and civic groups in the 21st century. The Equator Principles are a set of voluntary environmental and social guidelines for sustainable finance. These Principles commit bank officers to avoid financial support to projects that fail to meet these guidelines. The Principles were conceived in 2002 on an initiative of the International Finance Corporation(IFC), and launched in June 2003. Since then, dozens of major banks, accounting for up to 80 percent of project loan market, have adopted the Principles. Accordingly, the Principles have become the de facto standard for all banks and investors on how to deal with potential social and environmental issues of projects to be financed. Compliance with the Equator Principles facilitates for endorsing banks to participate in the syndicated loan and help them to manage the risks associated with large-scale projects. The Equator Principles call for financial institutions to provide loans to projects under the following circumstances: - The risk of the project is categorized in accordance with internal guidelines based upon the environmental and social screening criteria of the IFC. - For Category A and B projects, borrowers or sponsors are required to conduct a Social and Environmental Assessment, the preparation of which must meet certain requirements and satisfactorily address key social and environmental issues. - The Social and Environmental Assessment report should address baseline social and environmental conditions, requirements under host country laws and regulations, sustainable development, and, as appropriate, IFC's Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines, etc. - Based on the Social and Environmental Assessment, Equator banks then make agreements with borrowers on how they mitigate, monitor and manage the risks through a Social and Environmental Management System. Compliance with the plan is included in the covenant clause of loan agreements. If the borrower doesn't comply with the agreed terms, the bank will take corrective actions. The Equator Principles are not a mere declaration of cautious banks but a full commitment of lenders. A violation of the Principles in the process of project financing, which led to an unexpected damage to the affected community, would not give rise to any specific legal remedies other than ordinary lawsuits. So it is more effective for banks to ensure consistent implementation of the Principles and to have them take responsible measures to solve social and environmental issues. Public interests have recently mounted up with respect to environmental issues on the occasion of the Supreme Court's decision (2006Du330) on the fiercely debated reclamation project at Saemangeum. The majority Justices said that the expected environmental damages like probable pollution of water and soil were not believed so serious and that the Administration should continue to implement the project seeking ways to make it more environment friendly. In this case, though the Category A Saemangeum Project was carried out by a government agency, the Supreme Court behaved itself as a signal giver to approve or stop the environment-related project like an Equator bank in project financing. At present, there is no Equator bank in Korea in contrast to three big banks in Japan. Also Korean contractors, which are aggressively bidding for Category A-type projects in South East Asia and Mideast, might find themselves in a disadvantageous position because they are generally ignorant of the environmental assessment associated with project financing. In this regard, Korean banks and overseas project contractors should care for the revised Equator Principles and the latest developments in project financing more seriously. It's because its scope has expanded to the capital cost of US$10 million or more across all industry sectors regardless of developing countries or not. It should be noted that, for a Korean bank, being an Equator bank is more or less burdensome in a short-term period, but it must be conducive to minimizing risks and building up good reputation in the long run.

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Health Economic Approach to End-of-Life Care in the US: Based on Medicare (말기의료의 경제적 요소에 관한 논의: 미국 메디케어 상황을 중심으로)

  • Suk, Ryan
    • The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.335-373
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    • 2014
  • According to one Medicare report, in the US, total federal spending on health care expends almost 18 percent of the nation's GDP, about double what most industrialized nations spend on health care. And in 2011, Medicare spending reached close to $554 billion, which amounted to 21 percent of the total spent on U.S. health care in that year. Of that $554 billion, Medicare spent 28 percent, or about $170 billion, on patients' last six months of life. So what are the reasons of this high cost in EOL care and its possible solutions? Much spendings of Medicare on End-of-Life care for the terminally ill/chronically ill in the US has led health economics experts to assess the characteristics of the care. Decades of study shows that EOL care is usually supply-sensitive and poor in cost-effectiveness. The volume of care is sensitively depending on the supply of resources, rather than the severity of illness or preferences of patients. This means at the End-of-Life care, the medical resources are being overused. On the other hand, opposed to the common assumption, "The more care the better utility", the study shows that the outcome is very poor. Actually the patient preference and concerns are quite the opposite from what intense EOL care would bring about. This study analyzes the reasons for the supply-sensitiveness of EOL care. It can be resulted from the common misconception about the intense care and the outcome, physicians' mission for patients, lack of End-of-Life Care Decision which helps the patients choose their own preferred treatment intensity. It also could be resulted from physicians' fear of legal liabilities, and the management strategy since the hospitals are also seeking for financial benefits. This study suggests the possible solutions for over-treatment at the End-of-Life resulting from supply-sensitiveness. Solutions can be sought in two aspects, legal implementation and management strategy. In order to implement advance directive properly, active ethics education for physicians to change their attitude toward EOL care and more conversations about end-of-life care between physicians and patients is crucial, and incentive system for the physicians who actively have the conversations with patients will also help. Also, the general education towards the public is also important in the long run, and easy and official advance directive registry system-such as online registry-has to be built and utilized more widely. Alternative strategies in management are also needed. For example, the new strategic cost management and management education, such as cutting unnecessary costs and resetting values as medical providers have to be considered. In order to effectively resolve the problem in EOL care for the terminally ill/chronically ill and provide better experience to the patients, first of all, the misconception and the wrong conventional wisdom among doctors, patients, and the government have to be overcome. And then there should be improvements in systems and cultures of the EOL care.

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Metabolic Correlates of Temperament Factors of Personality (기질적 성격요인과 국소 뇌포도당대사의 상관연구: 성별에 따른 차이)

  • Park, Hyun-Soo;Cho, Sang-Soo;Yoon, Eun-Jin;Bang, Seong-Ae;Kim, Yu-Kyeong;Kim, Sang-Eun
    • Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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    • v.41 no.4
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    • pp.280-290
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    • 2007
  • Purpose: Gender differences in personality are considered to have biological bases. In an attempt to understand the gender differences of personality on neurobiological bases, we conducted correlation analyses between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperament factors of personality in males and females. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six healthy right-handed volunteers (18 males, 33.8$\pm$17.6 y; 18 females, 36.2$\pm$20.4 y) underwent FDG PET at resting state. Three temperament factors of personality (novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA), reward dependence (RD)) were assessed using Cloninger's 240-item Temperament and Character Inventory (TCD within 10 days of FOG PET scan. Correlation between regional glucose metabolism and each temperament factor was tested using SPM2. Results: In males, a significant negative correlation between NS score and glucose metabolism was observed in the bilateral superior temporal gyri, the hippocampus and the insula, while it was found in the bilateral middle frontal gyri, the right superior temporal gyrus and the left cingulate cortex and the putamen in females. A positive HA correlation was found in the right midbrain and the left cingulate gyrus in males, but in the bilateral basal ganglia in females. A negative RD correlation was observed in the right middle frontal and the left middle temporal gyri in males, while the correlation was found in the bilateral middle frontal gyri and the right basal ganglia and the superior temporal gyrus in females. Conclusion: These data demonstrate different cortical and subcortical metabolic correlates of temperament factors of personality between males and females. These results may help understand biological substrate of gender differences in personality and susceptibility to neuropsychiatric illnesses.

Perception of Undergraduate Environmental Education Program Students of Hangu University on Their Career Prospect and Career Preparation (항구대학교 환경교육과 학생들의 진로전망인식과 진로준비 고찰)

  • Ahn, Sun-Young;Lee, Yong-Hwan;Yang, An-Na;Kum, Ji-Hun
    • Hwankyungkyoyuk
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.82-96
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    • 2008
  • The primary purpose of this research is to examine the career development of under-graduate environmental education program students. More specifically, it intends to understand how they perceive their career prospect, how they prepare for they career and what kind of career development assistance they receive from their school. For most of college students, a primary purpose for attending college is to prepare for a career, but often academic preparation in college is not enough to get the job they aspire. Career preparation becomes even more complex when their major does not dictate any specific career path or when the major does dictate a specific career path but it does not provide sufficient and quality job opportunities. Undergraduate environmental education programs are typical examples of the latter. To illuminate the understanding of the context surrounding undergraduate environmental education program students, semi-structured interviews were conducted through an instance message software program from August 17th, 2007 to August 20th, 2007. The subjects of this study consisted of 4 undergraduate students and 2 graduates of Hangu University (a tentative name). Each participant was interviewed once or twice for about 2 hours each interview. The findings of the study are as follow. First, they maintain a positive attitude regarding the career outlook and the career decision but it is not well founded. Second, career search and career preparation are conducted individually, and their school does not provide much systematic career assistance. Third, they did not see the relevance of the curriculum of their program to their future career. A few preliminary implications for practices related to career development may be drawn from the findings reported in this study. First, undergraduate students in environmental education programs appear to be in need of comprehensive career development assistance ranging from exploration of job opportunities related to majors, to development of job-seeking skills, to general issues of career preparation and choice. Experiential modes of career exploration seem to be helpful in clarifying their interest and aptitude in the area of environmental education. Second, career development assistance for these students should start at early college years. Third, these students may need help in exploring diverse opportunities related to their major as well as other academic areas. Finally, it is recommended to create more careers in the area of environmental education.

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Dental Hygienists' Turnover Intention and its Related Factors (치과위생사의 이직요인에 대한 조사연구)

  • Yoon, Mi-Sook;Lee, Kyung-Hee;Choi, Mi-Sook
    • Journal of dental hygiene science
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    • v.6 no.1
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    • pp.11-17
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    • 2006
  • The purpose of this study was to help prevent the turnover of competent dental hygienists in a bid to boost the efficiency of personnel management for dental health care workers and provide higher-quality oral health services. After relevant literature and data were reviewed, a survey was conducted on dental hygienists, who worked at dental institutes, for approximately four months from September to December 2004 to identify what affected their turnover. The findings of the study were as below: 1. Regarding turnover experience, 39.7 percent of the dental hygienists investigated had such an experience. As to turnover frequency, those who took up another employment once made up the largest group(28.2%), followed by twice(8.0%) and three times(2.9%). The most dominant turnover reason was working conditions(66.7%), followed by seeking being hired by larger institutes(36.2%), pay(21.7%), relationship with dentists(11.6%) and commuting distance(11.6%). 2. As for their hope for turnover, 82.8 percent hoped to take up another employment, and working conditions were cited as the most common reason(44.4%), followed by pay(33.3%), commuting distance(18.1%), marriage(13.2%), health/use of leisure time(11.8%), and commuting time(10.4%). 3. Concerning preference for future workplace, 38.5 percent, the largest group, wanted to work at public health clinics. As to a preferred term of working as dental hygienists, 50.0 percent, the greatest group, hoped to serve as dental hygienists until they are financially secure. 34.5 percent, the second largest group, intended to keep working until they reach the age limit. In regard to their responsibility for family economy, 47.7 percent, the greatest percentage, shouldered the partial responsibility for that, and 31.6 percent assumed no responsibility. 4. As to their intention to quit working as dental hygienists, 61.5 percent were willing to do that, and marriage(29.0%) was singled out as the most frequent reason, followed by working conditions(27.1%), child birth(22.4%), health/housework(18.7%), pay(15.9%) and learning/use of free time(15.0%).

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Chronic pain control in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (만성통증 환자의 통증 조절)

  • Eun, Young
    • Journal of muscle and joint health
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.17-40
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    • 1995
  • Rheumatoid arthritis is the one of the chronic diseases, one of its major symptoms is a chronic pain. Despite developing medical treatment and surgical techniques, it is suggested that to control the pain is the goal of the treatment. But pain is an inner experience and even those closest to the patient cannot truly observe its progress or share in its suffering. The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine's report on Pain and Disability concluded that there is no objective measure of pain-(exactly) no pain thermometer-nor can there ever be one, because the experience of pain is inseparable from personal perception and social influence such as culture. To explore chronic pain experience is to understand the process and property of the patient's perception of pain through the response to pain, the coping with pain, and the adaptation to pain. Therefore a qualitative study was conducted in order to gain an understanding of pain experience of patients with RA in korea. I used naturalistic inquiry as a research methodology, which had 5 axioms, the first is that realities are multiple, constructed, and holistic, the second is that knower and known are interactive, inseparable, the third is only time and context bound working hypotheses(idiographic statements) are possible, the forth is all entities are in a state of mutual simultaneous shaping, so that it is impossible to distinguish causes from effects and the last is that inquiry is value-bound. Purposive sampling was conducted as a sampling. 20 subjects who experienced pain over 10 years, lived in middle-sized city and big city in Korea, and 17 women and 3 men. The subject's age was from 32 to 62 (average 48.8), all were married, living with their spouse and children, except two-one divorced and the other widow before they became ill. I collected data using In depth structured interview. I had interviews two or three times with each subject, and the interviews were conducted at each subject's home. Each interview lasted about two hours an average. A recording was taken with the consent of the subject. I used inductive data analysis-such as unitizing and categorizing. unitizing is a process of coding, whereby raw data are systematically transformed and aggregated into units. Categorizing is a process wherby previously unitized data are organized into categories that provide descriptive or inferential information about the context or setting from which the units were derived. This process is used constant comparative method. The pain controlling process is composed of behavior of pain control. The behaviors of pain control are rearranging of ADL, hiddening role conflict, balancing treatment, and changing social relation. Rearranging of ADL includes diet management, sleep management, and the adjustment of daily life activities. The subjects try to rearrange their daily activities by modified style of motions, rearranging time span & range of activities, using auxillary facilities, and getting help in order to keep on the pace of daily life. Hiddening role conflict means to reduce conflicts between sick role and their role as a family member. In this process, the subjects use two modes, one is to control the pain complaints, and the other is to internalize the value which is to stay home is good for caring her children and being a good mother. To control pain complaints is done by 'enduring', 'understanding' the other family members, or making them undersood in order to reduce pain. Balancing treatment is composed of two aspects. One is to keep the pain within the endurable level, the other is to keep in touch with medical personnel in order to get the information of treatment and emotional support. Changing social relation is made by information seeking and sharing, formation of mutual support relation, and finally simplification of social relationships. The subjects simplify their social relationships by refraining from relations with someone who makes them physically and psychologically strained. In particular the subjects are apt to avoid contact with in-laws, and the change of relation to in-laws results in lessening the family boundary. In the course of this process, they confront the crisis of family confict result in family dissolution. This crisis is related to the threat of self-existence. Findings from this study contribute to understanding the chronic pain experience. To advance this study, we should compare this result with other cases in different cultural contexts. I think to interpret these results, korean cultural background should be considered. Especially the different family concept, more broader family members and kinship network, and the traditional medical knowledge influences patients' behavior.

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A Study on the Promotion of Electronic Government and Plans for Archival Management (전자정부 추진과 기록관리방안)

  • Kim, Jae-hun
    • The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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    • no.5
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    • pp.39-85
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    • 2002
  • This paper is aimed at proposing the policies for managing archives in the process of promoting Electronic Government System. Although there have been many studies of electronic government project and plans for its establishment, this research examines the electronic government system and its problems on the basis of archival science. What I acquired in this paper is as follows. The development of information technology needs great changes ranging from the nation to the individuals. It becomes common that the use of computerized program for business purposes, computerization of information materials and the effective way of search use of electronic documents. Therefore, more and more countries all over the world have been seeking to promote 'Electronic Government', which applies the fruits of the development in information technology to administration process. Recently, Korea has been rapidly entered into the 'Electronic Government' system being against the traditional way of administration. In electronic government system, the 'Life Cycle' of public records will be computerized. Therefore, it is important to change and develop along with the government's policies for 'electronic government project' in the archival management system. This means that the archival management system which have put emphasis on the textual records should be converted to electronic records system. In other words, the records management in electronic government system requires not the transfer and preservation of the records but the consistent management system including the whole process of creating, appraising, arranging, preserving and using the records. So, the systematic management of electronic records plays an important role in realization of electronic government, but it is a subject to be realized by electronic government at the same time. However, the government have overlooked the importance of archival management for long time, especially the importance of electronic records management system. First of all, this research attempts to infer limits and problems through the theoretical considerations of the existing studies for electronic government and to clear up the relations between electronic government and archival management. Based on this, I'll seek to progress the study through reviewing the present condition of archival management in the process of promoting electronic government and suggesting the policies for enhancing the successful electronic government and the construction of scientific archival management system. Since early 1990, many countries in the world have been making every effort to concrete 'Electronic Government'. Using the examples in other nations, it is not difficult to recognize that the embodiment of electronic government is closely connected with the archival management policies. Korea have completed legal and institutional equipments including the new establishment of "Electronic Government Law" to realize electronic government. Also, Korea has been promoting electronic government with the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs and Government Computer Center as a leaders. Though managing records, especially the management of electronic records is essential in electronic government system, we haven't yet discussed this section in Korea. This is disapproved by the fact the Government Archives and Records Service has played little role in promoting electronic government project. There are two problems relating this environment. First, present system can't meet the consistent 'Life Cycle' ranging from the creation to the preservation of electronic records. Second, the 'Life Cycle' of electronic records is divided into two parts and managed separately by GCC and GARS. The life of records is not end with the process raged from creation to distribution. On the other hand, the records are approved their value only whole procedures. Therefore, GARS should play a deading role in designing and establishing the archival management system. The answer to these problems, is as follows. First, we have to complete the electronic records management system through introducing ERMS not EDMS. This means that we should not change and develop towards ERMS simply with supplementing the current electronic records management system. I confirm that it is important and proper to establish ERMS system from the very beginning of the process of promoting electronic government. Second, I suggest the developmental integration of GARS and GCC. At present, the divided operations of GCC and GARS, the former is in charge of the management center for electronic business and the latter is the hub institution of managing nation's records and archives result in many obstacles in establishing electronic government system and accomplishing the duties of systematic archival management. Therefore, I conclude that the expansive movement towards 'National Archives' through the integration among the related agencies will make a great contribution to the realization of electronic government and the establishment of archival management system. In addition to this, it will be of much help to constitute and operate the 'Task Force' regarding the management of electronic records with the two institution as the central figures.

Seeking a Better Place: Sustainability in the CPG Industry (추심경호적지방(追寻更好的地方): 유포장적소비품적산업적가지속발전(有包装的消费品的产业的可持续发展))

  • Rapert, Molly Inhofe;Newman, Christopher;Park, Seong-Yeon;Lee, Eun-Mi
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.20 no.2
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    • pp.199-207
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    • 2010
  • For us, there is virtually no distinction between being a responsible citizen and a successful business... they are one and the same for Wal-Mart today." ~ Lee Scott, al-Mart CEO after the 2005 Katrina disaster; cited in Green to Gold (Esty and Winston 2006). Lee Scott's statement signaled a new era in sustainability as manufacturers and retailers around the globe watched the world's largest mass merchandiser confirm its intentions with respect to sustainability. For decades, the environmental movement has grown, slowly bleeding over into the corporate world. Companies have been born, products have been created, academic journals have been launched, and government initiatives have been undertaken - all in the pursuit of sustainability (Peattie and Crane 2005). While progress has been admittedly slower than some may desire, the emergence and entrance of environmentally concerned mass merchandisers has done much to help with sustainable efforts. To better understand this movement, we incorporate the perspectives of both executives and consumers involved in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. This research relies on three underlying themes: (1) Conceptual and anecdotal evidence suggests that companies undertake sustainability initiatives for a plethora of reasons, (2) The number of sustainability initiatives continues to increase in the consumer packaged goods industries, and (3) That it is, therefore, necessary to explore the role that sustainability plays in the minds of consumers. In light of these themes, surveys were administered to and completed by 143 college students and 101 business executives to assess a number of variables in regards to sustainability including willingness-to-pay, behavioral intentions, attitudes, willingness-to-pay, and preferences. Survey results indicate that the top three reasons why executives believe sustainability to be important include (1) the opportunity for profitability, (2) the fulfillment of an obligation to the environment, and (3) a responsibility to customers and shareholders. College students identified the top three reasons as (1) a responsibility to the environment, (2) an indebtedness to future generations, and (3) an effective management of resources. While the rationale for supporting sustainability efforts differed between college students and executives, the executives and consumers reported similar responses for the majority of the remaining sustainability issues. Furthermore, when we asked consumers to assess the importance of six key issues (healthcare, economy, education, crime, government spending, and environment) previously identified as important to consumers by Gallup Poll, protecting the environment only ranked fourth out of the six (Carlson 2005). While all six of these issues were identified as important, the top three that emerged as most important were (1) improvements in education, (2) the economy, and (3) health care. As the pursuit and incorporation of sustainability continues to evolve, so too will the expected outcomes. New definitions of performance that reflect the social/business benefits as well as the lengthened implementation period are relevant and warranted (Ehrenfeld 2005; Hitchcock and Willard 2006). We identified three primary categories of outcomes based on a literature review of both anecdotal and conceptual expectations of sustainability: (1) improvements in constituent satisfaction, (2) differentiation opportunities, and (3) financial rewards. Within each of these categories, several specific outcomes were identified resulting in eleven different outcomes arising from sustainability initiatives. Our survey results indicate that the top five most likely outcomes for companies that pursue sustainability are: (1) green consumers will be more satisfied, (2) company image will be better, (3) corporate responsibility will be enhanced, (4) energy costs will be reduced, and (5) products will be more innovative. Additionally, to better understand the interesting intersection between the environmental "identity" of a consumer and the willingness to manifest that identity with marketplace purchases, we extended prior research developed by Experian Research (2008). Accordingly, respondents were categorized as one of four types of green consumers (Behavioral Greens, Think Greens, Potential Greens, or True Browns) to garner a better understanding of the green consumer in addition to assisting with a more effective interpretation of results. We assessed these consumers' willingness to engage in eco-friendly behavior by evaluating three options: (1) shopping at retailers that support environmental initiatives, (2) paying more for products that protect the environment, and (3) paying higher taxes so the government can support environmental initiatives. Think Greens expressed the greatest willingness to change, followed by Behavioral Greens, Potential Greens, and True Browns. These differences were all significant at p<.01. Further Conclusions and Implications We have undertaken a descriptive study which seeks to enhance our understanding of the strategic domain of sustainability. Specifically, this research fills a gap in the literature by comparing and contrasting the sustainability views of business executives and consumers with specific regard to preferences, intentions, willingness-to-pay, behavior, and attitudes. For practitioners, much can be gained from a strategic standpoint. In addition to the many results already reported, respondents also reported than willing to pay more for products that protect the environment. Other specific results indicate that female respondents consistently communicate a stronger willingness than males to pay more for these products and to shop at eco-friendly retailers. Knowing this additional information, practitioners can now have a more specific market in which to target and communicate their sustainability efforts. While this research is only an initial step towards understanding similarities and differences among practitioners and consumers regarding sustainability, it presents original findings that contribute to both practice and research. Future research should be directed toward examining other variables affecting this relationship, as well as other specific industries.

The Policy of Win-Win Growth between Large and Small Enterprises : A South Korean Model (한국형 동반성장 정책의 방향과 과제)

  • Lee, Jang-Woo
    • Korean small business review
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    • v.33 no.4
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    • pp.77-93
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    • 2011
  • Since 2000, the employment rate of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has dwindled while the creation of new jobs and the emergence of healthy SMEs have been stagnant. The fundamental reason for these symptoms is that the economic structure is disadvantageous to SMEs. In particular, the greater gap between SMEs and large enterprises has resulted in polarization, and the resulting imbalance has become the largest obstacle to improving SMEs' competitiveness. For example, the total productivity has continued to drop, and the average productivity of SMEs is now merely 30% of that of large enterprises, and the average wage of SMEs' employees is only 53% of that of large enterprises. Along with polarization, rapid industrialization has also caused anti-enterprise consensus, the collapse of the middle class, hostility towards establishments, and other aftereffects. The general consensus is that unless these problems are solved, South Korea will not become an advanced country. Especially, South Korea is now facing issues that need urgent measures, such as the decline of its economic growth, the worsening distribution of profits, and the increased external volatility. Recognizing such negative trends, the MB administration proposed a win-win growth policy and recently introduced a new national value called "ecosystemic development." As the terms in such policy agenda are similar, however, the conceptual differences among such terms must first be fully understood. Therefore, in this study, the concepts of win-win growth policy and ecosystemic development, and the need for them, were surveyed, and their differences from and similarities with other policy concepts like win-win cooperation and symbiotic development were examined. Based on the results of the survey and examination, the study introduced a South Korean model of win-win growth, targeting the promotion of a sound balance between large enterprises and SMEs and an innovative ecosystem, and finally, proposing future policy tasks. Win-win growth is not an academic term but a policy term. Thus, it is less advisable to give a theoretical definition of it than to understand its concept based on its objective and method as a policy. The core of the MB administration's win-win growth policy is the creation of a partnership between key economic subjects such as large enterprises and SMEs based on each subject's differentiated capacity, and such economic subjects' joint promotion of growth opportunities. Its objective is to contribute to the establishment of an advanced capitalistic system by securing the sustainability of the South Korean economy. Such win-win growth policy includes three core concepts. The first concept, ecosystem, is that win-win growth should be understood from the viewpoint of an industrial ecosystem and should be pursued by overcoming the issues of specific enterprises. An enterprise is not an independent entity but a social entity, meaning it exists in relationship with the society (Drucker, 2011). The second concept, balance, points to the fact that an effort should be made to establish a systemic and social infrastructure for a healthy balance in the industry. The social system and infrastructure should be established in such a way as to create a balance between short- term needs and long-term sustainability, between freedom and responsibility, and between profitability and social obligations. Finally, the third concept is the behavioral change of economic entities. The win-win growth policy is not merely about simple transactional relationships or determining reasonable prices but more about the need for a behavior change on the part of economic entities, without which the objectives of the policy cannot be achieved. Various advanced countries have developed different win-win growth models based on their respective cultures and economic-development stages. Japan, whose culture is characterized by a relatively high level of group-centered trust, has developed a productivity improvement model based on such culture, whereas the U.S., which has a highly developed system of market capitalism, has developed a system that instigates or promotes market-oriented technological innovation. Unlike Japan or the U.S., Europe, a late starter, has not fully developed a trust-based culture or market capitalism and thus often uses a policy-led model based on which the government leads the improvement of productivity and promotes technological innovation. By modeling successful cases from these advanced countries, South Korea can establish its unique win-win growth system. For this, it needs to determine the method and tasks that suit its circumstances by examining the prerequisites for its success as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each advanced country. This paper proposes a South Korean model of win-win growth, whose objective is to upgrade the country's low-trust-level-based industrial structure, in which large enterprises and SMEs depend only on independent survival strategies, to a high-trust-level-based social ecosystem, in which large enterprises and SMEs develop a cooperative relationship as partners. Based on this objective, the model proposes the establishment of a sound balance of systems and infrastructure between large enterprises and SMEs, and to form a crenovative social ecosystem. The South Korean model of win-win growth consists of three axes: utilization of the South Koreans' potential, which creates community-oriented energy; fusion-style improvement of various control and self-regulated systems for establishing a high-trust-level-oriented social infrastructure; and behavioral change on the part of enterprises in terms of putting an end to their unfair business activities and promoting future-oriented cooperative relationships. This system will establish a dynamic industrial ecosystem that will generate creative energy and will thus contribute to the realization of a sustainable economy in the 21st century. The South Korean model of win-win growth should pursue community-based self-regulation, which promotes the power of efficiency and competition that is fundamentally being pursued by capitalism while at the same time seeking the value of society and community. Already existing in Korea's traditional roots, such objectives have become the bases of the Shinbaram culture, characterized by the South Koreans' spontaneity, creativity, and optimism. In the process of a community's gradual improvement of its rules and procedures, the trust among the community members increases, and the "social capital" that guarantees the successful control of shared resources can be established (Ostrom, 2010). This basic ideal can help reduce the gap between large enterprises and SMEs, alleviating the South Koreans' victim mentality in the face of competition and the open-door policy, and creating crenovative corporate competitiveness. The win-win growth policy emerged for the purpose of addressing the polarization and imbalance structure resulting from the evolution of 21st-century capitalism. It simultaneously pursues efficiency and fairness on one hand and economic and community values on the other, and aims to foster efficient interaction between the market and the government. This policy, however, is also evolving. The win-win growth policy can be considered an extension of the win-win cooperation that the past 'Participatory Government' promoted at the enterprise management level to the level of systems and culture. Also, the ecosystemic development agendum that has recently emerged is a further extension that has been presented as a national ideal of "a new development model that promotes the co-advancement of environmental conservation, growth, economic development, social integration, and national and individual development."