• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.523-549
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• 2015

This paper investigates an oil refiner's asymmetric behavior in the adjustments of gasoline and diesel prices to changes in his own price and his rivals' prices as well as input costs. An asymmetric error correction model which allows a firm's pricing behavior to the deviation of other firms' prices from their long-run equilibrium level is employed for estimation using weekly data for the period April 2009 to January 2015. Evidence is found that there is a significant degree of asymmetry in the adjustment of wholesale prices to changes in crude oil price. A similar result in regard to the exchange rate is also found by the data. The estimation results for firm's response to changes in other firms' prices indicates that implicit collusion could be more easily exploited in the wholesale petroleum market as results of firms' interaction with each other and anticipation of rivals' pricing behavior. A few refiners show competitive price adjustment in response to the upward deviation of the others' prices from their equilibrium level.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.147-170
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• 2022

This article analyzes the spillover effects by dividing the weekly rate of return on apartment prices in 70 si-gun-gu (local area) in the Capital Region into three periods: the entire period (April 2008~August 2021); the period before the price surge (April 2008~October 2018); and the period of price surge (November, 2018~August 2021), based on a consideration of the cycle of fluctuations in apartment sales prices and the timing of the current government's policy interventions. The results obtained from this analysis are summarized as follows. First, the analysis of the spillover effects is similar to or different from the results of existing work depending on the period. The analysis of the spillover effects on the entire period and the period before the price surge shows that the 'Gangnam' effect exists in the apartment market in the Capital Region. On the other hand, the analysis of the spillover effects on the period of price surge reveals different results than before. The spillover effect index calculated through the analysis of the rolling sample decreases during the decline in the cycle of apartment sales prices, while the opposite trend is shown during the upward period. Looking at the timing between the peak of the spillover effect index and policy interventions, it appears that the government's policy interventions took place after the peak of the spillover effect index in 2017, before the peak in 2018 and 2019, and around or after the peak after 2020.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.233-260
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• 2022

In this paper, we analyzed how oil price fluctuations affect stock price by industry using the non-parametric quantile causality test method. We used weekly data of WTI spot price, KOSPI index, and 22 industrial stock indices from January 1998 to April 2021. The empirical results show that the effect of changes in oil prices on the KOSPI index was not significant, which can be attributed to mixed responses of diverse stock prices in several industries included in the KOSPI index. Looking at the stock price response to oil price by industry, the 9 of 18 industries, including Cloth, Paper, and Medicine show a causality with oil prices, while 9 industries, including Food, Chemical, and Non-metal do not show a causal relationship. Four industries including Medicine and Communication (0.45~0.85), Cloth (0.15~0.45), and Construction (0.5~0.6) show causality with oil prices more than three quantiles consecutively. However, the quantiles in which causality appeared were different for each industry. From the result, we find that the effects of oil price on the stock prices differ significantly by industry, and even in one industry, and the response to oil price changes is different depending on the market situation. This suggests that the government's macroeconomic policies, such as industrial and employment policies, should be performed in consideration of the differences in the effects of oil price fluctuations by industry and market conditions. It also shows that investors have to rebalance their portfolio by industry when oil prices fluctuate.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.117-129
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• 2015

As the Internet becomes ubiquitous, a large volume of information is posted on the Internet with exponential growth every day. Accordingly, it is not unusual that investors in stock markets gather and compile firm-specific or market-wide information through online searches. Importantly, it becomes easier for investors to acquire value-relevant information for their investment decision with the help of powerful search tools on the Internet. Our study examines whether or not the Internet helps investors assess a firm's value better by using firm-level data over long periods spanning from January 2004 to December 2013. To this end, we construct weekly-based search volume for information technology (IT) services firms on the Internet. We limit our focus to IT firms since they are often equipped with intangible assets and relatively less recognized to the public which makes them hard-to measure. To obtain the information on those firms, investors are more likely to consult the Internet and use the information to appreciate the firms more accurately and eventually improve their investment decisions. Prior studies have shown that changes in search volumes can reflect the various aspects of the complex human behaviors and forecast near-term values of economic indicators, including automobile sales, unemployment claims, and etc. Moreover, search volume of firm names or stock ticker symbols has been used as a direct proxy of individual investors' attention in financial markets since, different from indirect measures such as turnover and extreme returns, they can reveal and quantify the interest of investors in an objective way. Following this line of research, this study aims to gauge whether the information retrieved from the Internet is value relevant in assessing a firm. We also use search volume for analysis but, distinguished from prior studies, explore its impact on return comovements with market returns. Given that a firm's returns tend to comove with market returns excessively when investors are less informed about the firm, we empirically test the value of information by examining the association between Internet searches and the extent to which a firm's returns comove. Our results show that Internet searches are negatively associated with return comovements as expected. When sample is split by the size of firms, the impact of Internet searches on return comovements is shown to be greater for large firms than small ones. Interestingly, we find a greater impact of Internet searches on return comovements for years from 2009 to 2013 than earlier years possibly due to more aggressive and informative exploit of Internet searches in obtaining financial information. We also complement our analyses by examining the association between return volatility and Internet search volumes. If Internet searches capture investors' attention associated with a change in firm-specific fundamentals such as new product releases, stock splits and so on, a firm's return volatility is likely to increase while search results can provide value-relevant information to investors. Our results suggest that in general, an increase in the volume of Internet searches is not positively associated with return volatility. However, we find a positive association between Internet searches and return volatility when the sample is limited to larger firms. A stronger result from larger firms implies that investors still pay less attention to the information obtained from Internet searches for small firms while the information is value relevant in assessing stock values. However, we do find any systematic differences in the magnitude of Internet searches impact on return volatility by time periods. Taken together, our results shed new light on the value of information searched from the Internet in assessing stock values. Given the informational role of the Internet in stock markets, we believe the results would guide investors to exploit Internet search tools to be better informed, as a result improving their investment decisions.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.315-319
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• 2020

In November 2019 a 5-month-old mixed-breed rabbit presented to Chungbuk National University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea (Korea) with symptoms comprising pruritus, crusts on skin, poor appetite and reduced defecation. The rabbit was purchased 2 months prior from a pet shop located in a big market, and that the symptoms were first observed about 2 weeks prior to the hospital visit. Physical examination revealed that the patient had crust formation and alopecia on the nose together with lesions on the digits. A skin scraping test was performed using mineral oil and a high density of mites was observed by microscopy. Each mite showed a round, tortoiselike body with 4 comparatively short pairs of legs. The anus was located at the terminal unlike with suspected pathogen, Notoedres cati. Based on morphological characteristics, we identified the mite as Sarcoptes sp. Ivermectin was administered weekly by subcutaneous injection at a dosage of 0.4 mg/kg, and 4 weeks of follow-up study revealed the patient was fully recovered. And no more mites were detected from the case. This is the first case report of sarcoptic mange in a pet rabbit in Korea.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.833-854
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• 2007

Output prices tend to respond faster to input price increases than to decreases. The 'rockets and feathers' hypothesis of asymmetric price behavior in petroleum market is tested by a full adjustment error correction model. Using monthly data for the period January 1977 to June 2006, evidence is found that there is a significant degree of asymmetry in the adjustment of wholesale prices to increases and to decreases in crude oil price. A similar hypothesis in regard to the exchange rate is also rejected by the data. Using weekly data over the period examined, evidence of asymmetry for gasoline, diesel and heating oil is also found in the transmission of price changes from wholesale to retail: retail prices increase more quickly in response to the wholesale price increases than to wholesale price decreases.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2009

This study investigated arsenic speciation and risk assesment in 30 samples of hijiki purchased from local market in 10 Korean cities. The mean arsenic concentration of the hijiki samples was 45.65 mg/kg (dryness; moisture content of 91.1${\pm}$1.6%), and the major arsenic compound was arsenate [As(V)]. The concentrations of As(V) and As(III), as inorganic arsenic compounds, were detected to be 40.36 mg/kg and 0.37 mg/kg, respectively, and made up 88.6% (40.46 mg/kg) of the arsenic in the hijiki. Among the samples, the highest inorganic arsenic concentration was identified at 9.19 mg/kg (wet), and for an adult with a body weight of 60 kg was within an acceptable level as 0.7% (6.43 mg/60 kg/week) when compared with the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) (900 mg/60 kg/week), and would be considered safe with respect to health-hazardous effects.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.283-287
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• 2014

This study determined the hazardous heavy metal content of mushrooms from markets in Seoul, Korea. One hundred and fifty mushroom samples were digested by the microwave method then the hazardous heavy metal (Pb, Cd, As, Cr, Ni and Hg) content was determined by the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and mercury analyzer. The average values of heavy metals in the samples were as follows: (mean [minimum-maximum], ${\mu}g/kg$); Pb 7.8 (1.9-30.0), Cd 45.3 (0.7-292.4), As 54.6 (24.2-229.3), Cr 42.6 (8.4-334.3), Ni 22.4 (up to 180.4), and Hg 8.9 (2.0-25.0). The contents of hazardous heavy metal in mushrooms were lower than those reported previously and also lower than the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) limit prescribed by the FAO/WHO. Thus, it could be suggested that the hazardous heavy metals levels in the mushrooms of retail market were adequately safe for consumption.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.121-145
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• 2019

This paper investigates the relationship between the oil price and the major petroleum products prices at the trading hubs such as Singapore, North West Europe and the US New York Harbor. We focus on the lead-lag relationship between the weekly petroleum prices from 2009 to 2016 based on the vector error correction model. We find that the oil price leads the prices of petroleum products in the long term, while there is bidirectional causality in the short term. On the other hand, prices of petroleum products in regions with high import dependency, such as Europe gas oil and jet fuel price, are exogenous in the long term. We also present evidence that prices of petroleum products in region with a large global-market share lead prices in other regions. However, if the region is in an over-production situation and low industry concentration, it may lose its price leadership due to intense competition. The result in this study can provide a useful information to petroleum refining companies in forecasting fluctuations of product price, and hence in planning their regional arbitrage trading activities.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.1-23
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of the bestseller ranks on the book circulations in public libraries. To achieve this goal, the weekly data sets of 179 books' library circulation and bestseller list from January 1, 2018 to December 29, 2019 were constructed based on the data collected from BigData MarketC and YES24. Three methods for analyzing panel data including linear regression, fixed-effect, and random effect models were compared, and it turned out that fixed-effect model was better than other methods. The results show that the average ranks of bestsellers were associated with their public library circulations visually. Also, the analysis of fixed-effect model showed that the single rank decline of a book on the bestseller list decreases its average circulation of 0.108 while the size of effect varied depending on subject of books. The study empirically demonstrated the impact of a bestseller list on people's book circulation behavior, suggesting that public libraries need to reference sociocultural context as well as bestseller book lists to predict library user needs and to formulate collection development policy.