The objective of this study was to determine the best performing switchgrass (Panicumvirgatum L.) cultivar with three different seeding dates as a bioenergy source in Republic of Korea. Split-plot in time with three replications was performed and three switchgrass cultivars, Carthage (CT), Cave-in-Rock (CIR), and Forestburg (FB) were used in this experiment from 2009 to 2012. Plots were seeded on April 23, May 4, and May 13, 2009 and were harvested once in November each year. No fertilizer was applied to the field for the first year; however, in second and third years (June 2010 and May 2011, respectively), N, P2O5 and K2O fertilizers were applied in 67,45 and 90 kg ha-1, respectively. Soil pH (5.9) and climate condition including temperature (10.4∼17.5℃) and precipitation (89.4~109.8 mm month-1) were suitable for switchgrass cultivation. Total dry matter yields were higher in CT and CIR compared to FB and were 16.9, 15.9, and 4.5 ton ha-1, for CT, CIR, and FB, respectively (p<0.0001). The samples were analyzed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), crude fiber (CF), ether extract (EE), and ash. No significant differences in energy content (p = 0.96) and chemical composition among cultivars (p>0.05) were found. Seeding dates did not affect DM yield (ton ha-1), chemical composition and energy content significantly (p>0.05). Significant difference was observed for heights among CT, CIR, and FB (177.59, 169.98, and 94.89 cm, respectively, p = 0.0002). In conclusion, based on soil characteristics and climate condition in Korea compared to other countries, switchgrass can be cultivated successfully. Considering dry matter yield and energy content of these three cultivars of switchgrass CT and CIR adapted better to climate in Middle Eastern of Republic of Korea than Forestburg for bioenergy purpose.

교정제도는 최근 많은 변화를 겪었다. 이러한 변화들은 형량 감소에서부터 범죄자 교화 프로그램(rehabilitative program)의 변화까지 다양하며, 어떤 정책과 전략들이 가장 효과적이고 사회에 유익한지에 대한 연구조사를 바탕으로 이루어졌다. 미국 교도소 수감인원이 지난 40년동안 급격히 증가했고, 이러한 증가는 교도소의 과밀화뿐만 아니라 재소자들을 수감하는데 많은 세금이 필요하다는 이유에서 많은 변화를 필요로 하였다. 수감인원의 급속한 확산(epidemic of incarceration)은 교화와 교육, 징역형 등 현재 사법제도가 효율적인가에 대해 의문을 제기하는 사람들이 점점 늘어났다. 특히 약물사범(drug offenses)과 같은, 필요하다면 교화프로그램이나 벌금, 사회봉사, 보호관찰 등으로 대체할 수 있는 비폭력적인 범죄에 대한 의무적인 징역형에 관하여 비판이 많았다. 그 후 비폭력적인 범죄자들을 장기간 투옥시키는 것은 범죄를 다시 재발시킨다는 것을 연구를 통해 알아냈고 회전문처럼 수감자들이 들락날락 거리는 상황이었던 것이다. 아직 국가적으로는 갈 길이 멀지만 몇몇 주(States)는 수감인원 감소를 위해 징역을 대체할 방법 연구를 시작했고 약간의 성공적인 수치를 얻었다. 가장 철저하게 재소자들 수를 줄일 수 있는 방법은 교화를 통해 근본적인 범죄자들의 재범을 감소시키는 방법이다. 이를 통해 재소자 수는 감소하고 그에 따라 감옥으로 되돌아가는 것 대신 법을 지키는 시민으로써 사회로 복귀하게 된다. 교화방법은 어려운 도전이다. 사실 개개인들의 범죄는 법을 어기게 된 각자의 사연과 이유가 있기 때문에 그에 맞춰 교화프로그램과 교화프로그램이 필요한 재소자에게 사용 가능하도록 개선시키기 위해 논의 해야할 게 많다.

Curcumin is a widely used flavoring agent in food, and it has been reported to inhibit cell growth, to induce apoptosis, and to have antitumor activity in many cancers. Cisplatin is one of the most potent known anticancer agents and shows significant clinical activity against a variety of solid tumors. This study was undertaken to investigate the synergistic apoptotic effects of co-treatment with curcumin and cisplatin on human tongue SCC25 cells. To investigate whether the co-treatment efficiently reduced the viability of the SCC25 cells compared with the two treatments separately, an MTT assay was conducted. The induction and the augmentation of apoptosis were confirmed by DNA electrophoresis, Hoechst staining, and an analysis of DNA hypoploidy. Western blot, MMP and immunofluorescence tests were also performed to evaluate the expression levels and the translocation of apoptosis-related proteins following the co-treatment. In this study, following the co-treatment with curcumin and cisplatin, the SCC25 cells showed several forms of apoptotic manifestation, such as nuclear condensation, DNA fragmentation, reduction of MMP, increased levels of Bax, decreased levels of Bcl-2, and decreased DNA content. In addition, they showed a release of cytochrome c into the cytosol, translocation of AIF and DFF40 (CAD) to the nuclei, and activation of caspase-7, caspase-3, PARP, and DFF45 (ICAD). In contrast, separate treatments of 5 μM of curcumin or 4 μg/ml of cisplatin, for 24 hours, did not induce apoptosis. Therefore, our data suggest that combination therapy with curcumin and cisplatin could be considered as a novel therapeutic strategy for human oral squamous cell carcinoma.

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of the mixed application of chemical fertilizer (CF) and liquid swine manure (LSM) on the agronomic characteristics, dry matter yield, amino acids, minerals, and free sugars in cultivating Sorghum × Sudangrass hybrid (SSH) on paddy soil. The field experiment was designed in a randomized block design with three replications and consisted of CF 100% (C), CF 70% + LSM 30% (T1), CF 50% + LSM 50% (T2), CF 30% + LSM 70% (T3), and LSM 100% treatment (T4). The application of LSM was based solely on the nitrogen. Plant length, leaf length, leaf width and number of leaf were significantly higher in T4 (p<0.05), but stem diameter did not show significant differences among treatments. Stem hardness increased significantly (p<0.05) as the LSM application rate decreased, but sugar degree decreased significantly (p<0.05) as the LSM application rate decreased. Fresh yield, dry matter yield and TDN yield were the highest in T4, whereas the lowest in T2 (p<0.05). Crude protein, crude fat and crude ash were the highest in C, T4 and T2, respectively (p<0.05). However, NDF and ADF did not show significant difference among treatments. Crude fiber decreased significantly (p<0.05) as the LSM application rate increased. The total mineral content was decreased significantly (p<0.05) as the LSM application rate increased. Total amino acid content was higher in the order of T1> C> T3> T4> T2 (p<0.05). Free sugar content increased significantly (p<0.05) as the LSM application rate increased. The analysis of all the above results suggests that the application of liquid swine manure is very effective, considering the yield performance and the content of sugar degree and free sugar. In addition, liquid swine manure may be possible to grow Sorghum × Sudangrass hybrid without chemical fertilizer.

The present study sought to investigate whether Korean learners would benefit from tablet PC-based English learning and how they and their instructors would perceive the relatively new mobile technology as a language learning and teaching tool. To this end, 161 young learners and 57 instructors at private English institutes in several cities in Korea took part in the present study. For three months, the learners received one of two forms of instruction, one based on traditional paper-based materials and the other via tablet PC-based materials. Analyses of the listening and reading tests and of the questionnaire responses, followed by student interviews, indicate that the learners may benefit from tablet PC-based English programs, especially in their reading skills and their learning autonomy. Furthermore, the learners’ beliefs in the effectiveness of tablet PC-based instruction were found to be stronger than among the instructors. Pedagogical implications and future research directions are discussed.

To investigate the association between maternal iron status at the third trimester and fetal birthweight, maternal serum iron, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and complete blood count values were measured at 36-weeks gestation. Delivery database on mothers who delivered babies at Chungbuk National University Hospital between January 2008 and March 2013 was extracted. A total of 353 uncomplicated term babies were analyzed using hierarchical regression and ANCOVA. Maternal age (standardized regression coefficient β=0.115, P<0.05), height (β=0.108, P<0.05), BMI (β=0.210, P<0.001), and gestational age (β=0.298, P<0.001) were significantly associated with birthweight. However, birthweight was not associated with maternal iron parameters. After adjusting for maternal age, height, BMI, and gestational age, babies born to mothers with lower mean values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and serum ferritin were heavier than those born to mothers with higher values. Babies born to lower hemoglobin (11 g/dL) mothers were heavier than those born to higher hemoglobin (12 g/dL) mothers. However, birthweight was not significantly different between mothers with 10 g/dL or 13 g/dL of hemoglobin. Comparing birthweight according to 30 ug/dL of serum iron, 360 ug/dL of TIBC, 15 ng/mL of serum ferritin, and 10% transferrin saturation, babies born to mothers of the lower group were heavier than those born to mothers of the higher group. Therefore, maternal serum iron status at the third trimester seems to not be associated with birthweight.

Oral exposure of humans by excess amounts of arsenic may cause disturbances of the reproductive system. In the present study, such exposure was modelled in rats, with the support of sperm principal parameters and histopa-thological observations. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups where the group I was served as a normal control, group II was received sodium meta-arsenite as arsenic (10 mg/kg b.w/day) and a combi-nation of sodium meta- arsenite and sodium selenite (3 mg/kg b.w/day) in group III. After 6 weeks, there was no significant change in testis weight and in total motility of all the three experimental groups, whereas, rapid moving spermatozoa, moderately moving spermatozoa and slow moving spermatozoa were significantly decreased in arsenic treated rats as compared to control rats. The other sperm principal parameters like progressiveness, average path velocity, straightness linear velocity (VSL), curvilinear velocity (VCL), straightness, linearity sperm head elongation ratio, area, linearity amplitude of lateral head department (ALH) and beat cross frequency (BCF) were found to be reduced in arsenic intoxicated rats. These results are not correlated with the histological studies. On oral admini-stration of selenium ameliorated the adverse effects of arsenic as compared to arsenic alone treated rats. Our findings clearly demonstrate that administration of selenium could prevent some of the deleterious effects of arsenic in the testis.

This study was performed to evaluate antimicrobial resistance of food-borne pathogens isolated from retail meat in Korea. A total of 157 samples of beef, pork, and chicken were collected and analyzed for E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter. Resistances to tetracycline were declined in accord with reduced usage of tetracycline in live stock production. E. coli stains from chicken meat had higher multi-drug resistance ratio than strains from other meat. One extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producing E. coli and two ESBL producing Salmonella were identified in this study. ESBL producing Salmonella strains were confirmed to carry CTX-M-1 type genes.

Buckling, a form of failure happened to plated structures, is investigated in this study. The main focus is to investigate the effects of thickness of the plates having through-thickness holes on buckling when the plate is subjected to in-plane compression. Plates having length of 200mm and width of 100mm are chosen to have thickness in range from 0.50mm to 10mm. Two holes of diameters of 20mm are implemented in plates. The finite element procedure using ABAQUS is applied for analyses. Then using the Gerard and Becker equation compressive buckling coefficients, Kc, are calculated and presented to enable engineers to calculate buckling load for the desired plate with holes in specific dimension. In order to generalize the obtained results, verification analysis has been performed by taking plates having different dimensions from the original ones used in this study. The verification showed the capability of buckling coefficients to predict buckling stresses of plates in various dimensions.

본 논문은 1982년과 2002년 사이 동북아시아 일부 대도시 지역을 대상으로 시계열 위성영상자료를 활용하여 도시팽창양상을 식별하는 것을 목표로 한다. 도시팽창은 시·공간적 역동성을 띄는 지표현상이나, 기존 연구에 주로 사용되었던 원격탐사 방법론들은 이의 시간적 측면보다는 공간적 측면에 비중을 두어 분석을 수행해왔다. 본 연구에서는 시계열 푸리에분석과 시계열회귀분석을 조합한 계량적 방법론을 이용하여 도시팽창의 시간적 측면에 보다 비중을 두고 분석을 하였으며, 동북아시아 대도시 지역에서 도시팽창이 어떻게 진행되는지를 지리정보체계/원격탐사 컴퓨터 프로그램인 이디리시를 사용하여 분석한다. 그 결과, 본 논문에서 시도한 방법론은 대도시 지역의 시·공간적 피복변화를 감지하는데는 효과적이었으나, 도시팽창 자체를 탐지하는데 있어서는 제약이 있는 것으로 나타났으며, 제약의 주된 이유는 도시지역의 피복과 토지이용의 대응이 항상 일치하지 않기 때문인것으로 파악되었다. 본 논문에서 제시한 시계열 원격탐사 방법론은 각 지역에서 관찰되는 각기 다른 도시화 양상을 픽셀단위로 구분하는데, 다양한 조합의 분석결과를 활용하면 도시팽창 연구에 유용할 것으로 예상된다.

본 연구에서는 질병 데이터를 활용한 사망률의 지도화에서 지역별 사망률의 변동성을 안정화할 수 있도록 하는 베이지언 기법을 적용하고, 기본적으로 활용되고 있는 SMR (Standardized mortality ratio)과 그 결과를 비교하였다. 우리나라 전국의 시군구 단위의 전립선암 사망자 수 데이터에 표준화와 베이지언 기법을 적용하고, 산출된 사망률을 지도화하여 기존에 없던 우리나라의 전립선암 사망률 지도를 질병 지도의 예시 자료로 작성하였다. 분석 결과, Bayesian 모델링 기법을 통해 계산된 위험비는 기존 SMR에 비해 좀 더 수렴된 형태의 안정적인 통계량을 가지는 것을 알 수 있었다. 국지적 Bayesian 기법은 이웃 지역들의 정보만을 반영하여 위험비를 평활화하기 때문에 본 연구에서 사용된 전역적 기법들과 비교할 때 평활화의 강도가 크지 않았다.

This study aims to investigate a method with which one could enhance duty-free stores in island region through intensifying customers’ revisit and recommendation intention. We proposed a research model that perceived service quality of customers infuences revisit and recommendation mediated by customers’ satisfaction. According to the survey conducted to 181 customers of harbor duty-free store, route to the shop, time available for shopping, and convenience facility were variables significant to increase the quality of service and in turn, customer satisfaction. Moreover, high customer satisfaction appeared to enhance revisit and recommendation intentions of customers. Through such results, this research indicates theoretical implication that there should be a discussion concerning service quality unique to the duty-free shop, and managerial contributions that investment on layout design of stores is significant in operations of harbor duty-free stores

Noh, Bo-kyung & Ban, Hyun. 2014. Deciphering Ideological Representations in Editorials of Two U.S. Quality Newspapers. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 22(2), 23-44. The United States federal government entered a shutdown due to the ideological dispute between Democrats and Republicans from October 1 through 16, 2013. This paper attempts to elucidate ideological representations through a thorough analysis of editorials in two elite newspapers, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In particular, we examined how an in-group and an out-group were formed, and how the formation was reinforced in terms of in-group homogeneity and out-group exclusion, by means of linguistic features such as naming choices, the so-called editorial we, and lexical selections, following van Dijk's (1998) ideological square. The results are as follows: (i) the Wall Street Journal emphasized “their” bad properties more aggressively than the New York Times, while the New York Times emphasized both “their” bad qualities and “our” good qualities in a more moderate way than the Wall Street Journal; (ii) the two strategies of emphasis and mitigation enabled both newspapers to reinforce in-group homogeneity and out-group exclusion: The Wall Street Journal openly framed Republicans as the in-group and Democrats as the out-group, whereas the New York Times posited Americans and Democrats as the in-group, in relation to Republicans. (191)

본 연구를 통해 제주도에서 채집된 포충나방과의 Charitoprepes (Warren)에 속하는 1종, Charitoprepes lubricosa (Warren)을 우리나라에 처음으로 보고한다. 이들의 외부형태적 특징 및 종 동정에 필요한 성충과 수컷 생식기 이미지를 함께 제시한다.

A filtration-tapingmethod was demonstrated to fabricate carbon nanotube (CNT) emitters. This method shows many good features, including high mechanical adhesion, good electrical contact, low temperature, organic-free, low cost, large size, and suitability for various CNT materials and substrates. These good features promise an advanced fieldemission performance with a turn-on fieldof 0.88 V/mm at a current density of 0.1 mA/cm2, a threshold fieldof 1.98 V/mm at a current density of 1 mA/cm2, and a good stability of over 20 h. The filtratio-taping technique is an effective way to realize low-cost, large-size, and high-performance CNT emitters.

An attempt was made to investigate the effect of the preparation temperature on the electro-capacitive performance of polypyrrole (PPY)/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites (PNCs). For this purpose, a series of PNCs were prepared at various temperatures by the cetyltrimeth-ylammonium bromide-assisted dilute-solution polymerization of pyrrole in presence of GO (wt%) ranging from 1.0 to 4.0 with ferric chloride as an oxidant. The formation of the PNCs was ascertained through Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction spectra, scanning electron microscopy and simultaneous thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry. The electrocapacitive performance of the electrodes derived from sulphonated polysulphone-bound PNCs was evaluated through cyclic voltammetry with reference to Ag/AgCl at a scan rate (V/s) ranging from 0.2 and 0.001 in potassium hydroxide (1.0 M). The incorporation of GO into the PPY matrix at a reduced temperature has a pronounced effect on the electrocapacitive performance of PNCs. Under identical scan rates (0.001 V/s), PNCs prepared at 10 ± 1°C render improved specificconductivity (526.33 F/g) and power density (731.19 W/Kg) values compared to those prepared at 30 ± 1°C (217.69 F/g, 279.43 W/Kg). PNCs prepared at 10 ± 1°C rendered a capacitive retention rate of ~96% during the first500 cycles. This indicates the excellent cyclic stability of the PNCs prepared at reduced tempera-tures for supercapacitor applications.

Purpose This study, for the first time attempts to investigate the determinants of the Korean foodservice franchising employing various theories. In addition this study attempts to consider distinguishable foodservice characteristics such as the segment of foodservice and the market demand. This study expects to contribute to the theoretical underpinnings of the foodservice franchising by incorporating distinguishable foodservice characteristics to franchising theories. Method The sample for this study came from uniform franchise offering circular based on Korea Fair Trade Commission. There were 1,598 food service franchisors in uniform franchise offering circular 2009-2011 listing. However, 596 were excluded because of data irregularities remaining 1,002 available for sample. Based on the literature review, we choose seven determinants. The seven determinants were measured as follows. Firm age was measured as two proxy variables. One was measured as the years of franchising business. The other was measured as the years of business. Firm size was measured as total sales. Capital scarcity was measured as the ratio of total debt to total asset. Start-up costs were measured as initial investment. Monitoring costs were measured as the number of major cities franchised units operates. Royalty was measured as sales of a franchised unit. Finally, brand name was measured as advertising expenditures. Results The first proposition (firm age is related to the use of franchising) was supported by the signaling theory and the transaction costs theory instead of the resource scarcity theory. The age (measured as the years of franchising business) had a statistically significant positive relationship with the use of franchising. The second proposition (firm age is related to the use of franchising) was supported by the logic of the resource scarcity. The age (measured as the years of business) had a statistically significant negative relationship with the use of franchising. The third proposition (firm size is related to the use of franchising) was supported by the signaling theory instead of the resource scarcity theory. The firm size had a statistically significant positive relationship with the use of franchising. The fourth proposition (capital scarcity is related to the use of franchising) was not supported by the resource scarcity theory. The capital scarcity had not a statistically significant positive relationship with the use of franchising. The fifth proposition (start-up costs is related to the use of franchising) was not supported. The start-up costs had not a statistically significant either positive or negative relationship with the use of franchising. The sixth proposition (monitoring costs is related to the use of franchising) was supported by the agency theory. The monitoring costs had a statistically significant positive relationship with the use of franchising.. The seventh proposition (royalty is related to the use of franchising) was not supported by the agency theory. The royalty had not a statistically significant positive relationship with the use of franchising. The eighth proposition (brand name is related to the use of franchising) was not supported by the agency theory. Brand name had not a statistically significant negative relationship with the use of franchising. Conclusions Five propositions were found to be statistically significant from eight propositions. The four determinants such as firm age, firm size, monitoring costs, and brand name can affect the use of franchising for the foodservice industry in South Korea. Relating the significant propositions to the diverse theories, there was no one theory that dominated all propositions. The signaling theory was more appropriate for both firm age (the years of franchising business) and firm size while the transaction costs theory was more appropriate for age (the years of franchising business) as well. In addition, the resource scarcity theory was more appropriate for firm age (the years of business). Finally, the agency theory was appropriate for monitoring costs although this theory needed to be ameliorated for brand name.

Adding new attributes is the main strategy firms use to attract consumers in many industries, but the impact of new attributes may be ambiguous, as indicated by the results of several studies (Bertini, Ofek and Ariely, 2009; Griffin and Broniarczyk, 2010; Nam, Wang and Lee, 2012; Sun, Keh and Lee, 2012; Zhang and Fitzimons, 1999; Zhang, Kardes and Cronley, 2002). The demand for innovative, upgraded, and integrated products is higher than ever before, and firms’ ability to meet this demand is tenuous in many cases. Take the example of the iPhone, where the touch pad option is the new feature that overcomes the disadvantages of a regular keypad, and where other options such as SIRI and other convenient software technologies provide good reasons to purchase or upgrade a smart phone. Although the transition from keypad to touch screen is occurring rapidly in the technology market, many consumers still opt to utilize their old phones rather than upgrading. The alignability of the attributes of the smart phone may affect their decision-making. Self-regulatory factors moderate decision-making based on alignable and non-alignable attributes. Promotion and prevention self-regulation systems managed across separate mental accounts are involved consumer information flow process in the sense that alignable attributes engender risk aversion, whereas non-alignable attributes engender risk seeking (Zhou and Pham, 2004). More cognitive effort may be required to evaluate non-alignable attributes due to the absence of inferential references inherent in the newness of features (Nam et al., 2012; Sun et al., 2012). Accordingly, if there is no significant difference in alignable attributes between products, consumers will put more weight on non-alignable attributes (Brown and Carpenter, 2000). For high-technology products, if alignable attributes satisfy consumers’ perceived utility as weighed against the cost incurred, consumers may compare non-alignable attributes in order to justify their purchases. Even if non-alignable attributes are trivial, they may be important to the final decision. Based on evaluations of the latter, consumers can justify the purchase (Brown and Carpenter, 2000). Although non-alignable attributes may seem peripheral and complementary, they may contribute to the success of a product due to their novelty, uniqueness and role in simplifying the purchase choice (Carpenter, Glazer and Nakamoto, 1994). However, if consumers perceive that non-alignable attributes fundamentally affect product quality, they may infer that its alignable attributes are relatively inferior. This thinking process may result in a negative evaluation of the product (Simonson, Nowlis and Simonson, 1993). As mentioned earlier, consumers may associate non-alignable attributes with unnecessary costs (Brown and Carpenter, 2000). In the experiment of Bertini et al. (2009), consumers preferred the MP3 player with the BOSS earphone over the one with no other option, which led to a decrease in the willingness to upgrade the product. They do not evaluate non-alignable attributes in isolation, but may use those instrumentally. In the case of high technology products, when information about non-alignable attributes becomes available, ambiguity arises from the integration of distinctive features and functionalities, which are non-alignable attributes, and moreover from the integration of non-alignable attributes with alignable attributes. Consumer beliefs and attitude resulted from the mediating role of this ambiguity are formed holistically by non-selective attention for integral stimuli (alignable and non-alignable attributes) (Nosofsky, 1986, 1987). When consumers ambiguous towards a bundle of attributes, which is nothing but the product, they are inclined to interpret it positively (Bar-Hill and Budescu, 1995; Goldsmith and Amir, 2010). Consumers are hypothesized to exhibit innate optimism, being biased towards unforeseen benefits. They are even sensitive to the specific types of non-alignable attributes: central vs. peripheral attributes. Thus, in strategizing for product marketing purposes, non-alignable attributes should be positioned as peripheral factors rather than as central factors, especially in the early stages of product introduction. Hypothesis Development Consumers make judgments about the obsolescence of the products they currently use. Various factors influence the decision to upgrade. Obsolescence is a loss in value since the launch of a product, not because the product has become less useful, but because a new product with upgraded features and designs has become available to consumers (Bayus, 1991; Chung, Han and Sohn, 2012; Levinthal and Purohit, 1989). Consumers’ expectations about improvement in the new version are based upon two types of obsolescence that influence their willingness to upgrade (pay) for the new product: technological obsolescence and psychological obsolescence. Much research has been done (Bayus, 1991; Chung et al., 2012; Levinthal and Purohit, 1989); however, consumers’ strategic decision-making has not always been clearly understood. They may not know in advance what product to choose, or they may lack information to utilize during the buying process. In addition, technological progress is so rapid and uncertain that consumers may not be able to keep up with the novelty of new technologies. They may have difficulty selecting among alternatives that will be standard later in the market. Accordingly, although they may perceive the technological obsolescence of the product, they may not replace it until they feel psychologically justified in doing so. They may not intend to replace the product only for reasons of technological obsolescence due to loss of the sunk cost incurred by its replacement (Okada, 2006). While alignable attributes are more likely to be deterministic, functional and important, non-alignable attributes are more likely to be marginal, hedonic and trivial. Accordingly, consumers may form cognitive attitudes toward alignable attributes and expectations as to how these should change to become more useful. In other words, they may develop their own ideal level (point) for each alignable attribute as they become familiar with them. Thus, consumers experience uncertainty within a range unique to each individual. They judge the feasibility of a purchase insofar as it corresponds to their own ideal points. For example, when Microsoft upgraded from MS Office 2002 to MS Office 2007, the text menu-driven UI (user interface) was changed to become ribbon menu-driven (graphic). Many users of MS Office 2002 had difficulty using the upgraded functions of MS Office 2007. Frequently used features and options in the previous version, even such as cut and paste, were suddenly not easy to use, and consumers who upgraded to the next version were puzzled at the fact that they were unable to properly use the function they got used to. Complexity may be detrimental to ease-of-use judgment with inferred learning costs. Although consumers make inferences based upon their ideal points, the uncertainty involved in this process relates to cognitive referral. Since alignable attributes are representative of prevention, these engender risk aversion for consumers. Consumers who are primed with prevention-focus may prefer not to exert effort to find out how to use features which were easy to use in the previous version just for the sake of upgrading to the new product. Accordingly, uncertainty about ease of use of alignable attributes has a negative effect on consumers’ willingness to replace a product As more information on a product’s non-alignable attributes becomes available, consumers’ ambiguity about the updated product will decrease and their likelihood of replacement will decrease (Smith and Amir, 2010; Norton, Frost and Ariely, 2007: Bar-Hillel and Budescu, 1995; Krizan and Windschitl, 2007). In addition to technological obsolescence, curiosity and self-regulation in terms of the newness and novelty of a product may motivate consumers to replace a product. Existing consumers may be very curious about new information and non-alignable attributes, making every effort to process available information (Alba and Hutchinson, 1987; Maheswaran and Sternthal, 1990; Nam et al., 2012; Sujan, 1985). When non-alignable attributes become available, consumers do not look at them separately from the alignable ones with which the upgraded product is already equipped; instead, they evaluate the product holistically (Bertini et al., 2009). In an identification–classification task, subjects that were able to attend selectively to the relevant dimension and filter the irrelevant one for separable stimuli were unable to do so for integral stimuli. Non-alignable attributes directly affect consumers’ willingness (likelihood) to replace a product. Therefore, a mediating role of ambiguity is evident between non-alignable attributes and consumers’ willingness to replace the product. Thus, we present the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1-1: When information on alignable attributes becomes available, consumers will be primed with prevention-focus. Hypothesis 1-2: When information on non-alignable attributes is available, consumers will be primed with promotion-focus. Hypothesis 2-1: If consumers are uncertain about the alignable attributes of a product, they will less likely purchase the updated version of the product. Hypothesis 2-2: If consumers are uncertain (ambiguous) about the non-alignable attributes of a product, they will more likely purchase the updated version of the product. Each individual tries to minimize the distance from a current state to a desired state by means of self-regulation (Higgins, Kruglanski and Pierro, 2003). The mode of self-regulation may be either locomotive or assessable. Assessment is a self-regulatory mode in which some objects and states are critically and analytically judged relative to desired means and goals in order to select the best among many alternatives (Kluglanski et al., 2000). Assessors intend to minimize the distance from the current state to the desired state by means of comparative processes to measure, construe and evaluate among alternatives (Higgins et al., 2003). Accordingly, they make cognitive efforts to compare and analyze the alternatives prior to the choice behavior. The other self-regulatory mode, locomotion, involves judging of objects and states with reference to a particular goal in the process of selecting alternatives (Kruglanski et al., 2000; Pierro et al., 2006). Because locomotors emphasize behavior and progress, they are quick to analyze the alternatives and direct in their selection. Locomotors are different from assessors, who select the best alternative via comparative processes. Locomotors try to select the best alternative realistically and heuristically to achieve their goals. They may not commit to analytical assessment of all possible problems in the process. In the process of evaluating alternatives, assessors focus on all attributes rather than on some particular attributes. They continuously try to assess both alignable and non-alignable attributes. By contrast, locomotors want to achieve a particular goal rapidly. When they perceive technological obsolescence, they may rely on information about alignable attributes because they are eager to benefit from improved features and functions. In the same vein, when they perceive psychological obsolescence, they may rely on information about non-alignable attributes because of the differences in value of these attributes from those of the existing product. Therefore, we offer the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 3: When assessors evaluate an updated product, they will put more weight on non-alignable attributes than on alignable attributes. Hypothesis 4: When locomotors evaluate an updated product, they will depend upon attribute information corresponding to the two types of obsolescence. EXPERIMENT 1 Method Experiment 1 explores consumers’ regulatory focus which would be differently primed either with alignable attributes or with nonalignable attributes (H1 and H2). And it explores consumers’ purchase intention via the amount of information (low-information vs. high-information) and regulatory modes (locomotion vs. assessment. A pretest was conducted with a separate sample (n=64) to ensure that the product profile used in the experiment matched the situation where participants perceive alignable attributes to be deterministic, functional and salient, and where they perceive nonalignable attributes to be peripheral, hedonic and novel. We picked the external HDD that participants associated with salience and newness. In the main experiment, two hundred seventy one participants read information about the external HDD and then answers on the alignable and nonalignable attributes of this product. The between-subject experimental design consists of information type (alignable vs. nonalignable attributes) x information amount (low-information vs. high-information). Results We examined that consumers will be primed with different regulatory focus (H1 and H2) upon the type of information via a gap analysis and a mediated regression analysis. The test results were that respondents exposed to the information type of alignable attributes would be primed with prevention-focus (4.60) than with promotion-focus (4.20) (t = -3.180, p < .001), and that respondents exposed to the information type of nonalignable attributes would be primed with promotion-focus (4.44) than with prevention-focus (3.99) (t = -2.746, p < .05). Next, the type of information was treated as a dummy variable, where it takes values of “0” for nonalignable attributes and of “1” for alignable attributes. Respondents’ dominant regulatory focus was set to be the value of prevention which was subtracted from the value of promotion. The primed regulatory focus fully mediates between the type of information and purchase intention (Sobel Z-score = -3.827, p < .01). That is, if consumers are exposed to the information type of alignable attributes, they will be primed with prevention-focus, which will negatively affect consumers’ purchase intention. Accordingly, Hypothesis 1-1 and 1-2 were supported. Furthermore, we examined the differential effect on purchase intention via a 2 (type of information) × 2(amount of information) between-subjects ANOVA (H1-2 and H2-2) as in Figure 2. In the case of respondents exposed to alignable attributes, the purchase intention was higher for certain information (3.75) than for uncertain information (3.20) (t = 2.077, p < .05), whereas in the case of respondents exposed to nonalignable attributes, the purchase intention was higher for uncertain information (4.48) than for certain information (3.81) (t = 2.478, p < .05). Prior knowledge and involvement on the stimulus were controlled as covariates, and respondents were divided into groups by means of the information type and the information amount. The interaction between the variables was investigated (F(1, 271) = 13.413, p < .01). Accordingly, H2-1 and 2-2 were supported. Finally, we examined the differential effect on purchase via 2 (regulatory mode) × 2 (type of information) between-subjects ANOVA (H4 and H5) as in Figure 3. Regulatory mode was dichotomized into locomotion and assessment by the median of values of assessment subtracted from those of locomotion. In the assessors’ case, a difference between the purchase intentions by means of the type of information – alignable attributes (3.60) and nonalignable attributes (3.73), was not found (t=-.533, p > .10). Hypothesis 3 was rejected. On the other hand, in the locomotors’ case, the purchase intention of respondents exposed to the information type of nonalignable attributes (4.53) would be higher than that of those exposed to the information type of alignable attributes (3.38) (t = 3.826, p < .01). Accordingly, hypothesis 4 was supported. Prior knowledge and involvement on the stimulus were controlled as covariates, respondents were divided into groups by means of regulatory mode and the information type. The interaction among purchase intention, regulartory mode and the information type (F(1,271) = 7.647, p < 0.01).

The explosion of new technologies is transforming the retail industry. In particular, a range of smart technologies (e.g., tablets, smartphones, WiFi, augmented reality, apps, video, virtual catalogs, smart tags) are providing fashion retailers with innovative ways to capitalize on strategic opportunities (Anderson & Exkstein, 2013). Due to the growth of smart in-store technology (SIST) applications in the retailing environment, it is critical for academic researchers to understand consumer responses to these technologies. The technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis et al., 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1992) is one framework for investigating consumer adoption of SIST. However, research has been equivocal concerning the belief-attitude-intention linkage, especially the mediating role of attitude in TAM. As an attempt to address this issue, this study examines how well TAM explains consumer adoption of SIST. Online survey data were collected from three different SIST settings (i.e., Virtual Mirror vs. Socially Interactive Dressing Room vs. RFID Music Tag). A total of 657 individuals completed the questionnaires resulting in a 27.56% response rate. Excluding participants with incomplete data, responses from 625 individuals (203 for Virtual Mirror; 209 for Socially Interactive Dressing Room; 213 for RFID Music Tag) were included for data analysis. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions was used to analyze the data. Our major findings include: (a) perceived ease of use was found to be a suppressor variable and thus dropped from the model; (b) perceived usefulness was significant in Virtual Mirror (β = .33, p < .01), Socially Interactive Dressing Room (β = .26, p < .01) and RFID Music Tag (β = .18, p < .01); (c) perceived enjoyment was found to be the best predictor of adoption intention of: Virtual Mirror (β = .46, p < .001); Socially Interactive Dressing Room (β = .61, p < .001); and RFID Music Tag (β = .67, p < .001); (d) attitude has a small effect above and beyond the effects of perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment; and (e) attitude partially mediated the belief-intention linkage in Virtual Mirror. In Socially Interactive Dressing Room and RFID Music Tag, attitude fully mediated the usefulness-intention linkage while it partially mediated the enjoyment-intention relationship. Our findings have implications for improving consumer adoption of SIST. Our data indicate that, although perceived usefulness is clearly important, perceived enjoyment is even more important and should not be overlooked in SIST execution and management. Our results imply that consumers may be willing to tolerate a SIST that does not do a useful task in order to enjoy the SIST experience itself. This finding also suggests that no amount of usefulness will be able to compensate for a SIST that does not provide enjoyment.