후쿠시마 원전사고 이후 광역의 방사성 오염부지가 발생되었으며, 이에 대한 제염작업으로 인하여 다량의 제염폐기물이 발 생하였다. 일본에서는 이를 보관하기 위하여 각 지역에 임시저장시설이 운영되고 있으며, 이들 시설들은 피난지시해제가 이루어진 지역의 일반인에 대하여 방사선학적 영향을 미칠 것으로 판단된다. 본 연구에서는 임시저장시설 인근에 거주하 는 일반인의 방사선학적 안전성 확보를 위하여 임시저장시설 특성에 따른 거리별 공간 방사선량률 및 선량제한치를 만족하 는 임시저장시설로부터의 이격거리를 평가하였다. 이를 위해 임시저장시설의 형태 및 크기, 복토 두께 등을 고려하였으며, MCNPX를 이용하여 방사선량률을 평가하였다. 복토에 의한 차폐효과는 두께가 10 cm일 때 68.9%, 30 cm일 때 96.9%, 50 cm 일 때 99.7%로 나타났다. 임시저장시설 형태에 따른 공간 방사선량률은 지상 보관형일 때 가장 높게 나타났으며, 이어서 반 지하 보관형, 지하 보관형일 순으로 나타났다. 임시저장시설 크기에 따른 공간 방사선량률은 5 × 5 × 2 m 시설을 제외한 시 설에 대하여 유사하게 나타났다. 이는 임시저장시설 내 적재된 제염폐기물에 의하여 자기차폐가 이루어지기 때문이다. 최종 적으로 크기가 50 × 50 × 2 m이고, 복토가 없는 임시저장시설의 경우, 지상 보관형의 평가된 이격거리는 14 m(최소농도), 33 m(최빈농도), 57 m(최대농도)이며, 반지하 보관형의 이격거리는 9 m(최소농도), 24 m(최빈농도), 45 m(최대농도), 지하 보관형의 이격거리는 6 m(최소농도), 16 m(최빈농도), 31 m(최대농도)로 나타났다.

In this study, the fracture behavior of a thermoplastic-modified epoxy resin reinforced with continuous carbon fibers for two levels of fiber-matrix adhesion was performed. A carbon fiber with commercial sizing was used and also treated with a known silane, (3-glycidoxy propyl trimethoxysilane) coupling agent. Toughness was determined using the double cantilever test, together with surface analysis after failure using scanning electron microscope. The presence of polysulfone particles improved the fracture behavior of the composite, but fiber-matrix adhesion seemed to play a very important role in the performance of the composite material. There appeared to be a synergy between the matrix modifier and the fibermatrix adhesion coupling agent.

Drawing on psychological reactance theory, this study examines consumers’ reactions to grocery categories’ variety reductions. Results show negative main effects on post-reduction satisfaction with variety and store patronage intentions, which are moderated by grocery category nature and by consumers’ intrinsic need for variety and attitude toward private label brands.

The paper focuses on the social commerce paradigm, underlining how social media are able to assist e-retailers in their effort of creating a total omni-channel e-customer experience. The empirical research represents a new prospect on the topic, because nowadays social commerce is not completely understood and realized from a managerial perspective.

Web 2.0 has changed the way users create, share and use online information (O'Connor, 2008). The testimony of anonymous and exempt consumers that emits reviews and ratings through online reviews is a form of Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM). Positive online reviews can contribute to a significant increase in hotel reservations (Ye, Law, & Gu, 2009). Online reviews are amidst the most important factors that influence hotel reservations (Dickinger & Mazanec, 2008) However, only a small percentage of travelers contribute actively with new reviews and evaluations (Bronner & Hoog, 2011). Thus, it is very important to know what motivates consumers to make online hotel reviews, to get more online comments and, consequently, more hotel reservations. Cantallops and Salvi (2014) say that there is little research on eWOM and hotels. The objective of this study is to identify the different causal combinations (configurations) of motivations (personal, social benefit, social concern, and consumer empowerment (Bronner & Hoog, 2011)), and socio-demographic characteristics (gender and age) that lead to hotel online reviews. The study uses the fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) because it allows to identify the necessary and sufficient configurations to achieve the outcome (Fiss, 2011). This is an innovative approach in this domain, to the best of our knowledge, because the study focuses on the causal recipes of motivations and not on the net effects of independent motivations as past research do. The study obtained a convenience sample of 192 valid responses, from an online survey.The measures show adequate reliability. The results show that the social concern is a necessary condition and the consumer empowerment is an “almost always necessary” condition. The analysis of sufficient conditions show that three different combinations (explain 43.6% of the cases) of conditions exist that lead to eWOM: 1) being a female older than 35 years old combined with high social concern and high consumer empowerment; 2) being a female older than 35 years old combined with high social concern and high personal motivations; and, 3) being a male combined with the presence of high social concern, high personal motivations, and high consumer empowerment which represents the most significant representation of consumers that make online reviews. Managers should consider these recipes in communication and website design strategies. For example, for men, it is important to have jointly a simple communication channel so that they can easily share positive or negative experiences to help others (social concern); a travel website where they get some fun (personal motivation); and, to believe that their opinions are taken into account by the hotels, namely to improve service (consumer empowerment). In this way,hotels and travel services providers promoting these aspects will tend to have more and better online reviews, which will have a positive influence on hotel reservations. Future studies should consider different motivations for online reviews and eWOM.

Motivated by the recent cases of negligent social responsibility as manifested by foreign luxury fashion brands in Korea, this study investigates whether agency costs depend on the sustainability of different types of corporate governance. Agency costs refer either to vertical costs arising from the relationship between stockholders and managers, or to horizontal costs associated with the potential conflicts between majority and minority stockholders. The firms with luxury fashion brand could spend large sums of money on maintenance of magnificent brand image, thereby increasing the agency cost. On the contrary, the firms may hold down wasteful spending to report a gaudily financial achievement. This results in mitigation of the agency cost.

This paper draws on the concept of transculturality, shifting our attention beyond religion as a stable belief system toward religion as a field of transcultural practices. Our conceptualization of religion as a field of transcultural practices is empirically grounded in a hermeneutic analysis of depth interviews with 24 Southeast Asian immigrant consumers living in Auckland, New Zealand. The findings reveal two interrelated sets of transcultural practices through which religion shapes multicultural marketplaces. The first set of practices facilitates entry into multicultural marketplaces, by easing the process of border crossing and enabling social capital development. The second set of practices facilitates mutual entanglement within multicultural marketplaces, by fostering intercultural competency development, sharing of cultural consumption rituals, and enabling the flows of material resources. This paper helps to advance the growing literature on religion and marketing in two ways. First, a transcultural approach moves religion beyond a view of each religious tradition as a bounded system. Instead, religion emerges as an open and dynamic system which is deeply contextualized and whose function morphs to meet the character of the cultural context in which it is embedded. Second, in addition to the present focus on how religion produces differences in marketplace behaviors, this paper also sheds light on the transcultural properties of religion which are held in common across diverse religious traditions. Rather than becoming a dividing force in contemporary multicultural marketplaces, religious fields are also revealed to be hybridized and hybridizing fields of transcultural flows. Overall, in the context of multicultural marketplaces, religion emerges as a key site for the performance of practices which fuel transcultural dynamics.

This article explores alternate ways to conceptualize self-nature relationship, that is, how nature in general, rather than specific nature places, become part of the extended self and how this influences responsible consumption. An ethnography, using participant observation, iterative in-depth interviews and photographs, was used to understand self-nature relationship and consumption behavior. The study was conducted in Malaysia using the English language as the medium of communication. The results suggest three levels of extended-self, reflecting the individual’s depth of relationship with nature; relational extended-self, encapsulated-self and assimilated-self. Nature as extended self, then, influences meanings attached to nature which results in different levels of attachment with nature; these are, functional, emotional, religious and spiritual attachment. When nature is perceived as separate from self, consumption behaviour is motivated by self-interest or self-preservation. As nature experiences are internalised, individuals begin to form emotional connections which initiates the process of self-extension whereby nature is progressively seen as part of the self. At the higher level, stronger affiliation with nature may result in religious or spiritual attachment, which motivates further assimilation of the self with nature and a sense of oneness with the broader universe promoting communal relationship and mutual gain. Our study contributes theoretically with the discovery of three dimensions of extended self and how extended self influences responsible consumption. Practically, these insights are valuable for public policy, social marketing and sustainability programs, for example, it highlights a possible solution to our unsustainable consumption behaviour which is, programs or activities which encourage our citizens to spend time with nature.

Introduction Consumers throughout the world, including Asia, are showing increased concerns about food safety. Public policy, industry, and academic researchers are turning increased attention to the effects of food labeling requirements. General food labels provide information about serving size, servings per container, total calories per serving, calories from fat, and minimum daily nutritional value. Consumers must then use the food labeling information to make individual dietary choices. Thus it is appropriate for researchers to ask how consumers formulate product choices and evaluations according to food labeling information including calorie counts and standardized nutritional information (Ford et al. 1996; Keller et al. 1997; Roe, Levy, & Derby 1999). Long-term strategies are critically needed to find ways to protect public health and to assure food safety. Health practitioners and governmental regulators have increased their efforts to address the growing problem by sponsoring programs for food safety and by requiring nutritional labeling. In answer to the need for further research in food consumption behavior (RFC), this study was conducted to investigate how manufacturers might use consumers’ perceptions of risks and involvement for planning the most effective food labeling. Theoretical Framework To find ways to promote general and social marketing healthful consumer use of food labels (Lefebvre, 1988; McDermott, 2000), this study utilizes consumer segmentation techniques in which consumers are categorized according to psychological and demographic profiles (Slater, Kelly, & Thackeray, 2006). That is, they are segmented based on essential homogeneous responses (Forthofer, 2000; Kotler, 1971) and demographic characteristics, including age, gender, income and social class, although demographics may be less effective than psychological differences for predicting responses to health promotions (Lefebvre, 1988; Slater, 1991). The psychographics approach to consumer segmentation, derived from marketing techniques, selects variables that predict health behaviors; that is, consumers are segmented according to how they process communication channel properties and message features (Rimal & Adkins, 2003). By focusing on consumer segmentation we elucidate how consumers react to food labeling designed to promote health and food safety. Consumer segmentation should help us understand why consumers might reject risky unhealthful behaviors and adopt protective healthful behaviors (Slater, 2006). The risk perception attitude framework (Garretson & Burton, 2000; Rimal & Real 2003; Turner, Rimal, Morrison &, Kim, 2006) is a theoretical perspective for segmenting consumers based on their perceptions of risk and their beliefs about personal efficacy. According to the risk perception attitude framework, risk perceptions are usually insufficient to motivate behavior, but when high risk perceptions are coupled with strong efficacy beliefs, people are more motivated to engage in self-protective behaviors. Social cognitive theory and the extended parallel process model also support the importance of efficacy beliefs as moderating risk perception effects on self-protective behavior (Bandura 1986; Witte 1994). Using the risk perception attitude framework for purposes of this study, consumers are classified into four groups according to their risk perception and self-efficacy as indicated by their involvement in health concerns. 1) The "indifference" group comprises study participants who have low risk perceptions and low involvement; they believe they face few risks, lack control of their actions, and are thus not motivated to undertake protective behaviors. 2) The "responsive" group comprises study participants who have high risk perceptions and high involvement and thus are motivated to undertake extensive self-protective behaviors. 3) The "proactive" group comprises participants who have low risk perception but high involvement; they believe strongly in their personal abilities to take control, but perceive low risk and are thus not motivated to engage in self-protective behaviors. 4) The "avoidance" group comprises study participants who have high risk perceptions and low involvement; they are concerned about the need to counter risks but lack the self-efficacy and involvement to follow recommendations. Research Questions To examine the risk perception attitude framework in the context of research on food consumption behavior (RFC), three central research questions are posed: RQ1: How are consumers classified according to their level of perceived risk and involvement? RQ2: Do different consumer types show different attitudes toward paying higher prices for safer food and toward paying attention to food labels? RQ3: What factors influence consumer classifications? Methods Data for this study came from research on food consumption behavior (RFC) conducted by Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) in 2014. In 2013, the KREI began gathering data regarding food consumption behavior to help the food industry develop more efficient use of food resources. RFC data are appropriate because they include data about various consumption patterns regarding food lifestyles, purchases, and food safety. Specifically, RFC for this study, we gathered data for a stratified sampling of 6,311 consumers, 19 to 75-years-old, living in 16 metropolitan city-regions in South Korea. Table 1 shows general features of the research participants. Among the respondents, 44.2% were men; 55.8% were women; 10.7% were 19 to 25-years-old; 37.6% were high school graduates; 46.9% had lower than middle school graduation levels, 21.9% were college graduates, 2.3% had post-graduate levels, 1.1% were uneducated; 36.5% had average monthly family incomes of 200~399; 1.3% had the highest rate of 1000 and more; 1.0% had low to moderate interest in health; 42.8% reported that they bought food two or three times weekly; 0.7% reported buying food once a month. Respondents reported an average 3.93 regarding risk perceptions for food safety. Their reported average level of involvement was 3.32; average of intention to pay higher prices for safe food was 3.37, and their average likelihood of checking food labels was 3.15. Measurement To score education levels, the uneducated group = 1, less than middle school = 2, high school graduates = 3, college graduates = 4, and postgraduates = 5. A five-point Likert-type scale was used to measure participants’ interest in their health (1 = complete indifference to 5 = very much interested). Also a five-point Likert scale was used to measure perceived risk for twelve items related to food safety: foreign substances, pesticide residue, use of antibiotics in livestock and fish, natural toxicity, food additives, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, bacterial contamination, livestock disease, GMO, irradiation, packing hazards, and allergens (1 = not concerned at all to 5 = very concerned). Involvement was measured for three questions regarding food origin, food materials, and eco-friendly products (1 = not concerned at all to 5 = very concerned). Intentions to pay higher prices for safe food and to check food labels were measured from 1 = not at all to 5 = very positive. Results Four consumer groups were classified according to their level of perceived risk and involvement. We followed previous RPA model studies (e.g., Sullivan et al., 2008; Jo & Yoo, 2011) and classified groups based on median perceived risk and involvement: (≥4.00) for high perceived risk, (<4.00) for low perceived risk, (≥3.333) for high involvement, and (< 3.33) for low involvement. The responsive group had high perceived risk and high involvement; the proactive group had low perceived risk and high involvement; the avoidance group had high perceived risk and low involvement; and the indifference group had low perceived risk and low involvement. Additionally, ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey test was conducted to examine the average difference among the four groups regarding their intentions to pay higher prices for safe food and to check food labels. Multinomial logit regression was performed to discover the factors that influence classification of consumer types. Classification of consumer types according to perceived risk and involvement Table 1 shows the consumer classifications according to the level of perceived risk and involvement: 1,198 participants, 21.8%, were in the indifference group with low perceived risk and low involvement; 1,254 participants, 22.8%, were in the proactive group with low perceived risk and high involvement; 1,125 participants, 20.5%, were in the avoidance group with high perceived risk and low involvement; 1,924 participants, 35.5%, were in the responsive group with high perceived risk and high involvement. Among the four groups, the responsive group had a statistically significant relatively high ratio: χ2 value for group classification was 79.695 (p <.001). Consumer classification differences in purchase intentions to pay higher prices for safe food and to check food labels Table 2 shows differences in intentions to pay higher prices for safe food and to check food labels. The proactive group showed the highest average intentions to pay higher prices for safe food at 3.52, followed by the responsive group at 3.51, the avoidance group at 3.25, and the indifference group at 3.16. The differences among the groups were statistically significant. A Tukey post-analysis showed that the high involvement group, in contrast with the low involvement group, showed higher average intentions to pay higher prices for safe food. Among the low involvement groups, those with high perceived risk had higher average intentions than those with low perceived risk. The responsive group showed the highest average intentions to check food labels at 3.44, followed by the proactive group at 3.43, the avoidance group at 2.74, and the indifference group at 2.27. The differences among the groups were statistically significant. A Tukey post-analysis showed that high involvement groups, in contrast with low involvement groups, showed higher average intentions to check food labels, but no difference was found according to the level of perceived risk. Influential factors of consumer segmentations Table 3 shows the results of examining the factors of gender, age, education, monthly average family income, and interest in health that are typical in consumer segments. Comparing all groups with the responsive group, the indifference group was most likely to comprise young women who had lower educational levels, lower monthly income, and less interest in health. The proactive group was most likely to be made up of men. The avoidance group was most likely to be made of young men who had lower educational levels, lower monthly incomes, and less interest in health. Discussion This study is an investigation of the theoretical framework of risk perception and involvement according to indifference, proactivity, responsiveness, or avoidance consumer segments. The study centrally indicates that the four risk perception–involvement framework groups differ in their perceptions of risk and the extent of their involvement. By revealing the importance of high involvement as a fruitful intervention strategy, the results suggest practical implications for public policymakers and marketers who strive to devise appropriate food labeling. Social cognitive theory has long stressed the importance of enhancing personal involvement (Bandura 1986). That insight can be applied to the risk perception attitude framework for identifying particular audiences who will respond to involvement-enhancing messages. Our findings suggest that a useful strategy in promoting change is to recognize that consumers will react differently according to their tendencies toward indifference, proactivity, responsiveness, or avoidance.

The objective is to explore how fashion websites affect consumers’ perception and evaluation of footwear. Mixed methodologies including eye-tracking experiments, field note and semi-structured interviews were conducted. According to our results, the relationship between pupil dilation and fixation count is related. Many participants were more concerned about the style and comfort of the product.

Malassezia pachydermatis (M. pachydermatis) otitis is an important infectious disease of dogs throughout the world. In the present study, the presence, diagnosis, clinical signs and chemotherapy of M. pachydermatis were studied in clinical otitic dogs of Lahore and its suburbs. During two-year study period, a total of 200 ear cerumen samples from otitic dogs were examined microscopically. Of these, 46 (23%) were found positive for M. pachydermatis. The difference in the prevalence of infection between the pendulous ear and erected ear dogs as well as sex predilection was found nonsignificant (P>0.05). However, a significantly (P<0.05) higher prevalence (86.90%) was recorded in dogs of more than one years of age group. The animals determined positive for the M. pachydermatis were divided into two groups (A and B) and treated with Clotrimazole and Nystatin, respectively. Efficacy of both the antifungals was evaluated on the basis of reversal of clinical signs scoring and cytological examinations at 7, 14, 21-day post treatment. The overall efficacy of Clotrimazole and Nystatin was 73% and 68%, respectively. Clotrimazole showed better results as compared to Nystatin in accomplishing cure rate from mycological infection. It was concluded that M. pachydermatis is a significant cause of otitis in dogs wherein Clotrimazole proves to be a more effective drug in eliminating the infection in the affected Dogs.

This paper presents how Digital Knowledge Ecosystem such as “Govi Nena” (translates as agriculture intelligence) can be used to provide a more effective and practical solution to eliminate the inefficiencies in agricultural markets and achieve higher productivity and price stability. In order to establish the framework to analyze the system, this paper uses a set of hypothetical scenarios faced by value chain actors based on a review of the literature, established knowledge and recent developing country experiences. The scenario analysis reveals that “Govi Nena” enables farmers to make effective production decisions, deepens the level of value chain integration, and enhances the level of welfare for the society as a whole.