PURPOSES : Thermal cracking (also called low-temperature cracking) is a serious stress for asphalt pavement, especially in eastern South Korea, the northern USA, and Canada. Thermal cracking occurs when the level of thermal stress exceeds the corresponding level of low temperature strength of the given asphalt materials. Therefore, computation of thermal stress is a key factor for understanding, quantifying, and evaluating the level of low-temperature cracking resistance of asphalt pavement. In this paper, two different approaches for computing thermal stress on asphalt binder were introduced: Hopkins and Hamming’s algorithm (1967) and the application of a simple power-law function. All the computed results were compared visually; then the findings and recommendations were discussed. METHODS: Thermal stress of the tested asphalt binder was computed based on the methodology introduced in previous literatures related to viscoelastic theory. To perform the numerical analysis, MATLABTM 2D matrix-correlation and Microsoft Excel visual basic code were developed and used for the function fitting and value-minimization processes, respectively. RESULTS : Different results from thermal stress were observed with application of different computation approaches. This variation of the data trends could be recognized not only visually but also statistically. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that these two different computation approaches can successfully provide upper and lower limits (i.e. boundaries) for thermal stress prediction of a given asphalt binder. Based on these findings, more reliable and reasonable thermal stress results could be provided and finally, better pavement performance predictions could also be expected.

TiO2-doped activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were successfully prepared as capacitive deionization (CDI) electrode materials by facile ultrasonication-assisted process. ACFs were treated with titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) and isopropyl alcohol solutions of different concentrations and then calcinated by ultrasonication without heat-treatment. The results show that a certain amount of anatase TiO2 was present on the ACF surface. The specific capacitance of the TiO2-doped ACF electrode was remarkably improved (by 93.8% at scan rate of 50 mV s–1) over that of the untreated ACF electrode, despite decreases in the specific surface area and total pore volume upon TiO2 doping. From the CDI experiments, the salt adsorption capacity and charge efficiency of the sample with TTIP percent concentration of 15% were found to considerably increase by 71.9 and 57.1%, respectively. These increases are attributed to the improved wettability of the electrode, which increases the number of surface active sites and facilitates salt ion diffusion in the ACF pores. Additionally, the Ti-OH groups of TiO2 act as electrosorption sites, which increases the electrosorption capacity.

The ride quality (i.e. smoothness) is a key factor for evaluating the construction quality of expressway asphalt pavement. Conventionally, three paving devices are widely used to control the surface layer thickness: leveling sensor (i.e. LS), short-range-surfacing-contact-ski (i.e. SSCS) and long-range-surfacing-contact-ski (i.e. LSCS). However, each of these levelling tools presents one major drawback. In the case of LS, if the original sub-layer evenness is poor, the final asphalt pavement surface and its smoothness will be negatively affected. The SSCS cannot assure satisfactory smoothness when relatively long paving section (in the order of 10 km) are paved. While the LSCS would reduce the drawback of the SSCS, its weight on the one hand and its length on the other discourage its use in the paving site especially for curved sections. In this paper, a next generation pavement smoothness leveling equipment, known as non-contact-digital-ski (i.e. NCDS) was implemented, evaluated and compared to the conventional equipment leveling device. The international Roughness Index (IRI m/km) was measured on sections paved with and without NCDS and the results visually and statistically compared. In addition, for the same sections, the modulus of the pavement layers was computed and compared by means of Falling Weight Deflectometer (i.e. FWD). It was observed that when NCDS is used for asphalt pavement overlay of existing concrete pavement, significant improvement in IRI (i.e. IRI<1.0m/km) and consistently uniform elastic modulus could be achieved compared to the conventional levelling and paving method.

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid and accurate method for analyzing the quality of cereals, and dried animal forage. However, one limitation of this method is its inability to measure fermentation parameters in dried and ground samples because they are volatile, and therefore, respectively lost during the drying process. In order to overcome this limitation, in this study, fresh coarse haylage was used to test the potential of NIRS to accurately determine chemical composition and fermentation parameters. Fresh coarse Italian ryegrass haylage samples were scanned at 1 nm intervals over a wavelength range of 680 to 2500 nm, and optical data were recorded as log 1/reflectance. Spectral data, together with first- and second-order derivatives, were analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) multivariate regressions; scatter correction procedures (standard normal variate and detrend) were used in order to reduce the effect of extraneous noise. Optimum calibrations were selected based on their low standard error of cross validation (SECV) values. Further, ratio of performance deviation, obtained by dividing the standard deviation of reference values by SECV values, was used to evaluate the reliability of predictive models. Our results showed that the NIRS method can predict chemical constituents accurately (correlation coefficient of cross validation, R2 cv, ranged from 0.76 to 0.97); the exception to this result was crude ash (R2 cv = 0.49 and RPD = 2.09). Comparison of mathematical treatments for raw spectra showed that second-order derivatives yielded better predictions than first-order derivatives. The best mathematical treatment for DM, ADF, and NDF, respectively was 2, 16, 16, whereas the best mathematical treatment for CP and crude ash, respectively was 2, 8, 8. The calibration models for fermentation parameters had low predictive accuracy for acetic, propionic, and butyric acids (RPD < 2.5). However, pH, and lactic and total acids were predicted with considerable accuracy (R2 cv 0.73 to 0.78; RPD values exceeded 2.5), and the best mathematical treatment for them was 1, 8, 8. Our findings show that, when fresh haylage is used, NIRS-based calibrations are reliable for the prediction of haylage characteristics, and therefore useful for the assessment of the forage quality.

Porcine spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) prefer three-dimensional (3D) culture systems to 2D ones for the maintenance of self-renewal. Of the many 3D culture systems, agar-based hydrogels are candidates for supporting porcine SSC self-renewal, and there are various types of agar powder that can be used. In this study, we sought to identify an agar-based 3D hydrogel system that exhibited strong efficacy in the maintenance of porcine SSC self-renewal. First, 3D hydrogels with different mechanics were prepared with various concentrations of Bacto agar, lysogeny broth (LB) agar, and agarose powder, and the 3D hydrogel with the strongest alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and greatest increase in colony size was identified for the different types of agar powder. Second, among the porcine SSCs cultured in the different 3D hydrogels, we analyzed the colony formation, morphology, and size; AP activity; and transcription and translation of porcine SSC-related genes, and these were compared to determine the optimal 3D hydrogel system for the maintenance of porcine SSC self-renewal. We found that 0.6% (w/v) Bacto agar-, 1% (w/v) LB agar-, and 0.2% (w/v) agarose-based 3D hydrogels showed the strongest maintenance of AP activity and the most pronounced increase in colony size in the culture of porcine SSCs. Moreover, among these hydrogels, the strongest transcription and translation of porcine SSC-related genes and largest colony size were detected in porcine SSCs cultured in the 0.2% (w/v) agarose-based 3D hydrogel, whereas there were no significant differences in colony formation and morphology. These results demonstrate that the 0.2% (w/v) agarose-based 3D hydrogel can be effectively used for the maintenance of porcine SSC self-renewal.

Sustainability is currently regarded as an imperative business goal by multiple stakeholders, comprising investors, customers, and policymakers (Nidumolu, Prahalad, & Rangaswami, 2009; Sheth, Sethia, & Srinivas, 2011). In particular, how effectively the fashion industry deals with the challenges of sustainability will define its success for eras to come. This study focuses on how social power, parasocial interaction, and social capital work for purchase intention of sustainable fashion products in the fashion YouTube context. Specifically, the study investigates the effects of social power on parasocial interaction, the effects of parasocial interaction on social capital, and the effects of social capital on purchase intention for sustainable fashion products and the implications for sustainable fashion marketing and management. Theoretical Framework This study defines social power as types of power that can be employed to exert influence on others. The five social power bases (French & Raven, 1959) are discussed in terms of perceived influence: Expert power refers to someone who is perceived to be an expert, to have expert knowledge, or to possess special information. Legitimate power relates to someone who is perceived to have a legitimate right to impose behavioral requirements. Referent power is associated with someone who is personally identified. Reward power refers to someone who is perceived to have ability and coercive power to someone who is perceived to have the capability to confer punishment. Parasocial interaction concerns the relationship between media personalities and media users (Frederick, Lim, Clavio, & Walsh, 2012; Horton & Wohl, 1956; Jin & Park, 2009). Parasocial interaction can be defined as “immediate, personal, and reciprocal, but these qualities are illusory and presumably not shared by the speaker” (Horton & Strauss, 1957, p. 580; Jin & Park, 2009). Parasocial interaction theory focuses on the way audiences interact, relate to, and develop relationships with a celebrity (Jin & Park, 2009; Lee & Watkins, 2016). Audiences create a strong bond and intimacy with a celebrity while viewing media channels such as TV programs and social interactive media where audiences feel closer to the celebrity (Kassing & Sanderson, 2009; Lee & Watkins, 2016). Social capital refers to “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships” (Bourdieu, 1985, p. 248). Social capital involves the relationship between providing access to resources possessed by the associates and the nature and amount of those resources (Portes, 1998). Social capital can be clarified as an intangible force that helps to bind society together by transforming self-seeking individuals into members of a community with shared interests, shared assumptions about social relations, and a sense of the common good (Etzioni, 1996). Sustainability refers to three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social (Sheth, Sethia, & Srinivas, 2011). Sustainability transforms into a triple bottom line responsibility, with the inference that assessment of business outcomes should be based not only on economic performance, but also on the environmental and social impact. Environmental and social demands from various stakeholders contribute to the pressure for businesses to reflect sustainability. Thus, sustainable marketing practices are defined from economic, environmental, and social perspectives. In this study, effective sustainability measurements involve purchase intention for sustainable products especially emphasizing environmental and social performance. Focused on the effects of social power on parasocial interaction and the effects of parasocial interaction on social capital and purchase intention for sustainable products, this study tests the following hypotheses: H1. Social power (expert, referent, legitimate, and reward) positively influences parasocial interaction. H2. Parasocial interaction positively influences social capital (bonding and bridging). H3. Social capital positively influences purchase intention for sustainable fashion products (environmentally and socially sustainable fashion products). Methods This study used a survey to investigate key questions about the associations among social power, parasocial interaction, social capital, and purchase intention for sustainable fashion products. A total of 230 fashion YouTube users recruited from South Korea participated in the survey. Of the 230 participants, 40 were men (17.4%) and 190 were women (82.6%), with ages ranging from 20 to 39 (mean = 29.43 years). The social power of the fashion YouTuber (e.g., vlogger) was measured through an existing social power scale including expert, referent, legitimate, and reward measures that elicited user responses to 14 items (Goodrich & Mangleburg, 2010). Parasocial interaction was measured on the basis of user responses to six items on an existing 5- point scale that assessed parasocial interaction (Jin & Park, 2009). This study measured social capital on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree), which was adapted from an existing Internet social capital scale (Williams, 2006). Purchase intention was measured using three 7-point semantic differential scales (likely/unlikely, probable/improbable, possible/impossible; MacKenzie, Lutz, & Belch, 1986) after informing participants that they might be purchasing environmentally and socially sustainable products. Results The overall goodness-of-fit for this measurement model was acceptable (Chi-square 1236.138, df = 680, p <0.001, chi/df=1.818, TLI = 0.900, CFI = 0.913, RMSEA = 0.060). The reliability coefficients of all 14 social power measures including expert, referent, legitimate, and reward were 0.871, 0.782, 0.657, and 0.865, respectively. The reliability coefficient of all six parasocial interaction measures was 0.873. The reliability coefficients of all social capital measures were 0.684 for bonding factors and 0.899 for bridging factors. The reliability coefficients of purchase intention of environmentally and socially sustainable product measures were 0.921 and 0.947, respectively. The coefficients indicate acceptable reliability of the measures. This study used partial least squares (PLS) for structural equation modeling, which has good statistical power for samples. Social power, including referent (β = 0.018, p < 0.05) and reward (β = 0.359, p < 0.001), showed statistically positive effects on parasocial interaction. The results partially supported H1. Parasocial interaction showed statistically positive effects on social capital, the bonding factor (β = 0.578, p < 0.001), and the bridging factor (β = 0.651, p < 0.001). Thus, the results supported H2. For parasocial capital, bridging showed statistically positive effects on purchase intention of environmentally (β = 0.233, p < 0.01) and socially (β = 0.284, p < 0.01) sustainable products. Thus, the results partially supported H3 (see Table 1, Figure 1). Discussion This study contributes to clarifying the concept of social capital and determining the relationships between social capital and purchase intention for sustainable fashion products. This study contributes to the theoretical foundation and implications of social capital and sustainability. Specifically, social power, including referent and reward, positively influences parasocial interaction. Parasocial interaction has positive effects on social capital. In turn, social capital positively influences purchase intention for sustainable fashion products. This is the first study on the effects of social capital on purchase intention for sustainable fashion products in the fashion YouTube context. This study suggests that social capital is a strong influential variable for purchase intention regarding sustainable fashion products. Thus, fashion marketers should consider social capital management in the fashion YouTube context while tailoring their brand communications to enhance their sustainable marketing and management.

Luxury brand marketers have recently turned their attention to luxury brand consumers and their social brand communities devoted to the brands. Luxury brands appeal to customers by enhancing their images regarding heritage, quality, and artistic value. Luxury fashion brands also establish social media communities to communicate their images more effectively. This study uses the key concepts of integration and interactivity to provide theoretical foundations to investigate luxury brand communities (LBCs) in the social media context. A survey was given to 252 members of Facebook fan pages for luxury brands from South Korea. This study examines effects of interaction as a process on perceived interactivity of LBCs in social media, and consequences, attitude, purchase intentions, and brand loyalties, hence offering implications for luxury brand management academics and practitioners

3D printing is an additive software manufacturing technology for designing and creating real objects using a layering technique. Global brands including Coca Cola and Warner Bros have successfully offered the first 3D printing campaigns, but the market is still untapped for using 3D printing marketing in global advertising. Global brands potentially can undertake 3D printing technology campaigns that will offer innovative and strong experiences for enhancing brand values and competitiveness. Luxury brands are particularly recognized for their rarity, uniqueness, innovation, and classic traditions. Luxury brands can thus use 3D printing campaign experiences to expand the cultural imagination in coherence with luxury identifications. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of 3D printing campaign experience on attitude toward campaigns, perceived value of luxury brands, and purchase intentions. The authors offer implications for advertising practitioners by constructing a theoretical model regarding 3D printing campaigns and perceived values of luxury brands.

Luxury brand marketers and advertisers are turning recent attention to social brand communities among users of luxury fashion brands (Ko & Megehee, 2012). Corporations or consumers build social brand communities to create authentic customer experiences, inspire interactivity, and enhance attitudes toward brand, brand loyalty, and purchase behavior. We look to structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) for providing new conceptual foundations for studying luxury brand communities (LBC) in the social media context. Our aim is to show that LBC strategies are effective for promoting luxury brands. Using structuration theory, we indicate that structure, integration, and interactivity provide conceptual frameworks for integrating and conceptualizing LBC. Our study is the first to use structuration theory concepts to develop a theoretical framework for LBC in the social media context. Through this study, we clarify (1) LBC structure, integration, and interactivity based on structuration theory in the social media context, (2) actual interaction and perceived interactivity of social media-based LBC, (3) structure, integration, and interactivity as they affect attitude, purchase intention, and brand loyalty as outcomes. Our clarifications suggest possible implications for luxury brand management practitioners. Marketing practitioners know that LBCs amplify customer relationships. Through this study, we offer insights to help luxury brand management practitioners understand customer behaviors in LBCs. Marketing practitioners will benefit from new ideas regarding how to develop and manage luxury brand strategies by understanding structure, integration, actual interaction, and perceived interactivity.

The online game market has rapidly increased worldwide, especially in China. In 2012, the world game market equaled 111.7 billion. Many game companies compete by launching new online games in various genres. In 2010, Activision Blizzard reported that the World of Warcraft (WOW) is the world’s most popular online game. Chinese gamers constitute more than half of WOW’s 10 million users. Korea is the second largest gaming market. Thus many foreign game companies target Korea and China, in competition with domestic game companies. The purposes are 1) to understand the role of country of origin and /or brand image in game consumer behavior, 2) to find out the difference of game evaluation between game users in China and Korea, and 3) to draw strategic implication game marketers. Consumers expect products from advanced countries to provide superior performance, so they often look to country of origin in evaluating products. Recently, consumers have looked to brand image as another key element in product evaluation. In this research, we study whether gamers evaluate games on the basis of country of origin and/or brand image. In this paper, we add to the gaming research and suggest that the online game market has three dimensions. First, online games are products. Second, online games are service. Last, online games are entertainment. Data collection resulted in 355 usable responses from online game (LOL) users in Korea(166) and China(189). We conduct factor analysis and reliability analysis to check reliability and validity. Country of Origin is the key element for product evaluation of utilitarian goods but it doesn’t have significant effect on product evaluation of hedonic products which mainly provide sensual pleasure, fantasy, and fun to customers such as luxury goods or online game (Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000).