To date, in various methodological and theoretical domains, consumer value has been investigated to provide a comprehensive analytical framework that encompasses the full range of consumption-related phenomena. Consumer value is regarded as an important marketing concept since it deals with an issue closely related to the product positioning and competitive advantages (Woodruff, 1997). In the current marketplace, brands have often collaborated with retailers to extend their products and gain a competitive advantage in positioning the products effectively in the targeted market. Therefore, it is important for brands to understand how consumers perceive extended products when they are sold in retail stores so that they can locate the perceived position closer to the ideal point of a target segment. Thus, this study aims to examine measurement invariance in measures of consumers’ perceived value and its effect on prediction to allow researchers to compare predictions across groups. Drawn from a theory of consumption values (Sheth, Newman, & Gross, 1991) and related literatures, this study considered perceived value as a multidimensional construct as well as the expected outcome of an evaluative judgment. Likert-type items with seven-points were used for measuring four latent factors including social value, monetary value, convenience value, and epistemic value. Using a total of 869 data from participants in the U.S., multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine measurement invariance of consumers’ perceived value for two groups using different types of brand and retailer collaborations. The high-end brand and low-end retailer group had 444 participants, and the low-end brand and high-end retailer group had 425 participants. Based on the sequential testing procedure, the current study confirmed the consistent structure of the measurement instrument of consumers’ perceived value across groups. However, the factorial invariance of monetary value could not be established. The findings of this study contribute to providing insights on the methodological perspective by investigating whether or not the measurements of consumers’ perceived value yield measures of the same qualities in different shopping contexts.

This study explores the effect of ad variation effectiveness as a function of cultural differences, drawing from visual attention and encoding variability theory. Findings on HK and UK participants suggest that varying ad features may be most effective by changing those features that correspond to the intended consumer’s cognitive styles. Introduction Previous research suggests that showing varied ads can enhance brand recall, and result in more positive attitudes towards the brand (Unnava & Burnkrant, 1991). Following the encoding variability theory (Lee & Lee, 2016; Yaveroglu & Donthu, 2008), variations in encoded information improve recall because these variations provide additional memory representations for the target information, hence leading to more retrieval cues for the information to be recalled (Anderson & Bower, 1973). Transposed to an advertising context, each element of an ad (e.g., graphics, layout, backgrounds, products, brand logo, etc.) can serve as a retrieval cue for information recall. For instance, if a target product is embedded in two different backgrounds (e.g., a beer in a social event vs beach background), these two different contexts can serve as two different retrieval cues for the target product, compared to only one possible retrieval cue provided in same ad repetition. Since encoding variability theory relies on contextual changes and multiple memory paths to explain the ad variation effect, it may be affected by cultural difference (specifically, selective attention), which can act as a moderator of ad variation effectiveness. Western and East-Asian people have been found to have different visual attentional biases (e.g., Nisbett & Masuda, 2003), with Westerners being more attentive on focal objects (analytic perception) and Easterners focusing more on the whole picture (holistic perception). As such, the selective attention they paid towards the ad may enable them more susceptible to specific changes of an ad, thus increasing the available memory pathway towards brand information, i.e., brand recall. Brand attitudes are suggested to be formed through learning (e.g., Van Osselaer & Alba, 2000), i.e., consumers learn and process the information conveyed in an ad, which eventually affects their attitude towards a brand. This study therefore also tested the role of visual attention in moderating the effect of ad variation on brand attitude, since Eastern and Western customers learn differently due to their visual attentional styles. To examine the possible moderation of ad-variation effectiveness by visual attention in a cross-cultural context, this study exposed HK (Eastern) and UK (Western) participants with two different varied-ad executions, foreground-varied ads (ads that vary in focal object) and background-varied ads (ads that change in background features). Identical-ad execution was also included as a baseline. We hypothesized that, due to the difference in attentional bias in Eastern participants (holistic) and Western participants (analytic), different types of ad variations might results in different extents of effectiveness of the ad variation. Method A 2 (Culture: UK vs. HK) x3 (Ad type: identical vs. background-varied vs. foregroundvaried) between-subject factorial design experiment was used in this study. We used a fictitious Beer brand - Helga Brugge - for this study. In the identical-ad condition, the same target ad was repeated three times. We designed a target beer and two beer pints as foreground features and background features included a camping scene (in identical-ad condition), and a football stadium, camping scene and a social event scene (in background-varied condition). In foreground-varied condition, while keeping the background image constant (camping background), the foreground features differed, i.e., a bottle beer, a canned beer, and a bottle beer with two beer pins. See Figure 1 for the target ad stimuli. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three ad type conditions and watched the 20 advertisement slides (3 target ads with 17 filler ads), each of which was presented singularly for 3 seconds. Filler ads were chosen from real ads that were not used anymore at the time of the study. They included various product categories other than beer such as toy, beverage, and cosmetics. After being exposed to the advertisement, participants were asked to answer a series of questions measuring a number of variables in the following order: ad recall and brand recall (Lee & Lee, 2016), brand attitude (MacKenzie, Lutz & Belch, 1986) and demographic information. Data was collecting online using Qualtrics. Both Chinese and English versions of instructions were back translated (Miracle and Bang, 2002). Results After excluding incomplete datasets and participants whose nationality was not British or Hong Kong, the final sample comprised 117 UK (78 female) and 108 HK (63 female) participants. Cross-cultural Cognitive Differences in Perception To confirm the underlying assumption that HK participants tend to have holistic visual perception and UK participants tend to have analytical visual perception, participants’ responses were coded to identify the type of foreground information (e.g., beers, pints, foams) and background information (e.g., sunset, camping). The coding processes were independently performed by two coders; Cohen’s κ analyses showed a moderate agreement (Sim & Wright, 2005) between the two coders' judgments on both foreground information (κ = .781, p < .001, 95% CI, .716 to .846) and background information (κ = .775, p < .001, 95% CI, .706 to .843). Two 2(Culture: UK vs. HK) x 3(Ad type: identical, background-varied and foregroundvaried) analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. Results support our assumption: UK participants elicited more comments on foreground information (M= 1.56, SD= 1.20) than HK participants did (M= 1.05, SD= 1.03; F(1, 219)= 11.80, p= .001, =.051), and HK participants elicited more comments on background information (M= 1.69, SD= 1.19) than UK participants did (M= 1.09, SD= 1.03; F(1, 219)=16.22, p<.001, =.069). There was no statistically significant main effect on ad type or any statistically significant interaction effect. Brand Recall For UK participants, we hypothesized that their selective attention towards focal objects would enable them more susceptible to changes in the foreground-varied ad conditions, but not in the background-varied ad conditions. Chi-squared analyses revealed that UK participants’ brand recall scores in foreground-varied condition (M=89.2%) was significantly higher than those in both background-varied (M=53.7%): X^2 (1, N=78) = 11.80, p<.001, ϕ =.39, and identical conditions (M=43.6%): X^2 (1, N=76) = 17.5, p<.001, ϕ =.48. There was no difference in brand recall between identical and background-varied conditions. Conversely, we hypothesized that both background- and foreground-varied ads would be equally effective for HK participants due to their holistic attention towards both foreground and background objects. Multiple chi-squared tests revealed that, HK participants’ brand recall scores in both foreground-varied condition (M=59.5.%) and background-varied condition (M=58.3%) were significantly higher than that in the identical condition (M=34.3.%; foreground-varied vs. identical,X^2 (1, N=72) = 4.57, p=.032, ϕ =.25; background-varied vs. identical, X^2 (1, N=71) = 4.13, p= .042, ϕ =.24). The difference between the two varied ad conditions was not significant. Brand Attitudes We hypothesized that HK and UK participants’ brand attitudes also differ to different extents in the three conditions, following a similar pattern found in measuring brand recall. Consistent with this, independent-sample t-tests on UK participants revealed that the mean scores for brand attitude in both foreground-varied ads condition (M= 4.64) was higher than that in both identical ads condition (M= 3.71; t=-4.09, p<.001, d=0.94) and background-varied ads condition (M=3.98; t=3.49, p=.001, d=0.80). No significant difference was found between the identical-ad condition and background-varied condition. For HK participants, results of t-tests revealed that the mean scores for brand attitude in both foreground-varied condition (M= 4.18) and background-varied condition (M=4.33) were both significantly higher than that in identical ads condition (M= 3.53; foreground vs identical: t=-3.19, p=.002, d=0.51; background vs identical: t=4.87, p<.001, d=0.80). No significant difference was found between the two varied ads conditions. Discussion This research provides supporting evidence that visual attentional biases initiated by cultural differences can moderate the effectiveness of ad variation. Specifically, for UK participants, ad variation appeared to be effective only in foreground-varied ads. Conversely, both foreground-varied and background-varied ads were effective for HK participants. These findings have both theoretical and managerial implications. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first cross-cultural research in the domain of ad variation. It addresses a gap in the ad variation literature, by identifying the moderating effect that cultural differences can have on the ad variation effect. This opens up new research directions including considering other forms of cultural variations (e.g., language) and cognitive differences (e.g., reasoning styles) to better understand individual differences in the domain of ad-variation. This study also offers insights for international marketers looking at tailoring their advertising strategies for different target audiences to maximize ad- and cost-effectiveness. Besides varying features that correspond to the intended consumer’s cognitive styles, marketers could also consider priming consumers’ cognitive styles when determining advertising strategies, as previous research has shown that consumers’ cognitive styles are relatively malleabile (Lin & Han, 2009). For example, when executing foreground-varied ads, inserting them into an article that could induce an analytic cognition (e.g., bibliography programs about a successful life story of a person) would be an effective strategy. This study has two main limitations. First, it only included data from nationals of the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Non-cognitive cultural differences such as language and geographical mobility can affect cognitive styles (e.g., Rhode & Voyer, 2015). Future research should replicate and expand findings by looking at more countries (e.g., US, South Korea), with increased level of control on relevant non-cognitive crosscultural factors. Second, this study only looked at one hedonic product category: beer. Future research can replicate and expand findings, by looking at different product categories (e.g., utilitarian products, such as toothbrushes).

Terror management theory (TMT) highlights the impact of death related thoughts on consumers’ decisions in everyday life (Hayes, Schimel, Arndt, & Faucher, 2010) and the various coping behaviors they adopt to manage this terror-related anxiety. Individuals exposed to man-made (e.g. terrorist attacks, wars) or natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis) are obliged to mitigate the awareness of their eventual death or mortality salience (MS). MS plays a significant role in shaping individuals consumption behaviors, particularly in terms of materialism and ethnocentrism. This study aims to address (1) how MS-induced feelings impact consumers’ consumption criteria, preferences and behaviors, and (2) what contextual and cultural factors ought to be considered in this regard. Nineteen focus groups in total were conducted in Japan, Lebanon and the UK. Based on grounded theory approach, we found that consumers’ feelings based on their traumatic experiences exhibit some similarities and differences depending on their own historical, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds. Future research should include more countries and take into account a variety of cultural backgrounds. Moreover, as Japan, Lebanon and the UK represent three of the most prominent religions, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity respectively, religiosity may be a relevant concept in defining and interpreting MS in a cross-cultural context.

The purpose of this research was to examine consumers from distinct cultural groups and examine similarities and differences in their green purchase behaviors. The sample consisted of consumers from U.S.A. and South Korea and the theory of planned behavior was used as a theoretical framework to test the influence of diverse constructs on consumers’ purchase intentions toward organic cotton apparel. A total of 334 participants (164 for U.S.A. sample and 170 for South Korea sample) were recruited to examine purchase behaviors toward organic cotton apparel. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the relationship between the TPB constructs and compare the results between the two country groups. AMOS 24 and SPSS 24 were used to analyze the data. For both countries, perceived behavioral control (PBC) and descriptive norms were strong predictors of purchase intentions and injunctive norms strongly influenced attitude formation. However, the two groups showed different results regarding attitude-purchase intention, descriptive norms-attitude, and injunctive norms-purchase intentions relationship. For example, while attitude was the strongest predictor of purchase intention in the U.S.A. group, it had an insignificant effect in South Korea group. For South Korea group PBC had the strongest effect on consumers purchase intention. Multi-group SEM results showed that the difference in the chi-square statistics between the two models was significant. Significant differences were found in two structural paths: attitude → purchase intention and PBC → purchase intention. TPB provided a useful framework for explaining green purchase behaviors in both countries as PBC and descriptive norms strongly predicted consumers’ intention to purchase. However, South Koreans were more affected by the social pressure: their purchase intention were strongly influenced by both injunctive norms and descriptive norms which was in contrast to the findings from American consumers. Injunctive norms were an insignificant predictor of purchase intentions in the U.S.A. group. Injunctive norms reflect individual’s perception of whether the behavior is approved or disapproved by others while descriptive norms involve individual’s perception of whether the behavior is typically performed by others. Therefore, when Korean consumers perceive that others believe it is a good idea to purchase organic cotton apparel and when they actually see others purchasing the product, they will feel more inclined to purchase the product themselves. This result is consistent with previous research that suggest conformity is a crucial factor for people belonging to a collectivistic culture (e.g., Hofstede, 1980; Kitayama et al., 1995).

본 연구에서는 가교막을 poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)(PPO)에 브롬화반응을 통해 제조한 Br-PPO를 주 사슬로 성공적으로 제조하였고, 키토산과 4차암모늄이 포함된 키토산을 가교제로 사용하였다. 제조된 가교막은 트리메틸아민 용액에 함침하여 후처리를 진행하였다. 그리고 가교도는 가교제 비율을 이용하여 조절하였다. 이렇게 제조된 A-PPO + chitosan 가교막과 A-PPO + QA-chitosan 가교막의 이온교환막으로써의 가능성을 여러 특성평가로 확인하였다. Chitosan을 사용한 가교막보다 QA-chitosan을 사용한 가교막이 가교가 더 잘 이루어졌으며, QA-chitosan의 함량이 증가할수록 이온교환용량이 1.18 meq/g에서 1.53 meq/g까지 증가하는 경향, 함수율이 21.6%에서 42.2%까지 증가하는 경향을 나타내었다.

Background: The craniocervical flexion (CCF) exercise is one of the effective exercise in correcting forward head posture (FHP). However, some people with FHP achieve CCF with compensatory movements, for example, low cervical flexion using superficial neck flexors such as the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle. No study has yet investigated whether a dualpressure biofeedback unit (D-PBU) method to prevent low cervical flexion would be helpful in performing pure CCF movement. Objects: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of the CCF using D-PBU method and the traditional CCF method on the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the longus colli muscle (LCM) and the activity of SCM muscle in subjects with FHP. Methods: Twentyfour FHP subjects (male: 16, female: 8) were recruited for this study. All subjects performed CCF using two different methods: The traditional CCF method and the CCF using D-PBU method. The CSA of the LCM was measured via ultrasound, and surface electromyography was used to measure SCM muscle activity. Results: The change in CSA of the LCM was significantly larger during the CCF using D-PBU method (1.28±.09) compared with the traditional CCF method (1.19±.08) (p<.05). The SCM muscle activity using the CCF using D-PBU method (2.01±1.97 %MVIC) was significantly lower than when using the traditional CCF method (2.79±2.32 %MVIC) (p<.05). Conclusion: The CCF using D-PBU method can be recommended for increasing LCM activation and decreasing SCM muscle activity during CCF movement in subjects with FHP.

The purpose of this study is to compare securing of walking roads’ cross section zones in the walking paths by street by street and city by city. The cities involved with this study are Seoul Metropolitan Area and Tokyo Metropolitan Area. The securing of widths are compared based on zone types such as frontage, pedestrian, and furniture zones. The widths are measured directly through on-site surveys. The widths measured are compared the standards given by the present paper. Among 22 sites, the satisfied sites are counted. In terms of frontage zones in Seoul Metropolitan Area, 17 out of 22 sites are counted as satisfied while in Tokyo Metropolitan Area, 18 out of 22 sites are counted as satisfied. In terms of pedestrian zone, in Seoul Metropolitan Area, 13 out of 22 sites are counted as satisfied while in Tokyo Metropolitan Area, 14 out of 22 sites are counted as satisfied. In terms of furniture zone, in Seoul Metropolitan Area, 14 out of 22 sites are counted as satisfied while in Tokyo Metropolitan Area, 11 out of 22 sites are counted as satisfied. In conclusion, although walking roads’ cross section zones such as frontage, pedestrian, and furniture zones are relatively a new standards in Korea and Japan, many sites are founded being satisfied with the standards. However, the rates of satisfaction differs city by city. Especially the rates of satisfaction in furniture zones in Seoul Metropolitan are somewhat higher while the rates of satisfaction in frontage and pedestrian zones are similar between two cities.

We present a high-performance polymeric membrane based on self-cross-linkable poly(glycidyl methacrylate-g-poly-(propylene glycol))-co-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (PGP-POEM) graft copolymer for CO2/N2 separation. The self-cross-linked membranes can be easily prepared under mild conditions without any additional cross-linking agents or catalyst. We investigated the gas separation performance of the membranes as a function of POEM content in the copolymer. The self-cross-linked PGP-POEM membranes showed an improvement in both permeance and selectivity with increasing POEM content up to 51.2 wt %. The best performance of the membrane was achieved by optimizing membrane thickness, showing a CO2 permeance of 500 GPU (1 GPU = 10-6 cm3 (STP)/(s cm2 cmHg)) and CO2/N2 selectivity of 22.4.

Chemical cross-linking of different plant protein-based meat analogues was examined based on protein solubility of 8 different buffer solutions. The specific chemical bond and their interactions were further analyzed. Isolated soy protein (ISP), mung bean protein (MBP), peanut protein (PNP), pea protein (PP) and wheat gluten (WG) were texturized using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder at 50% moisture content. The results showed that protein solubility of meat analogues significantly decreased after extrusion, compared to their raw materials (P<0.05). The protein solubility of meat analogues increased with increasing reagent in buffer solutions. Hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonds, disulfide bonds and their interactions were found in the structure of meat analogues. The highest amount of covalent bond was observed in PP-meat analogues followed by ISP, WG, PNP, and the lowest MBP-meat analogues. The study demonstrated that PP are valuable raw materials for the development of meat analogue, which could promote high cross-linking bonds.

In this paper, the result of application of this simple method of vibration analysis developed by the author, to the special orthotropic plates with variable cross-section, and with a pair of opposite edges simple supported and the other pair of opposite edges free is presented. This problem represents the simple-supported single span bridge system without effective longitudinal edge beams. The effect of concentrated point mass/masses is also studied.

단동과 신의주는 쌍둥이 도시이며 해양 전략의 산물이다. 식민지시기 일본은 적극적으로 식민지국가의 연해도시를 발전시켰으며, 동시에 식민지 전통지역의 핵심지역을 와해하고 약화시켰다. 공업화, 근대화를 구축하는 과정에서 “문명”의 명목 하에 식민지화를 합법화시켰다. 동아시아 각국 식민지에서 이렇듯 식민해양도시를 발전시켰지만, 전통 내륙도시를 약화시켰다. “一帶一路”는 중국에게만 속하는 것이 아니라, 전 세계의 것이다. “일대”의 해양전략은 국가 간의 연계일 뿐만 아니라, 전 세계에 영향을 미치는 경계 도시 간의 연계이다. 다만 해양 국경도시의 발전기회가 더 많은 것이다. 따라서 중국 동북지역은 열악한 국제환경과 장기간 주도해왔던 대륙형 변경이념에서 벗어나 해양 발전관을 양성하고, “소프트 변경” 관리능력을 높여야 한다.

The hollow fiber composite membrane used in pervaporation test was prepared by dip coating method on the Polyether Sulfone hollow fiber using tartaric acid added PVA solution. And each membrane solution contains H2SO4 as acid catalyst for esterification reaction between PVA and TA. Also, to increase coating uniformity, specific amount of SDS(sodium dodecyl sulfate) was contained. Prepared membrane was characterized by IR spectroscopy, swelling to observe cross-linking degree of PVA and Tartaric acid then, finally used in pervaporation test. The pervaporation test was mainly studied about effect of catalyst amount in the membrane solution and the test was performed until pervaporation value converged.

We developed a regenerable antifouling membrane using photo-dynamic reversible cross-linking. We modified a branched polymer with photo-responsive group, and coated it to a membrane by dip-coating method. The combined results of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy measurements clearly revealed that the modified polymer were successfully synthesized ,and coated to the membrane by photo-dynamic reversible cross-linking. As expected, the modified film could be detached by UV irradiation. In addition, the photo-reversible membrane surface was recovered decreased water flux by photo-induced regeneration process.

음이온 교환막은 전기투석, 전기흡착식 탈염(capacitive deionization), 연료전 지 등에서 탈염과 전기 에너지 생산에 활용될 수 있다. 가교되어 있지 않은 음 이온 교환막은 물이나 유기용매에 대해 취약하거나 내구성이 약해서 장기간 사용해야 하는 경우 멤브레인의 안정성에 문제가 될 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 폴리 페닐렌 옥사이드계 음이온 교환막과 가교제의 종류와 실험 조건에 따라 가교하고 가교된 멤브레인의 물성과 특성을 조사하였다. 가교제의 종류로는 BADGE, m-PDA, HMDA를 사용하였다. 가교제 함량에 따른 유기용매 용해 여부와 IR 특성 피크 변화를 조사하였다. 가교결합 반응속도는 HMDA>m-PDA>BADGE 가교 제 순으로 빨랐다. 가교 전후의 이온교환용량, 함수율 등을 측정하고 비교하였다. 가교된 음이온 교환막의 내화학성과 기계적 특성이 우수하였다.

This study investigated the physical properties of polymers and antimicrobial activities of organic acids on Listeria monocytogenes to develop hydrogels. κ-carrageenan (1, 2, and 3%), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC; 1, 3, and 5%), and agar (1.5 and 3%) were mixed with cross-linkers (Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Al3+) or each other by stirring or heating to form cross-linkage, and their physical properties (hardness, elasticity, and swelling) were measured. The hydrogels formulated with organic acid (1, 3, and 5%) were analyzed by spot assay against L. monocytogenes. κ-carrageenan formed hydrogels with high hardness without other cross-linkers, but they had low elasticity. The elasticity was improved by mixing with other cross-linkers such as K+ or other polymer, especially in 3% κ-carrageenan. CMC hydrogel was formed by adding cross-linkers Al3+, Na+, or Ca2+, especially in 5% CMC. Thus, stickiness and swelling for selected hydrogel formulations (two of κ-carrageenan hydrogels and three of CMC hydrogels) were measured. Among the selected hydrogels, most of them showed appropriate hardness, but only 3% κ-carrageenan-contained hydrogels maintained their shapes from swelling. Hence, 3% κ-carrageenan+0.2% KCl and 3% κ-carrageenan+1% alginate+0.2% KCl+0.2% CaCl2 were selected to be formulated with lactic acid, and showed antilisterial activity. These results indicate that 3% κ-carrageenan hydrogels formulated with lactic acid can be used to control L. monocytogenes on food surface.

본 연구에서는 다공성 폴리에틸렌 지지체를 기반으로 세 가지 가교제를 혼합 도입한 세공충진 이온교환막을 제조 하고 역 전기투석에서 멤브레인의 특성이 발전성능에 미치는 영향을 고찰하였다. 실험 결과, 분자 크기가 다른 가교제를 혼합 함으로써 이온교환막의 가교도 및 자유체적이 효과적으로 조절됨을 확인하였으며 상관 분석을 통해 멤브레인의 전기화학적 특성 및 이를 적용한 역 전기투석의 발전성능에 복합적인 영향을 미침을 알 수 있었다. 특히 세공충진 양이온 교환막은 최적 가교조건에서 상용막 대비 동등 이상의 발전 성능을 나타내었으며 음이온 교환막 또한 상용막에 근접하는 우수한 성능을 나 타내었다.