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By looking at the relationship between workplace culture and gender identity, this research examines ways to potentially improve women’s satisfaction and perceptions of female workers in this presently disadvantageous work environment in Korea. Drawing from previous criticism for having prioritized inter-group processes over particular social identities, this research uses Social Identity Theory as the main theoretical framework in two studies to structure the factors affecting workplace environment, specifically workplace culture for women and working women’s satisfaction with communication. The first study applies intra-group analysis to examine the impact that the gender composition of a school has on gender identity, and it examines the relationship between organizational gender composition and women’s perceptions of workplace culture by employing an experiment within a survey, which contains scenarios of an imaginary workplace, to Korean female college students ( n = 439). The results demonstrate women attending women’s colleges displayed stronger gender identity than those attending co-ed colleges on two dimensions of gender identity: in-group ties and centrality. The second study surveys Korean female workers ( n = 171) to examine the same relationships while more deeply looking into the effects of gender composition of the workplace on women’s satisfaction with communication. The main finding shows that for a sex-integrated organization, women who attended women’s colleges denoted higher communication satisfaction with supervisors and same-sex coworkers than women who attended coed colleges. Implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.

This study aimed to compare the effects of conventional autism therapy (CAT) and integrative autism therapy (IAT) in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A convenience sample of 24 children with ASD was recruited and underwent either CAT or IAT for 60 min/day, twice a week, for 20 sessions over 10 weeks. Outcome measures included the following: (1) physical domain (pediatric balance scale, PBS), (2) sensory domain (short sensory profile), (3) cognitive domains (functional independence measure, FIM; and childhood autism rating scale), and (4) social integration domain (Canadian occupational performance measure, COPM; short falls efficacy scale; and pediatrics quality of life questionnaire). Two-way repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the intervention-related changes in the four domains across the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test at p < 0.05. ANOVA showed significant interaction effects on the PBS, FIM, and COPM (p < 0.05) variables. Moreover, time main effects (p < 0.05) were observed in all four domain variables, but no group main effect was noted. This study provides promising evidence that IAT is more effective than CAT for managing children and adolescents with ASD.

By looking at the relationship between workplace culture and gender identity, this research examines ways to potentially improve women's satisfaction and perceptions of female workers in this presently disadvantageous work environment in Korea. Drawing from previous criticism for having prioritized inter-group processes over particular social identities, this research uses Social Identity Theory as the main theoretical framework in two studies to structure the factors affecting workplace environment, specifically workplace culture for women and working women's satisfaction with communication. The first study applies intra-group analysis to examine the impact that the gender composition of a school has on gender identity, and it examines the relationship between organizational gender composition and women's perceptions of workplace culture by employing an experiment within a survey, which contains scenarios of an imaginary workplace, to Korean female college students (n = 439). The results demonstrate women attending women's colleges displayed stronger gender identity than those attending co-ed colleges on two dimensions of gender identity: in-group ties and centrality. The second study surveys Korean female workers (n = 171) to examine the same relationships while more deeply looking into the effects of gender composition of the workplace on women's satisfaction with communication. The main finding shows that for a sex-integrated organization, women who attended women's colleges denoted higher communication satisfaction with supervisors and same-sex coworkers than women who attended coed colleges. Implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.

In building information modelling (BIM), the amount of information increases and architectural design processes become more complex as projects expand. This is because while a collaboration environment is important for smooth communication among experts, this has not been realized because of unclassified file synchronization and permission settings among team members. Therefore, this study aims to support cooperation in BIM modelling projects by synchronizing BIM data from different computers and rendering BIM project management easier by providing a BIM model viewer and data through the Web. The proposed technology, which is a construction project-type, purpose-tailored browsing technology, provides BIM information related to construction environments and planning processes only to the relevant experts.

The inner ear is a complex sensory organ responsible for hearing and balance. Formation of the inner ear is dependent on tight regulation of spatial and temporal expression of genes that direct a series of developmental processes. Recently, epigenetic regulation has emerged as a crucial regulator of the development of various organs. However, what roles higher-order chromatin organization and its regulator molecules play in inner ear development are unclear. CCCTCbinding factor (CTCF) is a highly conserved 11-zinc finger protein that regulates the three-dimensional architecture of chromatin, and is involved in various gene regulation processes. To delineate the role of CTCF in inner ear development, the present study investigated inner ear-specific Ctcf knockout mouse embryos (Pax2-Cre; Ctcffl/fl). The loss of Ctcf resulted in multiple defects of inner ear development and severely compromised otic neurogenesis, which was partly due to a loss of Neurog1 expression. Furthermore, reduced Neurog1 gene expression by CTCF knockdown was found to be associated with changes in histone modification at the gene's promoter, as well as its upstream enhancer. The results of the present study demonstrate that CTCF plays an essential role in otic neurogenesis by modulating histone modification in the Neurog1 locus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the main effect of message appeal (emotional and logical) and coping style (monitors and blunters) and the interaction effect between the two on risk message processing outcomes. Participants were 74 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who read news stories about tornadoes, then rated their risk message processing outcomes. Results showed that emotional appeals led to a higher risk perception, probability of risk occurrence, and more accurate recognition memory than did logical appeals. Further, we found significant interaction effects between message appeal and coping style on risk perception. When message appeals were emotional, monitors perceived a higher risk and probability of risk occurrence than did blunters; however, when message appeals were logical, this difference between monitors and blunters disappeared. The findings suggest that (a) emotional appeals should be included in risk communication and (b) coping styles should be considered in effective risk communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing regulatory focus theory, we explored how consumer regulatory focus interacts with 2 characteristics of a consumer review-review valence and claim type-to influence consumers' perceived usefulness of the review. To this end, we conducted an experiment with 126 college students as participants. The results showed that promotion-focused consumers perceived a positive review to be more useful than did prevention-focused consumers, whereas prevention-focused consumers perceived a negative review as more useful than did promotion-focused consumers. We also found that promotion-focused consumers perceived an evaluative review as more useful than did prevention-focused consumers. Unexpectedly, however, both promotion- and prevention-focused consumers perceived a factual review to be highly useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the human rights policies of China and Japan toward North Korea. It explores North Korea's problems, nuclear threats and human rights abuses, which are the focus of the regional government's policies. It examines the international relations theories of realism, constructivism and liberalism and the insights they offer in relation to these problems.

The article explores the probable causal association between the belief systems of top leaders and policy priorities by looking at the attitude of administrations of former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush toward the Korean Peninsula. It discusses the reasons behind the emergence of nuclear impasse at the end of the Clinton administration. It provides an overview of how the Bush administration chose to dismiss the Kim Jong II regime in North Korea as a legitimate counterpart.

This paper explores the complicated workings of Japan's mnemonic praxis in its establishment of moral authority. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima was a decisive moment inaugurating Japan as the torch-bearer of pacifism. Given Japan's ideational multiplicity as the victim and the victimizer, its pacifist ideology needs further examinations in conceptual and empirical manifestations. This research situates the ambivalent amnesia and political compromises demonstrated during the renovation project of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum from 1985 until 1994. As for a nation yet to achieve meaningful reconciliation over the past with Asian neighbors, the political divide opens room for utilitarian considerations in its pacifist discourse. The Hiroshima experience suggests that Japan's pacifism can be a problematic representation given its selective mnemonic praxis and situational ethics. This paper argues that Japanese pacifism should be redefined as 'pacifist movement.' Pacifism is foundational ethics, whereas pacifist movement accommodates political contextualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Armaments production provides us with an intriguing case where we can challenge widely held assumptions of a nation's economic rationality. Beginning in the 1970s, the Republic of Korea (ROK) initiated an aggressive defense industrialization program, with the long-term goal of establishing "a basic foundation for a self-defense capability for the 21st century." After more than 30 years of significant public and private inputs in infrastructure and technology, however, the ROK still possesses only limited capacities for self-reliant arms production, and, in general, indigenous arms production has turned out to be neither technologically practicable nor cost-effective. Yet, even in the face of such intimidating technological and economic challenges, the ROK continues to pursue an ambitious, overly optimistic, and perhaps even naive strategy of defense industrialization and arms production. The answer to explaining the ROK's rather idiosyncratic arms-procurement and -production decision-making behavior lies perhaps more in more intangible variables, beyond the limited confines of comparative advantage supported by assumptions of economic rationality. In particular, in the case of the ROK, one must take into account such powerful if hard-to-quantify incentives as social psychology (such as collective memory) and status (such as national pride and technonationalism). Ultimately, armaments production has its own operating logic, and the justification for domestic defense manufacturing often goes beyond the narrow confines of sectoral competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author talks about a new era for North Korea after the death of its leader Kim Jong-il in December 2010, and inter-Korean relations. He cites the predictions of current state of affairs in this period, according to observers, including deeper economic deterioration. He stresses the need for the government of South Korea to take the first step to reopen dialogue with the North Korean regime. He also maintains that one area deserving particular attention is economic cooperation.

An introduction is presented, wherein the editor discusses various articles published within the issue on topics pertaining to North Korea such as state surveillance system, diplomatic sanctions, and arguments on U.S. failure to contain the country's nuclear arsenal.

The article reflects on the dynamics of memory politics involving neighboring nations Japan and South Korea. It examines the formation of two comfort women memorials in New Jersey as well as in Seoul, South Korea. It also explores the response of organizations in Japan to the memorials. The author also discusses the efforts of the government of Japan to reinvestigate the comfort women issues that affect the country's improving economic relations with its neighboring country which is the South Korea.

Our aim was to discover common relationship norms in Facebook communication between a brand and its fans, and to understand how these norms influence consumers' perceived irritation with brand messages. A semantic network analysis revealed that 7 out of 8 brands operated according to exchange relationship norms in communicating with their fans, whereas 1 brand operated according to communal relationship norms. We subsequently examined the effect of trait reactance and communication styles on the perceived level of irritation caused by branded messages received on Facebook with a sample of Korean college students (N = 161 participants). Results showed that those high in trait reactance perceived the exchange communication as more irritating than did those low in trait reactance. There was no difference between high and low reactance individuals in their perceived irritation with communal communication. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed and suggestions for future research provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]