Vaccine effectiveness and the epidemiological characteristics of a COVID-19 outbreak in a tertiary hospital in Republic of Korea

Objectives Healthcare facilities are high-risk sites for infection. This study analyzed the epidemiological characteristics of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in a tertiary hospital after COVID-19 vaccination had been introduced in Republic of Korea. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) and shared anti-infection strategies are also assessed. Methods The risk levels for 4,074 contacts were evaluated. The epidemiological characteristics of confirmed cases were evaluated using the chi-square test. The “1 minus relative risk” method was used to determine VE in preventing infection, progression to severe disease, and death. In the largest affected area (the 8th floor), a separate relative risk analysis was conducted. A multivariate logistic regression analysis (with 95% confidence interval [CIs]) was used to identify transmission risk factors with a significance level <10% via the backward elimination method. Results In total, 181 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed, with an attack rate of 4.4%. Of those cases, 12.7% progressed to severe disease, and 8.3% died. In the cohort isolation area on the 8th floor, where 79.0% of the confirmed cases occurred, the adjusted odds ratio was 6.55 (95% CI, 2.99–14.33) and 2.19 (95% CI, 1.24–3.88) for caregivers and the unvaccinated group, respectively. VE analysis revealed that 85.8% of the cases that progressed to severe disease and 78.6% of the deaths could be prevented by administering a second vaccine. Conclusion Caregiver training for infection prevention and control is necessary to reduce infection risk. Vaccination is an important intervention to reduce the risk of progression to severe disease and death

The Impact of Brand Equity on Luxury Horizontal Brand Extension

A recent trend in the luxury industry reveals that many companies are using brand extension strategies to leverage their assets among competitors. Despite the popularity of the luxury brand extensions, limited research has been conducted to determine its effectiveness. This study proposed the framework that has merit in that it increases the understanding of luxury brand extensions by focusing on the horizontal extension from the product to the service category. The research investigates three elements of brand equity of a luxury brand which influences service brand extensions. Perceived quality, brand association, and brand loyalty were examined in the process of horizontal brand extension. The luxury high-tech brand “Audi” and “Audi-Rent-a-Car” were investigated to differentiate from other research that focuses on luxury fashion brands. A total of 190 samples were collected using an online survey from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Data was analyzed with structural equation modeling. Among the investigated constructs, the brand association of the parent brand showed a significant impact on the evaluation of the extended service brand. In addition, a high level of the brand association was also found to influence the final purchase decision of the extended service brand. However, this study could not find any significant impact on perceived quality and brand loyalty from the overall evaluation on service brand extension. In the horizontal brand extension, especially product to service category extension, there is a gap in the consumer perception between the parent brand and the extended service brand. In order to maximize the positive impact of the parent brand, marketers and retailers should investigate the role of the brand equity, which influences consumer perception and purchase intention toward the extended brand.Human Development and Consumer Sciences, Department o

A Hedonic and Eudaimonic Model of Customer Well-being through Integrated Resort Experiences

A common assumption holds that tourism generally contributes to customers’ well-being by offering them opportunities to satisfy their needs through escape aids, problem solvers, energy, new lifeblood, and happiness. However, the mechanism behind the effects of travel activities remains unknown. This study discusses how integrated resort experiences lead customer well-being based on the positive activity model, self-determination theory, and well-being framework. Study 1 aims to explore the underlying structures of integrated resort customers’ needs satisfaction to provide a holistic view by developing multi-item scale. The study proposes a 9-item scale capturing three distinct dimensions as autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs satisfaction using a mixed method including qualitative (i.e., literature review and content analysis of online reviews) and quantitative study (i.e., onsite and online survey). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test construct validity. Predictive modeling indicated that autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs satisfaction influence both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Study 2 examines the hypothesis that integrated resort brand experiences (IRBE) influence customer well-being through the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs based on positive-activity model and self-determination theory. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the collected data and test the relevant hypotheses. Partial least squares path modeling tests the hypotheses using a sample of 535 integrated resort customers. The results reveal that four dimensions of IRBE (sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual) have differing effects on needs satisfaction dimensions (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). Specifically, affective and intellectual IRBE is found to impact all needs satisfaction positively while relative impacts of sensory and behavioral IRBE on needs satisfaction was found. Further, the results show that autonomy and relatedness needs positively influence both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. This study clearly shows the relationship among integrated resort experience, needs satisfaction, and customer well-being. Also, the differences across the customers’ situational variable (e.g., purpose of visit) are also examined. The findings of this study indicate that sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual tourism experiences drive customers’ satisfaction with psychological needs. Sensory, emotional, physical, and intellectual experience can be enhanced by marketing activities, and it makes a difference with other competitors. Also, integrated resort managers with strategic tools that drive customer well-being through travel experiences. For instance, by focusing on autonomy needs, practitioners can design better-informed programs such as experiential content to help strengthen the customers’ self-motivated behavior. Also, the findings of this study show that customers satisfaction with relatedness needs has both a direct effect on both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Thus, service providers, must, therefore seek to drive connection of existing and potential customers. The organizations should aim to strengthen connections between customers and integrated resort brands regarding meeting the customers’ values by designing effective communications about the brands to customers.Hotel and Restaurant Management, Conrad N. Hilton College o

Automated Textile Circuit Generation using Machine Vision and Embroidery Technique

© The Author(s) 2022.An automated textile circuit generation method was developed using machine vision and embroidery technique. For this, an image acquisition device was designed to capture the physical layout image of electronic devices on the fabric. A series of image analysis algorithms were developed to calibrate the image and recognize the type, location, and orientation of each device from the image. Dedicated computer-aided design software was developed that can design a circuit and modify it according to the actual device layout on the fabric. It can also convert the circuit elements such as conductive path and insulation layer into data for a computerized embroidery machine. An example circuit consisting of seven electronic devices was designed and repeatedly produced to verify the developed method. The method has shown promising results.N

Brand experiential value for creating integrated resort customers’ co-creation behavior

The integrated resort brand is examined by expanding the focus from gambling customers to general customers. A total of 500 data were collected in South Korea to examine the impact of the experiential value of customers on their co-creation attitude and behavior. Results indicate a variation in the impact of the four dimensions of experiential value (i.e., atmosphere, playfulness, return on investment, and service excellence) on co-creation attitude. Results also show that co-creation attitudes, namely, interaction, knowledge sharing, and responsive attitudes, influenced voluntary behavior toward a service brand. Given that previous studies on integrated resorts have mainly focused on the gambling sector, the current study identifies the potential determinants of customers’ post-purchase attitude and behavior, which are rarely investigated. This study provides a guideline to motivate customers to develop an interactive and responsive attitude and participating behavior for tourism and hospitality service providers

A mixed method approach to developing a multidimensional scale for gambling fallacy in the Korean context

This article offers an understanding of and reduces gaps in the existing literature regarding cognitive distortion (e.g. gambling fallacy) and problem gambling behaviour. The primary objective of this study is to develop a valid gambling fallacy scale for the South Korean population using qualitative and quantitative methods to thoroughly understand the underlying structure of erroneous beliefs towards gambling among recreational and problem gamblers. The study interviewed eight casino supervisors and dealers and conducted online (n = 1419 gamblers) and onsite surveys (n = 400 gamblers) in South Korea. The proposed scale satisfies reliability and numerous types of validity that provide evidence on the three distinctive underlying structures of gambling fallacy (i.e. a system to win, superstitions, and follow and blame) among the Korean population. This study carries substantial theoretical and practical implications that further assure its usability as a platform for developing scales in various cultural settings