Communicating with customers on social media in the United States and South Korea: An analysis of four companies\u27 practices

In this study, I analyzed four companies\u27 Facebook and Twitter posts to study the similarities and differences of American and Korean businesses\u27 communication practices on social media. The study used a qualitative research method: each Facebook and Twitter post was assigned as a unit and coded. Southwest Airlines, General Electric, Asiana Airlines, and Samsung Electronics were selected, and a total of 402 Facebook posts and 465 Tweets from July 6 to September 5, 2016, were collected. Each post was coded by two coders under three coding categories: post-content, medium, and Aristotle\u27s pisteis. After the data was coded, I analyzed each company\u27s communication practices on Facebook and Twitter, including the mediums and rhetorical appeals they used. Based on the results, four major purposes of using Facebook and Twitter were derived: branding, authenticity, interactivity, and information dissemination and viral marketing. Results showed that the American companies focused more on interactivity, while the Korean companies focused more on information dissemination and viral marketing. Based on the results and analysis from the study, I suggest three possible strategies for companies in each country. In their communication with Korean customers, American companies might emphasize pathos rather than ethos, hold giveaway events, and use high-context communication patterns. In their communication with American customers, Korean companies might emphasize ethos rather than pathos, be more interactive by commenting or broadcasting live videos, and practice a simple and explicit form of communication --Abstract, page iii

Polygenic risk score validation using Korean genomes of 265 early-onset acute myocardial infarction patients and 636 healthy controls

Background The polygenic risk score (PRS) developed for coronary artery disease (CAD) is known to be effective for classifying patients with CAD and predicting subsequent events. However, the PRS was developed mainly based on the analysis of Caucasian genomes and has not been validated for East Asians. We aimed to evaluate the PRS in the genomes of Korean early-onset AMI patients (n = 265, age <= 50 years) following PCI and controls (n = 636) to examine whether the PRS improves risk prediction beyond conventional risk factors. Results The odds ratio of the PRS was 1.83 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.69-1.99) for early-onset AMI patients compared with the controls. For the classification of patients, the area under the curve (AUC) for the combined model with the six conventional risk factors (diabetes mellitus, family history of CAD, hypertension, body mass index, hypercholesterolemia, and current smoking) and PRS was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.90-0.94) while that for the six conventional risk factors was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.85-0.93). Although the AUC for PRS alone was 0.65 (95% CI: 0.61-0.69), adding the PRS to the six conventional risk factors significantly improved the accuracy of the prediction model (P = 0.015). Patients with the upper 50% of PRS showed a higher frequency of repeat revascularization (hazard ratio = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.47-3.26) than the others. Conclusions The PRS using 265 early-onset AMI genomes showed improvement in the identification of patients in the Korean population and showed potential for genomic screening in early life to complement conventional risk prediction

LAOS NATIONAL IDENTITY CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE OF RE-ORIENTALISM: A CASE STUDY OF THE 2020 LAOS NATIONAL TOURISM VIDEO

The formation of national identity by the Lao government has been unsuccessful due to globalization since 2000. The Lao government realized this and decided to shift its focus to the economic dimension as a means to unite the Lao people. In the 2000s, the West had a major influence on Laos representation, but after the 2008 economic crisis in the United States, Laos prioritize the trade with China and South Korea. As the global economic environment changed, Laos needed to attract the attention of Asian tourists. In this situation, re-orientalism becomes a cultural strategy exclusive to Asian countries. Simultaneously, re-orientalism shows a shift in the nature of Laos' national identity; from essentialism to pragmatism. As the study case, the 2020 Laos national tourism video shows that re-orientalism emphasizes primitive images and simple pleasures to reproduce a common representation of Laos as a spiritual and asexual Beautiful Buddha country. Each of these re-orientalism tools, directly and indirectly, affects the economic benefits of Laos

A Study on the Jejungwon Hospital Building in Jaedong and Gurigae, and Uses of the Hospital after its Relocation

Jejungwon hospital, the first modern healthcare facility to be built in Korea, was built at Jaedong in 1885 and moved to Gurigae in 1887. Finally, it was moved to Dodong, outside the Namdaemun Gate, and its name was changed to Severance Hospital. The Jaedong Jejungwon hospital was located at a former house of HONG Youngsik, and it was expanded by renovating existing buildings and constructing new buildings in 2 years. The Gurigae Jejungwon hospital, which was located near Myeongdong Cathedral, was bigger than the Jaedong Jejungwon one and even provided residence to doctors. Jejungwon hospital was a good example of the healthcare facilities that were available in early modern Korea; however, due to a lack of historical materials, it is not easy to analyze the buildings of Jejungwon hospital. Recently, several architectural drawings made by Japanese and photographs taken by foreigners in the early 20th century were discovered, which help us to understand the buildings of the Jejungwon hospitals in Jaedong and Gurigae. This study analyzes the locations and layouts of the buildings of Jejungwon hospital and, furthermore, traces the history of Jejungwon hospital following its relocation. The Jaedong Jejungwon hospital was located at 35 Jaedong, as already known. By analyzing the architectural drawing of Kyeongseong Women’s High-School Dormitory, the exact size of the existing building of Jaedong Jejungwon was calculated as 12m × 3.9m. Since the relocation of Jejungwon hospital to Gurigae in 1887, the remnants of Jejungwon buildings were used as Gwangjewon (1900-1907); a vaccine-manufacturing plant (1907-1910); and, finally, the dormitory of Kyeongseong Women‘s High School(1910s-1950s). The Gurigae Jejungwon hospital was assumed to be located at 193, 2nd street of Koganecho and 4, 1st street of Meijicho. In particular, the residence of Avison, which was built after 1894, was located at 4, 1st Street of Meijicho, the place with the highest elevation compared to surrounding areas. After 1905, Stevens, a foreign affairs adviser, lived there for one year, following which the Korean government office for agriculture and industry took over the place. The buildings that were used as the hospital at 193, 2nd street of Koganecho were transformed into the Daedong Japanese Club. By analyzing the newly found research materials, it is possible to examine and revise the previous research on the Jaedong Jejungwon and Gurigae Jejungwon hospital buildings. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the buildings of Jejungwon hospital in Jaedong and Gurigae have been reused as healthcare facilities over the years

Burden of diabetic macular oedema in patients receiving antivascular endothelial growth factor therapy in South Korea: a healthcare resource use and cost analysis

Objective To examine healthcare resource utilisation (HRU) and direct medical costs for patients with diabetic macular oedema (DME) treated with antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) in Korea by comparing with those for (1) patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) without retinopathy and (2) patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with anti-VEGF.Design Retrospective cohort study.Setting The Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) database from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016.Participants We identified 1398 patients older than 30 years of age who received anti-VEGF treatment for DME in 2015 after excluding patients who had a diagnosis of nAMD in 2015 and any cancer in the preceding year.Main outcome measures One-year healthcare resource use and direct medical costs of patients with DME treated with anti-VEGF.Results In total, 1398 patients with DME receiving anti-VEGF, 12 813 patients with DM without retinopathy and 12 222 patients with nAMD receiving anti-VEGF were identified. Hospital admissions and outpatient visits were highest in patients with DME, while the number of licensed anti-VEGF injections in those with DME was about half that of those with nAMD (2.1 vs 3.9 per patient per year). Mean 1-year medical costs were also higher in patients with DME (US$6723) than in those with DM without retinopathy (US$2687) and nAMD (US$4980). In a multivariable analysis with matched cohorts, DME was associated with 66% higher medical costs for comorbid diseases (adjusted OR (aOR), 1.66; 95% CI 1.45 to 1.90) and 50% lower anti-VEGF injections (aOR, 0.50; 95% CI 0.46 to 0.54) compared with nAMD.Conclusions The overall HRU and economic burden for DME treated with anti-VEGF were higher than for DM without retinopathy or for nAMD treated with anti-VEGF. Meanwhile, the lower number of licensed anti-VEGF injections compared with nAMD may reflect a potential lack of ophthalmological treatment for DME supported by the NHI in Korea