- P-ISSN1738-6764
- E-ISSN2093-7504
- KCI
ISSN : 1738-6764
Vol.19 No.4
Abstract
This study explores the experiences of Chinese and Japanese university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students who engaged in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) virtual exchanges through mobile instant messaging (MIM). Participants from universities in Japan and mainland China took part in a six-week online lingua franca exchange project using ‘WeChat’, a Chinese MIM application. Based on thematic analysis of post-project interviews, this study demonstrates the advantages and limitations of MIM for lingua franca exchanges from the perspective of university EFL students. The findings demonstrate students’ positive perceptions and utilization of the flexibility of MIM communication, including synchronous and asynchronous options, along with various semiotic resources like images, emojis, and stickers. However, there were several challenges including concerns about intrusiveness caused by immediate responses and the platform’s suitability for users from diverse regions. The study concludes by offering language educators practical guidelines for implementing MIM-based lingua franca exchanges.
Abstract
Sexual orientation is a sensitive subject and; consequently, in a survey, nontrivial alternatives of item nonresponse arise. Although handling these item nonresponses is particularly important when the missing information is not missing at random, little is known about the sources of nonrandomness. Using data drawn from the 2013–2018 National Health Interview Survey and the multinomial logit model, this study results revealed that participants’ socio-demographic characteristics are systematically correlated with the occurrences of missing values in the “don’t know” and “refused to answer” response alternatives of the sexual orientation question even when there is controlling for other variables of interest. The results suggest a need for greater attention when researchers conduct an analysis using a complete data set for which pairwise or listwise deletion of the item nonresponse is applied.
Abstract
This study examined the potential influence of viewing emotions, expressed after viewing the news uploaded to YouTube, on news participation. Based on an experiment (2 × 2 factorial design) among journalism students (N = 84), this research elucidated the extent of emotional attachment and its influence on participatory news engagement. The experiment depends on showing or not showing the testimony of people's emotions (e.g., happiness, anger, sorrow) evoked by the news videos released on YouTube by Bangladeshi mainstream television channels. The findings revealed that participants are more likely to be emotionally attached to news videos carrying evidence of people's emotions than of news videos without emotional witnesses. In addition, the findings showed a strong influence of viewing emotions, evoked by the news videos, on online users' news engagement. Notably, this study found no evidence of gender-based differences in approaching emotional displays in the news videos and engaging in participatory news. The findings signify the importance of media portrayal of empathy-evoking evidence that would help people to be humanized about viewed issues and escalate them for public discussion through participatory news engagement.
Abstract
This paper evaluated the geographical distribution, chronological and economic patterns of the commercial cinema industry in Seoul, Korea dichotomized by the two main types of cinemas that have been prevalent in the recent Korean history, the first-run cinemas and the double-feature cinemas. This analysis involved computational technologies including the R statistical programing language and the interactive map library known as Leaflet for R in order to scrutinize the aforementioned patterns. Historically the cinema industry has been under the tight control of authoritarian military dictatorships that have run Korea in past decades, and the measures they took to control the cinema industry leading to unexpected ramifications. One of them is the decrease in the quality of domestic films, as competition with international films was reduced, and another is the massive increase in the domestic production of low-quality sex-exploitation B-tier films. The double feature cinemas played a big role in the distribution of the low- quality films. Our electronic maps will clearly represent the hierarchy and differentiation of these cinemas in the cinematic landscape of Seoul.
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of long-term incentives for CEOs in promoting innovation in firms. CEOs are less likely to take risks due to their less diversified wealth portfolios compared to stockholders. Long-term incentives, such as stock ownership and stock option pay, provide a financial reward for taking risks that could pay off in the future and encourage CEOs to invest in riskier innovation, such as exploration. The study also examines the moderating effects of organizational characteristics, such as firm size and slack resources, and external environment, such as competitive intensity, on the relationship between long-term incentives for CEOs and exploration. The results suggest that long-term focus incentives for CEOs can positively influence exploration efforts within a firm. In addition, we found that firm size and slack resources positively moderate the relationship between long-term incentives for CEOs and exploration and competitive intensity negatively moderates such relationship. This study helps managers understand the conditions when long-term incentives become stronger or weaker.
Abstract
The concept that personal political discussion can alter the potency of media on individuals' understanding and engagement in politics has been increasingly recognized. The differential gains model explains that such discussions enhance the ability to gather information from media sources. In this context, social media, as a source of political information, interact with personal political discussions, to affect people’s political outcomes. Keeping the differential gains model in view, this research investigates how using social media and engaging in political discussions affects people's political understanding and involvement. The findings indicate that the interconnection between social media usage and political outcomes, including understanding and participation, is more significant among users who more often engage in political discussions.
Abstract
Research on the metaverse has experienced significant growth in recent years, driven by advancements in technology, the thriving gaming industry, the expansion of social media and virtual communities, economic prospects, and the captivating vision of a new digital interface that transcends the current internet environment. To uncover research themes within the metaverse, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of research trends in this field using publications from Scopus, a widely recognized and extensively utilized scholarly database. Employing BERTopic, an advanced topic modeling technique, we analyzed 2,181 research articles focused on the metaverse. The exploration of the metaverse had humble beginnings with a single publication in 1995 but saw a substantial increase after 2020, reaching explosive growth with 1,041 publications in 2022. The application of the BERTopic model revealed 12 primary topics, each associated with significant keywords. These main topics encompass education, healthcare, blockchain, conferences, fashion, NFTs, cybersecurity, web3, research, video streaming, tinyML, and industry. Notably, among these subjects, education, healthcare, and blockchain exhibit significant research activity. In light of the global concern over the digital divide, we conducted investigations focusing on case studies involving digitally disadvantaged groups, such as individuals with visual impairments and the elderly. However, it is noteworthy that we identified only five studies addressing this issue, indicating limited research presence in this crucial area.
Abstract
This paper aimed to explain the characteristics of North Korean English textbooks included in the textbook corpus analysis. The analysis mainly focused on the North Korean educational periodicals; 23 volumes of “Teachers’ Propaganda Notebook” and 54 volumes of “People’s Education”. The analytic approach was 1) digitize all the English education-related articles included in the analytic materials, 2) use Nvivo 13 to categorize English education articles and their thematic propagation, and 3) relate the thematic categories to the North Korean leaders’ statements. The findings were: Articles touch upon English education for the advancement of science and technology, the improvement of students’ English skills, the enhancement of revolutionary ideology, and the improvement of English teachers’ teaching and learning methods. These categories were derived from North Korean leaders’ statements on occasions of field inspections, dialogues with newspapers, and conferences.
Abstract
To address the limitations of the traditional RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) model, particularly its inability to fulfill the requirements for hierarchical permissions and dynamic management in a business approval system, this paper introduces a new role-based access control model. This novel model is capable of dynamically creating, assigning, or revoking permissions, thereby achieving resource separation and multi-level permission management effectively. To demonstrate the model's feasibility, we applied it to a practical project. In this project, the JavaScript scripting language and the widely-used SSH (Struts2, Spring, Hibernate) framework were employed to implement the new model, which showcases enhanced capabilities in multi-level and dynamic multi-role permissions management.
Abstract
Conventional public transport systems in developing countries such as the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), are commonly substandard, unreliable, and often have insufficient accessibility and connectivity. In many cases, paratransit, utilizing various passenger vehicles (such as trucks, TukTuks, and motorcycles), compensate for the deficiencies of conventional public transport, offering a valuable alternative for passengers. For developing nations, enhancing conventional public transport or introducing new modes requires considerable time and investment, resources that may be limited. As an alternative, this study investigates the feasibility of transforming paratransit services into Demand Responsive Transit (DRT), aiming to formalize and integrate them with existing public transport, thereby improving connectivity, accessibility, and increasing the public transport mode share. To assess the potential acceptance, future demand, and mode share of DRT in Vientiane, Lao PDR, we conducted an opinion and stated preference survey, employed a multinomial logit choice model, and used an origin-to-destination network assignment model. The findings suggest that respondents are keen on using DRT in conjunction with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the future. The modeled results indicate a significant potential increase in the public transit mode share.