Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain

Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain







The common thoughts about the older people are that they lack memorizing skill with aging brain. Yet a growing number of studies suggest that this assumption is often wrong. In the new edition of a neurology book, "Progress in Brain Research" suggests that some brains do deteriorate with age yet for most cases, it is only that a gradually widening focus of attention makes it more difficult to latch onto just one fact. Shelly H. Carson, a psychology researcher at Harvard says that this is nothing wrong or bad, but is useful since it may increase the amount of information available to the conscious mind. This can yield big advantages in the real world where it is not always clear what information is important, or will become important.
Dr. Harsher said that a broad attention span may enable older adults to ultimately know more about a situation and indirect messages of what is going on than younger people. Jacqui Smith, a professor of psychology and research professor at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan also says that since older adults take in more information in a situation and they are able to combine it with their comparatively greater store of general knowledge, they are going to have a nice advantage. This is the process of building wisdom, she said.

>> Original Article




It is really common that people misjudge older people about their memory and ignore them a bit. This research has shown how the older people might be better with their knowledge and attention as well as memory.
They say in few years, companies are going to suffer from lack of workforces of young people. The general age of the society is growing old but only few young ones exist. Companies will be desperately look for young people to hire; however, is it always a good idea to hire young people? Older workers have advantages such as tenure, wisdom and now, a greater span of attention on every situation they are in! As mentioned in the article, the world is chaotic, not predictable of what is important or what would become important. Now it is proven that older people may do better than older people.







20500419 Entry 12

Lee’s Trip Promotes Mutual Understanding

By Kim Yon-se

Staff Reporter

President Lee Myung-bak will return home today, after ending a four-day state visit to China during which the two countries agreed to raise their bilateral relationship to a ``strategic partnership,'' an upgrade from ``partnership of comprehensive cooperation.''

With the two countries agreeing to foster closer ties, President Lee conducted ``economic diplomacy.'' China is currently Korea's biggest export destination ― in 2007 South Korea exported products worth $82 billion, while importing $63 billion worth of Chinese products.

During the visit, President Lee extended Korea's deep sympathy to those killed in the massive earthquake and pledged assistance in the region's rebuilding efforts. He is to visit the quake-hit region before coming home.

Sympathy for Quake Victims

An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in western China two weeks ago.

The first destination for on his overseas trips was the United States as many observers expected. Then he visited Japan on his way home in April.

Though Lee picked four countries ― the U.S., Japan, China and Russia ― as the four major diplomacy targets, his ``favorable'' comments were mainly concentrated on Korea's relations with the U.S. and Japan over the past few months.

Even a U.S. newswire carried an article, headlined, ``New pro-U.S. South Korean president aims to reassure China that he cherishes relationship.''

Some Korean think tanks, including the Institute for Foreign Affairs and National Security, analyzed that Lee's China visit is momentous in resolving misunderstanding in Beijing that the Lee government may have been lax in its relations with China while prioritizing relations with Washington and seeking future-oriented relations with Tokyo.

Lee might have conveyed the message that China is as important as the U.S. to Korea's diplomatic campaign to encourage North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program through his summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and meetings with other Chinese leaders, sources said.

The Lee administration and the governing Grand National Party (GNP) believe that Lee and U.S. President George W. Bush established amicable personal ties through a two-day summit at Camp David near Washington, D.C. in April.

Conservatives said the Lee-Bush summit marked a crucial turning point in South Korea-U.S. relations, insisting that their alliance was undermined during the liberal administrations of Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung.

In his summit with Chinese President Hu and a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Lee reiterated that the Seoul-Beijing relations have been elevated to a strategic partnership from a partnership of comprehensive cooperation under the Roh government.

Lee said the strategic bilateral relations indicate that the two countries will expand cooperation from trade to other fields, including diplomacy, regional security and North Korea policies.

Positive on FTA

While some Korean conglomerates are negative about a free trade agreement (FTA) with China ― a giant producer of cheap industrial goods ― Lee was an active cheerleader for the opening of trade talks during his visit.

A Seoul-Beijing FTA would play a significant role for the development of the economy of Northeast Asia, he said. ``The 21st century is the era of Pan Asia-Pacific. You (business leaders of the two countries) will be the leading players in the region ― a new growth engine for the world economy.''

A ranking Chinese official made sensitive remarks after Lee arrived in Beijing Tuesday, by calling the military alliance between Seoul and Washington a ``Cold War product.''

``East Asian nations has also changed a lot since the U.S.-South Korean alliance was forged in the 1950-53 Korean War,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.


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President Lee Myung-bak will return home today, after ending a four-day state visit to China during which the two countries agreed to raise their bilateral relationship to a ``strategic partnership,'' an upgrade from ``partnership of comprehensive cooperation.''
During the visit, President Lee extended Korea's deep sympathy to those killed in the massive earthquake and pledged assistance in the region's rebuilding efforts.
While some Korean conglomerates are negative about a free trade agreement (FTA) with China ― a giant producer of cheap industrial goods.A Seoul-Beijing FTA would play a significant role for the development of the economy of Northeast Asia, he said. ``The 21st century is the era of Pan Asia-Pacific. You (business leaders of the two countries) will be the leading players in the region ― a new growth engine for the world economy.''


President Lee visited the China to extend the sympathy and for FTA. The earthquake was so severe and cruel for china and it was not their problem. So we should help them to rescue people and improve the relationship with china. And president lee made some agreement about the FTA, the effect of FTA will be enormously arose.



20200041 Kwon hyuck sung

Business Intelligence before business strategy

20700193 entry #12


introduction:

According to this video, business intelligence comes before business strategy
one must collect different informations before setting a strategy. An information, singular, is just one version of the truth. one must collect many different versions of the truth in order to see an objective, clear picture. If one implements a business strategy without doing this, his or her strategy would be obsolete.

Application to our class:
We have done a few presentations so far about different companies. This is gathering information. gathering business information. what we need to do before setting a strategy in the real world is doing what we did for these presentations. however, i guess we should do much more reserach than what we did for our presentations. i am talking about weeks, if not months, of research.

Reference:
chet phillips is the reference used in this video. he was good in gather information and i think he is a role model. we should definitely should follow him and pursue business information.
"Business inteligence is not about spying or wire taps. in essense, it's the ability of a business to convert its data into tiny and accurate information that generate competitive advantage."
this is why business intelligence is critical.

Conclusion.
So check the video out; intelligence is the foundation of business strategy. How are we gather information that is accurate and objective? How do we know if our information is clean and good? i hope we will be able to answer these questions soon.

12. The United States strengthens army with at least 2 thousand ‘warrior’ robots.

The U.S. army will be gaining more technological power in the next 5 years. The U.S. military forces announced a US$ 400 million contract with Foster-Miller, a company that produces robots used to defuse mines and explosives, act as sentinels and also to carry heavy equipments. The contract predicts the production of an army of two thousand to four thousand replica robots ‘Talon’ specialized in defusing bombs.
According to the American magazine ‘Wired’, this is the Pentagon’s greatest investment made in robotics recently. In December, the U.S. government spent US$ 286 million purchasing units manufactured by Robotic FX.
The Talon, a robot operated by remote control, is already being used in Iraq and Afghanistan assisting troops in detection and defuse of explosives. Usually, the ‘life’ of a robot specialized in this area is short because many of the bombs cannot be defused and end up being exploded, but in a safe method.
Even though I am against war and investments in technological weapons, thinking in how many casualties and wounded soldiers this technology will be able to prevent, I think it is a good invention since it is used to protect and secure the life of many soldiers in the war field.

20600642 Entry #12

Is Korea ready for smartphones?

‘Things are changing and larger phones are gaining popularity here.’
May 26, 2008

The BlackBerry 8707g and the BlackJack II
American adults these days are obsessed with the BlackBerry, checking their e-mails and returning messages with a whir of thumb movement.

Although the BlackBerry is used by people in over 120 countries who number 14 million subscribers, it has failed to catch on in high-tech Korea, where smartphones have had little appeal until now.

Even Samsung Electronics’ smartphone, the BlackJack, sold more than 2 million units in North America in 2006. But sales in the Korean market reached slightly more than 30,000 units during the same period.

But things could take a new turn as SK Telecom, which has 22 million subscribers, is planning to introduce the BlackBerry here in the second half of this year.



In a countermove, Samsung Electronics announced that it is releasing the BlackJack II later this month, while Taiwan-based HTC is expected to introduce its Touch Dual smart phone later this year.

Compared with mobile phones, smartphones have more functions like scheduling, sending and receiving e-mails and accessing the Internet.

The conventional mobile phone is used for text messaging and voice communication.

“Smartphones are called ‘a palm-sized personal computer,’ as they have a Qwerty-type keypad and access to Windows,” said Yoon Jong-jin, a high-level official at SK Telecom.

Laptop computers have the weaknesses of being big and running through battery power quickly. Smartphones, on the other hand, are not only convenient to carry but use very little power.

SK Telecom is planning to target salesmen and construction workers, initially.

The newest BlackBerry design is expected to be much slimmer.

“Korean consumers felt burdened by something larger than a mobile phone,” said Lee Young-soo, a researcher at LG Economic Research Institute. “However, things are changing and larger phones, like LG’s Touch phone, are gaining popularity here.”

The BlackBerry, developed by the Canadian company RIM, is expected to reach Korea some time in August.

Although the model hasn’t been decided yet, market insiders consider the 8707g model the most likely candidate.

This model employs a Qwerty keypad system and has a 320 by 240 pixel color screen. It has a tracking wheel that controls the system from the right-hand side of the screen.

The wheel is thumb-operated. It has a Bluetooth communication system allowing wireless access to the Internet, the use of e-mail, a digital camera and a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting system.

The BlackJack II, also uses a Qwerty keypad but it has a bigger screen, 2.4 inches, and a jog wheel, which operates more like a mouse, on the front and not on the side.

The Samsung smartphone operates on a Windows Mobile 6.0 system and has a 2 mega pixel digital camera with a MicroSD memory slot.

It also employs the Bluetooth system.

HTC’s Touch Dual is expected to launch in the third quarter of this year and employ a touch system allowing the user to operate or access any function by simply touching the screen, very much like Apple’s iPhone or Samsung Electronics’ Haptic mobile phone.

Unlike the BlackBerry or BlackJack, the Touch Dual uses a slide system.

By sliding the screen up, a keypad appears, allowing users unfamiliar with the touch system to use a more conventional method.

It uses the Windows Mobile 6.0 system and also has a 2 mega pixel digital camera like the BlackJack II and has a MicroSD memory slot.

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is this smart phone really success in Korea. i think it will be very high price, so it doesn't have competent. because i think in the Korea mobile phone market very sensitive of price, because many of customers are students or Young people.
but it will be very successful young-business man and late-20s or early-3s.
there are so many competitors, not just other mobile phone, laptop, PDA and so on.
smart phone, automatically will be expensive, for surviving in the competition, it should have high-quality technology.

20500530 entry #12

Korean Firms Lack 'Smart Power' (late)

By Lee Hyo-sik

Staff Reporter

Samsung Electronics is the global leader in chip production, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group is within the top 10 car manufacturers in output and Hyundai Heavy Industries is conquering the world's shipping industry hands down.

They may be happy to see their cash registers bulging but their public relations are debatable. A recent Samsung Economic Research Institute report points to the general lack of this knowledge among Korean firms.

It suggested local firms should strengthen public relations efforts to establish a better corporate image abroad and invest more to recruit talented manpower and create a better workplace.

The institute said the average corporate performance of the top 100 firms listed on the domestic stock market is equivalent to 43 percent of that of the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 100 firms. But the size of their intangible assets amounts to only 3.2 percent of global firms.

In calculating the scale of intangible assets, it looked into 11 factors; national image, knowledge level, corporate culture, brand perception, corporate image, leadership, manpower competency, technology advancement, system capacity, quality of workplace and corporate networking.

When those of S&P 100 firms are set at 1, the overall image of Korean businesses stands at 0.03 with their knowledge level at 0.82 and corporate culture at 0.3.

Local firms' average system capacity, measured by inventory turnover ratio, is 1.7 times that of global companies, while their manpower competence, or the average salary amounts to 75 percent of what S&P 100 firms are paying employees.

Korean companies' quality of workplace, gauged by after-tax operating income divided by total labor costs, is 0.78, with corporate networking, or the amount of media exposure, at 0.005, and brand perception, or advertising expenditure, at 0.018.

SERI said the intangible assets of the country's leading companies are largely undervalued, compared with those of multinational firms in the U.S. and Europe, because they generate lower earnings from investment and are more vulnerable to market changes.

Samsung Electronics' technology advancement and system capacity are 1.8 times and 1.5 times those of Hewlett Packard, but its brand image and manpower competence lag far behind the U.S. computer maker. Also, Hyundai Motor is far superior to General Motors in system capacity and manpower competence, but its brand image and corporate networking are outpaced by the U.S. automaker.

The institute said Korean businesses should make an all-out effort to improve their corporate and brand images abroad to market their products and services at higher prices.

``It is important to generate large revenue and profits. But it is also as important for local companies to build up intangible corporate assets to become more competitive in an increasingly globalized marketplace,'' it stressed.

They may be happy to see their cash registers bulging but their public relations are debatable.
The institute said Korean businesses should make an all-out effort to improve their corporate and brand images abroad to market their products and services at higher prices.



20200041 kwon hyuck sung

Business Strategy in the Streets

20700193 Haeyeon Ryan Kim entry #11

The streets are open for anything. You can have so many different types of
advertisements. I've seen people in costumes to weird-shaped balloons floating
around. You can do almost anything. you can paint anything, you can change things around, you can do things to people, you can leave something, you can take
something, you can spill something, you can do whatever you want as long as it's
legal. here's an example of something creative you can do.





The pictures above are pictures of creative advertisements of a game called "Clue."
The first two picture were Okay, but the third one with the red soap was just
totally brilliant.
We learned a lot of things is class about advertisements. In Markstrat, we
found out the marketing and advertising is truly essential in business.
We spent almost half, or more of our budget in advertising and sales. but with those
kinds of advertisements, those brilliant advertisements, i think we can have the
same effect with half the money.
Here is another example of a good advertisement:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271552642/bctid1311211025

please visit the link and watch the video; it's a video of a drama promotion
that happened in the states. The show was called dexter, and this marketing
project was called "dexter's red fountains." Who would have thought of that?
who could possibly think, and promote this. I am sure that the people in charge
of these fountains were hard to convince. People may feel uneasy about all the
red liquid that signifies blood. However, i think hundreds of thousands of people
stopped by to check out what all the red stuff was about.
amazing effect.
Totally Awesome.

20700193 Haeyeon Ryan Kim entry # 11

Toothbrush Not Included

By Linda Stern | NEWSWEEK
Jun 2, 2008 Issue

Original Article

Lost luggage, security checks, extra-bag fees and spilled shampoo make suitcase stress one of the worst parts of traveling, but Flylite thinks it has the solution. The two-year-old Massachusetts company is a clothing butler for frequent business travelers. New customers pay an initial $500 fee and pack their bags. Flylite workers then clean, press and store the clothes, polish shoes and scan everything into a virtual "iCloset." Each trip, travelers can virtually "pack" their suitcases by dragging and dropping clothing icons, after which Flylite delivers the bags to any U.S. destination. After each stay, Flylite picks up the bags, cleans the clothes and stores everything for the next trip. With two days' notice, it costs $100 to get the bag packed and sent anywhere within 25 miles of a major airport. Typical customers are road warriors who travel three to five times a month and store a dozen suits and assorted shirts, ties, recreational wear and golf clubs, says marketing VP John Walsh. "Time is a luxury to them," he says. The company, which says it's already profitable, isn't yet set up for travel outside the United States, but has many foreign clients who travel here. It plans iClosets in London and Dubai, and will soon start selling shirts and shoes to clients who are so busy jet-setting that they can't take time to go shopping. The new clothes will simply show up in their suitcases on the next trip—along with a bill.
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First of all the word "Dubai" caught my eyes. Yes, indeed Dubai is becoming a target for business these days. For all the effort they have made, they are finally getting a reward fro their hard work. Anyways, back to the point. The company who started this Flylight business is just a rookie to the business, it is only 2 years old. However their innovative idea is definatley scraping up some money. The key target customers are the "road warriors" who travel frequently, and for whom the time is a luxury to them. Even for me, sometimes I plan to go off somewhere but discourage myself due to packing my luggage. But if there was someone to pack for me? I would definately pay them. Only if it wasn't for $100, I would be their #1 customer. Keeping that in mind, for some people who are busier than I am, a $100 could be worth the time they spend for packing. But we must be careful now, just because you are lazy (though you have sufficeint amount of time to pack), and you have the money, I stronly urge them NOT to be so inclined with this news, These are really for the people who need the time to do something valuable rather than to pack.
However, this business would have a bright future, as increasing number of people fly more than 20 times a month, this is what they probably need.

20700775 Article Entry #15

The Wii Fit Workout

By Anne Underwood | Newsweek Web Exclusive
May 21, 2008 | Updated: 1:46 p.m. ET May 21, 2008



As a health writer, I know the awesome benefits of exercise--improving cardiac and lung function, encouraging weight loss, boosting strength and endurance, improving mood and possibly even making you smarter. In theory, that's all terrific. It's the bit about getting to the gym more than twice a week that's the problem. Now Nintendo's new Wii Fit is bringing the gym--or a stripped-down version of it--to me and my Mii (the Wii's onscreen representation of me). At $90--plus $250 for the basic console--Wii Fit is not cheap, but it still costs less than an actual gym membership. And since it's in the middle of my living room, it's harder to ignore. That can only be good news.

Wii Fit follows on the success of the original Wii console, which has been a coveted item since its November 2006 release. Reaching well beyond the teenage-male fan base of the standard videogame, the basic Wii has attracted kids, soccer moms and seniors. Certain rehab centers are using it to help patients recover from strokes, injuries and, in some cases, war wounds. Physical therapists have even come up with a name for this new form of rehab--"Wiihab."

Where the original Wii featured golf, boxing, tennis, baseball and bowling, Wii Fit offers fitness training of four types--aerobics, strength training, yoga and balance games. Most of the exercises are fun, and all of them increase your heart rate or muscle tone while helping develop "core" muscle groups that aid balance and posture.

The key to all of this is the Wii Fit balance board that you stand on. It looks like a glorified kitchen cutting board but contains weight-sensitive areas for both feet. The concept came from a Nintendo developer who saw sumo wrestlers on TV weighing themselves with two scales. (Japanese scales go up to only about 300 pounds, so two scales are often necessary.) While trying out the two-scale idea, "developers noticed that keeping the balance between your left and right legs is actually very challenging and fun," says Cammie Dunaway, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America. Developers recruited Kaoru Matsui, a Japanese trainer, who was already using balance concepts, to advise them on specific exercises.

Don't even think about trying to fool the board. It uses four sensors to measure your body weight 60 times a second. It gauges not only the total pressure on each foot but also how your weight is distributed. It notes your tiniest wobbles and translates this into eerie insight into your posture and balance. On the ski jump, you have to position yourself just right, in alignment with a dot on the screen, as your Mii barrels down the slope. Then, as you reach the bottom of the ski jump, you straighten your knees, rise onto your toes and hold the pose to lift off and sail through the air. If you're successful, you'll enjoy waving to the applause of a virtual crowd. (If you're not, expect to tumble head over heels in an avalanche of snow and skis that's not pretty. Fall off the tightrope in the exercise of the same name, and it doesn't show us what happens.) At the end of each of the 40-plus exercises, you receive not only a numeric score but also a one-to-four star rating, from "unbalanced" at one end of the spectrum to "yoga master," "bodybuilder" or "calorie incinerator" at the other.

At their best, gadgets like Wii Fit can help people get in shape by combining exercise with the addictiveness of videogames. A half hour on the elliptical can be boring. Not so a videogame that's always offering you new rewards, like vocal encouragement ("great job") and extra points in the Wii Bank that unlock new exercises. Studies have shown that earlier games like Dance Dance Revolution helped people lose weight by making them want to come back for more. Can the Wii Fit hold one's interest for the months needed to lose weight and get in shape? Perhaps. But it certainly tries to ensnare your competitive spirit, allowing you to monitor your progress and play against family members. And there is the ever-present challenge of meeting your weight-loss goals, which the scale-based system excels in tracking.

One of the greatest virtues of Wii Fit is that it encourages you to try a broad range of exercises that you might not try otherwise. At the gym, it's easy to get stuck in a regimen of Stairmaster and weights, or the recumbent bike and treadmill. With Wii Fit, you'll want to sample all four types of training, getting a well-rounded workout. The games are especially fun, including the hula hoop and soccer. And though Wii Fit is no substitute for a workout with a trainer, it certainly beats sitting at the computer and exercising your index finger.

Is it for everyone? No. Anyone with a serious workout regimen can pass Go and keep their $90. Nor is it the way to develop a dedicated yoga practice. On the other hand, it could just be the gateway exercise program that a lot of us need to get up and get moving. By the end of a 30-minute workout, I feel the effects, but the sensation is great. In fact, I'm feeling so good, I just might go to the gym.

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This is amazing. They even thought out that the price of their product would be in the range of 90-250 dollars; however, according to them it is whole a lot cheaper than an actual gym membership, that is a way to move the customer segments to yours! By playing this game it can improve cardiac and lung function, encourage weight loss, boosts strength and endurance, improves mood and possibly even making you smarter. It also has all kinds of sports from golf to tennis. But you know everything has flaws, what I think the short side of this is that maybe because I watched the "FUN ENERGY" through internet, I mean all this work! all the sweat you let out! all the ENERGY you produce! it only does good FOR YOU! These days, we are learning to do all sorts of things, saving water, gas, is also good for ourselves but ultimately is for the good for the society, the world. Why don't we relate that thought to this wonderful game idea? Fun energy has its benefits for actually producing "Energy" to use the energy for other uses. The Wii Fit Workout has a better
entertainment variety, and its technology and popularity. Think about it! You can loose weight, prevent diseases (such as obesity, diabetes and sorts...), and also help produce energy! in order to cut down on oil consumptions. The blue ocean of the future? the answer is already given... make sure it doesn't only do the good for the consumer, but for all consumers, the community, the society, and the world.
20700775 Article Entry #14

The Summer of Our Discontent

Are high gas prices killing the family road trip?
By Linda Stern | Newsweek Web Exclusive
May 15, 2008 | Updated: 1:16 p.m. ET May 15, 2008

Here comes the summer of our discontent. Economic pessimism and high prices on gas and food have Americans in a sour mood and curtailing their vacation plans, though they probably need those stress-busting breathers more than ever. Just ask Amy and Adam Geurden of Hollandtown, Wisc., parents of Eric, 6, Holly, 3, and Jake, 2. "We were going to take lots of weekends and short trips with the kids," says Amy. "We were going to go to the Wisconsin Dells, the Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, to Chicago and Door County." Then Amy did the math: 17 miles per gallon in the Chevy Suburban and $4 a gallon gas. Now the Guerdens are planning a "staycation" around the backyard swimming pool instead. "I'm really disappointed," she says.

So is almost everyone else. Almost 60 percent of Americans are cutting back their vacation plans because of gas prices. That's sad, because vacations are so good for you when you're feeling miserable. Here's how to squeeze in a little bit of travel fun without breaking the bank.

Location, location, location. Don't go so far away. "Everyone has places they've always wanted to go in their home state and region," says Tim Leffel, author of "Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune" (Travelers' Tales). "This might be the best summer ever to do that." Draw a circle on the map at 200 miles around your house, and choose a vacation spot within the circle. Alternatively, you can head way out of your circle. Instead of driving to the beach that's 400 miles away, fly to one of the Caribbean resort spots in Latin America for about the same amount of money. They've got off-season rates in the summer and have currencies pegged to the dollar, so they're not getting pricey like the euro countries. Leffel likes the beaches in Honduras, where prices are "cheap, cheap, cheap": a top hotel room and gourmet dinner will come in under $100. He's got more places and prices on his cheap destinations blog.

Getting there. Budget exactly how much you'll spend on gas by entering your destination and your car into the calculator at the American Automobile Association Web site. A family can save significantly by squeezing into the smaller car, or even renting a fuel-efficient car. (Hertz is offering a free tank of gas with a car rental, through the end of June.) Embrace all of those fuel-saving behaviors, like driving under the speed limit and keeping tires properly inflated. And check gasbuddy.com or your GPS system to find the cheapest prices on gas along your way. Fill up early in the morning or late at night, when cool air makes the gasoline more dense, and you'll get more for the money. Alternatively, leave the car at home. Competitive pricing on long-distance buses and decent train fares are making mass transit a solid choice for the summer of 2008. Companies like BoltBus and MegaBus offer some seats as low as a dollar. Plus, it's an adventure.

Creative lodging. Hotels are cutting deals this summer, and frequent travelers swear by the rates they get on Priceline.com and Hotwire.com. Before booking through a hotel Web site or 800 number, call the individual hotel directly and ask for their best rate. Pull out everything you've got—AAA membership, senior status, company affiliations, even your job title—to see if they've got a discount for you. Or seek unusual lodging: Kids love camping, and with all the RVs garaged because of high fuel costs, the campgrounds might be quieter than usual. You can arrange to swap homes with a like-minded family who lives where you want to travel. (Try homeswap.com or intervacusa.com). Or follow the time-honored tradition of freeloading off friends.

Saving along the way. It's the little things that will drain your vacation budget, so control them. Travel with a cooler, some ice, your favorite snacks and drinks. You can stop at grocery stores instead of fast-food chains and buy supplies for two meals a day. Make lunch your fancy restaurant meal. Bring your own bottle of bourbon (in the trunk, not the front seat) and have a drink in the hotel room before you go to dinner. Use coupons for attractions, and if you're staying put in a city, buy a book of passes (citypass.com) or restaurant discounts (entertainment.com). Plan museum visits in advance, so you can catch their free or reduced-price days. And skip the souvenirs: nobody really wants those shot glasses and snow globes anyway.
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Vacations are good, but the luxurious vacations that we have been going for the last few decades aren't that good. The rise of price of goods, oil, accomodation, everything! Finally we realize how demanding we were and not thankful until now.
Kids in Africa are dying due to lack of food, and from diseases. And we are planning on going to the most prestigious places of the world and stay at the most prestigious 5-7 star hotels, riding comfortably on airplanes. Since the time, and the situation has came to make ourselves realize the reality of ourselves, why don't we all give ourselves a humble vacation this year? If according to the article "staycation" is going to make you miserable, than go off somewhere you could help others that are in need. That is definately a buy1 get 1 deal, you get to get out from your house, and help people at the same time. This time, we should think of what "vacation" really means for us.
20700775 Article Entry #13

My Ebay Job

Do 1.3 million people really earn a living on the site?
May 22, 2008 | Updated: 11:19 a.m. ET May 22, 2008

IS eBAY your JOB????????????
Original Article
Certain numbers have an iconic status in America's business culture. One of them is the number of people who derive income selling goods on eBay: 1.3 million. The figure has been cited by eBay executives such as former CEO Meg Whitman, speaking on 60 Minutes in March; by companies that are part of the eBay economic ecosystem; and, in late April, by presidential candidate John McCain. "Today, for example, 1.3 million people in the world make a living off eBay," he proclaimed. "Most of those are in the United States of America."

Where does this number come from? And do more than 650,000 Americans really "make a living" selling costume jewelry, baseball cards, and cameras in the world's largest swap meet?

The number can be traced to a 2006 study conducted by ACNielsen on behalf of eBay. The company surveyed eBay sellers around the globe, including 2,000 in the United States. And it concluded that "approximately 1.3 million sellers around the world use eBay as their primary or secondary source of income," with an esti­mated 630,239 in the United States. Take careful note of the phrasing, however: primary or secondary. That could mean 50,000 use eBay as a primary source and 1.25 million as a secondary source. Or it could mean the split is closer to 650,000-650,000.

EBay doesn't break out the numbers, but it's a safe bet the reality is closer to the former. Even the minority of sellers who meet the company's "power seller" re­quirements aren't coming close to "mak­ing a living" selling on eBay. To reach the lowest level, bronze sellers must rack up $12,000 in sales (sales, not profits), or move 1,200 items over the course of a year. "A bronze-level power seller isn't making a full-time living on eBay," says Cindy Shebley, who began selling on eBay in 1999. "They have to really crank it up and get into higher tiers, like titanium." Levels rise from silver ($3,000 or 300 items per month) to Titanium ($150,000 or 1,500 items per month). Shebley is a silver-level seller (mostly photography and lighting equipment) but says most her income comes "from supporting sellers as a consultant and a teacher." Shebley teaches classes and is working on a new book, How To Market an eBay Business.

A part-time seller, Shebley is nonethe­less an integral part of the eBay economic ecosystem. The company itself (market capitalization of about $40 billion, 15,000 employees) is surrounded by businesses like the one run by Catherine Keener's character in The 40-Year-Old Virgin—a storefront that helped people sell things on eBay. In the real world, it seems there are almost as many businesses that will help you sell on eBay as there are items for sale on the site, from Mail­ Boxes Etc., to UPS, to bubble-wrap manufac­turers, to software developers who have created more than 12,000 eBay applications, to Paul Mladjenovic, author of Zero-Cost Marketing, teaching an online class at the Learning Annex.

EBay support has become a compelling in­dustry because it turns out there's a lot of friction in this supposedly frictionless model. A few years ago, Doug Graham, owner of Graham & Company, an advertising firm in Great Neck, N.Y., began reselling other people's goods on eBay. In exchange for a 30 percent commission, Graham handles all the hassles. "You have to take nice photos, conduct realistic auctions, re­spond to e-mails, and handle shipping and packing," he says. "Each auction can take a couple of hours." Graham's eBay sales are about $150,000 a year, but this power seller isn't making an eBay living. "It's a nice profit center for a larger business."

EBay continues to attract people who would like to make a portion of their living selling. "We think there are about 600,000 sellers that use selling tools on eBay who are trying to make a buck," says J.P. O'Brien, chief executive of­ficer of Sagefire, a Boulder, Colo., com­pany that makes software programs that automatically download data on bought and sold items.

Of course, there's a big difference be­tween making a buck and making a living, between a sometime-thing and a steady gig. The notion that 630,000 Ameri­cans—a number roughly equal to the population of North Dakota—are making something approaching a living wage selling on eBay is a little rich. I've been paid a few times to play the piano—it doesn't make me a professional musician.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's right doesn't mean all my money comes from my part time job working as a translator does not make me a professional translator.
ALthough statistics tells us 630,000 Americans are making some money from selling products at eBay, that does not make them their "Job." However, some people really do earn a living wage through this busines, that does not make you as a employee of eBay. Do you get the point? A professional job, or what ever work that is called a "job" has to have some sort of a binding, a responsibility, so that the company can pay insure you in health care. Some people only earn a buck a day through eBay.
Please, don't rely on eBay, and mostly don't misunderstand eBay as your working place.
20700775 Article Entry #12

Johnson & Johnson's Big Design Challenge

Johnson & Johnson's Big Design Challenge
J&J Chief Design Officer Chris Hacker is a man with a mission: to bring sustainable design to corporate America


Chris Hacker, a chief design officer of Johnson & Johnson clearly states that his goal is to "create transcendent consumer experience.“ He built his career at JC Penney, Steuben Glass, Dansk, and Henry Dreyfuss Associates and was a design director of Aveda, the eco-conscious cosmetics brand, where "a crazy hairdresser who wanted to build a brand that could save the planet," according to Chris Hacker.
By 2005, Hacker's success at Aveda had caught the attention of Johnson & Johnson and had convinced its higher-ups that a new focus on sustainable design might be profitable. Before he was hired, all the designs were outsourced and then, by hiring Hacker, gathering a 120-person think tank.

Now he and his team increased the sales of the projects that they have been working on, such as new packaging for the Aveeno brand of skin-care products, which uses 30 percent post-consumer materials, and a redesigned Clean & Clear acne kit. The reason why their sales increase is that they think about what motivates the consumer to take the product home.
Hacker also hopes to change the way designers and corporations think about sustainability. "Everything we do is as sustainable as we can make it," he says. "It's part of the process, but it's not the definition. We're designing to create positive consumer experience, and while we do that—by the way—we're also making it sustainable. I'm on a mission to tell designers that sustainability has got to be a part of what they do."



>> Original Article




These days a company cannot survive without thinking about the environment and how it affects their image and reputation. More and more people are concerned about the environment, pollution and the future that they and their children are going to live in. So the more the company cares, the more people will recognize it and try to use the products that the company who cares makes. As professor said in the class, it is essential for the company to think and care about the external, or outside forces that acts upon the company. Also if the company does care about the environment, it becomes one of the compatibility that the company possesses. Not only the care but also the design of a product are essential for the company to have more compatibility and for the company can differentiate itself from others. Thereby, Johnson and Johnson is doing pretty well.







20500419 Entry 11

Why Microsoft Is Desperate for Yahoo

Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates
Yuriko Nakao / Reuters
Monday, May. 19, 2008 By JOSH QUITTNER

If you’ve come to think of your computer as a digital version of a car,
Microsoft is under assault in every direction. That's why Microsoft wants to have Yahoo.How desperate?
This king of software suggested Yahoo for a joint venture that Microsoft woul have position in Yahoo's search business.
Ironically, Microsoft is very vulnerable in this situation.
Why?
Because Bill gates has gone off some where to serve humanity.
Who is there to watch the gate?
With no strategy, google might snatch the search engine.
Microsoft is an empire in rapid decline.
Vista and Windows 7 was a disaster. Then, the market for desktop/ laptop becamse smaller. The internet maniacs are gradually moving from computers to mobiles
Another Giant called "apple mobile" basically ate up microsoft mobile. With iPhone 2.0, the picture does not get pretty.

Microsoft admitted that Microsoft's search biz has stalled: "The fact is that we are not where we want to be in this business yet and we've been in this position longer than we'd all like."

Dear Microsoft here is what you could do..
1. Figure out a way to combat Google. as you promised innovate and disrupt in search. But it is said that even Yahoo Acquistions could be little late.
2. Figure out a way you could survive in the mobile phone industry (Move fast)
3. Think innovatively how to revive the uses of computer rather than mobile phones.
4. Search engine business? Since many say that you guys are a step too late, why don't you do something with your MSN search engine?
5. Good luck !

20700775 Article Entry #11

After rat incident, you can call Nongshim boss direct

May 23, 2008
Nongshim chairman Sun Wook and other executives are personally answering complaint calls to the company.

The food company suffered a public relations crisis in March when a customer supposedly found a rat’s head in a pack of shrimp crackers, a popular snack.

Around 20 executives, including Sun, will take turns answering customer calls for two hours each day. This “hotline” will go on indefinitely, the company said. “We wanted to do something substantial to let our customers know we are looking at revamping our structure to avoid anymore safety accidents,” Sun said.

The company yesterday started its “Customer Satisfaction Campaign,” which will run through September. During this period, Nongshim will deliver its food to low income areas for free, and the company will promote its new shrimp crackers, which will be made in factories with upgraded safety procedures. The company invested 30 billion won ($28.7 million) in safety measures. Nongshim will also start research and development on new snacks and hold an exhibition in September featuring snacks they think people will eat 100 years from now. “We want this campaign to be more than a one-time event. We will invest more in our factories in Korea as well as China,” Sun said.

this is good strategy. because of this Hot-line, nong-sim can recover faith from their customer. in America, there was like situation to P&G , asprin.
P&G well overcome the event, and then P&G get healthy and honesty compay image.
disaster or critical event, sometimes it will be a chance to developing compay.
through overcoming the event, nong-sim can get good image.

20500530 entry #11

11. Streaming Movies—from Netflix

Bit by bit, the vast library of movies and TV shows available on DVD is making its way online. It's out there on the servers. We know where it lives. So why can't we get it onto those expensive big-screen TVs we talked ourselves into buying? Netflix, the king of snail-mail DVDs, may be the company that finally makes it happen.
You may not realize this, but if you have a Netflix account, you already have the ability to stream movies to a Windows PC at no additional charge. That service has been available since the start of the year for any subscriber paying the minimum $9 monthly fee for an unlimited account. Now, if you are willing to spend $100 on a gizmo called the Roku Netflix Player, you can watch those same movies on a TV with no fuss and no charge other than the hardware purchase.
The Netflix service is far from perfect, but it is likely to get better with time. And even with its flaws, Net¬flix's all-you-can-watch subscription model is sweet, especially when you consider the alternatives—namely, purchasing a movie download for up to $18 or paying $4 or so for a one-day rental from Movielink, iTunes, or a cable on-demand service.
The Roku is a small box that superficially resembles products such as Apple TV or Vudu. But while the setup is similar, the operation is completely different. Other services download the content to a hard drive for playback; Netflix is pure streaming.
I think it was obvious that Netflix would be entering the internet service film business. After beating Blockbuster with its innovative and convenient business of renting DVD’s by mail, now it makes one more step forward entering the internet service, but with one more innovation differentiating from other internet service offerings. Netflix is now bringing the internet service films to the TV screens. It is a great innovation because it brings more convinience to their customers. The only thing they need to improve right now is the quality of titles and make it easy for people to find what they want. I think that once these minor problems which can be overcomed easily are fixed and improved, this business will be a real success in the industry. Other internet service servers should look for innovation if they don’t want to run out of business, because not only the service is convinient but also the price is accessible and friendly.


20600642 entry #11

Amazing Marketing Advertising. Humor

20700193 Haeyeon Ryan Kim Entry # 10




The most popular way to advertise products is by using advertisements. T.V. commercials are the easiest ones to be creative with. I have some very interesting, intriguing T.V. commercials and they most definitely have been stuck in my mind for quite a long time at that time.
Using statements like "This product is good for your health!" or "This product contains this!" do not work anymore. Not only are they not convincing; they are not interesting. People do not watch uninteresting things.
The most successful marketing is achieved when "word of mouth" is stimulated. No matter how many people watch your advertisement, it will never beat an advertisement that a lot of people like and talk about.
So enjoy this movie clip maybe you can think of a funny, creative advertisement too.

20700193 Haeyeon Ryan Kim Entry # 10

Water becoming the new gold rush

May 12, 2008


In the 21st century, fresh water is quickly becoming as precious as gold.
The world’s water industry spent an estimated $300 billion last year to collect, treat and distribute water, a figure excluding the lucrative bottled water business.
That makes water a vast market for companies that can tap in.
The reason for the hefty price tag is simple. The world is suffering from a freshwater shortage. According to the United Nations, 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.
European, American and Japanese companies have been driving into the industry since the late 1990s. In addition to providing water services in their home countries, these companies are focusing on areas that have water shortages, including countries in the Middle East and China.
With 20 percent of the world’s population, China possesses only 7 percent of the world’s freshwater.
Korea is also a target. French-based company Suez has secured a contract with local Hanhwa to build and operate a sewage treatment plant in Yangju, Gyeonggi and Busan.
Veolia, also a French-based water company, has contracted to build a sewage plant in Incheon.
According to the Korean government, local private companies are trying to get in on the action. Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction is the leader, providing 40 percent of the world’s water treatment services that involve purifying seawater into freshwater, mainly for countries in the Middle East.
“Those countries are selling oil to buy water services,” said Jin Bo-geun, a manager at Doosan Heavy.
Other local companies, including Kolong Industries, GS Engineering and Construction and Samsung Engineering, have all said that they will make various water services a part of their company’s goals.
The Korean government has also announced plans to help expand the local water industry, with the goal of making it a 20 trillion won [$19.16 billion] business by 2015. The government also wants at least two local companies included in the industry’s top 10 in the world. The government will help by cooperating with private companies to increase investments.
However, these state efforts are criticized by many industry experts who say the reason for Korea’s slow development in the water services industry stems from the country’s passive effort in privatization of water.
-------
the developing water industry is good chance for local cities to developing local economy. because, there is no significant source for developing local economy in local area but in Korea, they has good and clean water.
and their is domestic company which has good technology to developing water industry.
and it can be blue ocean.

but in my opinion, privatization of water is harmful to the whole country economy.
due to the privatization of water, cost of using water is increasing sharply.
for the developing water industry, Korea government try to other way.

20500530 entry #10

10. Yahoo and WPP in Partnership

Yahoo will be announcing on Friday of its new partnership with WPP Group, an advertising holding company. This will give the clients of WPP a greater number of websites on which they can post their messages.

With this partnership, many web publishers that use Yahoo's services will be able to get more direct access to WPP's clients while WPP clients in turn can focus their messages to visitors that are more receptive. In addition, the information that the agency can collect about the demographic profile of people who visit the Yahoo service will benefit the database that Group M, WPP's planning and buying agency, collects on customer information.

This deal comes at a particular time for Yahoo because it had just resisted a takeover from Microsoft. Now, an investor named Carl C. Icahn is pushing Yahoo to go under Microsoft. WPP's Martin Sorrell, the chief executive, stated that he'd like to see Microsoft and Yahoo reach an agreement. He does not like the market being at an unbalance and seems to be hoping that Yahoo and Microsoft will get together. This would benefit him, since he will be able to reach more sites from which the agency can collect information.

It seems that in making this partnership with Yahoo, WPP will be gaining a greater advantage. While publishers that use Yahoo's advertising auction service will get more access to clients through WPP, the WPP Group receive more information for their database and from there, can use this information to narrow down and specialize their advertising.

If Yahoo and Microsoft does reach an agreement, again the WPP Group will be the one to benefit more because their range from which to collect data will increase greatly.

Hilary Schneider, the executive vice president for global partner solutions at Yahoo stated that the deal between the WPP Group and Yahoo was "about enabling WPP's full range of agencies to buy digital display advertising across the entire Internet in a much more efficient way." This shows how WPP is indeed benefiting more from the partnership than Yahoo would be. The financial terms, however, were not disclosed.



20600642 entry#10

SK Telecom Denies Virgin Mobile Rumors

SK Telecom Denies Virgin Mobile Rumors





SK Telecom, a famous Korean mobile operator is trying to expand its market to the U.S. and China since the domestic market is about to be saturated. SK Telecom is having preliminary talks on the deal with other companies, considering various scenarios and tapping opportunities, such as buying Virgin Mobile USA so that they can combine it with Helio, SK's own US mobile service. SK has approached Sprint Nextel last November but was rejected even though Sprint Nextel had been offered $5 billion investment.


>> Original Article



There are several ways for a company to expand to the global market. Some common tactics are: (1) exporting, transferring goods to other countries for sale; (2) licensing, selling the right to produce and sell a brand-name product; (3) franchising, letting others use the companies name and operate by giving certain amount of money; (4) joint-venture, agreement among two or more companies to pursue common business objectives; (5) Greenfield venture, creating a wholly owned foreign subsidiary. SK may choose any strategy they would like to but what they really need to consider is their outside forces as well as inside forces. U.S. as well as China has very different sets of regulations, culture, and so on.
The best way that I think is to do joint-venture. The companies that joined together would be able to cover up their weaknesses, what each of the company lack. In the case of U.S., SK can cover up as if they are not from one of the Asian countries until their company’s image and status is settled. In the case of China, it would be even greater to join with other company since Chinese are more to trust Chinese company than foreign companies. Even if they M&A with local companies, it would be better to use something similar to joint venture or Greenfield venture.



20500419 Entry #10

When will food prices fall?

Food Price Rise Could Last Another 2 Years

You may have to get used to paying more for your groceries for another two years or more.

Experts say an increase in global food consumption combined with increasing use of crops such as corn and soybeans for alternative fuel production are partly to blame.

Agricultural economists who've studied food price fluctuations cite historical trends that show run-ups in farm commodity prices typically happen in five-year cycles.

More from CNNMoney.com:

• The High Price of Going 'Organic'

• Rebate Checks: How to Spend 'Em

• Recession-Proof Job: Personal Financial Adviser

Prices flare up in the first two to three years of the cycle and then start to moderate by the fourth or fifth year, said Chris Hurt, agricultural economist at Purdue University .

If 2007 was the first year of this latest cycle, Hurt said farm supply could start catching up to demand by 2010, helping to push down milk, bread, cereal and other grocery prices.

Until then, "Americans will be moving backward in their [food] lifestyle." By that he means that more families will trade down to cheaper food alternatives, or eat out less often, in order to adjust their budgets to both higher food and fuel costs.

Wal-Mart, the No. 1 discounter and supermarket chain, said Tuesday that spending patterns in its stores already support the trend. The retailer said shoppers are buying more white meat and less red meat, stocking up on larger package sizes and buying more boxed frozen meals as eating at home replaces going out.

"This is the first price boom we've seen since the 1970s," said Bill Knudson, professor of agricultural economics at Michigan State University, agreed. "There's an old industry saying that high prices cure high prices. My personal opinion is that food prices will remain high for another two or three more years."

The good news, however, is that "there's no grave concern" of a pending food shortage in the United States, Hurt said.

Why Is Food More Expensive Now?

Experts point to four main global trends for the rise in food prices.

First, growing incomes in developing countries such as China, India, Malaysia mean citizens in these countries are eating better and more frequently, thereby putting more demand on the global food supply.

More from Yahoo! Finance:

• 6 Ways You Can Eat Better for Less

• Rising Food Costs: Solutions Amid the Squeeze

• Stock Up on Food for Rich Returns


"People are consuming more quantity and higher-quality foods," said Hurt. "They are eating more meats, eggs, grains and [drinking] milk."

Second, adverse weather patterns over the past four years have harmed crop production in Australia, southern Europe, Ukraine and even parts of the United States.

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economist Jim Sartwelle said a prolonged drought in Australia - a major wheat and dairy producer - has led to big drops in world exports of wheat and milk.

Third, the United States is normally a big food surplus nation but, "with a weak dollar, there's been a run on our pantry of food supplies," Sartwelle said. "A lot of our excess production is going overseas and this is pushing up domestic prices."

Fourth, burgeoning demand in the European Union and the United States for ethanol and other biofuels has sparked a price surge in corn, soybeans, sugarcane and other commodities used to produce those alternative fuels.

It's not only consumers feeling the price pain, Sartwelle said.

He said that "even with higher retail prices, farmers and grocers get very little increase in their profit margin," because it's being offset by higher packaging costs, energy cost to produce and stock food and fuel to transport products.

Bill Ferriera, president of the Apricot Producers of California, also sees a bump-up in the costs of farming.

"Fertilizer costs have doubled from last year and farm labor availability is a big problem," he said. "Many farmers are choosing not to grow produce that is labor intensive."

Despite these food price hikes, Americans still spend only about 10% of their disposable income on food and beverage purchases per year, according to the Department of Agriculture.

That's below the 15% share of disposable income that Europeans spend on food and drinks, and the whopping 70% that citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh budget for consumables, said Hurt.

So even with a 4.5% expected rise in overall food prices, Americans, per person, will only spend an extra $87 this year on groceries, according to the Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture.

But that's little consolation for consumers whose budgets are already stretched amid the the worst food price inflation in 17 years, according to government reports.

The latest nationwide quarterly survey from the AFBF, which tracks supermarket prices for 16 basic grocery items, showed the total cost of its basket of goods rose to $45.03 in the first quarter of 2008, up 8% from the prior quarter.

Products with the steepest retail price jumps were a 5-pound bag of flour, up 69 cents to $2.39; cheddar cheese, up 61 cents to $4.71 a pound; corn oil, up 58 cents to $3.01 a 32-ounce bottle; and dozen large eggs, up 55 cents to $2.16.

But higher prices aren't here to stay, Hurt said. He's confident that producers will allocate more land to production over the next two to three years. "I expect greater use of technology to increase crop yields and better use of genetics to create drought-tolerant crops," he said.

Knudson said the United States this year is expected to dedicate 2 million acres of land from its federal Conservation Reserve Program to farming in order to increase production during lean times.

"In Canada more land will also be committed to farming this year," he said. "All this should help to eventually increase food supplies through the [price] boom cycle."

There is no doubt that you will need food for your living. Even though food is
daily essential thing, the price is going up and up and up. How can you handle
this? Imagine if your income stays for several years and food cost is going up,
how dare it is! This article talks about "When will food prices fall?".


20100174 #9 Entry

Mad cow risk is negligible, experts say (late)

Health experts said in a forum yesterday that there was very little risk that U.S. cattle would again contract mad cow disease or that the illness would transmit to humans.

The forum took place amid growing public anxiety about mad cow disease ahead of planned imports of U.S. beef, which were halted due to mad cow fears in 2003.

They said cases of mad cow disease have sharply decreased in recent years as countries have toughened regulations on protein-based cattle feed, which is believed to be the major cause of the illness, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

U.S. beef poses little risk when "specified risk materials" - cattle parts which can be potentially contaminated with BSE agents - are removed from the meat, they said.

The disease is not easily transmitted from cows to humans, they said.

"Only 166 out of 60 million Britons have harbored the human form of BSE (formally known as new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). It is not easy for humans to develop the disease because of a high species barrier from cows to humans," Cheong Hae-kwan, a medical science professor of Sungkyunkwan University, said.

"Also, only a small number of Britons contracted the disease even though Britons had been exposed to BSE agent for 10 to 15 years before the first case of the human form of BSE was reported," he said.

Shin Dong-chun, a medical science professor of Yonsei University, also said, "While 190,000 cows have contracted BSE worldwide, only 207 humans have been infected with the illness."

"When all SRMs are eliminated, a BSE risk is reduced 100-fold. The danger would drop by the same amount when protein-based cattle feed is restricted," he said.

He said the risk of BSE transmission would be further decreased due to the species barrier.

Professor Lee Yong-soon of Seoul National University also said BSE would soon "disappear" due to enhanced safety measures worldwide. He noted BSE cases decreased from 35,000 in 1993 to 141 in 2007.

"If this trend continues, BSE will come to an end within three to four years or five years at the longest," he said.

Ermias Belay, An official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also told The Korea Herald, "There are several European countries (e.g. Switzerland, Germany) with a high level of BSE incidence but no vCJD cases, indicating that there must be a substantial species barrier preventing the ease of transmission of BSE to humans."

In the meantime, U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow said yesterday that the risks for U.S. beef have been exaggerated, while the new import rules for U.S. beef are scientifically proven.

By Jin Hyun-joo


Health experts said in a forum yesterday that there was very little risk that U.S. cattle would again contract mad cow disease or that the illness would transmit to humans."If this trend continues, BSE will come to an end within three to four years or five years at the longest," he said.


One of experts said that " Mad cow Disease will be eliminated within three to four years." and "the Mad cow risk is negligible." But I think that these opinions do not include the nation's health. The danger of Mad Cow disease still exsist, because those are just expectation.

I'm sorry, I'm late. Because the article didn't be resisted.


20200041 hyuck sung kwon

Camping under the stars in a city setting

May 09, 2008

A family gets ready for a cookout at the campsite on Nanji Island. [JoongAng Ilbo]
Camping is all about outdoor adventure. You pitch a tent in the middle of nowhere for a night under the stars. You want to be as far away as possible from civilization to smell the campfire smoke and the crackle of firewood.
Camping begins with an urge to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and get closer to nature. But with limited time — due to our busy lifestyles — an extended trip to the countryside is hard to arrange.
But there is another option: a camp site located in the heart of Seoul called the Nanji Camping Ground on Nanji Island, northwestern Seoul.
You don’t need to prepare much before you hit the trail like picking a spot and contacting the park rangers. There’s also no need to bring cumbersome camping gear like tents or an ax to chop firewood. The camping ground is already equipped with all the equipment you could possibly need for a fee. You can get tents, blankets, mats, lanterns, burners and barbecue grills.


A Native American tepee. By Lee Eun-jo
There are also outdoor kitchens, shower stalls, washing machines and a convenience store that sells meat for your barbecue.
With such facilities, the site can host as many as 600 campers.
The island is located near the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong. The campsite was built in 2002 to accommodate visitors to during the Korea-Japan World Cup in June that year. Seoul City entrusted the area to a private developer.
It’s surprising to see such greenery on the island. Nanji Island was part of a 6.6 million-square-meter landfill from 1978 to 1993.
The island was no haven for nature nor wildlife, owing to Korea’s rapid industrialization. Nanji overflowed with trash and produced methane gas and toxic water.
The Seoul city government decided to take action to restore the island’s habitat and get rid of the pollution.

The wasteland was turned into a recreational area and now incorporates five natural parks: Pyeonghwa (Peace) Park, Nanji Stream Park, Hangang Park, Haneul (Sky) Park, and Noeul (Sunset) Park. There are also nature preserves, plazas, riverside lawns and a camping ground.
Today municipal gardeners grow barley, vegetables, peanuts, flowers and willow tree seedlings there.
Nanji is made up of two words: nan or orchids, and youngji, or mushrooms, because the area used to be known for those plants. It’s also called Duck Island, because it’s shaped like a duck on water.
The camp is located along the Island’s Nanji Stream. Once you get there, the city seems far away. That said, camping here doesn’t compare to pitching a tent in a forest far from the city and you won’t see much wildlife.
On the other hand, you won’t run out of water and you can get involved in a number of other activities: bicycling or inline skating along the Han River, yachting, playing basketball or just picnicking.


You can prepare your own food at the campsite on Nanji Island. [JoongAng Ilbo]
Over the years, camping here has become immensely popular and you are advised to book in advance.
Different tents are available for rent, such as the classic hexagon tent or a more exciting yurt, a Mongolian tent, or a Native American tepee.
When you arrive, the tents are already pitched so you don’t need to fumble around with complicated tent poles and pegs.
“It’s like a rustic hotel,” said Algie Cucuzella, an English teacher in Korea who was camping with 10 of his friends.
“It’s well organized and close to nature,” he added, pointing to the vast grassy field before him.
Cucuzella came across the city’s camping site on the Internet while searching for the DJ Festival taking place nearby.
He and his friends planned to stay for two nights and three days — they rented a yurt.
“Though it’s not proper camping in the woods, there are loads of natural spaces for families and kids, along with drinks and foods,” he said.
Kim Tae-yeon, who was grilling some fresh shrimps and clams, said, “Nanji Camping Ground is where Seoulites can camp without stress.”
She said it’s rare in a city like Seoul to enjoy a barbecue among wild flowers with a view of the peaceful Han River.
As a housewife, she said, “If you grill meat at home, the whole house is filled with the smell of cooking meat.”
After you check in at 11 a.m. you can go inline skating, bicycling or yachting along the Han River.
If you don’t have enough time to stay overnight, you can also register just for picnicking.
All you need to do is borrow a shadetent, if you wish to stay out of the sun.
“There are some downsides, though,” said Park Hee-sung, 30, a keen camper at Nanji. He has been visiting the ground since 2003.
He said that as the site has grown in popularity, it has become more expensive and commercial.
“Living nearby, my friends and I always have get-togethers here at the camp ground,” Park said. “It’s way better than meeting in a crowded restaurant.”
But Park says the camping ground is different now.
Ever since the site was featured on a television program, more people have been visiting.
“It’s become crowded,” Park, 30, said, noting that to get a spot with a nice view, you need to get there early. Before, they were able to get a decent spot even if they came in the late afternoon.

Also, Park said the camp charges a lot of money for materials that were once free in the past, for example, the shade- tent.
Bae Sung-hwan, 30, said there more restrictions than before on what you can and can’t do.
“You’re not allowed to skate or ride a bicycle in the campsite,” he said. “The safety officers, who are randomly posted throughout the site, will not allow running, sports, fireworks or a campfire,” Bae added, with a sigh.
“Camping is supposed to be a family leisure activity — simply eating and sleeping in tents isn’t camping.”
“But I guess there aren’t any other places where you can see the Han River and cook at the same time.”

To reach Nanji Camping Ground, go to Mapo District Office Station, line No. 6, exit 7. From there, it takes 20 minutes by foot along the Han River. Or, go to Sangam World Cup Stadium Station, line No. 6, exit 1. There is a Homever discount store where you buy groceries for your trip. Take a taxi from the station. It costs 5,000 won.
By car, take Olympic Bridge toward Gayang Bridge. The Gangbyeon Expressway exit leads to Han River Park.
Parking costs 3,000 won. Pets are not allowed. Reservations are a must. All tents are booked on weekends until July, but they are available on weekdays. You can take your own tent anytime. There’s space for 150 tents altogether.
The entrance fee to the campsite is 3,750 won. Tent rentals range from 28,000 won to 60,000 won per night, according to the number of persons.
Other equipment available are blankets (1,500 won each), mattresses (1,000 won), lanterns (1,000 won), grills (ranging from 6,000 won to 25,000 won according to size), movable shades (20,000 won), burners (3,000 won), tables (6,000 won) and chairs (1,000 won).
Call (02) 304-0061 for more information, or visit www.nanjicamping.co.kr.

By Lee Eun-joo Staff Reporter [angie@joongang.co.kr]

What to take?

Any camping trip requires basic equipment — even if you’re camping in the city.
Though Nanji Camping Ground provides the basics, you can save a few dollars by taking some of your own gear.
You can take your own tent, especially since most tents are already booked until July. Also, since it is still chilly at night, take extra blankets and clothes. You’ll need a sleeping bag until summer really hits.
And you’ll need food. For an evening feast, buy fresh seafood from local fish markets, sausages and vegetables. Most Koreans bring samgyeopsal, or pork.
If it’s your first time grilling, ask neighboring campers for help. Getting a fire going isn’t that easy. You’ll need charcoal, newspaper, wood and matches.
Camping gear is available for rent at the camp ground, but check ahead for availability.

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nowdauys, many people concerns about well-being life especially, in well-developed country.
and this segment will be growing, so demand for product which can me supporting well-being life such as camping-car, cooking-grill etc.
and demand for place which people have d good time with their family.

20500530 entry #9

9.Microsoft's war against Google

Currently, Google is the largest and most lucrative advertising market online and internet search sites. In order to be able to compete with them, Microsoft, which was way behind Google were willing to buy Yahoo, the number 2 power in online advertisements. The two sides failed to agree on a price of the proposed acquisition which valued Yahoo at $47.5 billion. But after three months both sides are seeing that it will be difficult to try to compete with Google by themselves separately.
The CEO of Microsoft, sees the online advertising business is essential for their future because consumers and businesses increasingly are switching from desktop software to free online services that do the same things. Looking at Google’s market dominion right now, it is almost impossible for Microsoft to catch them. They are taking 77% of the revenues from little text ads on their sites, Microsoft after yeas trying is at 5% of US search revenue.
I think it will be really hard for Microsoft try to compete against Google which is almost monopolizing the market, and standing on the top by itself. I think they need to faster in the acquisition of Yahoo so that they can be able to compete against them. If it is a real necessity for the company, and both sides are seeing that they are not able to compete by themselves the process of acquisition should go faster. I think that when they join they are going to be able to compete more effectively.


20600642 Entry #9

SKorea may seek changes to U.S. beef pact amid mad cow fears

SKorea may seek changes to U.S. beef pact amid mad cow fears
05.08.08, 1:03 AM ET


South Korean government said it would consider demanding changes to its US beef import agreement because of the problem with mad cow disease. Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo said that the government may reconsider suspending imports if a new mad cow case emerges in the US in a nationally televised press conference.
In Korea, there is a huge Internet-driven tide of public criticism after the agreement of importing US beef was made. Korean government as well as US government has been saying that US beef is totally safe but thousands of people have staged candlelit protests against the imports.
Even though another mad-cow-case occurs, Korea cannot stop beef imports immediately as the government said in the press conference. Instead, it has to wait until the World Organization for Animal Health revises its position that US beef is safe.



>>Original Article



The percentage of a chance for human to get mad cow disease is not so high. Why people are so into this problem must be because of the anger: anger that their government has signed the contract even though they knew the dangers; anger that their government has no power to change this incidence; and anger that their protests and shouted-out opinions are not heard or of any concern.
Now what will come into play are the other beef-related products. Hanwu, the Korean beef as well as the Australian beef’s price will go up higher. Other companies which produce products such as instant food including fast food and noodle also will be concerned. The ones who protests that they do not use US beef will do well later on since they prevent the risk factor. This incidence might become a great opportunity for some companies or industries.






20500419 Entry #9

Guerrilla Marketing

20700193 Haeyeon Ryan Kim
Entry # 9
Guerrilla Marketing
check this out.

Summary of the video :
Statues that are made out of metal draw attention; and they do more when they're naked. Men, and women, consciously, unconsciously or subconsciously glance at naked statues. Some of then are a little shy, but still, they are interested. What if these dull-colored statues were wearing bright-colored underwear? that most definitely will make them take a look. This is how a bikini-manufacturing company decided to guerrilla-market their product.

Thoughts:
There are a million great ideas out there but I personally think this is the best example of a succesfull guerrilla marketing. This is just totally genious. I have a question, though. I have seen a lot of examples of guerrilla marketing for products.
How about services? Is is possible for insurance companies to come up with guerrilla marketing? I mean guerrilla marketing as in genious, brilliant ones. As technology advances, we will be able to express much, much more. Holograms may become commercially available in a few years time. Who knows, may be something better might come out. I think we should really make use of our brains to do these things.
I think i just might have a passion for marketing. This is awesome.


20700193 entry # 9

10 Things Your Airline Won't Tell You

1. "Welcome to the crowded skies."

If you've flown lately you've probably noticed that air travel feels like rush hour on the subway. Indeed, as airlines get more efficient, they're squeezing more people onto fewer planes. But that's had an unintended consequence: More fliers get left behind. Airlines have always overbooked flights to compensate for last-minute cancellations. But they don't always get the numbers right. And with so few seats open on later flights, fewer folks are volunteering to get bumped. As a result, the number of involuntarily bumped passengers is up, having grown 44 percent between the first nine months of 2005 and the same period in 2007, according to the Department of Transportation.

The silver lining for travelers is that airlines must get involuntarily bumped fliers to their destination within four hours of the expected arrival time or refund them up to $400. The bad news is, the problem isn't going away — airlines are busy developing computer systems to help them rebook bumped passengers. "Instead of fixing the problem," says Tony Polito, an associate professor at East Carolina University who has published several studies on the airline industry, "they are institutionalizing it."

2. "Your hard-won air miles are worth less all the time."

Air miles are easy to accrue. You can earn them using your credit card, getting a mortgage, "for anything short of breathing," says Tim Winship, editor at large of SmarterTravel.com. American Airlines, for example, has thousands of "mileage partners" to whom it sells air miles, making its frequent-flier program an important revenue center. And United Airlines' Mileage Plus plan brought in $600 million for the company in 2006.


But as miles flood the market, they're getting harder to use. Joe Lopez, a publications manager in Phoenix, wanted to redeem the 70,000 miles he earned on Northwest — but couldn't find a flight he liked. "It was ridiculous," he says. (A Northwest spokesperson says 50,000 miles will get you a seat on almost any domestic flight the airline offers.) What's worse, some airlines have reduced the shelf life of air miles, while others increased the amount required for an upgrade. Winship says customers can keep their account current by using a credit card affiliated with the program, which will build miles as they make purchases. You can also redeem a small amount of miles, to keep your account active, on things like magazine subscriptions.

3. "We'll give you a good deal — if we can get something out of it."

Once in a while airlines do offer serious bargains. Currently, they're doing so in an effort to steer you away from the Expedias and Travelocitys of the world. Why? Airlines pay these online booking sites a fee for every ticket they sell — something they'd rather not do. The upshot: If you're looking for the best deals — anywhere from a few dollars off to savings of 25 percent or more — your first stop should be the airlines' own Web sites.


The industry is following the lead of Southwest, which long ago pulled its tickets from travel sites. In 2005 it introduced Ding, a computer application that scans for the best fares and regularly updates you on deals. What does Southwest get in return? Loyalty and repeat fliers. "Subscribers to Ding are highly engaged customers," says Anne Murray, senior director of marketing communication with Southwest. "They fly a lot." American recently launched a similar application called DealFinder, which offers big discounts on flights, and other airlines may follow. But there's a limit, says George Hobica, creator of Airfarewatchdog.com. "If every airline does this, how many of these things can you run on your computer?"

4. "We love hidden fees."

The inflation-adjusted price of an airline ticket has actually fallen since the airlines were deregulated in 1978. But at the same time, fuel costs have skyrocketed. How do airlines make up the difference? In part through special fees. These fees keep the listed ticket price competitive but boost the total cost to travelers, often at the end of the booking process, when buyers are less likely to change their mind.

The most common is the fuel surcharge, which ranges from $5 to $25 or more. (Southwest hedged against rising oil prices before they spiked; it doesn't have a fuel surcharge.) Other examples of fees: Northwest charges $15 for an exit-row seat. United now charges $25 each way for checking a second bag. And Allegiant, a small airline that provides services from cities like Missoula, Mont., to the Sunbelt, charges $9.50 just to book a ticket online — a process that costs the company virtually nothing. Even frequent-flier programs, which are supposed to let you book "free flights,"have added fees for things like booking too close to your travel date. "I keep seeing more and more of these hidden fees," says Hobica. "I get complaints from people all the time."

5. "Customer service isn't always our top priority..."

Twice last year, when Larry Meyer tried to fly from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Florida, he arrived at the airport only to find his flight had been canceled and nothing was available until the next day. "It really rubbed me the wrong way," he says. "They have my number in the computer; you'd think they could call me." And some customers, after enough bad experiences, have started fighting back. Kate Hanni, who was delayed on the tarmac for nine hours in 2006, formed a group that pushed New York State to enact a passengers' rights law.

According to Claes Fornell, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, the major U.S. airlines currently have their lowest customer-satisfaction ratings in seven years. "There is collusion in dissatisfaction," he says. "They all offer about the same lousy service." But David Castelveter, spokesperson for the Air Transport Association, which represents the airlines, sees it differently. He says fliers, upset by delays that are often out of the airlines' control, assume customer service is the problem when other factors are to blame. "This is a customer-service-driven business," Castelveter says.


6. "...unless you have a lot of miles."

They may be making a lot of customers miserable these days, but if airlines could be said to cater to anyone's needs, it's those of the folks in the top tier of their frequent-flier programs — heavy travelers, many of whom fly for business and therefore buy the most expensive tickets. "These people get white-glove service," says Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Forrester Research. "[Airlines] really want to cultivate that relationship." These favored fliers get the first crack at upgrades. The reservation center answers their call on the first ring. They often get special bonus-mile offers and free upgrades. And they can use first-class check-in, meaning shorter lines through security and early boarding.

Chuck Guedelhoefer, president of Raths, Raths and Johnson, a structural-engineering firm in Willowbrook, Ill., cherishes the benefits he gets from United's top-tier membership program. For one, it makes it easier for him to redeem frequent-flier miles. And because he has so many with United, he always gets seated in the exit row, so he doesn't have to pay for upgrades to business class. "I even get treated better at the ticket counter," he says.

7. "Our planes are ancient."

Airline passengers in Europe are accustomed to seat-back entertainment systems with movies on demand and videogames — innovations that seem like space-age fantasies compared with the pull-down screens still so common here. That's because after the industry's near collapse in 2001, most major U.S. airlines decided they couldn't afford new jets and stopped buying them. Now our commercial fleet averages 12 years old. And with so many older jets in the air, airlines feel little pressure to upgrade, says Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst with the Teal Group.


"An inordinate number of our planes [in the U.S.] are old and inefficient," says Harteveldt. Among U.S. carriers, Northwest has the oldest planes, with an average age of 17 years. (JetBlue and AirTran, by contrast, have the newest fleets, averaging three years old.) It's not that old aircraft are dangerous; they're maintained to high safety standards. But in addition to being dingy and less comfortable for passengers, old planes cause more delays due to last-minute mechanical problems, and they guzzle fuel, a cost that filters down to customers. The situation is only going to get worse, says CreditSights analyst Roger King, since most U.S. airlines have placed few or no orders for new planes.

8. "Even we don't understand our pricing."

Most flights are divided into first class, business and economy. But when it comes to pricing, there are often up to 200 different price points for seats on each plane. "Ticket pricing is a mix of science, game theory and art — a three-dimensional matrix," Harteveldt says. The biggest factor, beyond basic costs like fuel and labor, is the competition. Airlines track each other's fares, then try to determine how many business travelers, who generally pay a premium for flexible tickets, are likely to book a flight. On routes with lots of business travelers, seat prices can stay high because airlines know they'll book seats at the last minute. As each seat sells, the prices of others fluctuate. "Domestic fares can change up to three times a day," says Hobica.

But prices don't only go up. If demand from business travelers is lagging, prices may fall as the flight time gets closer. If that happens and the fare drops by the time your flight leaves, you can get a voucher from a number of airlines for the difference — United, Southwest and Alaska do this without deducting a fee.

9. "We're at the mercy of "Leave It to Beaver"-era technology."

Air traffic in the U.S. has been increasing, but our air-traffic control hasn't changed much since the 1950s. This radar-based system tracks planes as they take off, travel and land. And while it's reliable, it's not efficient. Planes are routed across the country on a series of highways in the sky, spacing them at least five miles apart for safety. And that's the problem: Because radar pinpoints planes only every 12 seconds, their exact location is never known. "It's like driving a car when you only look out the window every 12 seconds. You can't get close to anything," says R. John Hansman, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology International Center for Air Transportation.

The airlines would like to see this system replaced by one based on GPS technology, Castelveter says. That would allow planes to fly much closer together safely, which would help congestion. The main sticking point is how to pay for it — Congress has yet to decide how to fund the change.

10. "You'll wait because the system's broken."

Last year was one of the worst years on record for airline delays: Only 77 percent of flights arrived on time, while 76 percent departed on time. And the antiquated air-traffic-control system isn't the only reason. Airlines routinely stuff more flights into a given time slot than ever have a hope of taking off. For example, there's room for 32 to 52 flights to leave New York's JFK airport between 8 and 9 a.m., but 57 are normally scheduled, automatically leading to delays, according to congressional testimony by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Newark, LaGuardia and O'Hare all have similar chronic overscheduling problems. And when bad weather rolls in, delays increase and spread across the country. Fed up, the Federal Aviation Administration stepped in last year, capping flights going in and out of JFK at 83 for peak hours, down from the usual 100. Caps will be imposed at Newark as well.

Even the airlines say it's a necessary temporary step. But the carriers would like more action from the government, including pushing through upgrades of the air-traffic-control system, which would increase capacity at airports. Castelveter blames part of the problem on corporate jets — which take off and land at smaller airports in the region whenever they choose, exacerbating delays. "It's an incredibly complex problem," says Shannon Anderson, associate professor of management at Rice University, one involving aging technology, competing airlines and private and commercial carriers. "Just capping the number of flights is not going to solve it."

These days, you call the world as a Global Village which means that the world
has become a daily based system. So that, you travel by cars and trains a lot,
even airplanes more. As I was reading this article, I've got enough interest
in airline companies. This article tells you the things that the airline companies
do not tell you. Have fun reading.

20100174 #8 Entry