The Evolution of Korean corporate HRD: launching,growing pains,and transforming

Enthusiasm and greater attention from the international HRD community to Korea has motivated us to conduct research on the evolution of Korean corporate HRD in order to explore where we are now and where we are heading. Research literature on the topic, however, was minimal. The purpose of this study was to examine the evolution of Korean corporate HRD through interviews with 18 HRD researchers and practitioners who have witnessed the field’s growth. In addition, we reviewed the literature and company archives of HRD activities. We identified three major historical milestones of Korean corporate HRD including: the launching period in the 1980s, the growing pains period in the 1990s, and the transforming period from the 2000s to the present. We addressed major trends and issues of Korean corporate HRD in an attempt to generate a future research agenda.     

Structural determinants of team performance: the mutual influences of learning culture,creativity, and knowledge

This study examined the effects of supportive learning culture, team creativity, and collaborative knowledge creating practices on team performance. A survey was used to collect data from a total of 228 knowledge workers from nine Korean organizations. Analyses included measuring item internal consistency, validating proposed constructs, and examining structural relationships using Structural Equation Modelling. The proposed research model was validated in terms of item internal consistency and a model-fit in the Korean business context. Supportive learning culture had a positive and direct influence on team creativity and on the teams' collaborative knowledge creation practices; however, it had an indirect influence on the team performance through the variables of team creativity and knowledge creation practices. In the conclusion, limitations, implications, and further research suggestions are discussed.     

Comparison of Temperament and Character Between Early- and Late-Onset Korean Male Pathological Gamblers

Purposes  

We investigated differences in temperament and character between early and late onset Korean pathological gamblers to identify whether the age of onset of pathological gambling (PG) could discriminate PG subtypes, like in alcoholism.     

Can ‘refundable’ state Earned Income Tax Credits explain child poverty in the American states?

This study estimates the effect of ‘refundable’ state Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs) on child poverty from 1994 through 2003. Research results indicate that a refundable state EITC is associated with reductions in child poverty, holding all other variables constant. For example, states with refundable state EITCs have observed a 40% greater reduction in child poverty rates compared to states without refundable state EITCs. This study also discusses policy implications for implementing the ‘refundable’ state EITC.     

WHY DO U.S. PARENTS PREFER PRIVATE TO FOSTER CARE ADOPTIONS? THE ROLE OF ADOPTION SUBSIDIES,GENDER, RACE,AND SPECIAL NEEDS

We analyze the demand behavior of adoptive parents in the U.S.A. For the theory, we apply vertical product differentiation to characterize the demand for domestic private, foster care and international adoptions. Then, we use the 2007 U.S. National Survey of Adoptive Parents and apply the control-function approach to a mixed logit model. We find interesting insights into the relationship between adoption choices and an adoptive parent's preferences over gender, race, and special needs. The government needs to pay an additional $735 ($506) a month to make a parent feel indifferent between international (domestic private) and foster care adoptions. (JEL O12, D10, L13)     

Marriage and Women's Health in Japan

In this study, we evaluate alternative hypotheses about the potentially harmful or beneficial effects of marriage on women's health and examine the factors underlying observed relationships between marriage and health. Using data from the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers, an annual survey of a nationally representative sample of Japanese women (N = 1,610), our study advances current scholarship on marriage and health by focusing on a context characterized by a high degree of gender inequality. Results from models employing different approaches to the potential role of health‐related selection into marriage consistently indicate that marriage is associated with better mental and physical health and that the lower levels of employment among married women play an important role in explaining this relationship. Our findings highlight the importance of considering how the specific pathways linking marriage and health may vary across societies with different gender and institutional contexts.     

Nepalese Budgetary Dynamics: Following Incrementalism or Punctuated Equilibrium?

Public Organization Review - Government budget appropriation patterns are mainly explained by theories of incrementalism and punctuated equilibrium. Consistent with these theories, this study...     

On improved estimation of a gamma shape parameter

This paper deals with improved estimation of a gamma shape parameter from a decision-theoretic point of view. First we study the second-order properties of three estimators – (i) the maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE), (ii) a bias corrected version of the MLE, and (iii) an improved version (in terms of mean squared error) of the MLE. It is shown that all the three estimators mentioned above are second-order inadmissible. Next, we obtain superior estimators which are second order better than the above three estimators. Simulation results are provided to study the relative risk improvement of each improved estimator over the MLE.