The Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI) developed by Sproles and Kendall, Journal of Consumer Affairs, 1986, 20: 267-279, is one of the most widely used instruments to classify consumers by their decision making styles. With changes in consumption culture attributable to the coexistence of global and local consumer culture in the past few decades, it is essential to reaffirm that the CSI measurement instrument is valid for contemporary consumers and can be applied in various contexts. This study, therefore, aimed to present a set of CSI validation procedures using contemporaneous participants and targeting two groups of participants in the United States. Two sets of exploratory factor analysis using the main data set (n = 390) were performed and confirmatory factor analysis was applied to the main data set and the cross-validation data set (n = 172). Results from both the exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses seem to validate the eight underlying consumer characteristics of CSI.

This study investigates the Korean Government's Verification of Identity Policy by looking at the discourse surrounding its introduction and using a survey to determine the extent to which the policy was a success. While the Internet allows unprecedented freedom of expression and public opinion gathering, it also facilitates anonymity and facelessness, which increases the possibility of damage caused by deviant online behavior. The Verification of Identity Policy was aimed at fostering a more responsible Internet culture. At the beginning, it faced fierce resistance from civic groups but media coverage of innocent and high‐profile victims has changed public opinion and facilitated the implementation of the policy in 2006. Although arguments about freedom of anonymous expression and relief of damage by restrictions on freedom continue, the Verification of Identity Policy is evaluated here as a partial success, having maintained public support despite the possibility of restrictions on freedom of expression. Nevertheless, this policy perspective recommends that the Korean Government should invest in a broader and long‐term Internet usage plan than the development of just one universal policy.

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In this study, the relationship between life changes in family members and engagement in economic activities among female older adults was explored in two East Asian countries: China and South Korea. Using panel data from wave 2 (2008) to wave 6 (2016) of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging and wave 1 (2011) to wave 3 (2015) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a correlated random effects probit model was estimated. The sample included 4,412 observations from South Korea and 1,972 observations from China. The results demonstrate that life changes in family affect engagement in economic activity among female older adults in both countries. However, the influence of family members on economic activity differed between the countries. These results suggest that participation in economic activities among female older adults needs to be understood in different macro-social contexts.

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