• Korean Public Health Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.87-97
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• 2018

Background: Recently, the prevalence of obesity (body mass index [BMI] ${\geq}25kg/m^2$) has been increasing rapidly worldwide over a short period. In Korea, the prevalence of obesity has also increased rapidly due to the rapid socio-economic development and lifestyle changes, with differing patterns according to gender. This study aimed to compare the change in obesity prevalence according to gender among the adult population in Korea using representative data, the National Health Check-up Database (NHCD), to follow-up individuals who had undergone checkups during both years in Korea (2011~2013). Methods: To analyze the changes in obesity prevalence in the recent two years, data regarding men and women who had undergone health check-ups in both two years (2011, 2013) were extracted. The final study population comprised 144,934 persons: 83,604 (58%) males and 61,330 (42%) females. Chi-square test within a univariate analysis, and the level of factor difference was verified with t-test, one-way ANOVA and multiple comparison. Results: In 2011, one out of three participants was obese (BMI ${\geq}25kg/m^2$; male, 37.7%; female, 27.3%) and more than half of the subjects were overweight (BMI ${\geq}23kg/m^2$; male, 65.6%; female, 50.4%) requiring obesity management. For the two years, the BMI of the participants significantly increased (p < .0001) and the prevalence of obesity increased among both males and females. The prevalence of obesity was higher among both genders with a longer duration of smoking, more smoking, family history of hypertension, and family history of diabetes. However, residence, income level, drinking status, psychiatric disorder, disability status and severity of disability were the opposite gender. Conclusion: In the analysis of data, the prevalence of obesity among both men and women was increasing. The degree of change in the prevalence of obesity among men and women was different in each variable. Thus, it will need to consider gender in developing health policies for obesity mediation and to provide integrated healthcare and management for those people.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.186-203
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• 2015

This article attempts to examine both the outcome and future task of the art history research on Central Eurasia, better known under the name of "Silk Road". The term Central Eurasia encompasses Xinjiang Uygur, Tibet, Mongolia, former Soviet Republics, the northwest region of India, Iran and Turkey. The article analyzes the 30-year history of the region's art history research and further presents a desirable direction that the study should move towards. Though short in its research period, the ROK's art history study on Central Eurasia has shown eye-catching achievement in several areas such as the northwest region of India and the Xinjiang Uygur, Dunhwang of China. Two factors allowed for this accomplishment. First was the actual improvement of the work environment, where the scholars were finally able to travel to Central Eurasia and explore the historic sites for themselves since 1990. More important was the 'arena of study' for the next-generation scholars made possible by institutions like The Korean Association for Central Asian Studies and the Center for Central Eurasian Studies. Slowly but consistently, the two academic societies induced scholars' attention towards the field and fostered new experts. Circumstances changed, marking 2012 as the starting point. International academic forums held by the government branches surged in number. The intention behind it was to link the ROK with the Silk Road and ultimately to obtain the "Eurasia initiative". As of now, the public has shown heightened interest in the issue. The academia is subsequently riding on this second "wave of interest" following the first wave in the 1980s. However, increased popularity comes with some negative consequences, and this art history research on Central Eurasia is no exception. There are criticisms regarding the objectivity of recent academic forums. Some argue that the aim of the forums are sternly set most of the times, prohibiting the presenters to voice their own perspectives. Still, this heated attention will definitely play its role as a stepping stone for further development. The academia should commit to fostering rising researchers who will systemically and professionally study the field. This is imperative in order for the Korean culture to successfully communicate with the world and take itself to a new level. Without completing this task, the ROK's art history research on Central Eurasia is likely to remain idle.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.47-55
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the factors associated with electronic cigarette use by Korean adults. To accomplish this, data collected from 228,477 individuals during a community health survey conducted by the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 were analyzed by descriptive analysis, the Chi-squared test, and logistic regression analysis. The lifetime prevalence of electronic cigarette smoking was 11.1% for men and 0.8% for women. The current prevalence for electronic cigarettes smoking was 24.2% for men and 26.1% for women among lifetime users of electronic cigarettes. The lifetime experience rate of electronic cigarette smoking was significantly associated with age, educational attainment, occupation, income status and current smoking status, respectively. The current universal smoking e-cigarette is significantly related to the current smoking status, which shows a significantly higher number of current smokers than groups that have smoked in the past. The preference for electronic cigarette smoking was high. E-cigarettes were perceived by those who aimed to quit smoking as having a smoking cessation effect compared to regular cigarettes while also providing the pleasure of smoking and addressing the addiction. Therefore, e-cigarettes were highly favored because they were reflected as a solution to the dilemma of smoking. In 2014, electronic cigarette imports tripled from the previous year, and interest in electronic cigarettes is increasing worldwide. Accordingly, measures related to the prevention and discontinuation of e-cigarettes should be considered. Strengthening anti-smoking education and active promotion of anti-smoking risks is needed to improve smokers' wrong perception of smoking-related health. The WHO also reports that there is a lack of grounds to ensure or acknowledge that e-cigarettes are effective. Accordingly, it is important to identify environmental factors influencing the use of electronic cigarettes and explore the relationship between electronic cigarette recognition and use.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.392-402
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that predict happiness among aged males and females who live alone, and we focused on their satisfaction with their socio-physical environment, their social network, regular participation in social activities, their subjective health status and if they suffer from depression. A total of 2,76 people were the subjects of this study, their average age was 65 years old, they lived alone and all of them were selected from the '2017 Community Health Survey' data. The data was analyzed utilizing the Chi-square test, the Mann-Whitney test and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The subjects were 605 males (21.86%) and 2,163 females (78.14%). For the result of this study, the significant predictive factors of happiness for aged males living alone were monthly income (OR=2.363, 95% CI=1.473-3.791), basic livelihood rights (OR=1.903, 95% CI=1.144-3.167), trusting their neighbors (OR=2.018, 95% CI=1.263-3.225), religious activities (OR=2.098, 95% CI=1.314-3.349), subjective health (OR=2.753, 95% CI=1.217-6.228), and depression (OR=0.852, 95% CI=0.803-0.905). The significant predictive factors of happiness for aged females living alone were income (OR=2.407 95% CI=1.362-4.253), basic livelihood rights (OR=1.350, 95% CI=1.019-1.788), contact with friends (OR=1.879, 95% CI=1.323-2.669), religious activities (OR=1.372, 95% CI=1.124-1.676), recreation/leisure activities (OR=1.608, 95% CI=1.161-2.228), subjective health (OR=5.327, 95% CI=1.347-21.070), and depression (OR=0.864, 95% CI=0.840-0.890). In conclusion, programs to enhance happiness should be developed with considering the characteristics affecting the happiness of aged Korean males and females who live alone.

• 한국노년학
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.461-474
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to develop the caregiver guideline for participation in activities daily living for the elderly with early dementia in home including easily adaptable and professional strategies as early intervetion. The process of this study was 3 stage. First stage, the development of preliminary caregiver guideline as the first stage of this study was to translate to Korean and reclassify the items about caregiver guideline for participation from reports of foreign association or government related dementia, and it consisted of 3 areas, 128 statements for questionnaire for Delphi investigation. Second stage, the guideline was to conduct the content validity, and delete, reclassify, integrate, revise inappropriate items through 2 rounds and 16 Delphi panels. Third stage, the establishment of the final version of caregiver guideline. It consisted of 8 areas: home modification and assistive device, home activities of daily living, health management, communication, psycho-emotional support, leisure activities, social participation, general strategies. All 68 items was arranged in important order. The content validity, stability, agreement index in this study were 0.81, 0.15, 0.79 respectively. When content validity, stability was above 0.49, below 0.5 in Delphi survey with 15 panels, it was not required additional survey. The result of this study meaned that it was not required to additional Delphi survey, and the result was stable and agreeable. This developed guideline was useful and practical to maintain the elderly's with dementia independent and healthy life as education materials for their caregivers, so it will expect to decrease caregiver's burden. Lastly, it stated limitation and suggestion for further study.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.42
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• pp.505-524
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• 2016

This study examines the ways District 9, a film released in 2009, reworks the sci-fi genre to explore the human encounter with "other" alien populations. Like Avatar, released in the same year, District 9 addresses the tropes of conflict over land and human-alien hybridity and introduces non-humans and aliens, not as invaders, but as objects of human oppression and cruelty. Unlike many other science fiction films where the encounter between humans and non-humans occurs in an unidentifiable future time and location, District 9 crosses genre barriers to engage with urban realism, producing a social critique of contemporary urban population problems. The arrival of aliens in District 9 occurs as part of the recorded human past and the film's action is carried out in the present time in the specifically identified city of Johannesburg. A distinctly anti-Hollywood film that locates the action at the street level, District 9 plays out human anxieties about contact with others by referencing the divisions and conflicts historically attached to South Africa's sprawling metropolis and its current problems of urban poverty and illegal immigrants. Focusing on how this particular urban setting frames the film, the study investigates the ways Blomkamp's sci-fi film about extra-terrestrials presents a curious postcolonial mix of aliens and immigrants surviving in abject conditions in an urban slum and forces a realistic examination of the contemporary social problems faced by South Africa's largest city and by extension other major global cities. The paper also examines the film's representation of the human-alien hybrid and its potential as a force to resist human exploitation of the other. It also claims that though the setting is highly local, District 9 speaks to a wider global audience by making obvious the exploitative practices of profit-seeking multinationals. A sci-fi film that is keen on making a social commentary on urban population conflicts, District 9 resonates with the wider sense of insecurity and fear of others that form the horizon of the uncertain and potentially violent contemporary human world.

• Journal of vocational education research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.85-111
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to derive the competence of nursing teacher in Specialized vocational high school. The knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for the nursing teachers were verified and the competency groups and sub-competencies were verified and priorities were suggested. To do this, 23 nursing teachers who were currently working in the Specialized vocational high school were selected as expert panels and the study was conducted using Delphi and Layered Analysis(AHP) technique. The results of this study were as follows. First, the competency group of the nursing teacher in Specialized vocational high school showed teaching and learning methods & techniques, student guidance, curriculum development and operation, school management support, industry-academy cooperation, self-development and professionalism improvement. The total number was 6. Second, the sub-competency is composed of knowledge and skills related to the curriculum, planning and preparation of instruction, instruction operation, guidance of experiment and practice, instruction evaluation, development and utilization of teaching and learning medium, instruction environment, guidance on student education activities outside the curriculum, career guidance, life guidance, class management, guidance of technology and qualification, development of school curriculum, organization and operation of school curriculum, planning and operation of field practice, work planning, school management support, teacher evaluation and personnel management support, leaning support(practice place and equipment), establishment and operation of industry-academia cooperation, strengthening community cooperation, public relations in the school(department), field research for improvement of educational activities, participation in conferences and training, exploration of new knowledge and technology, The total number was 26. The most important of the relative importance was the curriculum development and operation. The subordinate competencies that have a high priority in each competency group were guidance of experiment and practice, guidance of technology and qualification, planning and operation of field practice, leaning support(practice place and equipment), management and work planning, establishment and operation of industry-academia cooperation, exploration of new knowledge and technology. The competency system derived from this study will be applied to the training and evaluation of nursing teachers in the future and can be used as basic data for related research.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.18-35
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• 2019

The Korea District Heating Corporation operates a gas engine generator with a capacity of $4500m^3 /day$ of biogas generated from the sewage treatment plant of the Nanji Water Recycling Center and 1,500 kW. However, the actual operation experience of the biogas power plant is insufficient, and due to lack of accumulated technology and know-how, frequent breakdown and stoppage of the gas engine causes a lot of economic loss. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare technical fundamental measures for stable operation of the power plant In this study, a series of process problems of the gas engine plant using the biogas generated in the sewage treatment plant of the Nanji Water Recovery Center were identified and the optimization of the actual operation was made by minimizing the problems in each step. In order to purify the gas, which is the main cause of the failure stop, the conditions for establishing the quality standard of the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon were established through the analysis of the components and the adsorption test for the active carbon being used at present. In addition, the system was applied to actual operation by applying standards for replacement cycle of activated carbon to minimize impurities, strengthening measurement period of hydrogen sulfide, localization of activated carbon, and strengthening and improving the operation standards of the plant. As a result, the operating performance of gas engine # 1 was increased by 530% and the operation of the second engine was increased by 250%. In addition, improvement of vent line equipment has reduced work process and increased normal operation time and operation rate. In terms of economic efficiency, it also showed a sales increase of KRW 77,000 / year. By applying the strengthening and improvement measures of operating standards, it is possible to reduce the stoppage of the biogas plant, increase the utilization rate, It is judged to be an operational plan.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.146-157
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• 2019

One of the most distinctive features of the South Korean rural environment is that the variation of weather or climate is large even within a small area due to complex terrains. The Geospatial Schemes based on Topo-Climatology (GSTP) was developed to simulate such variations effectively. In the present study, we reviewed the progress of the geospatial schemes for production of farm-scale agricultural weather data. Efforts have been made to improve the GSTP since 2000s. The schemes were used to provide climate information based on the current normal year and future climate scenarios at a landscape scale. The digital climate maps for the normal year include the maps of the monthly minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation in the past 30 years at 30 m or 270 m spatial resolution. Based on these digital climate maps, future climate change scenario maps were also produced at the high spatial resolution. These maps have been used for climate change impact assessment at the field scale by reprocessing them and transforming them into various forms. In the 2010s, the GSTP model was used to produce information for farm-specific weather conditions and weather forecast data on a landscape scale. The microclimate models of which the GSTP model consists have been improved to provide detailed weather condition data based on daily weather observation data in recent development. Using such daily data, the Early warning service for agrometeorological hazard has been developed to provide weather forecasts in real-time by processing a digital forecast and mid-term weather forecast data (KMA) at 30 m spatial resolution. Currently, daily minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, solar radiation quantity, and the duration of sunshine are forecasted as detailed weather conditions and forecast information. Moreover, based on farm-specific past-current-future weather information, growth information for various crops and agrometeorological disaster forecasts have been produced.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2019

The flowering seasons can be advanced due to climate change that would cause an abnormally warm winter. Such warm winter would increase the frequency of crop damages resulted from sudden occurrences of low temperature before and after the vegetative growth stages, e.g., the period from germination to flowering. The degree and pattern of freezing damage would differ by the development stage of each individual fruit tree even in an orchard. A critical temperature, e.g., killing temperature, has been used to predict freeze damage by low-temperature conditions under the assumption that such damage would be associated with the development stage of a fruit flower bud. However, it would be challenging to apply the critical temperature to a region where spatial variation in temperature would be considerably high. In the present study, a phenological model was used to estimate major bud development stages, which would be useful for prediction of regional risks for the freeze damages. We also derived a linear function to calculate a probabilistic freeze risk in spring, which can quantitatively evaluate the risk level based solely on forecasted weather data. We calculated the dates of freeze damage occurrences and spatial risk distribution according to main production areas by applying the spring freeze risk function to apple, peach, and pear crops in 2018. It was predicted that the most extensive low-temperature associated freeze damage could have occurred on April 8. It was also found that the risk function was useful to identify the main production areas where the greatest damage to a given crop could occur. These results suggest that the freezing damage associated with the occurrence of low-temperature events could decrease providing early warning for growers to respond abnormal weather conditions for their farm.