• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.113-125
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• 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the normalization of mask-wearing worldwide, and young children are particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases. Children's masks come in various sizes and shapes, causing confusion among consumers who struggle to find products that can accommodate their child's unique physical conditions. This research aims to analyze the shape and dimensions of health masks designed for young children. A total of 67 mask varieties were collected, and 58 were subjected to analysis. The masks were found to have two primary shapes: foldable and beak-like, with sizes categorized as small and extra-small. The majority of masks were manufactured in Korea, and the size labeling systems varied among manufacturers. The mask materials were non-woven fabric or polypropylene, and there was diversity in terms of the adjustable earbands and the use of additional accessories. The dimensions of the masks varied depending on their shape, with significant differences in the weight and the length of the wire holes. Subsequent research should focus on conducting wearability evaluations to verify the dimensional suitability of commercially available children's health masks based on shape and size. Additionally, this study aims to provide foundational data that can assist in the development of children's masks with size ranges that differentiate them from adult masks and cater to specific age groups.

• Journal of Practical Engineering Education
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.299-309
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• 2023

This study examines the paradigm shift in vocational training with the introduction of remote training, which has been conducted fragmentarily by project, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It analyzes the operation's problems and limitations by dividing the remote training process from assessment to budget execution by subject, stage, and procedure. Additionally, it collects various stakeholders' opinions to propose improvement plans for the vocational training support system to effectively respond to the paradigm shift in vocational training in the digital and non-face-to-face era. The study assumes that the assessment of training institutions and the training process should be innovated in a way that can accommodate the direction of vocational training in the digital and non-face-to-face era instead of focusing on traditional collective training. Based on this premise, it suggests ways to enhance the pre-approval screening system and the training institution assessment system.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.37-44
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• 2023

This study investigated the influence of travel-related content on the popular short-form platform TikTok in China on users' intentions to visit travel destinations and purchase travel products. Conducted in July 2023, amidst the rising consumption of short-form content through mobile devices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the research surveyed 337 participants using an online survey platform in China. The findings revealed that the entertainment factor within TikTok's content did not significantly impact the perception of travel destinations, whereas informativeness and trustworthiness had positive effects. Moreover, expertise and interactivity also had positive effects. The study demonstrated that the image of travel destinations formed through short-form content on TikTok positively and significantly influenced visitors' intentions. These results provide valuable insights for crafting effective strategies in the tourism industry and marketing efforts.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.675-683
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• 2023

Countries around the world are accelerating digital transformation based on intelligent information technology to overcome the economic and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and enhance national competitiveness. Based on the Framework Act on Intelligent Informatization, Korea is also focusing on implementing various intelligent informatization policies, projects, and digital platform government. In this study, the government's professional manpower status and operation status were investigated and analyzed based on national statistics, and the number of professionals was insufficient compared to the rapidly increasing project and budget. Based on the results of this study, we hope to achieve a successful digital transformation by calculating appropriate personnel for informatization at the national level and recruiting them as soon as possible

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.32-38
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• 2023

This study investigates the influence of particulate matter concentrations on the incidence of asthma, focusing on the delayed onset of symptoms and subsequent medical consultations. Analysis incorporates a four-day lag from the initiation of fine dust exposure and compares asthma patterns before and after the World Health Organization's (WHO) classification of fine dust as a Group 1 carcinogen in November 2013. Utilizing daily PM10 data and asthma-related medical visit counts in Seoul from 2008 to 2016, the study additionally incorporates Google search frequencies and newspaper article counts on fine dust to assess public awareness. Results reveal a surge in search frequencies and article publications after WHO announcement, indicating heightened public interest. To standardize the long-term asthma occurrence trend, the daily asthma patient numbers are ratio-adjusted based on annual averages. The analysis uncovers an increase in asthma medical visits 2 to 3 days after fine dust events. Additionally, greater public awareness of fine dust hazards correlates with a significant reduction in asthma occurrence after such events, even within 'normal' fine dust concentrations. Notably, behavioral changes, like limiting outdoor activities, contribute to this decrease. This study highlights the importance of analyzing accumulated medical data over an extended period to identify general public behavioral patterns, deviating from conventional survey methods in social sciences. Future research aims to extend data collection beyond 2016, exploring recent trends and considering the potential impact of decreased fine dust awareness amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.561-571
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• 2023

Volatility of a time series is defined as the conditional variance on the past information. In particular, for financial time series, volatility is regarded as a time-varying measure of risk for the financial series. To capture the intrinsic asymmetry in the risk of financial series, various asymmetric volatility processes including threshold-ARCH (TARCH, for short) have been proposed in the literature (see, for instance, Choi et al., 2012). This paper proposes a volatility function featuring non-zero origin in which the origin of the volatility is shifted from the zero and therefore the resulting volatility function is certainly asymmetric around zero and achieves the minimum at a non-zero (rather than zero) point. To validate the proposed volatility function, we analyze the Korea stock prices index (KOSPI) time series during the Covid-19 pandemic period for which origin shift to the left of the zero in volatility is shown to be apparent using the minimum AIC as well as via parametric bootstrap verification.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2023.04a
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• pp.55-55
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• 2023

With the COVID-19 pandemic, there is increasing interest in anti-obesity strategies. According to the National Statistical Office, the obesity rate in Korea was 38.3% in 2020 and 37.1% in 2021. Obesity is a risk factor for several severe diseases, including stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Pinus rigida × Pinus taeda is a hybrid of Pinus rigida Mill and Pinus taeda Linn, and its cones are considered a by-product. Although previous studies have investigated their pharmacological effects on antioxidant activity and protection against oxidative DNA damage, few researchers have explored their potential as functional natural materials. Therefore, we evaluated the anti-obesity effects of the cone of ethyl acetate fraction of P. rigida × P. taeda (ERT), specifically its ability to inhibit lipid accumulation. Our analysis showed that ERT contains phytochemicals (catechin and caffeic acid) which are known to improve immune function and inhibit cell damage. ERT inhibited lipid droplet accumulation at the cellular levels through Oil Red O staining. Furthermore, ERT suppressed the expression of adipogenic transcription factors (PPARγ and CEBP/α) as well as downstream lipogenic target genes (FAS and SREBP-1) thereby inhibiting adipogenesis. ERT also down-regulated key adipogenic markers, including aP2α, while inducing the phosphorylation of AMPK. It has been reported that PPARγ and CEBP/α are expressed in the early stages of adipose differentiation, while SREBP-1 is expressed in the late stage. Therefore, our findings suggest that ERT activates AMPK signaling pathways, which inhibits adipogenic transcription factors (PPARγ, C/EBPα, and SREBP1) and lipogenic genes (FAS and aP2α), thereby blocking lipid accumulation and preventing obesity and related disorders. ERT showed potential as a new resource for developing a functional material for anti-obesity agents.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.69-77
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• 2023

Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been many cases of converting regular hospital wards into temporary negative pressure isolation wards. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the minimum airflow differences that satisfies the pressure difference criteria(-2.5 Pa) according to airtightness of switching type wards, in preparation for utilization of aging regular wards as negative pressure isolation wards. Methods: Visual inspection and field measurements were conducted using blower door to evaluate airtightness of 5 hospital wards. CONTAM simulation was used to assess the airflow differences when pressure difference between the corridor and wards met the criteria at various levels of airtightness. Results: The ACH₅₀ of evaluated wards ranged from 19.3 to 50.1 h^-1 with an average of 37.0 h^-1, indicating more than four times leakier than other building types. The minimum airflow differences increased as the airtightness of the wards decreased and the size of the wards increased. Implications: When operating rapidly converted negative pressure isolation wards, understanding airtightness is crucial for determining the minimum airflow differences to maintain the pressure differences. The analysis of this study suggests that improving the airtightness of aging rooms is essential and the minimum airflow differences should be suggested considering both the airtightness and size of rooms.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.209-215
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• 2023

The untact environment brought about by the global pandemic has emerged as a new driving force for the matured social media market. In the post-coronavirus era, there arises a pivotal need for foundational data to reconfigure the operations and utilization strategies of social media. Using data from the 2022 Korean Media Panel Survey, this study compared sociodemographic and personality factors between social media non-users and users, and examined how these factors influenced social media usage time. The findings indicate differences between social media non-users and users in terms of gender, age, education level, income level, employment status, marital status, openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism. Usage time of social media is influenced by gender, age, income level, employment status, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. These results are anticipated to enhance the understanding of users and their usage behaviors for stakeholders in the social media market as they confront a potential second leap forward.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.41-50
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aims to identify the distribution of skill evolution for accounting personnel during the health crisis and investigate the impact of accounting skills in developing resilience among accounting personnel. Research design, data, and methodology: A total of 131 respondents of accounting personnel participated in a self-administered survey questionnaire. This data is analysed using the partial least square structural equation modeling. Results: The results show that accounting skills, digital skills, and writing skills have a significant impact on developing accounting personnel's motivation, subsequently leading to resilience. Conclusions: This study adds to the literature on the new requirements and future profiles of Malaysian organisation and the accounting profession. This will be a good reference for the practitioners to identify the relevant skills required for accountants after the pandemic. Furthermore, this study includes encouraging motivation and skills to improve resilience in the Malaysian context further to understand the push factors on skills evolution among the accountants. Higher education institutions with accounting courses would consider the potential future skills of accountants to meet market demands on time when updating the institutions' curricula program. Hence, the relevant skills required can be developed and practiced at the education level, especially secondary and tertiary levels.