• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.573-582
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• 2023

This study aimed to explore the potential use of artificial intelligence in science education for gifted students by analyzing the structure of abstracts written by students at a gifted science academy and comparing the performance of various elements extracted using AI. The study involved an analysis of 263 graduation theses from S Science High School over five years (2017-2021), focusing on the frequency and types of background, objectives, methods, results, and discussions included in their abstracts. This was followed by an evaluation of their accuracy using AI classification methods with fine-tuning and prompts. The results revealed that the frequency of elements in the abstracts written by gifted students followed the order of objectives, methods, results, background, and discussions. However, only 57.4% of the abstracts contained all the essential elements, such as objectives, methods, and results. Among these elements, fine-tuned AI classification showed the highest accuracy, with background, objectives, and results demonstrating relatively high performance, while methods and discussions were often inaccurately classified. These findings suggest the need for a more effective use of AI, through providing a better distribution of elements or appropriate datasets for training. Educational implications of these findings were also discussed.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.14 no.1_spc
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• pp.63-109
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• 2008

This article examines psychological factors that contribute to educational achievement of Korean adolescents. By reviewing empirical research, three core areas are outlined. First, positive and negative roles that Korean society play on academic achievement are analyzed. Compared to other countries, Korean society places a high premium, pressure an investment on educational achievement. This has contributed to the rapid economic growth and development, but at the same time it has created numerous social problems. Second, psychological and relational dynamics of investing in and achieving success in education are delineated. Through indigenous psychological analysis, the role parents play in motivating and regulating their children to succeed academically is reviewed. In addition, the role of teachers and friends and the coordinated efforts of Korean society are outlined. Third, future directions and transformations in education that are needed in Korean society are discussed. Although Korean adolescents are high achievers in high school, this is not the case at the university level. Since Korean students are interested in entering a prestigious university, they have developed skills in doing well in standardized tests. Educational reforms need to take into consideration individuals' personal interests, skills and creativity to ensure that the knowledge that they acquired can be used to further their career and improve their subjective well-being. Educational transformation does not imply simply adopting Western models, but developing indigenous models that can maximize human and cultural potential and stimulate curiosity, diversity and creativity that are necessary in the global era.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.316-330
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• 2008

During the past two decades or so, science (or scientific or scientific & technological) culture has become one of the main themes not only of policy makers but also of science educators. Although, the idea of science culture has been taken as a desirable goal, there is little agreement about what it means and how to measure it. Particularly in Korea, there has been a rapid growth of science culture projects and programs, either by governmental or non-governmental, but with little systemic monitoring and evaluation for its practice. The purpose of this study is, thus, to explore a model of measuring science culture and develop a comprehensive indicator system for it. We reviewed many literatures on definitions of science culture and the surveys for related terms, particularly, of recent national and international surveys (e.g. US Science and Engineering Indicators, Eurobarometer, Japanese Science and Technology Indicators). Based on this review, a model for science culture is proposed and then used to define the Science Culture Indicators (SCI). This model encompasses two dimensions(i.e. individual and social), which are further divided into two aspects (i.e. potential and practice). Each dimension is expected to represent citizen literacy of and national infrastructure of science culture respectively. Each category in this $2{\times}2$ matrix is further divided into several sub-categories. The discussion concerning how the model and the indicators can be used to check the states of science culture at social as well as individual levels will be given with some concrete examples, such as indicators particularly related to science education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.231-248
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• 2024

This study developed a chatbot for first-year high school students, employing open-source software and the Korean Sentence-BERT model for AI-powered document classification. The chatbot utilizes the Sentence-BERT model to find the six most similar Q&A pairs to a student's query and presents them in a carousel format. The initial dataset, built from online resources, was refined and expanded based on student feedback and usability throughout over the operational period. By the end of the 2023 academic year, the chatbot integrated a total of 30,819 datasets and recorded 3,457 student interactions. Analysis revealed students' inclination to use the chatbot when prompted by teachers during classes and primarily during self-study sessions after school, with an average of 2.1 to 2.2 inquiries per session, mostly via mobile phones. Text mining identified student input terms encompassing not only science-related queries but also aspects of school life such as assessment scope. Topic modeling using BERTopic, based on Sentence-BERT, categorized 88% of student questions into 35 topics, shedding light on common student interests. A year-end survey confirmed the efficacy of the carousel format and the chatbot's role in addressing curiosities beyond integrated science learning objectives. This study underscores the importance of developing chatbots tailored for student use in public education and highlights their educational potential through long-term usage analysis.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.303-320
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• 2024

This study presents the development and performance evaluation of a custom GPT-based chatbot tailored to provide solutions following Polya's problem-solving stages. A beta version of the chatbot was initially deployed to assess its mathematical capabilities, followed by iterative error identification and correction, leading to the final version. The completed chatbot demonstrated an accuracy rate of approximately 89.0%, correctly solving an average of 57.8 out of 65 image-based problems from a 6th-grade elementary mathematics textbook, reflecting a 4 percentage point improvement over the beta version. For a subset of 50 problems, where images were not critical for problem resolution, the chatbot achieved an accuracy rate of approximately 91.0%, solving an average of 45.5 problems correctly. Predominant errors included problem recognition issues, particularly with complex or poorly recognizable images, along with concept confusion and comprehension errors. The custom chatbot exhibited superior mathematical performance compared to the general-purpose ChatGPT. Additionally, its solution process can be adapted to various grade levels, facilitating personalized student instruction. The ease of chatbot creation and customization underscores its potential for diverse applications in mathematics education, such as individualized teacher support and personalized student guidance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2182-2189
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• 2024

The high-purity germanium gamma-ray spectrometer was used to measure the radioisotope in surface water of lakes in a Chinee petroleum industrial area. 92 samples were collected from surface water of three lakes. Activity concentrations of ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra and ⁴⁰K in three lakes were measured, distributed in the range of 101.8-209.4, 192.1-224.9 and 335.0-548.9 mBq/L, respectively. Results were all within the limits of WHO and China. Potential environmental and health risks were assessed by calculating some radiation hazard indicators, radium equivalent index, annual effective dose, excess lifetime cancer risk, absorbed dose rate, external hazard index, internal hazard index, annual gonadal dose equivalent, activity utilization index and representative gamma index, which ranged 0.38-0.54 Bq/L, 0.06-0.08 mSv/y, 0.23 × 10^-3-0.31 × 10^-3, 0.17-0.24 nGy/h, 1.01 × 10^-3-1.46 × 10^-3, 1.55 × 10^-3-2.02 × 10^-3, 1.16-1.66 μSv/y, 3.13 × 10^-3-4.45 × 10^-3 and 2.60 × 10^-3-3.77 × 10^-3. The results were all at acceptable levels, meaning no impact on human health. The relationship between the electrical conductivity of surface water and the activity concentration of ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra and ⁴⁰K was evaluated. The electrical conductivity value was 0.241-0.369 mS/cm, showing a significant correlation coefficient between ²²⁶Ra and ⁴⁰K and electrical conductivity. Multivariate statistical methods were used to determine the relationship between the activity concentrations of ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, and ⁴⁰K, radiation hazard indicators and electrical conductivity.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.47-60
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine students' experiences in the dietary life class using traditional Korean desserts in middle school home economics classes. Participatory observation, in-depth interview, and site data collected in this study were analyzed through emic coding, and the results are as follows. First, students had 'expectations about Han-gwa lab classes.' Students were always positive about lab classes, looking forward to eating delicious food and eagerly awaiting their first lab class since entering middle school. Additionally, there were many students who were experiencing Han-gwa for the first time, so expectations about learning about Han-gwa were high. Second, students engaged in 'self-directed learning through the Han-gwa project.' In other words, while creating an activity book about Han-gwa, the students realized self-directed learning about the differences between Han-gwa and Yang-gwa (Western-style sweets), and the scientific principles of cooking Han-gwa. Third, students had 'instilled pride in Han-gwa through lab classes.' The students learned that there was sufficient awareness and change in values to cherish Han-gwa and to inherit its traditions. Fourth, there was a 'potential curriculum effect.' Students who did not experience face-to-face group activities for three years in middle school due to COVID-19 came to recognize the importance of collaboration and even tried making Han-gwa at home. In order for students to have pride in Han-gwa, it was confirmed that it was necessary for home economics teachers at school to actively teach classes on traditional foods and provide students with many opportunities to encounter them.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.704-715
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• 2002

This study intended to compare dietary and snack habits of primary students in the schools providing and non-providing lunch to clarify the correlation between those conditions and the occurrence of dental caries. Furthermore, this study also focused on evaluating educational effects by providing children with nutritional education program. 1. As a result of dietary habit analysis, it was found that children from the school providing lunch were better in terms of breakfast regularity, eating speed. optimum amount of intake, and meal time regularity than those from the school non-providing lunch. In particular, it was noted that children from the school providing lunch took a little more meat, fish, seaweed and milk or dairy products than those from school non-providing lunch. Thus, it could be assumed hat children provided with lunch have more reasonable dietary habit than those without lunch program. In general, it was found that there was a slight positive change in children's dietary habit after nutritional instruction than before, suggesting that the nutritional education had effects on improving their dietary habit. 2. It was found that primary students often took snacks causing dental caries such as caramel, chocolate, sweets and biscuits, and children from the school providing lunch were more willing to reduce those snacks upon recognizing the causes of dental caries than those from the school non-providing lunch. For the children who chewed gum with physical cleansing effects, it was shown that the highest frequency wat twice or three times a week. Moreover, the ratio of children who took snacks following dinner which might affect their dental caries and the ratio of children who selected snacks because of TV commercial were both reduced after nutritional education. Also the consumption of detergent foods like vegetable, fruit, protein. seaweed. milk or dietary products after nutritional education was increased. 3. It was found that children from the school providing lunch took more often all food groups except for food group IV affecting dental caries than those from the school non-providing lunch. The average number of consuming foods which cause dental caries was 5.04 times per person a day, and most of those were rather taken by liquid than solid food. The average eating times of rinsing foods which kill the bacteria on the surface of teeth and prevent from dental caries, was 9.33 for a person a day, which was a little higher than recommended time. Exposed time for dental caries for a person a day was 100.9 min, of which liquid dental caries was 56.2 min and solid dental caries was 44.6 min, suggesting that liquid food had a high potential to cause dental caries.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7543-7550
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• 2013

Objective: To evaluate associations between tea consumption, alcohol drinking and physical activity and breast cancer risk among Chinese females. Methods: Three English databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect and Wiley) and three Chinese databases (CNKI, WanFang and VIP) were independently searched by 2 reviewers up to December 2012, complemented by manual searches. The quality of included studies was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale items. Random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Potential publication bias was estimated through Egger's and Begg's tests. Heterogeneity between studies was evaluated with $I^2$ statistics. Results: Thirty-nine studies involving 13,204 breast cancer cases and 87,248 controls were identified. Compared with non-drinkers, regular tea drinkers had decreased risk (OR=0.79, 95%CIs: 0.65-0.95; $I^2$=84.9%; N=16). An inverse association was also found between regular physical activity and breast cancer risk (OR=0.73, 95%CIs: 0.63-0.85; $I^2$=77.3%; N=15). However, there was no significant association between alcohol drinking and breast cancer risk (OR=0.85, 95%CIs: 0.72-1.02; $I^2$=63.8%; N=26). Most of the results from the subgroup analysis were consistent with the main results. Conclusion: Tea consumption and physical activity are significantly associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer in Chinese females. However, alcohol drinking may not be associated with any elevation of risk.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.181-197
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to look into students' understandings of environmental issues, especially issues on global warming in South Korea and Singapore. We surveyed students (n=2,389, from 6 to 10 years) from 12 schools in South Korea and 5 schools in Singapore on how useful students believe various actions might be in reducing global warming, and their willingness to undertake such actions. We employed questionnaires developed by Boyes, Skamp, & Stanisstreet (2009), which consists of 44 questions on 16 pro-environmental actions. We analyzed the degree of students' beliefs, willingness to act, and the relationship between the believed usefulness of action and willingness to act. Differences between the two countries were determined by Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) using the ordinal data and the potential effectiveness of education was explored by plotting the measures of the degree of willingness to act for a particular action against the value of the believed usefulness of action and fitting the regression line. The degree of willingness to act and their beliefs in the usefulness of action was different from question to question between the two countries, however, the overall relationship between willingness to take action and beliefs in the action has shown to be stronger among Singaporean students than those of South Korean students. Based on the findings, we attempted to discuss about how environmental education needs to take into account the complexity of beliefs, willingness to act, and action taking.