• Journal of Korea Game Society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2014

We have developed a serious game for the elderly named 'Paldokangsan3' as a next version of 'Paldokangsan2' which was a walking game with memorization in shopping streets using controllers of hand buttons and foot boards with PC developed in 2012. The interface of had buttons and food boards were changed into the interface of motion capture with the aid of Kinect. The expected effects are improvement of memorization, improvement of concentration ability to find out items in the vision, improvement of vitality through physical walking actions, as well as improvement of mental health through entertainment activities of game play. We have tested 25 volunteers of more than 65 years old in Cheonan city community center for the elderly for 2 weeks. We got the result that the game play was showing positive effectiveness on memorization, physical exercise and self-esteem in mental health area of the elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1669-1677
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 14-week proprioceptive resistance exercise on muscle endurance strength, dynamic balance and gait ability of elderly women in a social welfare facility. Thirty community dwelling elderly subjects (mean age 70.84±3.33) divided into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The participants performed the muscle endurance strength(30sec hair stand), dynamic balance (3m up and go) and low extremity performance (10m walking, 400m walking) pre and after the training program. The exercise groups were submitted to 14 weeks proprioceptive training with a Swiss ball three times a week. As a results were as follow. Significantly improvements were observed in low extremity strength and dynamic balance. And there have significantly improvements in 10m walking, 400m walking. Conclusionly, the improvement of dynamic balance and gait ability by proprioceptive resistance training will reduce the possibility in female elderly people.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.7-14
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• 2012

Purpose : This study investigated the validity of crosswalk signal time length with regards to elderly stroke patients. Methods : We recruited 60 elderly adults sixty years of age or older for our study. The participants were divided into three groups.Group A consisted of 20 healthy participants with no walking aids. Group B consisted of 20 stroke patients with no walking aids. Group C consisted of 20 stroke patients using a cane as a walking aid. We measured the walking times of participants for 7 m, 14 m and 21 m lengths. Results : Using an independent t test, there was a statistically significant difference in the walking times between Group A and Group B for all lengths. There was a statistically significant difference in the walking times between Group A and Group C for all lengths. There was no statistically significant difference in the walking times between Group B and Group C. There was a statistically significant difference between the three group when using ANOVA. Conclusion : From the results of this study, we infer that the signal times at crosswalks are inappropriate for elderly stroke participants who use a cane as a walking aid. Therefore further research should be conducted to determine the appropriate amount of additional time needed for the elderly to safely cross the street.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1397-1411
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• 2009

This study was aimed to examine the effects of intermittent walking on health related fitness and metabolic syndrome risk factors in elderly women. Forty five elderly women were randomly assigned to three groups: three 10-min walks per day, one 30-min walk per day or no exercise, respectively. Both walking groups exercised three days a week at moderate intensity for 12 weeks. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to test the hypothesis with a significant level of α = .05. The results indicated that body composition(body weight, body mass index, percent body fat), muscle endurance, flexibility and cardiorespiratory fitness significantly increased after 12 weeks for both walking groups. However, it was found that muscle strength significantly increased only in a continuous walking group. Metabolic syndrome risk factors comprised of waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, and fasting glucose were significantly improved in both walking groups. In addition, there was a difference in these metabolic syndrome risk factors between pre and post exercise. The results of this study support the hypothesis that intermittent walking has a significant impact on health related physical fitness and metabolic syndrome rick factors in elderly women as continuous walking does.

• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.843-853
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to find out the characteristics of elderly pedestrian accidents and to suggest policy implications to enhance the level of elderly pedestrian safety. Although much efforts has made to enhance traffic safety environment, pedestrian traffic accidents among elderly population are not significantly decreased. This is mainly because current traffic safety measures do not much consider the characteristics of elderly pedestrians in the aspects of physical and psychological conditions. Main findings from vehicle-pedestrian traffic accident data and survey are as follows. First elderly pedestrians have high probability of traffic accident near crosswalks or cross streets rather than on crosswalk or cross streets. Second they need more green light time for crossing the streets. Third, they feel motor cycles running on the side walk and parked vehicles on the side walk are the most dangerous factors. Forth, general drivers do not have reasonable understanding for the walking behaviors of elderly pedestrians. Fifth, elderly pedestrians frequently need to rest while walking. Sixth, elderly people do not see clearly or understand traffic signs. Finally, many elderly pedestrians experience accidents or inconvenience while walking on the sidewalk.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.251-265
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to deduce key indicators in evaluating the pedestrian environment for the elderly in Busan, which has entered an aging society, and to propose policy improvement measures. The key indicators were selected based on prior research and surveys, and the effectiveness of those indicators were measured through evaluations conducted on three places which have the highest proportion of the elderly population in Busan. The summaries of analysis are as follow. First, the three places are hillslide residential areas, and areas of activity that the elderly have were very narrow due to the restrictions on their movement caused by slope. Second, the areas were filled with a number of illegally parked vehicles. And the degree of segregation of pedestrian and vehicle and the level of safety were very low. Third, the streets with steep slopes of the target site force the elderly to move vertically, and for this reason, the elderly are expressing difficulties in outdoor activities. Fourth, it was found that the target site lacked a space for relaxation during outdoor activities. The poor walking environment not only limit the essential and social activities of the elderly, but also adversely affects the health and quality of life of the elderly. In order to maintain the health of the elderly and improve the quality of life, actions should be taken to improve the walking factors that affect the movement and external activities of the elderly.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.214-222
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a walking-support program on the pulmonary ventilatory functions of elderly people who had undergone upper-abdominal surgery. Method: The study was a quasi-experimental research design. There were 26 partcipants who were admitted for upper-abdominal surgery to P University Hospital in B city. Walking exercise education was provided individually to the experimental group the day before their operation and 20 minutes a day for five days after the surgery using the 'Walking Exercise Guide Document'. Pulmonary ventilatory function was with FVC (Forced Vital Capacity), PEF (Peak Expiratory Flow), FEVI (Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 Second), FER (Forced Expiratory Ratio), Oxygen Saturation, and VAS (Visual Analog Scale). Results: The objective indexes of pulmonary ventilatory function were not significantly different between the two groups, but the subjective index was significantly different. Conclusion: With the above results, the walking support program could be an effective nursing intervention for improving pulmonary ventilatory function of surgical patients.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.497-502
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• 2015

One of the goals in the field of mobile robotics is the development of personal service robots for the elderly which behave in populated environments. In this paper, we describe a security robot system and ongoing research results that minimize the risk of the elderly and the infirm to access an area to enter restricted areas with high potential for falls, such as stairs, steps, and wet floors. The proposed robot system surveys a potential falling area with an equipped laser scanner sensor. When it detects walking in elderly or infirm patients who in restricted areas, the robot calculates the velocity vector, plans its own path to forestall the patient in order to prevent them from heading to the restricted area and starts to move along the estimated trajectory. The walking human is assumed to be a point-object and projected onto a scanning plane to form a geometrical constraint equation that provides position data of the human based on the kinematics of the mobile robot. While moving, the robot continues these processes in order to adapt to the changing situation. After arriving at an opposite position to the human's walking direction, the robot advises them to change course. The simulation and experimental results of estimating and tracking of the human in the wrong direction with the mobile robot are presented.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.45-54
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• 2020

This study investigated basic data on walking characteristics, including walking speed and cognitive-response for the elderly, and based on these, the time of walking signal was calculated. The on-site survey examined the actual pedestrian crossing speed using a stopwatch, and the age was divided into groups of ordinary people and the elderly. Analysis of the data showed that the average walking speed for the general public was 1.29 m/s, while the average walking speed for the elderly was 1.13 m/s, higher than that of the general public. In addition, the lower speed of the 15th percentile was analyzed to 1.01 m/s for the general population and 0.85 m/s for the elderly, showing a lower walking speed than the standard for the general area and 0.8 m/s for the protected area. However, for senior citizens who use walking sticks or wheelchairs, the speed of the lower 15th-percentile is 0.73 m/s, which is lower than the current standard of protected areas, according to the analysis.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.99-106
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• 2007

The gait instability in the elderly has been associated with age-related deterioration in physical strength and reducing the potential for elderly falls requires regular exercise. In 2005, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control(NCIPC) reported that most elderly falls occur during activities in daily living(ADL). To better reveal biomechanic mechanisms underlying age-related degeneration in gait stability, and to enhance the assessment of falls risk, an accurate quantification of a person's balance maintenance during locomotion is needed. Instantaneous orientation of the line connecting COP and COM can characterize whole body position with respect to the supporting foot during gait and the angle between this line and the vertical line passing through the COP known as a good assessment to detect the elderly gait instability. Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate a 6-month walking exercise effects in reducing elderly fall risk factors by using COP-COM inclination angles. Twenty-two community-dwelling elderly participated this study. The participants performed a walking exercise(3 times/week, 1 hour/visit) for 6 months. Laboratory kinematics during walking was assessed at months 0, 3 and 6. Significant increased in gait velocity was found among periods(p=.011, $1.25{\pm}.03$, $1.32{\pm}.03$, and $1.39{\pm}.04\;m/s$ in 0-, 3-, and 6-month, respectively). Also, significant differences in anterior and posteriror inclination angles were found among the periods(p<.05; posterior inclination angles: $12.8{\pm}2.2$, $11.0{\pm}2.9$, & $10.9{\pm}1.9$; anterior inclination angles: $13.7{\pm}1.7$, $14.6{\pm}3.2$, & $1.46{\pm}.21$ in 0month, 3month, & 6month, respectively). These findings provide evidence of significant reduced fall risk factors of community-living older adults associated with a systematic walking program.