• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.85-97
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• 2014

This study attempted to explore parents'perceptions on character and character education for their children using a focus group interview method. According to previous research, the concept of character consists of wholeness of three components: relationship, individuality, and morality. This study investigated how parents' perception differ from the widely agreed concept of character. Forty-four mothers and ten fathers participated in eleven focus group interviews. The results showed that parents recognized social relationship and self realization as two most important components of character education of children. However, the parents paid less attention on morality and wholeness. The parents conceptualized character as an alternative to academic achievement. For example, they considered self realization as an alternative to academic achievement. These tendencies could be a barrier in character education in family. Based on these findings, this study recommends that parent education should take more attention on character education in family and help parents develop a balanced understanding on the concept of character.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.254-263
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• 2016

Objective: Written information could be helpful for senior population to adhere to complex medication therapies, but must be well prepared and empirically assessed to achieve such end. We purposed to develop a drug information leaflet for senior citizens by applying 'performance-based user-testing.' Methods: We employed a user-testing, a mixed method to figure difficulties out with patients' leaflets from the user perspective. The cycle made of test and revision can be repeated as necessary. We recruited senior citizens with age of 65 or above who were taking antihypertensive medications at the point of participating and excluded the elderly who suffered illiteracy. We firstly rectified a drug information leaflet of antihypertensive medications for the general public distributed by the Korean authority based on focus group interviews (9 participants). The revised leaflets were tested four times with 8~12 participants in each round (40 seniors in total). We targeted to develop a leaflet which more than 80% of participants understood 10 key information. Main outcomes measures were to be able to find information and be able to understand information. This study was approved by the Yeungnam University Research Ethics Committee. Results: Focus group interviews identified difficulties with small font of words, professional language, long information, and a poor structure. The leaflet was revised and in the first round questionnaire found problems with 4/10 information points; interviews disclosed all but one (normal blood pressure range) were ill-understood. The second round questionnaire and interview found fewer problems but the comprehensiveness of participants was still poor in several points. For the third and fourth rounds we revised the leaflets in the individual-targeted manner. Finally, the fourth round showed all key information found and understood by at least 80% of participants except one question about drug name. Conclusion: The drug leaflets need to be developed in a personalized mode for the seniors. There was a limit for Korean seniors to understand nonproprietary name of their drugs because they used to producers' trade names which the Korean health system predominantly works with.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.71-95
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• 2014

The paper explored the limitations of anecdotal records in kindergarten and presented the challenges toward authentic records. The data was collected from 7 teachers working at private kindergartens through focus group interviews (FGI) and individual follow-up interviews. The participants' conversation in the FGI and their responses in the individual interviews were analyzed according to the principles of thematic coding. The participants described the barriers from recording a child anecdote in private kindergarten and at the same time their voices implied the possibilities to overcome the difficulties. All descriptions of the participants were converged on the 3 themes with rhetoric of "from A to B". For becoming anecdotal records in kindergarten, in summary, the records at the present should be changed 1) "from formal and faithless documentation to fluent resources of children's development", 2) "from disconnectedness between the records and curriculum to recursive circulation for improving pedagogical realities", and 3) "from canned documentation written by a struggling teacher to meaningful writing produced by a teacher like researcher".

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects experienced by cancer survivors through the forest therapy, and to provide evidence for applying the forest therapy program. Nineteen cancer survivors who participated in the forest therapy program hosted by K University were targeted, and qualitative data were collected through three focus group interviews. All interviews were recorded and transcribed and analyzed by subject-specific content analysis method. According to the research results, the attributes of forest therapy experienced by cancer survivors were 'Escape from bondage', 'Time to empty and fill the mind', 'Healing from positive forest stimulation', 'Self met in a space of rest', 'Initiative for life'. Five themes and fifteen sub-themes of 'recovery' were derived. These research results revealed a healing experience of feeling comfortable and physically relaxed through communication with the forest, discovering the self, and regaining initiative in life. It can be seen that the forest therapy is helpful in overcoming the physical, emotional, and psycho-social discomforts of cancer survivors.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.391-395
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• 2023

There are countless possibilities lying ahead of us, and while predicting the future may be challenging, it does not render the act of forecasting meaningless. Predicting various possibilities allows us to be flexible in coping with unforeseen circumstances. This study was conducted to explore extreme events (X-events) in the population sector in South Korea. To achieve this, focus group interviews were conducted with 32 emergency planning officers in government and public services. Based on these interviews, significant research findings were derived, indicating that population issues such as population decline and aging could have substantial impacts on various fields, including the economy and national defense. With this study as a catalyst, we anticipate a more active discussion and discourse on X-events that could occur in our society.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.48-60
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was to explore the postnatal care experiences among first time Chinese immigrant mothers living in Korea. Methods: Data were collected by focus group interviews with 12 first time Chinese immigrant mothers utilizing 3 focus groups. After obtaining written informed consent from all participants, each session of the focus group was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed by content analysis to identify major themes. Results: Four major themes for postnatal care experiences were extracted from the data as follows. 1) Range over traditional, modern, Korean or Chinese postnatal care, 2) Struggle with newborn care, 3) Another struggle with breastfeeding, and 4) Difficulties in becoming a mother as an immigrant. Conclusion: Based on their postpartum care experiences, it is concluded that participants requested more professional practical and individualized education/training for successful breastfeeding and newborn care. Health care providers need to develop and implement integrated support and mentoring programs that include information and peer support system for the first time Chinese immigrant mothers living in Korea. This would decrease the difficulties of becoming a mother.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.352-361
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the communication experience of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in the workplace. Methods: The present study utilized a qualitative approach using focus group interview method. A total of three focus groups of 15 ICU nurses from two university hospitals were formed. The conversations during the focus group interviews were recorded and analyzed through Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Results: As a result of analyzing participants' conversation, Five theme clusters were elicited, namely, "one-way communication", "differences in the position of senior and junior nurses", "communication crisis", "beginning of understanding", and "movement toward change" out of 15 themes and 138 significant sentences. Conclusion: ICU nurses report having experienced communication crisis because of the one-way communication of the ICU nursing environment and the hierarchical differences in junior and senior nurses' position. Systematic education and continuous training on communication skills need to be provided to improve interpersonal relationship among nurses and work environment in the ICUs.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.256-261
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• 2005

Although nutrition education for pregnant women is important, few such programs have been carefully examined from the participants' perspective in Korea. Focus groups were used to identify 1) perceived eating behaviors during pregnancy and lactation, 2) factors associated with healthy eating behaviors, and 3) needs for nutrition education programs. Using a trained moderator, we conducted 7 focus group interviews with 44 pregnant women over a four-month period. Focus group discussions were video - and audio - taped, transcribed and categorized by major themes. Participants expressed interest in receiving nutrition education regarding healthy eating, weight control after delivery, weaning foods and health management, yet they showed little interest in breastfeeding. The majority of them said that meal balance and meal regularity were the most important components of good health during pregnancy. They were less likely to be confident about taking dietary supplements, including Oriental medicines. life stress and poor appetite associated with pregnancy were major barriers to healthy eating habits during pregnancy. The most important sources of nutrition and health information were friends and family members, especially those who had become pregnant recently. Qualified educators and reliable information appeared to be the most important aspects of program development. Regarding types of nutrition education, participants tended to prefer a combination of individual counseling and small group education with hands-on materials and interactive formats. The use of Web-based nutrition education was well received Major concerns about Web-based nutrition education were authenticity, tailored messages and interactive formats for sharing information. These results offer useful information for designing nutrition education programs for pregnant and lactating women in Korea for health promotion.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.103-129
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• 2006

This paper presents a case study of the effectiveness of debate class in promoting speaking skills of advanced learners. The researcher adopted English debate techniques in an English speaking class during four-week teacher training program and investigated how teachers responded to the new technique. Forty-five middle and high school teachers participated in the study and classroom observation, pre-survey, post-survey, and focus group interviews were used as the major research methods. The teacher pre-survey results presented that teachers prefer a conversation class where they can directly acquire proper sentence patterns and speaking strategies rather than spend time in performing communicative events. The results of the focus group interview and post-survey confirmed that a debate class can meet this specific teachers' needs. Most teachers responded positively to the debate classes since: 1) debate techniques are relatively new ideas to Korean teachers; 2) debate techniques require speed and accuracy in speech; thus teachers could learn to present their ideas logically and efficiently in a limited time through repeated argument exercises. The study result implies that debate technique can be an effective vehicle in an EFL context to promote advanced learners' logical thinking skills and logical English sentence structures.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.159-176
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• 2021

Over the past two decades, smart cities have been attracting attention as a means of solving urban problems and as a model for securing urban sustainability. Many studies have been conducted in various fields such as conceptual definitions, classification, new technologies, case analysis, and civic participation of smart cities. In particular, applicable technologies and their importance have been highlighted so far. However, since a city is a complex and meta-systematic space, it is the overly optimistic prospect that technology, one of the smart city components, will lead to successful smart cities. This study elucidates the impediments to driving smart cities as a case study of South Korea, a leading country in smart technology and digital transformation. We examined three comprehensive national plans for promoting smart cities and conducted focus group interviews with experts in smart cities to analyze the obstacles to carrying smart cities. We classified the thirteen impediments into technological, industrial, governmental, and social factors as a result. Some of them are generic issues in policy establishment and enforcement, while others are specific to smart cities.