• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.41-51
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• 2020

As there are the elderly who have difficulty in evacuating themselves, it is necessary to develop architectural and institutional planning for nursing homes that can minimize disaster damage. The purpose of this study was to suggest the improvement plan by grasping the current status of nursing homes on planning aspects such as floor plan type, spatial layout, and evacuation route through 14 case studies in Cheongju city in terms of disaster safety. The results of this study were as follows; the most common plan type was the grouped-corridor type difficulty in securing evacuation routes. The circulation corridor type is need to be considered because it is possible not only to secure evacuation and nursing routes, but also to create a hanging around corridor for the elderly with dementia. Second, if there is a risk of flooding due to the location, the living room should be placed on the 2nd floor or more. In particular, a kitchen should be placed not adjacent to the entrance and the vertical evacuation route. Third, the horizontal evacuation route should be arranged differently depending on the floor plan type. For vertical evacuation routes, it is necessary to install outdoor stairs or ramps considering the evacuation characteristics of the elderly. In addition, the institutional aspects should be considered to ensure the safety of disasters.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.292-299
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• 2018

The vehicle exterior design is the main parameter of aerodynamic wind noise, but the modification of it is nearly impossible at a proto-type stage. Therefore, it is very important to verify exterior design and estimate the correct wind noise level at the early vehicle design stages. The numerical simulations of aerodynamic wind noises around A-pillar and wiper were developed for specific vehicle exterior designs, but could not be directly used for the discussions with designers because these need complex modeling and simulation process. This study proposes new approach to A-pillar and wiper wind noise estimation at design stage using response surface methodology of modeFRONTIER, of which database is composed of PowerFLOW simulation, PowerCLAY modeling, SEA-Baced (Statistical Energy Analysis-Based) interior noise simulation, and turbulent acoustic power simulation. New design parameters are defined and their contributions are analyzed. A state-of-the-art, easy and reliable CAT (Computer Aided Test) tool for A-pillar and wiper wind noise are acquired from this study, which shows high usefulness in car development.

• Archives of design research
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• v.19 no.5 s.67
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• pp.351-362
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• 2006

Currently, finding one's way in the underground spaces associated with subway stations in large cities is becoming a serious problem, and an environment that facilitates wayfinding is becoming more important. This study investigated interior treatments that function as visual cues in the subway stations of Seoul, Tokyo, and Taipei in order to develop design guidelines that would improve the place-cognition environment. A theoretical study has shown that there are three categories of visual cue for place cognition: marked trails, regional differentiation, and landmarks. The case study showed that marked trails involve treatments like vertical markers, confrontational positioning, and subway color codes. Regional differentiation involves patterns on the floors and walls, and accent colors on the walls and columns. Landmarks include treatments such as super graphics, symbolic features, artistic decoration and special lights. In the cases of Seoul, marked trails and regional differentiation were predominant. In addition, the Olympic symbol 'Hodori' and the ancient Korean character "Hunminjungeum" were used as landmarks. In the cases of Tokyo, regional differentiation predominated over marked trails because of the complexity of the spatial structure and subway line connection system. In the cases of Taipei, simple, unified images predominated, and there was minimal dependence on marked trails and landmarks. The need for regional differentiation was weak, because the stations studied have open structures that guarantee an open field of view. The results of this research could be used as design guidelines, after further experimental verification, that would help to improve the public environment in terms of wayfinding.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.23 no.2 s.74
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• pp.11-22
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is 1) to clarify that the house is no long the safe place through the cases of the senior safety accidents and to argue the need for housing repair and 2) to present the minimum standards for housing repair by comparing the cases here as well as the abroad and to back up the standards with the current senior housing environment 300 people at least 60 years old living in Seoul$\cdot$Metropolitan area were interviewed using the structured questionnaire. As the result, the following conclusions were made: 1. There was high accident rates of the senior residents due to physical deficits within the house, causing excessive medical cost and decreased housing satisfaction. This problem can be sufficiently prevented by housing repair which can not only solve the safety problem but also support self sufficient living for the senior residents. 2. Proper housing repair required the architectural know how as well as the expertise knowledge of the physical characteristics of the senior people. Therefore, it is essential to secure the professional (i.e., occupational therapist) who can analyze the needs of the senior residents and evaluate and/or predict the obstacles during repair. Furthermore, development and distribution of the standardized manual are also needed. 3. The minimum standard for housing repair could be approached in view of 'barrier-free' concept. First, the bumps should be removed, slippery prevented, and safety grab-bar installed for safety. Second, the entrance should be widened and the bathroom and kitchen restructured to support for the senior residents' self sufficiency. To make housing repair policy more efficient, the legal basis is required. It can be incorporated into the existing senior citizens 'Welfare Act' or the 'Senior Residents Medical Insurance' which will be effective starting in 2007.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 2008

An IPA model was used to evaluate customer service encounters at a large food court; also the gaps between importance and performance from were also evaluated from both perspectives. The findings of this study will be applied in order to improve service quality at various large food service operations. A total of 298 customers from a large shopping mall food court completed the study questionnaire, asking them to evaluate the important and performance attributes of service. Seven underlying dimensions were identified and labeled by factor analysis: factor 1 was "safety": factor 2 "time": factor 3 "atmosphere": factor 4 "quality of food": factor 5 "menu attributes": factor 6 "comfort": and the last and seventh factor was "comprehension". As a result of IPA analysis the overall mean scores between the importance attributes and performance attributes showed significant differences by independent t-tests(p<0.001). Quadrant I was classified with unnecessary items including interior design, proper lighting, suitable chairs, and proper room temperature. In quadrant II thirteen variables showed high scores for both importance and performance, such as various menu choices, hygienic food, dishes, chairs, food court, kitchen, and employees; proper ventilation, employee kindness, waiting time to order, and received food; automatic system for ordering-serving. Quadrant III included eight variables identified as low priority, including appearance of food, nutrient content of food, proper portions, new menu, proper music, proper location of cashier, services for children and efficiency of movement. In quadrant IV six variables were included as areas to focus management's efforts, such as food taste, proper food temperature, use of safe food materials, maintenance of food quality, existence of preferred foods, and proper food prices. These results suggest that food court customers have interests that are distinct from restaurant customers and may need to be treated differently. It is anticipated that this data will be useful to the foodservice industry in order to segment customer characteristics by different dinning behaviors.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.493-509
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• 2013

This study investigated the sitting areas preferred to use by assisted living residents in the U.S., compared the perceptions of staff and residents, and analyzed the effects of residents' and spatial characteristics on the preference for use of main sitting areas such as lounge, dining area, activity room and outdoor area. A total of 102 participants(66 residents and 36 staff) from eight facilities in the seven counties of southern Texas were asked about two sitting areas residents like to spend time at. The results of the study were as follows: The most frequently mentioned sitting areas were the activity and outdoor area as per the residents, but the dining area and lounge as per the staff. It might be due to that the view of staff might have been limited to sitting areas usually used by the severely frail residents. Residents using higher level of mobility assistance such as wheelchairs and walkers, or living in the facility having more dispersed sitting areas were less likely to prefer to use the lounge. The residents who were younger or having good centralized outdoor area were more likely to prefer to use the outdoor area. The preference for use of dining area was affected by its proximity from the residents' individual rooms. Diverse survey methods need to be developed for a more in-depth collection and analysis of data from functionally frail older residents and staff caring for them.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.77-90
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate the residents' use and occupancy-behavior in the activity areas of the senior nursing facilities, and to provide basic information to establish the appropriate physical elements for planning the activity areas. For the study, the observations in five facilities were conducted for one day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m by four researchers. The results of the study are summarized as follows: First, most of the using behaviors in the activity areas were the doing nothing or sleeping. The meals and program services were provided in only one activity area of the floor and it showed that the unit care system was perfunctorily conducted at those facilities. In the representative activity area, its openness was the main physical element influencing the spatial using frequency, while the accessibility and the openness in the sub-activity area were most important. The seating arrangements having comers were helpful for residents' interactions. Second, while facility programs and meals were provided in the specific activity area, there was no residents' occupancy in other activity areas at the same time. There were interactions including residents' conversations and watching/observations in non-designated activity areas such as the nursing stations and near corridors. But the residents' interactions and self-regulations were blocked by absence of territoriality, monotonous spatial compositions and furniture arrangements, insecurity of residents' privacy, wide or narrow areas, and isolated spatial type. Based on the results at the above, basic guidelines for planning the activity areas of senior nursing facilities can be proposed as follows: First, the isolated type and the sight interception should be avoided in representative activity areas. It should be partitioned with couple of areas through the appropriate furniture arrangements, and be prepared semi-private spaces in non-designated areas such as nursing station for the interactions among the residents and the staff. Second, in activity areas for small group, the isolated type is not also good for the residents' accessibility. The residents' privacy should be confirmed through the various spatial compositions, and enough areas need to be sure for the diverse furniture arrangements.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2017

The number of one-person households has increased because of social and economic changes in Korea. The purpose of this study is to figure out the need for different types of furniture plans, based on life styles, that minimize undesired dead spaces for those individuals who live by themselves in a one-room studio. Residents of Busan, who are in their 20 to 40 s, answered questionnaires provided by the researchers. 156 questionnaires were analyzed through a statistical process by using SPSS Win 18.0K. The major findings are as follows: (1) The subject's lifestyles were classified into five lifestyle factors: the self-actualizing lifestyle factor, the well-being pursuing lifestyle factor, the open and sociable lifestyle factor, the stable and convenient lifestyle factor, and the information-oriented lifestyle factor. (2) These factors contributed to five lifestyle groups with common characteristic: the 'self-actualizing group' has a positive attitude about self-improvement and most subjects in this group are professionals. The 'well-being pursuing group' has a positive attitude about comfort living. The 'open and sociable lifestyle group' mostly consisted of students who are very positive in regards to accepting new trends. The 'stable and convenient lifestyle group' values stability and convenience in their life. The 'information-oriented group' pursues a lifestyle substantially depending on obtaining online and off-line information.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.46 no.8
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• pp.37-54
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• 2008

We developed an education program for parents of adolescents titled Parents from Mars getting through to children from Venus. The program consists of five two-hour sessions each with a different theme; (1) parent-child communication, (2) study activities, (3) computer use, (4) children's daily expenses, and (5) children's daily-life plan. The program was test-run with seventeen participants, which included mothers of 4th grade(elementary school) to 9th grade (middle school) children. Based on data analysis, we found that average satisfaction level was 3.80 out of 5.00 and average goal accomplishment level was 3.91 out of 5.00. Most of the participants agreed that the program helped them to understand their children's problems, to look back on themselves as parents, to plan ahead, and eventually to improve their relationship with their children. However, it was also pointed out that the program needed to put more emphasis on practical lessons rather than theoretical lectures. For example, the need for more audiovisual materials, and more practical training during each session was highlighted by participants.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.58-66
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• 2020

Households are categorized as exceptions in the Fire Services Act; oftentimes, the 'Golden Time' is missed at the early stages of a fire, resulting in loss of life. As such, due to the high number of deaths caused by household fires, the Korean government amended the Fire Services Act to make it mandatory for all detached houses to be equipped with a fire extinguisher from 2017 onwards. Only 34.8% of households were properly equipped with a fire extinguisher, according to the 2018 factual survey on fire extinguishing facilities in households conducted by the Fire Department. Fire extinguishers are crucial in case of fire but many households avoid them because they are red and have a rough aesthetic, which does not suit the household environment. There is now a need for diverse simple fire extinguisher designs so that they can be used as interior décor in the household in the day-to-day while being available for putting out a fire when necessary. If fire extinguishers have designs that go well with any household space like other decorative ornaments, this will greatly increase consumers' motivation to purchase them. It is greatly anticipated that various companies will work on developing designs for fire extinguishers to commercialize them for households in the future.