• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.188-196
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• 2022

Although the use of kiosks is increasing recently, the digital divide for the elderly who uses them is not decreasing. We live in an environment where the use of kiosks is becoming a necessity rather than an option. In such an environment, the digital alienation of the elderly is becoming a problem directly related to the quality of life. Even if a kiosk is developed considering the elderly, the verification of its effectiveness is ambiguous, or in most cases, it depends on the designer's experiential ability rather than the consideration of usability. In this study, the usability of the kiosk was analyzed for the development of kiosk contents for the elderly. The metrics were defined as availability, usefulness, efficiency, attractiveness, and visibility. And the measurement method of the measurement index was developed, and the usability of the kiosk for the elderly was confirmed by performing usability evaluation. This is a method to verify whether the kiosk in the development process can support the elderly or whether the improved kiosk actually increases the usability of the elderly. As a result, it is expected to contribute to improving the accessibility of the kiosk.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.94-102
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• 2020

Renewable energy (RE) is essential to comprise sustainable societies, especially, in rural villages of developing countries. Furthermore, application of off-grid RE systems to health care can improve the quality of life. In this research, a RE-based vaccination supply management system was constructed to enlarge the cold-chain in developing countries for the safe storage and delivery of vaccines. The system was comprised of the construction of RE plants and development of vaccine carriers. RE plants were constructed and connected to health posts in local villages. The cooling mechanism of vaccine carriers was improved and monitoring devices were installed. The effect of the system on vaccine cold-chain was evaluated from the field test and topographical analysis in the southern village of Nepal. RE plants were normally operated for the vaccine refrigerator in the health post. The modified vaccine carriers had a longer operation time and better temperature control via monitoring and RE-based recharging functionality. The topographical analysis estimated that the system can cover larger region. The system prototype showed great potential regarding the possibility of a sustainable and enlarged cold-chain. Thus, RE-based vaccine supply management is expected to facilitate vaccine availability while minimizing waste in the supply chain.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of coordinative locomotor training (CLT) program on the balance for the promotion of life care of elderly obese women. Ten participants of elderly obese women who were able to walk independently without surgery experience of lumbar, hip or knee joint within the past year were recruited and under went the pretest, CLT (20 sessions), followed by the post-test. The test included BMI test using In-body, joint kinematics using myoVIDEO, muscle activation using surface EMG test (erector spinae (ER), external oblique abdominalis (EO), quadriceps femoris (Quad), hamstring muscle (Ham)) and balance tests including dynamic balance test using forced treadmill, Berg balance scale (BBS) and timed up go (TUG). The CLT program was conducted 60 minutes a day, 5 days a week, over 4 weeks period. As a result of this study, The the trunk and hip joints kinematics during the stance and swing phases of gait were a statistical significance levels were set at p <0.05. The ER and EO muscle activation were significantly improved after intervention (p <0.05). The length of gait line and single support line of change of center of pressure (COP) were significantly increased after intervention (p <0.05). The BBS and TUG were also significantly enhanced after intervention (p <0.05). The results of this study showed that CLT program for the improvement of life care had significant effects on improving postural instability, muscle weakness, reduced balance ability and falling risk of obese elderly women. Therefore, it is recommended to apply CLT program to improve life-care through improving balance ability and preventing fall of obese elderly women.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.6D
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• pp.945-950
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• 2006

In implementing transportation projects, benefits have been estimated using conventional benefit components. However, these components have a lot of assumptions and limitations for benefit estimations and thus it seems to be difficult to obtain values of parameters as well as to overlook benefits of non-market goods in calculation process. In other words, current benefit estimations are considered that can be solely measured by directly depending on traffic volumes. Existing economic analysis do not reflect the full benefits, including direct and indirect of the project implementations. To illustrate this fact, bicycle road construction can result in various functional benefits, including improved quality of life, balanced regional development, and good scenery composition. These benefits can not be explained with conventional economic analysis. The objective of this research is to estimate valuation of bicycle road construction using Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). CVM can evaluate user's direct willingness-to-pay as well as maximize bicycle utilization with balanced regional development. This research used the coastline bicycle road construction project for example. The proposed method can be well calculated or estimated benefits for non-market goods of bicycle road constructions using CVM.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.122-138
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• 2023

Today, fishing villages are on the verge of extinction due to severe aging within the population and outward migration. Recent projects and studies targeting fishing villages viewed the fishing villages from an outsider-centered perspective, without a local-centered understanding of the village as a daily living space. Therefore, to understand the settlement environment of fishing villages, this study analyzed empirical data on the usage behavior of fishing village residents to gain insight into the characteristics of the outdoor space uses of residents in fishing villages. In this regard, a face-to-face survey was conducted among residents, and a village map drawn by the villagers showedthe spatial perception of the villagers. Empirical data on the behavior of fishing villagers using the village space was collected and analyzed through GPS. The study results suggested that residents of fishing villages tend to focus on productive activities, such as fishing, leading to a lack of awareness of other leisure activities and spaces. This monotonous pattern of space utilization within the village appears to stem from an absolute lack of available facilities within the target area. Therefore, in future village regeneration projects aimed at improving the quality of life for residents in fishing villages, it is essential to consider the residents' perception and utilization of space as a priority. The results of this study can be considered valuable foundational data for understanding the utilization of spaces within fishing villages and can be effectively utilized in planning initiatives to enhance quality of life.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.62-69
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• 2019

Supplying stable electric power is one of the important objectives of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) because it is strongly related with improving living standards and income levels in the region. However, rural areas in many developing countries are not properly connected to national power grids, and even areas connected to national power grids are frequently blacked out due to limitations in power capacity. These lack of electric power is a major obstacle to improving income levels and improving living standards in those areas. The Korea-Tanzania Innovative and Energy Center (iTEC), which was established by Seoul National University in cooperation with the Nelson-Mandela Africa Institute of Science and Technology and Technology (NM-AIST) try to build a small solar power plant using a smart-off grid in rural area of Tanzania, where there is no electricity. 10 kW and 7 kW solar power plants are built in Mkalama Village in Kilimanajaro Region and Ngurdoto Village in Arusha Region to provide power to about 50 households each. In addition, smart monitoring systems were installed to collect data about status of power system and power consumption of each house. iTEC seeks for sustainable improvement the income level and quality of life of rural residents in developing countries through the construction of small solar power plants using smart-off grid, and the implementation of various connected projects.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.53-58
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• 2023

After thyroidectomy, some patients who show normal vocal cord movement still complain of subjective voice problems, which could lead to a decrease in quality of life related to communication. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a newly designed voice therapy applying neck exercise and semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) to improve voice problems after thyroidectomy without neurological injury. For this purpose, voice therapy was randomly assigned to 10 women who received thyroidectomy. Acoustic analysis [fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonics ratio, min Voice Range Profile (VRP), max VRP, VRP] was performed before and after surgery and immediately after voice therapy to compare voice changes. The study showed a statistically significant increase in max VRP and VRP after voice therapy compared to before surgery. These results suggest that the voice therapy methods in this study effectively improve a major symptom of voice problems after thyroidectomy, specifically the reduction in the high-frequency range. However, this study was limited in the number of s participants and did not control for the type of surgery. Therefore, further research utilizing larger sample sizes and controlled variables is needed to investigate the long-term effects of voice therapy.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.115-132
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• 2024

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of music therapy on enhancing self-awareness and intrinsic motivation among patients with schizophrenia, particularly those experiencing motivational deficits. This study, primarily based on quantitative analyses supplemented by qualitative insights, included six adults (three males and three females) across 8 weekly sessions proactive music activities based on the exploration of musical emotion, each lasting 60 minutes, from October 5 to November 16, 2023. Data collection and analysis focused on the last five sessions, from the fourth to the eighth. Although no statistically significant changes were detected, likely due to the study's short duration, qualitative data from in-depth interviews indicate that music therapy contributed to enhanced motivation and improved self-perception in participants. They demonstrated better emotional articulation, self-awareness, and communication skills, which not only increased their intrinsic motivation but also led to an improved perception of their life quality. Individual variability was noted, however, indicating that these outcomes could differ among participants. These results highlight music therapy's potential as a valuable intervention for enhancing self-awareness and reigniting motivation in individuals with schizophrenia, suggesting a further research to corroborate these findings over longer periods.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 1999

Purpose : Cancer, one of the major causes of death in Korea, tends to become chronic due to the rapid development of diagnostic and therapeutic methods. As a result, the number of home-based cancer patients is in the increasing trend. However, on account of the insufficiency of continuous and comprehensive cancer patient management system, a number of cancer patients are left in a defenseless state. This study was designed for need assessment of home-based cancer patient to establish the community-based health care system for the comprehensive and continuous health care service to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and reduce rare burdens of their families. Methods : Through making a survey for needs assessment toward the health care service, the 455 respondents among home-based cancer patients answered the given enquetes to analyze the management status and problems of home-based cancer patients Results : 1) Unsatisfaction rates of pain control is 25.5 percent for mild cases, 46.5 percent for severe cases. 2) According to the needs assessment of home-based cancer patients, most of the respondents want to receive economical support, alleviation for the pain and symptoms, and the information of health care and consultation. So these needs account for the main contents of the home-based cancer patient management plan. 3) In the aspect of the satisfaction rate for basic care need, most items account for $20{\sim}30%$ of satisfaction. And the proportion of need for special case is under 5%, satisfaction rate for special care need is about 50% of satisfaction. So the home-based cancer patients are not being cared sufficiently. Conclusion : According to the result of need assessment, many home-based cancer patients received inadequate pain and symptom management. And Satisfaction rate for basic and special care need is low. So development of comprehensive and continuous health care service to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and reduce care burdens of their families is very necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.615-621
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• 2018

Recently, various environmentally friendly products have been developed for improving the indoor air quality while pursuing a well-being nature-friendly healthy life as a core value. In this research, we not only solve the problems of existing environmentally friendly paints, but also developed a charcoal composite seats that can reduce radon, which is a natural radioactive substance, and evaluated the reduction effect of radon, formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds. In the charcoal composite seats, a sodium silicate emulsion and charcoal were mixed to prepare an charcoal liquid coating material, and the composite seats was fabricated by air-spray coating method. In order to analyze the hazardous substance reduction performance of the fabricated charcoal composite seats, radon was designed to comply with the Ministry of the Environment standard, formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds were designed to comply with KCL-FIR-1085 standard. As a result of the experiment, the fabricated charcoal composite seats was evaluated as having a radon reduction capability of about 90.8% from 20 hours, formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds were 3 hours, and the reduction capability of 96.7% and 96.6% was found respectively. It is considered that these results can be utilized as basic data at the time of product development for improvement of indoor air quality.