• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.465-474
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the association between the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and the cognitive functions in Korean elderly. Methods: The subjects were 393 adults aged 60 years or older who participated in the Yangpyeong cohort between July 2009 and August 2010. The subjects were classified into deficiency, insufficiency, or adequacy groups according to the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration diagnostic criteria suggested by the US Institute of Medicine (IOM). The cognitive function was assessed based on the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-KC). The dietary intake was assessed using the quantitative food frequency questionnaire with 106 food items. Results: The proportions of deficiency, insufficiency, or adequacy in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D were 6.6%, 44.5%, and 48.9%, respectively. The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was significantly higher in men than in women and in outdoor workers than in other occupations. The adequacy group had higher MMSE-KC scores than the other two groups, but not to a significant degree. The proportion of cognitive impairment tended to decrease with increasing serum vitamin D concentration to deficiency, insufficiency, and adequacy (p for trend = 0.029). The deficiency group had a 2.28 times higher risk of cognitive impairment than the adequacy group, but the difference was not statistically significant (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 0.18 ~ 1.07, p for trend = 0.119). Conclusion: The serum vitamin D concentration tended to be associated with the cognitive function in elderly Koreans living in rural areas. To confirm the associations, further longitudinal studies with large samples were required.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.201-212
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• 2021

The present study was conducted as a pilot investigation to suggest the standards of acoustic performance for classrooms suitable for incomplete hearing people such as children under 9 years of age. Subjective evaluations such as questionnaire and speech intelligibility test were conducted to 264 students at two elementary schools in Cheong-ju in order to analyze the characteristics of the listening environment in the classrooms of the lower grades in elementary school. The survey was undertaken with a total of 264 students at two elementary schools in Cheong-ju, and investigated their satisfaction with the classroom listening environment. As a result, students responded that the most helpful information type for understanding class content is the voice of teacher. In addition, the volume of the current teacher's voice is normal, and the level of clarity is highly satisfactory. As for the acoustic performance of the classroom, the opinion that the noise was normal and the reverberation was very short was found to be dominant in overall satisfaction with the listening environment. Meanwhile, as a result of speech intelligibility test using the word list selected for the lower grade students of elementary school, it could be inferred that the longitudinal axis distance from the sound source in the case of 8-year-olds is a factor that affects speech recognition.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.179-197
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• 2023

As a sufficient workforce supports the industry's growth, workforce training has also been carried out as part of the industry promotion policy. However, the market still has a shortage of skilled mid-level workers. The information security disclosure requires organizations to secure personnel responsible for information security work. Still, the division between information technology work and job areas is unclear, and the pay is not high for responsibility. This paper compares job keywords in advertisements for the information security workforce for 2014, 2019, and 2022. There is no difference in the keywords describing the job duties of information security personnel in the three years, such as implementation, operation, technical support, network, and security solution. To identify the actual needs of companies, we also analyzed and compared the contents of job advertisements posted on online recruitment sites with information security sector knowledge and skills defined by the National Competence Standards used for comprehensive vocational training. It was found that technical skills such as technology development, network, and operating system are preferred in the actual workplace. In contrast, managerial skills such as the legal system and certification systems are prioritized in vocational training.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Child Welfare
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• no.59
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• pp.209-234
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• 2017

This study viewed schools as a cause of students dropping out and posited that dropping out of high school would vary depending on the characteristics and influencing factors of the school from which students were dropping out. Therefore, focusing on schools, we longitudinally investigated the change patterns of school dropout across high schools in the country, and the types of changes in dropping out of high school. In addition, we predicted the general characteristics of schools according to the type of school students were dropping out from, looked at the changes in the major factors (i.e., school violence and school counseling) affecting school dropout, and reviewed schools' long-term efforts and outcomes in relation to school dropout. For this purpose, KERIS EDSS's "Secondary School Information Disclosure Data" were used. The final model included data collected five years20122016) from high schools across the country. The results were as follows. First, in order to examine the longitudinal change patterns of dropping out of high schools, a latent growth models analysis was conducted, and it revealed that, as time passed, the dropout rate decreased. Second, growth mixture modeling was used to explore types according to the change patterns of the school students were dropping out from. The results showed three types: the "remaining in school" type, the "gradually decreasing school dropout" type, and the "increasing school dropping out". Third, the multinomial logistic regression was conducted to predict the general characteristics of schools by type. The results showed that public schools, vocational schools, and schools with a large number of students who have below the basic levels in Korean, English and mathematics were more likely to belong to the "increasing school dropout" type. Further, the larger the total number of students, the higher the probability of belonging to the "remaining in school" type or the "gradually decreasing school dropout" type. Lastly, growth mixture modeling was used to analyze the trend of school violence and school counseling according to the three types. The focus was on the "gradually decreasing school dropout" type. In the case of the "gradually decreasing school dropout" type, it was found that as time passed, the number of school violence cases and the number of offenders gradually decreased. In addition, in terms of change in school counseling the results revealed that the number of placement of professional counselors in schools increased every year and peer counseling was continuously promoted, which may account for the "gradually decreasing school dropout" type.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.5
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• pp.1066-1079
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• 2023

Purpose Distinguishing intradural extramedullary (IDEM) spinal ependymoma from myxopapillary ependymoma is challenging due to the location of IDEM spinal ependymoma. This study aimed to investigate the utility of clinical and MR imaging features for differentiating between IDEM spinal and myxopapillary ependymomas. Materials and Methods We compared tumor size, longitudinal/axial location, enhancement degree/pattern, tumor margin, signal intensity (SI) of the tumor on T2-weighted images and T1-weighted image (T1WI), increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) SI caudal to the tumor on T1WI, and CSF dissemination of pathologically confirmed 12 IDEM spinal and 10 myxopapillary ependymomas. Furthermore, classification and regression tree (CART) was performed to identify the clinical and MR features for differentiating between IDEM spinal and myxopapillary ependymomas. Results Patients with IDEM spinal ependymomas were older than those with myxopapillary ependymomas (48 years vs. 29.5 years, p < 0.05). A high SI of the tumor on T1W1 was more frequently observed in IDEM spinal ependymomas than in myxopapillary ependymomas (p = 0.02). Conversely, myxopapillary ependymomas show CSF dissemination. Increased CSF SI caudal to the tumor on T1WI was observed more frequently in myxopapillary ependymomas than in IDEM spinal ependymomas (p < 0.05). Dissemination to the CSF space and increased CSF SI caudal to the tumor on T1WI were the most important variables in CART analysis. Conclusion Clinical and radiological variables may help differentiate between IDEM spinal and myxopapillary ependymomas.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.85-112
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• 2013

This study aims to understand the developmental trajectories of life satisfaction among retirees and to examine what factors differentiate different trajectory classes. This study used three waves of longitudinal data from Korean Retirement and Income Study and data collected every two years(2005, 2007, and 2009). Subjects were respondents aged 50-69 who identified to be retired between wave 1 and wave 2. Finally, this study used 243 respondents for final data analysis. Life satisfaction was measured by seven items. The latent class growth model and multiple logistic regression model were used for data analysis. This study identified three distinct trajectory classes: high stable class(47.7%), high at the early stage but decreased class(42.8%), and low at the early stage and then decreased class(9.5%). This study founded that approximately 50% of the retirees experienced the decline of life satisfaction after retirement and about 10% of the sample was the most vulnerable group. This study analyzed what factors make different among the distinct trajectory groups. As a results, retirees who experienced the improvement in health change were more likely to be in 'high stable class' compared to 'hight at the early stage but decreased class'. In addition, retirees who were less educated, maintained the same health status rather than the improvement, worked as a temporary or a day laborer, and had less household income were more likely to belong to 'low at the early stage and then decreased class' relative to 'high stable class'. This study suggests that there are distinct three trajectories on life satisfaction among the retirees and finds out factors differentiating between trajectory groups. Based on these findings, the study discusses the implications for social work practice and further study.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.569-580
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the associations of Korean fermented cabbage kimchi consumption with the incidence risk of metabolic syndrome and its components in Korean adults. Methods: We used the community-based cohort data from the 2001 ~ 2012 Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). General characteristics, food group frequencies and nutrient intakes at baseline from 3,560 healthy individuals aged 40 ~ 69 years and the incidence of metabolic syndrome and its component from 2,259 participants, after excluding the data with incomplete anthropometric and blood test, during 10-year follow-up were analyzed. The participants were classified into three groups according to their daily consumption frequency of Korean fermented cabbage kimchi: 'less than once (< 1/day)', 'once or twice (1 ~ 2/day)', and 'three times (3/day)'. Results: After controlling for potential confounders such as age, education, income, residence area, alcohol drinking and energy intake, the consumption frequencies of rice and legumes were significantly higher, and the consumption frequency of meat was significantly lower in the 3/day group compared to that of the other two groups in men and women. The average intakes of energy and most nutrients, except fat and cholesterol, were higher in the 3/day group compared to those of the other two groups in men and women. Frequent consumption of kimchi was associated with a lower incidence of metabolic syndrome in all the models (unadjusted, age-adjusted, and multivariable-adjusted models) in women. When examining the multivariable-adjusted model, the hazard ratio for metabolic syndrome was 0.63 (95% CI: 0.47 ~ 0.86) for the 3/day group compared to that of the < 1/day group in women. However, there was no significant association between kimchi consumption and the incidence of metabolic syndrome in men. Conclusion: Our results show that consumption of kimchi at every meal was significantly associated with a lower incidence of metabolic syndrome in women.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.44 no.10
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• pp.797-807
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• 2011

Phenomenon of vegetation recruitment on the sand bar is drastically rising in the streams and rivers in Korea. In the 1960s prior to industrialization and urbanization, most of the streams were consisted of sands and gravels, what we call, 'White River'. Owing to dam construction, stream maintenance, etc. carried out since the '70s, the characteristic of flow duration and sediment transport have been disturbed resulting in the abundance of vegetation in the waterfront, that is, 'Green River' is under progress. This study purposed to identify the correlation among water level, water temperature, rainfall, soil moisture and soil texture out of the factors which give an effect on the vegetation recruitment on the sand bar of unregulated stream. To this purpose, this study selected the downstream of Naeseong Stream, one of sand rivers in Korea, as the river section for test and conducted the monitoring and analysis for 289 days. In addition, this study analyzed the aerial photos taken from 1970 to 2009 in order to identify the aged change in vegetation from the past to the present. The range of the tested river section was 361 m in transverse length and about 2 km in longitudinal length. According to the survey analysis, the tested river section in Naeseong Stream was a gaining river showing the higher underground-water level by 20~30 m compared to Stream water level. The difference in the underground water temperature was less than $5^{\circ}C$ by day and season and the Stream temperature did not fall to $10^{\circ}C$ and less from May when the vegetation germination begins in earnest. The impact factor on soil moisture was the underground water level in the lower layer and the rainfall in the upper layer and it was found that all the upper and lower layer were influenced by soil particle size. The soil from surface to 1 m-underground out of 6 soil moisture-measured points was sand with the $D_{50}$ size of 0.07~1.37 mm and it's assumed that the capillary height possible in the particle size would reach around 14~43 cm. On the other hand, according to the result of space analysis on the tested river section of unregulated stream for 40 years, it was found that the artificial disturbance and drought promoted the vegetation recruitment and the flooding resulted in the frequency extinction of vegetation communities. Even though the small and large scales of recruitment and extinction in vegetation have been repeated since 1970, the present vegetation area increased clearly compared to the past. It's found that the vegetation area is gradually increasing over time.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.12 no.5_spc
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• pp.45-79
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• 2006

The purpose of this paper was to review the results of the subjective well-being(swb) studies performed by Hahn and coworkers in Korean culture. As the correlates of swb, we dealt with demographic/individual difference variables, intrapersonal variables, interpersonal process variables, and Korean cultural variables. We proposed that the components of swb were consisted of quality of life(cognitive swb) and overall happy feelings about one's own life(emotional swb). It was also assumed that a measure of total swb could be calculated by summated mean of cognitive swb and emotional swb measures. The data of the swb studies were analyzed and interpreted according to the above three measures of swb. The results of a nationwide survey(Hahn, 2004) from age of 19 to 75 years ald(n=2,230) showed significant simple correlation coefficients between the following demographic/individual difference variables and swb: Gender difference in swb was found(total swb r=.08, p<.001; life satisfaction r=.10, p<.001; overall emotional swb r=.05, p<.05). Men were happier than women in terms of all three measures of swb. It was also found that women appeared to experience greater positive and negative emotions. Correlation between age and emotional swb(r=.09, p<.001) was significant, but life satisfaction was not significant(r=.04, n.s). Correlations between economic status and swb were also significant(total swb r =.23, p<.001; life satisfaction r=.15 p<.001; overall emotional swb r=.15, p<.001l). Although existence of father was negatively related to emotional swb(r=-.05, p<.05), the existence of mother was not related to any of swb measures. Similarly existence of brothers was related positively to overall emotional swb, but existence of sisters was not. Though existence of son was not related to swb, daughter contributed negatively to swb(total swb -.12, p<.01; life satisfaction -.09, p<.05; emotional swb r=-.12, p<.01). We assumed that family member-in-Iaw also contributed to swb because the extended dose social networks were important in Korean culture. The results showed that the following family member-in-law variables were related to swb: Parents-in-law(total swb r=.11, p<.01; life satisfaction r=.10, p<.01; emotional swb r=.10, p<.01), father-in-law(total swb r=.11, p<.01; life satisfaction r=.11, p<.01; emotional swb r=.06, n.s). The result suggested that especially father-in-law contributed to swb through financial and social support. Correlations between emotional experiences in everyday life and swb were also presented. The range of correlation coefficients between the positive emotion measures and swb were r=.30~.48(p<.001) when the above two measures obtained at same time. But the range decreased to r=.19~32(p<.001) when the swb measure was obtained 9 month later longitudinally. Intercorrelations between positive emotional experience; and life satisfaction were r=.37~58(p<.001) when two measures were obtained at same time. We also examined the effects of the intrapersonal cognitive responses to the most stressful life event upon swb. The results of nationwide survey(n=1,021) showed that self-disclosure(total swb r=.09, p<.010; life satisfaction r=.10, p<.01; emotional swb r=.07, p<.01), rumination(total swb r=-.17, p<.001), thought avoidance(total swb r=.12, p<.001; life satisfaction r=-.08; emotional swb r=-.12, p<.001) and suppression(total swb r=-.13, p<.001; life satisfaction r=-.08, p<.05: emotional swb r=-.13, p<.001) contributed to swb. It was also suggested that mismatch between self-guide and regulatory focus contributed negatively to emotional swb. It was also found that social comparison motives and fulfillment of the motives contributed to swb. The results of a survey research(n=363 college students) revealed that the higher the general social comparison motive, the lower the swb(total swb r=-.15, P<.01: life satisfaction r=-.17. p<.01; emotional swb r=-.10, p<.05). It was also found that satisfaction level of self-evalution motive contributed positively to swb(total swb r=-.14. p<.01: life satisfaction r=-.12, p<.05; emotional swb r=.15, p<.001). Both of self-improvement motive(r=.13, p<.05) and satisfaction level of self-improvement motive(r=.12, p<.05) contributed positively to emotional swb, respectively. The above results suggested that swb was depended upon the interaction effect of social comparison motive; and level of fulfillment of the motives. We also reported the significant multiple predictors of swb in a sample of age from 60years to 89years olds. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the significant multiple predictors of swb were past illness(β=.174, p<.001), economic status(β=.418, p<.001), marital satisfaction(β=.0841, p<.001), satisfaction of offsprins(β=.065, p<.01), expectation level of social support from offsprings(β=-.049, p<.001), and negative emotions(β=-.454. p<.001) among 16 social psychological factors. It was also found that swb was an important multiple predictors of physical health. This finding was replicated in a longitudinal study. Both of positive and negative emotional experiences were significant multiple predictors of physical health one year later. The results of the discriminant analysis showed both of total swb and positive emotional experiences contributed to discriminate the happy and healthy olds from unhappy and unhealthy olds. We paper also examined the effects of the nonnative social behaviors upon swb in Korean culture. The main hypotheses of the study(Hahn, 2006, in press) was that the important nonnative behaviors would influence on swb through both of the mediation processes of adjustment to social relationships and psychological stress. The survey data were collected from 2,129 adults age of 19 to 75, from 7 regional areas in Korea. The results of the study revealed that almost all of correlation coefficients between 15 normative social behaviors and the above three criteria w-ere significant. The fitness test results of the covariance structural equation model showed that all of the fitness indices were satisfactory (GFI=.974, AGFI=.909, NNFI=.922, NFI=.973, CFI=.974. RMR=.049, RMSEA=.073). The results of the analysis revealed that the following five path coeffi6ents from behaviors to social adjustment were significant; behavior tor family and family members(t=5.87, p<.001), courteous behavior(t=4.39, p<.001), faithful behavior (t=2.15. p<.05). collectivistic behavior(t=8.31, p<.001). Seven path coefficients from the normative behaviors to psychological stress were significant; behavior for family and family members (t=-4.63, p<.001), faithful behavior(t=-3.86, p<.001). suppression of emotional expression(t=3.99, p<.001), trustworthy and dependable behavior(t=-2.21, p<.05), collectivistic behavior(t=3.72, p<.001), effortful and diligent behavior(t=2.94, p<.001), husbandry and saving behavior(t=3.40, p<.001). The above results suggested that four normative behaviors among seven behaviors contributed negatively to psychological stress in current Korean society. The results abo confirmed the hypothesized paths from social adjustment (t=10.40, p<.001) to swb and from psychological stress(t=-19.74, p<.001) to swb. The important results of the study were discussed in terms of the Confucian traditions and recent social changes in Korean culture. Finally limitations of this review paper were discussed and the suggestions for the future study were also proposed.

• 한국노년학
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.547-566
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of social activities on healthy life expectancy (HLE) by gender difference. HLE implies an estimate of how long an individual can expect to live in full health or without disease and/or disability. Morbidity, mortality, and functional health status usually have been known as key variables. Many researchers have tried to investigate factors affecting HLE in countries level by performing comparative analyses. In micro level, there have been some studies about social factors affecting HLE in individual level. However, few studies are found focusing on the relationship between HLE and social activities. This study anlayzes 4,029 over 65 years of age from the first wave (2006) to the seventh wave (2018) of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA), which is a national panel data collected by Korea Employment Information Service. The data has been collected as a part of social and economic policies planning for Korean government. HLE was measured by life period without disease or disability. One of findings is that male older adults (76.9 yrs) show higher HLE in comparing to female group (75.3 yrs). Female group appeared to be more likely to have higher incidence rate and disorders. Another finding indicates that age, number of chronic diseases, and subjective health status affect HLE of both groups. Finally, regarding social activities, religion affiliated activities appear to significantly affect HLE of both groups. In case of male older adults, alumni or hometown gathering also appeared another activities affecting HLE. This study indicates that the effect of social activities types on HLE among older adults appears differently by gender. Further, unlikely of longer life expectancy among female older adults as known, HLE shows a reverse estimate, longer healthy life expectancy among male older adults. This finding may imply that later life of female older adults shows lower quality of life in comparing to that of male group, even if female life expectancy has been higher. This study encourages to develop more social activity programs for older adults in community level. Specifically, more attention is required to planning for programs targeting female older adults.