• English & American cultural studies
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.27-50
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• 2018

Old age is often compared as climbing mountains which requires walking out of breath, yet with wider vision. And it is also likened to the estuary where the river flows slowly and broadly into the open sea. Socially, old age has been regarded as a symbol of wisdom and reflection, and elderly people often take the role of sage who leads the community. On the other hand, the dementia, gray hair and wrinkles of old age were sometimes perceived as the decline of intellect and vitality. Especially, in the digital age in which technology makes people more sensitive to physical artificiality, the evaluation of the old age becomes more complex and obscure. In other words, some elderly people can not escape from Confucious convention of the elders first, which causes the denouncement by younger generations. On the other hand, some elderly people are becoming more adaptable to the trend of young people, emerging as the new elderly people. The anti-aging movement, early adaptation of IT, bioengineering regimen also strong for the advanced age. However, as the new elderly people are active in many fields of society, they also face intergenerational conflicts in some areas where remains the overlap between young people and them due to the limited openings in economy and culture. This study is a transdisciplinary research which can be called old age humanities. First of all, this paper looks at the aspects of lifestyles and intergeneration conflicts in old age in four Korean and Western literary works about the old people, and also searches how to improve the quality of the later life of old people, Overall, this paper aims to explore the way the old people can achieve the full life with the help of intergenerational dependency through building aging humanities and new communities for old people.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.267-273
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• 2020

To determine the biological effects of exercise on hippocampus in mice brain exposed to radiofrequency radiaton (RF), the expression of AMPKα, p-AMPKα, ERK1/2, p-ERK1/2, p38, and p-p38 protein in the mouse exposed to RF were investigated in the hippocampal tissues, Western blot method was used to compare the protein expression levels for each molecule. Significant increases in protein expression of individual and phosphorylated molecules were observed in the spontaneous exercise group, and the expression of these molecules was notably decreased in the RF exposure and spontaneous exercise group. This study shows that neuroplasticity can be increased by exercise in hippocampus that is responsible for memory, but memory and cognitive function may be affected by exposure to RF. We may expect clinically interesting results on dementia or Alzheimer disease if we proceed further investigation on the effect of RF.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.469-476
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• 2017

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and naming tests have been used clinically as screening and diagnostic tools for mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Researches in other countries have reported that residential areas would affect one's cognitive abilities. In Korean, however, there was no systematic studies on geographical influences to cognitive ability among a sample of urban/rural residents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of urban/rural locality of residence on cognitive tests in normal elderly Korean. Residents aged 65 years and older (N=108) were administered the K-MMSE, confrontation/generative naming tests, and medical/socio-demographic interview. When comparing the total number of correct responses between urban residents and rural residents, the performances of rural group were significantly worse than those of the urban group in K-MMSE. Based on the results, our finding suggests that a factor of residential locality should be considered to examine the function and explain the cognitive decline in rural community-dwelling elders.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.293-301
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to redefine 7 social exclusion factors and to derive association between social exclusion factors and depression of middle and older elderly, focused on gender differences. The elderly aged over 50 years old were extracted from the data of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) in 2016. The data was analyzed by descriptive analysis, chi-squared test, and binary logistic regression analysis, using SAS 9.4. As a result, the elderly who were excluded from labor, residence, health, and relationship were found to be associated to depression. In addition, male with resident exclusion were associated with depression compared to non-excluded. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the local community programs in which elderly people can participate in labor and cultural activity. It is necessary to improve labor and culture exclusion by increasing the participation opportunities of various cultural programs. In addition, it is needed to establish specific guidelines for eliminating the social exclusion of overall elderly.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.172-178
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• 2022

In this paper, water meter AMR(automatic meter reading), one of the core technologies of smart water grid, using LoRa IoT network is studied. The main content of the research is to develop the network system and show the test results that one PC server receives the readings of water meters from multiple households through LoRa communication and stores them in the database, and at the same time sends the data to the web server database through internet. The system also allows users to monitor the meter readings using their smartphones. The hardware and firmware of the main board of the digital water meter are developed. For a PC server program, MDMS(meter data management system) is developed using Visual C#. The app program running on the user's smartphone is also developed using Android Studio. By connecting each developed parts, the total network system is mounted on a flow test bench in the laboratory and tested. For the fields test, 5 places around the university are selected and the transmission distances are tested. The test result show that the developed system can be applied into the real field. The developed system can be expanded to various social safety nets such as monitoring the living alone or elderly with dementia.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.511-523
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• 2022

This study was conducted using non-face-to-face care technology for the elderly with mild dementia and the physically weak living in the community, as various methods of care for the elderly have been raised due to the prolonged COVID-19. The purpose of this study is a similar experimental study before and after the inequality control group to compare cognitive function, daily living activities, and the degree of depression by applying an AI robot integrated management program using. The data was collected from June 4 to September 17, 2021, and the survey results of 17 people in the experimental group and 18 in the control group were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 program. As a result of the study, the experimental group was significant in language function, activities of daily living, and depression. In particular, the results showed a decrease in moderate to severe depression and mild depression. Cognitive function was significant with long-term care grade and daily living activity with family living together. Therefore, if such non-face-to-face care technology is introduced to the elderly care field in the 'With Corona era', it is thought that it will contribute to cognitive function training and depression reduction of the elderly.

• Korea Science and Art Forum
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• v.31
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• pp.355-365
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• 2017

The future population of Korea is expected to reach the second highest level in the world by 2060 for the elderly. It is because of the rapid development of low fertility and medical technology. The burden of society for the elderly is expected to increase steadily. The elderly person firstly appears functional disorder. They have low ability in memory and in cognitive will be. Their activities are therefore limited. And economic production capacity is sharply reduced. Self-sufficiency is a difficult situation. They need help in economic and social aspects. Products for them need research and development. The elderly have a Mild Cognitive Impairment(MCI) stage with poor cognitive abilities. It is effective to combine pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment methods for people with mild cognitive impairment. The effects of non-pharmacological treatments on music have been proven. This paper is a study on the appearance from the viewpoint of design in the development of ancillary instruments using music therapy techniques with Digital Convergence. For this study, we investigated the preference for external appearance of mild cognitive impairment. Two times surveys were conducted. As a result, the design of home care product for the hard cognitive impaired was different from that of a conventional game machine or set top box. It should be designed according to the user's special circumstances. They are memory and cognitive abilities. Products that meet physical and mental changes must be developed.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.75-93
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• 2021

Objective : The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of older adults with respect to their lifestyle patterns and examine the characteristics of each subgroup in order to provide a basic evidence for improving the health and quality of life. Methods : This cross-sectional study was conducted in South Korea. Community-dwelling older adults (n=184) above the age of 65 years were surveyed from April 2019 to May 2019. This study used latent profile analysis to examine the subgroups. Chi-squared (χ²) and multinomial logistic regression measures were then used to analyze individual characteristics and influencing factors. Results : The pattern of physical activity which is one of the lifestyle domains in elderly was categorized into three types: 'passive exercise type (31.1%)', 'low intensity exercise type (54.5%)', and 'balanced exercise type(14.5%)'. Activity participation was divided into three patterns: 'inactive type (12%)', 'self-management type (61%)', and 'balanced activity participation type (27%)'. In terms of nutrition, there were only two groups: 'overall malnutrition type (13.5%)' and 'balanced nutrition type (86.5%)'. Furthermore, as a result of the multinomial logistic regression analysis to understand the effects of lifestyle types on the health and quality of life of the elderly, it was confirmed that the health and quality of life were higher in those following an active and balanced lifestyle. In addition, gender, education level and residential area were analyzed as predictive factors. Conclusion : The health and quality of life of the elderly can be improved when they have balanced lifestyle. Therefore, an empirical and policy intervention strategy should be developed and implemented to enhance the health and quality of life of the elderly.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.95-108
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• 2021

Objective : This study aimed to develop prototypes of "smart stacking cones" by combining ICT to evaluate and train the upper extremity function and dual task performance in patients with central nervous system impairment, and to identify the complementary point to the completion of the device through a usability test. Methods : This prototype comprised of a hardware and software system that enabled the evaluation and training of patients and the management of data obtained from patients' performance. Specific measurement variables were established so that patient performance could be measured correctly. Based on the measurement variables, a the prototype included a 'single task evaluation modes', 'dual task evaluation mode', 'single task training mode', and 'dual task training modes'. Additionally, a usability test was conducted to assess clinical applicability and overall satisfaction for the prototype. Results : The results of the usability test were generally found to be appropriate. The 'content adequacy' in the usability test was the area with the highest level of adequacy and the lowest level of inadequacy. Additionally, overall 'satisfaction' in the usability test was the area with the highest appropriate and inappropriate levels. Hence, the overall satisfaction results were unstable. Conclusion : Future studies should be conducted to identify the clinical effectiveness of the device by applying an upgraded smart stacking cone to an actual patient group.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.109-128
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• 2021

Objective : The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of the Activities of Daily Living (ADL)-focused Occupation-Based Neurobehavioral Evaluation (A-ONE) through cross-cultural adaptation and examine its validity and reliability. Methods : This study translated the A-ONE into Korean and performed cross-cultural adaptation for the Korean population. After the development of the Korean version of the A-ONE, cross-cultural and concurrent validities were analyzed. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability were also evaluated. Results : We adapted three items to the Korean culture. The Korean version of the A-ONE showed high cross-cultural validity with a content validity index (I-CVI) >0.9. It correlated with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) (r=0.52-0.77, p<0.001), except for communication. Cronbach's α was 0.58-0.93 for the functional independence scale (FI) and 0.42-0.93 for the neurobehavioral specific impairment subscale (NBSIS). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) indicated high test-retest and inter-rater reliability for FI (ICC=0.79-1.00 and 0.75-1.00, respectively) and NBSIS (ICC=0.74-1.00 and 0.72-1.00, respectively). Conclusion : The Korean version of the A-ONE is well adapted to the Korean culture and has good validity and reliability. It is recommended to evaluate ADL performance skills and neurobehavioral impairments simultaneously in Korea.