• International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.59-74
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• 2023

Third places are those that offer a space outside of work and home for people to escape the stress associated with the primary spaces of their lives. Through social interactivity these help in acquiring some emotional support provided by a close and intimate attachment. Such social support can turn into social resources for individuals and can lead to forming communities that may become incubators for social capital through regular visits to shared socializing places. This paper focuses on social interaction that takes place through the third place and the communities that are being created as a contributing factor to knowledge management. The study being reported in this paper investigated the role of coffee shops as third places in building communities and social capital in Kuwait. A mixed-method approach was used to conduct the study. These methods included qualitative methods such as extended conversations in the form of semi-structured interviews and quantitative methods of using questionnaires distributed to coffee shop staff and visitors. Results indicated that importance attached to providing facilities by coffee shops reflected that the owners perceived these as third places. The facilities attracted customers to coffee houses where interactions took place that helped to build communities. The pattern of visits by customers showed that mostly they come in groups and have meetings and gatherings that facilitated and encouraged interactions. The communities that are being built in the coffee shops are indicative of these being perceived as third places by owners, customers, and staff. This study shows the potential of coffee shops as a major sector of the food industry promising a valuable contribution in transformation and transition to a knowl- edge-based economy in Kuwait.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.238-247
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• 2023

Objectives: Low adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in pregnant women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) increases the risk of virus transmission from mother to newborn. Increasing mothers' knowledge and motivation to access treatment has been identified as a critical factor in prevention. Therefore, this research aimed to explore barriers and enablers in accessing HIV care and treatment services. Methods: This research was the first phase of a mixed-method analysis conducted in Kupang, a remote city in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Samples were taken by purposive sampling of 17 people interviewed, consisting of 6 mothers with HIV, 5 peer facilitators, and 6 health workers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and document review. Inductive thematic analysis was also performed. The existing data were grouped into several themes, then relationships and linkages were drawn from each group of informants. Results: Barriers to accessing care and treatment were lack of knowledge about the benefits of ARV; stigma from within and the surrounding environment; difficulty in accessing services due to distance, time, and cost; completeness of administration; drugs' side effects; and the quality of health workers and HIV services. Conclusions: There was a need for a structured and integrated model of peer support to improve ARV uptake and treatment in pregnant women with HIV. This research identified needs including mini-counseling sessions designed to address psychosocial barriers as an integrated approach to support antenatal care that can effectively assist HIV-positive pregnant women in improving treatment adherence.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.140-146
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• 2023

Water quality is crucial for human health and the environment. Accurate measurement of the quantity of organic carbon in water is essential for water quality evaluation, identification of water pollution sources, and appropriate implementation of water treatment measures. Total organic carbon (TOC) analysis is an important tool for this purpose. Although other methods, such as chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) are also used to measure organic carbon in water, they have limitations that make TOC analysis a more favorable option in certain situations. For example, COD requires the use of toxic chemicals, and BOD is time-consuming and can produce inconsistent and unreliable results. In contrast, TOC analysis is rapid and reliable, providing accurate measurements of organic carbon content in water. However, common methods for TOC analysis can be complex and energy-intensive because of the use of high-temperature heaters for liquid-to-gas phase transitions and the use of acid, which present safety risks. This study focuses on a TOC analysis method using TiO₂ photocatalysis, which has several advantages over conventional TOC analysis methods, including its low cost and easy maintenance. For TiO₂, rutile and anatase powders are mixed with an inorganic binder and spray-coated onto a glass fiber substrate. The TiO₂ powder and inorganic binder solutions are adjusted to optimize the photocatalytic reaction performance. The TiO₂ photocatalysis method is a simple and low-power approach to TOC analysis, making it a promising alternative to commonly used TOC analysis methods. This study aims to contribute to the development of more efficient and cost-effective approaches for water quality analysis and management by exploring the effectiveness and reliability of the developed equipment.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.45-59
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• 2023

Objectives: This study investigated the role of Korean medicine doctors in the national quarantine system and the status of their duties through questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews with Korean medicine staff who participated in COVID-19 work. Methods: We developed a questionnaire survey to investigate the status and perception of Korean medicine doctors' participation in responding to infectious diseases, and the results were derived by conducting frequency analysis and T-test using SPSS program. The measurement variables of this study were the status of COVID-19 related work participation and perception of Korean medicine doctors' role in infectious diseases, and the maximum significance level was 0.05. Results: There were 300 respondents to the survey, and as for the COVID-19 related work, Korean medicine treatment for COVID-19 patients accounted for the most(52.7%), and various preventive and treatment tasks such as epidemiological investigations and specimen collection were conducted. Conclusion: According to this study, it was confirmed that there are sufficient legal and administrative grounds for Korean medicine doctors to perform specimen collection and epidemiological investigations. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a policy framework to solidify the status of Korean medicine doctors in national infectious diseases in the future.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.257-264
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• 2023

To develop a high capacity lithium secondary battery, a new approach to anode material synthesis is required, capable of producing an anode that exceeds the energy density limit of a carbon-based anode. This research synthesized carbon nano silicon composites as an anode material for a secondary battery using the RF thermal plasma method, which is an ecofriendly dry synthesis method. Prior to material synthesis, a silicon raw material was mixed at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt% based on the carbon raw material in a powder form, and the temperature change inside the reaction field depending on the applied plasma power was calculated. Information about the materials in the synthesized carbon nano silicon composites were confirmed through XRD analysis, showing carbon (86.7~52.6 %), silicon (7.2~36.2 %), and silicon carbide (6.1~11.2 %). Through FE-SEM analysis, it was confirmed that the silicon bonded to carbon was distributed at sizes of 100 nm or less. The bonding shape of the silicon nano particles bonded to carbon was observed through TEM analysis. The initial electrochemical charging/discharging test for the 40 wt% silicon mixture showed excellent electrical characteristics of 1,517 mAh/g (91.9 %) and an irreversible capacity of 133 mAh/g (8.1 %).

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.153-153
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• 2022

Large-scale and accurate observations at fine spatial resolution through a means of remote sensing offer an effective tool for capturing rainfall variability over the traditional rain gauges and weather radars. Although satellite rainfall products (SRPs) derived using two major estimation approaches were evaluated worldwide, their practical applications suffered from limitations. In particular, the traditional top-down SRPs (e.g., IMERG), which are based on direct estimation of rain rate from microwave satellite observations, are mainly restricted with their coarse spatial resolution, while applications of the bottom-up approach, which allows backward estimation of rainfall from soil moisture signals, to novel high spatial resolution soil moisture satellite sensors over South Korea are not introduced. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the performances of a state-of-the-art bottom-up SRP (the self-calibrated SM2RAIN model) applied to the C-band SAR Sentinel-1, a statistically downscaled version of the conventional top-down IMERG SRP, and their integration for a targeted high spatial resolution of 0.01° (~ 1-km) over central South Korea, where the differences in climate zones (coastal region vs. mainland region) and vegetation covers (croplands vs. mixed forests) are highlighted. The results indicated that each single SRP can provide plus points in distinct climatic and vegetated conditions, while their drawbacks have existed. Superior performance was obtained by merging these individual SRPs, providing preliminary results on a complementary high spatial resolution SRP over central South Korea. This study results shed light on the further development of integration framework and a complementary high spatial resolution rainfall product from multi-satellite sensors as well as multi-observing systems (integrated gauge-radar-satellite) extending for entire South Korea, toward the demands for urban hydrology and microscale agriculture.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.813-825
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• 2023

This study was analyzed using a mixed methods approach to clarify the concept of compassionate communication competencies of psychiatric nurses. In the theoretical phase, the literature published from 2000 to 2022 was collected and 38 articles were analyzed. For the fieldwork phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight psychiatric nurses from December 1 to December 28, 2022. In the final analysis phase, the dimensions and attributes of psychiatric nurses' compassionate communication competence were identified and conceptualized. Based on the attributes identified in the theoretical and fieldwork phases, the definition of psychiatric nurses' compassionate communication competence was synthesized into five dimensions and 12 attributes. Therefore, psychiatric nurses' compassionate communication competence refers to the skills and abilities of psychiatric nurses to use active listening and empathic skills for effective communication based on compassion and understanding of the target, to be sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of the target, to accurately convey what the target wants to express, to respect the target, and to empower the target.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.222-228
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• 2023

There are two categories of online crimes related to children and adolescents: those committed by adolescents and those committed against children and adolescents. While recent trends in criminal law show consensus on strengthening punishment in cases of crimes against children and adolescents, there are mixed stances in cases of juvenile delinquency. One perspective emphasizes strict punishment, whereas the other emphasizes dispositions aligned with human rights. While various forms of online crime share the commonality in that the main part of the criminal act occurs online, they can be categorized into three types: those seeking financial gain, those driven by sexual motives, and those engaged in bullying. Among these, crimes driven by sexual motives are the most serious. Second-hand trading fraud and conditional (sexual) meeting fraud fall under the category of seeking financial gain and occur frequently. Crimes driven by sexual motives include obscenity via telecommunication, filming with discrete cameras, child and adolescent sexual exploitation material, fake video distribution, and blackmail/coercion using intimate images/videos ("sextortion"). These crimes lead to various legal issues such as whether to view vulgar acronyms or body cams that teenagers frequently use as simple subcultures or crimes, what criteria should be applied to judge whether a recorded material induces sexual desire or shame, and at what stage sexual grooming becomes punishable. For example, sniping posts, KakaoTalk prisons, and chat room explosions are tricky issues, as they may or may not be punished depending on the case. Particular caution should be exercised against the indiscriminate application of a strict punishment-oriented approach to the juvenile justice system, which is being discussed in relation to online sexual offenses. In the punishment case of online crime, juvenile offenders with a high potential for future improvement and reform must be treated with special consideration.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.408-415
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• 2023

The formation of bonding configurations such as pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N, and graphitic-N by nitrogen doping plays a crucial role in imparting distinct physical properties to carbon nanomaterials. In this study, we propose a simple and cost-effective approach to regulate nitrogen dopant configurations in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by mixing melamine as a dopant source. We employed three distinct mechanical mixing techniques, namely magnetic stirring, bath sonication and tip sonication. The higher the ratio of melamine to CNT, the higher the ratio of Pyrrolic-N, and when mixed through stirring, the highest ratio of Pyridinic-N was shown. The facile method proposed in this study, which can easily form various types of nitrogen dopants in carbon nanotubes, is expected to facilitate the application of nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2024

This research aims to study and confirm enabling factors affecting the knowledge transfer and business process of community enterprise groups in Pattani province, Thailand. Key informants were community enterprise entrepreneurs; 30 people were selected purposively with criteria. This study used a mixed-methods approach and conducted semi-structured interviews to collect data. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis and classification, while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Moreover, inferential statistics chi-square value, Phi Cramer's V, and multiple regression analysis with the R program for statistical computing were employed to analyze the relationship between the variables, test the research hypothesis, and create forecasting equations. The research results revealed that the overview of enabling factors had a very high relationship (Cramer's V=0.965). Regarding community enterprise, it was found that enabling factors related to the knowledge transfer and business process consisted of four factors: regulations and administrative guidelines, business plan, reinforcement, and brainstorming. Reinforcement was the factor with the highest degree of correlation (Cramer's V=0.873) and predictor of influence on the knowledge transfer and business process (R₂=0.670, p<0.05). This study's findings can lead to the developing of guidelines for promoting community enterprises properly and timely. These guidelines are expected to be used to develop knowledge about business models for community enterprises, which will help to improve their competency and competitiveness.