• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.165-174
• /
• 2023

This study analyzed the purchase status of athleisure wear and consumers' dissatisfaction with online shopping post-COVID-19. The target population comprised female consumers in their 20s to 50s who are interested in exercise and fashion. The study investigated differences according to age. It was found that athleisure wear was purchased once every two to three months and used as sportswear and/or daily wear. Purchase information was obtained via the Internet, and purchases were made online. Design, price, wear sensation, and textiles were the most important selection criteria, and T-shirts and leggings were the most frequently purchased garments. Additionally, textile characteristics such as moisture-absorbing and quick-drying as well as elasticity were evaluated as important. Online shopping of athleisure wear has increased since COVID-19 due to the time savings, low price, opportunity to compare several products, and delivery convenience. However, consumers were dissatisfied due to the differences between the screen image and the actual product, the inconvenience of returns, exchanges, and refunds, the lack of product information, product quality, and delivery. Furthermore, it was found that pursuing value of athleisure wear differed according to age. Consumers in their 20s and 30s required athleisure wear with the characteristics of sportswear and daily or urban wear and those in their 40s and 50s required garments with good performance as sportswear. Based on consumer feedback, it is necessary for manufacturers to provide product information that can improve product reliability.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.20 no.8
• /
• pp.127-136
• /
• 2022

This study was conducted using a multiple regression model to empirically analyze the impact of personal emotions and social change perceptions of pandemic experienced by Korean people in the COVID-19 situation on the perception of disaster response after the endemic. For this end, we used the survey data with 996 respondents on 「Daily Changes of the People After COVID-19」conducted by the Korea Press Promotion Foundation. The results showed that COVID-19 positive emotions and social change perception factors had a positive (+) effect on disaster response perception, while the sense of community had a moderating effect that alleviated COVID-19 negative emotions which had a negative (-) effect. The most influential factors on disaster response perception after the endemic were COVID-19 positive emotions and community sense that had pride and stability in Korean society during disaster situations. Therefore, this study suggests that systematic disaster response manuals and control towers that give the public pride and stability are more strongly requested for the government's prior and follow-up measures performed in the post-endemic disaster situation, and that the people are asked to have the community sense to overcome disasters together rather than to respond with personal actions and judgments.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.209-223
• /
• 2022

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant changes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on patients with chronic pain. Methods: Patients with chronic pain from 23 university hospitals in South Korea participated in this study. The anonymous survey questionnaire consisted of 25 questions regarding the following: demographic data, diagnosis, hospital visit frequency, exercise duration, time outside, sleep duration, weight change, nervousness and anxiety, depression, interest or pleasure, fatigue, daily life difficulties, and self-harm thoughts. Depression severity was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between increased pain and patient factors. Results: A total of 914 patients completed the survey, 35.9% of whom had decreased their number of visits to the hospital, mostly due to COVID-19. The pain level of 200 patients has worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak, which was more prominent in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Noticeable post-COVID-19 changes such as exercise duration, time spent outside, sleep patterns, mood, and weight affected patients with chronic pain. Depression severity was more significant in patients with CRPS. The total PHQ-9 average score of patients with CRPS was 15.5, corresponding to major depressive orders. The patients' decreased exercise duration, decreased sleep duration, and increased depression were significantly associated with increased pain. Conclusions: COVID-19 has caused several changes in patients with chronic pain. During the pandemic, decreased exercise and sleep duration and increased depression were associated with patients' increasing pain.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.51-61
• /
• 2023

Purpose - Since COVID-19, the government's expansion of liquidity to stimulate the economy has resulted in an increase in private debt and an increase in asset prices of such as real estate and stocks. The recent sharp rise of the US Federal fund rate and tapering by the Fed have led to a fast rise in domestic interest rates, putting a heavy burden on the Korean economy, where the level of household debt is very high. Excessive household debt might have negative effects on the economy, such as shrinking consumption, economic recession, and deepening economic inequality. Therefore, now more than ever, it is necessary to identify the causes of the increase in household debt. Design/methodology/approach - Main methodology is regression analysis. Dependent variable is household loans from depository institutions. Independent variables are consumer price index, unemployment rate, household loan interest rate, housing sales price index, and composite stock price index. The sample periods are from 2017 to May 2022, comprising 72 months of data. The comparative analysis period before and after COVID-19 is from January 2017 to December 2019 for the pre-COVID-19 period, and from Jan 2020 to December 2022 for the post-COVID-19 period. Findings - Looking at the results of the regression analysis for the entire period, it was found that increases in the consumer price index, unemployment rate, and household loan interest rates decrease household loans, while increases in the housing sales price index increase household loans. Research implications or Originality - Household loans of depository institutions are mainly made up of high-credit and high-income borrowers with good repayment ability, so the risk of the financial system is low. As household loans are closely linked to the real estate market, the risk of household loan defaults may increase if real estate prices fall sharply.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.365-373
• /
• 2023

Purpose: In the context of COVID-19, studies evaluating the adherence of dentists and dental students to infection control are relevant due to their high occupational exposure and risk, as well as their responsibility for disseminating information and good practices. This study evaluated the adherence of dentists and dental students to infection control in the oral radiology field in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic on different continents. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study involved individuals who performed intraoral radiographic examinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Questionnaire on Infection Control in Oral Radiology was administered virtually using a Google Form. Participants from different continents(the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania) were recruited. Data were subjected to descriptive analysis and simple and multiple binary regression (5%). Results: There were 582 valid answers, and 68.73% of the participants were from the Americas, 18.90% from Europe, and 12.37% from Asia. The median score for infection control protocols was 94 points for dental students and 104 points for dentists, and participants below the median were considered to have low adherence to infection control in oral radiology. Low access to infection control was found for 53.0% of dentists in the Americas, 34.0% from Europe, and 26.9% from Asia. Conclusion: The adherence to infection control protocols in oral radiology was low even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results may help improve the awareness of students and professionals, since oral radiology routines have the potential for transmitting COVID-19.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.242-249
• /
• 2023

Objectives: Following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, adolescents have experienced decreased physical activity and a decline in mental health. This study analyzed the association between changes in depressed mood after the COVID-19 pandemic and physical activity among adolescents. Methods: The analysis was based on the results of the 17th Youth Health Behavior Online Survey conducted in 2021, which included 54848 middle and high school students in South Korea. Information on physical activity included low-intensity physical activity lasting >60 min/day, high-intensity physical activity, and strength training exercises. A logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between physical activity and changes in depression after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and previous depression, adolescents who performed strength training exercises more than once per week had a 0.95-fold lower risk (odds ratio [OR]=0.948, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.905-0.994, p=0.027) of increasing depression after the COVID-19 pandemic, while the risk of decreasing depression increased by 1.22-fold (OR=1.215, 95% CI=1.131-1.305, p<0.001). The results were not significant for low-intensity physical activity for >60 min/day and high-intensity physical activity. Conclusion: Strength-training exercises are significantly associated with the prevention of depression among adolescents following the COVID-19 pandemic.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.15 no.8
• /
• pp.2732-2748
• /
• 2021

In post-COVID-19 pandemic era, students' learning effects and experience may sharply decrease when teaching is transferred from offline to online. Several tools suitable for online teaching have been developed to guarantee and promote students' learning effects. However, they cannot fully consider teacher-student interaction in online teaching. To figure out this issue, this paper proposes integrated media platform-based virtual office hours implementation for online teaching. Specifically, an integrated media platform (IMP) is first constructed. Then, virtual office hours (VOH) is implemented based on the IMP, aiming at increasing student-teacher interactions. For evaluating the effectiveness of this scheme, 140 undergraduate students using IMP are divided into one control group and three experimental groups that respectively contain text, voice and video modes. The experiment results indicate that applying VOH in the IMP can improve students' online presence and test scores. Furthermore, students' participating modes during VOH implementation can largely affect their degree of presence, which can be well classified by using principal component analysis. The implication of this work is that IMP-based VOH is an effective and sustainable tool to be continuously implemented even when the COVID-19 pandemic period ends.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
• /
• v.21 no.12spc
• /
• pp.483-490
• /
• 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant community challenges towards higher education around the world. The urgent and unexpected request for full-time university courses to switch over to online teaching was a particular challenge. Online learning and learning imply a certain pedagogical knowledge content (PKC), mainly related to the design and organization for better learning and the creation of unique learning environments using digital technologies. With the help of the present academic paper, we provide some expert opinion on the PKC connected with online learning with the aim of helping non-university professionals (that is, those with lack of online learning experience) navigate these challenging times. Our findings point to the planning of learning activities with certain features, a combination of three types of presence (social, cognitive and facilitative) and the need to adapt the assessment system to new learning requirements. We will conclude by contemplating on how responding to a crisis can improve teaching and learning practices in the post-digital era.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.172-178
• /
• 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has been reshaping the world by accelerating non-contact services and technologies in various domains. Hospitals as a healthcare system lie at the center of the dramatic change because of their fundamental roles: medical diagnosis and treatments. Leading experts in health, science, and technologies have predicted that robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) can drive such a hospital transformation. Accordingly, several government-led projects have been developed and started toward smarter hospitals, where robots and AI replace or support healthcare personnel, particularly in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment procedures. This article inspects the remaining element of healthcare services, i.e., surgical treatment, focusing on evaluating whether or not currently available laparoscopic surgical robotic systems are sufficiently preparing for the era of post-COVID-19 when contactless is the new normal. Challenges and future directions towards an effective, fully non-contact surgery are identified and summarized, including remote surgery assistance, domain-expansion of robotic surgery, and seamless integration with smart operating rooms, followed by emphasis on robot tranining for surgical staff.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2024

This study explores the impact of technostress on the intention to use telemedicine applications (apps) in the post-COVID19 era, a period marked by the rapid popularization of such apps to mitigate COVID19 infection risks. Utilizing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the study identifies variables and proposes a research model. A questionnaire survey involving 364 adults is analyzed through Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicate positive significance for variables linked to the TAM (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, and intention to use). Notably, techno-complexity negatively affects perceived ease of use, while techno-unreliability negatively impacts perceived usefulness and ease of use. Surprisingly, techno-uncertainty has a positive effect on both perceived usefulness and ease of use. Techno-overload, although negatively impacting perceived usefulness and ease of use, does not reach statistical significance. The study underscores the need to consider both positive and negative aspects, including technostress, when evaluating telemedicine app usage. Additionally, recognizing the varying impact of technostress based on users' ICT(Information and Communication Technology) confidence levels is crucial. Overall, these findings contribute academically to telemedicine app adoption literature and hold industrial significance by providing a user perspective on these apps.