• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.513-541
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• 2008

The purposes of the study were to investigate whether the use of the Geometer's Sketchpad(GSP) is more effective than the use of traditional tools such as ruler and protractor to enhance eighth- grade students' understanding of quadrilaterals and geometric reasoning ability and to examine how the use of the software affects on the development of students' understanding and reasoning ability. According to the results of the posttest, there was a significant difference in student achievement between students using GSP and students using ruler and protractor. Students using GSP significantly outperformed students using ruler and protractor on the posttest. Student interview data showed that the use of the GSP was more effective in developing students' geometric reasoning ability. Students using GSP achieved higher degrees of acquisition for van Hiele level 2 and 3 than students using ruler and protractor. Dynamic visual representations and hands-on experiences provided in GSP learning environment helped students approach quadrilateral concepts more conceptually and realize their pre-existing conceptual errors and re-conceptualize their mathematical ideas.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.968-976
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• 2012

This study presents a new method called the SPMP (Semi-automatic profile measuring program) to efficiently measure body shape in elderly women. SPMP can automatically measure the angle of axis (19 items), surface (17 items), lengths (14 items), heights (16 items), widths (13 items), and depth (6 items). In total these 85 items are automatically measured very quickly, accurately, and easily after manually marking an initial 36 points. The utility of SPMP was evaluated using several tests. When SPMP measuring results were compared with manual methods (using a ruler and protractor) in thirteen elderly women using a paired t-test, there was no significant difference found between them. Furthermore, when measurements from SPMP were compared with actual measurement results in selected items from seven elderly women's measurements, smaller mean differences were found than those defined by ISO 20685, with the exception of the abdominal area which moves easily with breathing. Seven independent measurements of a single elderly woman were made by seven students using SPMP, and the values of coefficient of variation were less than 5% for all but 8 items. Finally, this study analyzed the correlation of all 85 item measurements, and found that the angle from the upper chest to the neck towards the front in the axis curved forward as much as the axis angle from the thigh to the waist (r=-0.876, $^{**}p$ < 0.01) bent backwards in elderly women. This detailed analysis helps to understand age-related changes in body posture, and will be useful in future studies.