• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.277-289
• /
• 2018

Background: Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS), the subject of this evaluative research document employs 1400 people. 80% of employees are operational firefighters and officers whom operate across a range of duty systems and support functions, providing prevention, protection and emergency response to the communities of Lancashire. Methods: The overarching purpose of this epidemiological study is to assess the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) amongst operational LFRS personnel and to analyse the effects upon those who may be suffering from it, whether brought about by a single traumatic event or by repeated exposure to traumatic occurrences over a period of time. A combination of primary and secondary research was carried out. Primary data was collated using two recognised clinical questionnaires and statistical analysis was conducted with the aid of the software package SPSS. Results: The findings and statistical analysis showed that out of the 100 people surveyed, 30% of respondents had signs of probable distress. Of this quota, 4% showed symptoms of PTSD. The study considers how an organisation can recognise and manage PTSD and provides recommendations to assist in better recognising and managing the associated risks. Conclusion: Based upon the findings, the authors conclude that the level of PTSD within LFRS is slightly lower than those found in other studies undertaken within the Fire and Rescue Service sector. The paper provides recommendations for future studies and a series of actions for consideration by LFRS senior management to improve PTSD support services for employees.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.283-289
• /
• 2021

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the pattern of Kolman technique by five Korean top gymnasts including the three national athletes on horizontal bar. Method: Two digital high-speed camcorders were used with 90 frames/sec and their Kolman motions were filmed in sports science secondary school gymnasium at U city. After the kinematic and kinetic variables were carried out by Kwon3D 3.1 motion package during the whole phase, the optimized release motion was investigated by simulating the body COG path during the aerial phase. Results: Firstly, it was revealed that the average changes of hip, shoulder joint angle were 84 deg, 53 deg respectively during the functional sub-phase and the average swing phaseal time was 1.21 s. Secondly, it was revealed that the average body COG positions and velocities (Y, Z) at release were -0.65 m, 0.48 m, 1.65 m/s, 3.97 m/s respectively and the average release angle, peak height and flight time were 67 deg, 1.29 m, 0.79 s respectively. Thirdly, it was revealed that the directions of somersault of whole and lower body, tilt of lower body were counterclockwise, whereas the directions of tilt of whole body, twist of whole and lower body were clockwise at the ready for re-grasp. Lastly, it was revealed that the body COG paths were different from each other during the aerial phase followed by the different body COG velocities. Conclusion: Korean gymnasts of this study controlled their motions well in terms of the timing of hip·shoulder joint, body position, body angular momentum especially during the functional sub-phase, but their motions were different during the aerial phase. Nonetheless most of them made the adequate body position at the instant of re-grasp. It would be suggested that Korean gymnasts except S3 should increase the vertical velocity.

• Journal of Korea Trade
• /
• v.24 no.8
• /
• pp.121-132
• /
• 2020

Purpose - The principle aim of this study is to further investigate the relationship between market diversity and export performance. We examine the benefits and costs of geographic market diversity regarding the number of countries exported to by firms on their export performance. Based on the financial risk reduction model and the entry costs model, we propose a way to incorporate the costs and benefits aspects of market diversity. Design/methodology - To empirically investigate our research question, the curvilinear relationship between market diversity and export performance, we built a secondary panel data set between 2015 and 2019, containing 17,863 observations of Korean exporting companies. A generalized least squares panel estimator with fixed effects was employed to test the hypothesis, and the statistical package, Stata 14, was used. Findings - Our main findings are as follows: As market diversity increases, export performance increases because exporters can diversify and reduce financial risks in export markets. However, the relationship between the two does not grow. As it peaks, the entry costs increase due to the high market diversity, thereby outweighing the benefits, leading, eventually to decrease in the export performance. Consequently, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between market diversity and export performance. Originality/value - In the export and trade literature, the impact of market diversity on export performance has not been addressed yet, despite the importance of this subject. Many scholars have assumed a positive linear relationship between the two, considering only the decrease in market risks as the number of overseas markets increases, without examining the increase in the entry and management costs. Therefore, our study contributes by providing a new perspective for analyzing the characteristics and outcomes of market diversity.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.65-74
• /
• 2021

Serine proteases are the most versatile proteolytic enzymes with tremendous applications in various industrial processes. This study was designed to investigate the biochemical properties, critical residues, and the catalytic potential of alkaline serine protease using in-silico approaches. The primary sequence was analyzed using ProtParam, SignalP, and Phyre2 tools to investigate biochemical properties, signal peptide, and secondary structure, respectively. The three-dimensional structure of the enzyme was modeled using the MODELLER program present in Discovery Studio followed by Molecular Dynamics simulation using GROMACS 5.0.7 package with CHARMM36m force field. The proteolytic potential was measured by performing docking with casein- and keratin-enriched residues, while the effect of the inhibitor was studied using phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, (PMSF) applying GOLDv5.2.2. Molecular weight, instability index, aliphatic index, and isoelectric point for serine protease were 39.53 kDa, 27.79, 82.20 and 8.91, respectively. The best model was selected based on the lowest MOLPDF score (1382.82) and DOPE score (-29984.07). The analysis using ProSA-web revealed a Z-score of -9.7, whereas 88.86% of the residues occupied the most favored region in the Ramachandran plot. Ser327, Asp138, Asn261, and Thr326 were found as critical residues involved in ligand binding and execution of biocatalysis. Our findings suggest that bioengineering of these critical residues may enhance the catalytic potential of this enzyme.

• The Journal of Information Systems
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.189-207
• /
• 2022

Purpose Previous research on customer engagement in SNS marketing has mainly addressed the conceptualization of type of word-of-mouth messages. However, there is a lack of researches about the effect of the brand-page characteristics on the type of word-of-mouth messages. Therefore, this study examined the effect of brand-page characteristics in terms of the type of word-of-mouth messages as the main objective and the effect of the type of word-of-mouth messages in terms of the brand loyalty as the secondary objective in the context of Facebook. Design/methodology/approach The empirical research was based on a poll done through 400 research candidates in the Facebook and the final 342 responses were collected and used in statistical data analysis. The adaptability, trust, and validity to measurement model were verified and the structural relationship in the research model was analyzed through these 342 responses. The collected data verified hypotheses established using the SPSS statistical package and structural equation model using AMOS. Findings The results showed that the BP-information provision had a non-significant effect on the factual word-of-mouth message and a significant effect on the evaluative word-of-mouth message. The BP-reliability had a significant effect on the factual word-of-mouth message and the evaluative word-of-mouth message. The BP-entertainment had a significant effect on the factual word-of-mouth message and the evaluative word-of-mouth effect. The BP-interaction had a non-significant effect on the factual word-of-mouth message and the evaluative word-of-mouth message. Finally, the factual word-of-mouth message and the evaluative word-of-mouth message had a significant effect on the brand loyalty.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.121-132
• /
• 2023

Objectives We aimed to confirm whether Humulus japonicus Extract Powder can enhance child height growth significantly and safely compared with a placebo. Methods A total of 150 children between the 3rd and 25th percentiles in height and between the ages of 6 and 9 years will be recruited to participate in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The participants will be randomly assigned to the treatment or placebo group. Participants in the treatment group will take one pack per day (700 mg of Humulus japonicus Extract Powder) for 24 weeks. Participants in the placebo group will take one package of placebo per day (0 mg of Humulus japonicus Extract Powder) for 24 weeks. The primary outcome will be a change in height after 12 weeks, and the secondary outcomes will be the height after 24 weeks, growth rate, height standard deviation, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), and osteocalcin after 12 and 24 weeks. Results This protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Korean Medicine Hospital of Busan University (IRB No. PNUKHIRB-2023-03-002). Research participants will be recruited from June 2023 to December 2023. Conclusions The results of this study provide clinical information regarding the effectiveness and safety of the Humulus japonicus Extract Powder in increasing child height.

• Journal of Distribution Research
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.19-40
• /
• 2002

According to the secondary data, private brand(PB)'s share of retail sales is 25-30% in the USA, but about 45 in Korea. In Korea PB's average price is 23.3% less than manufacturer brand. It is very interest that PB's price advantage doesn't have a good effect on it's share of retail sales. This research's objective is to study why Korean consumers don't purchase private brand cheaper than manufacturer brand. A theoretical reasoning depends on information cue theory and means-ends model of perceived value. A unit of analysis is consumers who purchase private brand at E-mart in Pusan city, one of largest discount store in Korea. Hypothesis tested by Lisrel's structural equation model and interesting results as follows: First, favorable brand image among extrinsic cues is most positively correlated with perceived quality/sacrifice and intrinsic cues is also statistically significant. This fact imply that intrinsic cues; package, logo, country of origin are very important in the adoption of private brand in Korea. Second, compared with manufacturer's brand, PB's perceived price is positively correlated with perceived quality/sacrifice. This fact imply a assimilation effect between manufacturer's brand and private brand. Finally, a correlation between perceived sacrifice and PB proneness is satistically insignificant, but perceived quality has a significant effect on its proneness. this fact imply that innovators(about 4% of potential consumer) are risk-taker.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.55-88
• /
• 2014

In this study, we examined the use of cosmetics among adolescents in our country and their purchasing behavior, as the use of cosmetics has increasingly been prevailing in the younger generation. The aims of this study were to investigate the state of the youth cosmetics market, to grasp the needs of youth and ultimately to suggest the right directions for the youth cosmetics market. The subjects in this study were 1,092 boys and girls from 10 selected secondary schools in Seoul. After a survey was conducted, the answer sheets from 1,074 respondents were gathered, and the collected data were analyzed by the statistical package (SPSS WIN 18.0). The vast majority of the teens participated in the survey were answered to use basic cosmetics daily, and there was a gradual increase in the frequency that they used color cosmetics. They started to use cosmetics earlier in ages than the older generations. Most of them were in trouble due to acne, and the most dominant way to get rid of their skin troubles was by using cosmetics. The most common place at which they purchased cosmetics were brand shops, and they gave priority to the function of the products when they bought cosmetics. The adolescents were still told by their schools to abstain from using cosmetics, and that was the case for social climate as well. Yet they definitely wanted to be allowed to use cosmetics.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.509-523
• /
• 2005

This study empirically examines motivations of entering college of education and academic problems that pre-service teachers encounter under the curricular activities. We analyze the phenomena of professional development under the four categories: motivation toward entering college of education, pedagogical content knowledge, subject matter knowledge and future vision. We conducted survey for the S university students first and interviewed 3 selected participants. Almost 50 students from college of education participated answering to the surveys. Using SPSS package, there was no significant difference between freshmen, sophomore and junior students in any category Male students responded more positively than female students in all the categories. To explore survey results deeply, we selected 3 students from sophomore and junior levels and 2 extra senior students to conduct interviews. The interpretation of the data described how their academic problems unfold partly because they seek another major and how their professional development take place carrying out practicum activities. Most of the interviewees felt that their academic lives were affected motivations of entering college of education and difficulties of studying subject matter knowledge. At the end, several suggestions are added for future research.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.289-309
• /
• 2022

In recent years, astronomy has been snowballing: including Higgs particle discovery, black hole imaging, extraterrestrial exploration, and deep space observation. Students are also largely interested in astronomy. The purpose of this study is to discover what needs to be improved in the current astronomy curriculum in light of recent scientists' researches and discoveries. We collected keywords from all papers published from 2011 to 2020 in four selected journals-ApJ, ApJL, A&A, and MNRAS- by R package to examine research trends. The curriculum contents were extracted by synthesizing the in-service teachers' coding results in the 2015 revised curriculum document of six subjects (Science, Integrated Science, Earth Science I, Earth Science II, Physics II, Convergence Science). The research results are as follows: first, keywords that appear steadily in astronomy are 'galaxies: formation, galaxy: active, star: formation, accretion, method: numerical.' Second, astronomy curriculum includes all areas except the 'High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena' area within the common science curriculum learned by all students. Third, it is necessary to review the placement of content elements by subject and grade and to consider introducing new concepts based on astronomy research keywords. This is an exploratory study to compare curriculum and the field of scientific research that forms the basis of the subject. We expect to provide implications for a future revision of the astronomy curriculum as a primary ground investigation.