• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.682-689
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• 2019

This study aims to spatialize the gap between obesity levels through the body mass index, an objective indicator of the level of health among vulnerable people. Thus, areas where the BMI showed cluster patterns with spatial high and low values were extracted and the characteristics of the region were analyzed. The analysis showed that the I statistics for the obesity rate were 0.07 and the z-score was 4.39, confirming spatial autocorrelation. For z-score, it was much larger than the maximum threshold of 2.57. This means that the rate of obesity among the socially vulnerable is regional, and this gap is spatially significant. The results of comparing and analyzing the local environment for these areas of obesity and health care were found to be areas with poor public transportation, less readily available parks, and a concentration of single and multi-generation housing. The analysis results of this study are meaningful in that they provide spatial implications for the health of the socially vulnerable class that previous studies have neglected.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2015

As environmental concerns including climate change drive the strong regulations for car exhaust emissions, electric vehicles attract the public eye. The purpose of this study is to identify rural areas vulnerable for charging infrastructures based on the spatial distributions of the current gas stations and provide the target dissemination rates for promoting electric cars. In addition, we develop various scenarios for finding optimal way to expand the charging infrastructures through the administrative districts data including 11,677 gas stations, the number of whole national gas stations. Gas stations for charging infrastructures are randomly selected using the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method. Evaluation criteria for vulnerability assessment include five considering the characteristic of rural areas. The optimal penetration rate is determined to 21% in rural areas considering dissemination efficiency. To reduce the vulnerability, the charging systems should be strategically installed in rural areas considering geographical characteristics and regional EV demands.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.577-596
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• 2020

Drought is a natural disaster that directly affects agriculture, which has a great impact on the global agricultural production system and yield. The lack of water storage in most parts of the country due to the lack of precipitation has caused a great increase in social interest in drought due to the dryness of rice fields and crops. As the drought period increases and the drought intensity becomes stronger, it is believed that drought damage to crops will continue; thus, it is necessary to understand the vulnerability to irrigation performance and the ability of irrigation facilities. Therefore, this study conducted a vulnerability assessment of irrigation facilities (public Groundwater well) in cities across the country. The survey was conducted using statistical data from 2007 to 2016, and the vulnerability score was calculated according to the vulnerability evaluation procedure for drought in the irrigation facilities (public groundwater wells). Among 157 regions, 136 areas were very vulnerable; 14 areas were vulnerable; 3 areas were normal; 4 areas were good, and 0 areas were excellent. The vulnerability assessment can be used as basic data for the development or maintenance of field irrigation facilities in the future by understanding the vulnerability of irrigation facilities.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2023

Purpose: Compared to cities, rural areas are in a medical blind spot and face difficulties in accessing medical services due to inconvenient transportation facilities, lack of medical facilities, and the heavy burden of medical expenses. This study was carried out to identify the problems relating to the musculoskeletal system of the elderly in rural and fishing villages, which are medically vulnerable areas, and sought to present a regionally differentiated healthcare model. Methods: The study was conducted in 80 elderly people in two rural villages and two fishing villages after seeking inputs regarding medically vulnerable groups in the Gyeongnam Province. Postural balance and muscle flexibility were assessed and postural evaluation was conducted to identify musculoskeletal problems and gait stability. Strength and range of motion for each body segment were assessed for evaluating functional motion. Results: The elderly in both rural areas showed forward head posture characteristics. The strength level of the elderly in both rural areas was higher than the average, but their flexibility and balance ability were lower than the average. Conclusion: The musculoskeletal problems of the elderly in rural and fishing villages in this study did not show regional characteristics according to the area of residence. However, overall flexibility and balance ability appeared to be reduced. Therefore, a new management model connecting the region and the university is necessary in preparation for the coming era of community care.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.5_4
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• pp.1267-1276
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• 2020

To quantitatively predict the impacts of large-scale volcanic eruptions of Mt. Baekdu on air quality and damage around the Korean Peninsula, a three-dimensional chemistry-transport modeling system (Weather Research & Forecasting - Sparse Matrix Operation Kernel Emission - Comunity Multi-scale Air Quality) was adopted. A worst-case meteorology scenario was selected to estimate the direct impact on Korea. This study applied the typical worst-case scenarios that are likely to cause significant damage to Korea among worst-case volcanic eruptions of Mt. Baekdu in the past decade (2005~2014) and assumed a massive VEI 4 volcanic eruption on May 16, 2012, to analyze the concentration of PM_2.5 caused by the volcanic eruption. The effects of air quality in each region-cities, counties, boroughs-were estimated, and vulnerable areas were derived by conducting an exposure assessment reflecting vulnerable groups. Moreover, the effects of cities, counties, and boroughs were analyzed with a high-resolution scale (9 km × 9 km) to derive vulnerable areas within the regions. As a result of analyzing the typical worst-case volcanic eruptions of Mt. Baekdu, a discrepancy was shown in areas between high PM_2.5 concentration, high population density, and where vulnerable groups are concentrated. From the result, PM_2.5 peak concentration was about 24,547 ㎍/㎥, which is estimated to be a more serious situation than the eruption of Mt. St. Helensin 1980, which is known for 540 million tons of volcanic ash. Paju, Gimpo, Goyang, Ganghwa, Sancheong, Hadong showed to have a high PM_2.5 concentration. Paju appeared to be the most vulnerable area from the exposure assessment. While areas estimated with a high concentration of air pollutants are important, it is also necessary to develop plans and measures considering densely populated areas or areas with high concentrations of susceptible population or vulnerable groups. Also, establishing measures for each vulnerable area by selecting high concentration areas within cities, counties, and boroughs rather than establishing uniform measures for all regions is needed. This study will provide the foundation for developing the standards for disaster declaration and preemptive response systems for volcanic eruptions.

• The Korean Nurse
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• v.20 no.1 s.109
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• pp.7-10
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• 1981

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.77-87
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• 2020

National parks and other protected areas often do not adequately protect national biodiversity because they were originally created for socio-economic and/or aesthetic values. The Korean government has committed to expanding the extent of protected areas to fulfill its commitments to the Aichi Biodiversity Convention. To do so, it is necessary to quantify the current levels of biodiversity representation within existing protected areas and to identify additional conservation needs for vulnerable species and ecological systems. In this study, we assess the proportion of species ranges found in South Korea's protected areas, for the species documented in the 3^rd National Ecosystem Survey. We modeled the range distribution of 3,645 species in the following taxonomic groups; plants (1,545 species), mammals (35), birds (132), herptiles (35), and insects (1,898) using the MaxEnt species distribution model and calculated how much of each species' range is within protected areas. On average, 17.4% of plant species' ranges are represented in protected areas, while for mammals and insects an average 12.0% is currently conserved. Conservation representation for herptiles averages 9.3%, while it is 8.6% for birds. Although large proportions of species that have restricted distributions should be represented in protected areas, 17 plant species, two insects (Parnassius bremeri and Lasioglossum occidens), and one bird species (Phylloscopus inornatus) with ranges smaller than 1,000 ㎢ have less than 10% of their ranges within protected areas. Establishing specific conservation goals such as the protection of endangered species or vulnerable taxonomic groups will increase the efficiency of the biodiversity conservation strategies. In addition, lowland coastal areas are critical for biodiversity conservation because the protected areas in South Korea are mainly composed of high mountainous areas.

• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.15 no.1 s.39
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• pp.39-46
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• 2007

Most areas in Kangwon Province are mountainous and vulnerable to landslide due to the rainy season in summer and the localized torrential downpour triggered by abnormal climate. In particular, the rainfall is one of direct reasons for landslide. In accordance with the analysis of the relevance between the landslide areas and the accumulated rainfall for four months, there are severe damages of landslide to the areas having more than 1,100 mm of rainfall during three(3) months. Further, it indicates that the more the accumulated rainfall is the greater the size of landslide. These analyses show that the rainfall causes the possible and potential landslide in the vulnerable areas. And also, it means that there exist strong possibilities of landslide even in the areas of lower vulnerability if the amount of rainfall is above certain standard level. Accordingly, in this study we stored the GIS database on the causes and factors of landslide in the southern parts of Kangwon province and conducted simulations on the change of distribution of vulnerable areas by varying the rainfall conditions and by using the evaluation data of landslide vulnerability. As such a result, we found that the landslide could potentially occur if the amount of rainfall is 200 mm and more.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.148-156
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• 2005

Purpose: This study was to identify the relations among health-promoting behaviors. self-esteem and depression in the vulnerable elderly in an urban community. Method: The subjects were 185 vulnerable elderly adults aged over 65 in D city, who were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey. The tools used in this study are the HPLP developed by Walker(1987), the Self-esteem Scale developed by Rosenberg (1965), and the Geriatric Depression Scale developed by Yesavage & Brink(1983). Collected data were analyzed with the SAS program using descriptive statistics. Pearson's correlation coefficient, t-test, ANOVA, Duncan's multiple-range test and stepwise multiple regression. Result: Self-esteem and depression was in a negative correlation with each other (r=-0.21), but no significant correlation was observed between HPB and depression. HPB and self-esteem were in a positive correlation with each other (r=0.38). The most powerful predictor of depression was self-esteem and, next, leisure activity and the type of family living together. The three factors accounted for 41.1% of the variance in depression in the vulnerable elderly. Conclusion: These results suggest that self-esteem, leisure activity, and the type of family living together can be potential risk factors for old age depression. These findings may give useful information for developing visiting nursing service programs focused on depression in the vulnerable elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.29-45
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• 2016

This study identified vulnerable regions in the national parks of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The potential vulnerable regions were defined as areas showing a decline in forest productivity, low resilience, and high sensitivity to climate variations. Those regions were analyzed with a regression model and trend analysis using the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data obtained from long-term observed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and gridded meteorological data. Results showed the area with the highest vulnerability was Naejangsan National Park in the southern part of ROK where 32.5% ($26.0km^2$) of the total area was vulnerable. This result will be useful information for future conservation planning of forest ecosystem in ROK under environmental changes, especially climate change.