• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.26-34
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• 2008

The purposes of this study were to assess and modify the original classification categories of the modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (ODQ) and to determine the unidimensionality of the modified ODQ applying Rasch Analysis. The data were obtained from 108 work-related low back pain patients by physical therapists. Construct validity of the scale using the Rasch model required the structure of the rating scale to be modified from 6 response levels to 4 response levels. Eight items from the modified ODQ fit the Rasch model. The items, "pain intensity" and "social life" showed misfit statistics. In general, the order of item difficulty of the remaining 8 items showed a logical item difficulty hierarchy with the "changing degree of pain" item being the most difficult and the "walk" item being the easiest. The results showed that further study is needed to expand the construct of ODQ including additional higher-level items related to work activities. This study may be useful for establishing a standard method to assess the functionality of low back pain patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.71-82
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• 2023

PURPOSE: This study examined the effect of training using video content on abdominal muscle thickness, Oswestry disability index (ODI), and pain in college students with chronic back pain. METHODS: Twenty-nine college students with chronic back pain participated in this study. The subjects were assigned randomly to 15 experimental groups who trained using video content and 14 control groups who exercised voluntarily using back exercise leaflets. The video used for the intervention was obtained from YouTube, and the difficulty level of the video was classified into six levels. Both groups participated in the intervention for 40 minutes/day, three times a week for six weeks, and the variables of abdominal muscle thickness, ODI, and pain were compared before and after the intervention. RESULTS: In the experimental group, there were statistically significant changes in the thickness of the internal oblique and transverse abdominis muscles, ODI, and pain after the intervention, except for the external oblique muscle (p < .05). In the control group, there was no statistically significant difference in all variables after the intervention (p > .05). A statistically significant difference in all variables was observed between the experimental group and the control group after the intervention except for the external oblique muscle (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Treatment of chronic low back pain using video content is a possible alternative treatment if quality images are selected and the difficulty levels are adjusted.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.287-303
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• 2005

This study examined the effect of cognitive ability levels on skill acquisition and transfer as a function of training difficulty. Participants were classified into three groups based on the result of cognitive ability tests. They were trained with difficult or easy tasks and then transferred to novel difficult tasks. Results suggest that cognitive ability levels influenced training performance, though the effect of training difficulty on transfer performance varied with cognitive ability. The training difficulty was most effective for those who have the medium level of cognitive ability. These results were discussed with respect to individual differences and skill transfer performance.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.71-87
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of the self-efficacy of youth (self-confidence, self-regulatory efficacy, and task difficulty preference) and the subjective quality of life. The participants in this research were 697 university students 314 males and 383 females. All respondents submitted their answers on a self-report questionnaire. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-tests, Pearson's correlations, and multiple regression analyses. The major results of this study were as follows: (a) Young males exhibited higher levels of self-efficacy perception compared to young females. Regarding the subjective quality of life, gender was not a significant factor. (b) The subjective quality of life was highly correlated with the self-efficacy of youth (self-confidence, self-regulatory efficacy, and task difficulty preference). (c) Self-satisfaction, self-confidence regarding one's career, satisfaction with one's friends, satisfaction with one's parental relationship, quantity of reading, and the amount of study-time all had significant influences on the self-efficacy of youth, whereas the family's socioeconomic status and campus life satisfaction were not significant factors. (d) Self-efficacy had the strongest influence on the youth subjective quality of life. Self-satisfaction, campus life satisfaction, and satisfaction with friends all had significant influences on the youth subjective quality of life, whereas the quantity of reading, the amount of study-time, self-confidence with one's career, the family's socioeconomic status, and satisfaction with one's parental relationship were not significant factors. However, self-confidence with one's career, satisfaction with one's parental relationship, the family's socioeconomic status, and quantity of reading all had different levels of influence on the subjective quality of life for young males and females.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.233-243
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• 2021

This study examined the longitudinal effects of media usage by early school-age children and of maternal parenting stress on children's school adjustment. The study focused on the mediating effect of executive function difficulty. Longitudinal data to examine the hypothetical model were drawn from the eighth (2015) through tenth (2017) waves of the Panel Study of Korean Children (PSKC) collected by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education (KICCE). A total of 581 children (293 boys and 288 girls) and their mothers were included. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation model, and bootstrapping analysis were applied using SPSS 25.0 and Amos 26.0. The results are as follows. First, no significant correlation was found between early school-age children's media usage and maternal parenting stress. Second, neither media usage by early school-age children nor maternal parenting stress were found to directly affect children's school adjustment. Third, media usage by early school-age children and maternal parenting stress were shown to indirectly affect children's school adjustment via executive function difficulties. In other words, higher levels of media usage by early school-age children and maternal parenting stress during the first grade lead to greater executive function difficulties after a year, which, in turn, lead to a lower level of school adjustment in the third grade. This study indicates the need to develop practical support for the psychological wellbeing of mothers while they are performing their role as a parent and for children in maintaining suitable levels of media usage during early childhood.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.3-16
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• 2010

This study aims at setting the hierarchy of difficulty of the 7 Korean monophthongs for Mongolian learners of Korean according to Prator's theory based on the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. In addition to that, it will be shown that the difficulties and errors for Mongolian learners of Korean as a second or foreign language proceed directly from this hierarchy of difficulty. This study began by looking at the speeches of 60 Mongolians for Mongolian monophthongs; data were investigated and analyzed into formant frequencies F1 and F2 of each vowel. Then, the 7 Korean monophthongs were compared with the resultant Mongolian formant values and are assigned to 3 levels, 'same', 'similar' or 'different sound'. The findings in assessing the differences of the 8 nearest equivalents of Korean and Mongolian vowels are as follows: First, Korean /a/ and /$\wedge$/ turned out as a 'same sound' with their counterparts, Mongolian /a/ and /ɔ/. Second, Korean /i/, /e/, /o/, /u/ turned out as a 'similar sound' with each their Mongolian counterparts /i/, /e/, /o/, /u/. Third, Korean /ɨ/ which is nearest to Mongolian /i/ in terms of phonetic features seriously differs from it and is thus assigned to 'different sound'. And lastly, Mongolian /$\mho$/ turned out as a 'different sound' with its nearest counterpart, Korean /u/. Based on these findings the hierarchy of difficulty was constructed. Firstly, 4 Korean monophthongs /a/, /$\wedge$/, /i/, /e/ would be Level 0(Transfer); they would be transferred positively from their Mongolian counterparts when Mongolians learn Korean. Secondly, Korean /o/, /u/ would be Level 5(Split); they would require the Mongolian learner to make a new distinction and cause interference in learning the Korean language because Mongolian /o/, /u/ each have 2 similar counterpart sounds; Korean /o, u/, /u, o/. Thirdly, Korean /ɨ/ which is not in the Mongolian vowel system will be Level 4(Overdifferentiation); the new vowel /ɨ/ which bears little similarity to Mongolian /i/, must be learned entirely anew and will cause much difficulty for Mongolian learners in speaking and writing Korean. And lastly, Mongolian /$\mho$/ will be Level 2(Underdifferentiation); it is absent in the Korean language and doesn‘t cause interference in learning Korean as long as Mongolian learners avoid using it.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2015

Background: Since November 2012, some of over-the-counter (OTC) medications have been sold in convenience store without pharmacist' s supervision. We purposed to examine if the product labels of OTCs provide sufficient information that is appropriate for consumers who may have low health literacy. Methods: We compared the difficulty of words that are utilized in pharmaceutical product labels of interest (intervention) with those in the $6^{th}$ grade textbook (control). Pharmaceutical products of interest were comprised of 13 OTCs which have been sold currently in convenience stores. We grouped words into the 4 levels of difficulty based on the Korean Vocabulary Classification for Education, and statistically tested words frequency in each level between OTCs and control. Results: The 13 OTC labels included lay language (easier or equal to language used in primary school) about 10% less; professional language about 10% more (p < 0.001 in all). Labels for analgesics had the longest and most difficult information, followed by common cold preparations, muscle pain relievers as plaster or cataplasma and digestives. Conclusion: The 13 OTC labels might fail to provide appropriate information for safety use by consumers in terms of the difficulty level of words. The improvement of labels of OTC medications and consumer education strategies are called for safety use of OTC medications sold in convenience stores.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.340-351
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the job competencies of HIV counseling nurses and to figure out the importance, level of difficulty, and performance frequency of the competencies. Methods: The job competencies were drawn from 22 HIV counseling nurses by developing new models and utilizing specialist groups. The importance, level of difficulty, and performance frequency of the competencies were analyzed using the average and deviation. Results: The results of this study identified 6 job competencies such as counseling performance, expertise utilization, cooperation, support, administration, and self-development, 28 sub-competencies, and 48 job descriptions. Out of the 6 job competencies, counseling performance recorded high levels in the importance, level of difficulty, and performance frequency. Conclusion: The study results will be used as the basic data of the training programs for strengthening the job competencies of HIV counseling nurses. Furthermore, it is expected that the results will contribute to the prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission, the core of the national HIV/AIDS control programmes, and the improved health and quality of life in people living with HIV.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.171-195
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• 2012

While noticing that there is insufficient interest in the assessment of EFL learners' vocabulary levels or sizes, the researchers developed two tests identical in form (Forms A and B) to assess the lexical knowledge of Korean university learners at the $1^{st}{\sim}10^{th}$ 1,000 word bands by adapting a pre-established vocabulary levels test (VLT). Of equal concern was to investigate if the VLT was equally a valid and reliable instrument to be used on measuring the lexical knowledge of EFL learners. The participants were 804 university freshmen enrolled in a General Education English Course from four different colleges. The learners were asked to respond to either Form A or B. While scores generally fell towards the lower frequency bands, multiple regression found the Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) to be a significant variable for predicting the learners' vocabulary sizes. From a methodological perspective, however, noticeable differences between Forms A and B could be found with item response theory analysis. The findings of the study provide suggestions on how future VLT for testing EFL learners may have to be redesigned.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.649-654
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• 2003

Most of the conventional image thresholding methods are based on the histogram function of the gray values. In this paper, we present a simple but effective example showing that the histogram-based thresholding methods do not perform well. To overcome the difficulty, the authors propose a new gray level threshold selection method based on the distribution of gray levels in images. Finally, we provide simulation results showing the effectiveness of the proposed threshold selection method through several examples.