• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to promote the popularization of hospice services by providing the information about the influences of hospice training on participants. We compared differences of attitudes toward death between those of pre-training and post-training by use of questionnaire. This study involved 137 volunteers participating in the hospice training held by one hospice center located in K-city. The questionnaire was composed of 46 items, 21 items of general information and 25 items of information about attitudes toward death. We applied Park's translated version(1992), originally distributed by Thorson and Powell(1988), in the assessment of participants' changed attitudes toward death. Participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire before and after the hospice training. The data were analged by frequency. ANOVA t-test, paired t-test. The results were as follows, 1.Pre-training items holding a high rank were 'The subject about the future life after death is distressing'(F=5.20), 'No worry about any occurrences around the body after a funeral'(F=4.75), 'Having little interest in being laid in a coffin after death'(F=4.56); items holding a low rank were 'Having little interest in any occurrences around the body after death'(F=2.22), 'Willing to deal with the aftermath of the death in detail'(F=1.94), 'No fear to have an idea to be cancerous'(F=1.72). 2.Post-training items holding a high rank were 'No fear to be dead as a result of sufferings from long-lasting illness'(F=3.18), 'No fear to have an idea to be cancerous'(F=3.16)', Having little interest in the future life after death'(F=3.09); items holding a low rank were 'Unpleasant to be not able to move after death(F=1.74), 'Distressing not to know about the future life after death'(F=1.61), 'The subject about the future life after death is distressing'(F=1.60). 3.There were significant difference in participants' attitudes toward death. Compared with pretraining(F=3.97), more positive were developed in post training(F=2.30). The results of this study indicate that hospice training renders positive regards toward death to the participants. Therefore every human being, who is able to speculate about the meaning of death, has to be exposed to the hospice training. In conclusion, hospice training should be popularized in the near future.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.271-286
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• 2000

This study is designed to investigate what elders think about the meaning of aging. We have used Q-methods to identify meaning of aging from elders, and developed self-referenced surveys to analyze characteristics In this study, we used a non-structured method to select Q sampling. From 183 Q populations, we selected 36 Q sampling. A total of 32 persons sixty-years or older were randomly selected for P samples, When the Q-sorting was complete, we interviewed the participants at both end of the extremes(agree or disagree), and documented their responses. We used PC QUANL to process the data and used principal component analysis for Q factor analysis. There were five subjective types for the meaning of aging by elders. Of the 32 P-samples of elders, 11 were identified as Type 1, 7 as Type 2, 2 as Type 3, 8 as Type 4, and 4 as Type 5. Type 1 : 'Matured elders' Elders wished the well being of their children, thought older persons should maintain good health, worried about becoming senile, and dependent God believing in life after death. Type 2 : 'Assertive-Rights' Elders categorized as Assertive-Rights insisted on their rights to life as a person. Type 2 elders characterized themselves as people who should keep themselves healthy, become weak and lack sexual desires, act selfish like a child, need to be protected, and be financially independent. Type 3 : 'Passive-Dependents' Elders characterize themselves as those who pray for their children's well being, worry about the children even after their death. and becoming senile. Type 4 : 'Hopeless' The 'Hopeless' type of elders characterized aging as a time to pray for their children, insignificant beings, thoughts were selfish and child-like, poor, worried about going senile, regret their life overall, and preferred to die than to live as an old person. Type 5 : 'Attached-Present' The 'Attached-Present' type of elders thought elderly characterized themselves as acting selfish and child-like, wiser, anxious, regret their life, stand aloof of greed and worldly things, being a model for the society, and deserving to be treated with filial respect. Thus far, Korean elders seemed to have a positive and negative meaning of aging due to the current changes in the society, value system, and family structures. The above five subjective meanings of aging confirm that we need to approach and nurse the elderly differently. Years of aging are a part of and a natural process of life with various physical, psychological, and sociological changes. Nurses need to assist elderly to find the positive meaning of their life by providing appropriate physical, psychological, and social support at an earlier stage in nursing. Based on this study, we could derive the following two implication from the perspectives of science of nursing to care for elders. 1) Based on the studies investigating the type of meaning of aging, we could develop tools to assist in nursing intervention programs for elderly. 2) Based on research on the meaning of aging for different developmental stages of life, we could develop a model for roles for different family members in nursing and caring for the elders.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1221-1244
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• 2009

The death scenes are the culmination of both Doris Lessing's "To Room Nineteen" and Toni Morrison's Sula. Lessing's Susan, an intelligent white English woman, gradually loses the meaning of life as awealthy housewife in the patriarchal society and commits suicide as her solution in Room Nineteen of Fred's Hotel. Morrison's Sula, an African-American woman, grows up without having the normal ego under Eva's matriarchy in a black community named the Bottom. Sula, after Nel's marriage, becomes a symbol of evil to her community and drifts down to death in Eva's bed. Reading these two death stories from the perspective of Jung's archetypal psychology, Susan is not able to continue to live a meaningful life because her life energy is cut off from its source which is in the unconscious. According to Jung, the symbol is the medium of the psychic energy from the unconscious to consciousness. In modern society which is represented by intelligence, the religious and mythical symbols are removed by rationalism, which means disconnection of the flow of life energy from the unconscious. Susan's death can be read as a kind of creating symbol to connect the modern people to the source of life energy. Sula's case is the opposite of Susan's. She remains in the unconscious world without having the proper ego in the absurd reality of racial and sexual problems. Sula finally rises again in Nel's awareness, becoming a symbol of the feminine goddess like goddess Inanna.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.90-99
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of emotional intelligence and attitudes about death on hospice volunteers' perception of life as meaningful. Methods: In this study, 232 hospice volunteers who were serving at 3 university hospitals and 7 general hospitals for 6 months or longer. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires from January 20 to February 15, 2016. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-tests, one way ANOVAs, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analyses with SPSS 21.0. Results: Hospice volunteers' perception of life as meaningful was positively correlated with their attitudes toward death and emotional intelligence. The significant predictors of perception of meaning were emotional intelligence, attitudes toward death, religion and perceived health status. These variables explained 41.0% of the variance in hospice volunteers' perception of life as meaningful. Conclusion: These results suggest that hospice volunteers perceptions of life as meaningful can be changed positively by increasing emotional intelligence and positive attitudes about death.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Death Education Program which had been provided to family caregivers of disabled individuals. A single group pretest-posttest design was employed for this study, which was conducted at a community rehabilitation center located in Ulsan, South Korea. Methods: Death Education Program was conducted for 16 family caregivers of disabled individuals who agreed to participate in this study. A 2.5-hour session was conducted once a week for 10 weeks. To investigate the effects of the education program, structured questionnaires, which assessed the patients and their family member's conceptions on the meaning of life, and their resilience, burden, and attitude towards death, were administered before and after the program. Results: The subjects' conception of the meaning of life and resilience did not significantly change. The median scores for the burden of family caregivers declined, while those for the subjects' attitude towards death increased, after attending the education program. Conclusion: The findings showed that Death Education Program has an affirmative effect on the burden of family caregivers of disabled individuals and their attitude towards death.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.47
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• pp.191-216
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• 2017

Among 20th century Western ideologies (Western civilization), existentialism is a spirit of the times to restore humanity as rationality and advanced technology have driven mankind to impoverishment and death, experiencing the First and Second World War, Great Depression, Fascism and the Spanish Civil War. In his literature, $Andr{\acute{e}}$ Malraux records his existential agony of how mankind lives and faces death by questioning the fateful life and death of characters. For Malraux's characters, the absurdity of existence related to the human identity means self-examination. Malraux explores existential consciousness and actions of characters in the presence of a concept known as death relative to terror, revolution, and adventure. Malraux deftly addresses the concept of death in his literary works, and it has being emphasized as a central subject for philosophical speculation. In Les $Conqu{\acute{e}}rants$(1928), La Voie Royale(1930), La Condition Humaine (1933), L'Espoir(1937), Malraux suggested a philosophical thesis of the meaning of life through characters in tragic situations, and sought out the consciousness of being and the existential meaning through how the characters control their fate. Malraux, in such a tragic perspective of the world, portrays humanity, affirmation of life, and characters' consciousness and actions in denying death. The agony of death triggers escapist behavior such as having unpredictable instinctual desires such as gambling or smoking opium, but these are desperate struggles to flee from frustration and related to the question of one's existence. What is always emphasized with respect to Malraux's existentialism is the tragic metaphysics of the inevitable destiny of the human condition eventually leading to the question of how humans ultimately confront death. But as characters unite in times of war, revolution and adventure in the novel, such cooperative actions symbolizes a keen sense of solidarity reflecting a camaraderie that transcends individualism. Fellowship among people who voluntarily gather for the common cause of philanthropy and restoring humanity is possible because of the underlying human greatness to sacrifice for such a noble cause. Therefore, Malraux's camaraderie includes the victory of existentialism in creating a world of humanism.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.3
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• pp.1-150
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• 1989

Oriental medicine thinks life and death as the following. 1. The universe seems to be a kind of organism which is divided into 3 branches, as Heaven, Earth and Man. Man is not created from nihil by the Creator. Heaven and Earth by their interaction operate to produce man. This is similiar that zygote is not created from nihil, and that sperm and ovum are transformed into zygote by their interaction. The symbolic meaning of sperm is Heaven, and that of ovum is Earth. Mind and body, as well as spirit and body, are not the real, but artificial words for the purpose of observing and expressing one man. So there is not spiritual substance as distinct from body. The expected life span of man is subjected to change, and is always becoming through life. Fate, the Creator and the world to come cannot be said to be. 2. After one's death, man is transformend into Heaven and Earth. Dying is this process of transformation. Although man comes into existence and closes one's life, the total life of the universe does not change. The criteria of determination of death is not in cell death, but in somatic death. Somatic death divided into 2 branches, one is heart-lung death, the other is brain death. For the standard of health changes ceaselessly as time goes by, aging and dying is not the process of losing health. Because of mind cannot be seperated from body, we'll feel at ease bodily and mentally in healthy dying. The completion of lifetimes is the value of healthy dying. 3. From the viewpoint of these, we must think to let a person die healthily is the right medical ethics. The way to let a person die healthily is divided into 3 branches, one is treatment, another is prevention and the other is promotion of health. We should treat and prevent death of sickness, but take care of healthy dying.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.47-59
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to identify calls, roles and attitudes of the Christian medical staff in a modern medical system for holistic healing through belief in God's healing methods and God's view about medical treatment. The meaning of healing in the Bible is derived from Rapha in the Old Testament, it's meaning is 'heal wound', 'restore to original condition', 'repair', 'console' and 'be heal'. In the New Testament, the meaning of healing is 'to serve' and 'be in one's service' derived from Therapuein and preserve', 'rescue', 'save a life from death' derived from Sozo. The term of soteriology originated from Sozo. Therefore the meaning of the healing in the Bible is restoring original completeness to the same as Cod's characteristics. The meaning of disease is physical, psychological, social and spiritual imbalance or disharmonious. Disease is usually depravity from moral life to immoral life and abnormal life process with accompaning specific symptoms. Medical staff were called to God's work. recognized God's will for them, and absolutely leaned on God's power to intervene and work above spatial-temporal transcendently. They use spiritual power with medical treatment skills, help sick people to possibly have dynamic and individual relation with God and help to maintain their well-being and complete healing. Attitudes of medical staff were compassion and love, virtue of modesty, strong and daring, patience with belief, healing with God's word, using spiritual insight, play. using medical knowledge and techniques, continuing spiritual training, laying on of hands and repentance.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.325-336
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and the view of the afterlife of the elderly by focusing on mediating effects of positive satisfaction and death preparation. Therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of the rest of life and contributes as exploratory research toward strengthening the psychological and emotional well-being of the elderly. After using a structural equation model, we found that self-esteem influenced their view of the afterlife through mediating effects such as positive satisfaction and the level of death preparation. The results of this study will present not only in recovering from death anxiety through an understanding of the level of death preparation and, the view of the afterlife but also in the development of practical intervention materials, which can be useful in social work for the elderly. The elderly's view of the afterlife should be strengthened according to the educational programs on death preparation that deal with the existence of the afterlife and life after death. However, this study has the limitation that only people living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and not in the other areas of the country were considered in this research. Nevertheless, within its limitation, this study's findings are promising, as they contribute to our understanding of the view of life and death of the elderly; further, the study has academic meaning with respect to helping the elderly successfully carry out their life development tasks and significantly prepare for the rest of their life.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.18
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• pp.165-189
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• 2004

In this paper I try to understand the meaning of "water" which plays an important role in the novels by Syusaku Endo and Sokyu Genyu. These two Japanese writers also have a deep interest in the interreligious dialogue, especially in the encounter between Christianity and the Buddhism. By analyzing Hukai Kawa(1993) of Endo and Mizu no Hesaki(2001) of Genyu, this paper sheds light on the symbolic meaning of "water", which I believe could contribute creatively to the theological debate on the religious pluralism.