Provinces In South Korea Research Articles

The Effects of School Start Time on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from the 9 O’clock Attendance Policy in South Korea

Abstract This study estimates the effects of school start time on sleep time, time use, and educational achievement of high school students. Gyeonggi province, the largest province in South Korea, has implemented the 9 O’clock Attendance Policy, which has delayed school start times to 9:00 AM since September 2014. Changes in the above outcomes before and after the policy implementation are compared between Gyeonggi and other provinces which do not implement the policy. The difference-in-differences estimation results show that the policy increases sleep time, and this is mainly from delayed wake-up time. The policy also reduces adolescents’ time use for computer games. The estimation results using administrative national exam data show that the 9 O’clock Attendance Policy does not significantly affect academic achievement.

Prevalence of Ranavirus Infection in Three Anuran Species across South Korea.

To cope with amphibian die-offs caused by ranavirus, it is important to know the underlying ranavirus prevalence in a region. We studied the ranavirus prevalence in tadpoles of two native and one introduced anuran species inhabiting agricultural and surrounding areas at 49 locations across eight provinces of South Korea by applying qPCR. The local ranavirus prevalence and the individual infection rates at infected locations were 32.6% and 16.1%, respectively, for Dryophytes japonicus (Japanese tree frog); 25.6% and 26.1% for Pelophylax nigromaculatus (Black-spotted pond frog); and 30.5% and 50.0% for Lithobates catesbeianus (American bullfrog). The individual infection rate of L. catesbeianus was significantly greater than that of D. japonicus. The individual infection rate of P. nigromaculatus was related to the site-specific precipitation and air temperature. The individual infection rate gradually increased from Gosner development stage 39, and intermittent infection was confirmed in the early and middle developmental stages. Our results show that ranavirus is widespread among wild amphibians living in agricultural areas of South Korea, and mass die-offs by ranavirus could occur at any time.

A structural equatin model of the relationships between social-emotional competence, social support, depression, and aggression in early adolescents in South Korea

The current study examined whether social-emotional competence affects depression and aggression and whether social support serves as a significant mediator for Korean early adolescents.The current study surveyed 286 elementary school students at three elementary schools located in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do province in South Korea. Correlation analysis was conducted and structural equation modeling was used to assess the hypothesized structural relationships among the latent variables. The key findings of this study were as follows. First, significant correlations among all variables including social-emotional competence, social support, depression, and aggression were found. Second, a structural model of social-emotional competence, social support, depression, and aggression was proved to be valid. Third, the direct effect of social-emotional competence on depression and aggression was not statistically significant, suggesting the complete mediating effect of social support. The results of this study suggest that social-emotional competence and social support play crucial roles in decreasing depression and aggression in early adolescents. Social support plays a significant role as a mediator between social-emotional competence, depression, and aggression. These findings indicate that social-emotional competence and social support is significant to decrease depression and aggression in early adolescents. These findings are significant because early adolescents’ depression and aggression could be prevented or treated by enhancing social-emotional competence and providing social support in educational and counseling settings.

The first national scale evaluation of total nitrogen stocks and burial rates of intertidal sediments along the entire coast of South Korea

The regulating ecosystem services, such as water purification, that tidal flats provide by nitrogen (N) burial are being increasingly recognized; yet, quantitative estimates remain limited. Here, we first present nationwide evaluation of total N stocks and burial rates in the Korean tidal flats, based on a 3 year long monitoring assessment combined with remote sensing approach. A total of 20 intertidal flats representing 7 provinces of South Korea were extensively surveyed in 2018–20. The sediment textural type (sand, mixed, and mud) classified from remotely sensed imagery was significantly correlated to that identified from field data (p < 0.01), warranting a nationwide estimate of total N stocks. The estimated total N stocks and burial rates in the tidal flats of Korea were 1.5 Tg N and 8,192 Mg N yr‐1, respectively. Total N stocks significantly varied by region, province, morphology, salinity, and land use type adjacent to the corresponding tidal flats. In general, the N stocks of tidal flats were influenced by the degree of terrestrial N inputs to the ocean. The N stocks were significantly correlated with several physical parameters, such as precipitation (p < 0.05) and tide (p < 0.01). Among the sediment properties, the mud content was found to be the key factor determining the total N stocks across the 20 intertidal flats (p < 0.01). Finally, by applying the environmental value for N removal (USD km‐2 yr‐1) to the tidal flat area (km2), the economic value of the total N removal was estimated as ~233 Million USD yr‐1 in Korea and ~15 Billion USD yr‐1 globally. Overall, the present work confirms the valuable ecosystem service of tidal flat's cost-efficient N removal capacity, highlighting marine ecosystem service.

Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Stress, Heart Rate Variability, Affect, and Wellbeing among People with Schizophrenia.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction programs have been found to be effective in reducing the stress response and improving the psychological wellbeing of various populations. We aimed to confirm the effects of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program on perceived stress, heart rate variability, positive and negative affect, and subjective wellbeing of community-dwelling people with schizophrenia. The participants in this study were 26 people with schizophrenia (experimental group: 14, control group: 12) enrolled in two community mental health centers located in Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. In the experimental group, the mindfulness-based stress reduction program was applied once a week for 60 min over 8 weeks. The experimental group showed a significantly greater decrease in perceived stress and negative affect, as well as significantly greater improvement in heart rate variability than the control group. The mindfulness-based stress reduction program was an effective nursing intervention to reduce stress and negative affect in people with schizophrenia.

Compositional Characteristics of Glucuronide Conjugates in Regional Glechoma hederacea var. longituba Herbal Extracts Using a Set of Polyphenolic Marker Compounds.

Glechoma hederacea var. longituba (GHL) is one of many herbal plants widely used in hot herbal teas and in oriental prescriptions to treat various diseases. Although the beneficial effects of GHL may be influenced by differences in the composition of active constituents in the herbal extracts, there are few reports on the compositional characteristics of GHL herbal extracts to date. In this study, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry technology was used for comparative analysis of constituents in hot-water extracts of GHL samples obtained from various cultivating provinces in South Korea. A set of marker panel consisting of nine polyphenolic compounds, including glucuronide conjugates in particular, was constructed and used to monitor the compositional characteristics in each GHL extract. Our findings show that some of the marker compounds, including rosmarinic acid, were persistently observed as major constituents in the analyses of the 22 GHL sample extracts, whereas, interestingly, other marker compounds such as polyphenol-glucuronic acid conjugates displayed dramatic differences in compositional ratios. This chromatographic approach using the marker compound panel can be applied to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate compositional characteristics in the GHL extracts, and can also be useful for quality assays of the GHL herbal plant in medicinal and industrial fields.

잡크래프팅의 선행요인과 맥락적성과에 관한 연구 - 보상만족과 개인-직무적합성의 선행효과 분석 -

Organizations can achieve their goals and sustainable competitive advantages by having organizational members take the lead in their duties. Accordingly, many researchers have conducted research on effective human resource management, and recently, the concept of job crafting has been focused on. Job crafting is a modern job design method in which an individual actively predicts the environment and redesign their job. Thus, many studies have suggested that job crafting has a positive effect on employees’ job performance. As a result, this study tried to investigate the antecedents that increase employees’ job crafting. Specifically, in the context of extrinsic and intrinsic compensation, we sought to demonstrate the effects of rewards satisfaction and person-job fit(P-J Fit) on job crafting. In addition, this study investigated the mediating effect of job crafting in the relationship between the antecedents (i.e., rewards satisfaction and person-job fit) and job performance. To test the hypotheses, we used the data of a questionnaire of 310 team leaders and employees working at four universities in Chung-cheong province in South Korea. The results of our study suggested that reward satisfaction, one of the extrinsic rewards, plays a critical role as an antecedent that increases job crafting. In terms of intrinsic reward, personal-job fit was positively related to job crafting. In addition, both reward satisfaction and personal-job fit were found to enhance contextual performance through job crafting. These results show that both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards can be a precursor to job crafting, and can positively influence organizational and individual performance through job crafting. Based on these results, this study suggests the importance of job crafting in order to increase the value of the organization's human resources. In addition, this study shed new light on the fact that reward satisfaction and person-job fit can be an important antecedent to promote job crafting. This study also gives significant implications by demonstrating the mediating effect of job crafting that leads to organizational performance.

Patient handover education programme based on situated learning theory for nursing students in clinical practice.

If not conducted correctly, nursing handover can threaten patient safety, and so nursing students require good handover education. This study evaluated a handover education programme based on situated learning theory in a clinical practicum. A quasi-experimental design and convenience sampling technique were used. The participants (fourth-grade nursing students recruited from a college in the C province of South Korea) were assigned to an intervention group (n = 38) or a control group (n = 39). A handover education programme that included lectures, expert observations, role playing, peer learning and reflection was received by the intervention group. The control group attended lectures and observed handovers. The handover skills of all participants were tested 2 weeks before and on the last day of the clinical practicum. Handover performance ability, handover clinical judgement ability and handover self-efficacy were outcome variables. Significant improvements in handover performance ability, handover clinical judgement ability and handover self-efficacy were observed in the intervention group compared with the control group. The significance of this study lies in the development and application of a programme based on situated learning theory for handover education. Application of theory-based handover education in clinical practicums is recommended to improve the handover capabilities of nursing students.

The Role of a Mentorship Program on the Relationship between Neglect and Depression among Adolescents in Low-Income Families.

This study examines the moderating effect of a mentorship program on the relationship between parental neglect and depression among adolescents from low-income households since COVID-19. A total of 264 participants from all provinces in South Korea were registered for a mentorship program provided by the Korea Development Bank [KDB] Foundation, which is a charitable and non-profit organization. Two-hundred fifty-five middle and high school students from low-income families were included in the final sample. The mentorship program was provided to students based on mentors’ advice and feedback. A bootstrap method using the PROCESS macro 3.4 for SPSS was utilized to examine the moderating effect of satisfaction with the mentorship program. Neglect was positively related to depression among low-income students. Satisfaction with the mentorship program moderated the relationship between low-income students’ neglect and depression. Visits from social workers or other advocates or volunteers to low-income families with children may be helpful to address depression among low-income students. High quality mentorship programs should be provided to more low-income students for their mental health, funded particularly in the context of corporate social responsibility. Particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, financial contributions by corporations would be valuable to reconstruct the damage to quality of life and psychological well-being among low-income adolescents.

Occurrence, Potential Sources, and Risk Assessment of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Han River Basin, South Korea.

Increasing public awareness about the aesthetics and safety of water sources has shifted researchers’ attention to the adverse effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on humans and aquatic organisms. A total of 17 VOCs, including 10 volatile halogenated hydrocarbons and seven volatile non-halogenated hydrocarbons, were investigated at 36 sites of the Han River Basin, which is the largest and most important drinking water source for residents of the Seoul metropolitan area and Gyeonggi province in South Korea. The VOC concentrations ranged from below detection limits to 1.813 µg L−1. The most frequently detected VOC was 1,2-dichloropropane, with a detection frequency of 80.56%, as it is used as a soil fumigant, chemical intermediate, and industrial solvent. In terms of geographical trends, the sampling sites that were under the influence of sewage and industrial wastewater treatment plants were more polluted with VOCs than other areas. This observation was also supported by the results of the principal component analysis. In the present study, the detected concentrations of VOCs were much lower than that of the predicted no-effect concentrations, suggesting low ecological risk in the Han River. However, a lack of available ecotoxicity data and limited comparable studies warrants further studies on these compounds.

Study on the Characteristics of PM2.5 Components from Emission Sources in Chungcheongnam-do

We conducted a principal component analysis of PM2.5 (particles with a diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) at four sites located in Chungcheongnam-do, a province of South Korea, to determine the level of pollution and characteristics of PM2.5 components at each emission source. The four monitoring sites included a steel complex near Songsan-myeon (SS) area, a petrochemical complex near Dokgot-ri (DG) area, a residential complex near Mojong-dong (MJ) area, and a village near Naepo (NP) area. Samples collected at these sites were analyzed and the concentrations of mass, ion, carbon, and element in PM2.5 were compared. The mass concentrations were found to be the highest in SS, followed by MJ, DG, and NP. The concentration of dominant ion species were recorded in a ascending order of NO3-> SO42+> NH4+ in MJ and SO42-> NO3- > NH4+ in SS, DG, and NP. The results indicate that MJ had the highest NOx concentration, which is emitted by automobiles. Moreover, MJ exhibited the highest organic carbon concentration of 5.67 μg/m3 and elemental carbon concentration of 0.51 μg/m3. The analysis of the elemental composition of PM2.5 indicated a significantly higher concentration of Fe, Zn, and Mn in SS and As, V, and Ni in DG. Different component analysis results from each emission source suggest the need to understand the distribution of pollutants in each region while establishing measures to reduce PM2.5 levels. Key Words: PM2.5, Chemical composition, Ionic species, Carbon components, Element components, emission source

Delineation of groundwater quality locations suitable for target end‐use purposes through deep neural network models

Groundwater is the main source of water for beverages, and its quality varies depending on extraction location; this is particularly the case in regions with complex geology, topography, and multiple forms of land use. Thus, it is important to determine a suitable groundwater extraction location based on intended water use and the related water quality standards. In this study, deep neural network (DNN) models and GIS data relating to the groundwater quality were applied to estimate potential maps of Gangwon province, where groundwater is frequently extracted for drinking purpose in South Korea. These maps specify areas wherein the groundwater quality is conducive for being used as mineral water and water for brewing coffee (hereafter referred as 'coffee water'). Sensitivity analysis identified how inputs were sensitive to model estimation, and showed that land-use variables were the most sensitive. The importance of each variable quantified how good or bad its region is for the desired groundwater. The overall features of importance were similar between mineral water and coffee water. However, with differences in hydrogeological units, carbonate rock was a variable of high positive importance for mineral water, while metamorphic rock was its equivalent for coffee water. Our results offer a potential map of desired groundwater quality in the absence of a detailed understanding of the underlying hydrochemical processes governing groundwater quality. Additionally, the development of such a potential mapping model can lead people to determine the appropriate development area of groundwater for their respective purposes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Self-determined motivation, acculturation, academic burnout, and psychosocial well-being of Chinese international students in South Korea

ABSTRACT The majority of research on international students has been focused on Asian students in Western societies, centering on the differences in Asian and Western cultures, while little is known about Chinese international students in South Korea. This study explored the psychosocial well-being of Chinese international students in South Korea, in relation to autonomous/controlled motivation, acculturation, and academic burnout. A total number of 673 Chinese international students from 5 provinces in South Korea completed survey questionnaires. The results supported that controlled motivation was associated with lower levels of psychosocial well-being directly as well as indirectly via acculturation and academic burnout. On the other hand, autonomous motivation was associated with higher levels of psychosocial well-being directly and indirectly via lower levels of academic burnout. Findings were discussed from the self-determined motivation and acculturation perspectives. Limitations, future research, research and practical implications were addressed.

Associations between metabolic syndrome and type of dementia: analysis based on the National Health Insurance Service database of Gangwon province in South Korea

BackgroundMetabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the relationship between metabolic syndrome and dementia has remained controversial. Using nationwide population cohort data, we investigated the association between metabolic syndrome and dementia, according to the dementia type.MethodsWe analyzed data of 84,144 individuals, in the aged group of more than 60 years, between January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2009, at Gangwon province by using the information of the (Korean) National Health Insurance Service. After eight years of gap, in 2017, we investigated the relationship between metabolic syndrome and dementia. We classified Dementia either as dementia of the Alzheimer type (AD) or vascular dementia (VD). AD and VD were defined as per the criteria of International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. Multiple logistic regression analyses examined the associations between metabolic syndrome or five metabolic syndrome components and dementia. Analyses included factors like age, sex, smoking, alcohol, physical inactivity, previous stroke, and previous cardiac disease.ResultsMetabolic syndrome was associated with AD (OR = 11.48, 95% CI 9.03–14.59), not with VD. Each of five components of metabolic syndrome were also associated with AD. (high serum triglycerides: OR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.60–2.19; high blood pressure: OR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.55–2.21; high glucose: OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.52–2.06; abdominal obesity: OR = 1.88, 95% CI 1.57–2.25; low serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.63–2.24) However, among components of metabolic syndrome, only the high glucose level was associated with VD. (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.01–1.56) body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose, and smoking were also associated with AD. (BMI: OR = 0.951, 95% CI 0.927–0.975; fasting glucose: OR = 1.003, 95% CI 1.001–1.005; smoking: OR = 1.020, 95% CI 1.003–1.039) A history of the previous stroke was associated with both AD and VD. (AD: OR = 1.827, 95% CI 1.263–2.644; VD: OR 2.775, 95% CI 1.747–4.406)ConclusionsMetabolic syndrome was associated with AD but not with VD. Patients with metabolic syndrome had an 11.48 times more likeliness to develop AD compared to those without metabolic syndrome. VD was associated only with several risk factors that could affect the vascular state rather than a metabolic syndrome. We suggested that the associations between metabolic syndrome and dementia would vary depending on the type of dementia.

The Effect of Sexual Harassment Experience on Self-esteem and Clinical Competence among Nursing Students in Clinical Practice

This study aims to identify the effect of sexual harassment experiences of nursing students in clinical practice on their self-esteem and clinical competence. The survey data were collected from 319 nursing students in grade 3 and 4 enrolled in three universities located in G province of South Korea, and analyzed by descriptive statistical analysis, t-test and correlation analysis. The results show that 72.7% of nursing students experienced sexual harassment mostly from patients (74.9%) at general ward (64.9%). It is also found that, when experiencing harassment, they sought help from a nurse or head nurse and wanted the hospital to get involved to resolve the issue. A positive correlation was found between their experience with sexual harassment and their self-esteem and clinical competence. This study has contribution on providing basic information that can be used to create a safe nursing practice environment through prevention and protection measures against sexual harassment during clinical practice.

The Relationship among Life Stress, Anxiety, Self-control and Smartphone Addiction in College of Education Students

This is a descriptive research study to confirm the relationship between life stress, anxiety, self-control and smartphone addiction of students enrolled in the College of Education. The data were collected from a total of138 college of education students in J Province of South Korea and analyzed using the SPSS 23 program for t-test, Chi-square test, and multiple logistic regression analysis. As a result of the analysis, a positive correlation was found between life stress, anxiety, and smartphone addiction. According to the Chi-square test, it is found that female students had a higher smartphone addiction level compared to male students. The influence of smartphone addiction had a larger impact on self-control than that of life stress. The findings of this study suggest an early implementation of the addiction screening tests to address the problem of smartphone addiction, particularly for female students with a high risk of smartphone addiction. In addition, active intervention strategies should be included to the smartphone addiction prevention program.

Deriving Mobility Service Policy Issues Based on Text Mining: A Case Study of Gyeonggi Province in South Korea

Mobility services facilitate various tasks related to transportation and passenger movements. Because of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the importance of mobility services has been recognized by many countries. Thus, research is ongoing to provide more convenience to passengers and to obtain more efficient transportation systems. In the Republic of Korea, the officials of Gyeonggi Province are interested in providing an advanced mobility service to its residents; however, they still do not have any specific or detailed policies. This study aimed at deriving the key issues facing mobility services, especially in the case of Gyeonggi Province, by using a text mining technique and a clustering algorithm. First, a survey was taken by traffic and urban experts to collect reasonable plans for Gyeonggi-Province-type mobility service, and a morpheme analysis was then used for text mining. Second, the results reveal that the term frequency–inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) algorithm has better performance than frequency analysis. Third, the K-means application results in six clusters and six mobility service policy issues were determined by combining the words in each cluster. Finally, the methodology confirmed the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method by showing that the results reflect the current situation in the province.

Consumer decision-making in a retail store: the role of mental imagery and gender difference

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to investigate how mental imagery evoked from sensory in-store experience influences consumer anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership and decision satisfaction which eventually impact positive consumer responses such as behavioural intent. In this study, gender difference is proposed as a moderator to completely understand the role of mental imagery in the in-store decision-making process.Design/methodology/approachUsing a market research agency in South Korea, an online survey was employed to collect data. A total of 455 useable respondents (men = 224 and women = 231) largely living in the two most populous provinces in South Korea (i.e. Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces) completed the survey. A number of path analyses were conducted to test hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study showed that mental imagery evoked from sensory product experience played a critical part in facilitating the consumer decision-making process by influencing anticipatory emotion and perceived ownership. The relationship among anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership, decision satisfaction and behavioural intent was significant except for the relationship between perceived ownership and behavioural intent. This study further indicated that the way mental imagery influences the in-store decision-making process differs between men and women.Originality/valueThe effect of mental imagery in a physical retail context is largely ignored. This study addressed the crucial role of mental imagery in a physical apparel retail setting and examined its impact on consumer decision-making processes. By exploring how to enhance consumers' in-store sensory shopping experiences through mental imagery to influence their positive shopping outcomes, this study offers vital insights into how retailers operating physical stores can successfully utilize their stores.

Detection of the Phenicol-Oxazolidinone Resistance Gene poxtA in Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis from Food-Producing Animals during 2008-2018 in Korea.

We aimed to investigate the presence of the phenicol–oxazolidinone resistance gene poxtA in linezolid-resistant enterococci from food-producing animals and analyze its molecular characteristics. We collected 3941 Enterococcus faecium and 5088 E. faecalis isolates from all provinces of South Korea from 2008 to 2018. We found linezolid resistance in 0.79% (94/3941) of E. faecium and 1.22% (62/5088) of E. faecalis isolates. Overall, 23.1% (36/156) of the linezolid-resistant isolates had the poxtA gene, including 31 E. faecium and five E. faecalis isolates. The poxtA-positive enterococci were mainly isolated from chicken (86.1%; 26/36). Fifteen poxtA-harboring isolates co-carried another linezolid-resistance gene, optrA. Eight E. faecium isolates had an N130K mutation in the ribosomal protein L4, while no mutations were observed in E. faecalis isolates. The poxtA gene was transferred into 10 enterococci by conjugation. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis indicated that poxtA-carrying isolates were heterogeneous. Three E. faecium isolates belonged to CC17 (ST32, ST121, and ST491). To our knowledge, this is the first report on the poxtA gene in Korea. Prudent use of antimicrobials and active surveillance on antimicrobial resistance are urgently needed to reduce the risk of dissemination of the linezolid-resistant isolates in humans and animals.

Genetic Composition of Korean Ginseng Germplasm by Collection Area and Resource Type

To improve crops, it is important to secure plant genetic source material and evaluate the genetic diversity. Ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) has long been used as a medicinal herb in Korea and China. Since ginseng originated from wild ginseng with low genetic diversity, it is also expected to have low genetic diversity. In this study, the genetic diversity of 451 ginseng accessions conserved in the National Agrobiodiversity Center (NAC) at Korea was analyzed using 33 SSR markers. Another objective was to establish a strategy for NAC to manage ginseng germplasm based on these results. The 451 accessions were collected from 22 cities in six provinces in South Korea. Among the 451 ginseng accessions, 390 (86.5%) and 61 (13.5%) were landraces and breeding lines, respectively. In the STRUCTURE results for the accessions, there was no relationship between assigned genotypes and collection areas, but there was a population genetic structure. In addition, genetic differentiation within populations of each analysis was low, indicating that the ginseng accessions conserved at NAC are extensively dispersed throughout the collection areas. The results of this study suggest that NAC should increase the genetic diversity of ginseng accessions for breeding programs, and alternatives are needed for securing ginseng genetic resources.