Daejeon University Research Articles

Efficacy and Safety of Useul for Dry Eye Disease: Protocol for a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel, Phase 2 Clinical Trial

Introduction: Dry eye disease (DED) is a very frequently encountered ocular disease, making it a growing public health burden. However, current treatments for DED present unmet medical needs owing to their side effects or ineffectiveness. Therefore, an effective and safe therapeutic agent to manage DED is needed. Method and Analysis: We planned a phase 2, dose-finding, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of two different doses of USL (Useul), the extract of Achyranthis Radix, compared with placebo, for DED. USL has been found to protect against DED by inducing tear secretion and improving corneal irregularity via anti-inflammatory effects, which will provide new therapeutic options. One hundred and twenty participants will be enrolled, after assessing the inclusion/exclusion criteria, at Daejeon University Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital. Enrolled participants will be allocated to standard-dose USL, high-dose USL, or placebo groups in a 1:1:1 ratio and will be required to administer the trial medication twice a day for 12 weeks and visit the clinic five times. For efficacy outcomes, objective endpoints of fluorescein corneal staining score, tear break-up time, Schirmer’s test, and meibomian test and subjective endpoints of Ocular Surface Disease Index, visual analog scale, Standard Patient Evaluation for Eye Dryness-II, and biomarkers will be assessed throughout the trial. Safety will be assessed based on adverse events, vital signs, laboratory tests, visual acuity, and intraocular pressure. Discussion: Our study results are expected to provide clinical evidence for the use of DED as an effective and safe agent for DED.

Global research hotspots and trends of Buyang huanwu decoction: A visual analysis of the literature based on CiteSpace.

Buyang huanwu decoction (BYHWD) has shown significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of several diseases, particularly stroke. However, bibliometric research has not been comprehensive. BYHWD articles were collected from literature databases published from January 1, 1915, to March 31, 2024, including the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Weipu, Wanfang, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection. Knowledge network graphs of annual publication volume, authors, institutions, countries, keywords, and references were constructed. Nine thousand two hundred thirty-eight Chinese literature and 559 English articles published between 1915 and 2024 showed an overall upward trend. The countries, institutions, journals, and authors with the highest output were China, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangxian Cai, and Changqing Deng, respectively. Research teams outside China were located at Daejeon University, Gachon University, Aga Khan University, Yale University, etc. The results of keyword co-occurrence and burst analysis included clinical applications, animal experiments, action mechanisms, clinical efficacy, and safety evaluations based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Literature co-citation analysis revealed that BYHWD was highly correlated with neuroprotection and reduction of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Both Chinese and English literature have shown overall growth trend since 1984 and 1989, respectively. Clinical applications, pharmacological effects, mechanisms, active ingredients, evaluation of clinical efficacy and safety, modified BYHWD, methods, and biological techniques may be hotspots and focus of future research on BYHWD. Hotspot analytical methods and biological techniques include systematic reviews, meta-analyses, data mining, network pharmacology, and molecular docking. Future valuable research fields may include studies on neuroprotection, anti-inflammatory activity, ischemic stroke, bioactive compounds, and their underlying mechanisms.

대학의 실시간 온라인 수업에서 디지털 리터러시, 실재감, 몰입 및 학습만족도의 구조적 관계

In the context of the recent expansion of 100% online classes in colleges, there has been a notable surge in interest and utilization of synchronous online classes. Consequently, this study aims to enhance learning satisfaction in synchronous online classes by investigating the structural relationships among pertinent variables, namely digital literacy, presence, and flow. The study involved 301 university students who actively participated in synchronous online classes at both B University in Daejeon and K University in Chungcheong-do. The collected data underwent thorough analysis using structural equation modeling. The study found that digital literacy, presence, and flow were predictors of learning satisfaction in synchronous online classes. Digital literacy had a positive impact on teaching presence and learning presence. Teaching presence only affected cognitive presence among learning presence, and cognitive presence positively affected flow and learning satisfaction. Emotional presence had a positive effect on flow and flow had a positive effect on learning satisfaction. Furthermore, cognitive presence, emotional presence, and flow were validated as mediators. These results suggest that digital literacy, presence, and flow should be enhanced to improve learning satisfaction in synchronous online classes.

Therapeutic Potential of Combined Herbal Medicine and Electroacupuncture in Mild Cognitive Impairment Through Cytokine Modulation: An Observational Study.

We aimed to investigate the efficacy of a combined herbal formula and electroacupuncture (EA) for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a neurodegenerative disease leading to dementia, and its underlying mechanisms of action. This was a prospective open-label observational pilot study at Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University in South Korea from March 2022 to March 2023. We included six Korean patients (50% male) aged ≥ 45 years and < 85 years with MCI, a clinical dementia rating score of 0.5, and a Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Korea (MoCA-K) score ≤ 22. The exclusion criterion was impaired cognitive function. Patients received combined therapy, including a herbal formula and EA, for 12-24 weeks. We prescribed the herbal formulas Gamiguibi-tang, Yukmijihwang-tang, and Banhasasim-tang to the patients for at least 70% of the treatment period, in combination with EA. Moreover, we investigated changes in cognitive and cognition-related symptoms and cytokine expression in the blood following combined traditional medicine therapy. At baseline and after 12 and 24 weeks, we administered the MoCA-K and cognitive-related questionnaires. We analyzed network pharmacology to reflect the herbal formula intervention mechanism comprehensively. The median score [interquartile range] of MoCA-K at baseline was 19.5 [16.0, 22.0], which improved significantly (24.5 [24.0, 26.0], p < 0.01) over 24 weeks following combined therapy. We obtained no significant conclusion regarding cytokine changes due to the small sample size. In network pharmacology, we analyzed the brain, head, heart, peripheral nerves, peripheral nervous system, and pancreas as the enriched organs from the common targets of the three herbal formulas. Combined herbal medicine and EA improved cognitive function in patients with MCI. We assume the underlying mechanism of herbal formulas to be antioxidative and anti-inflammatory changes in cytokine expression. Combined traditional medicine has potential therapeutic application in preventing MCI progression to dementia.

레고(Lego)를 활용한 대학 작문 PBL 수업 사례 연구

The purpose of this study is to present problem-based learning(PBL) centered on dynamics as an example of university writing classes and to examine the educational implications of PBL writing classes by confirming the educational effects of this class. Accordingly, the PBL teaching method was applied to the “Basic Writing” subject, which is an essential subject for basic liberal arts at C University in Daejeon, and the detailed goals were “inducing interest” in writing and “increasing convergence and complex thinking skills”. In particular, “Lego” was used as a learning tool to stimulate students’ sense of experience and bring about fusion and complex thinking, and the contents of the class were “explanation, description, narrative”, which corresponds to “writing statement method”. Through this, students were able to understand that explanation, description, and narrative are effective methods that can be used comprehensively when writing, and to learn empirically that writing is a cooperative “communication process” between “writer” and “reader”. In addition, by writing a reflection journal, They understood the step-by-step procedure for the overall writing.

신입생 ICT 리터러시 역량진단을 통한 소프트웨어 기초교육 방안 모색

This study was conducted to analyze the results of ICT literacy diagnosis for college freshmen and derive implications for college liberal arts software curriculum based on this. Data collection targeted 3,488 new students at M University in Daejeon in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and compared grades based on ICT-related prior learning, analyzed diff erences in grades by major, and analyzed differences in ICT literacy capabilities. As a result of the study, 940 (27.05%) out of 3,488 respondents over the past three years responded that they had experience in ICT-related programs. The average score of the ICT literacy competency diagnosis of students in the college of engineering, college of education, and college of art and design, who had a high proportion of ICT-related learning experience, was high. While the average score of students at the college of music and college of technoscience, who had a low proportion of ICT-related learning experience, was low. In other words, ICT-related prior learning experience showed a high correlation with ICT literacy competency scores. As a result of comparing the percentage of correct answers by area, the percentage of correct answers in the access and ethics areas was higher than that of other areas, but the percentage of correct answers in the management and sharing areas was somewhat lower. These results are believed to be due to the fact that as the computing environment is moving from PC to mobile, data storage, software use, and development environments are changing to focus on cloud computing. In addition, implications derived from the research results include the possibility of using block coding language in basic software education, the need for basic and advanced curriculum reflecting the increase of social interest and demand for the Python language, and resource management methods according to changes in the computer use environment.

예비유아교사의 디지털 역량과 테크놀로지 자기효능감이 디지털 활용 교육의향에 미치는 영향

In the era of rapid digital technological advancements, there is an escalating demand fordigital education within early childhood education. Therefore, in order to improve pre-serviceearly childhood teachers' intention to use digital technology in education, we examined thestructural relationship between digital competency and technology self-efficacy, which arerelated variables. The study involved 247 pre-service early childhood teachers from A Universityin Gyeonggi-do and K University in Daejeon. Collected data were analyzed using structuralequations. The results of this study are as follows. First, digital competency had a significantand positive impact on technology self-efficacy and intention to use digital in education. Second, technology self-efficacy exhibited a significant and positive influence on intention to usedigital in education. Third, technology self-efficacy played a mediating role in the relationshipbetween digital competency and intention to use digital in education. These findings suggestthat technology self-efficacy and digital competency should be improved to increase pre-serviceearly childhood teachers' intention to use digital in education.

대전 지역 식장산 전설을 활용한 대학생의 인문 콘텐츠 개발 사례

In this paper, we introduced the case of humanities content development by students who took &lt;Understanding and Application of Oral Stories&gt;, one of the courses in the interdisciplinary major of the College of Humanities at C University in Daejeon. It is a report of cases in which various genres of contents were developed through brainstorming and group discussions for the development of humanities contents based on the knowledge gained from studying the types of legends related to Sikjangsan Mountain, which represents the Daejeon region. In the design of this class, the instructor made the most important point in designing this class to develop brainstorming and synopsis forms for content development as well as providing students with oral literature accurate knowledge.the development and provision of a brainstorming form that can organize various questions and discussions and a form that can be expressed as a synopsis served as a catalyst for creative synopses of various genres by stimulating students' free imagination.

Statistical Analysis on Hospitalized Patients with Thoracolumbar Compression Fracture at Single Korean Medicine Hospital: Retrospective Review

Objectives: This study was designed to statistically analyze patients hospitalized for thoracolumbar compression fractures at Daejeon University Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021.Methods: A total of 62 patients were analyzed through electronic medical records in this study. The extracted data was analyzed using IBM SPSS ver.27.0.Results: 1. Traffic accident patients were more likely to reduce pain by more than half compared to falls and other patients. Patients without spinal disease were more likely to reduce pain by more than half compared to those without. The shorter the absolute bed rest and the longer the hospital stay, the higher the probability of pain reduction by more than half. 2. The duration of pain half-reduction was longer in patients with diabetes than in patients without diabetes. 3. The longer the hospitalization period and the shorter the absolute bed rest period, the less pain was reported upon discharge. Males complained of less pain at discharge than females, and patients without spinal disease complained less than those without. Patients who did not receive absolute bed rest complained of less pain upon discharge than those who did not.Conclusions: This study included patients hospitalized for thoracolumbar compression fractures and showed that etiology, absolute bed rest period, hospitalization period, gender, spinal disease, diabetes statistically affected the degree of pain reduction.

A Case Report of Symptom Improvement with Recurrent Gallbladder Cancer Patients Treated with Korean Medicine-based Integrative Cancer Treatment

Objective: The purpose of this study was to report the improvement effect of symptoms of integrative cancer treatment (ICT) on recurrent gallbladder cancer patients.Methods: A 73-year-old patient with recurrent gallbladder cancer visited the Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University East West Cancer Center (EWCC) on February 2022. After the diagnosis of gallbladder cancer, the patient underwent cholecystectomy and relapsed during follow-up. After the operation, the cancer recurred during follow-up, and after radiation treatment, she had been receiving ICT since February 2022. The clinical outcomes were measured by X-ray, computed tomography (CT), laboratory findings, including tumor markers (CEA, CA19-9), and numeric rating scales (NRS).Results: After treatment, abdominal pain was relieved from NRS 5 to 2, and abdominal circumference decreased from 74.5 to 67. During and after treatment, we found neither hepatotoxicity nor nephrotoxicity in the laboratory findings.Conclusion: This case study suggests that ICT may improve symptoms in patients with gallbladder cancer.

Electroacupuncture for Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment: A Clinical Feasibility Study.

Background:Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a significant problem for cancer patients, as the number of cancer survivors experiencing cognitive impairments is increasing in the absence of standard treatment. There have been attempts to improve the cognitive function of patients with cancer using acupuncture; however, no studies have been conducted using electroacupuncture. Thus, we designed a preliminary study to investigate the feasibility of a clinical trial using electroacupuncture in CRCI patients.Methods:We conducted a single-arm, pilot, clinical trial to investigate the feasibility of a study protocol for further large-scale clinical trials of electroacupuncture in CRCI patients. All participants were treated with electroacupuncture twice a week for 30 minutes at a time, for 8 weeks on acupoints GV20, GV24, EX-HN1, and GB20, HT7, PC6, and KI3. Both subjective and objective outcomes of cognitive function, quality of life (QoL), and psychological factors were measured in all participants at baseline, week 4, 8, and 12. For safety assessment, vital signs, laboratory examinations, and adverse events (AEs) were observed throughout the trial.Results:A total of 12 participants were enrolled at Daejeon and Dunsan Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University from 21 April 2017 to 31 January 2018. After 8 weeks of treatment, electroacupuncture significantly improved both subjective and objective cognitive outcomes, including the perceived cognitive impairments scale of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function, QoL scale of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire-C30, Korean version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Boston Naming Test, Seoul Verbal Learning Test, and Rey Complex Figure Test. During the entire trial period, 19 AEs were observed, with no serious AEs. Additionally, it was found that all feasibility outcomes, including recruitment, completion, and adherence rates, achieved successful results as the ratio exceeded 0.8.Conclusion:Our study results revealed that electroacupuncture improved cognitive complaints in cancer patients, and we expect electroacupuncture to be a safe and effective management therapy for CRCI patients. These feasibility trial results will be used as preliminary data for future randomized controlled clinical trials.Trial registration number:Korean Clinical Trial Registry (KCT0002168).

동충하초 복합추출물로 치료받은 류마티스 관절염 환자군에 대한 후향적 관찰 연구

The purpose of this study is to observe the effect of Cordyceps Militaris(CM) complex extract treatment on patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis(RA). We reviewed medical records of 9 rheumatoid arthritis patients who visited the pain & rehabilitation center, Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University and were treated with CM complex extract from October 14, 2019 to October 14, 2020. We analyzed the records of DAS 28(Disease Activity Score 28), CDAI(Clinical Disease Activity Index), SDAI(Simplified Disease Activity Index), VAS(Visual analogue Scale), and KHAQ-D(Korean Health Assesment Questionnaire-Disability Index) before and after treatment to evaluate the effects of CM complex extract on RA. As a result, the scores of DAS 28(p<0.05), CDAI(p<0.01), SDAI(p<0.01) and VAS(p<0.01) were statistically significantly decreased, after 8 weeks of taking CM complex extract in RA patients. In conclusion, CM complex extract treatment may have potential effects of reducing disease activity and pain and improving quality of life in patients diagnosed with RA.

Statistical Analysis of Outpatients Trends at Korean Medicine Hospitals of Daejeon University by Region before and after COVID-19

Objectives: This study is designed to statistically analyze data of outpatients visiting for recent 3 years. The purpose is to identify tendencies of patients who visit the hospitals before and after COVID-19. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 452,487 patients who visited to the Daejeon·Cheonan·Cheongju Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University from January 1, 2018 to August 31, 2020. The data is classified according to year, month, gender, age, and visit type. The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 25.0. Results: The total number of patients decreased in 2020 compared to before 2020, and the number of patients in each hospital also decreased from the previous year. According to the year of each hospital, the difference by year was not statistically significant at Daejeon Hospital, but Cheonan and Cheongju Hospital showed statistical difference. The change in monthly according to the year by hospital has continued to decrease from January to March in 2020, unlike the previous year, which recovered from a decline in March. In the analysis of patients by age, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of patients in the above 60s according to the year, while those under 60s have a tendency to significantly decrease.. Conclusion: We expect that the results of this study will be used as reference materials in analyzing effects of COVID-19 at health care utilization.

Mindfulness, Reading Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy of Korean EFL College Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the state of mindfulness exhibited by Korean EFL college students had an effect on the level of anxiety and self-efficacy they experienced during their L2 reading. The following research questions were constructed. First, is there a relationship between mindfulness and anxiety in L2 reading? Second, is there a relationship between mindfulness and self-efficacy in L2 reading? A total of 108 male and female students attending a University in Daejeon, Korea participated in the study at the end of the 2020 spring semester. Data collected from a self-report questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS. Regression analyses revealed two findings. First, the participants with higher states of mindfulness tended to read English with less anxiety. Second, the students who exhibited higher states of mindfulness had greater self-efficacy than those with lower states of mindfulness. Hence, EFL college students’ state of mindfulness can affect their reading anxiety and self-efficacy related to L2 reading. Pedagogical implications as well as directions for future research are provided.

Nursing students' perception of class immersion facilitators in psychiatric nursing: Team-based learning combined with flipped learning

BackgroundPsychiatric nursing is a complex subject for nursing students due to abstract concepts and required pre-licensure competencies including collaboration and communication. A student-centred educational approach is needed to encourage engagement and immersion in class. ObjectivesThis study aimed to use students' perspectives to explore factors facilitating class immersion in a psychiatric nursing subject using team-based learning combined with flipped learning. DesignThis study used a qualitative approach. SettingsTeam-based learning combined with flipped learning was applied in a 3-credit psychiatric nursing subject over a 15-week semester at a university in Daejeon, South Korea. ParticipantsParticipants included 12 senior nursing students who had completed a psychiatric nursing subject. MethodsData were collected using individual interviews, and analysed by reflexive thematic analysis. Data analysis was based on constructivist learning theory. ResultsThe following four main themes emerged, teacher as a facilitator, inquiry-based learning, collaboration, and reflection. The teacher's role as a facilitator was to guide student's self-directed learning and immersion in enjoyable classes with a non-hierarchical environment. Realistic complex problems allowed students to prepare for future clinical practice and helped students with immersion. Students actively integrated different opinions through collaboration with team members and became immersed in class. Students were able to immerse more in class through critical thinking process and immediate feedback. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that team-based learning combined with flipped learning based on constructivist learning theory may be an effective instructional approach for increasing class immersion in a psychiatric nursing subject, thereby improving instructor's design for the subject.

Incidence Rate of Hypersensitivity Reactions to Bee-Venom Acupuncture.

IntroductionBee-venom acupuncture (BVA) has been widely applied to various disorders including pain-related diseases; however, patients are often warned of adverse reactions such as anaphylaxis. This study aimed to estimate the risk of hypersensitivity reactions to BVA and to determine their clinical features.MethodsWe retrospectively surveyed the medical records of patients treated by BVA between January 2010 and April 2019 in Dunsan Hospital of Daejeon University, and all cases of allergic reactions and their clinical symptoms were analyzed.ResultsA total of 8,580 patients (males 4,081 and females 4,499) were treated with BVA which amounts to a total of 60,654 treatments (average 7.1 ± 14.8 times). A total of fifteen patients (7 males and 8 females) reported an allergic reaction (0.175%, 95% CI, 0.086–0.263) of type 1 hypersensitivity, indicating a rate of allergic reaction in 0.025% (95% CI, 0.012–0.037) of the total BVA treatments. The average number of BVA treatments in those patients was 6.9 ± 6.5 (males: 4.1 ± 3.4 and females: 9.3 ± 7.9). Among the cases of hypersensitivity reactions, 4 involved anaphylactic shock; therefore, the incidence rate of anaphylaxis was 0.047% (95% CI, 0.001–0.092) for the 8,580 subjects and 0.007% (95% CI, 0.000–0.013) for the 60,654 treatments. All grade 1 cases were recovered within 1 day, whereas others took up to 30 days for complete recovery.ConclusionOur results may emphasize paying attention to unforeseeable risks of anaphylaxis after bee-venom acupuncture. This study could be essential reference data for the guidelines of appropriate use of bee-venom acupuncture and bee-venom-derived interventions in clinical applications.

Development and Validation of Questionnaire for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) Diagnosis Based on Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (SEID) Criteria

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a questionnaire for the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) designed based on the systematic exertion intolerance disorder (SEID) criteria, and to validate the reliability of the questionnaire. Methods: A literature search on questionnaires for CFS diagnosis was conducted to develop a SEID questionnaire (SEID-Q27), followed by a pilot survey to identify the reliability of the questionnaire. Adults (Daejeon university personnel) with a Chalder fatigue scale (CFQ) score ≥15 were invited for the survey. We commenced the survey in November 2019 with a two weeks of interval for the test and retest method. The reliability of the questionnaire was investigated in three angles: 1. Cronbach’s α, 2. correlations (r) of the questions, numerical rating scale (NRS), and visual analog scale (VAS), and 3. kappa (k) analysis. Results: Among the total 275 adults registered, 55 (20%) participants with a CFQ score ≥15 were invited, and 31 (11%) [15 male, 16 female] completed the questionnaire. The total Cronbach’s α was 0.944 for the test and 0.949 for the retest. The reliability (r) of questions by CFQ score (≥15, ≥18, ≥20) ranged from 0.533–0.928 (p <0.05), and the r score of the NRS and VAS were the highest in CFQ scores ≥20, at 0.933 (p<0.001). The agreement rate of the SEID-Q27 between the test and retest was 87% (kappa k=0.743). Conclusions: The SEID-Q27 seems to be reliable. Further studies are needed to measure the validity of the tool and the cutoff point. Keywords: chronic fatigue syndrome, systemic exertion intolerance disease, reliability, diagnostic tool, survey questionnaire

추적관찰을 통해 살펴본 한증 HRV지표

This study aimed to investigate heart rate variability (HRV) characteristics of cold pattern with repeated measurement data. Participants were taken from a Daejeon University cohort study from 2015 to 2018. Forty-seven of the participants studied displayed cold pattern while 23 showed signs of non-cold pattern. HRV was measured in supine position for 5 minutes at each year, and an 8-item cold pattern questionnaire was used for the diagnosis of cold pattern. SDNN (standard deviation of the NN intervals) and RMSSD (the square root of the mean squared differences of successive NN intervals) were used as time domain analysis, and TP (total power), VLF (power in very low frequency range), LF (power in low frequency range), HF (power in high frequency range), LF norm (LF power in normalized units), HF norm (HF power in normalized units) and LF/HF were used as frequency domain analysis. In the Mann-Whitney U test, LF norm, HF norm, and LF/HF showed differences between the cold pattern group and non-cold pattern group at every measurement, and in the independent t-test, the differences were also observed at three points except for the baseline (2015). In the repeated measures ANOVA, the interaction effects were not observed in all HRV parameters, but the time period effects were observed in SDNN, RMSSD, TP, VLF, LF and HF. There were significant differences between those two groups in LF norm, HF norm and LF/HF. This study suggests that LF norm, HF norm and LF/HF might be a useful indicator of cold pattern properties.

영어원어민과 한국인의 모바일 텍스트 메시지에 나타나는 비언어적 커뮤니케이션 양상의 화용론적 연구 : 이모티콘 사용을 중심으로

This study aims to explore how the use of emoticons differs between English native speakers and Koreans in terms of social distance and relationships in mobile communication. The research was conducted by surveys with participants' ages ranging from their 20s to over 60 from various professions. A total of 181 responses were collected. The results show that Koreans use emoticons more often than English speakers, and for English speakers, the main reason for using emoticons is to show emotions whereas for Korean, it is to make messages friendly. The survey results show that both groups use emoticons with close relationships such as family, friends, and close colleagues. Both groups responded that they would use emoticons most when sending thanking messages. However, Koreans do not tend to use emoticons much with family when thanking, compared to English-speaking professionals. In cases of relationships that provoke the most discomfort when receiving message with emoticons, English professionals responded "colleagues" whereas the Korean respondents did not think this is the case. Regarding the appropriate use of emoticons, a number of Korean professionals think emoticons should be used when showing emotions that cannot be delivered by text. However, many English professionals stated that the use of emoticons should be in informal texting and it is not appropriate in a professional relationship. (Daejeon University)

EFL 환경 대학생의 수준별 영어 학습 탈동기와 재동기 요인 분석

This study aims to investigate the factors of EFL college students’ demotivation and remotivation in learning English by students’ levels. To achieve the goal of this research, the researcher conducted the survey of 149 students from three different levels of classes(low, intermediate, and advanced level classes) and analyzed their responses. The results showed that ‘difficulty of studying English’ and ‘fear of learning English’ were the main factors of EFL college students’ demotivation, which were statistically significant among the three different levels. While ‘awareness of the importance of English’ and ‘desire to be good at English’ were the major factors of EFL college students’ remotivation. In particular, ‘the learners’ experience of success’ was statistically significant among three different levels. Based on the research results, it is crucial to help students get remotivated in learning English. This study suggests further research for various factors on students’ motivation according to their levels of English ability. (Daejeon University)