Suchergebnisse

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose significant challenges to nations. The Korean government aimed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through stay-at-home strategies and maintaining social distance, which are likely to result in major changes in the lifestyle, mental health, and quality of life of citizens. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these factors in Koreans over 20 years old. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 104 adults in South Korea aged over 20 years. An online survey was conducted between August and October 2020, in which participants were asked to complete the Yonsei Lifestyle Profile to assess lifestyle changes, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale abbreviated version. To investigate the changes in people's lifestyles, depression, and quality of life post COVID-19, descriptive statistics were calculated for these indicators before and after the onset of the pandemic. The p-value was two-sided, and values <0.05, were regarded as statistically significant. RESULTS: There was a significant decline in physical and other meaningful activities, including activities of daily living, leisure, social activity, and education. However, there were no significant changes in nutrition, except in the consumption of carbohydrates and minerals. Participants reported that their quality of life and mental health had decreased after the pandemic struck. CONCLUSIONS: We obtained novel data on the changes in the lifestyle, mental health, and quality of life of South Korean adults before and after the onset of the pandemic. The results of our study may assist health policymakers and practitioners in the development of health education or relevant interventions to deal with the pandemic situation as well as future crises.

With the adoption of new technologies, more risk is introduced into modern society. Important decisions about new technologies tend to be made by specialists, which can lead to a mismatch of risk perception between citizens and specialists, resulting in high social cost. Using contingent valuation methods, this paper analyzes the relationship between willingness to pay (WTP) and the factors expressed through people's image of nuclear power plants (NPP), their perception of NPP safety, and how these can be affected by their scientific background level. Results indicate that groups with a high scientific background level tend to have low risk perception level, represented through their image and safety levels. Further, the results show that mean WTP is dependent on scientific background and image levels. It is believed that these results could help decision makers address the mismatch of trust between the public and specialists in terms of new policy.

Reliable information through instrumentation systems is essential in mitigating severe accidents such as the one that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. There are five elements which might pose a potential threat to the reliability of parameter detection at nuclear power plants during a severe accident: high temperature, high pressure, high humidity, high radiation, and missiles generated during the evolution of a severe accident. Of these, high temperature apparently poses the most serious threat, since thin shielding can get rid of pressure, humidity, radiation (specifically, alpha and beta radiations), and missile effects. In view of this fact, our study focused on designing an instrument transmitter protecting device that can eliminate the high-temperature effect on transmitters to maintain their functional integrity. We present herein a novel concept for designing such a device in terms of heat transfer model that takes into account various heat transfer mechanisms associated with the device.

"A detailed examination of the "Korean development model" from its urban dimension, evaluating its sociopolitical contexts and implications for international development cooperation. There is an increasing tendency to use the development experience of Asian countries as a reference point for other countries in the Global South. Korea's condensed urbanization and industrialization, accompanied by the expansion of new cities and industrial complexes across the country, has become one such model, even if the fruits of such development may not have been equitably shared across geographies and generations. The chapters in this book critically reassess the Korean urban development experience from regional policy to new town development, demonstrating how these policy experiences were deeply rooted in Korea's socioeconomic environment and discussing what can be learned from them when applying them in other developmental contexts. This book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers in the field of urban studies and developmental studies in general and in Korea's (urban) development experience in particular"--

There is an increasing tendency to use the development experience of Asian countries as a reference point for other countries in the Global South. Korea's condensed urbanization and industrialization, accompanied by the expansion of new cities and industrial complexes across the country, have become one such model, even if the fruits of such development may not have been equitably shared across geographies and generations. The chapters in this book critically reassess the Korean urban development experience from regional policy to new town development, demonstrating how these policy experiences were deeply rooted in Korea's socioeconomic environment and discussing what can be learned from them when applying them in other developmental contexts

When a first child is born into a family, major changes occur in the lives of first time parents, and this is especially the case for new mothers. Previous research has illustrated that social support can help new mothers better understand and meet the demands of child care and parenting. In this study, the sources and types of social support reported by new mothers were compared to that of the grandmother in two generations of 301 mother-daughter pairs in three cultures (Korea, Hong Kong, and the United States). The results show that for young mothers in Korea, the primary source of support came from mothers or mothers-in-law; whereas the primary source of support for young mothers in both Hong Kong and the United States came from their husbands. The Korean data from the grandmothers reflects a patriarchal pattern, in that the husband's mother provided the most support and help. This was not the case in Hong Kong or the United States. Content of support for new mothers (categorized into physical care, active interaction with the child, and emotional support) differed greatly by source of support (e.g. husband, mother, or mother-in-law) and by culture. These generational and societal differences are interpreted as reflecting both rapid social change and contrasting cultural emphases on marital and extended family relationships. Kin support is more evident in Korea, whereas in Hong Kong and the United States, the relationship between husbands and wives is emphasized.

This research aims to employ the focus group interview methodology to extract important insights and policy recommendations for the revitalization of tourism in island regions during the era of significant digital transformation. To achieve this objective, the current study focuses on Jebudo Island, located in Hwaseong-city, Gyeonggi province, as a representative case area and utilizes the findings obtained to identify practical and efficacious viewpoints. The ensuing report highlights the paramount importance and policy recommendations extracted via a focus group interview technique. Initially, considering the prospect of being established as a tourism hub, Jebudo Island has persistently engaged in development and business promotions. However, the island continues to be characterized by an aging tourist destination, emphasizing private facilities, which does not align with the current tourism trend. In light of the ongoing digital transformation, it is imperative that Jebudo Island utilizes its local resources efficiently while adhering to contemporary tourism trends by implementing relevant technologies appropriately. Another noteworthy policy recommendation pertains to the underdevelopment of Jebudo Island, given its remarkable geographical conditions and regional resources. Conventionally, tourism activities were confined to sightseeing, primarily highlighting hardware and natural landscapes. However, recently, such activities have shifted towards experiences and emotions, emphasizing content and engagement. Consequently, the need to develop content using cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, metaverse, and ChatGPT is essential to enhance national awareness. Finally, concerning the island's placeness strategy in conjunction with digital transformation, islands face a daunting challenge of regional extinction, with a more severe decline in population than that of mainland areas. Despite various policy measures to address this issue, no effective exit strategy has emerged thus far. Therefore, it is imperative to devise a strategy centered on the sense of place that aligns with regional characteristics. In particular, engaging the MZ generation, which values novel social values and actively utilizes social media and the internet, could lead to broader engagement across other generations. Moreover, in the process of revitalizing island tourism during the digital transformation era, various stakeholders are intricately interconnected. Hence, it is crucial to utilize different platforms and establish cooperative governance. Furthermore, to create a functional ecosystem, it is crucial to institute policies such as island business schools, forums, and full-time operating organizations to enhance expertise and commercial viability, while fostering sustainable strategic discussions. Notwithstanding, considering that the present study solely examined the case of Jebudo Island in Hwaseong through the focus group interviews in the era of significant digital transformation, it remains uncertain whether the findings can be uniformly applied and extrapolated to other islands. Consequently, further studies are essential to enhance objectivity and empirical validity by broadening the scope of case areas and incorporating stakeholder surveys.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the structural relationships among immersive content use satisfaction, positive affect, self-esteem, and psychological happiness of persons with disabilities and thereby investigate the positive effect of immersive content experience on disabled persons who wish to have immersive content facilities for disabled persons in island areas. Using survey data collected from physically and mentally disabled persons using immersive content facilities, the study found that disabled persons' satisfaction with immersive content was significantly and positively associated with their positive affect, self-esteem, and psychological happiness; positive affect and self-esteem of disabled persons using immersive content were significantly and positively associated with their psychological happiness; positive affect and self-esteem significantly mediated the relationship between use satisfaction of disabled persons using immersive content and their psychological happiness. This study is meaningful in that it is the first study that empirically investigated the effect of immersive content facilities on disabled persons and shed light on the potential role of immersive content in improving the quality of life and happiness of disabled persons by enabling them to virtually experience real-world programs.

We examined South Korea's destination image for Chinese tourists and compared the differences between visitors who had come to that destination because of exposure to movies or television dramas filmed at their destination (film tourists) and those who were nonfilm tourists. A survey
of 311 Chinese tourists, consisting of film tourists (n = 132) and nonfilm tourists (n = 179) revealed that South Korea is perceived as a safe, friendly, and clean tourism destination, and that Chinese tourists feel happy and relaxed during their trip. We also found that Chinese
tourists believe that Korea lacks food variety and historical attractions, and is not easy to get around. Moreover, we also found that there was a difference between film and nonfilm tourists in regard to cognitive image of the destination, in that film tourists had a more positive image than
did nonfilm tourists. However, there was no significant difference in affective destination image between film and nonfilm tourists. Our findings contribute to understanding of Chinese tourists' perceptions and behaviors in regard to South Korea as a tourism destination. In addition, the implications
for film and tourism destination marketers are discussed.