Since the turn of the 21st century, developing teachers' assessment literacy has been recognized as one of the key levers for improving instructional practice and student learning in light of the education reforms worldwide. A substantial body of literature is focused on teachers' assessment literacy or teachers' capacity in assessment, and teachers' continuing professional development in assessment. As we approach the third decade of the 21st century, developing teachers' assessment literacy needs to be more responsive to the need of both (...) preservice and inservice teachers who come from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. The authors concur that both preservice and inservice teachers in today's complex educational contexts require a deeper level of understanding of assessment. Additionally, teachers are highly encouraged to appreciate the history of educational assessment in different sociocultural and political contexts, as well as to know how to determine the merits of a range of assessment practices best suited for their lesson planning and classroom teaching. In this book, the authors discuss significant aspects of developing teachers' assessment literacy in different sociocultural and political contexts. Based on their respective educational backgrounds, academic experiences, and applied fields of study, each of the authors presents a critical response to the topic of assessment. Their accounts represent the complexity of the subject through a breadth and range of content and perspectives. By expanding the terms of reference regarding assessment, the authors have developed a book with a far richer panorama on assessment as a springboard for inquiry. (shrink)

BackgroundThis study aimed to identify the healthcare providers’ experience and perspectives toward end-of-life care decisions focusing on end-of-life discussion and physician’s order of life-sustaining treatment documentation in Korea which are major parts of the Life-Sustaining Treatment Act.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted using a questionnaire developed by the authors. A total of 474 subjects—94 attending physicians, 87 resident physicians, and 293 nurses—participated in the survey, and the data analysis was performed in terms of frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation using the (...) SPSS 24.0 program.ResultsStudy results showed that respondents were aware of terminal illness and physician’s order of life-sustaining treatment in Korea well enough except for some details. Physicians reported uncertainty in terminal state diagnosis and disease trajectory as the most challenging. Study participants regarded factors (related to relationships and communications) on the healthcare providers’ side as the major impediment to end-of-life discussion. Study respondents suggested that simplification of the process and more staff are required to facilitate end-of-life discussion and documentation.ConclusionBased on the study results, adequate education and training for better end-of-life discussion are required for future practice. Also, a simple and clear procedure for completing a physician’s order of life-sustaining treatment in Korea should be prepared and legal and ethical advice would be required. Since the enactment of the Life-Sustaining Treatment Act, several revisions already have been made including disease categories, thus continuous education to update and support clinicians is also called for. (shrink)

This paper discusses how we understand and use a concept or the meaningof a general term to identify the objects falling under the term. There aretwo distinct approaches to research on the problems of concepts and meaningthe psychological approach and the formal (or logical) approach. My majorconcern is to consider the possibility of reconciling these two differentapproaches, and for this I propose to build a psychologically plausibleformal system of conceptualization. That is, I will develop a theory-basedaccount of concepts and propose (...) an explanation of how an agent activates aperspective (which consists of theories) in response to a situation in whichreasoning using a concept is called for. Theories are represented as sets offacts and rules, both strict and defeasible. Each theory is organized in acoherent perspective which stands for an agent's mental state or an agent'smodel of another agent's perspective. Perspectives are organized intohierarchies and the theory for a concept in one perspective may defeat thetheory for the same concept in another perspective. Which perspective issuperior is context-dependent. (shrink)

This paper explores the question of embodiment/disembodiment discussed by Hwa Yol Jung mainly in his recent work, Rethinking Political Theory (1993a) in tandem with an examination of some recent developments in Korean scholarship on the same subject. To sum up, the following three points are emphasized. First, this living body does not exist except in specific modalities. In this sense, Gabriel Marcel''s paradigmatic affirmation that I am my body requires an elaboration of the specific modalities of the living body as (...) a being in the world. Second, the way a living body exists is not exclusively mental or physical, but both. In short, it is phenomenal. Third, the point of the whole argument can be summed up as follows: to conceal one''s own body is natural, but to forget it is dangerous. The primary task of phenomenology is not to denude human beings, but to reawaken ourselves to the idea that we are beings who live with and through bodies. (shrink)

Prior research finds that firms with strong business ethics are less likely to be tax aggressive. Labor union is one of the key stakeholders influencing firm’s tax aggressive behavior, whereas the bargaining process between labor union and firms exhibits ethical dilemma. Although industry-wide labor union coverage is commonly used in prior study to explore the monitoring role of labor unions in constraining management’s aggressive financial and tax decisions of their associated firms, we argue that firm-specific labor unions, which represent a (...) different bargaining power of the employees, do play an important role in determining firms’ tax ethical decisions. Specifically, we examine whether and how the firm-specific labor union coverage impacts firms’ tax aggressiveness decisions over and above industry-wide labor union coverage. We hypothesize and find that firm-specific labor unions influence the associated firms to be more tax aggressive, which results in higher levels of residual cash flows. We also find that industry-wide labor unions influence the associated firms to be less tax aggressive, which is consistent with prior findings. We perform further analyses and find that the results are more pronounced for the firms with greater industry-wide labor unions representation. These results demonstrate that the inclusion of and interaction between the firm-specific and industry-wide labor unions matter in determining corporate’s tax aggressiveness decisions, which highlight firm’s ethical perplexity between tax savings and social commitments. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to develop the OL-IAT, an IAT tool that measures implicit attitudes toward organizational loyalty, and to verify its predictive validity. In total, 15 respondents were randomly selected from among the employees of P Company. The respondents were then asked open questions about the image they held of the target company. Based on their responses, a list of words was compiled for use on the OL-IAT. Evaluation categories, either like-dislike or positive-negative, were developed for this (...) test based on the approach-avoidance words proposed by Ostafin and Palfai. The OL-IAT was then administered to 127 employees of Company P, and self-reporting measures were also devised to measure explicit attitudes. A survey of whether the implicit attitude toward organizational loyalty was consistent with the explicit attitude showed that there was no significant correlation, and the attitude inconsistency was evident in the responses. When differences in rank were accounted for, organizational loyalty attitudes were consistent at the manager level, and organizational participation attitudes were consistent at the manager and general staff levels. This study will aid in the development of effective measures of organizational loyalty and accelerate interventions to increase it, which in turn will positively impact long-term organizational growth. (shrink)

Scholars are becoming increasingly interested in whether and how government use of Big Data will affect public policy outcomes. Despite such growing scholarly interests, however, little evidence exists on the role Big Data can play in improving government service. We undertake one of the first quantitative studies revealing the potential utility and limitations of “Big Data-based policymaking” by exploring its recent use by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. In 2013, the government introduced the “Owl Bus”—a late-night bus system—the routes of which (...) were selected based on government analyses of Big Data relating to citizens’ late-night taxi and mobile phone use. The findings suggest that the average number of passengers utilizing the Owl Bus routes was significantly greater than that on other daytime bus routes with comparable characteristics. That said, we also present the potential limitations of evidence-based policymaking in general, especially when politics and equity considerations are factored in. (shrink)

Generalized anxiety disorder can cause significant socioeconomic burden and daily life dysfunction; hence, therapeutic intervention through early detection is important. This study was the final stage of a 3-year anxiety screening tool development project that evaluated the psychometric properties and diagnostic screening utility of the Mental Health Screening Tool for Anxiety Disorders, which measures GAD. A total of 527 Koreans completed online and offline versions of the MHS: A, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Penn State Worry Questionnaire. The (...) participants had an average age of 38.6 years and included 340 females. Participants were also administered the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Internal consistency, convergent/criterion validity, item characteristics, and test information were assessed based on the item response theory, and a factor analysis and cut-off score analyses were conducted. The MHS: A had good internal consistency and good convergent validity with other anxiety scales. The two versions of the MHS: A were nearly identical. It had a one-factor structure and showed better diagnostic accuracy for GAD detection than the GAD-7 and BAI. The IRT analysis indicated that the MHS: A was most informative as a screening tool for GAD. The MHS: A can serve as a clinically useful screening tool for GAD in Korea. Furthermore, it can be administered both online and offline and can be flexibly used as a brief mental health screener, especially with the current rise in telehealth. (shrink)

Computerized relaxation training has been suggested as an effective and easily accessible intervention for individuals with psychological distress. To better elucidate the neural mechanism that underpins the effects of relaxation training, we investigated whether a 10-session computerized relaxation training program changed prefrontal gamma-aminobutyric acid levels and cerebral blood flow in women with psychological distress. We specifically focused on women since they were reported to be more vulnerable to develop stress-related disorders than men. Nineteen women with psychological distress but without a (...) diagnosis of psychiatric disorders received the 10-day computerized relaxation training program that consisted of 30-min cognitive-relaxation training and 10-min breathing-relaxation training per day. At baseline and post-intervention, perceived stress levels, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep quality were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy and arterial spin labeling scans were also performed before and after the intervention to evaluate GABA levels and relative CBF in the prefrontal region. Levels of perceived stress, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep quality improved following 10 sessions of computerized relaxation training, resulting in a significant relief in composite scores of stress-related symptoms. The prefrontal GABA levels decreased, while relative CBF increased after the intervention. In addition, a greater increase in relative prefrontal CBF was associated with better composite scores of stress-related symptoms following the intervention. The current findings suggest that computerized relaxation training may improve stress-related symptoms through modulating the prefrontal GABA levels and CBF in women with psychological distress. (shrink)

Biography of a Korean philosopher as a father, based on his correspondence with family members and his writings of inscriptions.

Korean biobanks are now adapting to integrate the new paradigm of precision medicine into their fundamental role of promoting health technology. Since the enactment of Bioethics and Safety Act in 2004, the Republic of Korea has developed a regulatory framework that reflects ethical principles. However, the existing regulation of biobanks has recently proven to be limited in responding to newer ethical and legal issues that have arisen. First, as there is an emerging trend for human biospecimens to be stored, managed (...) and distributed as digitalized data, the current role of the Distributive Review Committee may become less important compared to the Data Access Committee. Second, even if public health data is anonymized, the risk of identifiability is growing. This makes a third point relevant, informed consent is crucial to respect the autonomy of patients and research subjects, but current consent rules need to change to reflect the interactive and dynamic communication process, in which information and communication technology plays an increasingly prominent role. Fourth, even though data sharing for research is expected to be altruistic and the sale of human biospecimens and genome data remains prohibited, data sharing practices have become more complicated and are closer to commercial use and commercialization. Given these challenges, there is a pressing need for continuing and deeper deliberation in order to develop a more comprehensive and responsive governance framework. (shrink)

The present study investigated estimate biases in cross-classified random effect modeling and hierarchical linear modeling when ignoring a crossed factor in CCREM considering the impact of the feeder and the magnitude of coefficients. There were six simulation factors: the magnitude of coefficient, the correlation between the level 2 residuals, the number of groups, the average number of individuals sampled from each group, the intra-unit correlation coefficient, and the number of feeders. The targeted interests of the coefficients were four fixed effects (...) and two random effects. The results showed that ignoring a crossed factor in cross-classified data causes a parameter bias for the random effects of level 2 predictors and a standard error bias for the fixed effects of intercepts, level 1 predictors, and level 2 predictors. Bayesian information criteria generally outperformed Akaike information criteria in detecting the correct model. (shrink)

River water pollution by wastewater can cause significant negative impact on the aquatic sustainability. Hence, accurate modeling of this complicated system and its cost-effective treatment and reuse decision is very important because this optimization process is related to economic expenditure, societal health, and environmental deterioration. In order to optimize this complex system, we may consider three treatment or reuse options such as microscreening filtration, nitrification, and fertilization-oriented irrigation on top of two existing options such as settling and biological oxidation. The (...) objective of this environmental optimization is to minimize the economic expenditure of life cycle costs while satisfying the public health standard in terms of groundwater quality and the environmental standard in terms of river water quality. Particularly, this study improves existing optimization model by pinpointing the critical deficit location of dissolved oxygen sag curve by using analytic differentiation. Also, the proposed formulation considers more practical constraints such as maximal size of irrigation area and minimal amount of filtration treatment process. The results obtained by using an evolutionary algorithm, named a parameter-setting-free harmony search algorithm, show that the proposed model successfully finds optimal solutions while conveniently locating the critical deficit point. (shrink)

ObjectiveThis pilot study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a digital cognitive behavioral therapy in patients with cancer experiencing sleep problems.MethodsA total of 57 participants aged 25–65 years were randomly assigned to three groups—21 participants to a dCBT program, 20 participants to an app-based attentional control program, and 16 participants to a waitlist control group—and evaluated offline before and after the program completion. Of the 57 participants, there were a total of 45 study completers, 15 participants in each group. The (...) dependent variables were sleep quality scores, measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and health-related quality of life scores, measured using the Short-Form 36, and attentional bias scores from a dot-probe computer task.ResultsFor both the intention-to-treat and study-completers analyses, a significant increase supported by a large effect size was found in the quality of sleep score of the HARUToday Sleep group compared to both the app-based attentional control and the waitlist control group. However, no significant changes were found in the quality of life and attentional bias scores.ConclusionOur results suggest that the HARUToday Sleep app has the potential to serve as an intervention module to enhance the sleep quality of patients with cancer experiencing sleep problems. (shrink)