FEMALE PEASANTS AND THE ALTERNATIVE AGRI-FOOD MOVEMENT IN SOUTH KOREA: AGROECOLOGY AND THE KOREAN WOMEN PEASANT ASSOCIATION MOVEMENT

This paper examines the current state and socio-ecological implications of the alternative agri-food movement organized by the Korean Women Peasant Association (KWPA) in South Korea. In the process of rapid industrial development, South Korean farm sector has suffered from serious environmental problems, depopulation, and poverty. Food production itself has become mostly industrialized using abundant amount of chemical input. This, along with mass consumption system relying on large supermarkets, has led to an unsustainable food system. In this situation, there has been a rise of alternative agri-food movement by the KWPA. We have focused on the influence of agroecology in the KWPA’s activities, which might bring about a more sustainable food system. Under the dominant paradigm of agro-industrialism, farm production inevitably depends on outside resources. This de-contextualizes and disconnects farming from local ecosystems and social relations. Agroecology has emerged in recent years as an alternative paradigm, which can reconnect farming, nature, and society. We have analyzed the KWPA’s programs, such as the indigenous seed preservation movement (ISPM) and Sisters’ Garden Plot (SGP). We have found that agroecology plays an important role in the KWPA’s programs, which involve sharing indigenous farm knowledge; preserving and finding indigenous seeds; and providing seasonal, local, and organic food to the public. These activities have also led to the empowerment of female peasants. These as a whole could be important social resource for a transition to a more sustainable food system

Fully rubbery integrated electronics from high effective mobility intrinsically stretchable semiconductors

An intrinsically stretchable rubbery semiconductor with high mobility is critical to the realization of high-performance stretchable electronics and integrated devices for many applications where large mechanical deformation or stretching is involved. Here, we report fully rubbery integrated electronics from a rubbery semiconductor with a high effective mobility, obtained by introducing metallic carbon nanotubes into a rubbery semiconductor composite. This enhancement in effective carrier mobility is enabled by providing fast paths and, therefore, a shortened carrier transport distance. Transistors and their arrays fully based on intrinsically stretchable electronic materials were developed, and they retained electrical performances without substantial loss when subjected to 50% stretching. Fully rubbery integrated electronics and logic gates were developed, and they also functioned reliably upon mechanical stretching. A rubbery active matrix based elastic tactile sensing skin to map physical touch was demonstrated to illustrate one of the applications

Transthyretin Misfolding, A Fatal Structural Pathogenesis Mechanism

Transthyretin (TTR) is an essential transporter of a thyroid hormone and a holo-retinol binding protein, found abundantly in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. In addition, this protein is infamous for its amyloidogenic propensity, causing various amyloidoses in humans, such as senile systemic amyloidosis, familial amyloid polyneuropathy, and familial amyloid cardiomyopathy. It has been known for over two decades that decreased stability of the native tetrameric conformation of TTR is the main cause of these diseases. Yet, mechanistic details on the amyloidogenic transformation of TTR were not clear until recent multidisciplinary investigations on various structural states of TTR. In this review, we discuss recent advancements in the structural understanding of TTR misfolding and amyloidosis processes. Special emphasis has been laid on the observations of novel structural features in various amyloidogenic species of TTR. In addition, proteolysis-induced fragmentation of TTR, a recently proposed mechanism facilitating TTR amyloidosis, has been discussed in light of its structural consequences and relevance to acknowledge the amyloidogenicity of TTR. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.1

A Study on the Effect of Consumer Involvement and Affect Intensity before and after Plagiarism Suspicion on the Purchase Intention of Music Goods

This study aims to examine the effect of consumers' involvement and affect intensity on the purchase intention of music items. In particular  domestically, there is no clear standard for judgment of plagiarism, and thus it is expected that plagiarism suspicion is likely to affect consumers' involvement and affect intensity, and as a result, their purchase intention as well. Accordingly, consumer characteristics (involvement, affect intensity) were chosen as independent variables, and consumers' purchase intention on music items as a subordinate variable, respectively. The first questionnaire-based survey was conducted before the awareness of plagiarism suspicion, followed by the second survey after the awareness of plagiarism suspicion. It turned out that the higher level of involvement and affect intensity, both of which are consumer characteristics, the higher level of purchase intention of music goods. While plagiarism suspicion caused C.R values to decrease in every item, a significant difference was observed only in the relation of ‘involvement - purchase intention’. This study shows that music items which involve plagiarism suspicion result in changes in consumers' purchase intention, which will cause damage to the creators and performers of related music items. Thus, for the development of the music industry and creative activity, tools and standards that can clearly distinguish plagiarism need to be developed

Validation of the Dimensions of Anger Reactions Scale (the DAR-5) in non-clinical South Korean adults

Background Posttraumatic anger is a commonly reported emotion among people who have experienced traumatic events. The current study aimed to demonstrate the reliability and validity of the South Korean version of the DAR-5 (DAR-5-K). The DAR-5 is a single scale with 5 items which measures posttraumatic anger. The DAR-5 is composed of five items that measure anger frequency, intensity, duration, aggression, and its interference with social relations. Methods Data were collected from 814 South Korean adults who had experienced traumatic events and participated in the study and analyzed via the combination of exploratory factor analysis (n = 405) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 409). Results Results supported the one-factor structure, as reported in previous validation studies. The scale demonstrated robust internal reliability and concurrent validity with measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. The DAR-5 cut-off score of 12 that was established in the original validation study successfully differentiated high from low scorers with regard to PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. Conclusion The results confirm that the DAR-5-K is a brief and psychometrically robust measure of anger that can be used to examine South Korean adults who have experienced traumatic events