A study of leadership development programme for gifted primary school students in South Korea

This thesis investigates leadership development in the gifted primary school students of South Korea. It ultimately aims to make suggestions toward the formulation and implementation of a model leadership gifted curriculum and programme specific to the Korean cultural and educational setting. The bases of the suggestions were assembled from three sources: literature pertaining to the relevant topics of the thesis, available leadership gifted curricula and programmes, and the perspectives of Korean gifted educators. The views of the Korean gifted teachers were investigated using mixed methods or methodological triangulation; the measurement instruments employed in this study were a tripartite questionnaire survey and complementary semi-structured interviews. Fifty Korean gifted teachers teaching at mainstream national and state primary schools, Centres for the Gifted, and specialised gifted schools partook in the questionnaire survey. Two Korean gifted teachers from mainstream state primary schools and the director of the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) were interviewed to supplement the data collected through the questionnaires. The results illuminated the Korean gifted educational context and highlighted the lack and the need for leadership development for the gifted. Through the comprehensive review of the literature review, available curricula/programmes, and results of this study, final suggestions for a prospective leadership gifted curriculum and programme were made. Three main guidelines were proposed; firstly, a model of the prospective contents of leadership gifted education, named the Four Areas Leadership Model (FALM); secondly, the suggestions for the implementation of the FALM in a curriculum format; finally, the suggestions for the implementation of the FALM in a programme format. The FALM adopted the framework of Parker's (1983) Leadership Training Model, and its implementation as a programme was adapted from Renzulli's (1976, 1986) Enrichment Triad Model's implementation scheme which was considered appropriate to the Korean context

Assessment of Agricultural Drought Considering the Hydrological Cycle and Crop Phenology in the Korean Peninsula

Hydrological changes attributable to global warming increase the severity and frequency of droughts, which in turn affect agriculture. Hence, we proposed the Standardized Agricultural Drought Index (SADI), which is a new drought index specialized for agriculture and crops, and evaluated current and expected droughts in the Korean Peninsula. The SADI applies crop phenology to the hydrological cycle, which is a basic element that assesses drought. The SADI of rice and maize was calculated using representative hydrological variables (precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff) of the crop growing season. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of SADI, the three-month Standardized Precipitation Index, which is a representative drought index, and rainfed crop yield were estimated together. The performance evaluation of SADI showed that the correlation between rainfed crop yield and SADI was very high compared with that of existing drought index. The results of the assessment of drought over the past three decades provided a good indication of a major drought period and differentiated the results for crops and regions. The results of two future scenarios showed common drought risks in the western plains of North Korea. Successfully validated SADIs could be effectively applied to agricultural drought assessments in light of future climate change, and would be a good example of the water-food nexus approach

Assessment of Agricultural Drought Considering the Hydrological Cycle and Crop Phenology in the Korean Peninsula

Hydrological changes attributable to global warming increase the severity and frequency of droughts, which in turn affect agriculture. Hence, we proposed the Standardized Agricultural Drought Index (SADI), which is a new drought index specialized for agriculture and crops, and evaluated current and expected droughts in the Korean Peninsula. The SADI applies crop phenology to the hydrological cycle, which is a basic element that assesses drought. The SADI of rice and maize was calculated using representative hydrological variables (precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff) of the crop growing season. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of SADI, the three-month Standardized Precipitation Index, which is a representative drought index, and rainfed crop yield were estimated together. The performance evaluation of SADI showed that the correlation between rainfed crop yield and SADI was very high compared with that of existing drought index. The results of the assessment of drought over the past three decades provided a good indication of a major drought period and differentiated the results for crops and regions. The results of two future scenarios showed common drought risks in the western plains of North Korea. Successfully validated SADIs could be effectively applied to agricultural drought assessments in light of future climate change, and would be a good example of the water-food nexus approach

Antimicrobial Effect of 7-O-Butylnaringenin, a Novel Flavonoid, and Various Natural Flavonoids against Helicobacter pylori Strains

Abstract: The antimicrobial effect of a novel flavonoid (7-O-butylnaringenin) on Helicobacter pylori 26695, 51, and SS1 strains and its inhibitory effect on the urease activity of the strains were evaluated and compared with those of several natural flavonoids. First, various flavonoids were screened for antimicrobial activities using the paper disc diffusion method. Hesperetin and naringenin showed the strongest antimicrobial effects among the natural flavonoids tested, and thus hesperetin and naringenin were selected for comparison with 7-O-butylnaringenin. The antimicrobial effect of 7-O-butylnaringenin was greater than that of the hesperetin and naringenin. H. pylori 51 was more sensitive to 7-O-butylnaringenin (2 log reduction of colony forming units, p \u3c 0.05) than the other two strains at 200 μM. 7-O-Butylnaringenin also showed the highest inhibitory effect against urease activity of H. pylori. Morphological changes of H. pylori 26695 treated with these flavonoids indicated that both hesperetin and 7-O-butylnaringenin at 200 μM damaged the cell membranes

PwRn1, a novel Ty3/gypsy-like retrotransposon of Paragonimus westermani: molecular characters and its differentially preserved mobile potential according to host chromosomal polyploidy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Retrotransposons have been known to involve in the remodeling and evolution of host genome. These reverse transcribing elements, which show a complex evolutionary pathway with diverse intermediate forms, have been comprehensively analyzed from a wide range of host genomes, while the information remains limited to only a few species in the phylum Platyhelminthes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A LTR retrotransposon and its homologs with a strong phylogenetic affinity toward <it>CsRn1 </it>of <it>Clonorchis sinensis </it>were isolated from a trematode parasite <it>Paragonimus westermani </it>via a degenerate PCR method and from an insect species <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>by <it>in silico </it>analysis of the whole mosquito genome, respectively. These elements, designated <it>PwRn1 </it>and <it>AgCR-1 </it>– <it>AgCR-14 </it>conserved unique features including a t-RNA^Trpprimer binding site and the unusual CHCC signature of Gag proteins. Their flanking LTRs displayed >97% nucleotide identities and thus, these elements were likely to have expanded recently in the trematode and insect genomes. They evolved heterogeneous expression strategies: a single fused ORF, two separate ORFs with an identical reading frame and two ORFs overlapped by -1 frameshifting. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that the elements with the separate ORFs had evolved from an ancestral form(s) with the overlapped ORFs. The mobile potential of <it>PwRn1 </it>was likely to be maintained differentially in association with the karyotype of host genomes, as was examined by the presence/absence of intergenomic polymorphism and mRNA transcripts.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results on the structural diversity of <it>CsRn1</it>-like elements can provide a molecular tool to dissect a more detailed evolutionary episode of LTR retrotransposons. The <it>PwRn1</it>-associated genomic polymorphism, which is substantial in diploids, will also be informative in addressing genomic diversification following inter-/intra-specific hybridization in <it>P. westermani </it>populations.</p

Structural performance experiment by moving cart to mount measurement sensors

The development of a measurement system for the purpose of structural performance evaluation has been needed. This work introduces a moving cart system on which to mount measurement sensors to measure acceleration and sound pressure in the time domain and an impact hammer for external excitation. The measurement data are utilized to evaluate the structural performance based on a mixed approach to directly and indirectly collect response data by a microphone and an accelerometer, respectively. The reliability of the measurement data is improved by the utilization of multiple sensors. The structural state is investigated by the power spectral density estimate (PSE) or proper orthogonal mode (POM) of the sound pressure and acceleration data. The applicability of the system is illustrated in a field test

Liquid crystal display using combined fringe and in-plane electric fields

A high performance liquid crystal display using combined fringe and in-plane horizontal electric fields is proposed. The strong electric fields cause more liquid crystals to reorient almost in plane above and between the pixel electrodes. As a result, the operation voltage is lower and transmittance is higher than those of fringe field switching and in-plane switching modes, while preserving a wide viewing angle. Such a high performance device is particularly attractive for large panel liquid crystal displays

Differences in Gait Patterns of Unilateral Transtibial Amputees With Two Types of Energy Storing Prosthetic Feet

Objective To evaluate if there is a difference in gait pattern when applying two different shapes of energy storing prosthetic feet for trainstibial amputation we conducted a comparative study. Energy storing prosthetic feet for transtibial amputation are increasing in use, but there are few studies that evaluate the effects of the shape of energy storing feet on gait patterns. Methods Ten unilateral transtibial amputees were recruited. Two different shapes of dynamic response feet were applied to each subject either 1C30 Trias or 1C60 Triton. The main differences between the two are a split forefoot and the presence of a heel wedge. Spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic data was obtained through gait analysis. Differences between intact and prosthetic side and differences between the two prosthetics were assessed. Results On a side to side comparison, cadence asymmetry with 1C30 Trias was observed. Ankle plantarflexion at the end of stance and ankle supination at the onset of preswing was smaller with both prosthetic feet compared to the intact side. Other spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic data showed no significant differences in a side to side comparison. In a comparison between the two prosthetics, stance and swing ratio and ankle dorsiflexion through mid-stance was closer to normal with 1C60 Triton than 1C30 Trias. Other spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic data showed no statistically significant differences between prosthetics. Conclusion Both energy storing feet implants showed symmetric gait in unilateral transtibial amputees who are functionally independent in daily living. And 1C60 Triton showed closer to normal gait patterns than 1C30 Trias in our study

Effective Action and Schwinger Pair Production in Scalar QED

Some astrophysical objects are supposed to have very strong electromagnetic fields above the critical strength. Quantum fluctuations due to strong electromagnetic fields modify the Maxwell theory and particularly electric fields make the vacuum unstable against pair production of charged particles. We study the strong field effect such as the effective action and the Schwinger pair production in scalar QED.Comment: RevTex 6 pages, no figure; Proceedings of APCTP Winter School on Black Hole Astrophysics 2008, Jan 24-29, 200