READING IN ENGLISH BY CHILDREN IN KOREA: FREQUENCY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND BARRIERS

A study of the English non-textbook reading of fourth graders in Korea revealed that about 80% had done at least some reading, confirming that there is enthusiasm for English reading. About half, however, had read only five books or fewer. Non-readers said that the reason they did not read in English was the difficulty of English texts. Those who read more did better on a test of English spelling and vocabulary. Keywords: English non-textbook reading; Enthusiasm for English reading; English texts; English spelling and vocabulary

Tuberculosis control in the Republic of Korea

The incidence and mortality rates of tuberculosis (TB) in the Republic of Korea are 77 and 5.2 per 100,000 people, respectively (2016), which are the highest among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Recently, the incidence of TB among teens and individuals in their 20s in the Republic of Korea decreased significantly. The decrease is largely attributed to the TB screening and contact investigation efforts targeting schools over the past few years. However, the incidence of TB among elderly individuals remains high, and it is even increasing compared to that in the past 10 years. Older individuals account for 42% of all TB cases and 82% of TB-related deaths. The success rate of TB treatment in the Republic of Korea has gradually increased due to various programs, such as control of non-compliance, insurance coverage for TB diagnosis and treatment, and TB public–private mix models. This study suggests that policy makers should focus their efforts on policies that prioritize a significant reduction in the incidence of TB based on the 2nd National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis Control (2018–2022)

PLEASURE READING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND COMPETENCE IN SPEAKING, LISTENING, READING AND WRITING

Positive and significant correlations ranging from .34 to .51 were found between self-reported pleasure reading (books, newspapers and magazines) and self-reported competence in speaking, listening, reading and writing English, among teachers in Korea whose responsibilities included teaching English as a foreign language.This result confirms the comprehension hypothesis, which claims that understanding what we hear and read is the cause of language development

The impact of sustained silent reading and a visit to the library on establishing a reading habit: helpful but not sufficient

Undergraduate university students in Korea who did not have a reading habit in English showed a clear enthusiasm for reading in English after participating in a single sustained silent reading session and a trip to an English library. However, such positive experiences can result in an English reading habit only if students have a time and place to read, and easy access to interesting reading material

Job Analysis of the Nursing Unit Managers of Women's Hospital Using DACUM Analysis

PURPOSE: To analyze the job of nursing unit managers working at women's hospital, using DACUM (developing a curriculum), DACUM is a method for analyzing job-focused competency. METHODS: This study involved a descriptive survey. A DACUM workshop was held to define women's hospital nursing unit managers' role and identify their duties and tasks. For the workshop, a committee was formed consisting of 5 women's hospital nursing unit managers. Finally, after validation, the developed contents were made into a survey asking about nursing unit manager's duties and tasks. RESULTS: Sixteen duties and 83 tasks were identified on the DACUM chart. The importance, difficulty, and frequency of the tasks were ranked in terms of A, B, and C, with A being the highest degree. Eight tasks received A's all in importance, difficulty, and frequency of performance. The 8 tasks were: ‘taking over’, ‘taking care of seriously ill patients on handover’, ‘ward rounding’, ‘analyzing and resolving demands identified during handover and patient tour’, ‘reporting patient status during rounding’, ‘promoting breast-feeding’, ‘uterine contraction, and training for breast-feeding’. The duty with the biggest determinant coefficient (DC) was ‘patients complaint management’ (DC=7.09). Based on tasks, the one with the biggest DC was ‘solving patient and patient guardian's complaints’ (DC=7.53), followed by ‘making infection control guidelines’ (DC=7.5). CONCLUSION: When expanding the nursing staff of the hospital, women's hospitals nursing unit managers also need to use administrative functions as intermediaries to focus on the operation management of the entire hospital rather than direct nursing to suit their role

Synaptic connectivity of the TRPV1-positive trigeminal afferents in the rat lateral parabrachial nucleus

Recent studies have shown a direct projection of nociceptive trigeminal afferents into the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN). Information about the synaptic connectivity of these afferents may help understand how orofacial nociception is processed in the LPBN, which is known to be involved primarily in the affective aspect of pain. To address this issue, we investigated the synapses of the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1-positive (TRPV1+) trigeminal afferent terminals in the LPBN by immunostaining and serial section electron microscopy. TRPV1 + afferents arising from the ascending trigeminal tract issued axons and terminals (boutons) in the LPBN. TRPV1+ boutons formed synapses of asymmetric type with dendritic shafts and spines. Almost all (98.3%) TRPV1+ boutons formed synapses with one (82.6%) or two postsynaptic dendrites, suggesting that, at a single bouton level, the orofacial nociceptive information is predominantly transmitted to a single postsynaptic neuron with a small degree of synaptic divergence. A small fraction (14.9%) of the TRPV1+ boutons formed synapses with dendritic spines. None of the TRPV1+ boutons were involved in axoaxonic synapses. Conversely, in the trigeminal caudal nucleus (Vc), TRPV1+ boutons often formed synapses with multiple postsynaptic dendrites and were involved in axoaxonic synapses. Number of dendritic spine and total number of postsynaptic dendrites per TRPV1+ bouton were significantly fewer in the LPBN than Vc. Thus, the synaptic connectivity of the TRPV1+ boutons in the LPBN differed significantly from that in the Vc, suggesting that the TRPV1-mediated orofacial nociception is relayed to the LPBN in a distinctively different manner than in the Vc