Search

This study examines the ways in which Korean immigrant mothers take up roles to position themselves while they engage in their children's education across a wide range of settings--academic, social, and linguistic. Data sources included interviews with four Korean mothers, home and community observations, and field notes. Positioning theory is a research approach that provides a useful analytic means for understanding positioning of Korean immigrant mothers as being parents of children with disabilities attending American schools. The results demonstrate that Korean immigrant mothers seek to learn how to be supportive mothers of children with disabilities by negotiating and facilitating contextual affordances and limitations between home, school, and community in order to obtain valuable potential resources for their children's linguistic repertories and social skill development and their future success.

A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) changes family dynamics and impacts family members' lives. Knowing family perceptions of ASD and understanding their experiences and challenges with children's ASD provides more important context for socially valid intervention approaches. In particular, given the increased need for culturally responsive interventions, investigating the impact of ASD diagnosis on a particular cultural group offers meaningful preliminary evidence for efficient approaches for educators who seek to serve that population. In this study, the authors used naturalistic inquiry to explore how Korean American mothers experience their children's ASD and how their cultural values and perceptions of ASD relate to their lives and their children's education. Five Korean American mothers participated in this study. Using constant comparative analysis, four key themes were identified: (1) chains of emotional distress; (2) impact of ASD on family relationships; (3) lifestyle impact; and (4) cultural differences in navigating educational systems. These findings are discussed for future research and practice.

Understanding and ultimately controlling the large electromechanical effects in relaxor ferroelectrics requires intimate knowledge of how the local-polar order evolves under applied stimuli. Here, the biaxial-strain-induced evolution of and correlations between polar structures and properties in epitaxial films of the prototypical relaxor ferroelectric 0.68PbMg1/3 Nb2/3 O3 -0.32PbTiO3 are investigated. X-ray diffuse-scattering studies reveal an evolution from a butterfly- to disc-shaped pattern and an increase in the correlation-length from ≈8 to ≈25 nm with increasing compressive strain. Molecular-dynamics simulations reveal the origin of the changes in the diffuse-scattering patterns and that strain induces polarization rotation and the merging of the polar order. As the magnitude of the strain is increased, relaxor behavior is gradually suppressed but is not fully quenched. Analysis of the dynamic evolution of dipole alignment in the simulations reveals that, while, for most unit-cell chemistries and configurations, strain drives a tendency toward more ferroelectric-like order, there are certain unit cells that become more disordered under strain, resulting in stronger competition between ordered and disordered regions and enhanced overall susceptibilities. Ultimately, this implies that deterministic creation of specific local chemical configurations could be an effective way to enhance relaxor performance.

South Korea has experienced rapid aging, and it is predicted that people aged 65 years or older will account for 20% of the total population by 2047. The proportion of one-person households is also increasing rapidly at the same time, and is expected to account for 37% of the total number of households by 2047. Such a demographic shift has led to more isolated households and social isolation, and consequently, to higher risks of solitary deaths. Central and local governments have implemented various measures, such as care services for the elderly living alone and regular checks on their status; however, there are limitations due to workforce and budget constraints. Therefore, it is necessary to explore innovative solutions that utilize digital technologies such as the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) as new low-cost, high-efficiency alternatives. Innovations in digital technology have the potential to suggest new solutions to the issue of solitary death. Advanced technologies can play an important role in maximizing the effectiveness of solitary death prevention, management, and the prevention of social isolation. Although there is a growing body of research on the development of digital technology-based care services for the elderly, these studies have primarily focused on the applicability and early implementation stages of specific technologies. These studies have limitations in fully understanding the market trends of technologies and competition patterns within the industry. Therefore, it is essential to investigate trends in the latest technologies and R&D directions in a particular technology field through patents filed to protect new technologies. This study is intended to contribute to an in-depth understanding of the current status and development direction of digital technologies for the prevention of solitary deaths, and to provide a basis for future technology development. This study also contributes to establishing government policies and R&D strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: With advancements in treatment, the increasing number of women with breast cancer has led to a growing focus on enhancing their well-being by understanding health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to investigate the association between comorbidities and HRQoL in middle-aged and older community-dwelling Korean women with breast cancer. Methods: Data from the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 2014 and 2020 were used to analyze 12,218 women aged ≥50 years (244 women with breast cancer vs. 11,974 women without breast cancer). HRQoL was assessed using the EQ-5D-3L tool and the EQ-5D index. Associations between comorbidities (arthritis, depression, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease) and HRQoL were examined. Results: Among women with breast cancer, arthritis was associated with problems in mobility (OR, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.39–7.53) and pain/discomfort (OR, 7.30; 95% CI, 3.62–14.73). Depression was associated with problems in self-care (OR, 7.02; 95% CI, 1.97–25.01), usual activities (OR, 5.73; 95% CI, 1.52–21.59), pain/discomfort (OR, 5.58; 95% CI, 1.49–20.87), and anxiety/depression (OR, 3.81; 95% CI, 1.14–12.72). Arthritis and depression were also considerably associated with overall HRQoL, as measured by the EQ-5D index. Hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease were not independently associated with HRQoL. Conclusions: Arthritis and depression were markedly associated with HRQoL in middle-aged and older women in the community who suffer from breast cancer. Public health interventions that focus on managing these comorbidities can enhance the well-being of women with breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Krabbe disease (KD) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder caused by deficiency of the galactocerebrosidase (GALC) due to variants in the GALC gene. Here, we provide the first and the largest comprehensive analysis of clinical and genetic characteristics, and genotype–phenotype correlations of KD in Korean in comparison with other ethnic groups. From June 2010 to June 2023, 10 patients were diagnosed with KD through sequencing of GALC. Clinical features, and results of GALC sequencing, biochemical test, neuroimaging, and neurophysiologic test were obtained from medical records. An additional nine previously reported Korean KD patients were included for review. In Korean KD patients, the median age of onset was 2 years (3 months–34 years) and the most common phenotype was adult‐onset (33%, 6/18) KD, followed by infantile KD (28%, 5/18). The most frequent variants were c.683_694delinsCTC (23%) and c.1901T>C (23%), while the 30‐kb deletion was absent. Having two heterozygous pathogenic missense variants was associated with later‐onset phenotype. Clinical features were similar to those of other ethnic groups. In Korean KD patients, the most common phenotype was the adult‐onset type and the GALC variant spectrum was different from that of the Caucasian population. This study would further our understanding of KD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this literature review is to examine music education research concerning the emerging practice of co-teaching between cooperating music teachers and student teachers, and to understand the benefits of co-teaching for both. The review is organized into two sections: (a) how cooperating music teachers and student teachers view their co-teaching experiences and (b) how cooperating music teachers mentor student teachers in a co-teaching model. Co-teaching during student teaching can occur successfully through cooperating teachers' willingness to facilitate the co-teaching process, student teachers' reflective practice with cooperating teachers and careful sequencing in teaching opportunities, and co-teachers' engagement in daily communication activities. Music education researchers should continue to examine various topics related to implementing a co-teaching model in student teaching. This article will provide current P-12 music teachers with successful co-teaching examples and suggestions for applications in music classrooms.

The need for efficient energy utilization is driving research into ways to harvest ubiquitous waste heat. Here, we explore pyroelectric energy conversion from low-grade thermal sources that exploits strong field- and temperature-induced polarization susceptibilities in the relaxor ferroelectric 0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.32PbTiO3. Electric-field-driven enhancement of the pyroelectric response (as large as -550 μC m-2 K-1) and suppression of the dielectric response (by 72%) yield substantial figures of merit for pyroelectric energy conversion. Field- and temperature-dependent pyroelectric measurements highlight the role of polarization rotation and field-induced polarization in mediating these effects. Solid-state, thin-film devices that convert low-grade heat into electrical energy are demonstrated using pyroelectric Ericsson cycles, and optimized to yield maximum energy density, power density and efficiency of 1.06 J cm-3, 526 W cm-3 and 19% of Carnot, respectively; the highest values reported to date and equivalent to the performance of a thermoelectric with an effective ZT ≈ 1.16 for a temperature change of 10 K. Our findings suggest that pyroelectric devices may be competitive with thermoelectric devices for low-grade thermal harvesting.

Leveraging competition between energetically degenerate states to achieve large field-driven responses is a hallmark of functional materials, but routes to such competition are limited. Here, a new route to such effects involving domain-structure competition is demonstrated, which arises from strain-induced spontaneous partitioning of PbTiO3 thin films into nearly energetically degenerate, hierarchical domain architectures of coexisting c/a and a1 /a2 domain structures. Using band-excitation piezoresponse force microscopy, this study manipulates and acoustically detects a facile interconversion of different ferroelastic variants via a two-step, three-state ferroelastic switching process (out-of-plane polarized c+ → in-plane polarized a → out-of-plane polarized c- state), which is concomitant with large nonvolatile electromechanical strains (≈1.25%) and tunability of the local piezoresponse and elastic modulus (>23%). It is further demonstrated that deterministic, nonvolatile writing/erasure of large-area patterns of this electromechanical response is possible, thus showing a new pathway to improved function and properties.