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This study explored the mechanism of labor market performance by confirming the role of secondary vocational education for young Korean employees of high school graduates. To this end, we focused on the Meister High School (MHS) policy for fostering the lead in secondary vocational education in Korea. In comparative perspective, data from 2,344 Korean employees who graduated from MHS or Specialized Vocational High School (SVHS) were analyzed. Firstly, it was found that MHS graduates obtained better objective performance conditions even if the crucial reginal and parental effects are controlled. Next, MHS graduates maintained higher job satisfaction focusing on their horizontal mismatch level. Moreover, MHS graduates with higher achievement in vocational courses were satisfied with their school life. Our findings found the significant roles of the Korean secondary vocational education policy by applying assumptions of the status acquisition model.

This study empirically examines the relationship between "investor attention" and aggregate stock returns, seeking to determine whether interest in South Korea can predict the returns of the Korean stock market. The results confirm a positive relationship between interest in Korea and future stock market returns. Furthermore, this relationship is observed to have emerged with the widespread dissemination of Korean culture starting in 2017. This impact is found to be more significant on the KOSDAQ market compared to the KOSPI market. Within the KOSPI market, the influence of interest on stock returns is particularly pronounced in the case of small‐cap stocks. It is also observed that since 2017, as interest in South Korea has increased, information related to the improvement of Korea's corruption index has begun to significantly affect stock returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the thinking styles of Korean gifted students in Korea and examined whether thinking styles based on the theory of mental self-government could predict scientific giftedness based on Korean people?s implicit concepts. Participants were 179 students from the two science high schools and 176 students from the general high schools in Korea. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (Sternberg & Wagner, 1992) and Scientific Giftedness Inventory (Shim & Kim, 2003). Results indicated that Korean gifted students had higher scores than nongifted students in all factors, including scientific accomplishment, leadership, creativity, morality, motivation, and cognitive experimentalism. In addition, Korean gifted students prefered the legislative, judicial, anarchic, global, external, and liberal styles, whereas Korean nongifted students prefered the executive, oligarchic, and conservative styles. Results from the stepwise multiple regression analysis procedures indicated that the subscales of thinking styles could be significant predictors of scientific giftedness.

Purpose: Electroencephalography (EEG) is useful for clarifying the association between cortical activity and cognitive processes in children. We investigated whether EEG abnormalities were correlated with developmental delay/intellectual disability (DD/ID) in the absence of clinical seizures. Methods: We retrospectively identified 166 children with DD/ID who underwent EEG at Pusan National University Hospital between January 2011 and December 2021. We compared clinical characteristics and test results between those with normal and those with abnormal EEGs. Additionally, we analyzed EEG abnormalities in relation to neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Results: Of the 166 patients, 39 (23.5%) displayed abnormal EEGs, while 127 (76.5%) had normal EEGs. Of the former, 25 (64.1%) patients exhibited epileptiform discharges, including 22 (56.3%) with focal and three (7.7%) with generalized discharges. Focal discharges most frequently affected the central area (35.9%). Twenty patients (51.3%) exhibited rhythmic slowing patterns. Epilepsy diagnoses were significantly more common among patients with abnormal EEGs (n=8, 20.5%) than among those with normal EEGs (n=9, 7.1%) (P<0.001). Of 22 patients with ASD, five (12.8%) had abnormal EEGs. Of 13 patients with ADHD, five (36.4%) had abnormal EEGs, all with epileptiform discharges. Two patients with ASD and two with ADHD exhibited rhythmic slowing. Abnormal EEG findings were significantly more common among those with genetic abnormalities compared to genetically normal patients (26 vs. 13, P=0.017). Conclusion: EEG represents a potential screening tool for children with DD. Abnormal EEG findings are associated with increased epilepsy risk, informing diagnosis and treatment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcopenia is defined as an age-related decline in muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance. Eating alone has been linked to various health issues in older adults. This study investigated the relationship between eating alone and handgrip strength (HGS) in older adults using data from 7278 individuals (≥65 years) who participated in the 2014–2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. HGS was measured using a digital grip strength dynamometer, relative HGS was calculated by dividing HGS by body mass index, and dynapenia was defined as an HGS < 28 kg for men and <18 kg for women. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that women who ate two meals alone were more likely to exhibit dynapenia than those who never ate alone (odds ratio [OR], 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.77). If the groups that never ate alone or ate one meal alone were combined as the reference group, the probability of dynapenia was higher in the combined groups that ate two or three meals alone (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04–1.50). No association was observed between eating alone and dynapenia in men. This suggests that eating alone is a modifiable related factor of dynapenia in older women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]