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The main visual feature is surface cracks, which are caused by loopholes that are embedded into the structures due to manufacturing faults and overloading factors. The structural health monitoring must be precise and more efficient for detecting surface cracks in concrete structures. Human inspection is used to identify damage on concrete surfaces. But, these traditional visual observation techniques are not more effective for large concrete structures. Moreover, this outmoded human labor practice for crack detection is intensive, expensive, and inefficient. To predict potentially hazardous situations caused by cracks on concrete surfaces, it is crucial to have an efficient, fast, and well-organized inspection system for concrete surface cracks. The automatic crack detection system must be effective in identifying cracks, damage, and segmenting them. In this research, a deep learning (DL) algorithm model is active for crack detection in concrete structure images to assess the influence on structural health. This design work is projected to provide a fast and active solution for identifying dust/duct type to prevent power losses using an image classification model based on DL. The VGG-16 DL model significantly analyzes the precision and accuracy of identifying the crack surfaces on concrete structures. The exceptional performance of the projected model achieves a training accuracy of 99.99% and a test accuracy of 99.96%, with an F1 score of 0.9995, precision of 0.9995, and a sensitivity of 0.9997. This is more precise, costeffective, and more efficient than human resources to find the defect on concrete surfaces that may support the healthy life of concrete structures.

Currently, ministries of education in some developing countries, such as Malaysia and Iran, are planning to transform their often-centralized tests to school-based assessment. This is good news but before making any changes, one must ask if stakeholders in such communities are ready for any changes. The objective of this study was to compare the conceptions of assessments of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and students. Qualitative methods were used to collect the data using a questionnaire with open-ended tasks developed, validated, piloted and refined by the researchers. The data were analyzed through inductive and deductive thematic analysis approaches. The results also indicated that both students and teachers frequently view assessment as tests and scores, and yet there were differences between their conceptions. For example, while teachers were more concerned with standards and validity, themes such as cheating emerged from students‟ data. Assessment was also found to be stimulator of both adaptive behavior (such as an instrumental motivator) and maladaptive behavior (such as cheating) among students. These results offer remarkable implications for language learning, teaching, and testing for education policy-makers in developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to explore Korean college students' perception toward TOEIC(Test of English for International Communication). While a small body of previous studies looks into TOEIC and Korean learners of English(KLE), their focus is not on Korean learners' perception toward TOEIC but on the development of effective TOEIC courses for KLE, learners' strategy and TOEIC, and the development of online TOEIC courses. To fill this lacuna in the literature, this study examines how KLE perceives TOEIC based on data collected both qualitatively from 20 college students and quantitatively from 652 college students. The data shows that Korean college students tend to view TOEIC as a means of pursuing their future careers rather than as an opportunity to test their English ability. Pedagogical implications for effective material/course development based on the result are discussed

The purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of self- assessment on improving learners’ autonomy in English learning. Self- assessment was utilized in a 5th grade class of 36 students during the spring semester of 2004. To examine whether learners’ autonomy increased, a questionnaire was developed and administered before and after the experiment. To examine the effects of the increased autonomy on English language learning, two versions of Starters, the lowest level tests developed by Cambridge University Press, were administered before and after the experiment. A short and simple test was also given to students at the end of each unit. The test scores from different periods were compared to examine the effects of self-assessment. The main findings of this study were that self-assessment was a very useful tool for building autonomy and that teacher’s intervention was also needed for effective use of self-assessment, especially with children. However, this study failed to show that autonomy improvement is clearly correlated with improvement in achievement tests though weak evidence was found to support the relationship.

Dans un paysage professionnel en pleine évolution, la formation peut accompagner les changements, mais elle participe également à la définition des critères de qualité. Les formations à l’interprétation de conférence enseignent aux étudiants non seulement la méthodologie de l’interprétation : elles leur transmettent également une déontologie et une vision de la profession. Elles défendent ainsi une certaine idée de l’interprétation. Cette fonction est indispensable. L’article suivant examinera la contribution que les formations peuvent apporter au maintien de la qualité en interprétation de conférence, les difficultés rencontrées et les solutions envisageables.

Face-to-face interview format has been widely used to elicit English language samples in oral proficiency testing. It is desirable to replicate target language use situations in oral testing, and the direct testing format is believed to assess more authentic and interactive language abilities. However, it has been argued that speech samples from unstructured face-to-face interviews are quite different from those in natural communication settings. The purpose of this study was to understand the construct to be assessed through an unstructured face-to-face interview, which was adopted to an English speaking contest. Data from the English speaking contest were analyzed in terms of how they were different from the characteristics of naturally occurring conversations. It was found that the test construct in the English speaking contest did not reflect the features of natural conversation specifically in the areas of turn-taking, adjacency pairs, and topic nomination due to asymmetrical power relations between interviewer and interviewees. Therefore, it was suggested that we need to incorporate diverse discourse-based approaches into current speaking skill assessments, which can interpret spoken language data in many ways.

Recent developments in multifaceted Rasch measurement (Linacre, 1989) have made possible new kinds of investigations of facets of speaking test samples. The Rasch measurement, implemented through the computer program FACETS 3.56 version, can provide useful information in separate graphics and tables for the facets (e.g., test takers’ ability, item difficulty, and rater severity, bias analyses). This study investigates the roles of newly updated FACETS in the context of rater monitoring of English speaking test. Data for this study came from G-TELP Speaking Test. The performance of 50 candidates on the speaking test was multiply rated and analyzed using the most updated FACETS version of Rasch model. After exploring the extent to which new graphics and analyses tables of new FACETS are useful in rater monitoring, it was suggested that other tester groups should bring analytic tools like FACETS to effectively analyze raters’ consistency patterns as well as other rating patterns of individual raters for specific test tasks and criteria.

Careful cleaning and disinfection of pigpens is essential to prevent disease spread and avoid the resultant economic losses. Hygiene in pigpens is generally evaluated by visual monitoring supplemented with bacteriological monitoring, which includes counting the total aerobic bacteria (TAB) and/or fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). However, these methods present drawbacks such as time and labor requirements. As adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is ubiquitous in all living organisms including microorganisms, this study aimed to directly compare the results of microbial assessment and ATP quantification, and to suggest possible detailed application methods of the ATP test for hygiene evaluation in pigpens of a farrowing unit. Before and after standard cleaning procedures, samples were collected from the floor corner, floor center, and feeding trough of four pigpens at different time points. No FIB were detected and both the TAB and ATP levels were significantly decreased in the floor center area after cleaning. FIB were continuously detected after cleaning and disinfection of the floor corners, and there was no significant ATP level reduction. The feeding trough did not show any significant difference in these values before and after cleaning, indicating insufficient cleaning of this area. The levels of TAB and ATP after cleaning were significantly correlated and the average ATP value was significantly lower in the absence of FIB than in their presence. In the absence of standard references, a more thorough hygiene management could be achieved evenly by supplementing cleaning or disinfection based on the lowest ATP results obtained at the cleanest test site, which in the present study was the floor center. Overall, these results indicate that the on-farm ATP test can be used to determine the cleanliness status, in addition to visual inspection, as an alternative to laboratory culture-based testing for the presence of microorganisms.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the causal relationship between loneliness and depression among adolescent game players and whether there are gender differences. The current study analyzed the Korean Creative Content Agency “Game Players Panel Data”. The results of the autoregressive cross-lagged model showed that loneliness at the prior time had a positive effect on depression at the later time. Similarly, there was a positive effect of depression on loneliness at a later time. However, there were no gender differences in the relationship between these two variables. Based on these results recommendations are made for service adjustments for loneliness and depression among adolescent game players such as counseling and strengthenning by digital-based social network activities and exploring career paths. Finally, the limitations of this study are noted and suggestions for follow-up research are presented.

Purpose: To test the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Person-centered Climate Questionnaire - staff version (KPCQ-S) in long-term care institutions. Methods: A total of 297 staff in long-term care institutions including nine nursing homes (NHs) and 4 long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) were included. The KPCQ-S was developed following the WHO guidelines of the process of translation and adaptation of instruments. An internal consistency using Cronbach’s ? was tested for reliability. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the construct validity. Convergent and discriminant validity were examined using Pearson correlation. Results: EFA demonstrated the construct validity of the 14-item KPCQ-S with three-factor solutions, specifically three factors (safety, everydayness, and community) in NHs and four factors (safety, everydayness, community, and comprehensibility) in LTCHs. Convergent validity was found in the correlation with the work satisfaction (r=.55). The KPCQ-S showed satisfactory internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s ?=.91). Conclusion: The KPCQ-S is found to be a reliable and valid tool for measuring staff perceptions of the person centeredness of long-term care environments.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to test hypothesized relationships among experiences of uncertainty, depression, and social support in a sample of subjects undergoing renal replacement therapy in Korea. Methods Path analysis was used in the sample to examine the relationships among depression and experiences of uncertainty, direct social support, indirect social support, and demographic variables. The size of the sample was 104 patients. Patients received either hemodialysis at one of three clinics or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Results One hundred and four subjects participated in the study. It was found that 6.2% of variance in uncertainty was predicted by direct social support (b=?.267), and 46.2% of variance in depression was predicted by three variables: direct social support (b=?.517), economic status (b = .299), and number of admissions (b = .275). Unlike the theoretical model, experiences of uncertainty could not predict depression. Conclusion The effectiveness of social support in relieving experiences of uncertainty and consequently depression was shown in this study. Moreover, depression in this population could be predicted by direct social support, economic status, and frequency of admission. The study was needed to investigate the relationship between depression and experiences of uncertainty with time covariates, as well as to find the factors that influence depression in patients with chronic renal failure. [Asian Nursing Research 2008; 2(2):92?101]

Purpose: This methodological study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Self-Care of Coronary Heart Disease Inventory version 3 (SC-CHDI v3) in a Korean context. Methods: The SC-CHDI v3 was translated into Korean following a rigorous translation process. Participants were 452 patients who had experienced coronary heart disease (CHD), all recruited from a tertiary hospital in Korea. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to test construct validity. Concurrent validity was examined by correlating scores from the Korean version of the SC-CHDI v3 with those from the Cardiac Self-Efficacy Scale. Internal consistency was analyzed using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega. Results: The Korean version of the SC-CHDI v3 consists of 21 items, excluding two from the original instrument. The self-care maintenance subscale identified a two-factor structure: "treatment adherence" and "health-promoting behaviors." The goodness-of-fit indices were satisfied: χ2 = 18.19, p = .110, comparative fit index (CFI) = .97, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = .95, and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = .04. The self-care monitoring subscale consisted of a one-dimensional structure ("monitoring behaviors") and the goodness-of-fit indices were satisfied: χ2 = 19.19, p = .059, CFI = .99, TLI = .99, and SRMR = .04. The self-care management subscales had a two-factor structure of "consulting behaviors" and "problem-solving behaviors." The goodness-of-fit indices were satisfied: χ2 = 16.44, p = .037, CFI = .99, TLI = .98, and SRMR = .03. Scores from the Cardiac Self-Efficacy Scale showed a positive correlation with the Korean version of SC-CHDI v3 subscales. Reliability estimates were ≥ .80 for all subscales except for the self-care maintenance subscale. Conclusions: The Korean version of the SC-CHDI v3 consists of 21 items in 3 subscales and is a valid and reliable instrument. Therefore, healthcare providers can effectively utilize it to assess the self-care levels of patients with CHD.

The ongoing softwarization of networks creates a big need for automated testing solutions to ensure service quality. This becomes even more important if agile environments with short time to market and high demands, in terms of service performance and availability, are considered. In this paper, we introduce a novel testing solution for virtualized, microservice-based network functions and services, which we base on TTCN-3, a well known testing language defined by the European standards institute (ETSI). We use TTCN-3 not only for functional testing but also answer the question whether TTCN-3 can be used for performance profiling tasks as well. Finally, we demonstrate the proposed concepts and solutions in a case study using our open-source prototype to test and profile a chained network service.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to test the validity and reliability of the Indonesian version of the Dietary Sodium Restriction Questionnaire (DSRQ-I) among patients with hypertension. Methods: The cross-sectional study enrolled hypertensive patients from a cardiac outpatient department in Indonesia using convenience sampling. Eligible patients received a demographic questionnaire and DSRQ-I during a one-month period of data collection. Content and construct analysis examined the validity, whereas internal consistency assessment checked reliability. Participation required 10-15 minutes on average. Results: One hundred thirty-five patients participated: mostly females (54.1%) and married (82.9%) with mean age of 58.18 ± 10.44 years. The item of content validity index was .97, and subscale content validity index was .81 for DSRQ-I. The KaisereMeyereOlkin test gave a value of .83, indicating adequate sampling, and the Bartlett's test of sphericity reached significant result (p < .001). The principal component analysis indicated three components, with 64.2% explaining variance, including perceived behavioral control (35.5%), attitude (19.3%), and subjective norm (9.4%). Confirmatory factor analysis produced a parsimonious model on the three-factor outcome by removing a single item. The indices of good fit model was achieved at x2/df = 2.17, goodness fit index = .85, root mean square error of approximation = .09, standardized root mean square means = .07, and Bentler comparative fit index = .90 (p < .001). Cronbach's alpha coefficients for attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were .85, .87, and .85, respectively. All interitem and item-total correlations indicated adequate outcome and acceptable result. Consequently, 15 items were determined reliable measurement and included in the final version of DSRQ-I. Conclusion: The DSRQ-I is a valid and reliable instrument to measure facilitators and barrier of sodium restriction among hypertensive patients in Indonesia.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Behavior Assessment for Children (BAC) in a community of school-aged children in Taiwan. Method: A school-based sample comprising third grade and fourth grade students was recruited from Taichung City in Taiwan. The parents (n = 248) and teachers (n = 15) of these students completed structured questionnaires, including the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the proposed BAC. Content validity, concurrent validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and inter-rater reliability of the BAC were assessed. Results: The BAC comprised three subscales (attention, emotion, and self-control) that included 17 items. The content validity index (CVI) score was 0.98. The result of the confirmatory factor analysis (goodness of fit = .90, root mean square of residual = .03, root mean square error of approximation = .06, and comparative fit index = .94) supported the construct validity of the three BAC subscales. The concurrent validity of the BAC subscales significantly correlated with the compatible CBCL subscales (r = .59-.78, p < .001). Cronbach a of the subscales of the BAC ranged from .78 to .92. The intraclass correlation coefficient between the parents and teachers ranged from .31 to .44, and the joint probability of agreement ranged from 31.4% to 92.2%. Conclusions: The BAC is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating behavioral problems in schoolaged children.

The process of biased hypothesis testing, which occurs when people tend to search for information that would provide support for their hypotheses and ignore hypotheses-disconfirming information, may influence the ways individuals interact with other people, and may end up eliciting behaviors in others that actually correspond to their initial hypotheses, leading them to provide behavioral evidence for the initial expectancies. These processes of biased hypothesis testing and behavioral confirmation have been extensively studied, especially in the instructional setting as a type of self-fulfilling prophecies. In the current paper manifestations of the processes of biased hypothesis testing and behavioral confirmation in three areas of the legal system, legal decision making, police interrogations (false confessions), and eyewitness identifications, were discussed. Furthermore, procedures that can be used to minimize problems resulting from biased hypothesis testing and behavioral confirmation were explored.

Purpose: Fathers' involvement in newborn care positively affects both work sharing between parents, newborn quality of life, and the relationship between father and newborn. However, there is no valid and reliable measurement tool to evaluate fathers' self-efficacy levels for newborn care. This study aimed to develop the fathers' self-efficacy scale for newborn care (FSSNC) and to examine its psychometric properties. Methods: This study is an instrument development and validation study. After a comprehensive literature review, expert opinion, and pilot application stages, an item pool was developed. For validity and reliability analyses, data were collected between March and December 2022 from 442 individuals, including fathers with newborn babies and expectant fathers whose partners are pregnant. Validity assessments included content, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and convergent validity. The scale was also evaluated for its internal consistency, and two-half-test reliability. In this study, the STROBE checklist was used as a guideline. Results: The final version of the scale consisted of three subdimensions (hygiene, safety, and nutrition). The total number of items is 17. Confirmatory factor analysis results confirm the results of exploratory factor analysis. There was a strong correlation between the scale score and the participants' self-assessment score. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that the FSSNC was a valid, reliable, and user-friendly measurement tool used to evaluate fathers' self-efficacy regarding hygiene, safety, and nutrition in newborn care.

In children's mental health, many psychological assessments are critical to measure end outcomes. And equally valid measures are essential for health services outcome research in diverse populations. Examination of equal validity in tests measuring the emotional, motivational, attitudinal, and interpersonal characteristics of children can be achieved with factor analytic tools. Factor analysis assumes a particular measurement model, effect indicator model. However, some psychological measures such as Child Behavior Checklist are not clear whether effect indicator model is assumed. In this paper, an alternative measurement model, causal indicator model, was introduced. Measurement equivalence of CBCL was tested using multiple group analysis based on effect indicator model and using principal component analysis based on causal indicator model. The results showed that measurement equivalence tests based on the two measurement models in CBCL led to similar conclusions. We conclude that the two measurement models could be complementary for explaining differential validity of psychological measures across sub-populations.

Purpose: The purpose of this micro-ethnography is to examine whether science and societal changes impact family communication patterns among a convenience sample of 16 Korean women. Methods: The authors observed family communication in the context of a new breast cancer genetic screening and diagnostic testing program to detect BRCA gene mutations in Korean women at highest risk. Results: Analysis of in-depth interviews and field notes taken during participant observation illustrated that communication patterns in families vary according to a woman’s position in the family. If a grandmother tests positive for a gene mutation, her daughters make decisions on her behalf; they open and maintain the communication channel among family members. If a housewife is diagnosed with cancer and a genetic mutation, she immediately consults her husband and her sisters. The husband creates an open communication channel between his wife, his parents and his siblings. As a result, a woman’s cancer is a concern for the whole family not merely a woman’s secret or crisis. Conclusion: Cultural differences are important to consider when designing new genetic service programs in different countries.