• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1057-1066
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• 2016

This study examined how 'forest name' or 'information of forest healing effectiveness' influence their perceived environmental restorativeness (PER) and perceived healing effectiveness (PHE). Study area was the 'Forest Healing Road (FHR)' in Mudeungsan National Park. Data were collected from 247 visitors selected by convenient sampling method using questionnaire survey during May-June, 2015. Respondents who read interpretive signs (forest name and information on forest healing effectiveness of FHR were written) installed along the FHR were regarded as placebo group and respondents who didn't read them as control group. The results showed that there were no overall differences on PER and PHE between control and placebo groups. Placebo group, however, rated more positive on 'being away' factor of PER than control group. All four factors (i.e., being away, coherence, fascination, comparability) of PER statistically influenced PHE (p<0.001), and these factors explained 51.1% of PHE. The 'coherence' was the most influential to PHE, followed by 'being away', 'comparability', and 'fascination' in order. Placebo effects on PER were shown in male, in lower age group(age${\leq}54$), or respondents with lower visiting experience to FHR(${\leq}20$ times/year). Placebo effects on PHE were found in male, in small group (${\leq}2$ persons), in respondents who visited 'alone' or 'with relatives/family', or in respondents with lower visiting experience to FHR(${\leq}20$ times/year). Some research and managerial implications were suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.35-51
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• 2017

Street gardens, a series of streetscape improvement projects led by Seoul City Government, are initiated for the purpose of providing aesthetic satisfaction and mental refreshment to pedestrians. In order to investigate whether street gardens indeed promote the psychological health of the users, questionnaire surveys were conducted on three selected street gardens - at Gangnam-daero, Digital-ro, and Teheranro - and their comparison sites located on the same streets, which have a similar physical environment but without a street garden. The survey questionnaires, based on Attention Restoration Theory, were composed of Perceived Restorativeness Scale-11 with the eleven individual questions grouped into four categories: 'Fascination', 'Being away', 'Coherence', and 'Scope'. The survey questionnaires also ask about physical components that promote psychological improvement in the aforementioned categories. The collected data was analyzed with factor analysis, reliability analysis, and independent t-test. The results suggested that street gardens had a relatively positive effect on the psychological restorativeness of the users. In particular, they gave fascination and interest to the users. However, they did not offer a feeling of being away to the users, which revealed the limitation in the psychological improvement effect of street gardens. The physical components of the street garden that have led the psychological restorativeness effect were wooden bench, tree, and flower. This result corresponds to an extant theory that natural factors have a positive effect on the psychological restorativeness within a hardscape. This research will shed light on the planning and design guidelines for the street garden project.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.94-104
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• 2017

With the recent increasing interest in preventive medicine, observation has been made regarding the positive relationship between a routinized place that includes activity and health improvement. This study evaluates the effective value of a designed landscape for seeing a healing environment and sees the difference of the effective value of classified physical settings regarding Evidence Based Design. Therefore, the study evaluates the perceived restorativeness scale of Cheonggyceheon's 1.5km section and five type settings in the same section regarding how much it works as a healthy urban park. The research methodology used to study sub-settings' and the research site's restoration effects was observation and questionnaires. A PRS (Perceived Restorativeness Scale) questionnaire survey was the research tool employed. The study drew two major results. Firstly, PRS 6.12 is the score of the whole research site, so the study identifies that Cheonggycheon has a mental fatigue restoration function. Secondly, the sub-setting named 'Near Sidewall' was the most attention restorative, according to the ANOVA results. In conclusion, this study suggests significant information support regarding the reasons for creating green areas in urban settings by identifying a particular designed healing sit.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.217-226
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• 2024

Manufacturing workers face increased fatigue and stress due to environmental factors in workplace such as noise and vibration. Addressing this issue requires creating conducive rest spaces; however, the existing conditions of rest spaces in manufacturing workplace are subpar and lack sufficient scholarly evidence. This study investigated the effect of nature-based rest spaces on the physical and emotional recovery from fatigue on manufacturing workers. Three manufacturing complexes with nature-friendly rest spaces were selected, and 63 manufacturing workers participated in the study. The measurement tools included the Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS) for fatigue levels, physiological indicators (blood pressure and heart rate), and emotional indicators (Zuckerman Inventory of Personal Reaction Scale; ZIPERS, Perceived Restorativeness Scale; PRS, Profile of Mood States; POMS and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STAI). The study compared recovery levels during a 7-minute rest between a space without plants and a space with natural elements. The results indicated a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure of participants in green rest spaces compared with those in conventional rest spaces. Regarding fatigue levels, green rest spaces showed a decrease in systolic blood pressure in the middle-fatigue and high-fatigue groups. Positive feelings increased in green spaces, whereas negative emotions decreased, suggesting that short breaks in nature-friendly environments effectively promote workers' physical and emotional recovery. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the importance of green space in various work environments to promote well-being in workers.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.34 no.5 s.118
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• pp.1-13
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• 2006

The Attention Restoration Theory (ART) developed by Kaplan and Kaplan proposes that effortful directed attention required in normal life can be fatigued. Restoration can occur in a setting that has restorative qualities. The restorative quality described by the ART involves four concepts: being away, fascination extent, and compatibility. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the restorative quality of landscape influenced the preferences and satisfaction of visitors to an heritage landscape. Four kinds of heritage landscapes of Kyongju were used as environmental surrogates and 150 americans participated in the study. Hartig et al.'s Revised Perceived Restorativeness Scale (RPRS) was used as the psychological measure for the restorative quality, along with other measurement constructs such as cultural uniqueness and novelty. The results showed that RPRS was a reliable measurement tool for assessing the restorative quality of artificial landscapes. Factor analysis identified three valid factors: escape-fascination compatibility, anti-extent. Among the three factors, only two, escape-fascination and compatibility, were found to have important effects on visiting preference and satisfaction. Specifically, higher levels of preference and satisfaction were associated with higher levels of escape-fascination and compatibility. The results indicate that the restorative quality has a high possibility to be used as a frame of reference for assessing various types of landscapes, from natural to artificial. It was also proposed that restorative quality could better explain the experience of the landscape strongly related to specific purpose or motivation.