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Northern Taiwan (northern + taiwan)
Selected AbstractsThe Governance of Global Production Networks and Regional Development: A Case Study of Taiwanese PC Production NetworksGROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2009DANIEL YOU-REN YANG ABSTRACT This article applies a global production networks (GPN) perspective to the trans-border investments of Taiwanese personal computer (PC) companies in the Northern Taiwan, Greater Suzhou and Greater Dongguan regions. The findings of extensive field research are used to illustrate two conceptual arguments. First, we show the on-the-ground complexity of inter-firm governance arrangements within the PC industry, thereby casting doubt upon attempts to reduce notions of governance to simplistic, industry-wide categorisations. Second, by comparing Greater Suzhou and Greater Dongguan, we demonstrate that even within a single production system, there is geographical variation in the nature of the strategic coupling between the GPN and local institutional formations. We argue that conceptualising such geographical and organisational complexity is critical to understanding the regional development potential of GPNs. [source] Evaluation of the effect of a life review group program on self-esteem and life satisfaction in the elderlyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2008Kai-Jo Chiang Abstract Objective This study was aimed at evaluating whether a Life Review Group Program (LRGP) improved the self-esteem and life satisfaction in the elderly. Methods This randomized, controlled trial consisted of 75 elderly males from a Veterans' Home in Northern Taiwan, 36 of whom were in the experimental group and 39 of whom were in the control group. The subjects in the experimental group participated in an 8-week LRGP. Data were collected before and after the LRGP and again 1 month after the end of the program. Results The study subjects had a mean age of 78.13 years. The generalized estimating equation was used to compare alterations in the self-esteem and life satisfaction of the elderly before and after the intervention. The alterations in self-esteem and life satisfaction in the experimental group after the LRGP were significantly improved compared to the control group. One month after the LRGP was completed, the self-esteem and life satisfaction of the experimental group continued to improve when compared with pre-intervention levels. Conclusions Based on these results, the LRGP can potentially improve the self-affirmation, confidence, and self-esteem of the elderly and promote short-term life satisfaction. The results of this study provide a model for clinical evidence-based therapy, serving as a reference for related studies and evaluation of health-promoting programs, as well as improving the health and quality of care of the elderly. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Economic, Social, and Psychological Factors Associated With Health-Related Quality of Life of Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in Northern Taiwan: A Multicenter StudyARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 1 2009Tze-Wah Kao Abstract This study evaluated the associations between economic, social, psychological factors, and health-related quality of life of hemodialysis patients. Cross-sectional study design was used. End-stage renal disease patients who had received maintenance hemodialysis for more than 2 months at 14 centers in northern Taiwan were invited to participate. Demographic, economic, and psychosocial data of patients were collected. Depression was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory. Health-related quality of life was measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed. Eight hundred sixty-one patients (373 males, mean age 59.4 ± 13.2 years) completed the study. Higher monthly income was positively associated with role emotional and mental health (P < 0.05), and so was increased frequency of social activities with social functioning (P < 0.05). The more worries, the stronger the inverse associations with social functioning (P < 0.05) and mental health (P < 0.01). Higher depression scores were associated with lower scores of all Short-Form 36 dimensions (P < 0.01). Higher monthly income and increased social activities are associated with better health-related quality of life, whereas more worries and higher depression scores are associated with worse health-related quality of life of hemodialysis patients. [source] Using analytic signal to determine magnetization/density ratios of geological structuresGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2009Wen-Bin Doo SUMMARY The Poisson theorem provides a simple relationship between the gravity and magnetic potentials, which is useful in interpreting joint data sets of gravity and magnetic data. Based on the simple Poisson theorem, magnetization/density ratio (MDR) can be estimated. However, potential field data is often ambiguous in datum level and multisources interference that may cause bias in interpretation. Here, we propose an improved Poisson theorem to estimate MDR by using analytic signals of gravity and magnetic data. The major advantage of using the analytic signal is that we can also determine the sources locations and boundaries supposing that we know the ambient magnetic parameters. Besides, we can also avoid the determination error from uncertain datum levels. We demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method in 2-D and 3-D synthetic models. The proposed method is also applied to a profile across the offshore area of northern Taiwan. Comparing with the reflection seismic profile, our result can help identify the existence of a deep-seated igneous body beneath the area of Mienhuayu and Pengchiagu islands off northern Taiwan. [source] Imaging magnetic sources using Euler's equationGEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 1 2002Shu-Kun Hsu ABSTRACT The conventional Euler deconvolution method has the advantage of being independent of magnetization parameters in locating magnetic sources and estimating their corresponding depths. However, this method has the disadvantage that a suitable structural index must be chosen, which may cause spatial diffusion of the Euler solutions and bias in the estimation of depths to the magnetic sources. This problem becomes more serious when interfering anomalies exist. The interpretation of the Euler depth solutions is effectively related to the model adopted, and different models may have different structural indices. Therefore, I suggest a combined inversion for the structural index and the source location from the Euler deconvolution, by using only the derivatives of the magnetic anomalies. This approach considerably reduces the diffusion problem of the location and depth solutions. Consequently, by averaging the clustered solutions satisfying a given criterion for the solutions, we can image the depths and attributes (or types) of the causative magnetic sources. Magnetic anomalies acquired offshore northern Taiwan are used to test the applicability of the proposed method. [source] Modelling the hydrologic effects of dynamic land-use change using a distributed hydrologic model and a spatial land-use allocation modelHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 18 2010Hone-Jay Chu Abstract This study develops a novel approach for modelling and examining the impacts of time,space land-use changes on hydrological components. The approach uses an empirical land-use change allocation model (CLUE-s) and a distributed hydrological model (DHSVM) to examine various land-use change scenarios in the Wu-Tu watershed in northern Taiwan. The study also uses a generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation approach to quantify the parameter uncertainty of the distributed hydrological model. The results indicate that various land-use policies,such as no change, dynamic change and simultaneous change,have different levels of impact on simulating the spatial distributions of hydrological components in the watershed study. Peak flow rates under simultaneous and dynamic land-use changes are 5·71% and 2·77%, respectively, greater than the rate under the no land-use change scenario. Using dynamic land-use changes to assess the effect of land-use changes on hydrological components is more practical and feasible than using simultaneous land-use change and no land-use change scenarios. Furthermore, land-use change is a spatial dynamic process that can lead to significant changes in the distributions of ground water and soil moisture. The spatial distributions of land-use changes influence hydrological processes, such as the ground water level of whole areas, particularly in the downstream watershed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Rain-gauge network evaluation and augmentation using geostatisticsHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 14 2008Ke-Sheng Cheng Abstract Rain-gauge networks are often used to provide estimates of area average rainfall or point rainfalls at ungauged locations. The level of accuracy a network can achieve depends on the total number and locations of gauges in the network. A geostatistical approach for evaluation and augmentation of an existing rain-gauge network is proposed in this study. Through variogram analysis, hourly rainfalls are shown to have higher spatial variability than annual rainfalls, with hourly Mei-Yu rainfalls having the highest spatial variability. A criterion using ordinary kriging variance is proposed to assess the accuracy of rainfall estimation using the acceptance probability defined as the probability that estimation error falls within a desired range. Based on the criterion, the percentage of the total area with acceptable accuracy Ap under certain network configuration can be calculated. A sequential algorithm is also proposed to prioritize rain-gauges of the existing network, identify the base network, and relocate non-base gauges. Percentage of the total area with acceptable accuracy is mostly contributed by the base network. In contrast, non-base gauges provide little contribution to Ap and are subject to removal or relocation. Using a case study in northern Taiwan, the proposed approach demonstrates that the identified base network which comprises of approximately two-thirds of the total rain-gauges can achieve almost the same level of performance (expressed in terms of percentage of the total area with acceptable accuracy) as the complete network for hourly Mei-Yu rainfall estimation. The percentage of area with acceptable accuracy can be raised from 56% to 88% using an augmented network. A threshold value for the percentage of area with acceptable accuracy is also recommended to help determine the number of non-base gauges which need to be relocated. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The fatigue experiences of older Taiwanese women with breast cancerJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 5-6 2010Sung-Ling Tsai Aims and objectives., This study explored the fatigue experiences in older Taiwanese women with breast cancer. Background., Cancer is a common disease for older people, and breast cancer ranks second in occurrence among all cancers. Fatigue is the most frequently seen symptom, with more than 90% of cancer patients having such experiences. Fatigue may lead to functional dependence, affecting the care and quality of life for this older population. Design., A qualitative design was used in this study. Methods., In-depth interviews were conducted with participants being treated at the oncology outpatient department in a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. Data were collected from November 2006,March 2007. Results., The study included 15 women, aged 65,82, with breast cancer. Analysis of the interviews revealed three themes: factors related to fatigue, interpretation of fatigue and ways to deal with fatigue. The factors related to fatigue arose from treatment, symptom distress and the impact of their emotions. Participants interpreted the fatigue as an inevitable normal reaction, and they were embarrassed to share its occurrence with others. Although fatigue made participants suffer, they found the ways to decrease the feeling of fatigue using psychological adjustments, practical changes and support systems. Conclusions., Facing the multilayered influences from treatments and ageing, older women with breast cancer considered fatigue as a physical and psychological expression. By raising the awareness of fatigue, nurses can help this older population manage or relieve fatigue by controlling symptoms, providing emotional support and making related resources available. Relevance to clinical practice., The results of this study can enhance the sensitivity and evaluation abilities of nurses in dealing with the cancer-related fatigue in older women with breast cancer. [source] A temporary home to nurture health: lived experiences of older nursing home residents in TaiwanJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 14 2008Hsiu-Hsin Tsai PhD Aim., This study explored the lived experiences of older nursing home residents in Taiwan. Background., With more long-term care institutions in Taiwan, older people are more often placed in nursing homes than in the past. Increased understanding of their lived experience is essential to assess residents' needs and determine the effectiveness of nursing interventions. Design., A qualitative design was used to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of older nursing home residents in Taiwan. Methods., Focus groups, followed by in-depth interviews, were used to gather information from 33 older residents at eight nursing homes in northern Taiwan. Participants were asked to describe what was important to them and what impressed them most in their daily lives in the nursing home. Participants (24 females and nine males) were on an average 75·3 years old. Verbatim transcripts of audiotaped focus groups and interviews were analysed by thematic analysis via ATLAS.ti software. Results., The core theme of older residents' nursing home experience was ,a temporary home to nurture health'. This core theme was reflected in participants' descriptions of their overall life in the nursing home as a temporary experience to nurture their health. Their everyday experience was characterised by four subthemes: highly structured lifestyle, restricted activities, safety concerns and social interactions. Relevance to clinical practice., Our findings may enhance policy makers' and healthcare providers' understanding of the lived experience of older nursing home residents, thus guiding the evaluation and development of nursing home services to improve residents' lives. For example, residents with the same characteristics could be placed in the same room or same floor, thus increasing their interactions with other residents. Residents' interactions with family members could also be developed using the Internet or mobile telephones. [source] Perimenopausal knowledge of mid-life women in northern TaiwanJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 5 2004Lee-Ing Tsao DNSc Background., This work has been carried out keeping in view that although knowledge related to perimenopause is an important health issue for women worldwide, little information is known about mid-life Taiwanese women's knowledge of perimenopause. Objective., The aim of this paper was to explore the level of perimenopausal knowledge of mid-life women in northern Taiwan, to describe the relationship between demographic factors and women's knowledge, and to identify what information health providers need to offer them. Design., A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted. Method., The Perimenopausal Knowledge Questionnaire was used to collect data. The study was carried out in August 2000 to September 2001. A convenience sample was recruited from traditional Chinese medicine clinics, gynecology clinics and communities in northern Taipei. Results., Our findings indicated that the overall mean correct answer weighted Perimenopausal Knowledge score of these mid-life women was 46.31. The rank of weighted scores from highest to lowest was: (1) self-care during perimenopause, (2) the perception of perimenopause, (3) knowledge related to hormone replacement therapy and (4) body changes associated with the declined oestrogen in perimenopause. Only educational level was significantly associated with Perimenopause Knowledge level (P < 0.01). Less than 20% (n = 353) of the women answered the items that measured self-management of symptoms related to perimenopause correctly. Less than 1.4% of the women knew that taking hormone replacement therapy required a physician's prescription and subsequent regular health check-ups. Conclusion., Participants lacked adequate knowledge about perimenopause. Relevance to clinical practices., Health providers need to provide factual information about the normal body changes of perimenopause, self-management of perimenopausal disturbances and appropriate use of hormone replacement therapy. [source] A community-derived outbreak of adenovirus type 3 in children in Taiwan between 2004 and 2005JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 1 2008Sui-Yuan Chang Abstract An outbreak of respiratory adenovirus infection in children was observed in northern Taiwan between November 2004 and February 2005. Using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) to determine the serotype(s) of 172 adenovirus isolates in the outbreak period, we found that adenovirus type 3 (Ad3) was the predominant type (87.2%), followed by Ad2 (6.4%), Ad1 (4.1%), Ad7 (1.2%), Ad4 (0.6%), and Ad5 (0.6%). The genotype of Ad3 was analyzed for 15 isolates from the outbreak period by RFLP of the full-length genome. All these isolates belonged to genotype Ad3a2. Compared with the Ad3-infected patients in the baseline period, a significantly higher proportion of Ad3-infected patients in the outbreak period had severe infections (58.0% vs. 40.2%, P,=,0.01), which included bronchopneumonia (28.7%), exudative tonsillitis (24.1%), and tonsillitis (16.1%). Moreover, patients with severe infections were significantly younger than those without (4.10 vs. 8.15 years, P,<,0.001). In summary, our study demonstrated that Ad3 was the predominant serotype responsible for the respiratory adenovirus outbreak in northern Taiwan during 2004,2005 and was associated with severe infections in the outbreak period. J. Med. Virol. 80:102,112, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Brief Intervention for Problem Drinkers in a Chinese Population: A Randomized Controlled Trial in a Hospital SettingALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2009Yun-Fang Tsai Background:, Alcohol is a legal and accessible substance in Taiwan. As excessive alcohol has been linked to health and social problems, it is necessary to develop a brief, rapid, and low-cost tool to help health care providers deal with persons in Taiwan whose alcohol consumption has become hazardous or harmful to their health. Methods:, A randomized controlled clinical trial with 6- and 12-month follow-ups was designed. Eighteen medical/surgical units at a medical center in northern Taiwan were randomly assigned to 2 groups: experimental (n = 9) and control (n = 9). Inpatients on the units were enrolled if they met the following criteria: were older than 18 years, had no severe psychiatric illness, and were not pregnant. The experimental group (n = 138) received the intervention, a 15-minute counseling visit in which nurses screened participants using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), provided a health promotion booklet for adults, and individually discussed the booklet contents with patients based on their drinking level (AUDIT score). The control group (n = 137) received no treatment. Patterns of alcohol consumption were determined by AUDIT scores at baseline, 6, and 12 months later. Results:, Alcohol use disorders identification test scores decreased significantly in both groups at 6 months after the intervention, but did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. However, 12 months after the brief alcohol intervention, experimental subjects' AUDIT scores were significantly better than those of the control group. Conclusions:, Our brief alcohol intervention provided a 12-month benefit for problem drinkers in Taiwan. [source] Rainfall-Runoff Model for Typhoons Making Landfall in Taiwan,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 4 2007Ray-Shyan Wu Abstract:, In this study, we examine a physical raster-based distributed-parameter flood simulation model combining one-dimensional (1D) channel flow and two-dimensional (2D) overland flow. Continuity equations based on the water budget concept and momentum equations based on Manning's formula are included. The Shihmen reservoir watershed, situated in northern Taiwan, is selected as the study site, and data regarding the passage of Typhoons Xangsane [2000] and Nari [2001] are utilized to test the model. Comparative analysis shows that the description of the riverbed obtained by the gradient method is superior to that obtained by the GIS approach. This study suggests the Thiessen polygon method to interpolate spatial precipitation. The best calibrations are obtained at a spatial resolution of 160 m × 160 m, with a simulated time step of less than 5 s. The case study indicates that the proposed model has a good potential for inflow description, but does not accurately simulate the inflow amount. The proposed model is a flash reacting event-based watershed model. To improve simulation accuracy, a good infiltration model and soil moisture model are needed, and their formulation could be our next task. [source] Clinical spectrum of tuberculous pleural effusion in childrenPEDIATRICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2007CHIH-YUNG CHIU Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and potentially diagnostic specimens of pediatric patients with tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) to make a prompt diagnosis. Methods: Children who had TPE from September 1997 to December 2003 were retrospectively reviewed at a tertiary pediatric facility in northern Taiwan. Results: There were seven boys and six girls and their ages ranged from 10 to 17 years (average, 14.6 years). Tuberculosis contact history was identified in only six patients (46%). Fever (12/92%), cough (9/69%) and malaise (6/46%) were the most common symptoms. Normal leukocyte count was found in 12 patients (92%). Chest radiograph review showed unilateral pleural effusion in 12 patients (92%) but parenchymal involvement was found in nine patients (69%). Most of the pleural fluid analysis showed a lymphocytic exudative effusion (5/6). The acid-fast bacilli (AFB) stain of sputum, gastric washing, and pleural aspirate was positive in six of 11 (55%), two of seven (29%), and one of five (20%) patients, respectively. Culture of sputum, gastric washing, and pleural aspirate yielded Mycobacterium tuberculosis in four of 11 (36%), two of seven (29%), and two of five (40%) patients, respectively. A total of 6 to 9 months of multiple-drug therapy for tuberculosis was successful without sequale. Conclusions: Tuberculous pleural effusion usually presents as an acute illness and should always be considered in the differential diagnosis for older children and adolescents with pneumonia. A normal leukocyte count with a lymphocytic exudative effusion may provide a clue to the correct diagnosis of TPE. Diagnostic specimen of sputum seems more effective and sensitive in childhood TPE, especially those having pulmonary involvement. [source] Relationship Between Personality Traits, Job Satisfaction, and Job Involvement Among Taiwanese Community Health VolunteersPUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 3 2007I-chuan Li ABSTRACT Objective: To understand the relationship between job involvement, job satisfaction, and personality traits among health volunteers in one Taiwan community. It is not easy to retain voluntary workers as part of health programs even though they have been trained. Previous research has shown that in order to increase job involvement, volunteers must effectively fulfill their needs to achieve and obtain job satisfaction. Design and sample: Cross-sectional design. Surveys were mailed to 317 health volunteers at community health centers in I-lan County, northern Taiwan; 213 complete responses (67%) were received. Methods: The survey instrument included sociodemographic items and scales measuring locus of control, achievement orientation, job involvement, and job satisfaction. Results: Most respondents (94.8%) were female and their average age was 49.6 years. In terms of personality traits, most volunteers showed internal control orientation. Explainable variance for the prediction of job involvement from a combination of participation frequency, on-job training, achievement orientation, and job satisfaction was 33.6%. Conclusions: The results suggest that there is a need to strengthen cooperative relationships among volunteers by initiating well-planned volunteer training programs and growth groups. These should involve the empowerment concept with the aim of enhancing the volunteers' interpersonal relationships and job satisfaction. [source] Economic, Social, and Psychological Factors Associated With Health-Related Quality of Life of Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in Northern Taiwan: A Multicenter StudyARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 1 2009Tze-Wah Kao Abstract This study evaluated the associations between economic, social, psychological factors, and health-related quality of life of hemodialysis patients. Cross-sectional study design was used. End-stage renal disease patients who had received maintenance hemodialysis for more than 2 months at 14 centers in northern Taiwan were invited to participate. Demographic, economic, and psychosocial data of patients were collected. Depression was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory. Health-related quality of life was measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed. Eight hundred sixty-one patients (373 males, mean age 59.4 ± 13.2 years) completed the study. Higher monthly income was positively associated with role emotional and mental health (P < 0.05), and so was increased frequency of social activities with social functioning (P < 0.05). The more worries, the stronger the inverse associations with social functioning (P < 0.05) and mental health (P < 0.01). Higher depression scores were associated with lower scores of all Short-Form 36 dimensions (P < 0.01). Higher monthly income and increased social activities are associated with better health-related quality of life, whereas more worries and higher depression scores are associated with worse health-related quality of life of hemodialysis patients. [source] Quality of life, health satisfaction and family impact on caregivers of children with developmental delaysCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2009R. L. Hsieh Abstract Objective To study the quality of life, health satisfaction and family impact on caregivers of children with developmental delays in Taiwan. Design Cross-sectional study. Subjects The caregivers of children with diagnoses of developmental delays recruited from a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. Methods The main caregivers of 48 male and 22 female children with developmental delays were recruited. WHOQOL-BREF for health-related quality of life (HRQOL), PedsQL-Health Satisfaction for health satisfaction, PedsQL-Family Impact Module and Impact on Family Scale for family impact were evaluated. The correlation of caregivers' HRQOL, health satisfaction and family impact were also studied. Results Caregivers in nuclear families had higher health satisfaction scores (78.2 for nuclear families vs. 66.9 for extended families, P < 0.05) when assessed by the PedQL-Health Satisfaction questionnaire. Children's age was negatively correlated with family impact, including parent (,0.272, P = 0.023), family (,0.262, P = 0.029) and total scores (,0.281, P = 0.018) as assessed using the PedsQL-Family Impact Module. Conclusion A negative relation between impact of burden and child's age suggests that family members gradually adapt to the delayed developmental status in their children as they grow. Caregivers in nuclear families having higher health satisfaction than those in extended families may be due to Chinese cultural effects. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||