Hsinchu City Research Articles

Quality of life of adults with intellectual disabilities who live with families in Taiwan

Little research has been conducted about the quality of life (QOL) of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Taiwan, particularly their subjective QOL. This study examined the personal perceptions of these individuals as measured on internationally recognized core QOL domains and indicators. A census interview survey was conducted in Hsin-Chu City in Taiwan; 233 adults aged over 16 years with mild ID and living with their families participated in the study. Data were collected using the Cross-Cultural QOL Indicators (CCQOLI) together with socio-demographic data that included 'activities of daily living' and 'instrumental activities of daily living' (IADL). The CCQOLI were based on the three most commonly reported indicators of each of the eight QOL domains: emotional well-being, interpersonal relations, material well-being, personal development, physical well-being, self-determination, social inclusion and rights. Each indicator has two sets of questions related to the indicator's 'importance' and 'use'. These are answered by the respondent using a 4-point Likert scale. The importance and use of the QOL indicators were evaluated positively by the respondents. The adults' individual characteristics, namely IADL and educational level, were significant predictors for the 'importance' while the adults' perceptions of 'use' for overall QOL were significantly affected by his/her socio-economic data, that is, residence location and father's educational level. The present study addressed the issue of self-reported QOL in people with ID in Taiwanese society, becoming a possible benchmark for similar measurements carried out by disability movements there. These results contribute to current advocacy efforts towards creating a supportive environment for people with ID.

領導型態、組織學習、全面品質管理對於組織績效之影響－以台灣資訊電子產業為例

The aim of this paper is to find the relationship among different leadership styles (LS), organizational learning (OL) and organizational performance (OP). It's no doubt that quality is also very important for OP. Since the 1980s, total quality management (TQM) has been measured as a standard for good product quality. A great deal of effort has been made to find the influence of the above factors. However, it is a new approach to consider four factors in the model together. So the purpose here is to explore a little further into the causal relationship about LS, OL, TQM and OP in the structural equation model (SEM). This study is focused on the hi-tech firms in Hsin-Chu City, Taiwan. We can use three-layer research structure to create a convenience sampling survey. Finally, it’s proven that LS is a critical factor to form the OL, and OL has a direct influence on implementing TQM. Both OL and TQM also show direct influence on OP. However, the relationship between LS and OP is not significant; nor are LS and TQM implementation. This paper hopes to give all hi-tech firms in the world an empirical study to reconsider their business model.

Accumulation of trace elements used in semiconductor industry in Formosan squirrel, as a bio-indicator of their exposure, living in Taiwan

Concentrations of 17 trace elements were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in Formosan squirrels (Callosciurus erythraeus) of Taiwan and Japan to document trace element pollution in Taiwan. High concentrations of elements used to produce semiconductors - Ga, As, Cd, In and Tl - were found in animals captured in Miaoli County, which is the nearest site to Hsinchu City, a chief city of Taiwan's semiconductor industry. Significant correlations between Ga, As, In and Tl were found in the kidney, liver, lung and muscle tissues of Taiwanese squirrels. Hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that Ga, As, In and Tl were of the same clade, indicating that Ga, As, In and Tl were discharged from an identical origin. Molar ratios of Ga/As concentration in lungs of animals captured in Miaoli resembled those of animals after intratracheal administration of particulate gallium arsenide (GaAs). This result might indicate that the higher concentrations of Ga and As in the specimens in Miaoli resulted from atmospheric exposure to GaAs.

168 IMPROVED MITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANE POTENTIAL AND PRE-IMPLANTATION DEVELOPMENT OF PORCINE EMBRYOS BY DIBUTYRYL cAMP TREATMENT

Mitochondria play a pivotal role in energy metabolism and apoptosis during embryo development. In general, cAMP that exists at high level in GV oocytes inhibits germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), and the amount of cAMP in oocyte cytoplasm is gradually decreased for meiotic resumption. We first examined the effects of dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) on nuclear maturation, fertilization, and early embryonic development. To determine whether mitocondrial activity is related to embryonic development, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) was measured in porcine embryos. Porcine oocytes were cultured in NCSU-23 medium supplemented with 1 mM dbcAMP for 22 h and further cultured without dbcAMP for 22 h. After in vitro fertilization, porcine eggs were cultured in NCSU-23 medium with 4% BSA at 39�C, 5% CO2 in air for 6 d. Porcine embryos were obtained at various developmental stages and stained with the mitochondrial membrane potential-sensitive dye JC-1 (5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1',3,3'-tetraethylbenzimidazolyl-carbocyanine iodide). The mitochondrial membrane potential of porcine embryos was quantitatively evaluated by the ratio of green (presumptively alive mitochondria) to red fluorescent signal (presumptively dead mitochondria) using a fluorescence microscope. Acquired images were analyzed using DeltaVision Software (Applied Precision, Inc., Hsin-Chu City, Taiwan, ROC). After completion of IVM, dbcAMP-treated oocytes (91.3 � 0.9%) showed a higher proportion of the metaphase II stage than nontreated ones (72.8 � 2.6%) (P < 0.05). In the dbcAMP-treated group, sperm penetration rate was increased and polyspermic rate was reduced as compared to the nontreated group. Furthermore, the rate (37.3%, 47/126) of blastocyst formation in dbcAMP-treated group was higher than that (19.2%, 28/146) of the nontreated group (P < 0.05). After JC-1 staining, the number of blastomeres having live mitochondria per embryo increased in the dbcAMP-treated group at various developmental stages, whereas the number of blastomeres having dead mitochondria per embryo was enhanced in the nontreated group (43.3% vs. 30.2%). Our results indicate that in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes may affect mitochondrial membrane potential, apoptosis, and embryonic quality during pre-implantation development.

Democratizing Urban Politics and Civic Environmentalism in Taiwan

What makes urban policies more responsive to environment problems? Local politics in Taiwan is considered to have combined features of both the pro-growth urban regimes of Western democracies and the clientele network of an authoritarian regime. Such features have made the sector resistant to democratic reforms: long after the introduction of competitive elections, urban policies were still overwhelmingly controlled by a handful of power elites and thus the interest of disadvantaged groups was seriously under-represented. Nevertheless, cases of anti-growth politics in different localities indicate the possibility of democracy trickling down to the local level, thereby moving local politics beyond a mere preoccupation in rent-seeking activities towards a civic activism based on a shared agenda of social and environmental issues. How such a transformation can occur can be illustrated by the Hsiangshan Tidal Flat Development Project in Hsinchu city. That incident demonstrated that such procedural requirements as environmental impact assessment in public policy-making provided civic groups with a very powerful tool to prevent an unpopular developmental project from destroying the local ecosystem. The Hsinchu case illustrates the dynamics among institutional reforms, informal political arrangements and strategic responses of civil groups that have resulted in a transformation of traditional urban politics in Taiwan.

DEVELOPING AN E-GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM—A STUDY FROM CITIZEN SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to develop a citizen-focus performance evaluation scale system for e-government. E-government is actively promoted in many countries during the last decade. However, we found most of published document are action plans, and there are few scientific studies to review its performance. This is an important issue for continuous improvement purpose. In this study, we tried to develop a scale system from the user's subjective aspect.E-government is composed of information system, user interface, and information access channel. Based on the three components, we firstly come up 11 dimensions of government information service by the literature review and experts' opinions. Then we developed 4 items for each dimension. In order to verify the proposed scale system, we invited experts to examine the content validity, and conducted a field study in Hsin-Chu city. Based on the results of factor analysis, we found that the proposed scale can be represented by three dimensions, which are respectively named “system capability”, “website content and design”, and “government promotion”. Cronbach α analyses reveal that each dimension and the scale have high reliability, range from 0.83 to 089. In addition, we found users have relatively dissatisfaction in the dimension of information security, personal service, user-friendly, etc. To improve those dimensions will become the focal points of the next phase of e-government development. We have further discussion for those findings in the following.

WATER SUPPLY EVALUATION OF TAIWAN'S SILICON VALLEY1

ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to examine a deficit in water for the Hsinchu area, the location of Taiwan's “Silicon Valley.” The methods suggested in this paper to diagnose water shortage problems are simple and practical. The results show that Hsinchu is in an area without sufficient water to meet demand for domestic and industrial uses. Until the completion of the Baoshan II Reservoir in 2006, the most feasible options for the Taiwan Water Supply Corporation to offset the water deficiency in Hsinchu City over the next five years are: (a) to obtain water gratuitously from the southern Yungheshan Reservoir; (b) to import additional water at an extra charge from other sources such as the northern Shihmen Reservoir and the agricultural sector; and (c) to conduct a comprehensive water conservation program at the Hsinchu Science‐based Industrial Park.

Labor Migrations in Taiwan: Characterization and Interpretation Based on the Data of the 1990 Census

In this paper we characterize and interpret patterns of labor migration in Taiwan, including (1) lifetime labor migration up to 1990 and (2) 1985–90 labor migration, based on the data of the 1990 Census. To gain better insights, the 1985–90 migrations are decomposed into three types: primary, return, and onward. Our major findings are as follows. First, lifetime labor migration was highly efficient in transferring labor into North Region from all other regions of Taiwan and contributed to Taiwan's transformation into one of the newly industrialized economies. Second, the 1985–90 labor migration in Taiwan responded quickly to the spatially unbalanced impacts of economic restructuring and globalization in the 1980s and resulted in a major turnaround in population redistribution: a shift from a long-lasting dual-pole (north–south) concentration pattern developed since the 1930s toward a single-pole concentration pattern in the north. Third, primary migration was much more voluminous than return and onward migrations, and rural prefectures had the typical pattern of a ‘loser’: a large net loss of primary migrants, countered by a small net gain of return migrants, and somewhat aggravated by a small net loss of onward migrants. Fourth, the greatest beneficiaries in terms of educational selectivity were Taipei city (the command center of the globalized Taiwanese economic system) and Hsinchu city (the so-called silicon valley of Taiwan). Fifth, the losses in the quantity and quality of human resources due to migration did not result in socioeconomic decline in rural prefectures because these losses were compensated for largely by the rural-ward financial transfer of central government and partly by the remittances sent back by rural out-migrants.

Indoor radon concentrations in Taiwanese homes

Abstract Many air pollutants may be present in the indoor environment. Commonly reported pollutants are carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic compounds, radon and its progeny, asbestos fibers and airborne particles. Among these indoor pollutants, radon and its progeny have been known to increase the risk of lung cancer in the U.S. Various studies also found in general higher concentrations of air pollutants in the indoor environment. It is a serious concern to us because of the long periods of time we spend indoors. In this study, the alpha‐track radon monitor was used in the screening of higher risk buildings in Taipei and Hsinchu city. None of the homes in the 32 buildings surveyed in these cities had air concentrations of radon exceeding the action level of 4 pCi/l recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Different sources to indoor radon concentrations are the underlying soil, building materials, outdoor air, water and gaseous fuels. Ventilation of the homes and seasonal variations are major factors of higher radon concentrations.