Kinmen County Research Articles

Applying the Kano model and QFD to improve the service quality of Kinmen County government’s overseas residents service centers in Taiwan

This study explores the attributes of service quality for overseas residents provided by island county governments, using the example of the Kinmen County Government’s service center in central Taiwan. This research aims to identify key service elements that can enhance the satisfaction of Kinmen overseas residents. Drawing upon the SERVQUAL scale and a comprehensive literature review, service quality is divided into five dimensions: “administrative service,” “life counseling,” “information provision,” among others, comprising 24 service quality elements. A total of 311 valid questionnaires were collected through a survey, and Kano’s two-dimensional quality and IPA analysis were used to classify service factors. The Kano two-dimensional quality analysis revealed that “employment counseling,” “entrepreneurship counseling,” and “setting up service counters at airports and terminals during festivals” belong to attractive quality. Nine elements were classified as “one-dimensional quality” and “must-be quality,” including “one-stop service,” “exclusive consultation hotline,” and “exclusive website reveals information.” Through Quality Function Deployment (QFD), service elements that align with Kano’s two-dimensional quality and IPA priority improvement were selected for detailed study, including “financial assistance in emergencies,” “subsidy for transportation expenses back home,” “subsidies for education allowances,” and “various subsidy application information.” Following expert discussions and questionnaire surveys, eight strategies for improving key service quality elements were identified. This research not only provides actionable insights for the Kinmen County Government but also offers valuable strategies that can be applied to similar contexts globally, where remote and rural populations require specialized governmental support.

A Hybrid Algorithm Based on Simplified Swarm Optimization for Multi-Objective Optimizing on Combined Cooling, Heating and Power System

Energy demand is rising sharply due to the technological development and progress of modern times. Neverthless, traditional thermal power generation has several diadvantages including its low energy usage and emitting a lot of polluting gases, resulting in the energy depletion crisis and the increasingly serious greenhouse effect. In response to environmental issues and energy depletion, the Combined Cooling, Heating and Power system (CCHP) combined with the power-generation system of renewable energy, which this work studied, has the advantages of high energy usage and low environmental pollution compared with traditional thermal power generation, and has been gradually promoted in recent years. This system needs to cooperate with the instability of renewable energy and the dispatch of the energy-saving system; the optimization of the system has been researched recently for this purpose. This study took Xikou village, Lieyu township, Kinmen county, Taiwan as the experimental region to solve the optimization problem of CCHP combined with renewable energy and aimed to optimize the multi-objective system including minimizing the operation cost, minimizing the carbon emissions, and maximizing the energy utilization rate. This study converted the original multi-objective optimization problem into a single-objective optimization problem by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to and Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach. In addition, a hybrid of the simplified swarm optimization (SSO) and differential evolution (DE) algorithm, called SSO-DE, was proposed in this research to solve the studied problem. SSO-DE is based on SSO as the core of the algorithm and is combined with DE as the local search strategy. The contributions and innovations of the manuscript are clarified as follows: 1. a larger scale of CCHP was studied; 2. the parallel connection of the mains, allowing the exchange of power with the main grid, was considered; 3. the TOPSIS was adopted in this study to convert the original multi-objective optimization problem into a single-objective optimization problem; and 4. the hybrid of the DE algorithm with the improved SSO algorithm was adopted to improve the efficiency of the solution. The proposed SSO-DE in this study has an excellent ability to solve the optimization problem of CCHP combined with renewable energy according to the Friedman test of experimental results obtained by the proposed SSO-DE compared with POS-DE, iSSO-DE, and ABC-DE. In addition, SSO-DE had the lowest running time compared with POS-DE, iSSO-DE, and ABC-DE in all experiments.

Role of destination attachment in accommodation experiences of historical guesthouses

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between destination attachment, tourists’ experiences of historical guesthouses, satisfaction and revisit intention. Historical guesthouses of Kinmen County, Taiwan were the setting for the investigation. A total of 346 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Results showed that accommodation experiences can significantly mediate the relationships between destination attachment and the evaluations of historical guesthouses. Perceptions of human interactions between tourists and the service providers at historical guesthouses were critical for creating a highly favorable accommodation experience. The physical environment, human interactions, and satisfaction all had significant positive effects on revisit intention, with the perceptions of human interactions greatly influencing revisit intention. This study provides meaningful management implications for both the hospitality and tourism industries.

Diverging from the normal path: The life course of an elderly woman in Kinmen county

ABSTRACT Kinmen, also known as Quemoy, is a unique offshore island of the Republic of China (ROC) that had an unusual and strategic position during the Cold War from 1946 to 1992. After 1949, Kinmen was forced to become involved in the military standoff between Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China in Taiwan (ROC) and Mao Zedong’s People’s Republic of China (PRC) during the cold war. Kinmen was under martial law for nearly 50 years from 1946 to 1992. The martial law was lifted in 1992 and Kinmen has become the frontline for cross-strait exchanges between the ROC and mainland China. Men’s heroic stories during the war have been studied and published, while women’s voices are systematically ignored. In order to examine the roles and value of women in Kinmen’s history, a case study methodology was used here. Su was one such unique woman, whose life story is investigated here. My main findings were about how she, as an active agent, used opportunities in order to overcome the major structural pressures of her life, while Kinmen underwent some major transitions. This paper is based on an account of this woman’s extraordinary struggles in different periods of time.

The Impact of Subsidy Programs for Solar Thermal Applications: A Case Study for a Remote Island

Government intervention in the form of financial incentives is crucial for translating customer choice into a larger market share for solar thermal applications. The lengthy subsidy programs for solar water heaters in Taiwan have expanded the local market. On a remote island (Kinmen County), the area of solar collectors that are installed per 1000 inhabitants is 192.9 square meters. This study investigates a market-driven mechanism in terms of disposable income, household structure, building type and financial viability. The dual subsidy programs appear to have distorted the local market. The cumulative energy savings for solar water heaters that are installed is misleading because the systems are over-designed and there is a high replacement rate (or shorter service period).

Do domestic immigrants live longer? An approach for estimating the life expectancy of small populations

Ageing is a major demographic issue for the world of the 21st century and is caused by substantial declines in fertility and mortality rates. Without international migration, most developed countries would not be able to balance the resulting losses of population and work force. The proportion of elderly (aged 65 and over) in Taiwan reached the threshold of 7%, indicating an ageing society, in 1993, and has been increasing dramatically since then. The county-level populations in Taiwan are also ageing rapidly, but the local changes vary widely because domestic migration rates of each county are different. Urbanization is becoming more obvious, with people tending to move to large cities and counties with better social welfare programs. As a result, domestic migration plays an important role in population ageing at the county level, and the people in counties with larger numbers of domestic immigrants are expected to have a longer life expectancy. However, the life expectancies of people in these counties do not bear out this trend. In the present study, based on domestic migration records from the Department of the Interior of Taiwan, we applied graduation methods and small-area estimation skills to construct county-level life tables, and evaluate whether domestic immigrants have lower mortality rates than those who do not migrate. We found that the domestic immigrants of Kinmen County have significantly lower mortality rates, but those of Hsinchu County do not.

Justice in Dementia Care Resource Allocation: How Should We Plan for Dementia Services?

Dementia care resources in Taiwan have not been allocated taking into account patients’ needs and the distance between service users and providers. The objective of this study was to use two newly developed indicators; profit willing distance (PWD) and tolerance limited distance (TLD), to profile the service availability and accessibility of the 22 administrative areas in Taiwan and facilitate justice-based resource allocation by the central government. The study employed secondary data analysis by using a geographic information system (GIS) and geocoding to identify distances between service users and providers. The study samples were drawn from the databank of the National Disability Eligibility Determination System and grouped by the acuteness of registrants’ needs. Both the PWD and TLD were found in 15 of the administrative areas, and neither was found in three areas (Penghu, Kinmen, and Lienchiang County). Either the PWD or TLD (but not both) were found in four areas (only have PWD: Hsinchu and Chiayi City; only have TLD: Yunlin and Taitung County). How the priorities should be set for dementia service allocation based on these findings was also addressed. We conclude that the indicators of PWD and TLD can add value to the policy decision-making process, help set priorities, and facilitate efficient and fair resource allocation by defining specifics of the resources needed.

Antimicrobial and iNOS inhibitory activities of the endophytic fungi isolated from the mangrove plant Acanthus ilicifolius var. xiamenensis

BackgroundAcanthus ilicifolius var. xiamenensis (Acanthaceae) is an old world mangrove species and has long been used as a folk remedy for treating various ailments in traditional medicine. The nature source of A. ilicifolius var. xiamenensis is now in short supply because of the urban development and habitat destruction. To better utilize this resource, biodiversity and bioactivity of endophytic fungi isolated from A. ilicifolius var. xiamenensis were investigated.ResultsA total of 168 fungal isolates were cultured from leaves and stems of the mangrove plant collected in January (winter) and July (summer) 2014 at Kinmen County, Taiwan. Spent culture extract of 28 isolates were found to have bioactivities against one of the following pathogenic microorganisms: the bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and the fungi Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. These positive extracts were mostly active against the Gram-positive bacteria and C. albicans. Corynespora cassiicola NTOU4889 and Xylaria sp. NTOU4900 inhibited growth of all 3 test bacteria whereas Phellinus noxius NTOU4917 inhibited both test fungi. A further anti-inflammatory study of culture extracts of these 28 isolates revealed that extracts with a high iNOS inhibition caused a low viability of cells, and those with a low iNOS inhibition had a high cell viability. Three extracts showed low cytotoxicity (i.e. > 100% cell viability) and high iNOS inhibition (< 15% of NO production) of cells and they were Phoma sp. 2 NTOU4338, Nodulisporium sp. NTOU4868 and Guignardia sp. NTOU4871.ConclusionThese results indicate that the endophytic fungi associated with A. ilicifolius var. xiamenensis can be a potential source of novel natural active substance.

Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions from waste management approaches in the islands.

Concerns about waste generation and climate change have attracted worldwide attention. Small islands, which account for more than one-sixth of the global land area, are facing problems caused by global climate change. This study evaluated the greenhouse gas emissions from five small islands surrounding Taiwan. These islands - Penghu County, Liuqui Island, Kinmen County, Matsu Island and Green Island - have their own waste management approaches that can serve as a guideline for waste management with greenhouse gas mitigation. The findings indicate that the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of the islands ranged from 292.1 to 29,096.2 [metric] tonne CO2-equivalent. The loading waste volumes and shipping distances were positively related to greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. The greenhouse gas emissions from waste-to-energy plants, mainly carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, can be offset by energy recovery (approximately 38.6% of greenhouse gas emissions from incineration). In addition, about 34% and 11% of waste generated on the islands was successfully recycled and composted, respectively. This study provides valuable insights into the applicability of a policy framework for waste management approaches for greenhouse gas mitigation.

The study on the evaluation of the pollution control situation of the sewage systems in the counties and cities of Taiwan by applying the VIKOR method.

Currently, the pollution control situation of the sewage systems across Taiwan can be divided into the two major sewage systems, namely, industrial area sewage and public community sewage. When the counties and cities of Taiwan cannot effectively control the sewage pollution situation, ecological pollution of the environment and personal health damage would result. Therefore, evaluating the pollution control situation of the sewage systems can help the environmental protection authorities developing strategies for the pollution control of the sewage systems in the future. In this study, the Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method was applied to evaluate the pollution control situation of the sewage systems. The water sample test qualification rate, the emission permit issuance rate, and the staff setting rate of the dedicated wastewater treatment company were used as the pollution control evaluation indexes. According to the results, the use of the VIKOR method to evaluate the pollution control situation of the sewage systems is effective. In cities and counties in Taiwan, public community sewage systems, dedicated to pollution control case, the public community should be actively coached in emission control technology to upgrade sewage capacity, the issuance of discharge permits, and the staff setting rate of the dedicated wastewater treatment, to improve public community sewage pollution control system capabilities. In Taiwan, the industrial area sewage systems, dedicated to pollution control situations, must pay attention to business units in raw materials, spare part inventory, and machine supplier of choice, and we must choose to meet environmental supply chain of green suppliers, which would be effective in reducing effluent produce and improve water sample test qualification rate. The VIKOR value of Yilan County is 1.0000, which is the worst in the pollution control of all the industrial area sewage systems, followed by Taoyuan County (0.2253) and Kaohsiung City (0.1334). Other cities and counties of Taiwan have good performance in the pollution control of the industrial area sewage systems. The VIKOR value of Kinmen County is 1.0000, which is the worst pollution control among the all public community sewage systems, followed by Hsinchu County (0.7458) and New Taipei City (0.5527). Among the cities and counties with good pollution control of the public community sewage systems, the best is Chiayi County (0.0000), followed by Kaohsiung City (0.0159) and Hsinchu City (0.0352). Chiayi County is a good performance compromise between all VIKOR values (0.0000), whether in industrial or public community area pollution control sewage systems. Yilan County industrial pollution control has the poorest performance of all the industrial area sewage systems in Taiwan, but in the public community, it ranked as fourth place of all the public community area sewage systems in Taiwan. The VIKOR method proposed in this study can effectively evaluate the pollution control situation of the sewage systems, and serve as a reference for the environmental protection authorities in developing the strategies for the pollution control of the sewage systems.

The Implications of Networked Individualism for Social Participation

An extensive research has suggested the positive and capital-enhancing implications of information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, the mechanisms connecting ICT use to capital-enhancing opportunities for users’ social well-being and social participation remain undertheorized. To address this agenda, we examine how e-mail, instant messenger, and mobile phones are used to maintain interpersonal networks and participation in voluntary organizations, along with engagement in community affairs. We analyze survey data collected from a sample of rural Taiwanese residing on an outer island of Kinmen County, finding that different ICTs allow participants to connect to different types of personal contacts and, in turn, encourage social participation in various ways. Respondents with a larger e-mail network tend to be more involved in civic organizations, whereas participants with a mobile phone network, including more close friends, tend to participate more in civic organizations and community affairs. We conclude with a future research agenda for investigating the link between networked individualism and digital inequality.

A Wind-Solar-Energy Storage System Leading to High Renewable Penetration in the Island System of Kinmen

Kinmen Island lacks fossil-fuel energy, However, it has rich potential for solar and wind energy resources because of its excellent climate and geographical location. Therefore, a large scale utilization of the renewable energy sources is favoured. In June 2004, the Kinmen County government published the Strategic Plan for the Sustainable Development of Kinmen, which focuses on maintaining the ecology of the islands. In the near future, a high penetration of renewable power can be predicted to be installed in this island. However, a large renewable energy penetration into a diesel power system would face technical and economic problems. Therefore, this study intends to discuss the system operation of the Kinmen system and investigates the original unit commitment scheduling. Based on the simulation results, a new unit commitment scheduling will be proposed in this work.

Assessing the Use of the Family Affluence Scale as Socioeconomic Indicators for Researching Health Inequalities in Taiwan Adolescents

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) and explored the relationship between FAS and health in a general adolescent population of Taiwan. Our data was obtained from a 2009 school-based survey. In total, 3,368 students (1,741 boys, 1,627 girls) in grades 6–10 in Kinmen County, Taiwan completed a modified WHO Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) questionnaire. Indicators of the family’s social position were their parents’ occupation and education. Indicators of material affluence were number of cars, number of holiday travel, whether the participant had his or her own room and number of computers (FAS items). A higher proportion of the participants completed the four family affluence items than their parents’ occupation and education items (≧98% vs. 90% and 88%; respectively). Analysis of the FAS showed a moderate internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.35). The associations between the FAS scores and parental occupation and education were moderate (P < .001). Consistent gradients were found for the association between FAS and positive health and health promoting behaviours. In conclusion, the Taiwan version of the FAS had a high completion rate and moderate internal reliability and external validity. The clear associations between the FAS and health indicators confirm the findings of previous studies and suggest that the FAS can be used as an additional measure of socioeconomic status among Taiwan adolescents.

An assessment on the planning and construction of an island renewable energy system – A case study of Kinmen Island

During the last 50 years, Kinmen's economy has gone from military-based to increasingly tourism-based, Kinmen has been putting various constructions into action, and hence, the demand for electricity supply is getting higher relatively while the province is pushing various constructions. Nowadays, Kinmen County Government has made directions for future developments already and kept on promoting the sustainable development of Kinmen Island in order to make it a suitable place for living. According to the development blueprint, the future resident population will increase to around 150 ∼ 200 thousand people so the relative electricity consumption in Kinmen Island will cause serious problems for Taipower in addition to large scale environmental pollution. The present study researches on both the limitation and independence of this particular island and presumes the electricity power supply will be provided through renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, wind energy, and tidal power generation and so on, whereby it will achieve the target of energy saving and carbon reduction successfully soon. Upon the construction process of the renewable energy sources, this study will simultaneously assess the eco-environment and social conditions on the island to evaluate the feasibility of existing renewable energy technologies which are more mature and determine the optimum renewable energy system that shall be constructed in the Kinmen region in the near future, in order to replace traditional energy sources. Meanwhile, it will assist the related energy industries to create an ultra-clean environment in Kinmen with self-developing power and enhance international competition forces so as to establish a positive international image of environmental protection by achieving a habitat with energy self-sufficiency, and ultimately the empirical model can be duplicated and promoted to other islands.

Biodegradation of haloacetic acids in water treatment processes

Formation and degradation of haloacetic acids (HAAs) in Tai Lake Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Kin-Men County, Taiwan, were evaluated in this study. The results showed that formation of HAAs after chlorination is a fast process. Owing to the presence of fairly high organic precursors in the raw water, a large amount of HAAs (up to 80 μg/L in summer) was formed after addition of the pre-chlorine, and only a small portion of the HAAs was removed during the coagulation, flotation, and rapid filtration units. However, more than 80% of HAAs were removed in slow sand filtration (SSF) unit. Laboratory batch filtration tests showed that the HAAs can not be effectively removed by conventional coagulation and filtration treatments. However, the HAAs in water was effectively removed by biodegradation in batch biodegradation tests using filter sands taken from the top of the SSF unit in Tai Lake WTP. For comparison with the results obtained in batch experiments, simulated SSF systems were also installed in laboratory to evaluate the effects of biodegradation for HAAs removal in filter columns. Results of parallel laboratory SSF column tests showed that HAAs was quickly degraded when the simulated SSFs have been operated for a suitable time to allow the microbial growth on the sand surface. In both batch and simulated SSF biodegradation treatments, the biodegradation rates for HAAs decreased as the number of halogen atoms increased. The results in this study demonstrated that biological degradation is the major mechanism responsible for HAAs removal in the SSF units.

Determination of nitroaromatic explosives residue at military shooting ranges using a sweeping‐MEKC method

We report on the application of sweeping-MEKC, for the first time, using the Environmental Protection Agency Method 8330 stock standard (a mixture of 14 explosives). The use of a traditional MEKC mode provided the LODs (at S/N=3) ranging from 1.5 to 2.9 microg/mL for the 14 explosives standards, which were improved by as low as 3.1-6.5 ng/mL when a sweeping-MEKC technique was used. A set of 21 soil samples were collected from surface soil at military shooting ranges located at Kinmen County in Taiwan, and the findings showed that hexahydro-1,3,5-trini-tro-1,3,5-triazine and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene made up the explosives residue present at the highest concentrations. This study is very useful for determining current levels of explosives residue and as a reference for making appropriate recommendations concerning future site characterization techniques.

Luteimonas composti sp. nov., a moderately thermophilic bacterium isolated from food waste

A yellow-pigmented, Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium (strain CC-YY255(T)) was isolated from compost generated from food waste collected from Kinmen County, Taiwan. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the strain formed a monophyletic branch at the periphery of the evolutionary radiation occupied by the genus Luteimonas; its closest neighbour was the type strain of Luteimonas mephitis (94.4 % sequence similarity). The isolate was distinguished from Luteimonas mephitis on the basis of several phenotypic properties. The organism utilized glucose, maltose, gentiobiose, melibiose and turanose and only a few organic acids (acetate, propionate) and amino acids (L-alanyl glycine, glycyl L-aspartic acid and glycyl L-glutamic acid) as substrates. The fatty acid profile was slightly different from that reported for Luteimonas mephitis. It is evident from the genotypic, chemotaxonomic and physiological data presented that strain CC-YY255(T) represents a novel species of the genus Luteimonas, for which the name Luteimonas composti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CC-YY255(T) (=CCUG 53595(T)=CIP 109311(T)=BCRC 17598(T)).

Seaport as a source of hantavirus: A study on isolated isles

Since small mammals from seaports have relative higher seroprevalences of hantavirus, this seroepidemiologic study was conducted on the isles in Kinmen and Lienchiang Counties along the coast of southern mainland China to determine whether seaport may play the role as a source of hantavirus. Among six species of small mammals trapped in Kinmen County, only male Mus musculus (6.7%) and Rattus losea (5.3%) were found to be positive. In Lienchiang County, five species of small mammals were trapped and positive findings were obtained only in male R. norvegicus (9.3%), male M. musculus (7.7%), and female R. losea (1.6%). There was no significant difference in the seroprevalence between the two counties (Kinmen 3.8% vs. Lienchiang 3.9%). The positive rate in Liaolo (17.9%) of Kinmen County was significantly higher than the remaining trapping stations and those in Matsu Distillery (10.3%) and Fushing (5.8%) of Lienchiang County were significantly higher than the remaining ones. Moreover, a significant inverse correlation was found between the seropositive rate and the distance of small mammal sampling sites to the seaport (p < 0.01). These findings suggest the role of seaport as a source of hantavirus.

The association of body fat distribution with lifestyle and reproductive factors in women aged 45-54 in Kinmen County, Republic of China.

This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Kinmen County, R.O.C. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence Chinese women's body fat distribution, including demographic, lifestyle, reproductive, and anthropometric variables. Participants were 1310 women aged 45-54 years. We measured waist/hip ratio (WHR), age, education level, occupation, alcohol consumption, diet, physical exercise, smoking, age at menarche, parity, menopausal status, age at menopause, and obesity (body mass index, BMI). Lower BMI, premenopausal status, and higher education level were primary correlated factors of gynecoid pattern body fat distribution. Higher BMI and postmenopausal status were the main correlated factors of android pattern body fat distribution. Lifestyle factors did not show any significant association with body fat distribution. As in Western countries, overall obesity and menopausal status are the determinants of body fat distribution. Controlling overall obesity is the key factor that can be addressed in public education programs to reduce the risk of high WHR, which plays an important role in the development of some chronic diseases.