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Cultural translation: Horse racing, greyhound racing, and Jai Alai in modern Shanghai: Ning Jennifer Chang , Taipei: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 2019. Chang focuses on three cases of horse racing, greyhound racing, and jai alai in modern Shanghai society to demonstrate the multi-tiered process of cultural translation. Chang's book expands our knowledge of spectator sports in modern China by focusing on its societal dimension in contrast to the conventional political perspective. [Extracted from the article]

Asian cities have promoted TOD to increase MRT use and decrease private vehicle use. A crucial factor in achieving this goal is improving the pedestrian environment, which can increase people's willingness to walk to MRT stations. This paper analyses how Asian cities have improved the pedestrian environment around MRT stations and the factors influencing walking willingness by reviewing literature and taking Taipei as the empirical area. The results demonstrated that reducing obstacles in pedestrian space, evening the pavement, using transparent window displays in stores along the pavement, and constructing rain shelters can increase people's willingness to walk. The simulations of improved environments can provide references for countries improving the pedestrian environment. The contribution and innovation are to point out the differences in the motivation and goals of TOD in Asian and Western cities and propose improvements to increase people's willingness to walk to achieve TOD's goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary evacuation systems, the evacuation sign typically points fixedly towards the nearest emergency exit, providing guidance to evacuees. However, this static approach may not effectively respond to the dynamic nature of a rapidly evolving fire situation, in particular if the closest emergency exit is compromised by fire. This paper introduces an intelligent evacuation sign control mechanism that leverages smoke and temperature sensors to dynamically adjust the direction of evacuation signs, ensuring evacuees are guided to the quickest and safest emergency exit. The proposed mechanism is outlined through a rigorous mathematical formulation, and an ESP heuristic is devised to determine temperature-safe, smoke-safe, and congestion-aware evacuation paths for each sign. This algorithm then adjusts the direction light on the evacuation sign to align with the identified evacuation path. To validate the effectiveness of this approach, fire simulations using FDS software 6.7.1 were conducted in the Taipei 101 shopping mall. Temperature and smoke data from sensor nodes were utilized by the ESP algorithm, demonstrating superior performance compared to that of the existing FEL algorithm. Specifically, the ESP algorithm exhibited a notable increase in the probability of evacuation success, surpassing the FEL algorithm by up to 34% in methane fire scenarios and 14% in PVC fire scenarios. The significance of this improvement is more pronounced in densely congested evacuation scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant heat-related casualties underlie the urgency of establishing a heat-health warning system (HHWS). This paper presents an evidence-based pilot HHWS developed for Taipei City, Taiwan, through a co-design process engaging stakeholders. In the co-design process, policy concerns related to biometeorology, epidemiology and public health, and risk communication aspects were identified, with knowledge gaps being filled by subsequent findings. The biometeorological results revealed that Taipei residents were exposed to wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) levels of health concern for at least 100 days in 2016. The hot spots and periods identified using WBGT would be missed out if using temperature, underlining the importance of adopting an appropriate heat indicator. Significant increases in heat-related emergency were found in Taipei at WBGT exceeding 36°C with reference-adjusted risk ratio (RaRR) of 2.42, taking 30°C as the reference; and residents aged 0–14 had the highest risk enhancement (RaRR = 7.70). As for risk communication, occurring frequency was evaluated to avoid too frequent warnings, which would numb the public and exhaust resources. After integrating knowledge and reconciling the different preferences and perspectives, the pilot HHWS was co-implemented in 2018 by the science team and Taipei City officials; accompanying responsive measures were formulated for execution by ten city government departments/offices. The results of this pilot served as a useful reference for establishing a nationwide heat-alert app in 2021/2022. The lessons learnt during the interactive co-design processes provide valuable insights for establishing HHWSs worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Surgical correction of stenotic nares, one component of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS), is not referenced as often in cats as it is in dogs. Similar to dogs, stenotic nares emerge as a significant contributor in the development of BOAS in cats. In this study, we propose that stenotic nares in brachycephalic cats arise from an elongated dorsal lateral nasal cartilage. The aim of this paper is to illustrate a novel surgical technique to alleviate stenosis‐associated clinical signs by performing full‐thickness bilateral wedge resection of the excessive cartilage. Animals: Seven cats that underwent rhinoplasty with full‐thickness bilateral wedge resection along the dorsal lateral nasal cartilage between 2019 and 2022 at Pan‐Asia Veterinary Clinic in Taipei, Taiwan. Methods: Clinical data of all cats included in the study were retrospectively reviewed. Surgical procedures were recorded. A full‐thickness bilateral wedge resection was made along the dorsal lateral nasal cartilage adjacent to the non‐hairy area. The full‐thickness wedge resection was then apposed and closed, resulting in the abduction of the wing of the nostrils. Postoperative outcomes were evaluated according to follow‐up sessions by the authors, and an owner survey was conducted at least 6 months post‐surgery. Results: All cats included in this study had a favourable outcome with no complications reported following surgery. The degree of nostril stenosis was improved, and relapse of clinical signs was not reported. Overall, the quality of life of cats that underwent rhinoplasty was significantly improved. Clinical relevance: The results support that the innovative procedure described in this study is highly promising and holds great potential in restoring quality of life and halting disease progression of cats with BOAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing with the packet-routing problem is challenging in the V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) network environment, where it suffers from the high mobility of vehicles and varied vehicle density at different times. Many related studies have been proposed to apply artificial intelligence models, such as Q-learning, which is a well-known reinforcement learning model, to analyze the historical trajectory data of vehicles and to further design an efficient packet-routing algorithm for V2X. In order to reduce the number of Q-tables generated by Q-learning, grid-based routing algorithms such as the QGrid have been proposed accordingly to divide the entire network environment into equal grids. This paper focuses on improving the defects of these grid-based routing algorithms, which only consider the vehicle density of each grid in Q-learning. Hence, we propose a Software-Defined Directional QGrid (SD-QGrid) routing platform in this paper. By deploying an SDN Control Node (CN) to perform centralized control for V2X, the SD-QGrid considers the directionality from the source to the destination, real-time positions and historical trajectory records between the adjacent grids of all vehicles. The SD-QGrid further proposes the flows of the offline Q-learning training process and the online routing decision process. The two-hop trajectory-based routing (THTR) algorithm, which depends on the source–destination directionality and the movement direction of the vehicle for the next two grids, is proposed as a vehicle node to forward its packets to the best next-hop neighbor node in real time. Finally, we use the real vehicle trajectory data of Taipei City to conduct extensive simulation experiments with respect to four transmission parameters. The simulation results prove that the SD-QGrid achieved an over 10% improvement in the average packet delivery ratio and an over 25% reduction in the average end-to-end delay at the cost of less than 2% in average overhead, compared with two well-known Q-learning grid-based routing algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a path loss model based on path profile in urban propagation environments for 5G systems. Although deep learning approaches are indeed powerful in tasks involving prediction or classification, they often lack transparency and suffer from high computational complexity. The proposed model combines the log‐distance path loss model for line‐of‐sight propagation scenarios and a machine‐learning‐based model for non‐line‐of‐sight (NLOS) cases. This paper uses the principal component analysis algorithm to extract relevant features out of some selected attributes of the path profile for NLOS cases. Then, the path loss model can be constructed based on the approach of polynomial regression. Simulation results show that the proposed model outperforms the conventional models when operating in the 3.5 GHz frequency band. The standard deviation of prediction error was reduced by about 22.2–37.2% dB when compared to the conventional models. Furthermore, the prediction performance was also evaluated in a non‐standalone 5G New Radio network in the urban environment of Taipei city. The real‐world measurements show that the standard deviation of prediction error can be reduced by 3.33–6.13 dB when compared to the conventional models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is widely used to evaluate the performance of a group of homogeneous decision making units (DMUs). Considering the uncertainty, interval DEA has been introduced to fit into more situations. In this paper, an interval efficiency method based on slacks-based measure is proposed to solve the uncertain problems in DEA. Firstly, the maximum and minimum efficiency values of the evaluated DMU are calculated by the furthest and closest distance from the evaluated DMU to the projection points on the Pareto-efficient frontier, respectively. Then, the AHP method is used for the full ranking of DMUs. The paper uses the pairwise comparison relationship between each pair of DMUs to construct the interval multiplicative preference relations (IMPRs) matrix. If the matrix does not meet the consistency condition, a method to obtain consistency IMPRs is introduced. According to the consistency judgment matrix, the full ranking of DMUs can be obtained. Finally, we apply our method to the performance evaluation of 12 tourist hotels in Taipei in 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology for robust design optimization of braced excavations in soft clay with response surface methodology based on the pareto-optimal trade-off between system performance and cost. As prediction of maximum ground settlement induced by excavation is generally accompanied by an implicit numerical model, the response surface methodology is employed to build the performance function with respect to both design parameters and uncertain geotechnical parameters. Then a pareto-optimal performance-based robust design framework of braced excavations in soft clay is formulated to find the optimal design that meets the design requirements while optimizing the system performance and construction cost. With the aid of a multi-objective optimization approach, trade-off relationship between performance robustness and cost efficiency are developed to help identify the most robust design based on the targeted performance levels. A design example of braced excavation in Taipei soft clay is used to illustrate the significance of the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe rainfall has become increasingly frequent and intense in the Taipei metropolitan area. A complex thunderstorm in the Taipei Basin on 14 June 2015 produced an extreme rain rate (>130 mm h-1 ), leading to an urban flash flood. This paper presents storms’ microphysical and dynamic features during the organizing and heavy rain stages, mainly based on observed polarimetric variables in a Doppler radar network and ground-based raindrop size distribution. Shallower isolated cells in the early afternoon characterized by big raindrops produced a rain rate >10 mm h-1, but the rain showers persisted for a short time. The storm’s evolution highlighted the behavior of merged convective cells before the heaviest rainfall (exceeding 60 mm within 20 min). The columnar features of differential reflectivity (ZDR) and specific differential phase (KDP) became more evident in merged cells, which correlated with the broad distribution of upward motion and mixed-phase hydrometeors. The KDP below the environmental 0°C level increased toward the ground associated with the melted graupel and resulted in subsequent intense rain rates, showing the contribution of the ice-phase process. Due to the collision–breakup process, the highest concentrations of almost all drop sizes and smaller mass-weighted mean diameter occurred during the maximum rainfall stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary world politics, Taiwan is, for different reasons, a subject of great contention. The constant conflict it faces with Beijing over the claim to fully integrate it into its sovereignty, in the conception of a single China, limits its expectations as a possible independent state. Given this, and in a long-standing dispute, the groups in power, both in Beijing and in Taipei, confront each other precisely because of these visions, which is the object of constant encounters and disagreements. Thus, and intending to firmly maintain international recognition through a low-profile strategy, Taiwan has maintained formal ties with different states in different regions of the world, including Latin America and the Caribbean. This has allowed the use of its official links in some countries in the area, which are exposed to pressure from the government of the People’s Republic of China, which appears as a counterweight to Taipei’s efforts. With this background, the purpose of this paper is to describe that the presence of Taiwan in Latin America and the Caribbean depends on the ability of its political leaders to materialize initiatives whose impact is not of great importance in the dynamics of regional politics and economics. This will allow you to avoid situations that jeopardize the achievements achieved so far and allow you to continue with this status quo created over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University reputation and destination image are key factors shaping the choice to study in developed Western countries. While East Asia is emerging as a new contender in the international higher education market, little is known about how international students perceive and are attracted to the higher education institutions in this region. Moreover, while the destination image was represented by the host country image in most studies, the effect of city image on study destination choice should be given more attention due to the geographic and social embeddedness of universities in cities. This study drew the survey data from a flagship university in Taipei to examine the impact of university reputation and city image on international student destination choice, and employed factor analysis to identify the dimensions of university reputation and city image. The analysis confirms university reputation and city image as important elements in international student destination choice in the Asian context. It further identifies four factors creating discrepant weighting of these two elements in study destination choice: degree/non-degree program, level of study, type of international student identity, and region of origin. Theoretical and policy implications of findings are discussed at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 International Symposium on Remote Sensing (ISRS-2019) took place in Taipei, Taiwan from 17 to 19 April 2019. ISRS is one of the distinguished conferences on the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, especially in East Asia. More than 220 papers were presented in 37 technical sessions organized at the conference. This Special Issue publishes a limited number of featured peer-reviewed papers extended from their original contributions at ISRS-2019. The selected papers highlight a variety of topics pertaining to innovative concepts, algorithms and applications with geospatial sensors, systems, and data, in conjunction with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine leaning and advanced spatial analysis algorithms. The topics of the selected papers include the following: the on-orbit radiometric calibration of satellite optical sensors, environmental characteristics assessment with remote sensing, machine learning-based photogrammetry and image analysis, and the integration of remote sensing and spatial analysis. The selected contributions also demonstrate and discuss various sophisticated applications in utilizing remote sensing, geospatial data, and technologies to address different environmental and societal issues. Readers should find the Special Issue enlightening and insightful for understanding state-of-the-art remote sensing and spatial information science research, development and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The branding process of a creative industry cluster is not solely embedded in a local spatial association between place and creative products; increasingly, trans‐local branding is being developed at different regional marketplaces through state participation in building trans‐local networks. However, the role of state strategy in the trans‐local branding of a creative industry cluster remains relatively unexplored. When globalisation presents the uneven geographic differentiation of creative production and consumption in an interconnected world, how does the state strategically facilitate the trans‐local branding of a creative industry cluster to articulate a trans‐local network? This paper aims to explore this issue through a case study of the product design industry in Taipei. Based on 65 semi‐structured interviews with product design companies and government officers, this paper argues that the trans‐local branding of a product design industry cluster creates a firm‐event nexus as the spatial outcome; this outcome is underpinned by three state‐led strategic practices: strategic anchoring, coupling, and curating. The role of state strategy is presented as brand curation, in which the state no longer operates as an economic regulator but as a brand curator. This implies that geo‐political and geo‐economic calculations are also revealed in state strategy‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public transportation users increase as the population grows. In Taipei, Taiwan, this tendency is observed by analyzing historical data from the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and economy-shared bicycle (known as YouBike) riders. While this trend exists, the Taipei City government promotes green transportation by providing discounts to users who transfer from MRT or bus to YouBike within a particular period. Therefore, this study focuses on analyzing the patterns of users in order to identify possible clusters. Clusters of customers can be considered fundamental and competitive factors for the Ministry of Transportation to encourage the use of green transportation and promote a sustainable environment. Based on big data smart card information, this paper proposes using the RFM and K-means clustering algorithm to analyze and construct mode-switching traveller profiles on MRT and YouBike riders. As a result, three distinct clusters of MRT-YouBike riders have been identified: potential, vulnerable, and loyal. There are also suggestions regarding the most profitable groups, which customers to focus on, and to whom give special offers or promotions to foster loyalty among transit travellers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The different responses to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world are opening new fields of study in Political Science and International Relations. The need to constantly maintain and enlarge its international space has led Taiwan to develop innovative ways to showcase its response to the pandemic, as well as its willingness to assist other countries. To do that, different instruments associated with types of non-traditional diplomacy have been used. This paper suggests that in the case of Mexico, some features of public and parliamentary diplomacy can be identified in the implementation of the "Taiwan Can Help" Campaign. Through the analysis of the multiple donations of groceries and medical supplies to different communities in Mexico, one of the countries in Latin America with no official diplomatic ties with Taipei, this paper presents how the campaign has been carried through cooperation projects between representatives of the island and lawmakers in the host country. This pattern replicates the strategy followed by Taiwan in nations with mature economies, forging closer ties with parliamentarians in countries with democratic systems, as a way to advance a positive image consisting in shared values and a common future. By focusing on the implementation of this type of public diplomacy during the pandemic, this paper seeks to contribute to a much larger debate around the state of international relations in a post-COVID-19 world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on historical research and on-site fieldwork, this paper probes the historic preservation of Treasure Hill Village, which takes place along with the reproduction of the space of Taipei city and the process of society-making in Taiwan. We argue that culture has been implemented as a contested approach through squatter settlements, which can be successfully preserved as a heritage site. On the one hand, the heritage politics of squatter settlements coincide with Taiwan's turn to polarised politics, which adopts the preservation of a counterhegemonic community to validate the legitimacy of a transitional governance authority from below. On the other hand, Treasure Hill Village, as an artist village in the urban sphere, reveals that neoliberal capitalism has dominated the narrative of urban development for the sake of economic initiatives. Even if art and activism have together attempted to preserve the history of ignored people and reshape the 'lived' cultures under the threat of house dismantlement, we should be alert to the paradoxical rhetoric of culture, as it might damage the declining and marginalised residents' access to heritage. The cultural struggle for the right to Taipei city indicates that the question of 'whose heritage?' remains an unfinished project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) systems are essential in densely populated cities, providing efficient, reliable transportation that alleviates congestion, reduces pollution, and promotes sustainable development. By accommodating large passenger volumes, MRTs enhance urban mobility, economic vitality, and quality of life, making them a vital component of modern urban infrastructure. Identifying key economic, social, environmental, and institutional determinants is crucial for advancing sustainable transportation systems. Integrating technological and strategic perspectives, this paper employs the innovative Rough-Fermatean Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (RFF-DEMATEL) approach to delve into the critical determinants of transportation sustainability in the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (TMRT). The study acknowledges the interconnections among these factors, leading to a more genuine and precise evaluation, distinct from conventional methods that presuppose factor independence. Research outcomes indicate that "operations and performance" stand out as the paramount factors, underscoring the importance of operational strategies and economic allocation. "Digital technology economy" and "sustainable supply chain management" are also emphasized, pinpointing the necessity to harmonize public welfare with financial sustainability while cultivating enduring partnerships. The proposed approach's thorough categorization offers specific managerial suggestions, assisting TMRT in realizing its sustainability aspirations and aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This investigation accentuates the significance of recognizing factor interdependence and adeptly managing uncertainties, bolstering the research's credibility and applicative worth. • RFF-DEMATEL used to analyze critical determinants of TMRT's transportation sustainability. • "Operations and performance" identified as the most important factors for sustainability. • Evaluation framework integrates economic, social, and environmental aspects. • RFF-DEMATEL acknowledges factor interdependence for accurate importance assessment. • RFF-DEMATEL categorizes criteria using INRM, providing targeted management implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictions of excavation responses frequently differ from monitoring data due to geotechnical uncertainties. This paper proposes an efficient Bayesian updating approach for excavation responses that considers the uncertainties of soil properties and the calculation model. To evaluate the depth-dependent characteristic of model uncertainty, the model factor is quantified by a constant part and a trending component. Bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) neural networks are constructed to act as a substitute for the finite-element method to achieve higher computational efficiency. An excavation project in Taipei, Taiwan, is used in this study to illustrate the proposed approach. The results demonstrate that the BiLSTM successfully learns the mapping between soil parameters and deflection responses. The uncertainties of key soil parameters and model factors are significantly reduced when observed deflections at multiple points are incorporated on a stage-by-stage basis. The trending component of the model factor plays an essential role in the early stages, but its impact decreases as the excavation progresses. The prediction intervals using the updated parameters generally cover the monitoring data. The proposed method can rapidly update and improve the predictions of subsequent responses once the monitoring data is obtained. This means early remedial actions can be taken and construction safety ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical account of the case of Taiwan in her innovative efforts in the herbal medicine sector through scientific and technological development. This study aims to propose a network analysis approach, which is typically found in innovation studies, to illustrate the sociological dimensions of actor network theory. The sector is of interest from a social studies of science perspective due to the collision between traditional knowledge philosophies, which are well accepted in East Asian communities, and scientific regulatory standards, that have raised issues regarding the legitimacy and safety of the products. This study considers the actor network linkages between universities, government and industry which act as indicators of knowledge diffusion and collaboration. Relevant records were captured using a heuristic search string and was used to visualize: (i) the number of researchers (agglomeration denoted by the size of bubbles), (ii) organizational linkages through co-authorship (connectedness indicated by the presence of lines between organizations), and (iii) position of the organization (centrality in relation to other organizations). The case presented in this study takes a snapshot of how an advanced economy such as Taiwan, has developed a productive innovation system for herbal medicine. The development of the actor network has evolved mainly from productive working relationships in a close-knit community of researchers that mainly interact through the research organizations in Taipei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper foregrounds the riverfront as a re-territorialising arena of urban governance. Through a long-term study of the Xindian River in Taipei metropolis, Taiwan, we illustrate how the riverfront can be the key locus where the expansion of the urban frontier is manifested through and intertwines with the transformation of nature. While first interwoven with everyday activities of subsistence, Xindian River was gradually turned into the periphery of the city and then green space for recreation, a process actualised through infrastructure aimed at flood control and waste treatment as well as other informal activities that challenge such measures. We propose that 'territorialisation' and 'folding' are notions that can grasp asymmetrical relations embedded in the physical landscape. We argue that a riverfront landscape composed by territorialisation and heterogeneous folding reveals that the emergence of a negotiable state–society relationship is pivotal in the production of the urban riverfront of Taipei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most bicycle collision studies aim to identify contributing factors and calculate risks based on statistical data (Loidl et al., 2016). The aim of this paper is to follow this approach, focusing on bicycle-motorized vehicle (BMV) collisions through a spatio-temporal workflow. For the spatial dimension (Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) method), a general estimation of the collision risks was obtained and the labour-intensive work of collecting counting data was avoided on the macro-scale level. The temporal dimension (negative binomial modeling method) focused on data from collisions occurring on bridges, enabling the inclusion of traffic exposure (counting data on the micro-scale level). Bridge collision risks and contributing factors related to road environment and cycling facilities were estimated using databases from eight government authorities and field investigation. For the presented case study, 2044 geo-coded bicycle collisions in the Taipei-Capital Region (Taiwan) were analysed. The data set covers three years (2015–2017) and includes all BMV collisions reported by the police. Through the spatial workflow, urban bridges were identified as areas with the highest density of collisions. This is unsurprising given that bicycle facilities on urban bridges face design difficulties due to limited space, discrepancy in elevation and traffic volume. Through this approach the characteristics of BMV collisions on bridges, traffic engineering, road environment, traffic control system, and driving behaviour were then analysed in the temporal dimension. This paper concludes by providing information relevant to traffic engineers concerning the enhancement of bicycle safety on high-risk areas in the city. In this paper, we aim to (1) understand the risk patterns of bicycle collisions spatially (where?) and temporally (when?), from a region-scale (macro) level to a location-scale (micro) level. To this end, a spatio-temporal (two-stage) workflow was developed for the exploration of the collision data. Through the spatial stage, urban bridges were identified as having the highest density of BMV collisions. Building on results from the spatial stage, we sought to (2) further explain "how" bridge infrastructure influences bicycle collisions in Taipei-Capital Region (Taiwan) by studying contributing risk factors. Countermeasures can thus be made to enhance bicycle safety. This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of the literature related to bicycle collision studies. Section 3 describes the study concept of the spatio-temporal workflow and its methodologies. Section 4 presents the study area and provides the descriptive statistics of BMV collisions. Section 5 describes the data used in spatio-temporal modeling. Section 6 discusses the main results and Section 7 finally concludes with the contribution and recommendation of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past decade, several misbehaving certificate authorities (CAs) have issued fraudulent TLS certificates allowing man-in-the-middle (MITM) kinds of attacks that result in serious security incidents. In order to avoid such incidents, Yakubov et al. ((2018) A blockchain-based PKI management framework. NOMS 2018 - 2018 IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium, Taipei, Taiwan, April, pp. 16. IEEE) recently proposed a new public key infrastructure (PKI) architecture where CAs issue, revoke and validate X.509 certificates on a public blockchain. However, in their proposal TLS clients are subject to MITM kinds of attacks, and certificate transparency is not fully provided. In this paper, we eliminate the issues of the Yakubov et al.'s scheme and propose a new PKI architecture based on permissioned blockchain with PBFT consensus mechanism where the consensus nodes utilize a dynamic threshold signature scheme to generate signed blocks. In this way, the trust to the intermediary entities can be completely eliminated during certificate validation. Our scheme enjoys the dynamic property of the threshold signature because TLS clients do not have to change the verification key even if the validator set is dynamic. We implement our proposal on private Ethereum network to demonstrate the experimental results. The results show that our proposal has negligible overhead during TLS handshake. The certificate validation duration is less than the duration in the conventional PKI and Yakubov et al.'s scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streets are an essential element of cities, and their design has a profound impact on their functionality to the movement of people and their well-being. This paper investigates preferences for and economic values of several street design characteristics, encompassing greenspaces (ground vegetation, trees, flowers), and walking and cycling infrastructure. A discrete choice experiment on a single case study street in Taipei, Taiwan, has revealed positive preferences for ground vegetation (and a willingness to pay—WTP—between $2.8 and $4 per year for a 1% increase in coverage), separated cycling infrastructure (with a WTP between $60 and $100 for cycleways separated from traffic), pedestrian access to road islands (WTP of $55), and the (reduced) amount of space dedicated to motor vehicles (WTP of $29 to avoid any increase). Flowers were also deemed important, but a mixed picture was obtained with respect to preference for street trees. The analysis is exploratory, on a relatively small sample of street users, but contributes to the literature on the importance of urban vegetation and walking and cycling infrastructure when designing streets and be used to draw lessons for other similarly dense urban areas in the country and wider region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Curriculum integration and cross-disciplinary/cross-curricular integrated learning have become worldwide trends. Taiwan's directives for its 12-year education curricula encourage that secondary schools' flexible learning programs include cross-disciplinary topics to foster the cross-disciplinary learning. The use of virtual reality (VR) for integrated teaching, particularly in physical education (PE), is likely to be developed in the future. This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of VR in PE classes to teach badminton and to discover potential difficulties while employing this method, as well as the coping techniques teachers may need to adopt. Methods: The participants were a PE teacher and their seventh-grade students who were enrolled in Taipei City high school, Taiwan. The study used a qualitative approach, and the data were collected from semi-structured interviews, course reviews, student feedback questionnaires, study notes, and cognitive tests after the implementation of a four-week, eight-session badminton course, where VR was used to teach the forehand serve. The data analysis was conducted using various qualitative methods. Results: 1. The VR-based badminton teaching method improved learning effectiveness from the following aspects: "understanding essentials and mastering the skill," "repeated practice and adjusting posture," "teamwork and mutual support," and "promoting motivation and learning." 2. Teachers encountered three potential types of dilemmas when using VR-based teaching: "moving," "playing," and "learning." "Moving" refers to the conflict between class time spent engaged in physical activities and using technology. "Playing" encompasses the dilemma that occurs when the frequent use of the device decreased its novelty, and some students discontinued using it. "Learning" refers to the conflict between the students' desire to enjoy their class and the teacher's desire to educate during class. Conclusion: VR-based badminton teaching in PE can effectively improve the learning effect. However, teachers should reflect upon the design and implementation of teaching and understand students' perceptions of the PE curriculum to overcome the dilemmas of VR-based badminton teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst an extensive body of literature exists on the environmental justice implications of urban greening in North America, Europe and to an extent Australasia, there are fewer analogous studies for tropical zone Asian city contexts. Given increasing global interest in the potential for urban greenspace to contribute to resilience in the face of environmental change and the higher vulnerability of Asian cities to environmental shocks, this is a notable gap. In response, this paper evaluates the contours of environmental justice debates within urban greenspace planning for one subtropical Asian city—Taipei. Through analysis of newspaper reporting on urban greenspace planning within Taipei, the potential and limitations of greenspace planning in contributing to equitably delivering benefits from urban greenspace towards resilience are assessed. Findings suggest that claims to environmental injustice in greenspace debates within Taipei follow broadly similar lines to controversies in Europe and North America. Nevertheless, the need for specific knowledge to understand the different ecosystem services provided by tropical zone ecosystems, and the potential for conflicts over greenspace versus development to be heightened in dense Asian city settings, are highlighted as potential areas where environmental justice debates in an Asian urban greening context may differ from Western cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to extend geographical research on aspiration beyond existing scholarship in Britain that focuses on the political discourses of aspiration and individual emotional responses to uncertain neoliberal futures. Drawing on anthropological work on social navigation and aspirational future‐making in cities elsewhere, we examine how aspiring Taipei street performers navigate the streets and wider environments of opportunity and constraint. Our ethnographic work shows that while Taipei street performers navigate individually, they also collaborate in two broad ways. First, in situ via temporary groupings, sustained partnerships and fan communities. Second, relationally by forming a learning/support community and a street art association to increase their terms of recognition with the public and the state. These collaborations challenge the stereotypical individualistic profile of cultural workers in a post‐industrial cultural economy. The collaborative actions of Taipei street performers exceed conventional neoliberal logics of inter‐city competitiveness to include progressive notions of mutual care, volunteerism, and the formation of a collective identity to engage the state. Although Taipei street performers' socio‐spatial forms of navigation are not cast in overtly political terms, either in drawing from historical antecedents or in contesting neoliberalisation, they are nevertheless significant in wider geographies of the political. We contribute to a growing body of work that looks beyond the inheritance of collective politics in the Keynesian West as the sole form of push back against the ills of neoliberal urbanism, and that is open to the possibility of a variety of other collective formations in other parts of the urban world informing progressive future‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing interest in participatory budgeting has been observed in local governments around the world. This paper stresses direct citizen participation in the budgeting process leads to good governance, deepens democracy and improves social justice, while also highlighting some challenges in its efficiency and effectiveness. Unlike participatory budgeting, the Sub‐borough Chiefs Forum is a community‐based representative democratic mechanism; it could be regarded as a form of participatory budgeting in a broad sense. If so, then did the Taipei programme simply duplicate the goals of the Forum or lead to a better governance by making up for the inadequacies of the Chiefs Forum? To find out whether the Taipei participatory budgeting programme made a difference, we carried out qualitative and quantitative comparisons of projects passed under the participatory budgeting process and at the Forum. We also interviewed several participatory budgeting participants and sub‐borough chiefs. The findings suggested that participatory budgeting and the Forum generated different proposals and budget requests, and the Taipei programme supplemented the shortcomings of the Forum and therefore led to deeper civic engagement and better urban governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By offering his interpretation of local movies set in Taipei, Fredric Jameson sought to enrich his postmodern culture theory by further examples. Specifically, Jameson thought there is a major discrepancy between the narrative reflected in the movie Terrorizers filmed in 1986 and the original indigenous narrative about Taiwan, which led to the failure of interpreting the movie based on the indigenous narrative and introduced the postmodern context about the narratives of Taipei. However, his conclusions are not quite convincing, and his choice of interpretive parameters, i.e. mainland movies and western literature, are quite distant from the Taipei experience. To truly understand Taipei's modernity, three discussions are put forward in this paper. First, the author follows Jameson's logic of arguments and discovers that his conclusions were based on the texts of the west and mainland China. Second, the author remaps Taipei in the dual contexts of the globalization trend and the historical experiences of Taiwan itself. Third, after re-examining Jameson's unique but incomplete and biased views of remapping Taipei, the author indicates that the movie Terrorizers is not merely a postmodern narrative about Taipei, but a special narrative based on a mixed context of Chineseness, indigenization, modernity, and postmodernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper probes the underlying motives behind the adoption of the 'creative city' policies in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei. It argues that while the global appeal of the creative city is commonly attributed to urban entrepreneurialism, this reason alone is insufficient in explaining the so-called 'cultural turn' in these three cities, because none of them ascribe to the conventional format of the post-industrial 'entrepreneurial' city. In order to identify other major forces driving the adoption of creative city initiatives in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei, this work delves into the ways in which the idea of the creative city is reworked within the context of global city making. The study found that in addition to urban entrepreneurialism, the inherited cultural policy agenda, which largely stems from national interests, also plays a significant role in directing (and changing) the 'global cultural city' making process. By looking into different roles attached to the 'imported' policy discourse of the creative city in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei, this study not only contributes to the understanding of urban cultural policies within the Chinese-speaking world and East Asia more generally, but also lends some insights to the developing field of cultural policy mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel centrality for the nodes of a graph. Our centrality is based on the graph regularization, a tool of graph signal processing theory. For this reason, it is called graph regularization centrality (GRC). In order to define the centrality of a node, a delta signal centered on this node is defined and a new smooth signal is generated by the graph regularization of the delta signal. The transformation of the delta signal into the new smooth signal strongly depends on the position of the node in the graph. Our centrality takes advantage of this feature to define a centrality for each node of the graph. Synthetic and real-world graphs are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of our centrality that combines local and global positioning of nodes in one measure. Furthermore, it is compared against classical centralities and graph Fourier transform centrality, which is also based on graph signal processing theory. We conclude with a discussion of the main features of GRC and a proposal for potential future work. • A novel node centrality based on the graph signal processing theory. • Graph Regularization Centrality (GRC) combines local and global positioning of nodes. • GRC is scalable and robust with respect to regular structures. • Centrality signature allows to compare different centralities for large graphs. • Node centrality analysis of IEEE 34 Node Test Feeder and Taipei Rapid Transit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of greenspace patterns on cooling effects from urban greenspaces. Greenspace has been argued to have significant potential to mitigate urban heat island effect in urban areas, and thus to reduce risks to human health and wellbeing intensified by global warming. Based on remote sensing data and subsequent spatial analysis carried out for Taipei Metropolis, this paper argues that greenspace features lowering temperature within greenspaces are not necessarily to have explicit cooling contribution on surrounding built environments. For mitigating urban heat at the area nearby greenspaces, greenspace size, shape and greenness may have limited effect, whereas increasing greenery at greenspace edges and enhancing greenspace cohesion are more effective means of extending cooling benefits. In turn, findings from Taipei Metropolis suggest urban planners ought to: consider relative locations in the city when designing a cooling intervention; work to preserve large greenspaces; extent greenery at greenspace surroundings and find means to connect existing cool islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant research has increasingly recognized that local reputation determines creative firms’ competitiveness. However, current research over-emphasizes that the spatial cluster facilitates the innovation dynamic of creative industries rather than investigating whether the trans-local dynamic of trade fairs and competitions underpins the reputation-building process of local creative industries. This paper contributes to exploring the reputation-building process and spatial strategy of creative industries through a case study of product design firms in Taipei. Drawing on a qualitative methodology, this paper analyses 35 in-depth interviews with product design company executives, concluding that the spatial strategy of product design firms situated in the Taipei city context must acknowledge local strategic advantage and increasingly build a reputation through connections to trans-local design fairs and competitions. Meanwhile, the reputation-building process reflects that product design firms must capture and negotiate symbolic value through a strategic co-presence in local, regional, and global temporary event spaces. Finally, the process and strategies imply that the design industry needs a new form of intervention in latecomer cities to respond to the uneven development of the global design economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies a receptor model to quantify source contributions to ambient concentration of polychlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and inhalation cancer risk in Taipei from 2003 through 2009. Seventeen PCDD/F congeners were used in the effective variance solution to the Chemical Mass Balance equations to estimate source-specific mass contributions and inhalation risks. The average total PCDD/F concentration was 0.611 pg/Nm 3 (0.036 pg I-TEQ/Nm 3 ). Traffic emissions contributed the most to the PCDD/F concentration (55.7%), followed by waste incinerators (18.6%) and joss stick burning (9.6%). For the inhalation cancer risk, the average was 1.1 × 10 −6 with traffic, waste incinerators, and joss paper burning as the main contributors (67.3%, 19.4%, and 6.3%, respectively). The mass and risk contributions of waste incinerators decreased significantly from 2003 to 2009 and were higher at downwind sites than at upwind sites. Reducing PCDD/F emissions from traffic and waste incinerators would provide the greatest health benefit. Policies that reduce the uncontrolled burning of joss stick and joss paper also need to be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Study location may cause a different type of socio-demographic, body mass index (BMI), study intensity and food-related behavior. The increasing number of Indonesia students who study abroad to Taiwan is interesting to be examined those factors related. The purpose of this study is to examine the food-related behavior of Indonesian college students in different study location. Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to administer questionnaires assessing socio-demographic, BMI, study intensity, meal preparations, food access and eating behavior of Indonesian college students (n = 493). Study location took in two cities and different countries (Indonesia and Taiwan). Analysis statistics was using frequency descriptive, Chi-square test, Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test and Logistic regression. Findings: The trend showed students who lived in Malang tended to have healthier eating behavior. Students tended to have a higher prevalence of low study intensity, dependent meal preparation and difficult food access in Taipei. There was a significant relationship between study location and study intensity (p < 0.01), study location and BMI (p < 0.01), study location and meal preparation (p < 0.01), study location and food access (p = 0.02). On the other hand, eating behavior had no significant relationship with study location (p = 0.28). Marital status became the most dominant variable in influencing obesity (OR = 0.198). Findings indicate that there are significant differences between study location with marital status, BMI, study intensity, meal preparation and food access, but not eating behavior. Moreover, married status is most influencing to obesity risk. Research limitations/implications: The limitations of this research were data of height and weight was not be measured directly. Moreover, the reliability of the instrument was unexpected. In the future, research needs improvement more sample for fixing it. Moreover, to support initiatives to incorporate eating behavior into body weight management strategies may be needed. The implications are to create an effective nutrition education for Indonesian college students. Hopefully, it will be influencing public attitudes and affecting the quality of life. Practical implications: Further investigation should consider longitudinal studies to explore the different effects of eating behavior on overweight and obesity. Nutritional education programs should give to young adults not only in developed but also in developing countries. Originality/value: This paper shows our findings about the difference study location that may cause a different type of eating behavior. The research subject was Indonesian college students who live and study in two cities, Malang-Indonesia and Taipei-Taiwan. The trend showed students who live in Malang tend to have healthier eating behavior. On the other hand, study intensity, meal preparation and food access were significantly different in both cities. Indonesian college students in Taipei tended to have the higher prevalence of low study intensity, dependent meal preparation and difficult food access. The authors believe that the findings would appeal to a broad audience, especially for improving meal preparation in college students who study abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The distal relationship between Taipei's resource inflows and nonrenewable resource production in Taiwan was investigated. • Cross-scale emergy synthesis revealed the reliance of Taipei's resource inflows on Taiwan. • The demand of construction materials in Taipei's peri-urbanization is the underlying driving force of the development in Taipei's remote areas. Urbanization not only causes environmental changes in metropolitan regions but also influences the ecological and socioeconomic changes of distant land areas due to increasing demands on resource use and waste emissions. Previous studies on the assessment of urban systems have focused on the city or metropolitan areas under study. There is a need to incorporate urban land teleconnections to investigate the relationship between a city and distant land areas during the process of urbanization. This paper analyzes the teleconnection of the energy and material flows associated with Taipei's peri-urbanization and remote areas in Taiwan. The cross-scale emergy synthesis of Taipei and Taiwan was examined first to investigate the relationships of the material and energy flows between Taipei and Taiwan. The exploitation of non-renewable resources in Taiwan during the 1990s was driven mainly by the construction and development taking place in Taipei. Furthermore, compared with Taiwan, the Taipei area relies heavily on external resources. The results of the emergy evaluation of materials flows in Taipei indicated that 85% of the construction materials used were imported from other remote areas during the past 30 years. The use of construction materials in Taipei had a higher intensity in the city center during 1982–1992 and in the peri-urban area during 2002−2014. The results of the emergy synthesis indicated that urban land teleconnections exist between peri-urban areas of Taipei and other distant areas in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries around the world since the subprime-mortgage crisis in 2008, soaring housing prices under central governments' quantitative easing (QE) monetary policies have deteriorated home affordability. For example, in Taipei's environment of long-term low property taxes, the price-to-income (PTI) ratio reached 16 in 2014, which is higher than the corresponding ratios in most cities around the world. The fiscal pressure that mortgage payments impose on households seems to crowd out their consumption capability and thus to counter economic growth. However, current literature has revealed diverse effects of housing prices on consumption in far-flung countries. To discover the influence of housing prices on consumption and economic growth, we collected data in Taiwan for empirical analysis. Results show that the stock price index has had a significant positive effect on consumption, whereas interest rates have played a minimal role in consumption. Results also show that rising house prices have had a negative effect on consumption, indicating that high housing prices trigger the crowding-out effect on consumption and in turn contribute to sluggish economic growth. The findings of this study provide the government in Taiwan with policy implications for directing housing prices in ways that facilitate both long-term housing affordability and economic sustainability. Further, this paper explains that, across countries, differences among homeowners' home-equity 'cash-out' behaviors may help explain the differences among the behaviors' diverse effects on consumption. Results of this study not only empirically strengthen academia's knowledge of housing prices' effects on consumption but also suggest that the policy-driven development or promotion of home-equity financing may enhance consumption and revive flagging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bikeshare program in Taipei City and New Taipei City, called U-bike, was launched in August 2012 and has more than 7500 bicycles operating out of 769 stations. Research has suggested that bicycle helmet use is a means of reducing morbidity and mortality among bike users. Helmets, however, are not available for rent when a U-bike is rented. The current research conducted an observational study to examine the prevalence of helmet non-use by users of the bikeshare program, electric bicycles, racing bicycles, and personal bicycles in Taipei City and New Taipei City. Trained observers using compact video cameras collected helmet non-use data during various times of the day and on different days of the week. Observers collected data on cyclist attributes, bicycle types, and helmet use at several selected locations within Taipei City and New Taipei City. U-bike users were found to be the least likely to wear helmets. Other noteworthy findings include that violations such as phone use, red-light violations, and travelling at ≥25 km/h were associated with riding without a helmet. Male users of racing bikes tended not to wear helmets, while female users of other bicycle types were less likely to use a helmet. Carrying passengers by users of electric bikes and personal bikes was a determinant of helmet non-use. This paper concludes with a discussion and recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on resolving a defect of population-based urban sprawl analysis from a land-use planning perspective. This defect is indicated for a few metropolitan areas, which have experienced a controversial phenomenon of population decentralisation but with potential household centralising force. With the emphasis on household movement, this paper first aims to clarify the role of populations, households and employment that characterises urban sprawl and to check if unmet housing demand in city centres can be identified. Second, we evaluate the influence of household distribution factors, such as unmet housing and land-use related factors, on spatial-structure-based compactness/sprawl, taking time lag into consideration. A new classification of urban forms is developed to identify potential residential centripetal market forces. Additionally, the housing demand generation-distribution + push-accessibility-pull (GD+PAP) analysis framework is applied. The results of an empirical study on the Taipei metropolitan area between 1980–1990 and 1990–2000 suggest that the most significant policy towards compactness is high density. We recommend a prioritisation in city centres, particularly when housing demand is underserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban density policy, usually implemented through a floor area ratio (FAR) plan, may become increasingly important in achieving such goals as environmental sustainability or acting as an incentive to promote transit-orientated development. Nonetheless there seems a lack of guidance on FAR distribution. In order to provide FAR distribution guidelines, in particular with the goal of incorporating sustainability and market demand, this paper develops a step-by-step, quantitative residential FAR distribution alternative based on both the advantages of the location and the market demand for the locations. It consists of two major steps: floor area generation and FAR distribution; the latter being the focus of this paper. The methods applied involve the measurement of accessibility within geographic information systems and the hedonic price model. A simulation analysis of this FAR distribution method is conducted to develop a FAR plan for a plan area, and is then applied to demonstrate how the FAR plan can be modified if mass rapid transit stations are introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper argues that climate change adaptation through strategic greenspace planning requires scholars and planners to think differently about what equity means in an urban greenspace context. We use the heat mitigation potential of greenspace and the case of Taipei Metropolis in Taiwan to assess challenges arising from thinking about fairness in terms of distribution of benefits from greenspace functions, as opposed to fairness in greenspace accessibility and availability. Urban greening to foster ‘resilient’ communities arguably deflects from – or even exacerbates – structural causes of vulnerability, with benefits accruing disproportionately to more affluent or empowered groups. Yet the need for practical action on climate threats in cities is urgent, and for heat, strategic greenspace use considered systematically across a city may mitigate effects through the cooling effect of vegetation. The challenge is thus to balance the justice concerns associated with urban greening with this tangible risk reduction potential. We undertake content analysis of articles from two Taiwanese newspapers – the Taipei Times and the China Post – to assess how heat and greenspace issues have been discussed in urban governance debates within Taipei. We suggest change adaptation through urban greening raises three challenges for equity thinking: (a) guiding planning and governance processes with scientific understanding of how greenspace functions are delivered, even in the face of urban development pressures and site-specific controversies; (b) tempering the social cohesion and practical deployment benefits of neighbourhood-level greening with the need for specific understanding at the city-wide level to most effectively realise ecosystem services; and (c) linking targeted adaptation actions with broader rationales for urban greening, whilst not diluting justice concerns. We caution that pragmatism towards all urban climate adaptation via greening as intrinsically ‘good’ must not serve as a blinder to the need for accompanying social policy measures to reduce unequal vulnerability to climate risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown that structural damage exhibits stronger correlations with cumulative absolute velocity (CAV) than other ground motion intensity measures (e.g., PGA). This paper presents a CAV site-effect assessment for the Taipei areas for the first time. The study was based on more than 1200 strong-motion data from 47 major earthquakes that had occurred around Taiwan. The results show that the site effects are more conspicuous in the western Taipei than the eastern areas, and it is also obvious that the site effect is strong in locations close to the rims of the basin, where seismic waves could be easily reflected, refracted and superimposed. Subsequently, a map showing the areas in Taipei subject to severe CAV amplification and/or high variability was developed for site-effect microzonation for the study area, on the basis of CAV that was considered better correlated with structural damage under earthquake condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many earthquake empirical models were developed based on the statistics in the past. However, it is commonly seen that a non-local model was applied to a local study without any adjustment. In this paper, a new algorithm using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to adjust a non-local model for local applications was presented, including a case study assessing the probability of major earthquake occurrences in Taipei. Specifically, considering the fault length of 36 km and slip rate of 2 mm/yr, it suggests the Sanchiao (or Shanchiao) fault could induce a major earthquake with magnitude M w 7.14±0.17, based on a non-local model integrated with limited local data using the MLE algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban areas, public transport can improve sustainable transport by reducing vehicles and congestion, and improving accessibility. Mass rapid transit (MRT) is especially important for large cities, such as Taipei City, Taiwan. In particular, MRT aims to improve mobility and reliability, but has limitations in providing first and last mile accessibility to final destinations or origins. Taipei City, Taiwan has introduced a public bike sharing scheme to service this gap. However, few studies have addressed how a public bike sharing scheme assists first and last mile accessibility. This study uses Taipei City as a case study to investigate this issue by comparing the demand and supply of the public bike sharing scheme, YouBike, at a detailed spatial scale. The supply of YouBike is represented by the time saving compared to walking for each identified origin and destination pair in the study area (i.e., Point of Interests (POIs) and MRT stations). The demand for YouBike is total trips from each YouBike station to a MRT station using public transport smart card data. By comparing the demand and supply for over 400 zones or villages, service gaps and areas of unbalanced service can be identified. The results show that YouBike does provide first and last mile service for the MRT network with some evidence of service mismatch in the study area, i.e., high service for low demand and vice versa. The conclusions of the paper can help cities wanting to introduce a bike sharing schemes to improve first and last mile transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the spatial and organisational dynamics of innovation activities in the evolution of cultural industry using Taipei’s music industry as a case study. The existing literature has emphasised that innovation and creativity are driving the evolution of the cultural industry as a result of the spatial proximity effect generated by production systems. However, few studies have examined the innovation practices of the cultural industry resulting from interactive relationships between the urban cluster environment and the mobilisation process of project networks. An evolutionary perspective is used to illustrate how the cluster and network elements of the music industry are intertwined in innovation practices within the Taipei context. As a contribution to the cluster–network debates, this paper argues that the innovation dynamics of Taipei’s music industry are a hybrid feature of Taipei’s cluster environment and the strategic competencies of music project networks rather than the local cluster effect. In conclusion, a different trajectory for the evolution of Taipei’s music industry is presented. Additionally, this dynamic process between cluster and network makes Taipei a hybrid creative platform that is an active element in the cultivation of the innovative competencies of Taipei’s music producers and related workers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In various geopolitical contexts, a strategy of flexibility exists in the urban politics involved in governing extralegal or informal practices, yet the actual processes involved have not really been analysed. This paper is based on a case study of the informal management of street vendors in Taipei's Shilin Night Market. The city deploys a policy of loose policing of the extralegal vendors, demonstrating its will to improve the situation, and the vendors respond by performing a series of spatial routines in order to maintain their occupancy of appropriated arcades and streets. This ritualised interaction, explored here in the light of Ervin Goffman's performance theory, allows the municipality to accommodate informality within a contemporary urban context. The paper analyses the political, social and spatial significance of this informal management in order to clarify one of the ways in which modern cities can benefit from urban policies and planning strategies that support urban informality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Given the difficulty of earthquake forecast, Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) has been a method to best estimate site-specific ground motion or response spectra in earthquake engineering and engineering seismology. In this paper, the first in-depth PSHA study for Taipei, the economic center of Taiwan with a six-million population, was carried out. Unlike the very recent PSHA study for Taiwan, this study includes the follow-up hazard deaggregation, response spectra, and the earthquake motion recommendations. Hazard deaggregation results show that moderate-size and near-source earthquakes are the most probable scenario for this city. Moreover, similar to the findings in a few recent studies, the earthquake risk for Taipei should be relatively high and considering this city''s importance, the high risk should not be overlooked and a potential revision of the local technical reference would be needed. In addition to the case study, some innovative Excel applications to PSHA are introduced in this paper. Such spreadsheet applications are applicable to geosciences research as those developed for data reduction or quantitative analysis with Excel''s user-friendly nature and wide accessibility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper discusses how small-strain stiffness and some aspects of the yield surface affect the finite-element predictions of excavation responses, including wall and ground deformations. By using the in-house-developed constitutive model SC1SS, it is possible to isolate and quantify impacts brought about by selected aspects of the soil behavior. This soil model has been validated to reasonably model Taipei silty clay and deep excavations in such soil. This study shows that ignoring small-strain stiffness can overestimate deformations by as much as 80%, leading to conservative and costly design. Inclined yield surface and Lode-angle dependency (on deviatoric planes) have lesser effects on the prediction results. In addition, the mechanisms behind these impacts are investigated through numerical triaxial tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]