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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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 examines two Taiwan projects: the National Palace Museum (1965) in Taipei (NPM) and the NPM Southern Branch (NPMSB) in Chiayi (2003). The NPMSB targeted the liberalisation of the NPM from the stained political connotation of Chinese nationalism and constructs anew Taiwan's autonomous national identity. This paper argues that the construction of NPM/NPMSB in Taiwan is a cultural and colonial traumatism of national identity, and a struggle between official Chinese nationalism and rising prior Taiwanese subjectivity in a postcolonial context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – University libraries are increasing their e-book collections. The purpose of this study is to investigate graduate students' usage of and attitudes towards e-books at National Taiwan University. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 20 graduate students from the fields of humanities, social sciences, science and technology, and medicine were interviewed. Findings – The results indicated that graduate students used e-books mainly for the purposes of study and research. Monographs were the type of e-book that students used most often, followed by textbooks and reference tools. While they appreciated the convenience of using e-books, students mentioned several limitations. They liked the keyword search function of e-books. Most of the time, graduate students browsed a few paragraphs or pages online and then printed out copies for further reading. They also borrowed the corresponding paper versions of the e-books from the library. Students preferred that university libraries supply both the electronic and paper versions. In certain aspects, students' use behaviour was found to vary among disciplines. Originality/value – This study highlights multiple aspects of graduate students' use behaviour with respect to e-books. The findings could be used to enhance e-book collection development in university libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a technique for frequency-partitioned spectrum estimation (FPSE), which is used in the National Taiwan University Wireless Health Advanced Monitoring Bio-Diagnosis System for electrocardiogram analysis. A process for analyzing the RR interval (which is a time series formed by the heat-beat duration that represents heart-rate variations) in conjunction with the fuzzy clustering technique is proposed for arrhythmia recognition. FPSE helps reduce data transmission errors and allows the computational load to be moved to a remote server; however, it suffers from waveform deterioration during reconstruction of the signal power spectrum. To compensate for this problem, this paper proposes a modified FPSE approach that imposes an additional boundary constraint to ensure that the estimated spectrum is smooth. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is more effective at recovering the original frequency information and achieves a globally asymptotic trend. The proposed arrhythmia recognition procedure was applied to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Boston's Beth Israel Hospital (MIT-BIH) database (developed by MIT and Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center), which demonstrated that it is both very convenient and efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the implementation of the Wide Area Differential Global Positioning System (WADGPS) system in order to evaluate the operational performance of a satellite based aviation navigation system within Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR). The main objective of the WADGPS is to provide real time integrity information regarding the use of GPS for civil aviation applications. This paper uses the e-GPS observation stations operated by the Taiwan Ministry of Interior (MOI) as the WADGPS reference stations to collect the L1-L2 dual-frequency GPS measurements. A WADGPS master station is also implemented to process all GPS measurements sent from each reference station, and then generate the vector corrections. These vector corrections consist of the satellite ephemeris and clock errors, and a grid of ionospheric delays. The data stream also includes confidence bounds for the corrections and "Use/Do Not Use" messages to provide integrity. These messages are then passed to the WADGPS user through the Internet. This paper discusses the WADGPS system architecture and the system performance analysis. A five-day operation performance in Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) is presented in this paper. The results show that the WADGPS can improve the accuracy performance of GPS positioning and fulfill the integrity performance required by Non-Precision Approach (NPA) defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the context-dependent total-factor energy efficiency (CD-TFEE) to determine the multi-layer disaggregate energy efficiency frontiers of twenty administrative regions in Taiwan for the year of 2016. The CD-TFEE overcomes the shortcoming of conventional TFEE index that TFEE is not able to find the "closest target" for each inefficient region in the short run. Furthermore, the CD-TFEE scores here deal with four types of energy inputs (electricity for production, electricity for household and non-household lighting, diesel sales, and gasoline sales), illustrating that multi-layer TFEE frontiers for each energy input in the case of Taiwan can be computed. Empirical results indicate that there are three levels of TFEE frontiers for electricity for production and four levels for other types of energy inputs. In addition, New Taipei City, Taipei City, Keelung City, and Penghu County are at the top level of TFEE frontier for all four energy inputs. This paper also demonstrates that the CD-TFEE procedure generates results different from the CD-DEA introduced by Seiford and Zhu (2003). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the developing countries of Asia local authorities rarely use risk analysis instruments as a decision-making support mechanism during planning and development procedures. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a methodology to enable planners to undertake such analyses. We illustrate a case study of seismic risk-benefit analysis for the city of Taipei, Taiwan, using available land use maps and surveys as well as a new tool developed by the National Science Council in Taiwan—the HAZ-Taiwan earthquake loss estimation system. We use three hypothetical earthquakes to estimate casualties and total and annualised direct economic losses, and to show their spatial distribution. We also characterise the distribution of vulnerability over the study area using cluster analysis. A risk-benefit ratio is calculated to express the levels of seismic risk attached to alternative land use plans. This paper suggests ways to perform earthquake risk evaluations and the authors intend to assist city planners to evaluate the appropriateness of their planning decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the maximum potential rise on the traction earth (TE) conductor caused by stray currents in the Taipei Rail Transit Systems (TRTS). The stray current from the TRTS will flow into the earth due to the voltage difference along the running rails caused by the traction currents returning to the substations. The potential rise of 0.1 V is admitted in international recommendations as the maximum acceptable value for corrosion protection of utilities outside a dc railway system. Since TRTS is one of the dc-traction rail transit systems, it may cause corrosion or other effects by stray currents to the existing underground metallic structures. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether the maximum potential rise on the TE conductor caused by stray currents from IRTS is greater than the maximum permissible value 0.1 V or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chemical Society located in Taipei is celebrating the 90th anniversary of its inception. We launch a special issue dedicated to this important occasion. In this special issue, we invite chemists from Taiwan across a broad range of disciplines and expertise to showcase the diversity and activity of chemical research carried out in Taiwan There are 13 review papers and 21 research articles, covering a variety of topics such as catalysis, biochemistry, synthesis, and materials chemistry. Please join us to find out more interesting research in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines whether public political participation in Taiwan is influenced by people's interactive relations and social environments. In contrast to the "sociodemographic factor" and "political mobilization" approaches used in previous studies of political participation, this paper's theoretical structure is that of "cross-cutting networks." It analyzes the influence exerted by social network "cross-pressures" on voters' engagement in political activities and their likelihood of voting in the 2010 mayoral elections in Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung cities. The study uses national survey data to test the association between cross-cutting networks and political participation. The methodology adopted includes cross-tabulation analyses, ordered logit model, and logit model. The findings reveal that people in cross-cutting networks involving greater political disagreement are less likely to participate in politics while individuals engaging in homogeneous social interactions and under low level cross-pressure are predisposed to participate more actively in politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Similar to a colonial state, a settler state is governed by an outside regime. In comparison with conventional colonists, however, the settler rulers regard the settled land as their homeland, rather than just a land with exploitable resources. To secure its legitimacy, the settler government has to strongly control the locals. Democratization could undermine settler rule and the settler state’s built environment could be affected by such a political transition and subsequent political transformation. This article explores the implications of settler urban legacies by examining an iconic landmark and public housing policies in Taipei City, Taiwan. The results suggest that the transition of settler rule has given rise to urban changes related to the interests of the locals. The paper outlines the city’s future urban scene, because settler urban legacies were deeply rooted in the political and urban landscapes of the nation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The case history where flooding due to the leakage through the openings in diaphragm wall accompanied by piping in excavation bottom severely affected the construction of a station box of Taipei Rapid Transit System (TRTS) is presented. The emergency grouting adjacent to but outside the diaphragm wall was conducted following the leakage. However, injection pressure due to slow setting time of grout not only aggravated the piping but also caused the side effect deflecting the diaphragm wall toward excavation area. The severe piping quickly washed the soil into station box and the differential settling of buildings above along with propagating surface cracks forced the use of water emplacing in station to ease the piping and further ground loss; meanwhile, seal grouting and void filling grouting were undertaken to facilitate the rehabilitation of foundation construction through which the station box was opened subsequently. Based on analyzed interactive behaviour between water emplacing or injection pressure and wall deflection or brace load, the diaphragm wall and bracing system would not have functioned normally during grouting if water had not been introduced in the station. The cause of opening in the diaphragm wall is triggered by the abnormal concrete placement which can be avoided through the suggested procedure of examination. The paper discusses the insights into a review of instrument records and provides the lessons learned. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper uses an ethnographic study of the Ghost Festival rite performed by a Sri Lankan Theravāda temple in Taipei to illustrate the relationship between religious syncretism and missionary work. It explains how this Chinese ritual has been transformed in a Theravāda setting and made acceptable to Theravāda sentiment, and how it is adopted to advance the agenda of Theravāda missionary. Ghost Festival has had a long history in the Chinese culture and is an important ritual in Chinese Buddhism. However, the Ghost Festival does not exist in Theravāda tradition. The Theravādization of Ghost Festival thus offers interesting insight into the increasing exchange among Buddhists across different traditions in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typhoon is one of the most destructive disasters in Taiwan, which usually causes many floods and mudslides and prevents the electrical and water supply. Prior to its arrival, how to accurately forecast the path and rainfall of typhoon are important issues. In the past, a regression-based model was the most applied statistical method to evaluate the associated problems. However, it generally ignored the spatial dependence in the data, resulting in less accurate estimation and prediction, and the importance of particular explanatory variables may not be apparent. Therefore, in this paper we focus on assessing the spatial risk variations regarding the typhoon cumulated rainfall at Taipei with respect to typhoon locations by using the spatial hierarchical Bayesian model combined with the spatial conditional autoregressive model, where the model parameters are estimated by designing a family of stochastic algorithms based on a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique. The proposed method is applied to a real data set of Taiwan for illustration. Also, some important explanatory variables regarding the typhoon cumulated rainfall at Taipei are indicated as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainability has been used by city governments worldwide to promote urban development. For some the term represents an archetypal postpolitical construct that enables urban populations and policy makers to confront collective problems in a consensus-driven way. In short, it enables a new conflict-free politics to emerge within cities. This paper uses the example of Taipei, Taiwan to explore how sustainable development agendas in a postcolonial city, which has a relatively young democratic system, are articulated and with what effects. It examines the utility of recent postpolitical writing as an explanatory frame for contemporary political changes. It documents how and in what ways postpolitical agendas have been established and how they have been used to nullify conflict by shifting attention away from grassroots concerns over globally oriented developmentalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Lee C, Lin S, Lin C, Shih J, Lin T, Su Y. Clinical utility of array comparative genomic hybridisation for prenatal diagnosis: a cohort study of 3171 pregnancies. BJOG 2012;119:614-625. Objective To evaluate the clinical value of prenatal array comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) in screening for submicroscopic genomic imbalances. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Tertiary referral centre. Population From June 2008 to February 2011, 3171 fetuses underwent prenatal array CGH testing and karyotyping at the National Taiwan University Hospital. Indications for invasive prenatal diagnosis included abnormal karyotype, abnormal ultrasound, advanced maternal age and parental anxiety. Methods In all, 2497 fetuses were screened with 1-Mb resolution bacterial artificial chromosome array-based CGH, and 674 fetuses with 60-K oligonucleotide array-based CGH. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, fluorescence in situ hybridization, or 105-K oligonucleotide array CGH provided further confirmation. Main outcome measure Copy number variations identified by array CGH. Results Array CGH detected numerical chromosome anomalies in 37 (1.2%) fetuses, microdeletion/duplication in 34 (1.1%) fetuses, large deletion/duplication in 13 (0.4%) fetuses, benign copy number changes in 13 (0.4%) fetuses and variation of unknown clinical significance in five (0.2%) fetuses. Array CGH was effective in identifying submicroscopic genomic imbalance in fetuses with de novo balance translocations (2/17, 1.8%), supernumerary marker chromosomes (3/6, 50%), and abnormal prenatal ultrasound findings (33/194, 17.0%). Array CGH detected microdeletions/duplications in 12 fetuses with normal karyotype. Conclusion Prenatal array CGH is effective in screening for submicroscopic genomic imbalance. Array CGH may add 8.2% to the diagnostic field, compared with conventional karyotyping, for fetuses with abnormal ultrasound results, and is particularly useful in fetuses with karyotypic balanced translocation or marker chromosomes. There is a 0.52% baseline risk of submicroscopic genomic imbalance, even in women with an uneventful prenatal examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Over the past few years, a large number of studies have focused on whether population or employment is critical to the source of metropolitan growth. However, only few attempts have so far been made to additionally consider the suburbanization stage and pattern of commuting, which may both enable us to explore this 'chicken-egg' issue a little further. The purpose of this paper is to compare dwelling-based (housing) with job-based (job) employment to evaluate the net commuting. The Taipei metropolitan area, for example, now lies at the initial suburbanization stage with only population decentralization and massive in-commuting to the central city. The estimation results based on a co-integration system reveal that the central-city employment can be regarded as an engine of this metropolitan economy. Besides, we also find that dwelling-based employment distorts the causality between population and employment, especially from the variance-decomposition accounts. Therefore, the importance of commuting to investigating the evolution of metropolitan economy should not be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meandering through the most densely populated metropolitan areas of Taipei, Taiwan, the Danshui River and its tributaries have undergone the construction of 14 wetlands since 2004, as a means to improve water quality. This study was conducted to examine the functional capabilities associated with treating non-point source pollution through these riparian wetlands. Trend analysis was used to differentiate dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, ammonia, and Escherichia coli, among 13 sampling sites using both functions of a Mann-Kendall test and a seasonal Mann-Kendall test. The results show that water quality in Taipei metropolitan rivers has been improving since increasing the number of constructed wetlands and connecting households to the public sewage system. The concentration of pollutants such as those influencing biochemical oxygen demand have gradually declined in drought seasons because riparian wetlands contribute a base flow to dilute riverine pollutants. This paper indicates that the creation of treatment systems influences dissolved oxygen conditions at the municipal scale, suggesting that constructed wetlands could stabilize water quality during extreme hydrological events and improve water quality particularly in times of drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Deterioration of the quality of groundwater under urban areas has become a major environmental concern worldwide. This paper presents a pilot case study (in the Taipei urban area) using multiple stable isotopes ( and , and , and , and 87Sr/86Sr) with the aim of understanding the subsurface nature and environmental status of such areas. A previous study has already characterized Taipei shallow groundwaters as sulfate-rich in comparison to other Southeast Asian metropolitan cities. Our chemical measurements clarified that the arsenic is the important environmental concerns in the aquifers. Dual isotope approaches for nitrate and sulfate suggested these ions were sourced mainly from municipal sewage leaking from sewer pipes in urbanized area, while chemical fertilizers applied in the local agricultural fields partly contribute in the suburb area. Significant decreases in nitrate and sulfate concentrations due to denitrification and sulfate reduction were observed in some groundwaters, which induced increases in isotope ratios up to 24.9‰ for and 27.2‰ for . Nitrate groundwater pollution in the Taipei Basin is not a subject of serious concern (<44mg/L limit for for all analyzed samples) at the present time due to attenuation by denitrification. However, arsenic is preferentially released in groundwater (>100μg/L) in anoxic environment under which sulfate reduction occurs. The Sr isotope data suggested that the arsenic is derived from alluvial deposits of Oligocene–Miocene sedimentary rock origin. This study disclosed the complex causes of environmental changes in Taipei urban shallow groundwater. It is also important as an excellent case study demonstrating the efficient use of multiple isotope diagnosis in the urban groundwater environmental field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents selected results measured from a monitoring system with 30 accelerometers installed at six floor levels in 508-m high Taipei 101 Tower located in Taipei City, Taiwan where earthquakes and strong typhoons are common occurrences. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the data recorded during three typhoons (Matsa, Talim, and Krosa) and a seismic event (Wenchuan earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008 in Shichuan, China) to investigate the effects of wind and seismic on the supertall building. Dynamic characteristics of the tall building such as natural frequencies, mode shapes, and damping ratios determined from the measured data are presented and compared with those calculated from the finite-element model of the high-rise structure. The seismic performance of this supertall building to a long distance earthquake (Wenchuan earthquake) is assessed based on the field measurements and numerical analysis. The findings of this study are expected to be of considerable interest and practical use to professionals and researchers involved in the design of supertall buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper examines the practicability and validity of the Multi-Objective Goal Programming (MOGP) model in designing a point-to-point airline network. The MOGP mathematical model is used in this study to identify and select a best central airport and its connecting airports providing the best overall optimal performance. By using the proposed model in the selection process, one can expect to achieve the following objectives: (1) an airline network designed at less cost, (2) an airline network that generates more revenues, and (3) an airline network that serves more passengers. Route data from Taipei to the Southeast Asian region were selected for this experiment to validate the model’s practicability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents an approach which combines the orthogonal array experiment technique and an ant direction hybrid differential evolution algorithm (ADHDEOA) in determining the tilt angle for photovoltaic (PV) modules. In this study, an orthogonal array (OA) is first conducted to obtain the initial solution. Next, an ant direction hybrid differential evolution (ADHDE) is applied to search for a near optimum solution. The purpose of this research is to maximize the output power of the module. The sun’s position at any time and location was predicted by the mathematical procedure of Julian dating; then, the solar irradiation was obtained at each site under a clear sky. The searching for global optimal solution is applied to a practical experimental system. The results show that the annual optimal angle for the Taipei area is 23.18°; for Taichung, 22.32°; for Tainan, 21.62°; for Kaosiung, 20.83°; for Hengchung, 20.27°; for Hualian, 22.18°; and for Taitung, 20.89° in seven Taiwanese areas, and the actual best annual tilt angles are close to the computer simulation results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents results of a case study on cliff recession mechanism and progressive development of talus deposits around Xiangshan of the Sishou Hills in the southeast of the Taipei Basin. Based on photogrammetric analysis and physical modeling, the geomorphologic changes of talus deposits are carefully examined and the cliff recession rates from 1904 to 2005 are thus measured and tabulated. Our study identified the fundamental control factors on mechanisms of cliff recession and proposed a possible scenario of cliff recession and progressive development of talus deposits around the Xiangshan region from 1904 to 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the bounded rationality rule to analyse commuters' mode-switching behaviour from private transport (i.e. automobile and motorbike) to public transport (i.e. rail transit and bus transit) in the Taipei metropolitan area. A stated choice approach was used to collect the data and to investigate how different attributes, such as parking fees, travel time and cost, influence commuters' mode-switching behaviour. A multinomial probit modelling framework was developed to capture the correlation effects when commuters switch from private to public modes. The estimation results indicate that the socioeconomic characteristics and trip characteristics significantly influence commuters' mode-switching behaviour. Accounting for the structure of unobserved effects suggests that switching behaviour from private to public modes was significantly positively correlated. An elasticity analysis shows that private commuters were more likely to switch to MRT than to bus and that auto commuters are generally more likely to switch to public modes than are motorbike commuters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on the concept and process of deeper learning, namely the U theory (Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, & Flowers, 2004a). As a driver to get a deeper exploration of organisational change process, the theory of U goes beyond the interpersonal aspects of learning, instead focusing on a deeper personal generative learning that emphasizes seven capacities along the deep learning process. Corporations in Taiwan have been striving in a globalised world economy for market competitiveness through organisational learning and change and this study seeks to understand adult workers' engagement with deep learning. Based on the theory of planned behaviour, the study investigated how personal backgrounds, attitude, perceived subject norm and perceived behavioural control affected adult workers' intention of deeper learning using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression analysis. Data were collected from working adults (N=512) in a high tech company located in Taipei. Results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the independent variables, namely adult workers' attitudes, perceived social pressure, and behavioural control, and the dependent variables (i.e., the seven capacities within U theory). In addition, among three independent variables, subjective norm had the strongest predictive power on the successful diffusion of the U theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, the performance of a south facing single-axis tracked panel was analyzed according to global radiation predicted by empirical model. Mathematic expressions appropriate for single-axis tracking system were derived to calculate the radiation on it. Instantaneous increments of solar energy collected by the tracked panel relative to fixed panel are illustrated. The validity of the empirical model to Taiwan area will also be examined with the actual irradiation data observed in Taipei. The results are summarized as follows: the gains made by the tracked panel relative to a fixed panel are between 20.0% and 33.9% for four specified days of year, between 20.9% and 33.2% for the four seasons and 27.6% over the entire year. For latitudes below 65°, the yearly optimal tilt angle of a fixed panel is close to 0.8 times latitude, the irradiation ratio of the tracked panel to the fixed panel is about 1.3, which are smaller than the corresponding values calculated from extraterrestrial radiation, suggesting us that the installation angle should be adjusted toward a flatter angle and that the gain of the tracked panel will reduce while it works in cloudy climate or in air pollution environment. Although the captured radiation increases with the maximal rotation angle of panel, but the benefit on the global radiation case is still not so good as that on extraterrestrial radiation case. The irradiation data observed is much less than the data predicted by the empirical model, however the trend of fitting curve to the observed data is somewhat in agreement with that to the predicted one; the yearly gain is 14.3% when a tracked panel is employed throughout the year. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Bermed excavation (deep excavation supported by an excavation wall and a berm) can be an economical method for basement construction in urban areas if ground movement around the excavation is not the primary concern and the excavation site is large and (or) irregular in shape. This paper reviews three bermed excavation projects carried out in the Taipei Basin. One project was successful, one was successful after near failure, and one was a failure. Ironically, extensive ground improvement work had been done for the near-failure and failure cases; but no ground improvement was done for the successful case. It is of interest to find the similarities and differences among these bermed excavation projects. The causes of instability that result in unsuccessful bermed excavation projects and the applications of limit equilibrium analysis to the stability of bermed excavation are also discussed here. These three cases show that the existence of grout columns does not help to effectively increase the stability of the berm if the original safety factor against sliding of a berm slope is less than 1.0 and the improvement ratio of grout columns is low (say <20%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation systems and cities that are connected by development-oriented transit (DOT) should be reconnected under the newer concept of transit-oriented development (TOD). This paper examines the reasons why cities should progressively change from DOT to TOD. The literature was reviewed to examine the urban history of DOT and TOD and the aims of TOD were identified. The relationship between sustainable development and concepts of TOD was then established to show why cities should change from DOT to TOD. It was also concluded that the concepts of TOD match sustainable development. Finally, extended strategies of TOD were established for Taipei City in the two specific perspectives of the transport system and land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unit pricing is a program in solid waste management that integrates market instruments to encourage households to reduce waste generation and increase recycling. Many studies have shown that unit pricing is effective, especially when the evaluation is based on comparing outcomes before and after implementation. In this paper, we use the so-called difference-in-differences approach to evaluate unit pricing. This approach can provide a less-biased estimation, and can help to examine whether a unit pricing program generates less waste and higher recycling or results in illegal dumping in neighboring regions. Using the fee-per-bag program implemented in Taipei City, Taiwan, as a case study, we found that unit pricing does reduce the amount of garbage but its impact on recycling is not as significant as the current literature suggests. Moreover, the program causes a serious negative externality: more than 60% of the garbage reduction in the city is due to increased dumping of waste in neighboring regions. As the impact of unit-pricing on recycling is limited, policy-makers cannot rely solely on this program to enhance recycling in the management of municipal solid waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the contesting process in building Taipei as the world city in Taiwan's current democratic transition period. Special attention is paid to the dwindling status of Taipei as the world city due to the North-South political divide in the national politics in which the ruling party supports its politically based city in the south as contesting with Taipei in the north where the opposition party has been dominant. We argue that this North-South divide provides a favorable environment for the ruling party to mobilize and maintain its support in the south as against the north which has nevertheless resulted in the declining status of Taipei in the international city competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1016 strong-motion records at 527 free-field stations and 131 records at 42 strong-motion arrays at buildings and bridges were obtained for the Pingtung earthquake doublet from the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau's dense, digital strong-motion network. We carried out standard processing of these strong-motion records at free-field stations. A data set, including the originally recorded files, processed data files, and supporting software and information, is archived online http://tecdc.earth.sinica.edu.tw/data/EQ2006Pingtung/. We have not yet completed the processing of the strong-motion array data at buildings and bridges. However, some preliminary results and the strong-motion array data recorded at the second nearest instrumented building to the Pingtung earthquake doublet are shown. This paper is intended to document our data processing procedures and the online archived data files, so that researchers can efficiently use the data. We also include two preliminary analyses: (1) a comparison of ground motions recorded by multiple accelerographs at a common site, the TAP117 station in Taipei, and (2) attenuation of the horizontal ground motions (peak acceleration and response spectra at periods of 0.2, 1.0, and 3.0 s) with respect to distance. Our comparison study of multiple recordings at TAP117 indicates that waveform coherence among 20- and 24-bit accelerograph records is much higher as compared to records from 16-bit or 12-bit accelerographs, suggesting that the former are of better quality. For the 20- and 24-bit accelerographs, waveform coherence is nearly 1 over the frequency range 1 to 8 Hz for all components, and is greater than about 0.9 from 8 to 20 Hz for the horizontal component, but only from 8 to 12 Hz for the vertical component. Plots of pseudo-acceleration response spectra (PSA) as a function of distance, however, show no clear indication for a difference related to the performance level of the accelerographs. The ground-motions of the first event (MW = 7.0) are comparable, or even somewhat lower, than those from the smaller second event (MW = 6.9), consistent with the relative difference of the local magnitudes (ML = 6.96 and 6.99 for the first and second events, respectively). The ground motions from the first event are generally lower than those predicted from equations based on other in-slab subduction earthquakes, whereas the ground motions from the second event are closer to the predictions. Ground-motions for soil sites are generally larger than those from rock sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]