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The effectiveness of mathematics in physics makes people take for granted the intimate connection between both disciplines. However, history shows that this is not always the case, because mathematics has played a minor role, not only in Aristotelian physics in ancient Greece, but also in Confucian and neo-Confucian science in ancient China. The objective of this study is to discuss the role of mathematics in physics and propose a structuralistic view as an epistemological stance to interpret this role. This paper opens with a brief historical overview on the relationship between mathematics and physics, followed by a report on Taiwanese college students' work on and responses to an activity simulating Galileo's inclined plane experiment, in order to investigate in what way they analyzed the data and to what extent this activity enriched the affective, knowledge-oriented, and historical aspects of their thinking. Additionally, an investigation of a mathematician's and a physicist's beliefs was conducted to search for an epistemological stance that reveals the relationship between mathematics and physics. The study suggests that a structuralist view may be appropriate for promoting students' learning and their epistemological interpretations of mathematics and physics.

The article presents papers of the "Czech-Taiwanese Workshop on the Intermediate- and High-Energy Physics," that was held in Prague, Czech Republic from March 3-5, 2003, organized by Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, National Science Council of Taiwan, Czech Physical Society (Section of the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists) and Physical Society of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

In recent years, many computerized test systems have been developed for diagnosing students' learning profiles. Nevertheless, it remains a challenging issue to find an adaptive testing algorithm to both shorten testing time and precisely diagnose the knowledge status of students. In order to find a suitable algorithm, four adaptive testing algorithms, based on ordering theory, item relational structure theory, Diagnosys, and domain experts, were evaluated based on the training sample size, prediction accuracy, and the use of test items by the simulation study with paper-based test data. Based on the results of simulation study, ordering theory has the best performance. An ordering-theory-based knowledge-structure-adaptive testing system was developed and evaluated. The results of this system showed that the two different interfaces, paper-based and computer-based, did not affect the examinees' performance. In addition, the effect of correct guessing was discussed, and two methods with adaptive testing algorithms were proposed to mitigate this effect. The experimental results showed that the proposed methods improve the effect of correct guessing. (Contains 6 tables and 18 figures.)

Types of questions asked in first-grade mathematics classes in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States were investigated. Observations of 311 lessons by 16 Japanese, 20 Taiwanese, and 33 U.S. teachers suggest that the kinds of questions asked in Taiwan and Japan contribute to more sophisticated mathematical knowledge. (SLD)

This paper presents some results of an investigation on the number sense of a group of pre-service secondary teachers from Spain. The objective of this research was to analyze students' use of strategies associated to number sense and compare them with those obtained in a previous study with pre-service primary teachers in Taiwan, (Yang, Reys & Reys, "International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education," 7, 383-403, 2009). Pre-service secondary teachers showed lower success than pre-service primary teachers in a number sense test. Nevertheless, these last based their reasoning mainly on rules and algorithms, while pre-service secondary teachers used more strategies of number sense. In an attempt to delve into the low success shown by of Spanish pre-service secondary teachers, some students were interviewed. Those interviews showed that a deeper work on number sense in the training of these students is needed.

Student attitudes toward mathematics play an important role in the teaching and learning processes of mathematics as positive attitudes correlate with higher student achievement. This paper aims to develop and explore the validity of a Chinese version of the short attitudes toward mathematics inventory (short ATMI) for Taiwanese undergraduates, and further to examine the measurement invariance across gender. The results suggest that, based on the Taiwanese sample, the model with some items excluded has better fit indices than the original model. The generalization of the four-factor construct was also confirmed. The Cronbach's alpha for total and subscales of the modified short ATMI were satisfactory, and moreover, convergent and discriminant validity were shown. Finally, measurement invariance of the inventory across gender was also demonstrated. This study suggests that the Chinese version of the short ATMI is a reliable, valid, and compact instrument that quickly and efficiently measures student attitudes toward mathematics.

An intelligent genetic algorithm (IGA) is proposed to solve Japanese nonograms and is used as a method in a university course to learn evolutionary algorithms. The IGA combines the global exploration capabilities of a canonical genetic algorithm (CGA) with effective condensed encoding, improved fitness function, and modified crossover and mutation. In this paper, the condensed encoding ensures that the chromosome is a feasible solution in all rows for Japanese nonograms. In the reconstruction process of a Japanese nonogram, the numbers in the left column are used as encoding conditions, and the numbers in the top row with the improved fitness function are employed to evaluate the reconstruction result. From the computational experiments, the proposed IGA approach is applied to solve Japanese nonograms effectively, with better results than using a CGA. The students of the Department of Computer Science, National Pingtung University of Education, Taiwan, have gained practical experience of applying evolutionary algorithms to solve Japanese nonograms using both the proposed IGA and a CGA. The students learn that the IGA can find the right solution of the puzzle effectively, but the CGA cannot. (Contains 4 figures.)

As a medium for learning, digital games provide promising possibilities to motivate and engage students in subject learning. In this study, a game-based learning system, My-Pet-My-Quest, is developed to support pupils' math learning. This is due to the fact that most students in Taiwan have relatively lower positive attitude towards math learning, even though their math performance is prominent. To this end, a three-tire framework is proposed to guide the design of the My-Pet-My-Quest system. A quasi-experiment was conducted to examine the influence of game quests on pupils' enjoyment and goal-pursuing in math learning. The results revealed that game quests were favored by students in terms of enjoyment, goal orientation, and goal intensity. Possible reasons for these results and a discussion of related issues are presented in this paper. (Contains 5 tables and 6 figures.)

The purpose of this paper is to show the similarities as well as the differences of fundamental fraction knowledge owned by preservice elementary teachers from the United States (N = 89) and Taiwan (N = 85). To this end, we examined and compared their performance on an instrument including 15 multiple-choice test items. The items were categorized into four different types of fundamental fraction constructs, including part-whole relationship, quotient, equivalence, and meanings of operations. Each item was embedded in the area, linear, or set model except for the items constructed out of the meaning of operations. Several items were featured with a pictorial illustration. Quantitative analysis showed that U.S. preservice teachers were significantly outperformed by their Taiwanese counterparts overall. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant on 12 of 15 items. Findings suggest that preservice elementary teachers from both countries need to be better prepared in their understanding of the meaning of fraction multiplication or division operations. Findings also suggest that U.S. preservice elementary teachers need to be more knowledgeable in dealing with fraction problems embedded in a linear model. Further research is suggested to study the issues raised from the findings. (Contains 9 tables.)

A project-based laboratory for learning embedded system design with support from industry is presented in this paper. The aim of this laboratory is to motivate students to learn the building blocks of embedded systems and practical control algorithms by constructing a line-following robot using the quadratic interpolation technique to predict the line position. For those students who have acquired basic microcontroller hardware and software programming skills from previous courses, the hands-on exercises in the laboratory include several specific hardware circuits and software algorithms for the final project of constructing the line-following robot. The students are allowed to discuss the hardware and software problems with each other while solving each exercise, although they have to answer the teacher's questions individually to earn the score. To enhance the learning outcomes, a racing contest for the students' line-following robots is also organized to see how well the techniques learned in the laboratory are applied in the final project. The support from the local branch of Microchip Inc. allows students to obtain C-compilers and microcontrollers at no cost. The feedback from students shows that the final project of constructing line-following robots and the racing contest motivates the students to learn actively all the skills included in the laboratory for embedded system design. (Contains 16 figures and 2 tables.)

Due to the rise of e-Learning, more and more useful learning materials are open to public access. Therefore, an appropriate learning suggestion mechanism is an important tool to enable learners to work more efficiently. A smoother learning process increases the learning effect, avoiding unnecessarily difficult concepts and disorientation during learning. However, many suggestion demands come from different abstraction levels, and traditional single level frequent pattern mining is not sufficient. This paper proposes a methodology for mining frequent patterns of learners' behavior which connote a hierarchical scheme to provide cross-level learning suggestions for the next learning course. With this system, a learner can get multiple levels of abstract suggestions instead of merely single level frequent pattern mining results. Our study shows that the algorithms can mine considerable quantities of frequent patterns from real life learning data. The experimental data are collected from a Web learning system originating from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. The proposed methodology gives learners many suggestions to help them learn more effectively and efficiently. Finally, we collect some representative cases to realize different requirements which are extracted from a learners' access database. These cases are classified into three types; notably, type three generalized four meaningful external factors which are inferred by our observations from these cross-level frequent patterns. (Contains 6 tables and 11 figures.)

The author notes that the sciences are now something one must latch onto early and successfully as a teenager, and endure against all odds. This pivotal point requires maturity and even myopia--delayed gratification and voluntary dorkiness--traits not common in the young. As a nation, Americans are losing their hegemony in the sciences. In just the past decade, China quintupled its number of doctorates in engineering and the sciences, Korea and Taiwan doubled theirs, but the U.S. stayed stable. As individuals, Americans operate more and more contraptions, but understand them less and less. While there is no single solution to the problems of the STEM pipeline--where scientific interest is squelched over time and newcomers are barred from entry--the author offers a few thoughts.

In this paper we report the results of a study in which we investigated how formal education and shadow education in Taiwan provide students opportunities to learn mathematics. Based on the conceptual framework of Opportunity to Learn (OTL), aspects specific to formal education, including mathematics curriculum, mathematics textbooks, and teachers' competence, and their teaching, were reviewed. Two national projects identified under shadow education were examined. The results revealed significant features of the mathematics curriculum, textbook design, and the quality of mathematics teachers in Taiwan that constitute a lived space where teachers with their knowledge and beliefs, curriculum, textbooks, and school settings, can generate cognitive and affective learning outcomes in students. Further analyses of the two above-mentioned projects showed how Taiwan extended learning opportunities to motivate students to learn and understand school mathematics. Based on the review, challenges were also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an information application, which utilizes undergraduate project-based learning curriculum for continuous improvement year by year. The project work curriculum of the undergraduates in engineering college fully complies with the concept and spirit of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. They practice all the learning in campus to analyze, plan, and solve the problems they meet in their projects. With the progression, the adviser/mentor of the projects should give them some suggestions timely to find out the right direction. This paper proposed an ubiquitous information application to support the integrative science, technology, engineering, and mathematics project-based learning curriculum for continuous improvement. Finally, we have also successfully implemented and applied this application in Shih-Chien University Kaohsiung Campus, Taiwan since 2012. It helps 11 teachers and 772 undergraduates cooperate 258 project works for 11 years (iterations) for continuous improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In [An optimal inequality forCR-warped products in complex space forms involvingCRδ-invariant, Internat. J. Math. 23(3) (2012)], B.-Y. Chen introduced the CRδ-invariant for CR-submanifolds. Then, in [Two optimal inequalities for anti-holomorphic submanifolds and their applications, Taiwan. J. Math. 18 (2014), 199–217], F. R. Al-Solamy, B.-Y. Chen and S. Deshmukh proved two optimal inequalities for anti-holomorphic submanifolds in complex space forms involving the CRδ-invariant. In this paper, we obtain optimal inequalities for this invariant for contact CR-submanifolds in almost contact metric manifolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between candidates’ online popularity and election results, as a step towards creating a model to forecast the results of Taiwanese elections even in the absence of reliable opinion polls on a district-by-district level. 253 of 354 legislative candidates of single-member districts in Taiwan’s 2016 general election had active public Facebook pages during the election period. Hypothesizing that the relative popularity of candidates’ Facebook posts will be positively related to their election results, I calculated each candidate’s Like Ratio (i.e. proportions of all likes on Facebook posts obtained by candidates in their district). In order to have a measure of online interest without the influence of subjective positivity, I similarly calculated the proportion of daily average page views for each candidate’s Wikipedia page. I ran a regression analysis, incorporating data on results of previous elections and available opinion poll data. I found the models could describe the result of the election well and reject the null hypothesis. My models successfully predicted 80% of winners in single-member districts and were effective in districts without local opinion polls with a predictive power approaching that of traditional opinion polls. The models also showed good accuracy when run on data for the 2014 Taiwanese municipal mayors election. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' negative affective performance in mathematics learning is a global problem, and the situation is especially challenging in high-achieving East Asian countries. Taiwan's Just Do Math (JDM) program was launched to resolve this problem and to serve as an example of successful scaling up with regard to implementation of innovation. We developed a framework consisting of a synthesis of the literature on essentials for successful implementation and for scaling up, and applied this framework for the purpose of identification of the factors contributing to the success of the JDM program. The identified factors include the following: the development of low-complexity sources for teachers' use and the low degree of adaptation required to sustain fidelity; the consideration of characteristics of adopters to promote innovation outside schools; construction of communication channels to ensure the dissemination of the core ideas of JDM; the feedback mechanism through which participating teachers can acknowledge the relative advantages of innovation as realized in the program; the consideration of the influence of historical, social, political, and economic factors on program implementation; and the efforts to ensure teachers' in-depth learning, acknowledgment of the promoted principles, and the sustainability of implementation through implementation of JDM activities in regular mathematics classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up until now montane cloud forest (MCF) in Taiwan has only been mapped for selected areas of vegetation plots. This paper presents the first comprehensive map of MCF distribution for the entire island. For its creation, a Random Forest model was trained with vegetation plots from the National Vegetation Database of Taiwan that were classified as “MCF” or “non-MCF”. This model predicted the distribution of MCF from a raster data set of parameters derived from a digital elevation model (DEM), Landsat channels and texture measures derived from them as well as ground fog frequency data derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. While the DEM parameters and Landsat data predicted much of the cloud forest’s location, local deviations in the altitudinal distribution of MCF linked to the monsoonal influence as well as the Massenerhebung effect (causing MCF in atypically low altitudes) were only captured once fog frequency data was included. Therefore, our study suggests that ground fog data are most useful for accurately mapping MCF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper used a transfer function to evaluate the causal relationship between Science and Mathematics using interval scores from the 12-year basic education program in Taiwan. Our sample comprised 1,922 graduates from the same junior high school over the period from 2008 to 2013. Through the application of fuzzy theory, we developed a new model to describe the fuzzy correlation between Science and Mathematics. The results of the empirical study strongly indicate that knowledge and skills in Mathematics do indeed form the foundation of science learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report on a comparison of the treatment of addition and subtraction of fractions in primary mathematics textbooks used in Cyprus, Ireland, and Taiwan. To this end, we use a framework specifically developed to investigate the learning opportunities afforded by the textbooks, particularly with respect to the presentation of the content and the textbook expectations as manifested in the associated tasks. We found several similarities and differences among the textbooks regarding the topics included and their sequencing, the constructs of fractions, the worked examples, the cognitive demands of the tasks, and the types of responses required of students. The findings emphasized the need to examine textbooks in order to understand differences in instruction and achievement across countries. Indeed, we postulate that within a given country there may exist a recognizable “textbook signature.” We also draw on the results and the challenges inherent in our analysis to provide suggestions and directions for future textbook analysis studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the ability to solve mathematical word problems is one of the most critical issues facing students with developmental disabilities, because it is directly related to their independent living skills. The purpose of this study was to propose a teaching model that implements augmented reality (AR) and video modeling (VM), and to validate its effectiveness, including its immediate, maintenance, and generalization effects on improving the percent accuracy of solving mathematical word problems. The research design of this study adopted single-case multiple probe across students experimental design. The independent variable of this study was the VM with AR teaching model, and the dependent variable was the percent accuracy of the test subjects in solving mathematical word problems. All three test subjects showed an immediate effect, with two showing maintenance and generalization effects. This VM with AR teaching model provides an alternate way for classroom teachers when teach students with developmental disabilities to solve mathematical word problems. This teaching model allows students with developmental disabilities to improve their mathematical word-problem solving skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports selected findings from a study of number sense proficiency of students aged 8 to 14 years in Australia, Sweden, United States, and Taiwan. It comments on the meaning and importance of number sense, the development of the assessment instruments, and student responses to the items. Some implications for classrooms of the findings are then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries’ curriculum reforms focus on developing the next generations’ competencies of self-directed learning (SDL) to address rapid social changes and sustainable environmental development. Taiwan’s curriculum reform corresponds with the global trend in education. The latest curriculum reform, which proposed a 12-year basic education, was implemented in 2018 and included SDL explicitly in its guidelines. The reformed curriculum guidelines have been followed for over 3  years. Thus, it is necessary to conduct a large-scale survey to examine its impact on Taiwanese students. However, existing research instruments help provide a generalized analysis of SDL and have yet to be designed specifically for SDL of mathematics. Therefore, we developed a mathematics SDL scale (MSDLS) and examined its reliability and validity in this study. Subsequently, MSDLS was utilized to investigate Taiwanese students’ SDL of mathematics. The MSDLS consists of four sub-scales with 50 items. It has acceptable reliability, validity, and measurement invariance across gender and grade groups. The MSDLS was administered online to 5,575 junior high school students, and 5,456 valid responses were collected. The findings highlight the gender and grade differences in SDL of mathematics. Male students are higher than female students in many factors. It is noted that the SDL in mathematics does not increase with grade. In sum, the MSDLS is a helpful instrument for examining secondary school students’ SDL of mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The housing prices in many Asian cities have grown rapidly since mid-2000s, leading to many reports of bubbles. However, such reports remain controversial as there is no widely accepted definition for a housing bubble. Previous studies have focused on indices, or assumed that home prices are lognomally distributed. Recently, Ohnishi et al. showed that the tail-end of the distribution of (Japan/Tokyo) becomes fatter during years where bubbles are suspected, but stop short of using this feature as a rigorous definition of a housing bubble. In this study, we look at housing transactions for Singapore (1995 to 2014) and Taiwan (2012 to 2014), and found strong evidence that the equilibrium home price distribution is a decaying exponential crossing over to a power law, after accounting for different housing types. We found positive deviations from the equilibrium distributions in Singapore condominiums and Zhu Zhai Da Lou in the Greater Taipei Area. These positive deviations are dragon kings, which thus provide us with an unambiguous and quantitative definition of housing bubbles. Also, the spatial-temporal dynamics show that bubble in Singapore is driven by price pulses in two investment districts. This finding provides a valuable insight for policymakers on implementation and evaluation of cooling measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) refers to the cross-disciplinary learning design for engaging students in applying integrated knowledge to complete a project or solve a complex problem. It has been recognized by many scholars for its educational significance. However, STEM tasks are generally complex and challenging to students. Without proper supports, not only will students' participation decrease, but their knowledge level and internal capabilities will also hardly improve. To help students understand teachers' rating standards, increase the opportunity to observe and receive feedback on peers' work, and improve their cognitive level and higher order thinking such as critical thinking, this study proposes a peer assessment-facilitated STEM (PA-STEM) approach. At the same time, a quasi-experiment was conducted in a junior high school in Taiwan to verify the effectiveness of this approach. A total of four classes of 112 students participated in the experiment. The experimental group (two classes with 53 students) learning with the PA-STEM approach, and the control group (two classes with 59 students) used the conventional STEM approach. The experimental results showed that the students in the experimental group had higher learning achievement. Their collaboration tendency, critical thinking awareness, problem-solving tendency, and meta-cognition tendency were all significantly better than those of the students in the control group. Besides, peer assessment scores were highly correlated with teacher assessment scores, indicating that students were able to fully understand teachers' rating standards and provide accurate ratings of their peers' STEM work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the ways in which four Grade 5 teachers perceived and implemented a new constructivist mathematics curriculum, after all their past experience of traditional mathematics in Taiwan. The meaning and indicators of constructivist and traditional mathematics were explored and developed based on reviews of three countries’ mathematics curricula and studies on mathematics teaching. Through interviews and classroom observations, teachers’ practices were analyzed in these terms, separated into cognitive and affective aspects. The teachers were found to meet the new curriculum halfway, to address cognitive issues more effectively than affective ones, and to implement a common curriculum differently. The results support the need to analyze the teaching of mathematics in relation to affective as well as cognitive elements, and are discussed in relation to mathematics teaching internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the relationship, from 2000 to 2009, between corporate governance, innovation capital, and management performance in Taiwanese companies containing research and development (R & D) departments. For the analysis, panel data regression was used, which incorporated the random effect, while two-stage regressions were used to test the relationship. As is known, innovation capital is related to management performance and has a deferral effect. In this study, a new variable was chosen to express the concept of innovation capital and take advantage of the instrument variables of corporate governance, thereby supporting our hypothesis. Similar results are also obtained using a two-stage regression, which also incorporated the instrument variables of corporate governance. The results demonstrate that innovation capital has different outcomes, especially because independent directors have an influence on both innovation capital and management performance. Thus, through cross-sectional analysis, we suggest a new variable to estimate market performance, with measures of structural capital requiring redesign. Organizational capital was also found to have an influence on performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a mobile learning system (MLS) was developed and adopted to facilitate elementary second-grade students to learn mathematics. A quasi-experimental design was adopted. There were two learning models, including the typical instruction group (TI group) and MLS group. The learning content is the topic of multiplication. A total of 93 s-grade students from four classes in a public elementary school in Northern Taiwan participated in this research. Participants were randomly divided into the MLS group (47 participants: 22 boys and 25 girls) and the TI group (46 participants: 26 boys and 20 girls). Participants in the MLS group received mathematics instruction in the MLS, whereas those in the TI group received direct instruction in typical classrooms. All students took the pretest and posttest of mathematics learning achievement test and mathematics learning interest scale assess their improvement of learning achievement and learning interest after the learning activities. The findings revealed that students in the MLS group had significantly better improvement in their mathematics learning interest and mathematics learning achievement than those in the TI group. In addition, students in the MLS group had significantly better performance in answering items of comprehension and application levels in the mathematics learning achievement test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results of international comparison studies show substantially better mathematics performance of the investigated Asian than European students from the early years on. A Taiwanese-German Research Program (TaiGer) engages in exploring differences and similarities in the educational system, in teachers' knowledge and beliefs and in teaching or learning practice in Taiwan and Germany. Embedded in this Research Program, this contribution focuses on early mathematics education. As mathematics is often seen as an internationally more or less homogeneous discipline, it could be assumed that differences in the educational outcomes could be explained by, e.g. cultural-societal factors, curriculum or instruction practice. This contribution gives an overview about results of studies analyzing the differences between children's mathematical performance in Asia and Europe or America with a focus on early childhood education. For a sound comparison between countries aiming to analyze if cultural differences or other aspects (e.g. teaching practice or structural differences) are responsible for differences, basic conditions concerning teaching and learning should be controlled. At first sight, it could be recognized that, next to the cultural background, Germany and Taiwan differ extremely in basic frame conditions (e.g. preservice training) concerning early mathematics education. For this reason, this contribution analyzed if, with a third well-considered European country, a comparative design for ongoing research could be possible, where pairwise similarities allow to clarify relations between differences in early mathematics education and the cultural background on the one hand and early mathematics education and institutional frame conditions or the teachers' professional knowledge on the other hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) is often the main piece of information used in fisheries stock assessment; however, the catch and effort data that are traditionally compiled from commercial logbooks can be incomplete or unreliable due to many reasons. Pacific bluefin tuna (PBF) is a seasonal target species in the Taiwanese longline fishery. Since 2010, detailed catch information for each PBF has been made available through a catch documentation scheme. However, previously, only market landing data with a low coverage of logbooks were available. Therefore, several nontraditional procedures were performed to reconstruct catch and effort data from many alternative data sources not directly obtained from fishers for 2001–2015: (1) Estimating the catch number from the landing weight for 2001–2003, for which the catch number information was incomplete, based on Monte Carlo simulation; (2) deriving fishing days for 2007–2009 from voyage data recorder data, based on a newly developed algorithm; and (3) deriving fishing days for 2001–2006 from vessel trip information, based on linear relationships between fishing and at-sea days. Subsequently, generalized linear mixed models were developed with the delta-lognormal assumption for standardizing the CPUE calculated from the reconstructed data, and three-stage model evaluation was performed using (1) Akaike and Bayesian information criteria to determine the most favorable variable composition of standardization models, (2) overall R2 via cross-validation to compare fitting performance between area-separated and area-combined standardizations, and (3) system-based testing to explore the consistency of the standardized CPUEs with auxiliary data in the PBF stock assessment model. The last stage of evaluation revealed high consistency among the data, thus demonstrating improvements in data reconstruction for estimating the abundance index, and consequently the stock assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to identify challenges in implementing a physics-before- 10 mathematics curriculum. Obviously, students need to learn necessary mathematics skills in order to develop advanced physics knowledge. In the 2010 high school curriculum in Taiwan, however, grade 11 science students study two-dimensional motion in physics without prior learning experiences of trigonometry in mathematics. The perspectives of three curriculum developers, 22 mathematics and physics teachers, two principals, and 45 science students were obtained by interview. The results of qualitative data analysis revealed six challenges and suggested likely solutions. The national level includes political and social challenges, resolved by respecting teachers as professionals; the teacher level includes knowledge and teaching challenges, resolved by increasing teacher trans-literal capacities; and the student level includes learning and justice challenges, resolved by focusing on students' diverse developments in cross-domain learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of mortality and loss of disability-adjusted life years in developed countries. This study derived a dietary pattern using an a priori method and additionally derived dietary patterns using a posteriori methods, and assessed the relationship with CVD risk factors in Taiwanese middle-aged and elderly adults. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses of 62,965 subjects aged 40 years and above from the Mei Jau (MJ) database collected between 2003 and 2012 in Taiwan. Diet was assessed using a 22 item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Using this information, three dietary patterns were generated. The a priori diet was labeled the Taiwanese dietary pattern and was derived using hypothesized effect of 22 food groups, while two a posteriori dietary patterns, “vegi-fruits” and “meat-processed”, were derived using principal component analysis. The association between dietary patterns and a range of CVD risk factors (i.e. blood lipids, blood glucose and C-reactive protein) was evaluated using linear regression. Results: The results showed that high intake (Q5, quintile 5) of Taiwanese diet was negatively associated with CVD risk factors at (p < 0.001, model 3), but not with triacylglycerol. In addition, high intake of vegi-fruit dietary pattern (Q5) was negatively associated with CVD risk factors (p < 0.001), but not with high-density lipoprotein, while high consumption of meat-processed dietary pattern (Q5) was positively associated with CVD risk factors (p < 0.001), but negatively related with triacylglycerol in Q3 level and no association with C-reactive protein. Conclusion: A negative association was observed between Taiwanese or vegi-fruit dietary patterns and CVD risk factors, while a positive association was found between meat-processed dietary pattern and CVD risk factors. The findings suggested that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits has a beneficial effect in the management of CVD risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In the general population, a higher Alternate Healthy Eating Index ( AHEI)-2010 score is related to decreased cardiovascular disease ( CVD) risk. Few studies have described the dietary patterns that reduce the risk of CVD or coronary heart disease ( CHD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2 DM) patients. In the present study, the association between the American Diabetes Association ( ADA)-recommended dietary pattern, AHEI-2010 , and CVD risk factors and the CVD incidence over 52 months in T2 DM patients was evaluated. Methods The ADA score was developed from the ADA dietary recommendations. In this prospective study, the 24-h dietary recall of 124 adult T2 DM patients without nephropathy or chronic kidney disease was collected. The CVD risk factors were collected at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Results Compared with lower ADA and AHEI-2010 score participants, the higher score participants exhibited a significantly lower waist circumference, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and 10-year risk of CHD. Participants with higher ADA dietary scores had a significantly reduced risk of central obesity and systolic blood pressure >140 mmHg. Higher AHEI-2010 scores were significantly related to a reduced risk of serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol > 100 mg dL-1. Seven participants had their first-ever CVD during the follow-up period, although neither ADA score, nor AHEI-2010 score could predict CVD incidence. Conclusions The ADA-recommended dietary pattern and a higher AHEI-2010 score might both exhibit reduced risk factors of CVD in T2 DM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prognostic assessment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. Using the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.LI.CA) database as a training set, we sought to develop and validate a new prognostic system for patients with HCC.Methods and Findings: Prospective collected databases from Italy (training cohort, n = 3,628; internal validation cohort, n = 1,555) and Taiwan (external validation cohort, n = 2,651) were used to develop the ITA.LI.CA prognostic system. We first defined ITA.LI.CA stages (0, A, B1, B2, B3, C) using only tumor characteristics (largest tumor diameter, number of nodules, intra- and extrahepatic macroscopic vascular invasion, extrahepatic metastases). A parametric multivariable survival model was then used to calculate the relative prognostic value of ITA.LI.CA tumor stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, Child-Pugh score (CPS), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in predicting individual survival. Based on the model results, an ITA.LI.CA integrated prognostic score (from 0 to 13 points) was constructed, and its prognostic power compared with that of other integrated systems (BCLC, HKLC, MESIAH, CLIP, JIS). Median follow-up was 58 mo for Italian patients (interquartile range, 26-106 mo) and 39 mo for Taiwanese patients (interquartile range, 12-61 mo). The ITA.LI.CA integrated prognostic score showed optimal discrimination and calibration abilities in Italian patients. Observed median survival in the training and internal validation sets was 57 and 61 mo, respectively, in quartile 1 (ITA.LI.CA score ≤ 1), 43 and 38 mo in quartile 2 (ITA.LI.CA score 2-3), 23 and 23 mo in quartile 3 (ITA.LI.CA score 4-5), and 9 and 8 mo in quartile 4 (ITA.LI.CA score > 5). Observed and predicted median survival in the training and internal validation sets largely coincided. Although observed and predicted survival estimations were significantly lower (log-rank test, p < 0.001) in Italian than in Taiwanese patients, the ITA.LI.CA score maintained very high discrimination and calibration features also in the external validation cohort. The concordance index (C index) of the ITA.LI.CA score in the internal and external validation cohorts was 0.71 and 0.78, respectively. The ITA.LI.CA score's prognostic ability was significantly better (p < 0.001) than that of BCLC stage (respective C indexes of 0.64 and 0.73), CLIP score (0.68 and 0.75), JIS stage (0.67 and 0.70), MESIAH score (0.69 and 0.77), and HKLC stage (0.68 and 0.75). The main limitations of this study are its retrospective nature and the intrinsically significant differences between the Taiwanese and Italian groups.Conclusions: The ITA.LI.CA prognostic system includes both a tumor staging-stratifying patients with HCC into six main stages (0, A, B1, B2, B3, and C)-and a prognostic score-integrating ITA.LI.CA tumor staging, CPS, ECOG performance status, and AFP. The ITA.LI.CA prognostic system shows a strong ability to predict individual survival in European and Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace health promotion (WHP) is important to prevent work-related diseases, reduce workplace hazards, and improve personal health of the workers. Health promotion projects were launched through the centers of WHP funded by the Taiwan Bureau of Health Promotion since 2003. Hence, the aim of this study is to evaluate the of WHP programs intervention from 2003 to 2007. The intervention group consisted of 838 business entities which had ever undergone counseling of the three centers in northern, central, and southern Taiwan from 2003 to 2007. The control group was composed of 1000 business entities randomly selected from the business directories of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan. The questionnaire survey included general company profiles and the assessment of workplace health according to the five action areas of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. We have received 447 (53.3%) questionnaires from the intervention group and 97 questionnaires from the control group. The intervention group was more effective in using the external resources and medical consultation, and they had better follow-up rates of the abnormal results of annual health examinations. Compared to the control group, the intervention group had a significantly decreased smoking rate in 246 companies (61.2%) and a reduced second-hand smoke exposure in 323 companies (78.6%) (p<0.001). By means of the intervention of WHP programs, we can enhance the awareness of the enterprises and the employees to improve worksite health and . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Given the shortage of cost-of-illness studies in dementia outside of the Western population, the current study estimated the annual cost of dementia in Taiwan and assessed whether different categories of care costs vary by severity using multiple disease-severity measures. Methods: This study included 231 dementia patient–caregiver dyads in a dementia clinic at a national university hospital in southern Taiwan. Three disease measures including cognitive, functional, and behavioral disturbances were obtained from patients based on medical history. A societal perspective was used to estimate the total costs of dementia according to three cost sub-categories. The association between dementia severity and cost of care was examined through bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Total costs of care for moderate dementia patient were 1.4 times the costs for mild dementia and doubled from mild to severe dementia among our community-dwelling dementia sample. Multivariate analysis indicated that functional declines had a greater impact on all cost outcomes as compared to behavioral disturbance, which showed no impact on any costs. Informal care costs accounted for the greatest share in total cost of care for both mild (42%) and severe (43%) dementia patients. Conclusions: Since the total costs of dementia increased with severity, providing care to delay disease progression, with a focus on maintaining patient physical function, may reduce the overall cost of dementia. The greater contribution of informal care to total costs as opposed to social care also suggests a need for more publicly-funded long-term care services to assist family caregivers of dementia patients in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and tuberculosis (TB) relapse using the nationwide TB registry in Taiwan. We conducted a case-control study nested within a nationwide cohort of all incident cases of pulmonary TB that were notified during 2006–2007 and had completed anti-TB treatment. The relapse of TB was confirmed by bacteriological or pathological findings. For each relapse case, one control was selected from the study cohort matching by time since treatment completion. DM status was ascertained by medical chart review and cross-matching with the National Health Insurance claims database. A total of 305 cases of relapse were identified after a median follow-up of 3 years (relapse rate: 488 per 100,000 person-year; 95% confidence interval (CI): 434–546). Presence of DM during previous anti-TB treatment was 34.0% and 22.7% in cases and controls, respectively. After adjusting for other potential confounders, DM was associated with increased risk of TB relapse (adjusted odds ratio: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.22–3.15). Only one-third of the DM-TB patients in our study received glycaemic monitoring using HbA1c during anti-TB treatment. Presence of DM was independently associated with risk of TB relapse. TB programs should seriously consider rigorous glucose control in DM-TB patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreaks of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 resulted in unprecedented impacts on people's daily life. One of the most significant impacts to people is the fear of contacting the SARS virus while engaging daily routine activity. Here we use data from daily underground ridership in Taipei City and daily reported new SARS cases in Taiwan to model the dynamics of the public fear of the SARS virus during the wax and wane of the SARS period. We found that for each reported new SARS case there is an immediate loss of about 1200 underground ridership (the fresh fear). These daily loss rates dissipate to the following days with an e-folding time of about 28 days, reflecting the public perception on the risk of contacting SARS virus when traveling with the underground system (the residual fear). About 50% of daily ridership was lost during the peak of the 2003 SARS period, compared with the loss of 80% daily ridership during the closure of the underground system after Typhoon Nari, the loss of 50–70% ridership due to the closure of the governmental offices and schools during typhoon periods, and the loss of 60% daily ridership during Chinese New Year holidays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors compared the mental computation performance and mental strategies used by an experimental Grade 2 class and a control Grade 2 class before and after instructional intervention. Results indicate that students in the experimental group had better performance on mental computation. The use of mental strategies (counting, separation, aggregation, and holistic) and atypical strategies in the control group decreased or even disappeared after the intervention. However, students in the experimental group could apply higher level mental strategies, such as aggregation, holistic, short-jump, and atypical strategies after the intervention. These findings indicate that the teaching of the vertical addition/subtraction algorithm does not promote the development of mental computation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The incidence and prevalence of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) vary widely across the world but data in East Asia is lacking. Uveitis is a serious cause of morbidity in JIA. This study aimed to analyze the incidence and prevalence of JIA, and the characteristics of JIA-associated uveitis in Taiwan. Methods: A population-based cohort study was conducted using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Each patient was individually tracked from 1999 to 2009 to identify the diagnosis of JIA and uveitis using the International Classification of Diseases diagnostic codes. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors and complications of uveitis in patients with JIA. Results: The study cohort had 2636 cases of JIA and included juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (57.7%), enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) (39.2%), and psoriatic arthritis (3.1%). The average annual incidence of JIA and JIA-associated uveitis were 4.93 (range, 3.93–6.23) and 0.25 (range, 0.12–0.37) cases per 100,000 population, respectively. The average period prevalence of JIA was 33.8 cases per 100,000 population. Uveitis occurred in 4.7% of patients with JIA, while JIA-associated uveitis was complicated by cataract (11.2%) and glaucoma (24.8%). Enthesitis-related arthritis was significantly associated with uveitis (OR: 3.47; 95% CI: 2.24–5.37) (p<0.0001). Uveitis diagnosed before JIA was the most significant risk factor for complications of glaucoma or cataract (OR: 3.54; 95% CI: 1.44–8.72) (p = 0.006). Conclusions: The incidence of JIA is low but that of JIA-associated uveitis is increasing. Higher percentage of males in patients with ERA and the strong association between ERA and uveitis are unique for children with JIA in Taiwan. Uveitis diagnosed before arthritis is an important risk factor for complications. Continuous ophthalmologic follow-up is needed for children with JIA or uveitis of unknown etiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on comparing mathematics teachers’ qualifications, practices, and perceptions between Saudi and Taiwanese schools. Data analyzed in this study were the responses of mathematics teachers to the Teacher Background Questionnaire—8th Grade from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2007. The Saudi sample consisted of 171 teachers while the Taiwanese sample consisted of 152 teachers. The comparison between the two countries revealed that there were significant differences in teachers’ preparation for teaching specific mathematics topics, professional development programs, and in teachers’ perceptions about the effects of school environment on students’ TIMSS scores. In addition, the two countries’ results differed in the mathematics topics that had not been taught to students, in assessment tools commonly used in mathematics, and in the type of questions used in tests. Some teachers’ qualifications and practices were found to be related to students’ scores. Results are discussed and recommendations for educators and policymakers are proffered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, we discuss the complexity of geometric proofs with respect to a theoretical analysis and empirical results from studies in Taiwan and Germany. Based on these findings in both countries, specific teachings experiments with junior high school students were developed, conducted, and evaluated. According to the different classroom and learning culture in East Asia and Western Europe, the interventions differed in their way of organizing the learning activities during regular mathematics lessons. The statistical analysis of the pre-post-test data indicated that both interventions were successful in fostering students' proof competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, several two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic tests in science at a variety grade levels have been reported in the extant literature from several countries. This review summarises these studies, provides an overview of the methodology for their construction, presents two examples of typical items, and lists studies published with two-tier tests. The majority of these studies have been conducted with relatively small numbers of students in one school, college, or university, although there are exceptions. What distinguishes the research reported in the articles in this Special Issue is that the Taiwanese two-tiered tests for the National Science Concept Learning Study were designed to identify the scientific conceptions of students from large national samples using random sampling procedures similar to those found in studies such as Trends in Mathematics and Science Studies and Programme for International Student Assessment. The article concludes with implications for the use of two-tier tests for pedagogical practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this cross-national study, the authors compared mathematics self-efficacy beliefs of American (n = 107) and Taiwanese (n = 188) middle-school students for level and calibration (accuracy and bias). Taiwanese students surpassed Americans in math achievement. American students evidenced slightly higher self-efficacy levels for easy math items but a steeper decline for moderately difficult items than did Taiwanese students. Nationality differences in level of self-efficacy diminished for difficult math items. For calibration, American students reported less accurate self-efficacy beliefs than did Taiwanese students for all items, although the accuracy of both groups declined with items of higher difficulty. Postperformance self-evaluation judgments of Taiwanese students decreased as item difficulty increased, whereas American students' judgments decreased from easy items to moderate items, but remained unchanged with difficult items. The authors found no effects for gender or gender-nationality interactions on any dependent measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines elementary school children's performance and perception of problem difficulty in solving everyday mathematical problems with familiar versus unfamiliar contexts in Taiwan. Ways in which children identify the similarities in problem-solving approaches between problem settings and everyday shopping; Tendency of children to be distracted by non-mathematical features in the problem settings; Judgment in children.

Taiwan's decline in fertility is studied by using period parity progression ratios. Levels of marriage and motherhood are found to have been high and essentially constant though the late 1980s, suggesting that the decline has been due almost entirely to declines in second and higher order-births. Families with three or more children play an important role in maintaining the current level of fertility. The level of fertility would be even lower without these families. They contributed more than one-half child per woman to the total fertility rate during most of the 1980s. Total fertility rates computed from the period parity progression ratios indicate a substantially higher level of fertility than the conventional total fertility rate; they remained above or at replacement level through 1988. A formal demographic analysis suggests that the conventional total fertility rate has been depressed by shifts in age at childbearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]