Suchergebnisse

Air pollutants have been linked to some diseases in humans, but their effects on the nervous system were less frequently evaluated. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurondevelopmental disorders of which the etiology is still unknown. We conducted a study in Taiwan to evaluate the possible associations between prenatal exposure to air pollutants and ASD. From a random sample of one million people in the National Insurance Research Database, we identified all the infants born between 1996 and 2000. We followed them till the end of 2013 and identified cases of ASD. We traced back the mothers' residence and assessed the exposure to air pollutants using the data obtained from the air quality monitoring database maintained by the government, which included ozone (O(3)), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), and particulate matters with diameter less than 10 µm (PM(10)). Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to evaluate the associations between childhood ASD and exposures to the pollutants in the three trimesters and the whole gestation. We identified a total of 63,376 newborns and included 62,919 as the study cohort. After adjusting for other risk factors, we observed trimester-specific associations between levels of CO, NO(2), and PM(10) and the risk of childhood ASD. An increase of 1 ppm of CO in the first, second, and third trimester was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.93 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–2.39), 1.77 (95%CI: 1.41–2.22), and 1.75 (95%CI: 1.39–2.21), respectively. An increase of 10 ppb in the level of NO(2) in the first, second, and third trimester was associated with an HR of 1.39 (95%CI: 1.22–1.58), 1.25 (95%CI: 1.10–1.42), and 1.18 (95%CI: 1.03–1.34), respectively. In conclusion, we found that exposures to CO and NO(2) in all three trimesters were associated with increased risks of developing ASD.

Air pollutants have been linked to some diseases in humans, but their effects on the nervous system were less frequently evaluated. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurondevelopmental disorders of which the etiology is still unknown. We conducted a study in Taiwan to evaluate the possible associations between prenatal exposure to air pollutants and ASD. From a random sample of one million people in the National Insurance Research Database, we identified all the infants born between 1996 and 2000. We followed them till the end of 2013 and identified cases of ASD. We traced back the mothers' residence and assessed the exposure to air pollutants using the data obtained from the air quality monitoring database maintained by the government, which included ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matters with diameter less than 10 µm (PM10). Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to evaluate the associations between childhood ASD and exposures to the pollutants in the three trimesters and the whole gestation. We identified a total of 63,376 newborns and included 62,919 as the study cohort. After adjusting for other risk factors, we observed trimester-specific associations between levels of CO, NO2, and PM10 and the risk of childhood ASD. An increase of 1 ppm of CO in the first, second, and third trimester was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.93 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–2.39), 1.77 (95%CI: 1.41–2.22), and 1.75 (95%CI: 1.39–2.21), respectively. An increase of 10 ppb in the level of NO2 in the first, second, and third trimester was associated with an HR of 1.39 (95%CI: 1.22–1.58), 1.25 (95%CI: 1.10–1.42), and 1.18 (95%CI: 1.03–1.34), respectively. In conclusion, we found that exposures to CO and NO2 in all three trimesters were associated with increased risks of developing ASD.

PurposeBased on the stimulus-organism-response theory, this research constructs the influence of the stimulus factors of the live-streaming shopping environment on consumers' psychological situation. It then produces the research model of impulsive purchase intention.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the online questionnaire survey method was used to survey users who participated in live-streaming shopping, and a total of 335 valid questionnaires were collected. Then SPSS and SmartPLS were used for data empirical evaluation and hypotheses test.FindingsResearch results show that demand, convenience, interactivity, and playfulness are positively stimulating consumers' perceived enjoyment. And their perceived enjoyment directly drives their intention of impulsive purchase.Practical implicationsThe choice of the live streaming platform, the design of the interactive interface, and the design of the shopping process are all factors that the streamer must carefully consider. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the development of live-streaming shopping and provide the industry with an understanding of the main factors that affect users' live streaming and impulsive purchases to plan an effective live streaming platform and content.Originality/value"E-commerce live streaming" is regarded as the latest trend of e-commerce, and impulse buying is regarded as a key factor in the success of transactions. This research has developed factors that influence impulsive purchases after watching live streaming based on the SOR theory.

AbstractMany studies point to the importance of parents in shaping the ethnic and/or political identity of their offspring. However, there is a lack of consensus on the pattern of influence of fathers and mothers in the process of political socialization. While studies in the United States and Japan show the mother to be more influential than the father in transferring political identity to children, studies in China show that both parents have equal importance. We suggest that these differences are owing to different trajectories of modernization. Using Taiwan as a case study and drawing on the theory of compressed modernity, we demonstrate how compressed modernization generates a different shift in the pattern of parental political socialization. We show that before Taiwan's experience of compressed modernization, both parents influenced children's sense of Taiwanese-ness, while only the father was influential after compressed modernization. We also show the significance of a macro-level perspective for explaining differences in the micro-level socialization perspective.

Many studies point to the importance of parents in shaping the ethnic and/or political identity of their offspring. However, there is a lack of consensus on the pattern of influence of fathers and mothers in the process of political socialization. While studies in the United States and Japan show the mother to be more influential than the father in transferring political identity to children, studies in China show that both parents have equal importance. We suggest that these differences are owing to different trajectories of modernization. Using Taiwan as a case study and drawing on the theory of compressed modernity, we demonstrate how compressed modernization generates a different shift in the pattern of parental political socialization. We show that before Taiwan's experience of compressed modernization, both parents influenced children's sense of Taiwanese-ness, while only the father was influential after compressed modernization. We also show the significance of a macro-level perspective for explaining differences in the micro-level socialization perspective.(China Q / GIGA)

IFPRI3; ISI; CRP2; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance ; EPTD; PIM ; PR ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

The aim of this study is to investigate the gap of event management in East and South Asia's casinos throughout the information provided by casinos on their websites. Main objective is to identify the differences and similarities of event holding in East and South Asia's casinos and suggest future directions for casino managers and event organizers. Four research questions were developed to provide ourselves a goal, as well as to further our understanding of our investigation. There are two steps to structure our study. First is to evaluate the performance of 138 casino's websites, which were obtained from worldcasinodirectory. com by using a website evaluation tool that we have constructed. In the second step, we conduct a content analysis for the website so we can identify what kind of events are organized in the area on our samples. The data of the content analysis provides a comparison of events in our sampling, such as the event's size, type, and frequency of holding an event. We believe that our research would contribute to event organizers and large scale corporations to give them an insight on the overall efficiency of websites, as well as the frequency of events around East and South Asian casinos.

Pangolins are currently the most smuggled mammals in the world. Meanwhile, Taiwan has demonstrated the world's first case of the use of artificial feeding to raise pangolins to adulthood. The government has also begun to cooperate with farmers in pangolin-spotted areas. Agricultural products can earn the green label once they have passed the evaluation. The challenge is that very few farms have obtained the pangolin-friendly label so far. Our hypothesis is that farmers lack the knowledge that consumers would pay additional money for products that are labeled pangolin-friendly compared to regular ones. Thus, farmers have an insufficient incentive to apply for this label. This research aims to fill this gap by providing people with the necessary knowledge. Contingent valuation with the single-bounded dichotomous choice format was used, which involved investigating 417 valid observations. We found the following: (1) customers are willing to pay about 8.06 USD for pangolin-friendly rice (an increase of 397% in relation to the mean price of rice) ; (2) customers are willing to pay for about 11.46 USD for pangolin-friendly tea (an increase of 179% in relation to the mean price of tea) ; and (3) customers are willing to pay about 25.81 USD for pangolin-friendly coffee (an increase of 509% in relation to the mean price of coffee). Our findings give farmers more incentive to conduct eco-friendly production. Consequently, the quality of agricultural products as well as the habitats of endangered pangolins improve. Thus, consumers' health, the environment, and the future of pangolin conservation can benefit in this attempt to achieve sustainability.

One of the fundamental services a modern government shall furnish is affordable housing. The ratio of the housing price to household income in Taipei has in recent years reached an astonishing figure of 15. Taipei has long suffered from a lack of readily available sites for residential development. In addition to monetary and fiscal policies, a supply-oriented and location-specific measure is therefore called for. In this vein, the supply of public land in the market has become a promising policy alternative. In spite of that, public land is an asset that belongs to all citizens. Therefore, sales of public land shall meet three conditions so as not to violate the requirement of the public interest. First of all, the price of land sold to private developers shall reflect the reasonable price that the parcel expects to fetch in the market. Secondly, the land sold to the developers shall be quickly developed in accordance with its highest and best use, and not instead remain idle. Finally, no excessive profits shall be obtained from the land by the developers when the land is later developed and houses are sold. Our empirical evidence on auctions of public land in Taipei between 2006 and 2014 provides some disappointing findings. On average, public land is worth 1.37 times more than its auctioned price. In addition, nearly 90% of undeveloped public land has been idle for more than three years after being auctioned. Besides, the effective rates of land value tax and land value increment tax are on average 0.155% and 1.01%, respectively. We therefore conclude that the auctioning of public land in Taipei has operated against the public interest. We suggest that the government in future consider both fiscal and physical measures to improve the uses of public land. However, taxation shall remain the cornerstone of the policy package.

In this study, we investigated the correlations between the attitudes about learning of elementary students who attended after-school clubs and the teaching quality of their educators during school. Previously, scholars have focused on service quality and satisfaction from the point of view of the parents, while overlooking the attitudes of students and teachers. To investigate the correlation between student enthusiasm and teaching quality, we sent out a questionnaire survey, collected 343 valid responses, and tested the related data via regression analysis. From the teacher's point of view, this study can be divided into five constructs: learning interest, self-regulated learning, completing homework, interaction with the environment, and preparation for examinations. We also examined the correlations between each construct and teaching quality. We found that learning interest, homework assignments, environment interaction, and preparation for examinations had a positive correlation with the teaching quality of the elementary level teachers. Lastly, based on our findings, we made recommendations on how to improve teaching quality and leaning in the classroom.