Search results for: institutionalization in Taiwanese Buddhism

Authors: Mariel Encar H. Uy, Paula Marie G. Pacle

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The purpose of this research is to present a Single Country Comparative Contextual Description Study of Strong Islamic Influences in Relation to the Politics of Republic of Indonesia. This paper recognizes that even the coalition of secular and moderate Islamic parties protect the minority rights of all the constituents, Islam is still the dominant religion among the other recognized religions in Indonesia (Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism). In this study, it will also detail the involvement on the religions’ beliefs and techniques; participation of political actors, depending on what religion they belong and adhere to; the tensions whenever the government interferes with Islamists and other religions; the government’s solution or public policies implemented to maintain peace and order of Indonesia. This paper will develop a conceptual framework to describe how the Religion and Political Stability is interdependent with each other.

Keywords: diversity of religion in indonesia, secularization in Indonesia, motivations of political actors, voter turnouts based on religion

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Authors: Ryuji Yamazaki, Masahiro Kochi, Weiran Zhu, Hiroko Kase

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In care for older adults, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) like agitation and aggression are distressing for patients and their caretakers, often resulting in premature institutionalization with increased costs of care. To improve mood and mitigate symptoms, as a non-pharmaceutical approach, emotion-oriented therapy like reminiscence work is adopted in face-to-face communication. Telecommunication support is expected to be provided by robotic media as a bridge for digital divide for those with dementia and facilitate social interaction both verbally and nonverbally. The purpose of this case study is to explore the conditions in which robotic media can effectively attract attention from older adults with dementia and promote their well-being. As a pilot study, we introduced the pillow-phone Hugvie^®, a huggable humanly shaped communication medium to five residents with dementia at a care facility, to investigate how the following conditions work for the elderly when they use the medium; 1) no sound, 2) radio, non-interactive, 3) daily conversation, and 4) reminiscence work. As a result, under condition 4, reminiscence work, the five participants kept concentration in interacting with the medium for a longer duration than other conditions. In condition 4, they also showed larger amount of utterances than under other conditions. These results indicate that providing topics related to personal histories through robotic media could affect communication positively and should, therefore, be further investigated. In addition, the issue of ethical implications by using persuasive technology that affects emotions and behaviors of older adults is also discussed.

Keywords: BPSD, reminiscence, tactile telecommunication, utterances

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Authors: Hieu Van Dong, Giang Thi Huong Tran, Giap Van Nguyen, Tung Duy Dao, Vuong Nghia Bui, Le Thi My Huynh, Yohei Takeda, Haruko Ogawa, Kunitoshi Imai

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Chicken anemia virus (CAV) has a ubiquitous and worldwide distribution in chicken production. Our group previously reported high seroprevalence of CAV in chickens in northern Vietnam. In the present study, 330 tissue samples collected from commercial and breeder chicken farms in eleven provinces in northern Vietnam were tested for the CAV infection. We found that 157 out of 330 (47.58%) chickens were positive with CAV genes by real-time PCR method. Nine CAV strains obtained from the different location and time were forwarded to the full-length sequence of CAV VP1 gene. Phylogenetic analysis of the Vietnamese CAV vp1 gene indicated that the CAVs circulating in northern Vietnam were divided into three distinct genotypes, II, III, and V, but not clustered with the vaccine strains. Among the three genotypes, genotype III was the major one widely spread in Vietnam, and that included three sub-genotypes, IIIa, IIIb, and IIIc. The Vietnamese CAV strains were closely related to the Chinese, Taiwanese, and USA strains. All the CAV isolates had glutamine at amino acid position 394 in the VP1 gene, suggesting that they might be highly pathogenic strains. One strain was defined to be genotype V, which had not been reported for Vietnamese CAVs. Additional studies are required to further evaluate the pathogenicity of CAV strains circulating in Vietnam.

Keywords: chicken anemia virus, genotype, genetic characteristics, Vietnam

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Authors: Pascal Horni, Sandro Fuchs

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In presence of increasing deficits and public debt among OECD countries, the debate on fiscal disciple and mechanisms to constrain public spending policy heated up and gave rise to the institutionalization of fiscal rules. Considering the notions from political economy literature and the therein advocated axiom of maximization of votes, introduction of institutional mechanisms and rules to govern public spending is likely to be coined by electoral motives. While there exists a series of research concerned with the rise of creative accounting in the presence fiscal rules, implementation of accrual government accounting and its impact on the biting of fiscal rules has to authors’ best knowledge never been explored. This paper serves the illumination of the connection between debt break mechanisms and the adoption of accrual public sector accounting standards such as the IPSAS in the interface of political economy in the Swiss context. By explicitly considering the technical accounting dimension, this paper develops an integrated conceptual view on well-established Public Financial Management (PFM) institutions and elaborates how their interdependencies can co-create value with regard to the contemporary challenge of fiscal sustainability. Derivation of this integrated view follows an explorative approach, taking into account expert interviews with director level staff from cantonal finance administrations and policy documents, as well as literature from both research areas – public sector accounting and political economy.

Keywords: accounting, fiscal rules, International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), public financial management

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Authors: Shih-Fang Lo, Tzu-Wei Guo, Chih-Hsuan Lee

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Tropical fisheries are vulnerable to the physical and biogeochemical oceanic changes associated with climate change. Warmer temperatures and extreme weather have beendamaging the abundance and growth patterns of aquatic organisms. In recent year, the shrinking of fish stock and labor shortage have increased the threat to global aquacultural production. Thus, building a climate-resilient and sustainable mechanism becomes an urgent, important task for global citizens. To tackle the problem, Taiwanese fishermen applies the artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In brief, the AI system (1) measures real-time water quality and chemical parameters infish ponds; (2) monitors fish stock through segmentation, detection, and classification; and (3) implements fishermen’sprevious experiences, perceptions, and real-life practices. Applying this system can stabilize the aquacultural production and potentially increase the labor force. Furthermore, this AI technology can build up a more resilient and sustainable system for the fishermen so that they can mitigate the influence of extreme weather while maintaining or even increasing their aquacultural production. In the future, when the AI system collected and analyzed more and more data, it can be applied to different regions of the world or even adapt to the future technological or societal changes, continuously providing the most relevant and useful information for fishermen in the world.

Keywords: aquaculture, artificial intelligence (AI), real-time system, sustainable fishery

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Authors: Jiun-De Lin

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate the empowerment effect of the older people through a structured reminiscence play therapeutic group program in Changhua county of Taiwan. This program was used Taiwanese traditional culture as the main concept based on the topic of reminiscence. In order to assimilate into the process for older people, thematic group activities were easy to operate. During the reminiscence play activities, they would improve their personal control and competence, the same as empowerment. A counselor who acted as a group leader led 10 elderly people participated in this reminiscence group play therapy. The participants of the study were 10 older people consisting of 7 males and 3 females who lived in a rehabilitation center in Changhua county of Taiwan. The participants’ average age was 72.5 years old. The study adopted the methods of survey research and the instruments in this study included subjects’ demographic information and the empowerment inventory for adults. A one-group pretest-posttest design was adopted by researchers to test the study hypothesis. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, and Wilcoxon matched paired signed-ranks test. The main finding of this study was that the reminiscence group play therapy had a significant effect (Z= 2.382, p < .05) to promote the state of empowerment of older people participated in this group play therapy. Based on the conclusion of this study, the suggestions and implications were proposed for the practices and future research.

Keywords: empowerment, group play therapy, older people, reminiscence

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Authors: Abid Kousay

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Appeared and developed essentially in large companies and multinationals, Talent Management (TM) in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) has remained an under-explored subject till today. Although the literature on TM in the Anglo-Saxon context is developing, it remains monopolized in non-European contexts, especially in France. Therefore, this article aims to address these shortcomings through contributing to TM issues by adopting a multilevel approach holding the goal of reaching a global holistic vision of interactions between various levels while applying TM. A qualitative research study carried out within 12 SMEs in France, built on the methodological perspective of grounded theory, will be used in order to go beyond description, to generate or discover a theory or even a unified theoretical explanation. Our theoretical contributions are the results of the grounded theory, the fruit of context considerations and the dynamic of the multilevel approach. We aim firstly to determine the perception of talent and TM in SMEs. Secondly, we formalize TM in SME through the empowerment of all 3 levels in the organization (individual, collective, and organizational). And we generate a multilevel dynamic system model, highlighting the institutionalization dimension in SMEs and the managerial conviction characterized by the domination of the leader’s role. Thirdly, this first study sheds light on the importance of rigorous implementation of TM in SMEs in France by directing CEO and HR and TM managers to focus on elements that upstream TM implementation and influence the system internally. Indeed, our systematic multilevel approach policy reminds them of the importance of strategic alignment while translating TM policy into strategies and practices in SMEs.

Keywords: French context, multilevel approach, talent management, , TM system

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Authors: Chialing Chang

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Language and culture are critical foundations of international mobility. However, the students who are limited to the local environment may affect their learning outcome and global perspective. Video Conferencing has been proven an economical way for students as a medium to communicate with international students around the world. In Taiwan, the National Development Commission advocated the development of bilingual national policies in 2030 to enhance national competitiveness and foster English proficiency and fully launched bilingual activation of the education system. Globalization is closely related to the development of Taiwan's education. Therefore, the teacher conducted an integrated lesson through interdisciplinary learning. This study aims to investigate how the teacher helps develop students' global and language core competencies in the international education class. The methodology comprises four stages, which are lesson planning, class observation, learning data collection, and speech analysis. The Grice's Conversational Maxims are adopted to analyze the students' conversation in the video conferencing course. It is the action research from the teacher's reflection on approaches to developing students' language learning skills. The study lays the foundation for mastering the teacher's international education professional development and improving teachers' teaching quality and teaching effectiveness as a reference for teachers' future instruction.

Keywords: international education, language learning, Grice's conversational maxims, video conferencing course

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Authors: Ya-Hui Lee, Chien-Hung Hsieh, Ching-Yi Lu

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Demographic aging is the major problem that Taiwanese society is facing, and retirement life adaptation is the most concerning issue. In recent years, studies have suggested that in order to have successful aging and retirement planning, a view for the future is necessary. In Taiwan, civil servants receive better pensions and retirement benefits than do other industries. Therefore, their retirement preparation is considerably more significant than other senior groups in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to understand the correlation of proactive coping and retirement planning of senior civil servants in Taiwan. The method is conducted by questionnaire surveys, with 342 valid questionnaires collected. The results of this study are: 1. The background variables of the interviewees, including age, perceived economic statuses, and retirement statuses, are all significantly related to their proactive coping and retirement planning. 2. Regarding age, the interviewees with ages 55 and above have better proactive coping and retirement planning than those with ages 45 and below. 3. In the aspect of perceived economic statuses, the participants who feel “very good” economic statuses have better proactive coping ability and retirement readiness than those who feel “bad” and “very bad”. 4. Retirees have better proactive coping and retirement planning than those who are still working. 5. Monthly income is significant in retirement planning only. The participants’ retirement planning would be better if they have higher incomes. Furthermore, the participants’ retirement planning would be better if their revenue were €1453~€1937, than if their revenue were below €968. 6. There are positive correlations between proactive coping and retirement planning. 7. Proactive coping can predict retirement planning. The result of this study will be provided as references to the Taiwan government for educational retirement planning policies.

Keywords: proactive coping, retirement planning, civil servants, demographic aging

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Authors: Rhay-Hung Weng, Ching-Yuan Huang, Wan-Ping Chen

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Recently, many hospitals have put much emphasis upon the development of nurse innovation. The present study aimed to clarify how nurse innovation is related to medical service quality and medical service experience. This study adopted questionnaire-survey method with nurses and customers of the inpatient wards from three Taiwanese hospitals as the research subjects. After pairing, there were 294 valid questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to test the possible impact of nurse innovation on medical service quality and experience. In terms of the dimensions of nurse innovation, “innovation behavior” ranked the highest (3.24), followed by knowledge creation and innovation diffusion; in terms of the degree of the medical service quality, 'reliability' ranked the highest (4.35). As for the degree of the medical service experience, 'feel experience' ranked the highest (4.44). All dimensions of nurse innovation have no significant effects on medical service quality and medical service experience. Of these three dimensions of nurse innovation, the level of innovation behavior was perceived by the nurses as the highest. The study found that nurse innovation has no significant effects on medical service quality and medical service experience. Managers shall provide sufficient resources and budget for fostering innovation development and encourage their nurses to develop nursing innovation for patents. The education and training courses on “patient-centered ” shall be enhanced among hospital nurses. Health care managers shall also explore the difficulties about innovation diffusion and find the solutions for nurses.

Keywords: innovation, employee innovative behavior, service quality, service experience

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Authors: Hsiao-Yung Wang

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This essay aims to examine how the discursive formation of the 'transing-nationalism' (which is extended and slightly modified from 'homonationalism') had been constructed in the Taiwanese news media before the legalization of 'sex reassignment surgery (SRS)' in 1988. Samples for rhetorical analysis were selected from two mainstream newspapers, including China Times, and United Daily. The time frame for sample selection is from August 1953 (when the first transgender case was reported) to 1988, while the SRS was legalized in Taiwan. To enhance understanding of media representation as contextualized-based, the author refers to the representative of spatial rhetoric Mikhail Bakhtin for his late study on 'emergence' and 'visualization of time' in Bildungsroman; thereby categorizing the media discourse of transgender into two critical period: (1) transgender as 'misrecognized' and 'included' into the rhetoric of modern medical space; (2) transgender as 'institutionalized' into discourse of protection and salvation by the reified sympathy of nation-state. These two periods and relevant spatial rhetoric were of no immediate concern on the vital interest of transgender individuals; therefore constructed the imagery of transgender for the service of nationalism rather than gender consciousness or human right rhetoric. Based on the research findings, this essay concludes that 'queer multiplicity' should be regarded as not only the guideline for the amendment of the gendered policies and laws but the rhetorical resources for the mobilization of transgender movement in Taiwan from now on.

Keywords: Bakhtin, legalization, rhetoric, sex reassignment surgery, transgender, transing-nationalism

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Authors: Paveenapat Nithitantiwat, Kwanjai Pataipakaipet

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The purpose of this research was to study the happiness level of nursing students, Boromarajonani College of nursing, Ratchaburi, Thailand. A purposive sampling of 652 first to four-year nursing students was used. This research is descriptive research. The instruments were questionnaires that developed by the researcher. It included the demographic data and nursing student’s perception about healthcare, safety, life security, family, proud of oneself, education and activities, dormitories and environment in college, and how to improve their happiness. Frequencies, percentage, mean, and T-test is used to analysis the data. The results of the research have shown that family and moral value was an important thing in nursing student’s life. In addition, the mean of the happiness level was a high level. The first year nursing students had the higher mean score of the happiness level than the fourth year, second year, and the third year, respectively. Therefore, nursing students would realize that the important things in their life are family and Buddhism’s teaching. In addition, dharma is guideline how to be both academic achievements and successful in life.

Keywords: happiness, nursing students, nursing students’ perceptions, bachelor program

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Authors: Muhammad Arsalan

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The efficiency of a financial intermediation system is assessed by its ability to achieve allocative efficiency, asset transformation, and the subsequent economic development. Islamic Banking and Finance (IBF) was conceived to serve as an alternate financial intermediation system adherent to the injunctions of Islam. A critical appraisal of the state of contemporary IBF reveals that it neither fulfills the aspirations of Islamic rhetoric nor is efficient in terms of asset transformation and economic development. This paper is an intuitive pursuit to explore the economic rationale of established principles of IBF, and the reasons of the persistent divergence of IBF being accused of ruses and sophistry. Disentangling the varying viewpoints, the underdevelopment of IBF has been attributed to misinterpretation of Riba, which has been explicated through a narrow fiqhi and legally deterministic approach. It presents a critical account of how incorrect conceptualization of the key injunction on Riba, steered flawed institutionalization of an Islamic Financial intermediation system. It also emphasizes on the wrong interpretation of the ontological and epistemological sources of Islamic Law (primarily Riba), that explains the perennial economic underdevelopment of the Muslim world. Deeming ‘a collaborative and dynamic Ijtihad’ as the elixir, this paper insists on the exigency of redefining Riba, i.e., a definition that incorporates the modern modes of economic cooperation and the contemporary financial intermediation ecosystem. Finally, Riba has been articulated in an agency theoretic framework to eschew expropriation of wealth, and assure protection of property rights, aimed at realizing the twin goals of a) Shari’ah adherence in true spirit, b) financial and economic development of the Muslim world.

Keywords: agency theory, financial intermediation, Islamic banking and finance, ijtihad, economic development, Riba, information asymmetry

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Authors: Yildirim Ortaoglan

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The attempt to make thought school-like by fitting it into various frameworks with the institutionalization of it is almost simultaneous with philosophy itself. What once sprouted in the “academia” of old has institutionalized under the enlightenment's light, becoming the fundamental space reflecting the spirit of its age. However, the shift from the thinking temple where truth's knowledge was sought to functional spaces where power/power relations are constructed indicates a significant rupture in the meaning of school. Therefore, a genealogical inquiry into the meaning of the school can provide us with a path toward understanding how it should be approached in contemporary times. From this perspective, it is essential to highlight how power/power relations operate in the school in terms of disciplinary practices, temporal management, and spatial organization to construct a distinct subjectivation. Recognizing that the changing and evolving nature of education is related to the structure of space can be understood by revealing how disciplinary power and bio-power, two fundamental aspects of genealogical research, operate. In disciplinary power, the relationship of the subject with discipline, temporal management, and space is about improvement and normalization, while in biopower, it manifests in maximizing utility, increasing free time, and constructing spaces that seem more vital. These indicators not only facilitate the formation of students as a subjectivation but also enable the condition of the possibility of power/power relations. Because power is not applied to subjects but used by them for passage, and behind this lies the idea that the individual is already one of the components of power. As one of the components of power, in terms of subjectivation type, the student is one of the primary targets of power relations. Therefore, conducting a genealogical inquiry of the student as a type of subjectivation and the school as its living area from the philosophical foundations of education may offer a new opportunity for thinking about the contemporary crisis of thought. Within the framework of this possibility, our investigation will consider which aspects of the school and the student, brought together for educational purposes, can be thought of within and beyond power/power relations.

Keywords: power, education, space, school, student, discipline

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Authors: Szu Mei Hsiao

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This study explores the spiritual needs of inpatients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers in one southern regional teaching hospital in Taiwan and elucidates the differences and similarities of spiritual needs between them. Little research reports the different phases of spiritual needs and the potential impact of Chinese cultural values on the spiritual needs. Qualitative inquiry was used. Twenty-one patients with advanced cancer and twenty-two family caregivers were recruited. During hospitalization, all participants identified spiritual needs both the palliative phase and the dying phase: (a) the need to foster faith/confidence and hope for medicine and/or God; (b) to understand the meaning and values of life; (c) to experience more reciprocal human love and forgiveness; and (d) to obey God’s/Heaven will. Furthermore, the differences of spiritual needs between patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers are as follows: (a) family caregivers emphasized the need to inform relatives and say goodbye in order to die peacefully; (b) patients highlighted a need to maintain a certain physical appearance in order to preserve their dignity; nurture one’s willpower; learn about the experiences of cancer survivors; and identify one’s own life experience for understanding the meaning and values of life. Moreover, the dissimilarity of spiritual needs is that the patients pointed out the need to understand God’s will during the palliative treatment phase. However, the family caregivers identified the need to forgive each other, and inform relatives and say goodbye to patients in the dying phase. This research has shown that the needs of meaning/values of life and facing death peacefully are different between two groups. Health professionals will be encouraged to detect and to develop individualized care strategies to meet spiritual needs.

Keywords: advanced cancer, Chinese culture, family caregivers, qualitative research, spiritual needs

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Authors: Peijen Pamela Chuang, Tzu-Hua Wang

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To address the notion of educational equity, undergo the global pandemic, a digital learning system was cross-disciplinarily designed by a 15-year-experienced teaching practitioner. A study was performed on students through the use of this pioneering e-learning system, in which Taiwanese students with different learning styles and special needs have a foreign language- English as the target subject. 121 students are particularly selected from an N= 580 sample spread across 20 inclusive and special education schools throughout districts of Taiwan. To bring off equity, the participants are selected from a mix of different socioeconomic statuses. Grouped data, such as classroom observation, individual learning preference, prerequisite knowledge, learning interest, and learning performance of the population, is carefully documented for further analyzation. The paper focuses on documenting the awareness and needs of this pedagogical methodology revolution, data analysis of UX (User Experience), also examination and system assessment of this system. At the time of the pilot run, this newly-developed e-learning system had successfully applied for and received a national patent in Taiwan. This independent research hoped to expand the awareness of the importance of individual differences in SDG4 (Substantial Development Goals 4) as a part of the ripple effect, and serve as a comparison for future scholars in the pedagogical research with an interdisciplinary approach.

Keywords: e-learning, educational equity, foreign language acquisition, inclusive education, individual differences, interdisciplinary innovation, learning preferences, SDG4

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Authors: Sophaphan Intahphuak, Narong Pamala, Boonyaporn Yodkhong, Samuhavitayaa

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The amount of solid waste increases each year as a result of population growth, urbanization and economic expansion; however, there was little public cooperation in the segregation of solid waste due to the lack of awareness. This study aims to encourage all sectors in the community to participate in the development of a suitable model to reduce environmental waste by emerging the cultural context that bares a close relationship with Buddhism through faith and merit-making. The monks, involving stakeholder in the entire waste management system, help publicize the campaign on Buddhist holy days, religious ceremonies and they also teach people to be responsible for the garbage problem in the community. As for the garbage brought for merit-making, they are sold and the money is used to help build the pavilion. It was found that people can separate recycled garbage and the amount of solid waste slightly decrease. The results obtained suggest that the religion is not only the moral center of the community, it is also the center of community empowerment to consciousness in waste management.

Keywords: community empowerment, religion’s role, waste management, recycled garbage

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Authors: Abdullahi Mannir Rawayau

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This paper identifies the problems that have aided the decoy to adequate basic infrastructural amenities, sub-standard housing, over-crowding, poor ventilation in homes and work places, sanitation, and non-compliance with building bye-laws and regulation. The paper also asserts the efficient disposal of solid and liquid waste is one of the challenges in the informal areas due to threats on the environment and public health. Sanitation services in the informal settlements have been found to be much lower compared to the average for unban. Bearing in mind a factor which prevents sustainable sanitation in informal areas which include low incomes, insecure tenure, low education levels, difficulty topography and transitory populations, and this study aim to identify effective strategies for achieving sustainable sanitation with specific reference to the informal settlement. Using the Shanghai Low-Cost as a case study. The primary data collected was through observation and interview method. Similarly, the secondary data used for the study was collected through literature reviews from extent studies with specific reference to informal settlement. A number of strategies towards achieving sustainable sanitation in the study were identified here in classified into three (3):- Advocacy and capacity building, infrastructural provision and institutionalization of systems and processes. The paper concludes with the premise on the need to build alliances between the government and stakeholders concerned with sanitation provision through the creation of sanitation and employ adaptable technology. Provision of sanitation facilities in public areas and to establish a statutory body for timely response to sanitation waste management in Katsina. It is imperative to check and prevent further decay for harmonious living and sustainable development.

Keywords: built environment, sanitation, facilities, settlement

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Authors: Abul Kayum Zarzis Alam

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Death is not a terminal; it is just a junction. From Agamas to Vedas, from Buddhism to Judaism, all the major scriptures and religions of the world always do converge to this hypothesis of death. Death is the ultimate catastrophe of life and it is the genesis of every religion on this Earth. Several hundred thousand years ago, the Homo Sapiens in Paleolithic age introduced the notion of religion on this Earth in its most primitive form just to escape from death and natural catastrophes through their belief in supernatural things which created the sense of superstition among the Homo Sapiens which has only increased over time. This sense of superstition and belief in supernatural things are building blocks of religion. Religion is like entropy, a degree of disorder. Entropy for an irreversible system like our own Universe always increases. Same is happening to our human civilization where the disorder had been increasing over time. The degree of this disorder of human civilization is religion divides and conquers over the human civilization of Earth. Religion is the human entropy which had been governing and will govern us. Just like entropy, religion is also an essential intrinsic property of the system which makes the system evolved. We have to optimize this ambivalence of the human entropy to make our civilization an inclusive and sustainable one.

Keywords: death, earth, entropy, Homo sapiens, religion and human entropy

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Authors: I. Dumand, C. Clesse, M. Decker, C. Savini, J. Lighezzolo-Alnot

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In the landscape of French psychiatry, long-term institutionalization of patients with severe and disabling chronics disorders is common. Faced with the failures of classical reinsertion, sometimes these users are hurriedly considered as 'insortables'. However, this representation is often swayed by the current behavior of the patient observed through the clinical observation. Unfortunately, it seems that this way of proceeding can not integrate the potentialities of the institutionalized patients and their possible evolution. Therefore, in order not to make hasty conclusions about the life perspectives of these individuals, it seems essential to associate with clinical observation a psycho social rehabilitation diagnosis. Multidisciplinary, it combine all the aspects that make up the life of the subject (the life aspirations, psycho social determinants, family support, cognitive potential, symptoms ...). In this paper, we will rank these different aspects necessary prerequisites to the realization of a psycho social rehabilitation diagnosis. Then, we will specifically speak of the issue of psychological evaluation. By adopting an integrative approach combining neuro psychological tools (Grober and Buschke, Stroop, WCST, AIPSS, WAIS, Eyes test ...) and projective tools interpreted under a psycho dynamic angle (Rorschach, TAT ..) we think that we can grasp the patient in his globality. Thus, during this process we will justify the interest of combining a cognitive and a psycho affective approach, we will identify the different items assessed and their future implications on the everyday life of the users. Finally, we show that this diagnosis can give a chance to reintegration to 30% of patients considered as ''insortables''. In conclusion, we will highlight the importance of this process dear to the community psychology emphasizing in the same time the interests of this approach in terms of empowerment, recovery and quality of life.

Keywords: assessment, potentiality, psychosocial rehabilitation diagnosis, tools

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Authors: Hung Lin-Zin, Lai Mei-Yen

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Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed male cancer in the U.S. The prevalence is around 1 in 8. The etiology of prostate cancer is still unknown, but some predisposing factors, such as age, black race, family history, and obesity, may increase the risk of the disease. In 2020, a total of 7,178 Taiwanese people were nearly diagnosed with prostate cancer, accounting for 5.88% of all cancer cases, and the incidence rate ranked fifth among men. In that year, the total number of deaths from prostate cancer was 1,730, accounting for 3.45% of all cancer deaths, and the death rate ranked 6th among men, accounting for 94.34% of the cases of male reproductive organs. Looking for domestic and foreign literature on the use of OMOP (Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership, hereinafter referred to as OMOP) database analysis, there are currently nearly a hundred literature published related to nursing-related health problems and nursing measures built in the OMOP general data model database of medical institutions are extremely rare. The OMOP common data model construction analysis platform is a system developed by the FDA in 2007, using a common data model (common data model, CDM) to analyze and monitor healthcare data. It is important to build up relevant nursing information from the OMOP- CDM database to assist our daily practice. Therefore, we choose prostate cancer patients who are our popular care objects and use the OMOP- CDM database to explore the common associated health problems. With the assistance of OMOP-CDM database analysis, we can expect early diagnosis and prevention of prostate cancer patients' comorbidities to improve patient care.

Keywords: OMOP, nursing diagnosis, health problem, prostate cancer

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Authors: Jinshuo Zhang

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Lucid dreams(LD) are the mental states in which people are aware that they are dreaming, which is a rising interdisciplinary topic among psychologists, neuroscientists and spiritual practitioners. From a phenomenological perspective, this research explores the self-consciousness structure in lucid dreams, particularly focusing on the self-reference structure between lucidity(the observer) and the dream ego(the observed). The main argument of this paper is that the self-structure in lucid dreams is a single-level paradigm. In this paper, the phenomenological characteristics of lucidity in LD are carefully unfolded. The appearance of lucidity is the most significant part of understanding the self-structure and the consciousness in dreams, which is also related to the “Six Bardos practices” in Tibetan Buddhism. In the second section, this research investigates the referential relationship between"lucidity" and "the dream ego" using the phenomenological resource of subjectivity theory, as well as referring to many cases in the psychological labs. Despite the appearance of various consciousness layers in lucid dreams, according to this paper, they are all part of a single-level consciousness paradigm. Dream ego is transparent, and dream lucidity can grasp it directly and thoroughly during LD. This research also responds to some potential criticisms and engages in current debates about the self-structure issue in lucid dreams, as well as discussing some future research prospects for dreams and lucid dreams.

Keywords: lucid dream, self-awareness, phenomenological perspective, high-order theory, one-level consciousness

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Authors: Chun-Hao Lai, Yu-Fang Huang, Pei-Wei Wang, Meng-Han Lin, Mei-Lien Chen

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Nonylphenol (NP) is a degradation product of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs). It is a well-known endocrine disruptor which may cause estrogenic effects. The growing fetus and infants are more vulnerable to exposure to NP than adults. It is important to know the levels and influences of prenatal exposure to NP. The aims of this study were (1) to determine the levels of prenatal exposure among Taiwanese, (2) to evaluate the potential risk for the infants who were breastfed and exposed to NP through the milk. (3) To investigate the correlation between birth outcomes and prenatal exposure to NP. We analyzed thirty one pairs of maternal urines, placentas, first month’ breast milk by high-performance liquid chromatography coupling with fluorescence detector. The questionnaire included socio- demographics, lifestyle, delivery method, dietary and work history. Information about the birth outcomes were obtained from medical records. The daily intake of NP from breast milk was calculated using deterministic and probabilistic risk assessment methods. The geometric means and geometric standard deviation of NP levels in placenta, and breast milk in the first month were 31.2 (1.8) ng/g, 17.2 (1.6) ng/g, respectively. The medium of daily intake NP in breast milk was 1.33 μg/kg-bw/day in the first month. We found negative association between NP levels of placenta and birth height. And we observed negative correlation between maternal urine NP levels and birth weight. In this study, we could provide the NP exposure profile among Taiwan pregnant women and the daily intake of NP in Taiwan infants. Prenatal exposure to higher levels of NP may increase the risk of lower birth weight and shorter birth height.

Keywords: nonylphenol, mother, fetus, placenta, breast milk, urine

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Authors: Patthida Bunchavalit, Saharot Kittimahacharoen

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The objective of this article is to compare rice blessing ceremony between Thailand and Vietnam. Both countries are located in Southeast Asia where agriculture is the main occupation. As a result of the study, it is found that the rice blessing ceremony of Thai and Vietnamese societies have differences and similarities. A person leading the ceremony is a person who has the highest position in the country. For Thailand, it is the king or royal family member while for Vietnam, it is the president. In Thailand, the ceremony began in Ayutthaya period which derived from Buddhism and Brahmanism ideology. It is annually organized in the beginning of raining season. In Vietnam, it is annually organized in the beginning of spring. The first time it occurred was in Tien Le Monarchy period of Thien Phuc era deriving from Chinese ideology. The differences are ideas, believes, objectives and details of the ceremony. It is, in Thailand, to boost farmer’s morale and to predict the fertility of crops in each year. Additionally, there is a prediction using royal cows. Meanwhile, in Vietnam the purpose is to worship god of weather for seasonal rain and productive harvesting. Therefore, it is presumed that the rice blessing ceremony of Thailand and Vietnam somewhat have similarities in spite of having different origin but are on the same basis of belief.

Keywords: agriculture, ceremony, culture, Thailand, Vietnam

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Authors: Li-Ching Hung

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The lack of empirical research on portfolio assessment in aboriginal EFL English classes of junior high schools in Taiwan may inhibit EFL teachers from appreciating the utility of this alternative assessment approach. This study addressed the following research questions: 1) understand how aboriginal EFL students and instructors of junior high schools in Taiwan perceive portfolio assessment, and 2) how portfolio assessment affects Taiwanese aboriginal EFL students’ learning outcomes. Ten classes of five junior high schools in Taiwan (from different regions of Taiwan) participated in this study. Two classes from each school joined the study, and each class was randomly assigned as a control group, and one was the experimental group. These five junior high schools consisted of at least 50% of aboriginal students. A mixed research design was utilized. The instructor of each class implemented a portfolio assessment for 15 weeks of the 2015 Fall Semester. At the beginning of the semester, all participants took a GEPT test (pretest), and in the 15th week, all participants took the same level of GEPT test (post-test). Scores of students’ GEPT tests were checked by the researcher as supplemental data in order to understand each student’s performance. In addition, each instructor was interviewed to provide qualitative data concerning students’ general learning performance and their perception of implementing portfolio assessments in their English classes. The results of this study were used to provide suggestions for EFL instructors while modifying their lesson plans regarding assessment. In addition, the empirical data were used as references for EFL instructors implementing portfolio assessments in their classes effectively.

Keywords: assessment, portfolio assessment, qualitative design, aboriginal ESL students

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Authors: Tiffany Yung Hsuan Ma

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The Whole Language Approach, which gained prominence in the 1980s, and the increasing emphasis on multimodal resources in educational research have elevated the utilization of picture books in English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction. This approach underscores real-world language application, providing EFL learners with a range of sensory stimuli, including visual elements. Additionally, the substantial impact of picture books on fostering prosocial behaviors in children has garnered recognition. These narratives offer opportunities to impart essential values such as kindness, fairness, and respect. Examining how picture books enhance vocabulary acquisition can offer valuable insights for educators in devising engaging language activities conducive to a positive learning environment. This research entails a case study involving two kindergarten-aged EFL learners and employs qualitative methods, including worksheets, observations, and interviews with parents. It centers on three pivotal inquiries: (1) The extent of young learners' acquisition of essential vocabulary, (2) The influence of these books on their behavior at home, and (3) Effective teaching strategies for the seamless integration of picture storybooks into EFL instruction for young learners. The findings can provide guidance to parents, educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers regarding the advantages and optimal approaches to incorporating picture books into language instruction. Ultimately, this research has the potential to enhance English language learning outcomes and promote moral education within the Taiwanese EFL context.

Keywords: EFL, vocabulary acquisition, young learners, picture book, moral education

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Authors: Aasim Siddiqui

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In a country where 45.6 per cent of the total population lives below the poverty line, according to the Human Development Report 2014 by UNDP, an increasing number of private companies are now dedicating their resources to remedy this situation of chronic poverty. Most corporations in Pakistan now have a separate and dedicated department for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), albeit with varying goals and hence different strategies for achieving those goals. Similarly, Marine Group of Companies (MRGC) also has a robust CSR policy which the group implements through a Non-Government Organization (NGO) called Organization for Social Development Initiatives (OSDI). This organization, which operates under the ambit of MRGC’s CSR division, has a concentrated focus on helping the poorest communities in the rural areas of Pakistan to break out of intergenerational poverty. This paper maps the theoretical strategies as well as practical activities undertaken by OSDI for poverty alleviation via rural development in Pakistan. To obtain in-depth information of demographics, livelihood and socio-economic indicators in OSDI’s focused districts; a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies was used during the course of this research. The paper highlights and explains OSDI’s unique three-pronged approach which aims at reducing poverty through income generation via the livelihood assistance program and through the provision of access to the most basic services (including health and education) via the community development and food security programs. Modeled on the concept of capacity building, OSDI’s modus operandi is centered on disbursing timely microcredit facilities to farmers who can benefit from these funds by investing in productive assets to foster financial capability for the future. With a focus on increasing the income of poor farmers, OSDI’s approach is to integrate all the socio-economic facets: education, health and sanitation and food security, to induce a sustained positive impact on their living standards.

Keywords: CSR, poverty, rural, sustainability

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Authors: Ju-Chun Chien

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The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion proposed that the role of health services should shift the focus from cure to prevention. Nowadays, besides having physical examinations, people could also conduct genetic tests to provide important information for diagnosing, treating, and/or preventing illnesses. However, because of the incompletion of the Chinese Genetic Database, people in Taiwan were still unfamiliar with genetic testing. The purposes of the present study were to: (1) Figure out people’s attitudes towards genetic testing. (2) Examine factors that influence people’s intention to pursue genetic testing by means of the Health Belief Model (HBM). A pilot study was conducted on 249 Taiwanese in 2017 to test the feasibility of the self-developed instrument. The reliability and construct validity of scores on the self-developed questionnaire revealed that this HBM-based questionnaire with 40 items was a well-developed instrument. A total of 542 participants were recruited and the valid participants were 535 (99%) between the ages of 20 and 86. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, two-way contingency table analysis, Pearson’s correlation, and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used in this study. The main results were that only 32 participants (6%) had already undergone genetic testing; moreover, their attitude towards genetic testing was more positive than those who did not have the experience. Compared with people who never underwent genetic tests, those who had gone for genetic testing had higher self-efficacy, greater intention to pursue genetic testing, had academic majors in health-related fields, had chronic and genetic diseases, possessed Catastrophic Illness Cards, and all of them had heard about genetic testing. The variables that best predicted people’s intention to pursue genetic testing were cues to action, self-efficacy, and perceived benefits (the three variables all correlated with one another positively at high magnitudes). To sum up, the HBM could be effective in designing and identifying the needs and priorities of the target population to pursue genetic testing.

Keywords: genetic testing, knowledge of GT, people in Taiwan, the health belief model

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Authors: Frew Yirgalem Mane

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This study has examined Africa’s experiment with authoritarian model of development drawing from the experience of Ethiopia. With the tectonic crisis of neoliberal ideology, the dominant policy agenda in Africa pertains to bringing the state back to development. More concretely, countries epitomized by Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda have been constructing a highly interventionist state with authoritarian character. The central motive appears to facilitate development and salvage people out of appalling and grinding poverty. Each country warrants closer inspection. However, this study focuses on Ethiopia- a country often applauded as ‘Africa’s Great Run’ for delivering socio-economic success over the past two decades. In fact, inspired by East Asia’s including Chinese model of authoritarian development, Ethiopia orchestrated a vanguard party, centralized rent control system with politicized bureaucracy and militaristic mobilization resources for development. This arrangement may explain Ethiopia economic success story as one the fastest growing countries in the world. However, this paper detected, Ethiopia’s attempt to bring the state back in development has precipitated institutionalization of a new breed of authoritarianism and informalization of public institutions. Ethiopia’s model of state-led development may constitute a noticeable shift away from the vengeful adherence to neoliberal policies. However, the manner the model has been practiced proved to be neither smooth nor appears to address Ethiopia’s aspiration for political and economic transformation. Partly, this can be illustrated by recent widespread grievances that fed into the popular uprising and animated opposition against the state. Sources of the grievance are complex, but they are highly ingrained with the way the authoritarian model of development is functioning and also the model’s dis-functioning in terms of benefiting people. In light of these findings, the study has arrived at the following conclusion. Africa’s attempt to emulate development models from other countries is not such a ‘bad’ thing. However, emulation makes sense if it is contextualized and sensitive to complex local socio-economic interests.

Keywords: Africa, authoritarianism, development, Ethiopia, neoliberalism

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Authors: Jenyu Peng

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Incestuous abuse can be considered a form of domestic violence that exemplifies gender inequality. It challenges the common image of home as “haven of safety”. In Taiwan, even after years of feminist NGOs’ effort to encourage victims to speak up, the shared cultural representations of family, still praising piety towards the parents, seem to keep the incest trauma in secret. As clinical practitioners have observed, most devastating psychological sequels of incest trauma are often related to silencing. Thus one can expect that in families centered cultures, the difficulties for victims to disclose are greater, and the traumatic consequences more severe. This poses crucial therapeutic issues for clinicians working in those cultures. Since 2009, the author, a trained psychoanalyst and researcher, has been conducting “clinical fieldwork” on incest trauma in Taiwan. Employing ethnographical method, our theoretical references are both psychoanalytical and anthropological. The necessity of interdisciplinary efforts in incest trauma research will be addressed and discussed. The analyses of the present paper will focus on five incestuous families: four Han families, and one aboriginal. Although Taiwanese aboriginal peoples have been pretty much sinicized since decades, it is worth observing the convergent and divergent aspects in these two cultures. Moreover, findings of a previous research conducted in France during 2002-2004 will serve as background for the purpose of comparison. The results will be presented along with three questions: 1) How the perception of family influences the process of disclosure? 2) How the incestuous experience comes into play with victims’ gender identity and sexuality, pivotal for the subjectification? 3) How victims more successful in gendered subjectification modify their dynamics with their traumatizing family? This research finds that most victims tend to defend their own incestuous families, and that victims’ subjectivity and agency are actually entangled in the power structure of incestuous family.

Keywords: incestuous family, subjectification, gender identity, agency

Procedia PDF Downloads 351