1,437 research outputs found
Shea butter: connecting rural Burkinabè women to international markets through fair trade
No full textProcessed by rural West African women and desired by wealthy Northern consumers of natural beauty products, shea butter seems a prime candidate for fair trade, yet to date there has been little study of the industry. This article analyses the opportunities and constraints of the development of fair-trade exports of shea butter from Burkina Faso, taking into account the context in which shea is produced and sold locally and internationally, the concept of fair trade, and the impact of gender relations on shea production. Although a definitive positive or negative determination cannot be made, given the complex and divergent factors affecting the potential international market and the production process, the author finds that the development of the fair-trade shea butter industry in Burkina Faso has great potential. However, such development must occur with restraint and consideration of possible challenges and limitations, in order to remain sustainable and viable for rural female producers.This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis.</p
Supplemental Material, Supplementary_eTable_1 - Survival Impact and Clinical Predictors of Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients With Bloodstream Infection
No full textSupplemental Material, Supplementary_eTable_1 for Survival Impact and Clinical Predictors of Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients With Bloodstream Infection by Amy Huaishiuan Huang, Ye Liu, Yenh-Chen Hsien, Tzu-Chun Hsu, Debra Yen, Wan-Ting Hsu, Hsin-Yang Lin, Shyr-Chyr Chen, Chien-Chang Lee and NTUH Health Data Science Research Group in Journal of Intensive Care Medicine</p
Supplemental Material, Supplementary_eTable_2 - Survival Impact and Clinical Predictors of Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients With Bloodstream Infection
No full textSupplemental Material, Supplementary_eTable_2 for Survival Impact and Clinical Predictors of Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients With Bloodstream Infection by Amy Huaishiuan Huang, Ye Liu, Yenh-Chen Hsien, Tzu-Chun Hsu, Debra Yen, Wan-Ting Hsu, Hsin-Yang Lin, Shyr-Chyr Chen, Chien-Chang Lee and NTUH Health Data Science Research Group in Journal of Intensive Care Medicine</p
Analysis on Taiwan’s Post-War Entry and Exit Policy:1949-2010
No full text入出國管理無論在法理或是實踐上，均可謂國家安全的第一道防線，在國家社會整體利益的保障，有其不可否認的重要性。本文研究旨趣，係以政經環境與偏差動員之分析觀點，研究戰後我國入出國管理政策變遷的歷史脈絡與因果關係。依當時政經環境與政策特性，本文將我國入出國管理政策區分為「威權統治」、「國際孤立」、「民主轉型」與「全球競合」四時期。研究發現，1949年國府遷臺後，政府藉由軍情共治的入出國管理政策，維護國家安全與威權統治，營造出對外封閉的社會及共同社會價值，以鞏固執政黨的統治基礎。當失去美國奧援後，我國於1971年退出聯合國，日漸孤立於國際社會之外。為重獲民眾支持，入出國管理走向開放，配合國家經濟發展的大政方針，奠定了入出國管理長期開放運作與現代化作業的基礎。1987年解嚴後，臺灣開始民主化，在社會多元化的趨力下，入出國管理政策重新檢討，最終成立專責單位，因應社會需求。歷經2008年第二次政黨輪替，臺灣的民主已經鞏固。然而，在全球化犯罪與恐怖主義威脅下，入出國管理業務面臨來自國際的壓力與兩岸交流帶來的艱鉅挑戰，乃開始建構高科技化的國際性大型資訊系統，邁入專業化與高科技化的方向。
本文除彙整研究過去入出國管理政策變遷的各種影響因素外，在結論中更進一步參酌國內外對未來環境發展的預測，指出未來我國入出國管理可能面臨的問題與挑戰，並建議入出國管理機關應先加強人員與管理機制品質，提高風險管理能力、強化對未來環境掌握，以院級或國安層級之協調機制，輔助入出國管理政策之決策與執行，以克盡國家安全把關責任與落實政府良善治理目標。Entry and Exit Management, as the first fortress of national security, holds undeniable importance to a nation’s overall benefits. The broad objective of this study is to explore the changing trends and causality in Taiwan’s post-war entry and exit policy via political economy analysis based on the perspective of mobilization of bias.
Based on the attributes of Taiwan’s political and economy environments, the history of Taiwan’s post-war entry and exit policy is divided to 4 eras: “Authoritarian Era”, “International Isolation Era”, “Democracy Transformation Era” and “Global Coopetition Era.” This study shows that KMT Government created a closed society and thus a solid ruling basis via a military-intelligence co-controlled entry and exit policy after relocating to Taiwan in 1949. When losing the US support in 1970s, the R.O.C. in Taiwan not only withdrawed from United Nations in 1971, but was since isolated from the international society. In order to regain public support from Taiwanese people, the KMT Government changed to take aim on economic development and managed to open up its control of Taiwan society. This policy change had founded the open operation and modernization of latter entry and exit policy in Taiwan.
After the termination of martial law in 1987, Taiwan was gradually democratized and hence a plural society was formed. Entry and exit policy was reviewed and renewed to match the society’s new needs, and National Immigration Agency was established in 2007 to take charge of border control and immigration affairs. Now that Taiwan has stepped into democracy consolidation after the second party alternation in power in 2008. However, despite the achievement of democratization, what awaited the KMT Ma government are new challenges of global crimes, terrorist attacks, pressure from international politics and the changing cross-strait relations. With challenges above, Taiwan’s entry and exit management is continuously specialized, adopting state-of-the-art technologies to construct large international information systems.
In conclusion, this study not only collates influencing factors of entry and exit policy changes but predicts potential challenges to Taiwan’s entry and exit management by referring to future prediction reports from domestic and international think tanks. Suggestions for the National Immigration Agency and decision-makers are outlined as follow: (1) Strengthening risk management capacity, (2) Enhancing future prediction and improving policy quality by scenario-based decision making, (3) Assisting policy coordination by a higher level decision-making mechanism (EY level or National-Security level), (4) Improving quality of personnel and management mechanisms
The Way of Shea: Developing Permaculture Systems within the Shea Butter Supply Chain in Ghana
No full textThe aim of this work is to analyze the traditional shea butter production process and the supply chain of shea in the rural communities that produce it in the Upper West region of Ghana so as to improve these activities through developing permaculture systems and collective work in Ghana and throughout the African diaspora. This thesis focuses on the traditional shea butter process, existing permaculture systems within the process, and supply chain to market. The value of cooperatives and connecting the African Diaspora to shea for a greater social impact is also discussed. The author concludes with suggestions for opportunities to further develop a permaculture system within the shea butter supply chain through improved environmental policy, greater community cooperation, infrastructural developments, and private and public entities creating methods for greater collective impact.</p
Supplemental Material, Supplementary_eFigure - Survival Impact and Clinical Predictors of Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients With Bloodstream Infection
No full textSupplemental Material, Supplementary_eFigure for Survival Impact and Clinical Predictors of Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients With Bloodstream Infection by Amy Huaishiuan Huang, Ye Liu, Yenh-Chen Hsien, Tzu-Chun Hsu, Debra Yen, Wan-Ting Hsu, Hsin-Yang Lin, Shyr-Chyr Chen, Chien-Chang Lee and NTUH Health Data Science Research Group in Journal of Intensive Care Medicine</p
Ele Agbe in search of a new light in Ghana's shea sector
No full textEle Agbe is a Ghanaian phrase meaning “God is alive.” Founded as a small and medium enterprise (SME), in Ghana in 1996, Ele Agbe Company is currently a dynamic business operating in the downstream shea export sector. Demand for shea is increasing for skin and hair products on the foreign market. Ele Agbe’s artisans use traditional Ghanaian tools and methods, and the highest quality materials available, including unique scents. The protected knowledge build up of unique scents in its shea product mix has given Ele Agbe its trade secret. At Ele Agbe, artisans pass on their skills to younger generations, conducting workshops for school groups and accepting apprentices from throughout Ghana. The business is confronted with challenges partly as a result of non-existent working policy for shea and breaks or gaps in the shea supply chain preventing it from achieving full potential. The company needs to consider how to improve on its’ firm and business networks given its internal and external environment in order to expand.Values Technology and InnovationTechnology, Policy and Managemen
Exponentially stable non-linear control for speed regulation of induction motor with field-oriented PI-controller
No full textExponentially stable nonlinear field-oriented PI-controller for speed regulation of induction motor
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Revealing Design Principles of Biological Networks through Optimization and Dynamical System Approaches
Full text linkBiological networks, such as vascular networks and neural circuits, are ubiquitous in nature. An understanding of these networks can help us understand their response to damages, which could lead to novel treatments. They can also inspire the design of man-made networks, as evolution has millions of years to figure out optimal designs. The advancement in imaging techniques has created high-dimensional data streams, which is difficult to analyze by conventional approaches. On the other hand, quantitative tools are naturally suited for processing large data sets, and they become more and more important in improving our knowledge on biological networks. Among existing tools ranging from network science to stochastic analysis, here we focus on optimization and dynamical system approach. Optimization links biological functions to corresponding network structures, which can give predictions to be compared with the data. The dynamical system approach is suited for analyzing time series data and complex interaction between the vertices, which is often exploited in biological systems for intricate signalings and regulations.This thesis is devoted to the study of biological networks with optimization and dynamical system, focused on two specific biological systems: microvascular network and bipolar disorder. For microvascular networks, we first study a specific example of embryonic zebrafish trunk network, and reveal the significance of flow uniformity in this network. Then we derive analytical structures of networks with optimal transport efficiency, which is widely regarded as the organizing principle of vascular networks, especially for large vessels such as aorta. To compare the morphologies of transport efficient and uniform flow networks, we develop algorithm that is capable of finding optimal networks with general target functions and constraints, and show that the principle of uniform flow creates more realistic microvascular networks under many different topologies. Finally, we propose an vessel adaptation mechanism based on stress sensing dynamic to explain how microvascular networks stay resilient to noise, and how they grow into uniform flow networks. For bipolar disorder, we mathematically analyze a dynamical model based on the interaction of mood and expectation. We show that bipolar disorder can be viewed as a bifurcation in the direction from normal to cyclic personality. We also consider the case where positive and negative events are sensed differently, and describe the bifurcation in this case. Finally we apply commonly used medicine on the model, and recover clinically observed phenomena on bipolar disorder patients
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