3,101 research outputs found
[[alternative]]The study for Master Cheng-Yen’s gratitude leadership and its educational practice.
[[abstract]]The study for Master Cheng-Yen’s gratitude leadership and its educational practice.
Abstract
This thesis is based on personal experiences in education and admiration for Master Cheng-Yen’s Great Love for the world. Thus, this thesis aims at working out the theoretic system of Master Cheng-Yen’s Gratitude Leadership, including its nature and practice. Further, its contributions for educational leadership are approached.
In order to reach the above aim, critical analysis is used for clarifying the works by Master Cheng-Yen. In addition, a questionnaire and semi-structure interview questionnaire are designed for identifying the nature and practical approaches of Gratitude Leadership. It is by this way, Master Cheng-Yen’s theory and practice of Gratitude Leadership can be grasped which affords help for educational leadership, in terms of theory and practice in schools.
Finally, the results of this thesis are as follows:
a) Master Cheng-Yen’s Gratitude Leadership makes significant contribution for democratic education via purifying human heart and harmonizing the society;
b) it is helpful for promoting inner motivation of educational organization; and
c) it develops characteristics of creativity with non-power leadership style with effectiveness.
Strategies to reduce mortality from bacterial sepsis in adults in developing countries
Citation: Cheng, A. C. et al. (2008). 'Strategies to reduce mortality from bacterial sepsis in adults in developing countries', PLoS Medicine, 5(8), e175. [Available at http://medicine.plosjournals.org]. © 2008 Cheng et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Simple, Reliable, Scalable and Energy Efficient Wireless Sensor Networks
Wireless communication and networking technology has facilitated people to be connected with each other closely. Cellular network is evolving now from the third generation to the fourth generation. In the meanwhile we are experiencing the demand for wireless networks which can facilitate the communication between humans and environment, human and machines or even machine and machine. Such networks will help us know more about our surroundings which could lead us towards a better and greener life. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is one candidate among such networks. It turns sensing tasks from small scale, centralized and expensive to large scale, distributed and low-cost by connecting small battery powered sensors with wireless links. We start the thesis by introducing WSN, its background and current status in Chapter 1. Although a lot of work has been reported in the literature on WSN, there are still many challenges. In this thesis, we focus on five of them, namely, (1)energy, (2)reliability, (3)scalability, (4)ease of use and (5)ease of set up. Energy is a challenge since WSNs are powered by batteries or even energy harvested from the ambience. The second, fourth and the fifth challenges are the hindrance in the way of high adaptation of WSNs while the third one will challenge when WSNs are largely deployed. Motivations and contributions of the thesis are also presented in the first chapter. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the literature in the several categories, such as physical layer, MAC layer, networking layer, synchronization and real deployment. Our work in the rest of the thesis is related to the work introduced in this chapter. We present the first result of our research in Chapter 3, which focuses on energy and reliability challenge on link layer. To improve the reliability of a link, we have to know the quality of the link. Thus we firstly analyze and try to improve link quality estimation methods in the chapter. We propose a new method for the estimation of packet delivery ratio which balances estimation accuracy and the overhead it causes. Then Minimum Energy Packet Forwarding (MEPF) protocol is proposed with the purpose of delivering a packet reliable with least amount of energy. MEPF tries to achieve the objective by tuning transmission power online for each packet with respect to the link quality. If a packet is lost, MEPF retransmits it smartly only when the link is considered to be good enough. Experimental results prove that MEPF uses almost the lowest possible transmission power without increasing the packet loss and retransmits a lost packet only once to eventually deliver it. We move a layer up from MAC to the network layer in Chapter 4. We organize a network into a better topology to improve energy efficiency and scalability. Two types of topologies are considered in this chapter, flat and clustered. In the former one each node has the same role while in the latter one nodes are organized into clusters where a node is either a Cluster Head (CH) or a Cluster Member (CM). We firstly analyze why a clustered topology may save energy then we quantify the saving. Since traffic is reduced in a clustered network, less contention or collision is expected and more nodes can communicate simultaneously. Thus a clustered network is highly scalable. To form a cluster topology from a flat one, we propose a cluster forming protocol which selects least amount of CHs which have the highest remaining energy. Thus they can live longer under higher traffic load compared to CMs. Simulation results show the feasibility and performance of the proposed protocol. Chapter 5 improves accuracy of localization, one of the most important WSN applications. One reason for the low accuracy is that the radio coverage of small and inexpensive antennas on sensor nodes, especially those in a Body Area Sensor Networks (BASN), is not omnidirectional. This problem leads to the failure of many localization protocols to achieve good accuracy since they are based on the assumption of omnidirectional antennas. In the chapter we proposed to use multiple receivers to locate a person in the context of a BASN. This method improves localization accuracy from a single receiver by mitigating the errors caused by varied and non-uniform beamwidth of antennas and combating fading with spatial diversity. We test this method in two classes of localization methods. The outcome of experimental results show that the method achieves a higher accuracy than a single receiver. Thus the reliability of localization is improved. Setting up a WSN especially for experiments is cumbersome and time-consuming process. It impacts the ease of use and set up. Thus we propose a framework for flexible and low-cost testbed in Chapter 6. Such a testbed only has sensor motes. Other than experiments, testbed management such as downloading the experimental code, reprogramming, testbed control, logging and collecting experimental results and synchronization are all carried out by the sensor motes wirelessly without extra devices. Thus a low-cost testbed can be set up quickly. A case study which realizes components in the framework is also presented. Finally the results of the thesis are summarized in Chapter 7. Future work is also presented there.TelecommunicationElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Singaporean mothers' perception of their three-year-old child's weight status: A cross-sectional study
Singapore National Research Foundation; National Medical Research Council (NMRC), SingaporeFull Author List: Cheng T.S.; Cheng T.; Loy S.; Cheung Y.; Chan J.; Tint M.; Godfrey K.; Gluckman P.; Kwek K.; Saw S.; Chong Y.; Lee Y.; Yap F.; Lek N.; Sheppard A.; Chinnadurai A.; Goh A.; Rifkin-Graboi A.; Qiu A.; Biswas A.; Lee B.; Broekman B.; Quah B.; Shuter B.; Chng C.; Ngo C.; Hsu S.; Bong C.; Henry C.; Chee C.; Fok D.; Yeo G.; Inskip H.; Chen H.; Van Bever H.; Magiati I.; Wong I.; Lau I.; Kapur J.; Richmond J.; Holbrook J.; Gooley J.; Tan K.; Niduvaje K.; Singh L.; Su L.; Daniel L.; Shek L.; Fortier M.; Hanson M.; Chong M.; Rauff M.; Chua M.; Meaney M.; Teoh O.; Wong P.; Agarwal P.; Van Dam R.; Rebello S.; Chong S.; Cai S.; Soh S.; Lim S.; Rajadurai V.; Stunkel W.; Han W.; Pang W.; Goh Y.; Chan Y.</p
[[alternative]]A Study on the Joining Properties of Al-Cu Alloys by Friction Stir Welding
[[abstract]]Abstract
Among all heat treatment type aluminum alloys, Al-Cu series alloys have been recognized by its high strength, low density and high specific modulus properties. This significant advantage makes it the perfect structural material for aerospace applications. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a unique solid-state joining process that can prevent material from mechanical properties degradation which is caused by segregate, hot cracking, porosity and spatter in fusion welding during the process.
The 2091-T3 and 2024-T651 were selected from Al-Cu series alloys for this study. Individual alloy FSW joint processes were performed for 2091-T3 and 2024-T651 and bi-alloy FSWs for 2091-T3/2024-T651 were made before other steps. After the welding, The aging treatment of the specimens were performed under the condition of naturally (open-air) aged for 30 days and artificially aged under 170°C for 8 hours. After these three types of aging treatment, the microstructures changes and reactions among mechanical properties were examined through the microstructures observations, hardness testing, and tensile test as well as SEM analysis.
The welding path obviously exhibited three microstructural sections through FSW joint. The stir zone (SZ) characteristically exhibited a refined equiaxed grain structure, the thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ) demonstrated macroscopic deformation and grain growth, beyond the TMAZ a heat affected zone (HAZ) where changes were similar to parent metal (PM) with grain organization. 2091-T3 alloy has the highest joint strength of the artificial aging after FSW joint. 2024-T651 alloy showed highest joint strength of the natural aging after FSW joint, but it still lower than the strength of parent metal. The bi-alloys 2091-T3/2024-T651 presented a great joint strength with counterclockwise rotation after FSW joint, investigated by aging treatments with the cylindrical tool in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions.
Optimal design of experiments with simulation models of nearly saturated queues
experimental design;simulation models;queueing network;regression analysis
[[alternative]]A Study on the Adequacy of Test Specifications of Class C Industrial Wiring Skill Test in Taiwan ,R.O.C.
[[abstract]]Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand the adequacy of the Class C industrial wiring skill test. The aim was not only to reflect the underlying issues for the specifications of the Class C skill tests but to shed some light on the improvement of the test contents in the future.
Through existent literature review, the study provided an overall evaluation of related specifications of skill tests and the current state of the licensing system domestically and abroad. Industrial wiring design professionals, industrial experts, and technicians were invited to discuss the adequacy of the current specifications of the skill tests for Class C industrial wiring technician. In addition, with the help of professionals and experts, the researcher conducted three Delphi surveys. By way of the data analysis and discussion in the Delphi investigation, concrete conclusions were emerged.
Most professionals, experts, and technicians suggested that in the current industrial wiring skill tests specification for Class C technician, related knowledge still reached the important degree. The only necessity was to increase several work items and adjust properly the ratio of the individual test item to satisfy the need of the current world of work. In conclusions, this paper suggested that the authorities concerned refer to the results of this study while designing the specification of the industrial wiring skill tests for Class C technician.
Keywords: Industrial Wiring , Skill Test
Designing for crowd well-being: Needs and design suggestions
This paper investigates the needs or criteria for sustaining well-being in crowded situations through two focus group discussions with a total of ten participants. We conclude that pursuing crowd well-being could be divided into two different cases: one is obtaining the enhancement of the current state in normal situations, and the other is avoiding the deficiencies in case of emergencies. The psychological needs are different in these two cases. Crowd members pay attention to higher level of psychological needs, i.e. staying autonomic, connected, competent and respected in the former situation, while their focus will immediately change to low level needs, i.e. safety and security issues, when unexpected things happen. These findings are consistent with Sheldon et al.’s new hierarchy of needs. We also find that all the crowd types mentioned in the focus group discussions could be classified into two categories, namely event crowds and non-event crowds. A crowd can also consist of both event moments (e.g. watching performances or dancing with the crowds) and non-event moments (e.g. waiting in queues). The event crowds are looking for enhancement of their experiences in the crowds, whose needs are usually higher level, whereas the non-event crowds usually cannot help joining the crowds in order to achieve their goals. The event moments when the higher level needs is fulfilled are usually associated with positive moments. The non-event moments when only security is promised and have no support on higher level needs are usually associated with negative moments. To get insights into how crowd well-being is currently fulfilled by crowd management strategies and designs, we investigated a number of influential crowd management literatures. The results reveal that emphasis is placed on supporting the safety. Most strategies focus on preparation and prediction instead sustaining real-time crowd well-being. Most of the designs tend to be coercive instead of respecting the autonomy. In conclusion, designing for crowd well-being could change towards the real-time and aim at fulfilling the higher needs, i.e. autonomy, competence, self-esteem and relatedness on the premise of security.Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin
The Survival and Challenges of Taiwan Green Party
\ue3 This study first verified whether the Green Party conforms to the relationship between party organizational changes and competitiveness through the research method of Wolfgang C. Muller & Barbara Steininger. Based on the public information, financial information and online media information of the Green Party in the past, an attempt was made to establish a dynamic narrative of the Green Party organization.
\ue3\ue3 In addition to changes in the party organization itself, there are also changes in the external environment that set four variables: party membership, party identity, election system, and competitive parties. Test whether the Green Party has adapted to changes in the environment or whether its competitiveness has declined. According to the results of this study, the Green Party is a political party of organized transformation, and the changes before 2011 did have its effect. However, the emergence of competitive parties after 2015 will test the existence of the Green Party.
After establishing its changes, the author finally uses Strom's competitive party behavior and Harmel and Janda's party goals and change theory to describe a small party's survival and change, its goals are not limited to the pursuit of votes, and the organization is adjusted under the pursuit of policies and goals. To survive
Optimal design of simulation experiments with nearly saturated queues
Simulation Models;Interpolation;Queueing Network;Extrapolation
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