Exploring the Influential Factors of Manufacturers’ Initial Intention in Applying for the Green Mark EcoLabel in Taiwan

Shu-Chiang Lin,Satria Fadil Persada,Reny Nadlifatin,Hsiang-Yu Tsai,Chih-Hsing Chu 한국정밀공학회 2015 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.2 No.4

The Green Mark eco-label constitutes an essential program introduced by Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration to support environmental protection. In the manufacturing industry, the Green Mark eco-label is intended to enable differentiating between manufacturers that apply green processes and those that do not. This paper presents an assessment model for identifying manufacturers’ initial intention to apply the Green Mark eco-label. The model was derived from the certification process flow. A total of 200 structured questionnaires were distributed to manufacturers in Taiwan, and 172 responses were retrieved. The model was analyzed by applying structural equation modeling, and the correlation of review process and end certification process exhibited the strongest correlation. Improving the document verification stage is highly likely to increase the overall initial intention ofmanufacturers to participate in the Green Mark eco-label program. The overall certification process contributed 16% to the total initial intention of manufacturers to apply the Green Mark eco-label to their products.

Behavioral Based Safety Implementation to Improve Industrial Safety in Taiwan Local Industries

Shu-Chiang Lin,Guanhuah Chen,Ilma Mufidah 대한인간공학회 2014 대한인간공학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2014 No.5

Since the 1970s, practicing of Behavior-based safety (BBS) concept among some developed countries has been considered as an effective technique to tackle occupational safety and health issues. BASF, Dow Chemical and Toyota Motor are some big corporations that have been creating their own plans to implement BBS programs. BBS was first introduced to Taiwan’s industries in the past decade. Although many companies from different local industries begin to follow the same paths of implementing BBS programs by either directly use or adapt these big foreign corporations’ plans, the results are not quite as promising as the local companies wished. Because of the plans ineffectiveness, local companies don’t see the need to further promote such plans. This study takes aim at the reasons that may contribute to the ineffectiveness of the BBS programs when they were implemented locally. This study also strives to build a model and strategy that fits for Taiwan’s local industries with means of extensive literature review and through on-site survey of local industries that have implemented the BBS plans. Three local companies, each represents different industry, participated our on-site survey, and a TO-DOIT model was proposed in our research. Specifically, our TO-DOIT model is a revision that is extended from researcher Geller’s DOIT model. The DOIT is an abbreviation of define, observe, intervene, and influence, while our TO-DOIT is to promote the top management support and full participation as foundations for DOIT. Fitful locally, our TO-DOIT model is capable of assisting Taiwan’s local industries to promote safe behavior. A true practice of TO-DOIT model shows that after its implementation in a local company, the injury rate decreased from 39 in 2005 to 20 in 2010, injury frequency rate decreased from 0.75 in 2005 to 0.09 in 2010, and the aggregate damage index decreased from 0.17 in 2005 to 0.04 in 2010. In conclusion, the proposed TO-DOIT model is much more effective and fits better to Taiwan’s local industries in promoting BBS.

Exploring Taiwan Government`s Safety Culture Improvement Program in Local Metal Industry through Questionnaire Evaluation and Workers’ Background Influence Identification

Shu-Chiang Lin,Ilma Mufidah 대한인간공학회 2014 대한인간공학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2014 No.5

According to Taiwan’s Council of Labor Affairs (CLA)’s occupational accident statistics in 2012, unsafe behavior contributed to 80% accidents in local manufacturing industries. Some programs are introduced by the government to br ing down the accident rates. One such program aims to improve safety and environmental health through counseling for local manufacturing industries by conducting safety culture assessment using questionnaire th a t i s der ived from s ome literatures o f safety culture. However, researchers also stated that the use of questionnaire to measure safety culture is not without limitations. This research hence will evaluate the questionnaire that is being used, and to identify the influence of the workers background to safety climate based on the evaluated questionnaire result s that were conducted among more than 700 local metal industries’ workers. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and ANOVA analysis will be used to evaluate the questionnaire and identify the workers influence. Preliminary result shows that the overall safety climate score was good and some, but not all, workers’ background significantly related to safety climate. A revision of the questionnaire is also recommended.

Behavioral Based Safety Implementation to Improve Industrial Safety in Taiwan Local Industries

( Shu Chiang Lin ),( Guanhuah Chen ),( Ilma Mufidah ) 한국감성과학회 2014 춘계학술대회 Vol.2014 No.-

Since the 1970s, practicing of Behavior-based safety (BBS) concept among some developed countries has been considered as an effective technique to tackle occupational safety and health issues. BASF, Dow Chemical and Toyota Motor are some big corporations that have been creating their own plans to implement BBS programs. BBS was first introduced to Taiwan`s industries in the past decade. Although many companies from different local industries begin to follow the same paths of implementing BBS programs by either directly use or adapt these big foreign corporations`plans, the results are not quite as promising as the local companies wished. Because of the plans ineffectiveness, local companies don`t see the need to further promote such plans. This study takes aim at the reasons that may contribute to the ineffectiveness of the BBS programs when they were implemented locally. This study also strives to build a model and strategy that fits for Taiwan`s local industries with means of extensive literature review and through on-site survey of local industries that have implemented the BBS plans. Three local companies, each represents different industry, participated our on-site survey, and a TO-DOIT model was proposed in our research. Specifically, our TO-DOIT model is a revision that is extended from researcher Geller`s DOIT model. The DOIT is an abbreviation of define, observe, intervene, and influence, while our TO-DOIT is to promote the top management support and full participation as foundations for DOIT.

Factors Related to Treatment Refusal in Taiwanese Cancer Patients

Chiang, Ting-Yu,Wang, Chao-Hui,Lin, Yu-Fen,Chou, Shu-Lan,Wang, Ching-Ting,Juang, Hsiao-Ting,Lin, Yung-Chang,Lin, Mei-Hsiang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.8

Background: Incidence and mortality rates for cancer have increased dramatically in the recent 30 years in Taiwan. However, not all patients receive treatment. Treatment refusal might impair patient survival and life quality. In order to improve this situation, we proposed this study to evaluate factors that are related to refusal of treatment in cancer patients via a cancer case manager system. Materials and Methods: This study analysed data from a case management system during the period from 2010 to 2012 at a medical center in Northern Taiwan. We enrolled a total of 14,974 patients who were diagnosed with cancer. Using the PRECEDE Model as a framework, we conducted logistic regression analysis to identify independent variables that are significantly associated with refusal of therapy in cancer patients. A multivariate logistic regression model was also applied to estimate adjusted the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: A total of 253 patients (1.69%) refused treatment. The multivariate logistic regression result showed that the high risk factors for refusal of treatment in cancer patient included: concerns about adverse effects (p<0.001), poor performance(p<0.001), changes in medical condition (p<0.001), timing of case manager contact (p=.026), the methods by which case manager contact patients (p<0.001) and the frequency that case managers contact patients (${\geq}10times$) (p=0.016). Conclusions: Cancer patients who refuse treatment have poor survival. The present study provides evidence of factors that are related to refusal of therapy and might be helpful for further application and improvement of cancer care.

Trends in incidence and survival outcome of epithelial ovarian cancer: 30-year national population-based registry in Taiwan

Ying-Cheng Chiang,Chi-An Chen,Chun-Ju Chiang,Tsui-Hsia Hsu,Ming-Chieh Lin,San-Lin You,Wen-Fang Cheng,Mei-Shu Lai 대한부인종양학회 2013 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.24 No.4

Objective: To investigate the changes of incidence and prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer in thirty years in Taiwan. Methods: The databases of women with epithelial ovarian cancer during the period from 1979 to 2008 were retrieved from the National Cancer Registration System of Taiwan. The incidence and prognosis of these patients were analyzed. Results: Totally 9,491 patients were included in the study. The age-adjusted incidences of epithelial ovarian cancer were 1.01, 1.37, 2.37, 3.24, 4.18, and 6.33 per 100,000 person-years, respectively, in every 5-year period from 1979 to 2008. The age-specific incidence rates increased especially in serous, endometrioid and clear cell carcinoma, and the age of diagnosis decreased from sixty to fifty years old in the three decades. Patients with mucinous, endometrioid, or clear cell carcinoma had better long-term survival than patients with serous carcinoma (log rank test, p<0.001). Patients with undifferentiated carcinoma or carcinosarcoma had poorer survival than those with serous carcinoma (log rank test, p<0.001). The mortality risk of age at diagnosis of 30-39 was significantly higher than that of age of 70 years or more (test for trend, p<0.001). The mortality risk decreased from the period of 1996-1999 (hazard ratio [HR], 0.90; p=0.054) to the period after 2000 (HR, 0.74; p<0.001) as compared with that from the period of 1991-1995. Conclusion: An increasing incidence and decreasing age of diagnosis in epithelial ovarian cancer patients were noted. Histological type, age of diagnosis, and treatment period were important prognostic factors for epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

Exploring Taiwan Government`s Safety Culture Improvement Program in Local Metal Industry through Questionnaire Evaluation and Workers`Background Influence Identification

( Ilma Mufidah ),( Shu Chiang Lin ),( Sri Gunani Partiwi ) 한국감성과학회 2014 춘계학술대회 Vol.2014 No.-

According to Taiwan Council of Labor Affairs (CLA)`s occupational accident statistics and annual reports, unsafe behavior contributed to 80% accidents in local manufacturing industries. Some programs are introduced by the government to bring down the accident rates. One such program aims to improve safety and environmental health through counseling for local manufacturing industries by conducting safety culture assessment using questionnaire that is derived from some literatures of safety culture. However, researchers also stated that the use of questionnaire to measure safety culture is not without limitations. This research hence will evaluate the questionnaire that is being used for its effectiveness, and to identify the influence of the workers background to safety climate based on the evaluated questionnaire results that were conducted among more than 700 local metal industries`workers. Confirmatory factor analysis, Structural Equation modeling and statistical analysis will be used to evaluate the questionnaire and identify the workers influence. A revised questionnaire and a model of safety culture with workers background influence are to be proposed.

Exploring Forecast Error and the Informational Content of Implied Volatility in the Taiwan Market

Chi-Tai Lin,Yen-Hsien Lee,Shu-Mei Chiang 한국증권학회 2012 Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies Vol.41 No.5

This paper employs the autoregressive conditional jump intensity model, incorporating a forecast error, to investigate the relationships between the changes in the implied volatility and the relevant determinants in the Taiwan market. We further apply the orthogonality test to explore forecast error and content of information. The empirical results show that the changes in the implied volatility are affected by the contemporaneous returns, lagged returns,lagged changes in the implied volatility, contemporaneous daily changes in the realized volatility and lagged forecast error. At the same time, these results are consistent with the behavioral explanations of Hibbert et al. [Journal of Banking and Finance (2008) vol. 32, pp. 2254–2266]. We also demonstrate that the implied volatility in Taiwan seems to be an efficient forecast of future realized volatility during the whole of the sample period, except for the financial crisis period.

Functional properties of the major outer membrane protein in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

Yih-Yuan Chen,Han-Chiang Wu,Juey-Wen Lin,Shu-Fen Weng 한국미생물학회 2015 The journal of microbiology Vol.53 No.8

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an opportunistic pathogen that is closely associated with high morbidity and mortality in debilitated and immunocompromised individuals. Therefore, to investigate the pathogenesis mechanism is urgently required. However, there are very few studies to evaluate the functional properties of outer membrane protein, which may contribute to the pathogenesis in S. maltophilia. In this study, three abundant proteins in the outer membrane fraction of S. maltophilia were identified by liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry as OmpW1, MopB, and a hypothetical protein. MopB, a member of the OmpA family, was firstly chosen for functional investigation in this study because many OmpA-family proteins are known to be involved in pathogenesis and offer potential as vaccines. Membrane fractionation analyses demonstrated that MopB was indeed the most abundant outer membrane protein (OMP) in S. maltophilia. For functional studies, the mopB mutant of S. maltophilia (SmMopB) was constructed by insertional mutation. MopB deficiency resulted in a change in the protein composition of OMPs and altered the architecture of the outer membrane. The SmMopB strain exhibited reduced cytotoxicity toward L929 fibroblasts and was more sensitive to numerous stresses, including human serum, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and hydrogen peroxide compared with wildtype S. maltophilia. These results suggest that MopB may be a good candidate for the design of vaccines or anti-MopB drugs for controlling serious nosocomial infections of multidrug- resistant S. maltophilia, especially in immunosuppressed patients.

Survival benefit of patients with early-stage ovarian carcinoma treated with paclitaxel chemotherapeutic regimens

Chien-An Chen,Chun-Ju Chiang,Yun-Yuan Chen,San-Lin You,Shu-Feng Hsieh,Chao-Hsiun Tang,Wen-Fang Cheng 대한부인종양학회 2018 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.29 No.1

Objective: Adjuvant chemotherapy was introduced in patients with early-stage ovarian cancer (OC). The benefit of standard chemotherapeutic regimens including taxane has not been established. Methods: Patients with early-stage OC from the National Health Insurance Research database of Taiwan who received platinum plus cyclophosphamide (CP) or platinum plus paclitaxel (PT) for 3–6 cycles were recruited, and the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were determined. Results: A total of 1,510 early-stage OC patients, including 841 who received CP regimen and 699 who received PT regimen, were included. The 2 groups had a similar estimated probability of 5-year DFS (PT vs. CP, 79.0% vs. 77.6%; p=0.410) and OS (84.6% vs. 84.3%; p=0.691). Patients >50 years of age who received the CP regimen had a lower 5-year DFS than the patients ≤50 years of age who received the CP (p<0.001) or PT regimens (p=0.001). Additionally, patients >50 years of age who received the CP regimen had a worse 5-year OS compared with the other 3 groups (p=0.019) (p=0.179 for patients >50 years of age in the PT group; p=0.002 for patients ≤50 years of age in the CP group; and p=0.061 for patients ≤50 years of age in the PT group). Patients with the CP or PT regimen for 3–5 cycles had a similar 5-year DFS and OS compared to 6 cycles (p>0.050). Conclusion: Chemotherapeutic regimens with taxane could be recommended for early-stage OC patients >50 years of age.