The perceived effectiveness of the National Plumbing Competency Test in Taiwan, Republic of China

This study was designed to ascertain the perceptions of the plumbing incumbent workers, supervisors, and vocational educators regarding the current effectiveness of the National Occupational Competency Test in theory and practical aspects in Taiwan, Republic of China;The questionnaire method of data collection was used. A questionnaire was designed and structured into three parts that included the National Plumbing Competency Test critical competencies assessment, the perception assessment and personal information. A total of 112 plumbing incumbent workers, 110 supervisors, and 30 vocational educators responded to the questionnaires;Conclusions drawn from the findings were: (1) There was a high Spearman\u27s rank correlation coefficients between incumbent workers, supervisors, and vocational educators concerning agreement on assigned percentages to the importance of the critical competency factors in an entry level position, and moderate agreement with the National Plumbing Competency Test Committee. (2) Significant differences were found between the National Plumbing Competency Test Committee and the survey groups in terms of assigned percentages to importance of the critical competencies related to reading the blueprint and drawing the manufacture\u27s schematic factors, the accuracy of performance factor, appearance of the product factor, and hydrostatic test factor. (3) Comparison of the incumbent workers, supervisors, and vocational educators perceptions of the National Plumbing Competency Test, overall, the test was perceived more positively by vocational educators than by the incumbent workers and supervisors. (4) Significant differences were found among incumbent workers, supervisors, and vocational educators in terms of the perceptions on the plumbing competency test, the plumbing competency test administration, the test scoring and the interpretation of the plumbing competency test, and the plumbing licensure. (5) Demographic variables, educational level and plumbing working experience contribute significantly to perception toward the National Plumbing Competency Test

What Conflict Minerals Rules Tell Us about the Legal Transplantation of Corporate Social Responsibility Standards without the State: From the United Nations to the United States to Taiwan

To resolve global political and scholarly concerns over conflict minerals (“CM”) produced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring regions, two kinds of CM-related disclosure rules (or “CM rules”) come into play in regulating their use: government-mandated laws such as Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States (hereinafter “Sec. 1502”) and transnational voluntary codes such as the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (“EICC”) Code of Conduct. The creation of both of these CM rules could be attributed to the promotion of such concerns by the United Nations. This article is the first attempt to unpack and closely consider the process of two distinct types of CM rules that are probably transplanted into Taiwan through global supply chains. This article joins a growing body of literature that deepens our understanding of the channels and objects of legal transplants. The findings of the Taiwanese case study are important for two reasons. First, in terms of the transplant process or channels, some Taiwanese companies have started to follow CM rules due to their supply contracts, demonstrating that applicable CM rules might have been transplanted into Taiwan through private channels such as supply contracts, rather than through the formal public channels of legal transplantation initiated by the government. Second, but just as importantly, with regard to transplanted objects, what further distinguishes this article from prior studies is that the Taiwanese case study could indicate that Taiwanese suppliers comply with CM rules established by the EICC more prevalently than those promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act. If so, this would imply that when it comes to adopting or implementing transnational corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) standards in suppliers’ countries or jurisdictions, private CSR standards written by non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) or industries themselves in a bottom-up approach are more effective or more easily accepted than public standards such as state laws enacted by a foreign/national government in a top-down approach

Development of the phase synchronization circuit for wirelessly distributed digital phased array

The Wirelessly Distributed Digital Phased Array (WDDPA) is an ongoing research program at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) which has numerous possible applications in radar and communication systems. The WDDPA incorporates many array elements randomly or nonuniformly in the environment or on a platform. Array elements are synchronized and controlled over a wireless channel. Compared to conventional phased array systems, its advantages are adaptability, survivability and flexibility. Phase synchronization is a critical component of the WDDPA development. The common phase reference is vital to steer the beam and control the radiation pattern for the phased array system. The objective of this paper is to improve the WDDPA synchronization operation. Previous hardware and software architectures were replaced or modified to improve the accuracy and speed of the phase synchronization. A series of experiments, first for hardwired channels, then for wireless channels, were conducted successfully to verify the synchronization operation for two elements. Several problems with the circuit were diagnosed and then addressed. The overall performance of the improved synchronization circuit for the demonstration array was satisfactory, allowing phases to be synchronized within 20° wirelessly. The architecture for the potential successor of the synchronization circuit is introduced. It is more flexible and robust than the current circuit and thus more desirable for future applications of the WDDPA.http://archive.org/details/developmentofpha109454611Republic of China Navy author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

AN ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC FlTNESS TESTING IN FEMALE JUNIOR TENNIS PLAYERS

The purpose of the present study was to determine the anthropometry, physical fitness parameters and compare with USTA normative data. Seven-teen female teenage tennis players who have the Taiwan national level were included in the study. The analysis focused on the examination of muscular strength, endurance, power flexibility, speed and agility. Results showed that (a) there were excellent performances in grip strength of the nondominant hand (7.8%) and hexagon test (8.1 %) scored well relative to USTA normative data. (b) there were needs improvement performance in sit and reach (0.5%) and spider test (6.7%) relative to USTA. In conclusion, this study indicated the identification of weaknesses in flexibility, speed and agility parameters and allows designing efficient physical training programs

Dynamic neural networks for real-time water level predictions of sewerage systems-covering gauged and ungauged sites

[[abstract]]In this research, we propose recurrent neural networks (RNNs) to build a relationship between rainfalls and water level patterns of an urban sewerage system based on historical torrential rain/storm events. The RNN allows signals to propagate in both forward and backward directions, which offers the network dynamic memories. Besides, the information at the current time-step with a feedback operation can yield a time-delay unit that provides internal input information at the next time-step to effectively deal with time-varying systems. The RNN is implemented at both gauged and ungauged sites for 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-min-ahead water level predictions. The results show that the RNN is capable of learning the nonlinear sewerage system and producing satisfactory predictions at the gauged sites. Concerning the ungauged sites, there are no historical data of water level to support prediction. In order to overcome such problem, a set of synthetic data, generated from a storm water management model (SWMM) under cautious verification process of applicability based on the data from nearby gauging stations, are introduced as the learning target to the training procedure of the RNN and moreover evaluating the performance of the RNN at the ungauged sites. The results demonstrate that the potential role of the SWMM coupled with nearby rainfall and water level information can be of great use in enhancing the capability of the RNN at the ungauged sites. Hence we can conclude that the RNN is an effective and suitable model for successfully predicting the water levels at both gauged and ungauged sites in urban sewerage systems.[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙