Embodying nation in food consumption : changing boundaries of "Taiwanese cuisine" (1895-2008)

This dissertation examines the transformations of “Taiwanese cuisine” under three different political regimes. In the Japanese colonial era, “Taiwanese cuisine” emerged as food for the elite and as the “food of the colony.” However, the arrival of the Nationalist government and migrants from mainland China transplanted a condensed Chinese culinary map to Taiwan, while Taiwanese cuisine became a regional cuisine which was placed at a much lower level in the culinary hierarchy. After the establishment of the Democratic Progressive Party government in 2000, Taiwanese cuisine was imbued with symbolic meanings and began to be viewed as a “distinctive national cuisine.” The exploration of Taiwanese cuisine shows that “national cuisine” is a relational and performative concept, as well as a commercial product. Nationhood, in the context of food, can render itself perceivable only to those who perceive the symbolic meanings of cuisine or those who embed meanings in particular dishes. It thus suggests that there are three stages leading to the embodiment of nationhood in food consumption and which together form a circle. First, specific cuisines are symbolized and performed as “national.” Second, the symbolized cuisines are commodified. Finally, only when consumers perceive and practice these cuisines as national, nationhood can be embodied in these particular cuisines.LEI Universiteit LeidenThe Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange and the Institute of Taiwan History of Academia Sinica, Taiwan.Asian Studie

THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PLYOMETRIC-SQUAT TRAINING ON TAEKWONDO POWER DEVELOPMENT IN THE LOWER EXTREMITY

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect on three different training methods by combining the typical plyometric training method (drop jump) and traditional weight training (112squat). The subjects were fifteen male high school athletes. The training duration for all subjects was eight weeks, and the frequency was twice a week. One Kistler force plate was used to record the power abilities of the subjects performing counter-movement jump (CMJ) and one PEAK camera (120 Hz) was also used to record the Axe-kicking movement time. Based on the results of this study, combining the vertical drop jump and horizontal drop jump with weight training could improve the maximum power and Axe-kick movement time. Therefore, it is important to consider the movement specific character when the muscular strength training of Taekwondo athletes

Effect of B2O3 and P2O5 on fluorosilicic mica glass-ceramic sintering process

To study the effect of B2O3 and P2O5 on fluorosilicic mica glass-ceramic sintering process, six sets of K2O-MgO-SiO2-F glasses were prepared by using B2O3 and P2O5 as sintering aid, respectively. Green bodies of the glass powder were formed by gel casting and sintered at 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000oC for 6 hours, resectively. The sintering and crystallization behavior were studied by thermal shrinkage , X-ray diffraction and SEM. The results showed that the shrinkage rate of the glass with 2wt% B2O3 and P2O5 was highest, while the rate of the glass with 5wt% P2O5 was lowest. An additional crystal other than fluorosilicic mica was precipitated in the glass ceramics generated by sintering of glass powder. The present results confirmed that the glass powder of pure K2O-MgO-SiO2-Fsystem had poor sinterability, while glass powder with minor addition of P2O5 and/or B2O3 showed good sinterability. This result was also verified by SEM

A Comparative Study of fBf_B within QCD Sum Rules with Two Typical Correlators up to Next-to-Leading Order

The B-decay constant $f_B$ is an important component for studying $B$-meson decays, which can be studied through QCD sum rules. We make a detailed discussion on $f_B$ from two sum rules, i.e. sum rules I and II, which are derived from the conventional correlator and the correlator with chiral currents respectively. It is found that these two sum rules are consistent with each other. However, the sum rules II has less uncertainty sources than that of sum rules I, and then it can be more accurate if we know the dimension-four gluon condensate well. It is found that $f_B$ decreases with the increment of $m_b$, and to compare with the Belle experimental data on $f_B$, both sum rules prefer smaller pole $b$-quark mass, $m_b=4.68\pm0.07$ GeV. By varying all the input parameters in their reasonable region and adding all the uncertainties together in quadrature, we obtain $f_B=172^{+23}_{-25}$ MeV for sum rules I and $f_B=214_{-34}^{+26}$ MeV for sum rules II.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. To match the printed version. To be published in Communications in Theoretical Physic

Thermoplastic composite beam structures from mixtures of recycled HDPE and rubber crumb for acoustic energy absorption

The use of recycled rubber crumb in the design and production of thermoplastic-rubber composites as sound absorbers can provide solutions to noise pollution and for the recovery of post-consumer materials from both packaging and waste tyres. The work of this study is concerned with the effect of rubber crumb incorporation in high density polyethylene (HDPE) and also in HDPE glass-fibre composites on acoustic, mechanical and physical properties. Recycled HDPE compounds containing variable concentrations of cured rubber crumb particles were prepared by twin screw extrusion. Thermal analysis has revealed a significant increase in the level of crystallinity of the HDPE component by increasing the rubber content in the mixes. Standard three-point bending and notched impact test specimens were manufactured by injection moulding and large-scale beam samples were produced by compression moulding using an ad-hoc method that allows variation of the through-thickness elastomer content as a means of obtaining composition gradients. The flexural modulus and impact strength varied monotonically with rubber crumb concentration. A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) technique was used to determine the acoustic performance of the beams over a wide frequency range. The graded structures produced large improvements in acoustic absorption properties in the frequency range 2-6 kHz, notably from composite beams containing 20% rubber and also in some multilayer beams with rubber concentration gradients

Novel species of Calonectria associated with Eucalyptus leaf blight in Southeast China

Leaf blight caused by Calonectria spp. is an important disease occurring on Eucalyptus trees grown in plantations of Southeast Asia. Symptoms of leaf blight caused by Calonectria spp. have recently been observed in commercial Eucalyptus plantations in FuJian Province in Southeast China. The aim of this study was to identify these Calonectria spp. employing morphological characteristics, DNA sequence comparisons for the β-tubulin, histone H3 and translation elongation factor-1α gene regions and sexual compatibility. Four Calonectria spp. were identified, including Ca. pauciramosa and three novel taxa described here as Ca. crousiana, Ca. fujianensis and Ca. pseudocolhounii. Inoculation tests showed that all four Calonectria spp. found in this study were pathogenic on two different E. urophylla × E. grandis hybrid clones, commercially utilised in eucalypt plantations in China

Analysis and Development of Emergency Management Information System for Railway Systems in Taiwan

Railway is one of the most efficient, convenient, and comfortable ways with maximum mobility to meet people. Railway accidents or disasters often cause delays and service interruptions, resulting in operational and other loss. Despite many railway systems in Taiwan having a variety of monitoring systems for natural disasters, they still need an efficient platform for the emergency management of disasters and accidents since time and efficiency are the keys to emergency management. This study aims to fill in this gap by developing an emergency management information system for Railway Systems in Taiwan, i.e. “Railway Emergency Management Information System”, to support railway emergency management center and its sub-divisions in resource management, communication, messaging, and information sharing among different groups. The system includes many features that will improve communications between emergency management center and the mobile emergency management center to facilitate the progress of the disaster control units and dispatching at the disaster site. The study’s information system has been designated by local railway administration as the core system and starts trial since February 2012. Information requirement analysis, framework and design of the aforementioned information system will be discussed in this paper. It is hoped that the present study's information system research will help improve the emergency response of railway administration and provide safer rail transport service for the passengers

Enumeration of bilaterally symmetric 3-noncrossing partitions

Schutzenberger's theorem for the ordinary RSK correspondence naturally extends to Chen et. al's correspondence for matchings and partitions. Thus the counting of bilaterally symmetric $k$-noncrossing partitions naturally arises as an analogue for involutions. In obtaining the analogous result for 3-noncrossing partitions, we use a different technique to develop a Maple package for 2-dimensional vacillating lattice walk enumeration problems. The package also applies to the hesitating case. As applications, we find several interesting relations for some special bilaterally symmetric partitions.Comment: 22 page

Heat transport of electron-doped Cobaltates

Within the t-J model, the heat transport of electron-doped cobaltates is studied based on the fermion-spin theory. It is shown that the temperature dependent thermal conductivity is characterized by the low temperature peak located at a finite temperature. The thermal conductivity increases monotonously with increasing temperature at low temperatures T $<$ 0.1$J$, and then decreases with increasing temperature for higher temperatures T $>$ 0.1$J$, in qualitative agreement with experimental result observed from Na$_{x}$CoO$_{2}$ .Comment: 4 pages, 1 fig, corrected typos, accepted for publication in Commun. Theor. Phy