An Empirical Study on the Business Performance of Freight Forwarding：A Case Study of an Ocean Freight Forwarder

[[abstract]]The purpose of this paper is to analyze the business performance of an ocean freight forwarder based on this company’s practical data. The input and output variables related to the business operating of case company are first developed. By using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), the operating efficiency of each shipping line is calculated. As a result, the relationship among the relative efficiency, enterprise environmental factors and profitability is examined to understand the overall business performance and the relative efficiency differs significantly among the different operating region. The Mainland China region which nearby Taiwan have the highest relative efficiency, followed by short-sea region and deep-sea region respectively. In conclusion, the technical efficiency, all the relative efficiency values are affected by season. Both the pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency are more higher in the first season than the second. Besides, the relative efficiency have significantly positive vary with profitability. In other words, the higher technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency all can lead to the higher operating revenue and profit margin.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]EI[[booktype]]電子

Cross-country comparisons of student stress source

[[abstract]]This study investigated level and sources of stress among university students in the districts of Taiwan, NZ, and USA. The study was a cross sectional survey and the population comprised convenient samples. A questionnaire was designed by the researchers and validated through expert judgment. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and ANOVA for the research questions. The results indicated extracted factors are different in three countries, the degree of attention according to communication with teacher, teachers’ feature, academic feature, anxiety, employment and social context. Students feel depressed when they confront with stress and that will deter their learning. In the research we traced the source of stress and made comparison among three countries, finding out possible solution and giving some suggestions for the future application.[[notice]]補正完

Using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to evaluate the operational efficiency

[[abstract]]The purpose of this study is to implement a measurement of performance methods for the ocean freight forwarder. It also intends to identify various factors that significantly affect the operational efficiency of the operation of ocean freight forwarder. This paper is the first attempt to apply data envelopment analysis (DEA) to develop performance measurement for ocean freight forwarder as an example in the competitive global logistics market. The use of DEA can be easily modified or extended to similar settings for other companies, in other oceanic regions such as short sea and deep sea.[[incitationindex]]SSCI[[booktype]]紙

Are Real Exchange Rates Nonlinear with a Unit Root? Evidence on Purchasing Power Parity for China: A Note

This article applies the threshold autoregressive model proposed by Caner and Hansen (2001) to examine both linearity and stationarity of China's real exchange rate vis-à-vis her 9 trading partner countries over the period of January 1986 to October 2009. Two main conclusions are drawn. Firstly, the empirical results indicate that China's real exchange is a nonlinear process. Secondly, a unit root in real exchange rate was found for most of the cases under study. This result provides no support for purchasing power parity for China relative to their major trading partner countries.Threshold Autoregressive Model; Linearity and Stationarity, Purchasing Power Parity; Threshold Unit Root Test

Risk Factors for Chronic Kidney Disease in Older Adults with Hyperlipidemia and/or Cardiovascular Diseases in Taipei City, Taiwan: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Analysis

[[abstract]]This cross-sectional study aimed to compare risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in older adults with or without dyslipidemia and/or cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Taipei City, Taiwan. The data on 2912 participants with hyperlipidemia and/or CVD and 14,002 healthy control participants derived from the Taipei City Elderly Health Examination Database (2010 to 2011) were analyzed. The associations between conventional CKD risk factors and CKD were comparable between participants with and without hyperlipidemia. Participants with high uric acid and BUN had a higher risk of CKD if they also had hyperlipidemia and CVD [odds ratio (OR) in uric acid = 1.572, 95% CI 1.186–2.120, p < 0.05; OR in BUN = 1.271, 95% CI 1.181–1.379, p < 0.05]. The effect was smaller in participants with hyperlipidemia only (OR in uric acid = 1.291, 95% CI 1.110–1.507, p < 0.05; OR in BUN = 1.169, 95% CI 1.122–1.221, p < 0.05). The association between uric acid/BUN and CKD was also observed in the healthy population and participants with CVD only. In conclusion, older adults with hyperlipidemia and CVD are at high of CKD. Physicians should be alert to the potential for CKD in older patients with hyperlipidemia and CVD.[[notice]]補正完

Association between lifestyle factors and decreased kidney function in older adults: a community-based cross-sectional analysis of the Taipei City elderly health examination database

[[abstract]]Background: Impaired kidney function is the hallmark of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and is associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality in the elderly. In the present cross-sectional population-based study, we aimed to evaluate the associations between lifestyle factors (exercise habit, alcohol consumption, smoking history, and betel nut chewing) and decreased kidney function. Methods: The data from the Taipei City Elderly Health Examination Database (2006 to 2012) were extracted. Associations between risk factors and reduced estimated Glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were evaluated by regression and stratification analyses. Results: A total of 297,603 participants were included in the final analysis, and 29.7% of them had reduced eGFR. Smoking was significantly associated with an elevated risk of reduced eGFR. While, physical exercise conferred to a significantly decreased adjusted odds ratio (aOR) in reduced eGFR (regular exercise, aOR = 0.79; occasional exercise, aOR = 0.87). Furthermore, the protective effect of exercise habit against reduced eGFR was not affected by comorbid conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Conclusions: Engaging in physical exercise was beneficially associated with reduced eGFR in older individuals. Longitudinal or prospective studies are warranted for confirmation and extrapolation of the current findings.[[notice]]補正完

Applying Computer Simulation to Analyze the Normal Approximation of Binomial Distribution

[[abstract]]Many statistical analyses were implicitly based on the normal distribution, and as a consequence, researchers would need to adopt the central limit theorem to perform the subsequent data analysis. When applying the central limit theorem, the sample size should be 30 or above in order to have the sampling distribution of sample means to be approximated to the normal distribution. Chang et al. (2006 and 2008) showed that when applying the central limit theorem, the sample size should vary depending on the probability distribution type. As a result, the present study examined if the sample size suggested by many textbooks for using the central limit theorem is appropriate. This study uses computer simulation on approximation of the binomial distribution to the normal distribution. It is to explore the minimum sample size required for a binomial distribution to approximate the normal distribution and be replaced by the normal distribution.[[notice]]補正完

A Structured Approach to Locate the Technological Position by Technology Knowledge Redundancy ─Patent Citation Network Perspective

[[abstract]]This study approaches the relative position of a company in technological network based on patent citation of the cloud computing industry. It integrates the PCA with the patent family to obtain a complete data set for later analysis. After that, the Technology Knowledge Redundancy in the PCN has TKS/TKR indicators for analysis. Moreover, the changes in the technological positions before and after patent transfer revealed three patent acquisition strategies namely: strengthening foothold by enhancing barriers, a cash cow for non- practicing entities (NPE), and a shortcut for peripheral and new entrants. After patent transfer, more companies obtained high and low positions in the technological network and gained abundant and decreased resources. This fact reveals that the unchanged dichotomy in technological transfer. In order to obtain high positions in the technology industry and gain cooperation opportunities, marginal or new entrants of the technological field would need to acquire patents with high TKS/TKR.[[notice]]補正完

Simultaneous Perspective-Based Mixed-Model Assembly Line Balancing Problem

[[abstract]]In this paper, we discuss a mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with multi-manned workstations, where workers simultaneously perform different tasks on the same product and workstation. This situation requires that the product is large-sized such as vehicle's manufacturing. A mathematical model for the mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with simultaneous production (MALBPS) is developed to decide the optimal number of workstations. A coding system, Four-Position Code (FPC), is proposed to re-code the tasks to tackle this issue, and a computerized coding program written in C++ to generate those FPCs is also provided. An illustrative example has been solved by Lingo 9.0 extended version, and the simulation analyses and some computational properties of the model are also given.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]EI[[booktype]]紙

Targeting the Post-80’s Market: An MCDM Approach

[[abstract]]The post 80’s generation has recently been becoming the main consumer base. The existing literature on the post 80’s generation, however, emphasizes social, macro-economic, and reflections on materialism perspectives rather than their standpoint as an influential consumer in terms of marketing positioning. This study presents a consequences process showing a Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer searching for an appropriate agent in East China in terms of an Multiple Criterion Decision Making (MCDM) method. Subsequently, the survey results revealed some useful information on post 80’s smartphone users. The conclusion provides numerous research directions that are worth following for the study of targeting post 80’s consumers.[[incitationindex]]EI[[booktype]]紙