From the “Twenty-five Ladies’ Tomb” to a “Memorial Park for Women Laborers”: Gender, Religion, and the Politics of Memory in Taiwan’s Urban Renewal

This essay looks at the recent renovation of the Twenty-five Ladies’ Tomb, and examines the politics of the feminist movements and the politics of memory as they are expressed through different meanings of female ghosts, in southern Taiwan. People who were involved in the renovation process included the families of the deceased “twenty-five maidens,” the Kaohsiung city government, and feminist groups in Kaohsiung and elsewhere in Taiwan – most notably the Kaohsiung Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights – all of whom had different considerations and therefore diverse expectations regarding the future and purpose of the tomb. In Specters of Marx (2006), Derrida uses the idea of “specters” and “haunting” as consequences of historical injustice and tragedy metaphorically but powerfully. These two elements come together in our essay as well. However, the “ghosts” in our accounts are more literally ghosts with whom some (if not all) of our ethnographic subjects interact. They appear, express their sorrow, and demonstrate their grievances. The reestablishment of peace and order essential to residents of both the living world and the afterlife thus hinges upon mutual understanding and close collaboration between them. Yet, as meanings are constantly contested, so is the nature of the deceased’s requests. The different interpretations that the (living) socio-political forces give to the deceased’s needs open up new terrains of contestation for the memory of the past and the rights and obligations at the present. Ghosts are agencies that inform changes in the social life of the living

Looking again at Taiwan's Lü Hsiu-lien: A female vice president or a feminist vice president?

In 2000, Lü Hsiu-lien was elected Taiwan's first female vice president, adding to the striking successes of Asian women in electoral politics. Lü differs from the majority of Asia's "ruling women" in two key respects: she was elected without reliance on "dynastic descent" and she has a long track record as a feminist activist. Her position as both a pioneering feminist and a female vice president prompts us to ask whether she was able to promote a pro-woman agenda during her tenure as vice president. We conclude that despite constraints on Lü's pursuit of an overt feminist agenda-including the patriarchal political culture and a gap between Lü and Taiwan's contemporary feminist movement-she is significant as a female leader who transcends both the Asian dynastic model and the tokenistic model of women as "flower vases," while also contributing vitally to the development of an indigenous Taiwanese feminist theory

Constraints on Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity from GRB 170817A

In this work we focus on a toy model: (3+1)-dimensional Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity coupling with an anisotropic electromagnetic (EM) field which is generated through a Kaluza-Klein reduction of a (4+1)-dimensional Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity. This model exhibits a remarkable feature that it has the same velocity for both gravitational and electromagnetic waves. This feature makes it possible to restrict the parameters of the theory from GRB 170817A. In this work we use this feature to discuss possible constraints on the parameter $\beta$ in the theory, by analyzing the possible Lorentz invariance violation effect of the GRB 170817A. This is achieved by analyzing potential time delay of gamma-ray photons in this event. It turns out that it places a stringent constraint on this parameter. In the most ideal case, it gives $|1-\sqrt{\beta}|<(10^{-19}-10^{-18})$.Comment: 21 pages, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in EPJ

Determination and Validation of Parameters for Riedel-Hiermaier-Thoma Concrete Model

Numerical modelling of the complex physical processes such as concrete structures subjected to high-impulsive loads relies on suitable material models appropriate for impact and explosion problems. One of theextensive used concrete material models, the RHT model, contains all essential features of concrete materialssubjected to high dynamic loading. However, the application of the RHT model requires a set of material propertiesand model parameters without which reliable results cannot be expected. The present paper provides adetailed valuation of the RHT model and proposes a method of determining the model parameters for C40 concrete.Furthermore, the dynamic compressive and tensile strength function of the model formulation are modified toenhance the performance of the model as implemented in the hydrocode AUTODYN. The performance of thedetermined parameters of the modified RHT model is demonstrated by comparing to available experimentaldata, and further verified via simulations of physical experiments of concrete penetration by steel projectiles.The results of numerical analyses are found closely match the penetration depth and the crater size in the frontsurface of the concrete targets.Defence Science Journal, 2013, 63(5), pp.524-530, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.63.386

Bridging the Digital Divide: A Case Study of Middle-age Women in Taiwan

This article reports a study of how middle-age and elder women adopt ICT through the social intervention and support from the non-profit organizations (NPOs) which they are associated with. By interviewing 30 participants of the Taiwan Women Up project, we reveal the barriers that may hinder women from learning ICT and the forces which can facilitate women in their adoption of ICT at three levels: individual, family and social group. Our findings show that, for our participants who are middle-class housewives over 40, their bonding with the NPOs serves as the main force for them to join the Taiwan Women Up project and adopt ICT. When ICT related difficulty occurs, they approach to the members of the NPOs and receive support from them while their families turn them down initially. After this project, the participants develop confidence and, accordingly, the digital divide is narrowed. Yet, there is little sign that any change of the traditional gender role has occurred

Relationship between serum albumin and pulse wave velocity in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Li-Tao Cheng1, Li-Jun Tang1,2, Hui-Min Chen1,3, Wen Tang1, Tao Wang11Division of Nephrology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China; 2Division of Nephrology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Ji&rsquo;nan, China; 3Division of Cardiology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaBackground: Hypoalbuminemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular events and mortality in dialysis patients, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Meanwhile, increased pulse wave velocity (PWV), the marker of arterial stiffness, has been proved to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease. The relationship between serum albumin and PWV in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients (CAPD) was studied.Methods: Sixty-two CAPD patients were studied. The average age was 63 &plusmn; 12 years and dialysis duration was 23 &plusmn; 22 months. Serum albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and carotid-femoral PWV were measured.Results: Among these patients, 43.5% were men. The mean serum albumin concentration was 37 &plusmn; 4 g/L and PWV was 11.9 &plusmn; 2.3 m/s. PWV positively correlated with age (r = 0.35, P &lt; 0.01), diabetes (yes = 1, no = 0; r = 0.292, P &lt; 0.05), systolic blood pressure (SBP; r = 0.493, P &lt; 0.001) and CRP (r = 0.295, P &lt; 0.05), but negatively correlated with serum albumin (r = &minus;0.357, P &lt; 0.01). In multiple regression analysis, SBP (&beta; = 0.615, P &lt; 0.001), age (&beta; = 0.414, P &lt; 0.01), albumin (&beta; = &minus;0.315, P &lt; 0.05) and total cholesterol (&beta; = 0.275, P &lt; 0.05) were independent determinants of PWV. In a non-inflamed subgroup (CRP &lt; 3 mg/L, n = 30), albumin still negatively correlated with PWV (r = &minus;0.66, P &lt; 0.001).Conclusion: Serum albumin inversely correlated with increased PWV in CAPD patients, suggesting that increased arterial stiffness might be the link between hypoalbuminemia and increased cardiovascular mortality in dialysis patients.Keywords: hypoalbuminemia, cardiovascular events, pulse wave velocity, arterial stiffness, peritoneal dialysi

Motivating and Sustaining Women\u27s Digital Literacy through ICT Learning

Digital literacy is one of the most important issues that women confront today. Lacking of digital literacy excludes women from lifelong learning and development. Our two-phase, multi-method study attempted to examine how ICT literacy affects women and identifies the key factors that motivate adult females to acquire ICT skills. The first phase identified important theoretical constructs that affect and sustain ICT learning and usage among women, using a qualitative approach based on Social Cognitive and Social Capital Theories. In the second phase, a quantitative study was conducted to validate the research model. Our findings suggest that social capital and learning satisfaction contribute significantly to ICT usage, and that this in turn has a positive impact on the level of well-being