Healthcare Information and the Utilization of Pap-smear Testing amongst Taiwanese Women

This study is to investigate the determinants of healthcare information amongst women in Taiwan aged between 25 and 69 years, and the association with cervical cancer screening.A two-stage estimation model was adopted for this investigation. In the first stage, the determinants of healthcare information were estimated by the OLS method, with the predicted values of the healthcare information then being linked to the decision to undergo Pap-smear testing. The nationwide survey dataset was obtained from the 2002‘Health Promotion of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice' (HPKAP) in Taiwan, provided by the Bureau of Health Promotion. A total of 9,106 individuals were included in the analysis. The results reveal that the variations in the level of healthcare information are an important contributory factor to the utilization of cervical cancer screening in Taiwan. Therefore, in addition to providing free screening under the NHI, it is important for the healthcare authorities to place greater effort into strengthening the knowledge and information on cervical cancer screening and Pap-smear testing, for those who are currently less informed, so as to enhance the overall efficiency of the screening program.Health information; Pap-smear testing; Cervical cancer; National Health Insurance; Taiwan

E-Government and Lessons from E-Commerce: A Preliminary Study

As businesses become more involved and savvy with electronic commerce (e-commerce), electronic government (e-government) can learn many lessons from them. The tremendous growth in e-commerce will spur many governments to launch comparable e-government services. The recent passage of federal law in the US has institutionalized e-government. Thus, many government bodies will become greatly involved with the Internet and its associated technologies in providing an array of government services that were once confined to brick and mortar operations. However, in deciding which applications will be most effective in serving their constituents and given their limited resources, governments might learn from the practices of businesses. As in the case of business to business (B2B) e-commerce, the exchange of information within and between government agencies will comprise the bulk of interactions or transactions. The results of a preliminary e-commerce survey suggest several areas that may prove to be more effective for e-government Extranet and Intranet applications

Evaluation on Higher Education Using Data Envelopment Analysis

The goal of higher education is to provide students an equal opportunity to access their education for success. With significant competition within the peer group, potential students look for quality, flexibility, and affordability in the educational environment. In addition, the relationship between students and the institution involves a concentrated and more specific set of expectations. In order to improve students’ academic performance and fulfill individual needs, universities aim to enhance the quality of students’ learning environment and academic achievements. The higher education system relies on efficient operation and strategic planning to fulfill students’ needs through an internal emphasis on institutional performance improvement. A study on measuring the performance of higher education is presented. The research was focused on four-year and above, public and not-for-profit private universities in the southern region (AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OK, TN, and TX) of the United States. The data includes 270 universities which were obtained from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. This study applied the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach; the purpose is to use a linear programming model to demonstrate a novel benchmarking process of higher education institutional performance and determine an overall benchmark for institutions within each classified group. From the results, suggestions are provided for the general guidance of planners and decision makers in the higher education system

Biomechanical Characteristics and EMG Activities of Weighted Countermovement Jump

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical characteristics and EMG activities during a weighted countermovement jump (WCMJ) with 0%, 25% and 50% of body weight. Eight male college students participated this study. An AMTI force platform, Penny&Giles goniometer and Biovision EMG system were used synchronously to record the related parameters while subjects performed WCMJs. The results indicate that by increasing load, the eccentric mean force, the maximum force and concentric impulse increases significantly. With the load increase, the EMG activities of soleus and gastrocnemius did not changed significantly, while the eccentric mean EMG amplitude of rectus femoris got greater. This reveals that WCMJ has a marked influence on the lower extremity, especially on the rectus femoris

THE REGULATION OF LEG STIFFNESS AND EMG ACTIVITIES ON PERSON WITH VISUAL IMPAIRED DURING STEP-DOWN WALKING

The purpose of present study was to evaluate leg muscular regulation and neuromuscular activation by investigating the stiffness and EMG amplitude of normal vision students and visually impaired students. 10 normal vision (age: 24.3±20 years; height: 171.5±4.6cm; mass: 65.9±8.0kg) and 10 visually impaired students (age: 23.2±2.4 years; height: 163.4±9.6cm; mass: 62.8±15.0kg) were served as subjects. AMTI force platform (1200 Hz), Peak Performance motion analysis system (60Hz) and Biovision EMG system were used synchronously to record the ground reaction force, the kinematic parameters and EMG signals of lower extremity during the subjects stepped down from height 20, 30 and 40cm. The results revealed that the regulation of neuromuscular system of the impaired is less efficient compared to the normal one because of lower muscle stiffness and EMG activity

A hybrid switched reactive-based visual servo control of 5-DOF robot manipulators for pick-and-place tasks

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