Thermal comfort is a subjective psychological perception of people based also on physiological thermoregulation mechanisms when the human body is exposed to a combination of various environmental factors including air temperature, air humidity, wind speed, and radiation conditions. Due to the importance of gender in the issue of outdoor thermal comfort, this study compared and examined the thermal comfort-related differences between male and female subjects using previous data from Taiwanese questionnaire survey. Compared with males, the results indicated that females in Taiwan are less tolerant to hot conditions and intensely protect themselves from sun exposure. Our analytical results are inconsistent with the findings of previous physiological studies concerning thermal comfort indicating that females have superior thermal physiological tolerance than males. On the contrary, our findings can be interpreted on psychological level. Environmental behavioral learning theory was adopted in this study to elucidate this observed contradiction between the autonomic thermal physiological and psychological-behavioral aspects. Women might desire for a light skin tone through social learning processes, such as observation and education, which is subsequently reflected in their psychological perceptions (fears of heat and sun exposure) and behavioral adjustments (carrying umbrellas or searching for shade). Hence, these unique psychological and behavioral phenomena cannot be directly explained by autonomic physiological thermoregulation mechanisms. The findings of this study serve as a reference for designing spaces that accommodates gender-specific thermal comfort characteristics. Recommendations include providing additional suitable sheltered areas in open areas, such as city squares and parks, to satisfy the thermal comfort needs of females.
Taiwan, located in the East Asia, is an island country with limited natural resources. To increase economic growth and reduce CO 2 emission levels, the Taiwanese government is promoting a sustainable low-carbon tourism industry. This study investigated the CO 2 emission coefficient of tourist activities and identified the CO 2 emissions (CE) patterns of international visitors to Taiwan. The total CO 2 emission per visitor without considering international transportation was estimated using a questionnaire. The total CO 2 emission comprises the CO 2 emission of transportation, the CO 2 emission of accommodation, and the CO 2 emission of tourist activities. The results suggest that more convenient public transportation might help to reduce the total CO 2 emission. Without considering CO 2 emission from international air travel, in contrast to many non-island countries where CO 2 emission of transportation is the main contributor to total CO 2 emission, the CO 2 emission of accommodation was the main contributor to total CO 2 emission in Taiwan. To reduce the CO 2 emission of accommodation, the Taiwanese government should improve the energy-use efficiency of devices in tourist hotels and promote bed-and-breakfast accommodations with low CO 2 emission coefficients. Visitors enjoyed culinary journeys and shopping, both of which are activities that contribute highly to the CO 2 emission of tourist activities because of their high CO 2 emission coefficients.
SUMMARYThis article defines the social welfare needs of residents living in a severely polluted community by examining a set of communities around the An-shun plant in southern Taiwan that were polluted by dioxin. The study examines the inhabitants' economic status, the communities' manpower utilization, and the prevention of social contingencies and the provision of aftercare. A survey conducted between March-April 2008 revealed the need to reduce poverty in these highly polluted communities, to identify and maximize each community's human resources, to address illness, aging, pollution, and lack of professional skills, and to better inform residents about pollution so that they can understand how to protect themselves. The article concludes with suggested programs to meet the social welfare needs of residents in a highly polluted community.
In this study, we investigate the impact of orientated crystalline InGaZnO (IGZO) thin film transistor. To evaluate interface thermodynamic stability of temperature-sensitive IGZO film, the film-structural stabilities of high-and low-indium-content InGaZnO were studied. With increasing annealing temperature up to 700 °C, the crystallinity becomes more pronounced while device electrical characteristics are further improved. We find that the apparently reduced off-state current can be attributed to the formation of c-axis-orientated crystalline located at the X-ray diffraction peak of ð0; 0; 16Þ. The performance improvements include a very low turn-on voltage close to zero voltage, a small subthreshold swing of 130 mV/dec, and a low off-state current of 2.4 ' 10 %14 A/µm at a low operating voltage of 4 V.
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