Sustainable Design Process and Factors Considered for Product Service System

"Sustainability" is apparently reflected in corporate management and product development. Technology development and industrial revolution not only provide human beings luxury living quality but also causes global environmental problems and natural resources crisis on earth. Therefore, quite a few environmental protection policies in the world have been made. "Reduce, reuse and recycle" definitely becomes a new life trend. Under this circumstance, Product Service System (PSS) is a new way to satisfy the customers' needs by means of a complete process in products and services. It can make resource usage become a closed loop, thus reducing total product quantity and enhancing resource usage sufficiency. PSS has a characteristic of lower environmental impacts. Therefore, the author incorporates the concept of PSS into sustainable design strategy. This study first utilizes Analytic Network Process (ANP) to analyze both service categories from PSS and ranking priority of life cycle structure to be the foundation of sustainable design. Secondly, this study adopts Modified Delphi?MD?method to inspect the sustainable design factors considered for the application of PSS on case study. Furthermore, the author develops evaluation guidance and check list to make sure the target achievement of product sustainable design. Finally, this research accomplishes an applied process of PSS's sustainable design. By employing PSS on sustainable design, the study improves the impact of product life cycle on environmental quality. As a result, this study provides the PSS's design factors considered of sustainable products for corporations, and supplies a continuous service to create an operation mechanism with higher profit and lower risk as well

The condition and competency of multi-entrances for personnel training of industrial design engineer in Taiwan

The policy of college multi-entrances would enable students to select favorite departments and majors according to their interest and abilities, and also to increase the opportunities of being selected. This study tries to find the relationship between the channel of multi-entrances and learning effectiveness, then it sorts out the proper entrance channel and the requirements in personality and competency for students in industrial design department. Furthermore, instructors can refer the study results to improve students\u27 learning effectiveness and further promote the personnel training of industrial design engineer in industrial design education to achieve a successful education quality and performance

An analysis of perceived literacies and attitudes concerning microcomputer usage by technical education instructors at two-year colleges and technical institutes in Tennessee

The purpose of this study was to (a) analyze the perceived microcomputer literacy of Tennessee technical-education instructors in their use of microcomputers in the 14 state-supported two-year post-secondary institutions and (b) investigate their attitudes toward using microcomputers in instruction. The study examined how the factors of (a) gender, (b) age, (c) service area, (d) teaching experience, and (e) educational level may have influenced the instructors\u27 perceived microcomputer literacy and attitudes toward using microcomputers in technical education. Results of the study provided base-line data concerning the introductory level for implementing a model for training individual technical-education instructors to use microcomputers. All technical-education instructors in two-year community colleges (CC), technical community colleges (TCC), and technical institutes (TI) in Tennessee during school year 1990-1991 were considered as the target population. There were 14 two-year postsecondary state-supported institutions in Tennessee from which the random sample of 193 technical-education instructors were selected. Data were collected by mailed questionnaires. Part A of the questionnaire collected background information such as gender, age, service area, years of teaching experience, educational level, and the level of perceived microcomputer literacy. Part B of the questionnaire was designed to measure technical-education instructors\u27 attitudes toward using microcomputers in technical education. Data collected from this study were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to investigate whether there was a significant difference in technical-education instructors\u27 attitudes toward using microcomputers. The Chi-square (X2) test was used to determine if there was a significant difference in the level of technical-education instructors\u27 perceived microcomputer literacy. A two-factor analysis of variance test was used to investigate whether there was an interaction with respect to technical-education instructors\u27 attitudes toward using microcomputers. The findings and conclusions of the study were summarized as follows; 1. Most of the technical-education instructors in the institutions were moderate to highly literate and were supportive of implementing the use of microcomputers. 2. Over 80 percent of male or female technical instructors had high to moderate levels of perceived microcomputer literacy. The technical-education instructors with a low level of perceived microcomputer literacy needed individualized instruction to stimulate their interest in microcomputers, become literate in their use, and develop more positive attitudes. 3. Technical-education instructors with a master\u27s degree or beyond had a better knowledge of microcomputers and were likely to show more support for implementing the use of microcomputers than those technical-education instructors with a bachelor\u27s degree or less. 4. Technical instructors serving in computer and engineering areas were moderate to highly literate. Technical-education instructors serving in allied health areas in technical education showed a weak perceived microcomputer literacy and needed help to better understand how to use microcomputers in their instructional programs. 5. Technical instructors who had more than 10 years\u27 teaching experience with a master\u27s or above educational degree showed a more positive attitude toward using microcomputers than those technical-education instructors in other groups. 6. Technical-education instructors in the computer technology department with five to ten years\u27 teaching experience showed more support for implementing the use of microcomputers than those technical-education instructors in other groups

University- Creative Industry Linkages in Art and Design Higher Education: Insights From Indonesia and Taiwan

This article presents a study of the university-industry linkages in art and design higher education, focusing on the collaborative efforts between universities and the creative sector in Indonesia and Taiwan. Using a qualitative approach, in-depth interviews and literature reviews were conducted. An automated content analysis of seven semi-structured interviews with lecturers, designers, and the government stressed the importance of university and industry linkages. This study found that despite the prevalent practice of industrial cooperation with universities in the Indonesian higher education system, challenges persist in effectively connecting graduates with employment opportunities in the creative industry sectors. In response, the Indonesian government and universities have implemented policies to support collaboration programs to address these challenges. Conversely, Taiwan has recognized the potential of its creative industry assets to create a promising market and has placed significant value on the benefits derived from industry-university collaboration. Consequently, Taiwan has proactively developed its creative industries, receiving substantial encouragement and support from the local government

Developing Blue Ocean Strategy of Sustainable Product Design and Development for Business Opportunities of BOP Groups in Taiwan

This study expands the definition of the poor group and attempts to delve into and make known the phenomenon of poverty in Taiwan and aims to explore the goals and possibilities of the BOP consumer market. Through a questionnaire survey and expert interviews, this research adopts the concept of sustainability to discuss the lifestyle and consumption characteristics of the BOP group and establishes a design strategic norm of the sustainable products. The findings show that the BOP group in Taiwan is new poverty or working poor and high quality and common prices are the main requirements; these should be introduced into the development model of sustainable design

Occupational Exposure to Talc Increases the Risk of Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Occupational Cohort Studies

Objective. Talc is widely used in industrial applications. Previous meta-analyses of carcinogenic effects associated with inhaled talc included publications before 2004, with a lack of data in China, the largest talc-producing country. The safety of workers exposed to talc was unclear due to limited evidence. The objective of this study was to reevaluate the association between inhaled talc and lung cancer. Setting, Participants, and Outcome Measures. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate the meta-SMR of lung cancer. We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CNKI, and Wanfang Data databases through March 2017. Data from observational studies were pooled using meta-analysis with random effects models. Results. Fourteen observational cohort studies (13 publications) were located via literature search. The heterogeneity of the included data was high (I-squared = 72.9%). Pooling all the cohorts yielded a meta-SMR of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.22–1.72, p<0.0001) for lung cancer among the study subjects exposed to talc. Subgroup analysis for asbestos contamination showed no significant difference in lung cancer death between subjects exposed to talc with and without asbestos (p=0.8680), indicating that this confounding factor may have no significance. Conclusions. This study provides evidence that nonasbestiform talc might still increase the risk of lung cancer. Further epidemiological studies are required to evaluate the safety of workers with occupational talc exposure

Changes in insulin sensitivity and lipid profile markers following initial and secondary bouts of multiple eccentric exercises

An acute bout of eccentric exercise affects insulin sensitivity and lipid profile, but how the magnitude of muscle damage affects them is not clear. We compared changes in blood insulin sensitivity and lipid markers after the first (EC1) and second (EC2) eccentric exercise bouts. Fifteen sedentary young men performed arm, leg and trunk muscle eccentric exercises, and repeated them 2 weeks later. Fasting blood samples were taken before, 2 h and 1–5 days after each exercise bout to analyze plasma creatine kinase (CK) activity, serum glucose (GLU), insulin, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), triacylglycerols (TG), total (TC) and low- (LDLC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) concentrations as well as TC/HDLC ratio. Changes in these measures were compared between bouts and relationships to peak plasma CK activity were analyzed. Plasma CK activity increased (p \u3c 0.05) after EC1 (peak: 101,668 ± 58,955 IU/L) but not after EC2. The magnitude of changes in GLU (peak after EC1: 26 ± 10% vs. EC2: 7 ± 6%), insulin (46 ± 27% vs. 15 ± 8%), HOMA (86 ± 48% vs. 24 ± 15%), TC (−20 ± 5% vs. −6 ± 4%), TG (−32 ± 11% vs. −6 ± 3%), LDHC (−47 ± 15% vs. −12 ± 9%), HDLC (35 ± 26% vs. 7 ± 4%), and TC/HDLC ratio (−139 ± 13% vs. −11 ± 7%) were significantly greater after EC1 than EC2. Peak plasma CK activity was significantly (p \u3c 0.05) correlated with the peak changes in blood insulin sensitivity and lipid markers for the combined data of EC1 and EC2. These results suggest that the greater the magnitude of muscle damage, the greater the magnitude of changes in the insulin sensitivity to a negative direction and lipid markers to a positive direction

Incorporation of atomic Fe-oxide triggers a quantum leap in the CO2 methanation performance of Ni-hydroxide

The heterogeneous catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to methane (CH4) via CO2 methanation offers a promising avenue for establishing the closed carbon loop. Nevertheless, the lack of effective catalysts limits its industrial applications. Considering this, we developed a novel heterogeneous catalyst comprising oxygen vacancies enriched atomic Fe-oxide clusters confined in the TiO2-supported Ni-hydroxide (denoted as NiFe-TiO2) via wet chemical reduction method. This material delivers an unprecedently high CH4 productivity of ∼24,358 mmol g-1h−1 in CO2 methanation at 300 °C, surpassing the Ni-TiO2 (12,481 mmol g-1h−1) by ∼ 95 %. On top of that, the high structural reliability of the Fe-oxide atomic clusters endows the NiFe-TiO2 catalyst with outstanding durability, where it achieves an optimum CH4 productivity of ∼ 36,399 mmol g-1h−1 after 116 cycles (155 h) with CH4 selectivity of 90.5 % and retains the pristine performance up to 220 cycles (330 h) in the stability test. With evidence from in-situ X-ray absorption and ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies, the performance descriptors and reaction pathways were unveiled, where the oxygen vacancies in the atomic Fe-oxide clusters and the adjacent Ni-hydroxide domains synergistically boost the CO2 activation and the H2 dissociation, respectively. Such a potential synergy enables the simultaneous operation of all intermediate steps for enhanced CO2 methanation kinetics on the NiFe-TiO2 surface. Most importantly, these findings not only unravel the merits of oxygen vacancies in transition metals for CO2 methanation but mark a step ahead for the rational design of heterogeneous catalysts in various catalytic applications

The Study of Consumer Green Education via the Internet of Things with Green Marketing.

Environmental protection and green education are important global issues. The Internet of things (IoT) is a new effective communication medium for advertisement and dissemination. To promote the concepts of environment protection with green marketing via the IoT is the aim of the study. Case study and focus group are adopted for experiment and analysis. After qualitative analysis, we use factor analysis and regression analysis to analyze the statistical results of questionnaires. The effective questionnaires returned rate of this research is 282/300(94%). The analysis results of Likert scale show that Cronbach’s α for 5 factors are all higher than 0.7 which means the reliability of this research is good. The result of regression analysis also shows that significance of green marketing via the IoT for consumers’ green education is obviously effective. This research presents an indispensable and interesting education way to create a multi-win situation for businesses, consumers, governments and our earth.補正完畢GB

An Investigation of the Effects of Infographics and Green Messages on the Environmental Attitudes of Taiwanese Online Shoppers

The rapid growth of e-commerce in Taiwan has increased the use of postal packaging; this contributes to the destruction of our environment, because it cannot be re-used, and may contain toxic substances. To address this understudied issue, we examined the effects of attaching green messages about environmental attitudes in the form of infographics on postal packaging. To improve our understanding of consumer preferences with respect to green messages, first, a questionnaire survey of online shoppers was conducted. Based on a statistical analysis of the results, it was found that green messages require excellent infographics in order to deliver environmental knowledge. Graphical information was considered superior to text-only information in the presentation of green messages and the visualization of green information by online shoppers. This result indicates that infographics have emerged as a better visual approach to deliver green messages. We hope that these findings will serve as a reference in the design of environmentally-friendly postal packaging