We call a finite simple graph G = (V (G),E(G)) to be Z-semimagic if it admits an edge labeling l : E(G) ¡÷ Z {0} such that the induced vertex sum labeling l+(v) = uv∈E(G) l(uv) is constant. The constant is called a semimagic index, or an index for short, of G under the labeling l. We consider the set of all possible semimagic indices r such that G is Z-semimagic with a semimagic index r, and denote it by IZ(G). We call IZ(G) the index set of G with respect to Z. In this thesis, we decide the index set IZ(G) for G being regular graphs, complete bipartite graphs, wheel graphs and fan graphs. Also, we determine whether 0 ∈ IZ(G) for G being complete multi-partite graphs.

Taiwan, as one of the Far East Asian countries, has been founded on agriculture since ancient times. Historically, farming has always played a pivotal role in the economic development of Taiwan. However, there have problems since the implementation of ¡§customary line of farming¡¨, which has been excessively adapted to the traditional farming method. For instance, the widespread use of pesticides and chemical fertilizer has not only severely damaged farmlands but has also threatened the quality of life for those involved in them. As well as the humanitarian issue of inorganic farming effecting workers within the industry, there is also a strong need to revise production from a growing change in demand in Taiwan¡¦s markets. It has been found that consumers are becoming more aware about issues regarding the quality, or lack of quality, in food available to them. This can be explained in relation to improvements in technology and increased living standards, where people are now able to be more selective about what they eat. This has lead to a general increase in the demand for organic produce in an attempt to achieve a healthier diet. From a growing awareness about where their food comes from, consumers are more cautious about buying from producers whose products fail to meet the required standards expected from organic produce. As well as a shift in demand within Taiwan¡¦s agricultural industry, the growing popularity of organic products in other counties has also affected Taiwan export markets. If the agricultural industry wishes to maintain the levels of prosperity it has enjoyed historically, it must yield to the growing demands of the market. But despite the growing appreciation for organic produce, there is a problem of how to verify authentically organic products from the inorganic. Whether or not organic products sold in the market are the genuine has been a growing dispute. It can be seen that more needs to be done encourage the verification system. This is if consumers peace of mind is to be properly addressed as to what can be safely regarded as genuinely organic. Also, further investigation into differences between organic and inorganic need to be continued if the implications to health are to be properly understood. With the increasingly recognized and trusted stamp of organic approval, advantages are available to both the consumer and producer. For consumers, it grantees quality of produce and assures consumers not to worry about and health and security issues. For producers, benefits from this system include an increase to their competitive advantages by way of offering higher quality produce. As a result, it can be argued to be beneficial to help farmers attain a verified stamp of approval for their produce.

Labels are one source of our judgments. By assigning labels to objects, we not only create references but we also group prior and current experiences together. The goal of this research is to investigate how labels influence our judgments. Previous research on inductive generalization shows that labels can be more important than physical characteristics (the labeling effect), but the mechanism for this effect remains unclear. There are two differing views regarding the role of labels. One view proposes that labels are not essentially different from physical features: shared labels increase overall similarity between two items in the same way as shared physical features. The other view suggests that people have a naïve theory that shared labels are more special than shared physical features. The goal of this dissertation is to provide evidence that complements these conflicting views. I suggest that the role of labels varies depending on the background knowledge: types of categories (living things vs. man-made objects), amount of knowledge (number of exemplars people could list for the category), and types of labels (categorical vs. indexical). The results from four experiments showed that, for living things, the labeling effect is strong and depends less on the amount of knowledge; for man-made objects, the labeling effect is weak and depends on the amount of knowledge.

People with disability have been an underprivileged group in our society for long. As the problems that face them are multi-dimensional, the health care provided to them seems burden-heavy. The development of civil rights has raised the advocacy for deinstitutionalized welfare for people with disability. However, it needs to note that the roles of family major caregivers can not be omitted when discussing deinstitutionalization or the health care to people with disability. The government should look squarely at this issue in its public policies and address the family-based or female health care work. People with intellectual disability seldom get married. As a result, the female relatives or mothers play a pivotal role in providing care work. The experiences of mothers therefore will enormously assist in investigating the process of care-giving. Mothers were the main participants for the purpose of this research. Nine mothers and one father within Kaohsiung metropolitan area who perform health care to their children with disability were recruited. This study used in-depth interview in attempt to apply labeling theory to portray the stigma and unfair treatment they encountered in the society. Its particular conclusions were as follows: 1.This study consistent with some previous quantitative studies supported the finding that the problems that mothers face include metal disorders¡Bemotional depressions¡Beconomical difficulties and educational difficulties. 2.In tradition, care work is always viewed for granted as a responsibility to mothers. When health care work is needed, the responsibility undoubtedly will be distributed to them, but the decision making process does not always concern their willingness. 3.Because of the overlap between care work and paid work, mothers only seek those jobs that are un-technical, flexible and low waged. It is apparent that they still are trapped in so-called female poverty. 4.The discrimination and labeling against people with disability still exist in our society. The findings revealed that mothers take both positive and negative strategies to cope with this. The positive strategy is to strengthen their own self-confidence which is always from their participations in the society. Ignorance and avoidance however were reported as negative strategies. 5.Four mother types were constructed as a result of the enlightenment of labeling theory in the study and they are self-blamed¡Britualism¡Bself-salvation and utilitarianism from which four different types of care processes and coping strategies are developed respectively.

Concerns over the total costs assessed to the beef industry from the implementation of mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations warranted an investigation into the estimation and distribution of marketing and marginal costs of production for retail chain stores and distributors, meat packers and processors, cattle feedlots, cattle backgrounding yards and cow-calf producers. Furthermore, it is thought the implementation of COOL will impose severe market and social welfare effects on the participants in the beef industry. This research focused on two main objectives. The first objective is to provide a full beef industry cost assessment for implementing COOL regulations based on the preliminary guidelines for COOL as published by the United States Department of Agriculture in the proposed rule in October of 2003. Financial and production data was collected and used from U.S. retail chain stores and distributors, meat packers and processors, cattle feedlots, and cattle backgrounding yards and stockers. The second objective was to use the weighted average cost estimates calculated from the data to determine the magnitude of increases in the demand for retail beef, wholesale beef, fed cattle, and feeder cattle needed to negate the increase in costs of implementing mandatory COOL regulations. An equilibrium displacement model was used to demonstrate the supply and demand functions and relationships for retail beef, wholesale beef, fed cattle, and feeder cattle. Estimated elasticities for retail beef, wholesale beef, fed cattle and feeder cattle were used to calculate the relative changes in price and quantity in response to the COOL-induced supply and demand shifts. The quantity intercepts from the estimation of the linear parameters can be used to calculate the increases in consumer demand needed to negate the increases in costs estimated from the survey results for the retail, wholesale, fed cattle, and feeder cattle sectors of the beef industry. A significant cost burden to the beef industry was shown by the weighted average estimates calculated from the research. Retail chain stores and distributors, meat packers and processors, cattle feedlots and cattle stockers are expected to see an increase in marketing and marginal costs of production as a result of implementing COOL.

Research on the functional independence of tacts and mands is mixed. The conditions under which tact training transfers to mands are unclear. The current study evaluated whether multiple exemplars of tact training followed by mand training would result in the independent transfer from tacts to mands. It was shown that all three participants started manding for the item independently during tact training after one sequence of tact training followed by mand training.

published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Sustainable actions in the footwear industry are growing in importance and sustainability communication has an important role for a changed shoe industry. The sustainability communication must be clear, credible and comparable as well as accessible in order to be communicated successfully.

Steroid sulfatase (STS) is considered to be one of the key enzymes contributing to the development of breast cancer. It catalyzes the hydrolysis of inactive sulfated steroids such as estrone sulfate (ES) to inorganic sulfate active steroids such as estrone (E1), a precursor to estradiol (E2), a key stimulator for breast cancer development. Inhibitors of STS are currently being pursued in both academia and industry as potential drugs for treating breast cancer. A series of 4-substituted estrone and estradiol derivatives were examined as inhibitors of STS. Inhibition of STS with 4-FE1, an irreversible inhibitor of STS previously studied in the Taylor group, can be enhanced by introducing a hydrophobic benzyl group at the 17-positon of 4-FE1. As with 4-FE1, the inhibition was concentration and time-dependent. Only 14% of the activity could be recovered after extensive dialysis. Introducing substituents at the 2-position of 4-formyl estrogen derivatives resulted in loss of concentration and time-dependent inhibition and a considerable decrease in inhibitor affinity. Studies with estrogen derivatives substituted at the 4-position with groups other than a formyl revealed that a relatively good reversible inhibitor can be obtained simply by introducing an electron withdrawing group at this position. These types of inhibitors are non-competitive inhibitors suggesting an alternative steroid binding site. A series of estrone derivatives were examined as photoaffinity labels of STS. 4-azidoestrone suflate and 4-azidoestrone phosphate exhibited properties that are suitable for photoaffinity labeling studies with STS. These labels may be useful for ascertaining pathways of substrate entry into the STS active site. 16-diazoestrone phosphate was not a photoaffinity label of STS. 2- and 4-azido estrone and 16-diazoestrone all acted as photoaffinity labels of STS. These compounds may be useful for ascertaining pathways of product release from the STS active site.