It is becoming increasingly common for current-day migrants to build transnational connections transcending national borders. Amongst recent immigrants from Taiwan to Canada, an "astronaut" type of family arrangement has emerged. In the "astronaut" families, either one or both parents continue working in Taiwan to maximize the financial resources of the family, while the children reside in Canada. These children affected by transnational migration between Canada and Taiwan no longer experience a radical break from their place of origin—Taiwan. Instead, both the settlement society and their ethnic origin have continually informed the processes of these children's home-making and identity development. Based on eleven individual interviews conducted in Greater Vancouver regional district of British Columbia, Canada between June and September, 2001, this study explores the impact of transnational family arrangements on children's lives, and children's.senses of home and identity. Findings suggest that the families of the children interviewed undergo a reconfiguration of the traditional family structure, a reconfiguration based on the establishment of various transnational connections linking family in Taiwan and family in Vancouver. The new transnational family structure is operating within new forms of interdependence between family members and within changing family relationships. The transnational family arrangement has affected how the children define "home" and where they consider to be "home". The children's senses of home are influenced by the interaction between their quotidian experiences in Vancouver and their transnational connections with Taiwan. In terms of identity, the children interviewed reveal a persistence of Taiwanese identity over time and at the same time a fluctuation in the intensity of their Taiwanese identity. The main factors affecting the children's senses of identity are: cross-cultural contacts they have experienced in Vancouver, the significant flow of people and cultural items from Taiwan to Vancouver, and the primordial attachment to their place of origin. The children have learned to negotiate within "astronaut" families. They have become new kinds of "transnational" people—those who can situate themselves somewhere between being Taiwanese and being Canadian and yet, be both.

It is becoming increasingly common for current-day migrants to build transnational connections transcending national borders. Amongst recent immigrants from Taiwan to Canada, an "astronaut" type of family arrangement has emerged. In the "astronaut" families, either one or both parents continue working in Taiwan to maximize the financial resources of the family, while the children reside in Canada. These children affected by transnational migration between Canada and Taiwan no longer experience a radical break from their place of origin—Taiwan. Instead, both the settlement society and their ethnic origin have continually informed the processes of these children's home-making and identity development. Based on eleven individual interviews conducted in Greater Vancouver regional district of British Columbia, Canada between June and September, 2001, this study explores the impact of transnational family arrangements on children's lives, and children's.senses of home and identity. Findings suggest that the families of the children interviewed undergo a reconfiguration of the traditional family structure, a reconfiguration based on the establishment of various transnational connections linking family in Taiwan and family in Vancouver. The new transnational family structure is operating within new forms of interdependence between family members and within changing family relationships. The transnational family arrangement has affected how the children define "home" and where they consider to be "home". The children's senses of home are influenced by the interaction between their quotidian experiences in Vancouver and their transnational connections with Taiwan. In terms of identity, the children interviewed reveal a persistence of Taiwanese identity over time and at the same time a fluctuation in the intensity of their Taiwanese identity. The main factors affecting the children's senses of identity are: cross-cultural contacts they have experienced in Vancouver, the significant flow of people and cultural items from Taiwan to Vancouver, and the primordial attachment to their place of origin. The children have learned to negotiate within "astronaut" families. They have become new kinds of "transnational" people—those who can situate themselves somewhere between being Taiwanese and being Canadian and yet, be both. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Cruise travel has become very popular worldwide. The North American cruise market is the world's biggest. Asian countries are among the fastest-growing outbound market for cruise travel. The Taiwanese cruise market has grown substantially. However, few research studies have examined Taiwanese travelers' motivation to experience a cruise vacation, and their satisfaction with the experience. Primary data was collected from a convenience sample of Taiwanese tourists who had been on North American cruise tours. Survey respondents were first time cruisers, over 40 years old, married, and had a Bachelor's degree, or higher. Push and pull motivational factors were identified. Respondents were influenced by recommendations from media and people. Respondents were satisfied with tangibles, cleanliness, food choices and selection, and responsiveness of staff. An overwhelming majority of cruisers would re-visit and recommend this trip. Implications for researchers and practitioners are suggested.

Aphasia is a language disorder resulting from damage to brain areas that control language expression and reception. Clinically, the narrative production of Persons with Aphasia (PWA) provides valuable information for diagnosis of aphasia. There are several types of assessment procedures for analysis of aphasic's narrative production. One of them is to use quantification systems, such as the Cantonese Linguistic Communication Measure (CLCM; Kong & Law, 2004) or the Main Concept Analysis (MCA; Kong, 2009), for objective quantification of aphasic's discourse. The purposes of this study are (1) to translate the MCA and CLCM to a Taiwanese Mandarin Main Concept Analysis (TM-MCA) and a Taiwanese Mandarin Linguistic Communication Measure (TM-LCM), respectively, and (2) to validate them based on normal speakers and PWA in Taiwan. In the pilot study, a total of sixteen participants, eight certified speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and eight normal speakers, were invited to establish the Taiwanese Mandarin main concepts related to the four sets of sequencial pictures created by Kong in 2009. The language samples from eight normal speakers were then used to determine the informative words (i-words) in the picture sets. In the main study, thirty-six normal speakers and ten PWA were recruited to perform the same picture description tasks. The elicited language samples were analyzed using both the TM-MCA and TM-LCM. The results suggested that both age and education affected the oral discourse performance. Significant differences on the measures in TM-MCA and indices in TM-LCM were noted between the normal and aphasic groups. It was also found that overall aphasia severity affected the picture description performances of PWA. Finally, significant correlations between some of the TM-MCA measures and TM-LCM indices were noted. In conclusion, both the TM-MCA and TM-LCM are culturally appropriate to the Taiwanese Mandarin population. They can be used to supplement standardized aphasia tests to help clinicians make more informative decisions not only on diagnosis but also on a treatment plan of aphasia.

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近二十年來，中共對台資企業的政策演變相當複雜，從政策形成、制定、執行、評估與修訂觀看，實際上已走過一次或多次的政策循環，也歷經不同的環境、機構、決策者與政策學習。瞭解這長期的演變具有相當研究價值。但這政策研究不能只專注於負責政策制定的中央部門，而疏略實際執行地方政府的重要角色。因此，將政策佈局與實踐落腳到特定的地區與地點，可從中獲得深層的政策真相，甚或背離。 在大陸各省中，福建與台灣隔海相望關係最為密切，歸納有地緣、血緣、史緣、香火、物緣、俗緣等六大親密關係。選擇福建省作為個案研究對象，頗能突出這人文、歷史特點。從實際出發亦較之對大陸其它省份更兼具現實意義。換言之，閩台間具有這種相同或相近的人文、歷史與族際文化關係，有著長期穩定性，經得起任何環境變遷衝擊，而尋得認同與所謂「回歸」作用。而北京在規劃福建對台開放戰略的針對性，不會放過這諸因素在各方面的特殊作用。 隨兩岸關係進展，大陸改革開放的擴大與深化，閩台交往日漸頻繁，研究福建台資政策更加引起我們重視。本文結合歷史研究法與系統理論的研究架構，針對福建個案的演變進行分析，並提出一些規範性思考供參。 本文第一個研究主題，分析影響福建台資政策的長期與短期環境變數。研究發現福建台資政策發展過程與實踐與大陸政經情勢及兩岸關係發展進程密切相關，並確實體現其特殊對台關係與優勢。 本文第二個研究主題，是在探討決策者或參與者對福建台資政策之影響，並以「省領導層」為出發點，向上溯及與中共中央領導層的互動，向下伸延與所屬地方執行階層彼此關聯，針對決策互動與發展過程進行研究。研究發現政策環境、政策信仰、派系、領導特質等因素影響台資政策的發展。從長期來看，環境決定政策方向，其餘因素左右政策速度與範圍。 本文第三個研究主題，是探討福建台資政策的產出。研究發現台資政策的發展相當複雜，在福建的政策地位與重要性因時而異，從政策方向、速度、範圍、形式與群聚性，觀察政策的長期演變，發現細部政策行走軌跡並非是直線發展，它的真實面貌停停走走較接近曲折前進，並呈現階段性的盤旋。 本文第四個研究主題，剖析福建與北京在台資政策的互動與博奕關係。研究發現，其一：福建相當擔心兩岸政治角力，致北京在該省的軍事行動影響其經濟發展，以及摧毀多年辛苦建立的閩台經濟關係；其二：在涉台經濟議題上，是福建可能向北京採取遊說、蹉商、討價還價，甚至擴張或對抗的領域；其三：在福建發展台資政策的管理、服務等行政措施上，具相當決定權並能發揮政策革新的影響；其四：追求地方經濟利益培育福建滋長異於北京的政策信念，不過經濟力雖把福建推向“閩（華）南經濟圈”的地緣觀，但演進過程福建自身並未斷絕與北京的政治連結關係。 本文第五個討論主題，在說明台資企業在福建投資狀況，研究發現台資占福建利用外資的比例不低，對福建的影響已涵蓋經濟、社經體制等各層面，不只改變部分地市的經建計畫，最重要它提升福建對台工作的優勢地位，並創造向北京提建言、耍周旋的籌碼與機遇。 本文第六個主題，探討政策影響與回饋，從閩台密切經濟交流凸顯兩岸政經互動的意義，發現兩岸經濟聯繫愈密切，相互依存加深，受損性與敏感度增高，在進行政策選擇時顧慮就越多，安全係數也就相應增加。但必須說明，經濟力能降低多少兩岸政治僵局與軍事衝突，以及在何種情況下，它無法發揮調和緩衝的作用，而完全受制於政治因素，仍有待進一步研究。

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This business plan aims to open a Russian branch of the Taiwanese company Spare-Parts Zone Co ltd, which specializes in the export of NON-OEM automobile spare parts such as bumpers, lights, hoods and fenders for passenger vehicles and trucks. Taiwan is a world leader in the NON-OEM spare parts industry and Russia is a very attractive market for Taiwanese exporters due to its large market, considerable market growth and comparatively low regulated import regime when compared to the European Union or United States of America. Moreover, Taiwanese spare parts have a good reputation among Russian consumers due to their reliability and lower price compared to OEM parts. Many export/import contracts have been signed between Taiwanese and Russian companies since 1991 when the economy of Russia liberalized and marketized. However, there are no strategic alliances or foreign direct investments to be found within the market. Taiwanese companies are still not represented in the Russian automobile market, neither in the form of their own branches nor in joint ventures. A branch of the proposed Taiwanese company will have several significant advantages in comparison to the domestic importers. 1. Financial advantage. The import/export business for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is always connected with considerable investments. Taking into account the current average bank-issued annual interest rate for companies in Russia at 26 per cent, Taiwanese head office will be able to leverage branch sales by using loans from Taiwanese banks where the annual interest rate for SMEs is normally no more than 5 per cent. 2. Payment delay advantage. Russia still lacks a clear legal system to resolve international law suits. This is why Russian importers usually do not experience any payment delays from their foreign suppliers and have to settle all payments before a telex-release (the exporter’s permission to handover container to the consignee) in the port of destination. At this point the branch will have a huge advantage in the Russian market using the head office payment to delay agreements with Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturers. The Russian branch will act as a discounter in the market. Using these systemic financial and payment delay advantages the branch will be able to set lower prices and sell items much faster than others. Taking into account that the delivery time from Taiwan to Moscow is typically one month and the normal payment delay usually takes two to three months, the branch will be able to receive goods, sell them, and send money back to head office account within only three months. In the ideal scenario capital investments will not be needed at all to purchase goods from the manufacturer. 3. Sourcing the right suppliers. This is one of the most complicated processes for domestic importers. However, for the benefit of the branch this function will be done by the head office which will have a better performance in this capacity than any supply chain department of a Russian domestic company. Why do we need to penetrate the Russian market today? Despite the current Russian economic crisis there are a number of reasons why now is the time to penetrate the Russian market. 1. The financial and payment delay advantages mentioned above will allow us to successfully compete with domestic Russian importers. 2. The market structure is much more attractive nowadays than in the previous years. Approximately 80 percent of sales in the industry are made by several major Internet shops. These companies became market leaders in B to C sales due to Internet technology breakthroughs and strong company-owned distribution branches in Russian regions with main warehouses located in Moscow. Using online stores as the key means of customer outreach, we will not need to have a marketing department nor build our own distribution network to deal with many clients. A small number of major customers will allow us to cut our operational costs and become an industry discounter. Moreover, it will allow us grow faster than traditional business models in the industry wherein the importer has to expand its customers database when searching for local wholesalers in the regions. 3. The considerable aggregate experience of the Spare-Parts Zone team in Taiwan and Russia should be able to gain a synergy effect in a short run. At the beginning stage we will not need to find new team members or teach them how to start the business. All the international cooperation advantages mentioned above will bear fruit only if the Russian branch is able to run the business in an appropriate way to achieve the project’s goals. The performance of the Russian branch will have the same influence on the business as the head office has. Therefore, the purpose of this business plan is to create a strong business model based on the international cooperation that leverages the performance of the each side.

This work looks at the way the Taiwanese American college student's identities are complicated and compounded by the intertwined histories of China and Taiwan. It looks at the historical account of Chinese and Taiwanese history through the understanding of genealogical history. It also analyzes the importance of narrated family accounts and lived experiences of Taiwanese-ness. Lastly, it looks at the development of Taiwanese identity as it is strengthened or weakened through religion, politics, and language.

This dissertation originated out of a research interest in the role of moral-reasoning development in different types of crime. However, as this interest developed, it became apparent that the evidence that moral-reasoning development is differentially involved in different types of crime was a) somewhat weak and b) did not apply to all types of crime. In addition, as part of the developmental work for this dissertation, it was decided to re-analyze a previous Taiwanese study by the author. This reanalysis substantially supported what the previous research literature had indicated in terms of the, at best, modest role of moral-reasoning development in different types of crime. Furthermore, it was found that when the data were analysed ignoring the conventional moral norms that previous research had employed, there was evidence that question content had a role in differentiating different types of crime. This is at variance with structural approaches to moral-reasoning development. Taken together, these findings steered the development of this dissertation in the direction of social cognitive theories of deviant behaviour for which the research evidence is fairly compelling. Consequently, the dissertation moved from structural models of moral reasoning development to socio-cognitive explanations of why some offenders demonstrate a clear pattern of specialization in particular types of crime. This research aimed to assess different social cognitions about offending and moral reasoning ability and used them to predict characteristic types of offending. The participants were four hundreds and thirty two male (adult=302, juvenile= 130) prisoners incarcerated in seven correctional facilities in Taiwan. Based on the offenders' self-reported crime histories, crime specialism indexes (CSI) were calculated to represent offenders' crime propensities in drug abuse, theft, sexual and violent offending for each of respondents. Twenty-three of these respondents were questioned using semi-structural interviews. The qualitative aspect of the research was informed by interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). In addition to moral reasoning competence measured by Gibbs's SRM-SF, five additional social cognitions were investigated including 1) normative beliefs, 2) crime cognitive beliefs, 3) moral domain placement, 4) crime episode judgments, and 5) criminal-identity. It was hypothesized that different cognitive representations predict decisions about types of offences committed. Research questions were, 1) What are the relationships between moral reasoning ability in overall, individual moral value, age, crime episode judgments, and CSIs? a) Juvenile offenders operated at immature moral reasoning level, while adults predominantly exhibited at mature stages. b) No significant correlations emerged between sociomoral reflection moral score (SRMS) and CS Is, except a positive relationship found with the juvenile sexual CS!. c) Comparatively arrested development was found in both age offenders' property & law and legal/justice than the rest of three moral values. d) Except one in the juvenile drug taking (SRMS), and two in life and legal justice, as well as one significant correlations showed in the adult legal justice in sexual offending context, there was no relationship found between the trend of responses towards crime episode questions and moral reasoning ability. 2) What are the relationships between offenders' crime perceptions, evaluations and CS Is? a) Only drug CSI correlated positively with the criminal identity, while negative relationships were found with theft and sexual CSIs. b) A self approval tendency in normative beliefs was found in all but the juvenile sexual CSIs. c) A self endorsement tendency was observed in cognitive beliefs scale in the adult group. d) Findings indicated that there were two differences in the adult drug and theft CSIs, with those offenders thinking drug taking and stealing behaviour as personal discretions being higher in these two acts CSIs than those regarded these two crimes as moral domains, respectively. 3) Is it possible to predict CSIs from sociocognitive factors considered? Multiple-regressions indicated that content-oriented cognitive appraisals predicted types of criminal behaviour, while structural variables did not, with two exceptions. In the case of adult violence CSI two moral reasoning level indicators accounted for some additional variance. In the case of juvenile violence, SRMS accounted for some additional variance. But in this latter case, a higher level of moral reasoning was associated with greater specialisation in violence. In the qualitative research questions, research question 4) What are the relationships between offenders' crime perceptions, evaluations and offending behaviour? Interviewees tended to approve their own behaviour more, particularly when compared with other crime patterns. Most of interviewees showed appreciations of Gibbs's mature moral reasoning forms. This seems to contradict with what they had done to others. Despite the meanings behind laws were recognised they largely based their justifications on heteronymous moral thinking. 5) How do offenders' explain the above conflicts, if any? Drug abusers tended to see there was more consistent than conflict, For example, it is a personal prerogative issue. Although theft and violent offenders admitted conflicts present, the former group tended to justify with reasons, such as if they do not harm other physically, stealing is not that bad behaviour, while the latter indicated they only use violence under threatening or legitimate circumstances. Although relatively little information was elicited from sexual offender interviewees on this issue, conflicts were expressed by them. In summary, a self-serving yet other-blaming tendency was observed in cognitive evaluations both in qualitative and qualitative data. The more intensive an offender's involvement in a specific type of crime the more likely were they to evaluate this type of crime more positively, legitimately and less moral concerns involved then any of the other crime types. Moral reasoning may simply accommodate to offenders' progressively firm crime social cognitions. Based on the research findings, a crime cognitive whirlpool model was proposed. This is an idea that offenders are being pulled down (socio-cognitively strapped) to crimes. The model illustrates how a differential relationship between content and structural social knowledge develops for specific crime commitment. Future research should explore in greater depth the specificity and versatility of social cognitive reasoning in this context. Also, the factors which intervene between beliefs about what is good and good behaviour need to be understood better.