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There is a growing tendency in Asia for English as a foreign/second (EFL/ESL) programs to be implemented in the early years of primary schooling. Government policies supporting teaching primary school English are often framed in terms of globalization and the need to compete with other Asian neighbors. In the case of Taiwan, this notion increasingly has led government to support primary school English teaching curricula for all students and to parents spending large sums of money on private tutoring or out of school tuition. Arguments for this position are often based on the "earlier is better" ESL evidence, rather than on sound language policy settings and EFL research. As a consequence, problems and controversies have arisen related to inconsistencies that exist between the macro- and micro-level implementation forces. The purpose of this study is to explore these implementation issues and problems from a language planning and policy perspective through an examination of the language-in-education policy types required for the development of successful programs. This study concludes with some implications for the possible reforms of primary EFL education policy that aim to improve implementation in order to better serve the EFL learning needs of students in Taiwan.

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is approximately 10% of the population in many countries. CKD progresses to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), resulting in adverse outcomes, prolonged hospitalization, and increased healthcare costs. Therefore, reducing CKD progression to ESRD is recognized as an important health issue. Materials and Methods: Data from the study participants with stage 3 to stage 5 CKD (n = 7668) were collected from the National Health Insurance (NHI) program in Taiwan (1 November 2014 to 31 December 2020). CKD patients who had ingested or not ingested N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for three years were divided into the study group (NAC users; n = 165) and the control group (NAC non-users; n = 165) to explore whether NAC use could alleviate CKD progression and reduce the risks associated with hemodialysis in CKD patients. Results: The levels of serum creatinine (SCr) and estimated globular filtration rate (eGFR) were nearly unchanged and/or slightly changed in NAC users, but the SCr levels were slightly increased, and the eGFR levels were significantly decreased in NAC non-users at the six-month interval during the three years. A statistical difference was observed between the two groups for both levels from 12 months to 36 months. The incidence rate of hemodialysis was significantly lower in NAC users than in non-NAC users (4.8% vs. 12.7%, Wald test = 5.947, p = 0.015, OR = 34.9). These results indicated that NAC use may improve renal function of CKD patients by modulating SCr and eGFR and, in turn, reducing the risk of hemodialysis. Conclusions: We investigated whether NAC could be used to reduce CKD progression to ESRD. For the three-year retrospective study, the incidence rate of hemodialysis was significantly lower in NAC users than in non-NAC users via modulating SCr and eGRF levels. NAC use might be a useful clinical approach for reducing CKD progression to ESRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been almost a decade since the introduction of the primary EFL education policy in Taiwan. Many controversial issues and problems have emerged from this implementation that continue to constitute great challenges for the Taiwanese government in reforming current policies and practices related to English language teaching at the primary level. The purpose of this study was to explore these implementation problems and issues that have arisen through an investigation of Grade 5 parents' perspectives on the effects of the primary EFL education policy using questionnaires and follow-up interviews. The results of the study show that parents place an overemphasis on English education policy, reflecting their worries and insecurities that derive from the government's stress on international competitiveness, and that this in turn has resulted in parents putting even greater pressure on policy-makers to reform English language education in Taiwan. As a consequence, problems and controversies have arisen related to inconsistencies that exist between the macro- and micro-level implementation forces. The study includes a discussion of and implications for the possible reforms of primary EFL education policy that aim to improve implementation in order to better serve the EFL learning needs of students in Taiwan. (Contains 10 tables.)

High-tech companies encounter intense competition in today's global economy. With rapid changes in working environments, high-tech employees must learn quickly and effectively to solve difficult problems and increase their productivity. Many large high-tech companies have recently implemented electronic learning (e-learning) for employee training. However, e-learning systems are expensive and often underutilised. Therefore, understanding the factors associated with acceptance to e-learning are of priority concern. By integrating locus of control, computer self-efficacy and technology acceptance model (TAM) into one model, this study examines the feasibility of the extended TAM to explain employee acceptance of e-learning systems. Data were collected from 223 employees at five high-tech companies located in the Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. Analytical results indicate that locus of control had significant direct effects on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Computer self-efficacy had significant direct effects on perceived ease of use and behavioural intention to use. Overall, analytical results provide strong support for using the extended TAM to explain user acceptance of e-learning systems. The research and practical implications of findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chlorine-based disinfectants are often used to sanitize fruit and vegetables to produce a product called ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetables. During the disinfection process, disinfection byproducts (DBPs), such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), might be formed via chlorination., Objective: To determine the amounts of DBPs that occur in RTE vegetables in Taiwan, an analytical method which can detect THMs and HAAs simultaneously was developed for this study., Methods: For HAAs, dimethyl sulfate (DMS) was first added into the sample as derivatization reagent and tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate (TBA-H 2 SO 4 ) was used as the ion-pairing agent to improve the derivatization process. Afterwards, the solid-phase microextraction (SPME) procedure coupled with gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometers (GC/MS/MS) was performed to measure the HAAs derivatives and THMs in the sample., Results: A total of 92 single RTE ingredients were analyzed in this study. Among various THMs and HAAs, the results showed that dibromochloromethane (21%) and dichloroacetic acid (12%) had the highest detection rates, respectively. Compared with fruits, vegetables were more easily to contain DBPs. For adults in Taiwan, the maximum daily exposure of THMs and HAAs estimated via the consumption of RTE vegetables were 28.53 and 77.83 μg, respectively., Significance: The findings from this study suggest that the exposure of DBPs from RTE vegetables is an important food safety issue in Taiwan., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)