A Short Introduction to Taiwan Texas Forum

Started from an informal meeting at Mozart's Cafe by Town Lake, Taiwan Texas Forum, a.k.a. TT Forum, was established by a group of Taiwanese graduate students from various academic backgrounds (initially including Comparative Literature, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Educational Psychology, Foreign Language Education, Instrumental Technology, Linguistics, Mechanical Engineering, Neuroscience, Physics, Philosophy, Sociology and Theater Criticism) at the University of Texas at Austin in spring 2004.

Out of their enthusiasm and passions towards knowledge and their beloved motherland, Taiwan, members of TT Forum share the ambition to meet the following objectives:

1. The Forum is to broaden the horizons of knowledge of all its members.
   
2. It is a way to cultivate a serious attitude towards academic research.
   
3. By discussing what is happening in Taiwan, the Forum is a means to keep a concerned and watchful eye on our motherland while we are away from it.
   
4. It is an opportunity to practice the skills for making an academic presentation as well as leading and participating such a discussion.
   
5. By thinking beyond and across the traditional boundaries among academic disciplines, it is a chance for the members to be inspired and creative.
   
6. The Forum is also a place to share life and experience; a place to go for emotional supports.

Since its first meeting on January 24th 2005,TT Forum meets regularly every two or three Saturday afternoon, where members take turns chairing the meeting, presenting their research, and receiving feedbacks from others. At each meeting, we discuss some aspects of the latest happenings in Taiwan or the U.S. in hope to make Taiwan a better place.

Gan-Hua's talk 09/10/05

主講人：范綱華
講題：「美國青少年健康行為的性別差異：成因及影響」


演講的摘要內容要點如下：

1. 由青春期過渡到成年期，不同性別的青少年在健康行為上的差異；
2. 兩性健康行為差異的社會成因；
3. 青少年期健康行為對成年期健康的影響。

綱華提到幾個特殊的點，簡述如下：

一、社會經濟狀況影響個人對自我健康狀況的評量；中上階層的女性對自己的健康狀況較缺乏自信（如肥胖等外表的呈現），相對之下，中下階層的男性對自己的健康與外表有較正面的評價。

二、青春期為成熟與挑戰的開端，因此由賀爾蒙或其他因素所直接、間接造成的風險會影響到男女性的健康狀況，長遠的結果導致不同的壽命平均。

三、綱華介紹了幾個有趣的變數以及他們如何互相影響：如體脂肪與約會頻率；男女性參與學校體育活動跟其性生活的相關程度。

四、男女性的健康狀態成因可由數種理論來解釋，如社會控制理論（social control theory）、cultural resource theory，以及偏向生物性的因素（biosocial theory）等等。這幾種理論說明，男女性的差別可由如「賀爾蒙（單純的生物性因素）」或「社會控制（對傳統、權威的服從，此為社會文化角度的解釋）」 來解釋。


host:承甫

Fall 2005 Schedule

Date/Speaker/Host
09/10/綱華/徐翰->承甫
09/24/家誠/宜芬
10/08/德生/承甫->徐翰 (deferred)
10/22/湘韻/綱華
11/05/徐翰/文宏
11/19/瑜容/德生
12/03/文宏/一帆

TBD
2006/1 宜芬/岢錚(?)
2006/1 承甫/嘉誠
2006/2 明倫/天明
2006/2 天明/瑜容

蔡博士講座紀要 05/06/05

本次講座，請到任職於3M公司的蔡慶隆博士談3M公司一個世紀以來的創新。蔡博士首先簡介創立自1902年的3M公司發展的歷史、公司特色。他以 Traffic Sign、Scotchgard、Fresnel Lens、以及Post-It Note這四項3M產品為例，說明3M重視創新的公司文化。蔡博士接著舉了McDonald Fast Food Restaurant、Wal-Mart Retail Store、和Microsoft Software這三個因創新而成功的例子，說明「創新」的重要；並歸納出七個可以引發創新的條件。演講後，有同學問到台灣是否具備創新開發產品的能力， 蔡博士認為台灣不乏能創新的人才，但公司文化環境是否鼓勵創新，則有待觀察。

蔡慶隆博士演講照片集

再次感謝大家的熱烈參與以及forumers的辛苦籌備。