北美航线——海上丝绸之路的最远端

北美航线是近代以广州为起点的海上丝绸之路的一部分,开端于美国独立后不久的1784年美国商船"中国皇后号"中国广州之旅.通过北美航线,美国商人以北美的人参、皮货交换中国的茶叶、丝绸和瓷器,在大洋彼岸的这两个国家互通有无、平等相处了整整60年光景.并通过分析北美航线的开端、繁盛和衰落,古为今用,说明了"北美航线"的历史作用.

Food-borne parasitic zoonosis: Distribution of trichinosis in Thailand

Trichinosis is among the most common food-borne parasitic zoonoses in Thailand and many outbreaks are reported each year. This paper investigates the distribution of the disease in regions of north, north-east, central and south Thailand. Between the earliest recorded of outbreak of trichinosis in Mae Hong Son Province in 1962 and 2006, there have been 135 outbreaks involving 7340 patients and 97 deaths in Thailand. The highest number of cases, 557, was recorded in 1983. Most infected patients were in the 35-44 year age group, and the disease occurred more frequently in men than women during 1962-2003, with no significant sex difference during 2004-2006. Outbreaks were most common in the northern areas, especially in rural areas where raw and under-cooked pork and/or wild animals are eaten. Human infections occur annually in northern Thailand during communal feasts celebrating the Thai New Year. Trichinosis causes have been reported every year, supporting the need for planning education programs.

Prevalence of atrial fibrillation in Thai elderly

Atrial fibrillation （AF） is an important health problem due to its association with serious complications.Ill Stroke is one of the most serious complications and is the leading cause of death and disabilities in this population. AF in- creases the risk of embolic stroke five times compared to general population. The prevalence of AF varies from 0.5%-15% depending on studied populations such as age,

Problems of elderly health care and welfare arrangement --Case study of demand on elder care in northeastern of Thailand

This research attempted to explain the problems of elderly health care, the problems and suggestion in elder welfare arrangement and the demand on elder care. The survey underlying this study was conducted in Muang district, Khon Kaen province, Thailand. Eighteen subdistricts were interviewed in the study area. Data were collected in two areas of Khon Kaen province, that are, the city of Khon Kaen and the outside Thesaban Nakhon Khon Kaen. The random sample consisted of 386 elders： 112 elders lived in the city of Khon Kaen and 234 elders lived outside Thesaban Nakhon Khon Kaen, Muang district, Khon Kaen. The analysis of the demand on elderly welfare gave an interesting result that the elders demanded on monthly income to support living cost and medical services at high level; The demand on housing was at low level; The demand on education, religion and culture the demand on club, sport and entertainment, and the demand on job and art were at the moderate level; The main problem of elderly welfare arrangement was the scarcity of budget support, the weakness of elder health, and activities announcement. The analysis of pattern of elder welfare： The case study of elder care identified that 31.87 percent of the elders had demand on elder care. Price of the elder care at 100 Baht per day was mostly selected about one-fourth of all the case occurred. Female elder selected the elder care at 100 Baht per day, while male elder choose at a higher price level, which were 200 Baht per day and 150 Baht per day respectively. The female elder care was the most popular. The elder care age between 30-39 years was mostly selected. Finally, most of elders purposed the working day of the elder care depend on their appointment.

Thai Elderly Population： Lifestyle Enhancement Amongst the Overweight and Hypertensive

Hypertension and obesity are two prevalent conditions that often simultaneously affect the same individual and can increase one＇s chances of cardiovascular morbidity. In Thailand, older people often seek medical attention at times when they are extremely ill. Healthy lifestyle behaviors are essential in order for one to maintain their health. Certain regimens can be initiated to manage and control health problems. However, very few know about how the elderly maintain their subjective physical well-being, while living with obesity and hypertension. This qualitative study focuses on describing health care practices and behaviors of overweight and hypertensive older people in everyday Thai society. Ten elderly people have participated in this study through purposive sampling. Qualitative data was gathered via in-depth interviews and was analyzed by using a content analysis method. The findings illustrate that health care seeking behaviors emerged from an understanding to seek health care; acting behaviors based on knowledge, and seeking health care support. Most overweight and hypertensive elderly people in Thai cultures have the desire to maintain their everyday lives by continuing their routines or traditions that were in place before seeking professional attention. This knowledge is useful in developing health care practices with wider implications such as holistic care to elderly people for alleviating their suffering by promoting healthy lifestyles and maintaining healthy blood pressure.

Television Programs Development for Elderly in Thailand

The objective of this research was to study the current situation of TV programs aimed at elderly viewers on free TV channels in Thailand. To investigate this topic, a qualitative research approach was applied. The researcher interviewed 30 key informants, consisting of TV administrators, professional experts, academic experts, experts on the elderly, and TV program advertising sponsors. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and analyzed descriptively. This was an interdisciplinary research, drawing from the fields of communication arts, sociology, demography, psychology, management science, and government media policy studies to develop a broad picture of the future of TV programs for the elderly. The major finding was that TV programs aimed specifically at elderly viewers are likely to appear in the near future as Thai society becomes an aging society. The three major factors that will lead to suitable approaches to the development of TV programs for the elderly are： （1） the external factors of the rising numbers of elderly people in the population, CSR （Corporation Social Responsibility） marketing, and government policies; （2） the internal factors of the free TV channels＇ policies and the TV producers＇ policies; and （3） the program-related factors of the value of the elderly in Thai culture, the forms of TV programs for senior viewers, the psychology of the aged, and expansion of target viewer age groups.

Pain, Struggle, and Hope： An African American Reading of Mildred D. Taylor＇s The Land

The Land （2001） is a powerful coming-of-age story by African-American writer Mildred D. Taylor. Through vividly depicting the mental and physical pains suffered by black people as well as the undying hope of protagonist Paul in the struggle of achieving social and economic independence by obtaining a land of his own, Mildred D. Taylor not only pungently exposes the evils of racism but also successfully builds up positive image of black character in The Land. Based on African American criticism theory and close reading of the text, the present paper aims at exploring the central themes of pain, struggle, and hope presented in the novel with the hope of interpreting the historical and realistic significance of the novel.

Awakening from genuine love in Lady Chatterley＇s lover

Both D. H. Lawrence and his novel Lady Chatterley＇s lover are sometimes prejudicially associated in the minds of the general public with pornography. Yet after meditative reading, we find that Lawrence, through revelation of Connie＇s gradual awakening from genuine love, has made his utmost effort to explore possible solutions to harmonious androgyny between men and women so as to revitalize the distorted human nature caused by the industrial civilization.

Appraisal of Common Dispute Problems on Public Works Projects in Thailand

The objectives of this research were to identify and appraising the common dispute problems in domestic and international funded public works projects. The interview and questionnaire method were used in this research. Randomly distributed questionnaire technique was applied to select samples of 390 various construction practitioners consisting of owners, consultants and main contractors to evaluate the severity of the 43 identified dispute factors. This survey found that contract and specification dispute problem was the highest concern among four main dispute problems for construction practitioners. The insufficient working drawing details factor was ranked as the highest overall severity index. The results of the survey also indicated that both domestic and international funded public projects faced moderately severe dispute level among construction team.

Negotiation Strategies of Myanmar Migrant Workers in the Sidhiphatra Cold Storage Factory, Songkhla Province

This paper studies the Myanmar migrant workers in Sidhiphatra Cold Storage Factory, Songkhla Province. This factory employs just over 2,000 Myanmar migrant workers. The authors study their ＂everyday life practices＂ as expressed in relationships among various groups, such as relationships between the Myanmar migrant workers and the factory, and the relationships between the Myanmar migrant workers and the Thai people of the surrounding communities. In analyzing these relationships and negotiations, the authors borrow the concept of ＂tactics of everyday life＂ from Michel de Certeau as a framework for analysis. The authors＇ analyses are based on in-depth interviews, non-participant observations, and focus-group discussions that collectively explored the tactics, in de Certeau＇s sense, that the Myanmar migrant workers used in negotiating their relationships with the factory and with the various communities in the area. The results indicate that Myanmar migrant workers negotiate their relationship with the factory by expressing themselves as selected workers, good workers, and being obedient to the factory＇s rules. The conflicts caused by Myanmar and Cambodian migrant workers are negotiated. Besides, Myanmar migrant workers also negotiate their relationship with the Thai people living in the surrounding communities. Their approach is showing that they are part of the communities by participating in the activities with the aim to gain acceptance of the Thai people in the surrounding communities.

Quantitative Assessment of the Effects of Climate Change and Human Activities on Grassland NPP in Altay Prefecture

Grassland degradation in Altay Prefecture is of considerable concern as it is a threat that hinders the sustainable development of the local economy and the stable operation of the livestock industry.Quantitative assessment of the relative contributions of climate change and human activities,which are considered as the dominant triggers of grassland degradation,to grassland variation is crucial for understanding the grassland degradation mechanism and mitigating the degraded grassland in Altay Prefecture.In this paper,the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach model and the Thornthwaite memorial model were adopted to simulate the actual net primary productivity(NPP_(A))and potential net primary productivity(NPP_(P))in the Altay Prefecture from 2000 to 2019.Meanwhile,the difference between potential NPP and actual NPP was employed to reflect the effects of human activities(NPP_(H))on the grassland.On this basis,we validated the viability of the simulated NPP using the Pearson correlation coefficient,investigated the spatiotemporal variability of grassland productivity,and established comprehensive scenarios to quantitatively assess the relative roles of climate change and human activities on grassland in Altay prefecture.The results indicate three main points.(1)The simulated NPP_(A) was highly consistent with the MOD17 A3 dataset in spatial distribution.(2)Regions with an increased NPP_(A) accounted for 70.53% of the total grassland,whereas 29.47% of the total grassland area experienced a decrease.At the temporal scale,the NPP_(A) presented a slightly increasing trend(0.83 g C m^(-2) yr^(-1))over the study period,while the trends of NPP_(P) and NPP_(H) were reduced(-1.31 and-2.15 g C m^(-2) yr^(-1)).(3)Compared with climate change,human activities played a key role in the process of grassland restoration,as 66.98% of restored grassland resulted from it.In contrast,inter-annual climate change is the primary cause of grassland degradation,as it influenced 55.70% of degraded grassland.These results could shed light on the mechanisms of grassland variation caused by climate change and human activities,and they can be applied to further develop efficient measures to combat desertification in Altay Prefecture.