by Sean Huang
Will small coffee shops be taken over by chain store cafes? Recently, some coffee fundamentalists, people who insist that coffee be a kind of art, have cried out that the precious cultural legacy of coffee is in danger of invasion from capitalism’s chain stores. Chain coffee shops with giant and uniform signs are on every corner. Even more, when people talk about coffee shops, they are usually referring to Starbucks, IS Coffee, or Barista. It would seem that the traditional coffee shops stand no chance to compete with them. But why are there still so many small cafes? Are they doomed to disappear from the market? The first image one associates with large chain stores may be convenience and high quality, and that image is exactly what chain cafes want to promote. The owner of Starbucks once said that what they are selling is not only a product but an experience. With uniform processing and excellent production techniques, chain cafes are capable of providing coffee with reliable quality at each branch; with their large capital, they can successfully purchase the hottest locations to bring in large numbers of customers. Like fast-food chain stores, chain cafes have become a famous business model. Though some coffee fanatics criticize this model as annihilating the variety and originality of coffee culture, it actually helps individual cafes thrive. Different from large coffee shops, small cafes have their own characteristics such as special decorations, variety foods, and unique ambience, reasons why their customers are mostly regular patrons. Quiet, hidden cafes can satisfy those in quest of a place to get away from reality, and fancy, avant-garde cafes provide an environment where yuppies take refuge. Furthermore, unlike chain stores, small cafes may be located at a small corner or even in an alley. Thus, on holidays, some people will prefer a near and familiar coffee shop to enjoy a lazy day. With such high customer loyalty, small cafes can survive well in competition with the chain stores. It is easy to see why both chain stores and individual cafes flourish. We need both of them for different reasons. If we need someplace to discuss schoolwork we go to the clean, convenient, and moderately priced chain cafes; on the other hand, when we want to enjoy solitude we go to individual cafes. Of course, there’s still acute competition in the industry, but those contests are in two different battlefields, among chain stores and among characterized cafes. Without a good location and enough cash flow to cover the cost, the most famous chain store may still fail. On the other hand, with the right market position and the right target customers, small cafes can still have a brisk trade. People drink coffee for different reasons: coffee fundamentalists may still contend that chain coffee shops sell coffee drinks and not coffee. It seems that the increasing number of coffee consumers no longer place emphasis on the story behind the beans and the boiling process but only drink coffee to pursue a fashion or vogue. However, the wave of chain cafes at least increases the popularity of coffee. As chain cafes open, the coffee experience becomes a commonality among us and no longer belongs only to certain groups. Of course, this popularity has some unfavorable effects as well, but it gives us the chance to experience a great variety of coffee cultures. #Volume 7 Issue 1
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by Steven Lee
The sun is shining after the long rainy days and you just don’t feel like writing your report at The Depressing Library. However you still have to access the Internet to find more information to write(or copy?) your paper. There is one great escape for this! Grab your (if you have one) laptop oryour friend’s and go to shao-shao-fu to feel the warm sun and watch the women (or men) on thesunny day. WLAN will help you to access to the internet wire-free and worry-free. The Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) enables you to access the internet anywhere, withoutwires or cables. To feel the advantage of WLAN, there are certain items you need andconditions you must meet. First, of course, you need a laptop!! Then you need to have a WLANcard. The difference between a LAN card and a WLAN card is like a normal wired phone and a wireless phone. Once you got your laptop (or your friend’s) and your WLAN card, the WLAN cardwill help you to access the Internet within an area of 100-200m from the Access Point or AP.The AP is a kind of antenna that catches the radio waves from your WLAN card. The AP is connected to the backbone of the internet by wire. If you don’t understand what WLAN and AP are, you can think of WLAN as your cell phone and the AP as the transmitter. Of course there is another way to get on the web without wire, such as using a mobile phone. However there are some great advantages to using WLAN. First of all, using WLAN to access the internet costs much less than using a mobile phone. Once an AP is implanted, there are no extra costs and no monthly bills. The other great advantage is speed. With WLAN, your laptop can achieve speeds up to 11 mbps (in theory, but in reality 5-6 mbps); with mobile phones, the best you can get is 144 kbps. Because of the flexibility of the Wireless LAN system, it is already common in some special areas. Here are some examples: -In hospitals, patients’ records can be transferred using a PDA or hand-held laptop. -In training centers and universities, students and faculty can access information without cables. -WLAN can provide a backup for normal LAN services when they are used in mission-critical situations. -Warehouse workers can use WLAN to connect to the main database and increase their productivity. As the above examples show, WLAN has gained strong popularity in a number of vertical markets, including the health-care, retail, manufacturing, warehousing, and academic arenas. Now let’s get back to reality. You might wonder: “Is it around us and can we get to use it?” “How much money will it cost?” “Isn’t a WLAN card really expensive?” Here are some answers: yes, it is already around. For example, in the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering there are about 15 AP’s, so students can enjoy the wireless world anywhere – even the bathroom! – in their building. The number of APs needed depends on the region of coverage and number of users. The price of a single AP is from US$800 to $2000, and a single WLAN card costs from US$200.00 to $700.00. Can WLAN be commercial? This question is really hard to answer. It is easy to find LANs around schools and offices, but the purpose of these LANs is not commercial. The main purpose is sharing information and using databases. So does WLAN have no possibility of having commercial uses? Well, some Korean companies are planning to provide WLAN services in Korea early next year. If they succeed, Taiwanese companies will try the same business model,and then the time for surfing at the shao-shao-fu on a sunny day will not be too far away. #Volume 7 Issue 1 by Mike Yuan
Hello, baseball fans and sports lovers! You now have a chance to rock yourself in a world-class baseball feast, for the first time right here in Taiwan! After one year of coordination and hard work, Taiwan is ready for the most significant baseball event ever to take place on this friendly ground. The XXXIVth Baseball World Cup 2001 will take place in Taipei, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung from the 6th to the 18th of November! Only the world’s top 16 teams, ambitious and eager to show their prowess, can compete on the fields for the utmost honor – Champion of the World! Officials of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) recognized Taiwan’s efforts to show the world that its people have a deep love for the game of baseball, and thus Taiwan was put in charge of the event. The countries participating in this year’s games are: Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, France, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Cuba, the United States, Canada, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Panama. Taiwan will provide our guests with the finest stadiums in the country, including Taipei’s Tien-Mu Stadium and Hsinchuang Stadium, Chiayi’s Chiayi Stadium, and Kaohsiung’s Chenching Lake Stadium. Taiwan has chosen the Formosa Black Bear as the mascot of the games. It is the largest carnivore on the island and possesses the traits of vigor, courage, and friendliness, which is an image Taiwan is trying to broadcast to the world. Sports lovers of Northern Taiwan, for games in Tien-Mu, you can take the Taipei Rapid Transit to the Chi-San (芝山) Station (on the Tanshui Line) and hop onto direct buses to the stadium. For games in Hsinchuang, take bus 235, 299, 513, 615, 616, or 618. Remember! DRIVING IS NOT ENCOURAGED, since parking spaces are limited. You can buy tickets at all the 7-Eleven outlets, or log onto http://ticket.acer121.com.tw. Prices are listed in the following table: Seats Early Rounds Final Round Adult Children Adult Children Grandstand 300 200 500 300 Bleachers 150 150 250 250 It is important for fans to note that Cuba has won the last six world championships! Taiwan ended up 13th out of 16 teams in 1998. The best place our team received was two runner-up positions in 1984 and 1986. Sports lovers and fans: the home team needs your participation! Go cheer for local baseball prodigies Cheng Jin-Feng (陳金峰), Chang Tai-Shan (張泰山), Hsu Ming-Chieh (許銘傑), Kuo Lee Chien-Fu (郭李建夫), and their national squad and experience baseball mania! And don’t forget to chat with Tommy, the lovely mascot bear! For more information, log onto http://www.ctba.org.tw/ #Volume 7 Issue 1 by Abel Lei
A man with two or more cars nowadays is common and shows his status in society. In traditional Chinese society, a man with three or four wives was not rare and also represented his status, property, and vanity. It seemed that women at that time were doomed to sacrifice themselves for their families, since they were considered inferior to men. Tears were a regular part of women’s lives, taken for granted. The story of the TV series, The Oranges are Ripe, takes place in the context of such a tradition. A wife volunteers to find a village girl for her husband because she had produced no offspring. But to the wife’s surprise, the girl unexpectedly fell in love with one of the husband’s brothers, which not only ruined the wife’s plans but also destroyed the balance in the family. The wife was a representation of traditional Chinese women – a typical victim. For her, all her happiness depended on her husband. Because since she could not have children, she had no position in her husband’s heart. If the village girl could have a baby for the husband, the wife would win her happiness back. But the wife did not expect that the girl would change her mind and ruin everything. Naturally, the girl was also a victim. At the beginning, she was willing to give herself as a tool for the family until she met the husband’s brother. The brother evoked her repressed feelings and taught her to cope with her desires. The girl realized that no matter what gender one was everybody had the right to pursue happiness. She understood that the wife and herself were two individuals and that the happiness that the wife had arranged neither belonged to her nor suited her. Under pressure from the wife and from society, however, the girl was not allowed to pursue happiness, and she ended up falling love with the brother. Oranges symbolize the wife’s happiness because her husband used to return to her when oranges were ripe. The Oranges are Ripe is a tragedy because no one achieved the happiness that he or she was pursuing, and because the chains of old doctrines imprisoned everyone. Even a well-educated man like the brother still failed to get rid of these invisible bonds. In the end, he chose to submit to the expectations of his family, which meant marrying his fiancée. In addition, the wife did not obtain happiness even if she managed to get a baby for her husband, because she realized that the happiness for which she had to sacrifice others was not real. And what about the village girl? Although she sacrificed herself, one might say that she was also rewarded by being freed from the feudal codes that had cost her her life. Watching The Oranges are Ripe I realized why educated young men and women were so eager to become involved in a cultural revolution. However, I also learned something beneath the surface, something spiritual. I wonder: do people even now notice that they begin relationships so quickly without realizing how to treasure happiness? Everyone is chasing happiness, but no one realizes it’s already by his or her side – whether or not the oranges are ripe. #Volume 7 Issue 1 (by Chairil Anwar, March 1943/translated by Rodi Yanto and Li Ly Liu)
Kalau sampai waktuku ‘Ku mau tak seorang 'kan merayu Tidak juga kau Tak perlu sedu sedan itu Aku ini binatang jalang Dari kumpulannya terbuang Biar peluru menembus kulitku Aku tetap meradang menerjang Luka dan bisa kubawa berlari Berlari Hingga hilang pedih peri Dan aku akan lebih tidak perduli Aku mau hidup seribu tahun lagi ***************************************** If my time should come I’d like no one to entice me Not even you No need for those sobs and cries I am but a wild animal Cut from its kind Though bullets should pierce my skin I shall still strike and march forth Wounds and poison shall I take and flee Fleeing 'Til the pain should disappear And I should care even less I want to live for another thousand years #Volume 7 Issue 1 by Vahid Buehrer
I am young, I am bald, and I do not have a girlfriend. But that doesn’t matter. I may not have a doctorate for relationships, but for sure my friends do. Therefore, this article will be from an outsider’s point of view filled with all the juicy stories we all love hearing. Stories that smell like roses and Emporio Armani perfume, stories that taste like chocolate melting in your mouth with the sweetness of love. The sweetness that attracts two individual souls to bond together for a reason so marvelous that no one can explain it. Or did I get it all wrong? Maybe time has past and relationships are not all about roses and chocolates anymore, but full of desires or ebullience to experience a new culture. The culture where the chocolates and perfumes originate, and the roses flourish. The answers lie within the stories. “Relationships are like a box of chocolate. You never know which chocolate you’re gonna get,” said a friend of mine who I will keep anonymous. He must be right, since he had already changed girlfriends four times in the past six months. He’s a foreigner and always gives it his best shot to show his love and consideration (that’s what he says). This means, high-class restaurants with candlelit dinners, expensive little gifts and a “wow, that’s a little too much” phone bill every month. The result. Not devastating, but surly an, “Ouch, that hurt!” The first one still loves him, even though she’s overseas. The second never worked out right, because she already had a boyfriend. The third? A big ouch for him, when he finally heard in her own words, “I did it with someone else.” The last, an ongoing story that seems to have a very good start with a whole new character. “This time it’s a ‘spiritual’ relationship,” he says. Compared to his past fairly “physical” record, I’d say he’s putting his words into action. It seems that he loves this one the most, but that’s how they all seem when people are together. You never know until they break up or get married. One thing for sure is that this is the first time my friend refused to tell me the story about what happened during the weekends, when he mysteriously disappeared with his girlfriend. He defends himself by saying, “I respect my girlfriend.” Respect is a new phenomenon in this relationship business of his. It seems to bring stability. “A bond between two people that share a common interest, pursue happiness while aspiring to achieve their personal goals and endeavors,” is how another friend of mine perceives relationships. It would definitely be a model dictionary definition, which means that it would be hard to relate to the trend in society nowadays. If you’ve gone to places like Roxy 99 or Roxy Vibe you would definitely agree. A friend of mine who use to work there once told me, “Those girls seem to go home with a different guy every other day!” What do these girls want? (Sorry if I’ve offended anyone.) Another person I know seems to have the answer. “Women are all about emotions,” he says. I don’t know if that’s true, but it is a fact that girls seem to love him. He has maintained one of his relationships for a long time now. They’ve been together even before I got to know him. Once the girl even threatened to commit suicide and my friends and I had to go “make things safe.” The result: she’s still alive and doing fine, but they still like playing the “we broke up again” game once in a while. Loyalty seems to be the factor that brings them back together, even though it’s only one-sided most of the time. Relationships are complicated and they only get more complicated when they originate from western culture, in other words, in pubs and bars. I don’t mean McDonald’s! Relationships are different in all cultures and countries, so by the end the question becomes, “what do people want to get out of a relationship?” and not, “what is a relationship?” Relationships are made up of two or more individuals. You can have a choice between chocolates and nice candlelit dinners or a partner to share your interests and pursue happiness, or you can also have fun playing the “we broke up again” game or even have a “spiritual relationship.” There is a lot more about relationships, but the most important thing is, you are clear about what type of relationship you want, and how much you are willing to sacrifice for it. #Volume 7 Issue 1 by Miranda Lo
How would you react if I tell you there’s someone who works for the German government blending in on our campus? Undercover espionage? Low-key diplomatic relations? Hold it, let me leak more info on Herr Mueller before you make up your mind. Strictly speaking, the organization he works for, the DAAD, is not a governmental organization, although it gets its funding from the German government. Its function is to provide academic exchange services between Germany and other countries. He’s a new member of the department; this is the second semester he has taken up the chalk at NTU. As some of you might have heard, Prof. Mueller teaches German in Mandarin! So you won’t be surprised to learn that he majored in Sinology. He decided to study both modern and ancient Chinese with a simple incentive: he wanted to study Chinese philosophy in the original language. Taking philosophy and German literature as side subjects, Prof. Mueller has made lots of interesting discoveries after juxtaposing and comparing western and eastern cultures. Now he specializes in Chinese intellectual history. Prof. Mueller has some juicy stories from the two years he spent studying Chinese in Shanghai on a DAAD scholarship. At that time, the approximately 300 foreign students on campus were completely isolated from local students – the dormitories and even cafeterias were segregated. The three dorms for foreign students were elaborately walled. Foreign students had heating and hot water while Chinese students didn’t. Prof. Mueller recalled that they actually had to leave the window open in the winter because it was so hot inside, while native students would stand outside shaking. According to him, they really wanted to commune with the local students, but the university tried to prevent any interaction between them. Thanks to restrictions on communication with the outside world, foreign students tended to cling together. Many couples were thus made on this Chinese love boat: Prof. Mueller met his Italian wife there too. When I asked him if she’s teaching Italian in Taiwan now, he humorously said, “No! She’s just my wife.” As director of the DAAD Study Information Center, Prof. Mueller strongly recommends students think about the possibility of studying in Germany because German higher education meets very high standards and provides a superb grounding in both wide and specialized knowledge. And there are no tuition fees, for foreign students as well as German ones, because they believe even people without a privileged background should be given an equal chance at higher education. Go to Germany to experience its liberal atmosphere, and while you’re waiting take some German lessons in our department! If you are interested in studying in Germany, watch out for the European Higher Education Fair next March. And visit the DAAD office (辛亥路1段24號7樓) on Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-6 p.m. You can also visit their website: http://www.germany.org.tw/daad or http://www.daad.de. #Volume 7 Issue 1 by Li Ly Liu
You better watch out if you have an abnormally fast pulse, tense muscles, a dry mouth, and diarrhea because these symptoms might be caused by stress. Many people today suffer from stress; however, it is not altogether negative because sometimes a little bit of pressure can help people grow up. Knowing more about the origins of stress can minimize its effects. Stress results in different symptoms and they cannot be prevented. Many students face stress from breakups, work overload, school and exam pressure, and poor social relationships. When stress gets out of control, our bodies might suffer from exhaustion, depression, burnout, or breakdown. In response to internal emotional upsets from stress, people also encounter worry or anxiety, illness, mood changes, increase in drinking and smoking, and difficulty in sleeping. Although a certain level of stress can prevent you from boredom, high level stress can seriously damage your health. Many people will feel tense when they feel pressure; relaxation is the crucial strategy to reduce resultant stress. Physically, you can exercise, listen to soft music, practice muscular relaxation and breathing control, try to stay calm, or slow down your work. Mentally, it is also good to change your attitude, learn how to control time and start heading towards positive thinking. Write down the problems that are troubling you to vent your feelings. If you are under pressure for a long time, it may be appropriate to change your lifestyle and the way you organize your life. To eliminate unnecessary stressors, which are the causes of stress symptoms, we have to identify our personal stressors. Reducing the noise level around us is a good way to cut down stress. To reduce chemical stress, try to have a balanced diet that provides a variety of nutrients and avoid the intake of pseudo-stressors, such as coffee, alcohol, nicotine, and sugar. Also, having adequate rest in a pleasant environment can improve the quality of your life and increase your resistance to stress. Despite today’s advanced technology, no doctor or medicine can prevent stress; you are the only one who can change your stress into success! Quiz: How Stressed Are You? 4=Always 3=Frequently 2=Sometimes 1=Never Enter the appropriate number in each box below: 1. Do you try to do as much as possible in the least amount of time? 2. Do you become impatient with delays or interruptions? 3. Do you always have to win at games to enjoy yourself? 4. Do you find yourself speeding up your car or motorcycle to beat a red light? 5. Are you unlikely to ask for or indicate you need help with a problem? 6. Do you constantly seek the respect and admiration of others? 7. Are you overly critical of the way others do their work? 8. Do you have the habit of looking at your watch or clock often? 9. Do you constantly strive to better your position and achievements? 10. Do you spread yourself “too thin” in terms of your time? 11. Do you have the habit of doing more than one thing at a time? 12. Do you frequently get angry or irritable? 13. Do you have little time for hobbies or time by yourself? 14. Do you have a tendency to talk quickly or hasten conversations? 15. Do you consider yourself hard-driving? 16. Do your friends or relatives consider you hard-driving? 17. Do you have a tendency to get involved in multiple projects? 18. Do you have a lot of deadlines in your work? 19. Do you feel vaguely guilty if you relax and do nothing during leisure? 20. Do you take on too many responsibilities? Total ____________ Answer key: For scores between 20-30 – chances are you are non-productive or your life lacks stimulation 31-50 – a good balance in your ability to handle and control stress 51-60 – your stress level borders on being excessively tense Over 60 – you are too stressed! This quiz is taken from http://www.arc.sbc.edu/stressquiz.html #Volume 7 Issue 1 |
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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