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Since the 1970s, a continuous exchange of information about conservation between Europe and East Asia has greatly influenced approaches to the treatment of paper objects as well as the tools and materials used. This knowledge is often disseminated and absorbed in a purely practical manner, stripped out of its wider cultural context. However, what is considered 'appropriate' treatment is closely linked to how a particular culture has historically interacted with artworks and arguably the lack of broader cultural perspectives can lead to misguided assumptions in the evaluation of those practices. This article reflects on the differences between European and East Asian cultures of paper conservation. By taking into consideration the relevant cultural, philosophical and historical contexts, the article aims to explore how approaches to conservation, as well as to the profession itself, have developed in these two different parts of the world. It further encourages paper conservators to reflect on their own training and practices while offering an understanding of how these approaches can sometimes be mutually exclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of paper lining in conservation and mounting of East Asian paintings. Topics include details on the weak materials of paper and silk and their use in paintings, details on the various available methods of paper lining, the role of paper lining in providing support to a painting by reinforcing its silk or paper substrate, details on the different papers used in lining techniques, details on the different adhesives used in lining such as wheat starch paste, and details on Chinese style lining.

Paper City (2021), directed by Adrian Francis, is a documentary film that highlights the 70th anniversary of the firebombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945. The film presents three elderly survivors' oral accounts of the firebombing and observes their work as memory activists in a long campaign to compel the Japanese government to publicly memorialize the event in a way commensurate with its enormous devastation. Reflecting on issues of memory and forgetting, Francis intends the film as a way of passing survivors' experiences to audiences, who can help to transfer memory to others and to generations beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how geography matters for the location of industries in East Asia, employing regression analyses on a novel and comprehensive regional GDP dataset. This study examines how geography affects industrial location patterns, particularly the role of infrastructure, such as ports and airports. This paper analyzes the current economic geography of East Asia using the novel dataset. The regression analyses utilize location quotients as the dependent variable and incorporate explanatory variables, such as domestic/foreign market access, per capita income, population density, and distance-based dummies for ports and airports. The findings reveal that the determinants of industrial location differ significantly across industries. The relative importance of domestic versus foreign market access and proximity to ports and airports varies across sectors. The results imply that countries/regions cannot easily host industries of their choice, as different industries require distinct locational characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Just as they are to the events themselves, the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics have become central to academic research on the Games and their political, social, and cultural roles. And so the recent string of Olympic Games held in East Asia – two of them under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic – offer the opportunity to think both about region-specific meanings associated with these highly scripted affairs and about the ways they might destabilize broader judgments about the Olympics and their implications. This paper introduces the contributions to this special volume on the Opening Ceremonies at Asia's recent Olympic Games, aiming to draw attention not only to the specific contributions of each paper but also to the themes that they collectively engage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese economy is slowing down and is in the midst of a structural transformation from export-led and investment-led growth to domestic demand-led and consumption-led growth. While there are widespread concerns among China's trading partners about the effect of the slowdown in China's growth on their exports, China's structural changes are also likely to have a significant impact: for example, China will import fewer machines and more cosmetics. The central objective of the present paper is to empirically examine the effect of China's structural transformation on the exports of East Asian economies, which have close trade linkages with China. We find that economies that have failed to increase the share of consumption goods in their exports to China have suffered larger declines in their quantities of exports to China. In addition, economies that have suffered losses in their shares of China's parts and components imports have faced reductions in their shares in China's total imports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The height of the F2 peak electron density (hmF2) is an essential parameter in studying ionospheric electrodynamics and high-frequency wireless communication. Based on ionosphere ray propagation theory, the physical relationship between M3000F2 and hmF2 is derived and visualized. Furthermore, based on the above physical theory and the machine learning method, this paper proposes a new model for determining hmF2 using propagation factor at a distance of 3000 km from the ionospheric F2 layer, time, and season. This proposed model is easy to understand and has the characteristics of clear principles, simple structure, and easy application. Furthermore, we used six stations in east Asia to verify this model and compare it with the other three models of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model. The results show that the proposed model (PRO) has minor error and higher accuracy. Specifically the RMSE of the BSE, AMTB, SHU, and the PRO models were 20.35 km, 31.51 km, 13.59 km, and 5.68 km, respectively, and the RRMSE of the BSE, AMTB, SHU, and PRO models were 8.17%, 11.88%, 4.96%, and 2.12%, respectively. In addition, the experimental results show that the PRO model can better predict the trend of the hmF2 inflection point. This method can be further extended to add data sources and provide new ideas for studying the hmF2 over global regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the latest issue's "Editor's Note" of EASTS, Wen-hua Kuo made a call to East Asian science studies scholars to commit to an archeology of the social and technical infrastructure of epidemics. Coincidently, ten historians and sociologists working on science, technology, medicine, and environment with a focus on China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea had just begun a collective effort to understand how face masks had become the most important part of the current pandemic governance in East Asia. As its first step, a virtual workshop, "The Socio-Material History of Masked Societies in East Asia," was held at the Max-Planck Institute for the History of Science on 26 October 2020. This forum aims to introduce the virtual meeting's outcome to the wider EASTS community and encourages them to engage with the collaborative enterprise to investigate the history of masks. All papers focus on the socio-material dimension of masks while problematizing current culturalist explanatory narratives about "masked societies" in East Asia. By doing so, the papers show how mask use is closely linked to heterogenous but interconnected entanglements of environmental governance, political movements, and risk cultures in East Asian polities. It interrogates these relationships in the context of scientific controversies and quarantine regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) samples dominating research has been ongoing for decades, and now the emerging trend is to turn to theoretical perspectives from the Majority World. Adopting Western-centric methods based on reductionism can overlook important details and differences between similar cultures, particularly in East Asian cultures, where the Confucian values of relational harmony take many forms. We discuss a novel theoretical perspective on moral constitutions in Confucian heritage cultures. Our central tenet is that divergent moral concepts and ideals are present in Confucian cultures because each culture emphasizes a specific pillar and the self is situated differently in the social relationships that define the scope of interpersonal moral obligations. We consider three Confucian countries: China, Japan, and South Korea as examples. Despite geographical proximity and conventional categorization in cultural psychology, each Confucian country manifests distinct patterns of the self, moral ideals, and behavior in socio-moral contexts. To understand how and why moral worldviews vary within a region, we need to examine how the self in socio-cultural contexts differs and guides interpersonal norms and behaviors across sociocultural contexts. We conclude this paper by offering methodological recommendations for including indigenous moral concepts outside the WEIRD context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although there have been qualitative meta-syntheses on experiences of eating disorders treatments, there is a paucity of syntheses specifically examining the perspectives and experiences of eating disorders treatments (ED) in East Asia (EA). Such synthesis could facilitate a better understanding of culture-specific perspectives and experiences. This review complements a quantitative scoping review published on ED treatments in EA (Yim & Schmidt, 2023), where most interventions reviewed focused on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and internet interventions. The present meta-synthesis summarises stakeholders' views on treatments and to synthesise clinical and research recommendations. Method: A systematic search of five databases and a citation search were conducted to identify relevant studies and data were analysed using thematic synthesis. Out of the 301 studies found, a total of 12 papers were included in the analysis. Results: A diverse range of treatments, such as family therapy, paediatric/psychiatric inpatient care, CBT, and counselling, were discussed. Three overarching themes were identified: Delineating Physical and Psychological Recovery; 'I am not alone in this battle'; and Barriers to Change. The themes further delve into the various obstacles to recovery, including financial concerns and limited access to professionals and services. Culture-specific factors include family obligations and promoting family harmony. Balancing interdependence and independence from one's family, as well as understanding family body ideals versus broader societal body ideals, are important considerations in ED interventions. Discussion: Some themes paralleled other qualitative syntheses, highlighting improved family relationships, perceived authoritarianism in treatments, and financial barriers. The review extends beyond the previous findings, revealing nuanced factors like family roles, cultural values, and norms. Clinical recommendations include incorporating family context in treatment and considering cultural influences on body image ideals. Capacity building through telemedicine and increased training is essential for advancing ED treatment in East Asia. Continued research is needed to better understand and treat people affected by ED in EA. Plain English Summary: Research on eating disorders (EDs) treatment mainly focuses on Western countries, with little exploration of experiences in East Asia. To fill this gap, we reviewed 12 studies on the perspectives of individuals, families and clinicians regarding EDs treatments in East Asia. Our synthesis identified three main themes: Physical and Psychological Recovery: Effective treatment needs to address both physical and mental aspects of recovery. Finding Support – 'I am not alone in this battle': Many individuals find strength in knowing they are not alone. Barriers to Change: Obstacles like financial difficulties, limited EDs knowledge from professionals, and cultural factors can hinder recovery. Cultural-specific factors such as family obligations and maintaining family harmony can impact on treatment motivation and effectiveness. Balancing family's wishes/ interdependence and personal aspirations/ independence can also be a challenge. Our findings highlight the need for culturally sensitive treatments. Expanding telemedicine and increasing provider training can also help overcome treatment barriers. In conclusion, understanding cultural and contextual factors is essential for developing effective support systems and improving ED treatment outcomes in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare the number and quality of public, environmental and occupational health articles published in international journals from the 3 major non-English speaking countries of East Asia: China, Japan and Korea. Material and Methods: Public, environmental and occupational health articles from China, Japan and Korea that were published in 161 journals from 2003 to 2012 were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) database. We recorded the numbers of total articles, impact factors (IF), citations, number of articles in top 10 journals, references as well as the article distribution from various regions in China. Results: From 2003 to 2012, China, Japan and Korea published 5713, 3802 and 1967 papers respectively, with accumulated impact factor of 14 934.55, 8758.36 and 6189.25, the average impact factor of 2.61, 2.30 and 3.15 and the average citation numbers per document of 5.08, 6.49 and 5.25. In the top 10 high-impact public, environmental and occupational health journals, China, Japan and Korea accounted for 50.19%, 20.34% and 29.47% of all the papers published in those journals, respectively. Total impact factors of the most popular 10 papers for China, Japan and Korea were: 26.23, 27.08 and 26.91. Distribution of scientific papers among regions was unbalanced in China, for Hong Kong and Taiwan it accounted for 47.31% of the papers from China. Conclusions: From 2003 to 2012, both the quality and number of papers from China published in public, environmental and occupational health journals have greatly improved. China exceeded Japan and Korea in the number, accumulated impact factor, total citation times and the average number of references, while Korea had the highest average impact factor. Japan had the highest journal impact factor among the most popular journals, and the highest average citation number per document. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a Bourdieusian field analysis to unpack the intersection among sexuality, place, and mobility through an ethnographic study of Taiwanese gay men's trips to Bangkok. It unveils that how the societal cause of 'Eastern orientation'— a racialised sexual desire for 'white Asians' among Thai gay men — and other material circumstances have transformed distinct scales of territory, including nation-states and gay establishments, into nuanced yet not thoroughly disparate sexual fields. Such nuances are closely associated with gay men's intra-Asian mobility between Thailand and Taiwan that I elucidate through the concept of 'sexuality on the move.' This concept suggests that individuals' geographical movements may diversify their sexual habitus as well as fluctuate their tiers of desirability and vice versa, delineating how different aspects of human sexuality are reshaping and reshaped during or after their embodied mobility. At the same time, their yearning for sexuality alterations also shapes the pattern of individuals' trans-national and intra-urban movements. Moreover, the paper underscores that these alterations are not just objective reality but these gay men's subjective belief which, along with their sexual desire, embodied practices and personal experiences composing a conceptual 'circuit of sex and tourism', attracting and captivating gay men to participate in and then be obsessed with this form of sexual/touristic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current times that emphasize active aging, older adults are often encouraged to participate in interest classes at community centers. Adopting an ethnographic research approach to understand the subjectivities of older mothers, this paper not only sees community centers as a space for older adults for taking interest classes, but also as an infrastructure that defines relationship values. This paper examines the motivations of older mothers in urban Taiwan who have established a routine at a community center. By emphasizing the public space, that is, the values indoctrinated at the community centers, this paper investigates how community center activities offer self-care practices for older women, and how these women embody motherhood by taking care of themselves. This paper expands the notion of motherhood by investigating the subjectivities of older mothers as well as the effects of the global aging discourse on them. This study of urban Taiwan sheds light on understanding the subjectivity of aging mothers in other East Asian cities. The data of this paper were collected through participant observations at community centers, in-depth interviews, and analysis of newspaper archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ratio of the total electron content (TEC) to the F2-layer peak electron density (NmF2) is known as the ionospheric equivalent slab thickness (EST, also known as τ), and it is a crucial indicator of the ionosphere. Using TEC and NmF2 data from the years 2010 to 2017, this work conducts a comprehensive statistical analysis of the ionospheric slab thickness in Beijing, which is in the midlatitude of East Asia. The outcomes show that the τ have different diurnal variations at different seasons for high/low-solar-activity years. On the whole, daytime τ significantly greater than nighttime τ in summer, and it is the opposite for the τ in winter regardless of the solar cycle, whereas the τ during equinox shows different morphology for high/low-solar-activity years. Specifically, daytime τ is larger than nighttime τ during equinox in years of high-solar activity, while the opposite situation applies for the τ during equinox in years of low-solar activity. Moreover, the pre-sunrise and post-sunset peaks are most pronounced during winter for low-solar-activity years. In summer, there is a great increase in τ during the morning hours when compared with other seasons. Furthermore, the τ decreases with the solar activity during nighttime, whereas it seems there is no correlation between daytime τ and solar activity. This paper explained the primary diurnal variations in τ across different seasons during high-/low-solar-activity years by analyzing relative fluctuations of TEC and NmF2 throughout the corresponding period. In addition, based on the disturbance index (DI), which is calculated by instantaneous τ and its corresponding median, this paper found that the storm-time τ might increase when compared with its median value during the daytime, while it may both increase and decrease during the nighttime, especially around dawn and dusk hours. To further analyze the physical mechanism, an example on 2 October 2013 is also presented. The results indicate that the positive disturbance of τ during the main phase of a geomagnetic storm might be caused by the prompt penetration electric field and neutral wind during the storm, and the τ increases during the early recovery phase might be due to the disturbance dynamo electric field as well as the neutral wind during the storm. Moreover, there is a negative disturbance of τ in the recovery phase during the most disturbed sunrise hours, and it might be due to the electric field reversal, neutral wind or other factors during this period. This paper notes the differences of τ in midlatitude between different longitudinal sectors from the related climatology and storm-time behavior, as it would be helpful to improve the current understanding of τ at midlatitudes in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the exchange of Ming porcelain between Ming China and Joseon in comparison with those exchanges between Ming and other countries in East Asia in order to bring out similarities and differences and highlight the complexity and dynamics of East Asian cultural exchanges. First, the similarities are that the times when the Ming court bestowed porcelain on other countries were concentrated in the first half of the fifteenth century in most of the Asian region. Within the framework of tribute trade, porcelain with a three-clawed dragon design was found in large quantities. During similar periods of time, Longquan celadon and Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain as well as private kiln porcelain wares increased and had common features. Second, what makes the exchange with Joseon distinctive is the introduction of porcelain overland by Ming envoys whose country of origin was Joseon and the shipment of table ware sets manufactured by Ming imperial kilns. Also, most of the Ming porcelain discovered in Joseon has been Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain which was common with other East Asian countries, but only a few discoveries of Longquan or Zhangzhou wares, nor was there much Kraak ware from Jingdezhen kilns or Southeast Asian celadons. These differences put Joseon in a unique position. This analysis provides an implication that diplomatic interactions and the changes in distribution brought about by the main trading forces should be considered in order to have a deep understanding of porcelain exchange between Ming China and Joseon and throughout East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]