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Unlike in developed countries, most public toilets in China do not provide toilet paper onsite and users must bring their toilet paper. Moreover, an open waste bin is placed in each user's cubicle to collect used toilet paper and tissues. Such practices, which are common in East Asia and central America, have induced a dilemma of toilet paper disposal because some municipalities have removed waste bins from public toilets to prevent virus transmission by fecal matter. As a consequence, users were forced to flush down their used toilet paper and tissues. Yet, it is unknown whether standard toilet paper can be flushed easily without causing issues in sewer operations. Here, we surveyed the conditions of toilets in university campus and other public facilities in different regions across China. We also evaluated the disintegration characteristics of toilet paper products both by conducting online surveys and by physical disintegration experiments. We found that only 15% of toilets provided toilet paper, while open waste bins occurred at nearly all sites. Further, our survey indicated that 82% of toilet paper products sold in China did not give any indication on their flushability, whereas 77% of US products did. Disintegration results showed that none of the five popular, best-selling toilet paper products passed the flushability standard. We propose strategies to solve the current toilet paper dilemma in developing communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fiber of paper mulberry, which is mostly grown in the East Asian region, varies in both length and width—even if from the same species—depending on the country, soil, and climate where it is grown. This accounts for differences in the quality of handmade paper between domestic and imported products. Once handmade paper is manufactured as sheets, its origin cannot be determined from a morphological perspective, regardless of macroscopic and microscopic observations. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the origin of Korean and imported products using mulberry bast fiber and handmade paper from a chemometrics perspective. The inorganic components of wood are absorbed from the soil and exist in the bark of trees; thus, metal and rare-earth elements in the bast fibers and handmade papers were quantitatively analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy/mass spectrometry (ICP-AES/MS). Following this, a prediction model of their origin was constructed by applying multivariate statistical analysis, i.e., a partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) loading plot was constructed, which helped in identifying the discrimination factors resulting from their origin. According to the ICP-AES results, Pb was only detected in the Gyeongbuk Mungyeong dak sample of the Korean bast fibers. The Chinese bast fiber sample had high contents of Ca, and B and Zn were detected only in the Chinese bast fiber samples. Bast fiber samples from China, Japan, and Thailand showed relatively high contents of Al, Ca, and Na. Meanwhile, Cu and Zn were detected in the handmade paper manufactured from the imported materials. According to the ICP-MS results, among the Korean handmade papers, the products from Gyeongbuk Mungyeong, Andong, and Chungbuk Goesan exhibited a high U content and that from Gapyeong had high Sc, Rb, Sr, and Ba contents. Thus, the elemental analysis employed in this study effectively identified the origin of the papers. The origin prediction by PLS-DA for the domestic and imported products revealed an accuracy of 86.4% and 72.7% for ICP-AES and ICP-MS methods, respectively, which is deemed acceptable to assess the origin. We believe this method significantly contributes to determining the origin of paper mulberry bast fiber and handmade paper manufactured in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 presents the discussion on 2024 Far East NDT Forum (2024 FENDT Forum) will be held from 24 to 27 June 2024 at Zhongshan Hot Spring Resort in Guangdong Province, China. Topics include hydrogen energy equipment and detection technology; infrared and terahertz waves; electromagnetism; rail transit; aeronautics, astronautics; and sales businesses and research universities to showcase breakthrough NDT equipment.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including history of science in East Asia; Korean and Taiwanese academic contexts; and conversations among Asian societies.

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]

The article analyzes the concept of soft power in East Asia as it relates to the so-called decline of U.S. power and the simultaneous increase of military and diplomatic power exercised by China in the region. The author reviews soft power survey data and argues for the benefits of analyzing public opinion data in determining political power and influence in East Asia. A broad survey is utilized by the author to measure soft power in East Asia and the overall soft power of China is compared to other regional powers in categories such as economics, culture, and politics. The author concludes that the data show that Chinese soft power is relatively weak in East Asia.

The "Grotto-Heavens and Blissful Lands" (dongtian and fudi, 洞天福地) is a unique concept of sacred space in China and even in East Asia, combining beautiful natural scenery, rich historical heritage, and diverse cultural heritage. This paper tries to explain Mount Jingfu's (jingfu shan, 靜福山) aesthetic representations. The results show that the landscape's physical environment projects the spatio-temporal system and the concept of the universe in Daoist aesthetic ideals. With the spatial evolution of divine immortals' abodes from imagination to reality, people's yearning for divine cave palaces is transformed into their connection with and their expression of the palaces in exploring space interests and aesthetic trends that are then integrated into the secular life of thousands of households through living religious rituals. Preserved by local religious believers, the ritual activities incorporated geographic, familial, and divine interactions, and characterised essential social aesthetics. By exploring a typical case of Lingnan Region (lingnan, 嶺南, an old term for South China), this paper aims to elucidate the significance of the Grotto-Heavens and Blissful Lands as living heritage in contemporary society across multiple dimensions, and to provide a theoretical basis for the protection of its system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's construction of fortifications throughout its history has been a subject of scholarly interest. Japan has been building fortifications for generations, from Muzuki and stone fortifications at home to Japanese fortifications on the Korean peninsula. While it is commonly believed that the need for castle building in Japan emerged after the Battle of Baekgang, this paper suggests that Japan's sense of external tensions predates this event. Specifically, this paper examines the construction of defensive fortifications at Itojo and Onojo during the Tang Dynasty and its implications for Japan's relations with East Asia. Through an analysis of historical records and archeological evidence, this paper argues that the construction of Onojo may have begun as early as around AD 650, challenging the prevailing view in academic circles, which holds that Onojo was built after the defeat of Baekgang. By examining the development of Japan's relations with East Asia during this period, this paper sheds light on the geopolitical significance of Japan's construction of defensive fortifications. [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 paper wasp Polistes riparius is distributed in cold regions of northern East Asia to Russia. P. riparius are characterized by having longer cells than those of the closely related P. chinensis, which has a similar life history, as an adaptation to cold regions. The phylogenetic relationships of paper wasps have recently been studied; however, the genetic diversity and population structure of P. riparius has not been determined. The present study is the first to analyze the complete mitochondrial genome using next generation sequencing of P. riparius collected from Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The genome consisted of a closed loop that was 16,383 bp-long and included 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and one AT-rich control region. The average AT content was 84.54%. The heavy (H)-strand was predicted to have 12 PCGs and 14 tRNA genes, while the light (L)-strand was predicted to contain one PCGs, eight tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes. All PCGs started with ATG. Stop codons were of two types: TAA for 11 genes (ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4L, ND5, ND6, COXI, COXII, COXIII, COB, ATP6 and ATP8) and TAG for two genes (ND3 and ND4). The molecular phylogenetic relationship based on the maximum likelihood method using 13 PCGs was consistent with some previous studies in which a closely relationship between P. riparius and P. jokahamae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IPHS offers prizes and awards in urbanism, history, planning and the environment, mainly focusing on cities from the late nineteenth century. This year IPHS 2022 Prize and Award Winners were announced at the Awards Ceremony, which took place at the Delft Hybrid Format Conference on the 6th of July 2022. At the ceremony, IPHS Planning Perspectives Prize, IPHS Book Prizes, Anthony Sutcliffe Dissertation Award, IPHS Best Post-Graduate Planning History Paper Prize, Sir Peter Hall Award for Lifetime Achievement, East Asia Planning History (EAPH) Prize, and Koos Bosma Prize in Planning History Innovation have found their owners. This document provides information about the Prize and Award winners and their award-winning works and includes commendations based on the Judging Panel and Committee Reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 International Symposium on Remote Sensing (ISRS-2019) took place in Taipei, Taiwan from 17 to 19 April 2019. ISRS is one of the distinguished conferences on the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, especially in East Asia. More than 220 papers were presented in 37 technical sessions organized at the conference. This Special Issue publishes a limited number of featured peer-reviewed papers extended from their original contributions at ISRS-2019. The selected papers highlight a variety of topics pertaining to innovative concepts, algorithms and applications with geospatial sensors, systems, and data, in conjunction with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine leaning and advanced spatial analysis algorithms. The topics of the selected papers include the following: the on-orbit radiometric calibration of satellite optical sensors, environmental characteristics assessment with remote sensing, machine learning-based photogrammetry and image analysis, and the integration of remote sensing and spatial analysis. The selected contributions also demonstrate and discuss various sophisticated applications in utilizing remote sensing, geospatial data, and technologies to address different environmental and societal issues. Readers should find the Special Issue enlightening and insightful for understanding state-of-the-art remote sensing and spatial information science research, development and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for papers related to economic integration in East Asia.

In this paper, we propose a novel Total Electron Content (TEC) map prediction model, named ED‐AttConvLSTM, using a Convolutional Long Short‐Term Memory (ConvLSTM) network and attention mechanism based on encoder‐decoder structure. The inclusion of the attention mechanism enhances the efficient utilization of spatiotemporal features extracted by the ConvLSTM, emphasizing the significance of crucial spatiotemporal features in the prediction process and, as a result, leading to an enhancement in predictive performance. We conducted experiments in East Asia (10°N–45°N, 90°E−130°E). The ED‐AttConvLSTM was trained and evaluated using the International GNSS Service TEC maps over a period of six years from 2013 to 2015 (high solar activity years) and 2017 to 2019 (low solar activity years). We compared our ED‐AttConvLSTM with IRI‐2016, COPG, LSTM, GRU, ED‐ConvLSTM and ED‐ConvGRU. The results indicate that our model surpasses the comparison models in forecasting both high and low solar activity years, across most months and UT moments in a day. Moreover, our model exhibits notably superior prediction performance during the most severe phases of a magnetic storm when compared to the comparison models. Subsequently, we then also discuss how the prediction performance of our model is affected by latitude. Finally, we discuss the diminishing performance of our model in multi‐day predictions, demonstrating that its reliability for forecasts ranging from one to 4 days in advance. Beyond the fifth day, there is a pronounced decline in the model's performance. Plain Language Summary: High precision prediction of Total Electron Content (TEC) is of great significance for improving the accuracy of global satellite navigation systems. In this paper, we introduced the attention mechanism into the ionospheric TEC map prediction model to adaptively weight the ionospheric TEC spatiotemporal features, highlighting the contribution of important spatiotemporal features in TEC map prediction. Results showed that the prediction performance of our model is improved compared with the other six models. Key Points: Introducing ED‐AttConvLSTM, a novel Total Electron Content (TEC) map prediction model utilizing Convolutional Long Short‐Term Memory and an attention mechanism in an encoder‐decoder frameworkThe incorporation of attention mechanisms markedly decreased root mean square error in TEC map predictions for 2015 and 2019Our model excels over 6 state‐of‐the‐art models, affirming its robustness and reliability for TEC map prediction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of high concentrations of geogenic arsenic (As) in groundwater poses a serious threat to the health of millions of individuals globally. This paper examines the research progress of groundwater with high concentrations of geogenic As through a comprehensive literature review and analysis, covering distribution, health risks, in situ remediation, regulatory technologies, and development trends, to establish a reference for future research. The global distribution of geogenic high-As groundwater is mainly in inland basins and river deltas of countries in South Asia, East Asia, and South America. High-As risk areas can be modeled using hydrogeologic data and field measurements. This modeling approach allows for assessing and measuring potential areas of high-As groundwater. In order to provide safe drinking water promptly and effectively to areas affected by high-As groundwater, in situ rapid detection and remediation techniques have been given significant attention. This paper introduces household- or community-scale As removal technologies, including flocculant–disinfectant, bucket treatment units, use of activated alumina, use of nano zero-valent iron, aquifer iron coating technology, and bioremediation, summarizing the basic mechanisms of arsenic removal for each technology. Guaranteeing the sustainability of site-scale remediation technologies, reasonable aquifer management, and exploring alternative water sources are crucial for combating high-As groundwater contamination. Future studies should aim to elucidate the mechanisms of As's coexistence with other pollutants in groundwater, effectively treating As-containing wastes or sludge produced during the treatment process and exploring better treatment options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In August 2023 RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia) announced it would cease delivering a program of chiropractic education. The program commenced in 1975 and was the first in the world to be funded by a National government. Today it is officially being 'taught out' and will cease to be in just 4 years. As irresponsible as this decision may seem from a Chiropractor's perspective, it remains RMIT's right to determine which programs it delivers and those which it does not. The lesson the profession must learn is that state-funded universities can not be expected to reflect the passion that their education creates in its graduates, especially Chiropractors. In past papers I have made this comment and now formalise and index it: 'Australia's publicly-funded institutions of higher education have no redeeming qualities to warrant them holding custody of a program of Chiropractic education'; they most certainly do not and can not replicate the integrity of a purpose-focussed private college nor match the integrity and academic commitment evident in many non-Australian universities throughout East Asia which are guided by a strong social conscience. The usual claim is that a university with multiple disciplines provides cross-fertilisation of ideas and high levels of teaching quality from discipline experts in other fields, but in Australia this can not really be claimed to have been found true. There is also a claim that within a university Chiropractic academics will hone their scholarship, write, and publish; we know this is laughable. RMIT has been far from exceptional for Chiropractic education for most of its 30 or so years as a university created by one political party's agenda. It is healthy for the profession to now be forced into examining new models of education to better serve the profession and create a stronger professional identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an investigation of two recently discovered paper sheets of the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment from the Silla kingdom, this paper reveals that early Korea had more diverse forms of dhāraṇī practices than previously assumed. Through analyses of these incantation sheets, this paper contributes toward filling the gap in our current understanding of the material practice pertaining to the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment of medieval East Asia. Previously, all known traces of material dhāraṇīs from early Korea, with just a few exceptions, were related to the Sūtra of the Pure Light Incantation enshrined in the relic crypts of pagodas—a practice that has little connection to contemporaneous Chinese dhāraṇī practice. However, the newly discovered Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment sheets, whose date this paper infers to be between the eighth and ninth century, show that Unified Silla had a dhāraṇī practice closely linked to coeval Chinese practice. The Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment sheets from Silla show the modification and continuation of Chinese dhāraṇī practice. Unlike the Chinese amulet sheets of the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment that were buried in tombs, the Silla amulet sheets were likely enshrined in one of the pagodas erected on Mount Nam in Silla's capital. At the same time, they were placed in the pagoda to wish for good afterlives of the soldiers who died at the battle, suggesting that they had a mortuary function similar to those buried in Chinese tombs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expands the research on how shared prosperity is achieved in East Asian countries (regions). Based on welfare production regime theory, this paper advances a theoretical framework to link economic growth to income distribution. The main argument is that the match between the skills developed by social protection systems and the needs of product market strategies is key to economic progress. The skills and the social protection systems could also influence income allocation through distribution and redistribution. The net effect of the two channels determines the result of income equality. A longitudinal exploration of Japan, Taiwan and Korea in the export-led growth period (1961–1979) and the knowledge economy period (1980–1996) supports the argument. A policy implication of the argument is that China could strategically adjust its welfare production regime to achieve shared prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that amid intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry, middle powers in East Asia have contributed towards regional peaceful change through the exercise of good regional citizenship, a concept which draws on and modifies from the more commonly known good international citizenship which is closely associated with middle powers. Specifically, good regional citizenship involves proactively strengthening inclusive multilateralism, enhancing the rules-based order, and contributing to bridging efforts in East Asia. The paper examines the good regional citizenship of two middle powers, namely Australia and Indonesia. It finds that while both countries have exercised good regional citizenship, their specific strategies or the outcomes of their initiatives on regional dynamics have varied as a result of their relations with the respective major powers and their general foreign policy approaches. Australia's good regional citizenship has supported the preservation of U.S. leadership in East Asia vis-à-vis the rise of other regional powers, while Indonesia's good regional citizenship has helped to narrow the gaps among regional actors through mechanisms led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). [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]

Increased waste production is a by‐product of economic growth, and that is why countries worldwide are working on turning waste into useful resources and enhancing recycling effectiveness. Aside from using symbols and words for identifying which recycle bins for which types of recyclable materials, color is also a useful code and visual element in recycle bin design. This study conducted questionnaire survey (n = 418) among participants from Taiwan and from East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) to explore the current condition of resource recycling and determine the best color‐material pairings. This study's result suggests that the most frequently recycled material by participants from Taiwan and from EAP were paper and plastic. The study participants sorted and recycled materials as frequently as five to six days a week. From analyzing the pairings of four colors (red, green, blue, and yellow) with four recyclable materials (paper, glass, plastic, and metal), differences were found between participants from Taiwan and those from EAP. Because resource classification and color coding are different from country to country, this study found that color provides limited information of recycle bins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As educators and governments in East Asia aim to increase the number of people in their population who can communicate effectively in English, national policies and syllabuses have moved increasingly towards various versions of communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-based language teaching (TBLT). This paper reviews, on the basis of published reports, some of the practical and conceptual concerns that have affected the implementation of CLT and TBLT in primary and secondary schools of East Asia. It discusses some ways in which teachers have responded to the challenges by adapting new ideas and developing methodologies suited to their own situations. It proposes a methodological framework which may help such adaptation. The experiences and concerns described in the paper may be shared by teachers anywhere who move from a teacher-centred approach to one in which the learners play a more active, independent role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based tourism (CBT) is part of East Asia's tourism landscape as local communities seek to diversify their livelihoods towards tourism. However, little is known about the evolution of research surrounding CBT in the region. Through undertaking a bibliometric analysis of 401 Scopus-indexed articles, this research found that CBT practices have increasingly questioned the legitimacy and authenticity of its value to local communities. Findings also illustrated most studies centred on China, and co-authorship networks mostly occurring between research supervisors and their students. Theoretical and practical insights to advance CBT research in East Asia are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total electron content (TEC) is a vital parameter for describing the state of the ionosphere, and precise prediction of TEC is of great significance for improving the accuracy of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). At present, most deep learning prediction models just consider TEC temporal variation, while ignoring the impact of spatial location. In this paper, we propose a TEC prediction model, ED-ConvLSTM, which combines convolutional neural networks with recurrent neural networks to simultaneously consider spatiotemporal features. Our ED-ConvLSTM model is built based on the encoder-decoder architecture, which includes two modules: encoder module and decoder module. Each module is composed of ConvLSTM cells. The encoder module is used to extract the spatiotemporal features from TEC maps, while the decoder module converts spatiotemporal features into predicted TEC maps. We compared the predictive performance of our model with two traditional time series models: LSTM, GRU, a spatiotemporal mode1 ConvGRU, and the TEC daily forecast product C1PG provided by CODE on a total of 135 grid points in East Asia (10°–45°N, 90°–130°E). The experimental results show that the prediction error indicators MAE, RMSE, MAPE, and prediction similarity index SSIM of our model are superior to those of the comparison models in high, normal, and low solar activity years. The paper also analyzed the predictive performance of each model monthly. The experimental results indicate that the predictive performance of each model is influenced by the monthly mean of TEC. The ED-ConvLSTM model proposed in this paper is the least affected and the most stable by the monthly mean of TEC. Additionally, the paper compared the predictive performance of each model during two magnetic storm periods when TEC changes sharply. The results indicate that our ED-ConvLSTM model is least affected during magnetic storms and its predictive performance is superior to those of the comparative models. This paper provides a more stable and high-performance TEC spatiotemporal prediction model. [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]

Bridging the Pacific provides an image of two separate regions which share the Pacific Rim, becoming connected in multiple aspects, not limited to a predominantly economic interconnection. This image, thus, points toward a constructive mechanism to work toward a resolution of the over-arching global issue, including climate change. This image and the method for its practical implementation are suggested by the Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation—FEALAC. In the overall field of regionalism studies, inter-regionalism can be considered as 'the third wave' under the new regionalism, and FEALAC can be located in this analytical framework. To begin, this paper traces the process and features of regionalism by typification of three different versions, or ideal types of regionalism. In this work, each type of regionalism is not viewed as a successor to, considered better than the previous one, but rather provides a typology for analytical purposes. Next, taking up this historical and analytical framework of regionalism, this paper examines the FEALAC in terms of its strengths and weaknesses considered from the perspective of the five systemic functions. Finally, this paper demonstrates the ways in which FEALAC can be considered a relevant framework of inter-regional governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neoliberal development trajectory that many African countries followed, particularly under the dominance of liberal macroeconomics as spearheaded by the Bretton Woods institutions, has failed to solve the social and economic challenges confronting the continent. However, in spite of the neoliberal global restructuring, countries in East Asia managed to realise high rates of economic growth and make massive improvements in overall wellbeing through their developmental state model, a model beyond the prescriptions of the neoliberal orthodox. In view of the stagnation of growth and development in Africa, the paper used a desktop research method to draw lessons from the remarkable transformation in East Asia in order to provide insights into the construction of the African developmental state. The paper reveals that capable, internally coherent state bureaucracies were the driving force behind the East Asian 'miracle', and the region's ability to balance economic growth imperatives with social welfare concerns. In Africa, the legacy of colonialism, the grip of neoliberalism, rent-seeking behaviours, and weak institutions are some of the factors weakening state capacity to take a leading role in development processes. The paper proposes the reforming of the institutional architecture, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, strengthening state-civil society relation, and investing in human capital as keys to the quest to create a developmental state in Africa. [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]

The entertainment industry is driven to sell certain commodities transnationally, particularly in a world where borders are becoming increasingly diffused through the access afforded by the Internet. Media content is easily consumed, making cultural exporting fast and easy. Similar tropes and plot have been replicated in the East Asian film and TV industry, perhaps in hopes of replicating the success. This paper looks at the manufacture of ideal masculinities within East Asia, particularly China. From ex-members of K-pop group EXO to the successful TV series, cross-influence of East Asian popular culture is prominent. Through this paper, I look at the influence of K-dramas on the Chinese TV industry and particularly the manufacturing of a militarized masculinity on Chinese TV. Far from portraying brute and fearsome soldiers, ideal masculinity on TV is portrayed as "steely exterior but gentle internally" and thus desirable romantic partners to heterosexual women. By exploring the basic conception of Chinese masculinity, I then discuss representations of militarized masculinity on the silver screen (Wolf Warrior II) and C-dramas, with particular focus on the series, You Are My Hero (2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Taal is one of the most significant lake ecosystems in tropical East Asia. In 2011, a review paper consolidated all known biodiversity and limno-ecological studies conducted in Lake Taal from the beginning of the 20th century all the way to the late 2000s. It highlighted that insufficient funding, inadequate long-term monitoring data, and the publication culture of that time impeded having a comprehensive understanding of the lake. Since then, much research work has been done in Lake Taal, especially during the past decade. This review paper provides an analysis and summary of the research work conducted in Lake Taal over the past 10 years. The recent decade has seen a steady increase in scientific interest in Lake Taal made evident by more scientists and institutions working on topics involving the lake. Research grants, collaborations, and publications have also significantly increased during the past 10 years. This has led to an improved understanding of the lake's biodiversity, ecology, and impacts of intensive aquaculture and the introduction of non-native species. Taken together, this paper presents a better understanding of Lake Taal, which can be utilized for the design and improvement of conservation, preservation, and management programs for this multi-use freshwater system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Locust swarms had periodically raged in both North American Plains (NAP) and East Asian Plains (EAP) before 1880 AD. After this period, the locust outbreaks almost never recurred in NAP but have continued to occur in EAP. Since large quantities of pesticides were used in the major agriculture regions of NAP in the late 1870s; this has been suggested as a possible major cause of the disappearing of locust outbreaks. Extensive applications of more effective chemical pesticides were also used in the granary regions of EAP in the 1950s in an effort to kill the pests at a much higher intensity. However, locust swarms came back again in many areas of China in the 1960s. Therefore, NAP locust extinction still remains a puzzle. Frequent locust outbreaks in EAP over the past 130 yr may offer clues to probe key control elements in the disappearing of locust outbreaks in NAP. This paper analyzes the climate extremes and monthly temperature-precipitation combines of NAP and EAP, and found the differences in their frequencies of these climate combines caused different locust fates in the two regions: restrained the locust outbreak in NAP but induced such events in EAP. Validation shows that severer EAP locust outbreak years were coincided with the climate extreme combines years. Thus we suggest that climate changes in frequency, extremes and trends can explain why the fate of the locust plague in EAP was different from that in NAP. The study also points out that, under the present global warming, cautions should be taken to make sure the pest hazard being nipped in the-bud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panax ginseng (Chinese ginseng) is precious traditional Chinese medicine in China, which is commonly used to treat central nervous system diseases, cardiovascular diseases, endocrine system diseases, cancer and other diseases. Due to its excellent medicinal properties, it is widely used in East Asia (Korea, China and Japan) as herbal medicine and also known as the king of medicinal herbs. This paper reviews the origin and distribution of ginseng in China, different cultivation methods, economic significance of ginseng industry and allelopathy research on ginseng. This paper also describes the economic importance of ginseng in medical and other uses, and suggests future research areas of ginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines urban and well-educated Taiwanese women's resistance to the dominance of the valorization of female appearance, providing ethnography of undoing beauty in East Asia's era of post-developmentalism. Findings reveal the importance of the factor of time in their resistance to bodily grooming. First, participants have a "holistic" understanding of "doing beauty"; they consider this set of gender inequalities "chrono-normativity," which serves as a vector of social control. Second, the burden of long-term sustainability of aesthetic investment often turns into an unbearable weight that includes an endless quest for extreme slenderness, the exhausting immaterial labor of enacting cuteness and hetero-likability, and the difficulty of long-term financial affordability. Third, due to a bleak economic outlook and strong gender inequalities, disapproval of the quest for beauty showcases women's rejection of pursuing market success based on an aspirational and future-oriented temporality. Participants' "lying down" attitude and their emphasis on "assured little happiness" are witness to an anti-aspirational temporality, since women seek a present-focused and non-dominated experience of temporality. I argue that this anti-aspirationalism should be seen as an alternative configuration of neoliberal rationality where the care of the self and its ethos of individualism eclipse the pursuit of economic productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the ideology of pro-work conservatism prevails in East Asia, scholars have largely overlooked its discursive construction in media communication from a linguistic perspective. This paper examines the discursive construction of pro-work conservatism in 3,000 Weibo posts with the most "likes" in response to China's implementation of the three-child policy. Using the sociosemantic approach as an analytic framework, the paper finds that three dominant themes underpin the discourse of pro-work conservatism: women's sacrifice in the labour market, the high cost of raising children, and gender-essentialist norms. This discourse is articulated in the posts via a number of discursive strategies, including authorization, morality, and rationalisation. This paper sheds light on the influence of the one-child policy and the awakening of feminist consciousness in the new era and highlights the implications of language use in shaping gender-role ideologies to influence public perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, research on renewable energy has been boosted by the emerging awareness of energy security and climate change and their consequences, such as the global cost of adapting to the climate impacts. Both onshore and offshore wind turbine farms have been considered as one of the main alternatives to fossil fuels. Their development currently involves seismic-prone areas, such as the Californian coastline and East Asia, where the risk of soil liquefaction is significant. Onshore wind turbines (OWTs) typically are founded on shallow rafts. Their operation can be affected strongly by the simultaneous presence of intense earthquakes and wind thrust, which may cause remarkable permanent tilting and loss of serviceability. In these conditions, accurate evaluation of the seismic performance of these structures requires the development of well-validated numerical tools capable of capturing the cyclic soil behavior and the build-up and contextual dissipation of seismic-induced pore-water pressures. In this paper, a numerical model developed in OpenSees, calibrated against the results of dynamic centrifuge tests, was used to evaluate the influence of some ground motion intensity Measures of the seismic behavior of OWTs included the amplitude, frequency content, strong-motion duration, and Arias intensity (energy content) of the earthquake, together with the effect of a coseismal wind thrust, which is not well explored in the literature. The seismic performance of an OWT was assessed in terms of peak and permanent settlement and tilting, the latter of which was compared with the threshold of 0.5° typically adopted in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated the dynamics between trade openness and energy consumption in five members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and three East Asian countries from 1980 to 2014. Previous theoretical discussions and empirical findings pointed out that trade openness had ambiguous effects on energy consumption. A panel dataset involving energy consumption per capita, trade openness, real gross domestic product per capita, gross fixed capital formation per capita and foreign direct investment was estimated. The Lagrange multiplier (LM) cross-sectional dependence test confirms the existence of cross-sectional dependence among the cross-sectional units. Moreover, the Westerlund cointegration test showed that the variables were not cointegrated. Hence, the dynamics among the variables were explored using the panel vector autoregressive method. The results suggested that there is a unidirectional Granger causality from trade openness to energy consumption. Further, the impulse response functions implied that the effect of trade openness on energy consumption occurred via the dynamics between trade openness and gross capital formation per capita. Finally, the forecast error variance decomposition showed that the contribution of trade openness on energy consumption increased during the examined period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) can range from rapidly progressive disease with high mortality to indolent disease with minimal morbidity. This systematic review and metaanalysis describe immunological, clinical, and radiographical predictors of mortality in IIM-ILD. Methods. MEDLINE and Embase database searches were completed on October 18, 2021, to identify articles providing survival data according to baseline characteristics in patients with concurrent IIM and ILD. Prognostic factors common to more than 5 papers were included in the metaanalysis using a random-effects model to report odds ratios (ORs) for binary variables and Hedges g for continuous variables. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale score and the Egger test for publication bias. Results. From 4433 articles, 62 papers were suitable for inclusion; among these studies, 38 different variables were considered. The OR for risk of death regarding the presence of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) antibodies was 6.20 (95% CI 3.58-10.71), and anti-tRNA synthetase antibodies were found to be protective (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.14-0.41). Neither antinuclear antibodies, anti-52-kDa Ro antigen antibodies, nor SSA significantly altered mortality, nor was MDA5 titer predictive. Examples of prognostic factors that are significantly associated with mortality in this study include the following: age; male sex; acute/subacute onset; clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis; dyspnea; ulceration; fever; raised C-reactive protein, ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase, alveolar to arterial O2 (A-aO2) gradient, groundglass opacity on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), and overall HRCT score; and reduced albumin, lymphocytes, ratio of partial pressure of oxygen in the arterial blood to fraction of inspired oxygen (PF ratio), percentage predicted transfer factor for carbon monoxide, and percentage predicted forced vital capacity. Baseline surfactant protein-D and Krebs von den Lungen-6 levels were not predictors of mortality. Conclusion. Many mortality risk factors were identified, though heterogeneity was high, with a low quality of evidence and a risk of publication bias. Studies regarding anti-MDA5 antibody-positive disease and and those from East Asia predominate, which could mask risk factors relevant to other IIM subgroups or populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, e-commerce allows consumers access to a wide range of products on the global market, quick and convenient selection, purchase, ordering, and payment of products. Consumers expect to receive the products they bought online, very quickly, at favorable prices and delivery conditions. However, it is often not possible, because global supply chains are realized over large geographical distances, with a whole range of disruptions and challenges that need to be successfully overcome. With the aim of efficiently delivering products and meeting consumer expectations, retailers often leave this job to specialized and resilient logistics companies better known as fourth-party logistics (4PL) providers. On this occasion, it is necessary to conduct a very thorough evaluation of the logistics provider based on appropriate scientific approaches and models. In this paper, a new hybrid approach for the evaluation of resilient 4PLs was proposed, with the aim of providing appropriate support for the decision-making system on product delivery in e-commerce. The hybrid approach is based on the fuzzy full consistency method (FUCOM), evidence theory (ET), rule-based transformation (RBT), and weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) methods. The proposed model was tested and applied to an example of an online retailer, which sells and delivers products originating from China and the countries of the Far East to the market of the Western Balkans and Southeastern Europe. Five 4PL providers were evaluated and ranked according to 10 criteria. According to the results, the most important criterion was IT capabilities, while the least important was cooperation. Additionally, sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine whether the final ranking will change. The obtained results showed that the proposed methodology represents a valuable decision support tool that can be used for solving not only the problem described in this paper but also similar problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the consequences of the rise of foreign state-led investment for international politics? Existing research oscillates between a 'geopolitical' and a 'commercial' logic driving this type of investment and remains inconclusive about its wider international reverberations. In this paper, I suggest going beyond this dichotomy by analyzing its systemic consequences. To do so, I conceptually delineate a geoeconomic approach that emphasizes the globalized nature of foreign state investment. I argue that foreign state investment creates system-level patterns, which can be studied by observing similar sectoral and geographic investment behavior. I map this phenomenon globally for the first time, drawing on the largest dataset on foreign state investment. Empirically, I show how foreign state investment is highly concentrated in Europe, North America and East Asia, and is owned by a handful of dominant states. It is especially European geo-industrial clusters that represent the hotspots of such concentration. The findings also suggest that three global industries – energy production, high-tech manufacturing, and transportation and logistics – form the key areas for current and future state-led investment concentration. With these contributions, the paper illuminates the increasing presence of states as owners in the global political economy, and facilitates its study as a geoeconomic phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the typologies and characteristics of classical Vietnamese gardens built in the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) by examining historical records, paintings, and existing gardens. The findings highlight the presence of two distinct types of classical gardens in Vietnam: imperial gardens and imperial mausoleum gardens. Numerous examples from Chinese gardens constructed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties are employed for comparison with Vietnamese gardens. Influenced by Chinese culture, Vietnamese gardens exhibit numerous shared characteristics and elements with their Chinese counterparts. Layouts, architectural styles of pavilions, garden elements such as rockeries, ponds, and bridges, as well as plant materials were inspired by Chinese gardens, yet they were adapted to align with local conditions, such as climate and garden owners' preferences. For example, the arrangement and design of some elements, like waterscapes and bridges, species of plants and stone materials were different. Understanding the cultural significance and uniqueness of Vietnamese classical gardens contributes to their preservation and restoration. By recognizing and comparing the philosophical approaches to garden design in China and Vietnam, this research sheds light on the diverse expressions and adaptations of garden design in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The globally expanding doctoral education and the diminishing availability of academic job opportunities have prompted an increasing proportion of PhD graduates to seek employment beyond academia, drawing a growing scholarly interest. However, the existing literature on doctoral career pathways tends to be fragmented and dispersed, given the idiosyncratic individual and educational characteristics of doctorates grappling with the complex structural factors. To depict a comprehensive picture of the diversifying employment trajectories of doctorates across various geographical, disciplinary and sectoral contexts, this study conducts a systematic review, scouring 831 pertinent journal articles from the Web of Science. Following a set of inclusion criteria, 31 papers were ultimately selected to identify the key factors shaping employment trajectories of PhD graduates at structural (national supply and demand), institutional (employers' perceptions) and individual (doctorates' characteristics) levels. Drawing on the boundaryless and value‐based career theories, the authors develop a four‐dimension analytical framework, within which the findings of the 31 papers in East Asian and Western contexts are analysed. Overall, stakeholders in Western systems generally recognise the trend of PhD graduates securing non‐academic employment, whereas East Asian nations appear less receptive to this agenda. Meanwhile, due to their strong emphasis on research skills utilisation and employment stability, PhD graduates in certain economies find it challenging to pursue satisfying and successful careers, warranting increased attention. Building on the findings, we propose a four‐quadrat model in an effort to provide a tool for evaluating the capacity to absorb doctoral workforces of specific systems by categorising the doctoral professions. Highlighting shared patterns observed across various higher education systems and distinct trends prevalent in specific economies, this paper addresses key topics in doctoral education and doctorate employment literature such as labour market conditions, employment outcomes, job satisfaction, skills (mis)matches and sustainable careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the third mission of universities to promote innovation and economic development, the popularity of science and technology parks (STPs) as a policy tool is increasing. The co-location of innovative companies and universities should be conducive to knowledge exchange between universities and industry, thus leading to more innovation. However, STPs have evolved in different contexts and to serve different purposes. Furthermore, the research on them has evolved mainly through case studies of individual parks and it is scattered across different disciplinary conversations. Building on 1,711 articles published from 1985 onwards, this study presents a systematic literature review of research on STPs and their relationships with universities. We find three different phases in the evolution of this literature: a formation phase (before 2000), where the focus was on the creation of STPs; a geographical expansion phase (2000–2010) reflecting the geographical expansion of STPs to East Asia and other emerging economies, with heavy focus on high-technology firms mainly in ICT; and a topical expansion phase (2011 onwards) when the literature expands to cover a diversity of new topics, including open innovation and sustainability, reflecting broader changes in the understanding of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jesuit mission to East Asia highlights the polemical difficulties inherent in the process of introducing, translating, and creating a new theological paradigm within a host culture without a common religious worldview. Both Matteo Ricci in China and Ricci's erstwhile teacher, Alessandro Valignano, in Japan, both inveighed against Buddhism for positing a "void" as the Absolute rather than God. The East Asian Jesuit mission had an incomplete understanding of what emptiness/nothingness/void referred to until the native Japanese convert and former Zen monk, Fukansai Habian, took up the mantle as the Jesuit polemicist against native systems of thought, in particular, Buddhism. Whereas Ricci and Valignano attacked the "void" within the context of a negation of "something", Habian correctly understood the void as akin to the pleroma, the fullness of possibility, and the creative principle, but used his more nuanced understanding as a polemical expedient to deny or negate all Buddhist doctrines as expressing nothingness (which he erroneously equates with the void), even such form-affirming schools as the Pure Land school with its clearly defined goal of a physical post-mortem Pure Land. The polemical paradigm engendered by this encounter also served as the starting point for Buddhism's appearance in the Western imagination. This paper will make a comparative investigation of the polemical discourse between the Jesuits and Buddhists regarding the Absolute and demonstrate how this historical instance would have far-reaching consequences that have ongoing relevance regarding the interplay of Christian and Buddhist teachings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Gavin W. Jones dedicated an impressive 58-year career to extensive research on various aspects of population and development in Asia. As a seasoned consultant, he was pivotal in shaping population policies and programs in more than 10 Asian countries, impacting the region’s demographic landscape. Throughout his illustrious career, Gavin has left an indelible mark through his prolific publications, with 30 books, over 180 journal articles, and book chapters. His body of work covered various demographic subjects in the Asia-Pacific region, significantly contributing to our understanding of population dynamics in Southeast, South, and East Asia. His research has been instrumental in informing policy decisions in these regions by providing evidence-based recommendations. In addition to his consultancy and academic achievements, Gavin actively engaged in professional networks, fostering collaborations and facilitating knowledge exchange among fellow demographers and researchers. His commitment to mentorship has been invaluable, nurturing emerging demographers and supporting the next generation of population scholars in population and development. The present paper aims to delve into Professor Gavin W. Jones’s specific contributions to elucidate the intricate relationship between population and development, an area that inevitably intersects with other papers in this festschrift on marriage, fertility, and urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]