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Previous studies of East Asian welfare regimes focus on similarities between social security schemes. In contrast, this paper explores cross-national variations in public–private pension mixes in six welfare states: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Our research echoes the pension policy analysis of international organisations but takes a step forward with emphasis on the historical and institutional characteristics of the respective pension systems. The analysis identifies three institutional patterns. First, the statist pension system (Taiwan and China) primarily relies on public pensions to provide old-age security, with private pensions playing a rather minor role. Second, in the dualist pension system (Japan and Korea) both public and private pensions work in parallel to ensure retirement income, though a clear security gap exists between workers in the formal and informal economies. Finally, the individualist pension system (Hong Kong and Singapore) is characterised by genuine fully funded individual accounts, emphasising citizens' own responsibilities for ensuring old-age security. These three types of pension systems demonstrate distinct institutional characteristics and policy outcomes, illustrated by the juxtaposition of their institutional structures as well as by the comparison of key indicators collected from government reports and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development statistics. The paper concludes with a theoretical reflection of East Asian pension policies and a diagnosis of the distinct challenges confronted by each of the various pension patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to identify the most prolific countries in the field of special education and to discuss the widespread impact of their papers by taking into account the country's h-index. Through a bibliometric analysis, the data were collected in the Web of Science Core Collection category "Education, Special" in the Social Science Citation Index during 2011-2020. The 25 most prolific countries in the field of special education were determined in terms of paper productivity, and it was seen that the leading country was undisputedly the USA (54.42%). Meanwhile, a strong positive correlation was found between the h-index and the number of papers published by the countries (r=0.864). On the other hand, when the ranking in terms of the number of papers was reconfigured by the h-index, it was relatively changed. The possible reasons for this change for the countries with the most changing rankings were discussed by considering some definitive criteria such as the journal quartiles, the percentage of international and domestic, and the percentage of open access papers. This study reports a positive correlation between the quality and quantity in the field of special education for the publications of countries. It has been shown that where the positive correlation deviates, then especially, the journal quartiles, the percentage of international collaboration and the percentage of open access papers have a significant effect. The bibliometric findings may be useful to enrich the discussion about the widespread impact of papers and debate whether the use of h-index is acceptable for cross-national comparisons.

By reviewing regulative documents and extant literature, this paper explores the realities and trends of international students in East and Southeast Asia (ESA). It also shows motivation and strategies of four new players in the international higher education sector in East and Southeast Asia i.e., China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. Apart from showing that intraregional students have not predominated the overall international student population in the region anymore, the paper highlights that ESA region has become an established hub of international students rather than a new emerging destination as it was in previous years. The overall net flow of international students in this region was still deficit prior to 2010s, but the deficit in 2017 is still less than that of 2010?s. This is probably the first study of its kind to examine the trends of international students as well as of higher education policies of countries in the ESA region. The findings of this study shall provide an insight into international higher education trends among the ESA countries for stakeholders, including policymakers, university managers, faculty, students, and parents.

The various possibilities that social media offers to language learners and teachers have long been recognized by researchers within the field of language instruction, and many studies have been carried out in an attempt to address and unpack its potential contributions. This paper aims to review such research on the use of mainstream social media in language teaching and learning published in "Computer Assisted Language Learning," a top tier (i.e., Q1) journal indexed in major citation index systems (e.g., Arts & Humanities Citation Index, the Social Sciences Citation Index and Scopus), between the years 2016-2020 inclusive. For the purposes of the study, a total of 23 articles that meet the selection criteria is reviewed and presented in five sections. The first section deals with the majority of the articles, which are found to be on the use of social networking in language teaching and learning. In the following sections, studies on the use of videoconferencing, wikis, blogging and forums are discussed. Collectively, the studies reviewed in this paper outline a critical role for the use of social media in language instruction and the study aims to provide valuable insights for researchers, teachers and learners.

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Involving the global issues as listed in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education is necessarily done in the education process, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Exposure to global issues is known to improve students' understanding, awareness, and ability to solve urgent issues faced by global society. This paper aims to find out the trend of research on the coverage of SDGs in students' learning process. This systematic literature analysis was done by applying Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Method. A total of 25 studies were recognized through a systematic search by using Sustainability, SDGs, and EFL as keywords. The result shows that the trend of associating SDGs with EFL settings was done mostly in Indonesia. In the recent year 2022, it reached the highest number of studies in the particular matter with 7 total of research. It was also found that the study involving SDGs on EFL learning was mostly done in the tertiary setting, compared with K-12, junior high school, secondary, high school, and other educational institutions. It was also discovered that the specific area of study enhances EFL students' learning achievement, environmental awareness, global citizen values, as well as students' levels of self-norms, beliefs, and self-value.

This paper introduces a relatively novel theoretical approach to investigate cross border student mobilities in East Asia, a region growing in importance as a provider of international education. It does so by bringing Sara Ahmad's writings on the sociality of emotions, with Jacques Derrida's analyses of hospitality. We draw on empirical data from a cross national study to explore the emotions that shape student decisions to choose East Asian study destinations. By problematising the gift of the scholarship, using Derridean understandings of hospitality, we reveal the limits of contemporary forms of international education. Reflecting on histories of Asia-focused student mobilities, the paper highlights the entanglements of hostility and hospitality, and the inseparability of hosts and guests. It is this realisation that will enable ethical, non-exploitative forms of education.

Breaking with discriminatory views and segregated education for children with disabilities, regions often referred to as Confucian Heritage Regions (CHRs) have been moving towards inclusive education. Although some of these regions have been at the centre of attention in global education recently, there is a lack of research and information about how they 'do' inclusive education. Considering that reinforcing legislative foundations is of foremost importance for its fulfillment, this study examines legislation on the education of children with disabilities in four neighbouring CHRs: the Chinese Mainland , Japan, South Korea and China's Taiwan. The core principles that frame such legislation were analyzed and cross-compared. The findings show that despite the common Confucian heritage that is attributed to them systematically in studies of inclusive education – which is often said to influence the way disability is perceived and dealt with – the four Regions treat inclusion differently in terms of legislation. While some CHRs are clearly influenced by e.g. the USA, others are trying to design a specific perspective on inclusive education. The authors argue that the complex example of these CHRs can serve as an important template for studies on both inclusive and comparative education. The article also calls for the careful treatment of inclusive education beyond an essentialist and somewhat simplistic perspective that could reduce certain regions to a monolith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently there has been an increase in the number of students learning Mandarin Chinese (in mainland China and internationally). This increase has led to speculation that Mandarin Chinese is becoming a mainstream global language to the point of becoming a "lingua franca." This paper utilizes research findings from different regions and focal points and argues that Mandarin Chinese could be accepted as a "lingua franca" within some contexts, but is unlikely to do so in others. It argues that Mandarin Chinese is generally accepted as the "lingua franca" of China and a possible "lingua franca" within the East Asian region, while unlikely to become a "lingua franca" globally. The paper compares a number of different reasons for studying Mandarin Chinese by different stakeholders (i.e. governments, school boards, individual students) as well as comparative numbers of language learners. This paper also examines if Mandarin is the dominant and undisputed form of global Chinese. It concludes by demonstrating that there is a greater need for further research into Mandarin Chinese as a "lingua franca."

This paper presents a compilation of personal reflections from 66 contributors on the impact of, and responses to, COVID-19 in accounting education in 45 different countries around the world. It reveals a commonality of issues, and a variability in responses, many positive outcomes, including the creation of opportunities to realign learning and teaching strategies away from the comfort of traditional formats, but many more that are negative, primarily relating to the impact on faculty and student health and well-being, and the accompanying stress. It identifies issues that need to be addressed in the recovery and redesign stages of the management of this crisis, and it sets a new research agenda for studies in accounting education.

This Forum article addresses some of the issues raised in the article by Ying-Syuan Huang and Anila Asghar's paper entitled: "Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers' perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan." An attempt is made to highlight the need for a more nuanced approach in considering the Confucian education tradition and its compatibility with education reforms. In particular, the article discusses issues concerning the historical development of the Confucian education tradition, challenges in reform implementation that are in reality tradition-independent, as well as opportunities and points of convergence that the Confucian education tradition presents that can in fact be favorable to implementation of reform-based pedagogies. [For "Science Education Reform in Confucian Learning Cultures: Teachers' Perspectives on Policy and Practice in Taiwan," see EJ1173394.]

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been one of the popular strategies for health promotion. Traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM) is one of the most popular CAM practices in the world and there are suggestions that its holistic utilization is important for users to gain its effects for health promotion. In this context, this study investigates the extent to which TEAM users in East Asian countries utilize various modalities of TEAM holistically. It provides a model that explains cross-national differences in the extent of the holistic use of TEAM between China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Using the 2010 East Asian Social Survey, regression models specify the relationship between the holistic use of TEAM and the geographical location (country). The presence of TEAM doctors who hold the comprehensive and exclusive practice rights over TEAM is found to be conducive to the holistic utilization of various TEAM modalities. Thus, Taiwanese and Koreans use TEAM more holistically than Chinese and even more so than Japanese. The result suggests that the manner in which TEAM is institutionalized affect the extent to which TEAM users utilize various TEAM modalities together and potentially the health promotion effects of TEAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seamless learning has a significance that has been increasing in recent years, and an increasing number of studies on the subject in the literature draws attention. This study aimed to examine the research on seamless learning between 1996 and 2020 with the bibliometric analysis method. The Scopus database was used in the collection of the data. After various screening processes, a total of 389 publications were included in the analysis. Descriptive analysis and bibliometric analysis were used in the analysis of the data. The distribution of publications by years, types of publications, sources, and languages were analyzed in the research. Additionally, visual maps were created with analyses of co-author, cocitation, and co-word. At the end of the study, it was seen that there has been an increase in the number of publications from the past to the present, articles and papers were predominant, and that most of the studies were carried out in English. As a result of bibliometric analysis, it was concluded that the most efficient countries in seamless learning were the United Kingdom, the United States, and Singapore. Also, it has been determined that the National Institute of Education, Center for International Education and Exchange, and Kyushu University institutions are dominant. The most frequently mentioned authors cited in studies in many different fields are M. Sharples, L.-H. Wong, and H. Ogata. According to the co-word analysis, the keywords seamless learning, mobile learning, ubiquitous learning, and mobile-assisted language learning stand out in the field of seamless learning.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the holistic picture of sustainability curricula in Asian higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis was conducted based on Asian management education for sustainability in higher education. Online courses arrangement, teaching methods, instructors' educational background and cross-referencing data between triple bottom line and sustainability courses have been investigated. Findings: The paper provides empirical insights about the current state of sustainability education in Asia. The results show that there is an opportunity for interdisciplinary integration, as there are imbalanced sustainability courses offered by business, science and engineering schools. It also suggests that Asian universities should add an international connection and active promotion of sustainability education on their Web sites. Research limitations/implications: Findings are based on web-based sustainability-related courses. Future research could apply method of case study to do a deeper study. Practical implications: The paper provides an overview of Asian management education for sustainability and curricula analysis through our research, and that this will further assist in the development of interdisciplinary integration in Asian management education for sustainability. Originality/value: This paper is the first attempt to gain better understanding of sustainability-related courses offered in leading business/management colleges in Asia.

Reflective practice is at the core of teacher education programmes and is highly regarded as an essential component in the education of new and experienced teachers. Given the recent interest in language use and the role of discourse in articulating knowledge of one's practice, this paper focuses on how two groups of early career teachers from distinct teaching contexts engage in reflection. The study aims to (i) investigate how they reflect and (ii) explore to what extent their reflections may be influenced by their contexts. The paper mines two small written sub-corpora, which are part of the larger 200,000-word Corpus of Reflective Practice (CoRP). Using corpus-based tools and methodologies, the paper identifies distinct trends which reveal insights into different conceptualisations of reflective practice. As a result, the paper raises awareness of the need to consider (inter)national cultural sensitivity, and questions the assumption that early career reflective practice is flexible enough to work across cultural, social and institutional differences and influences without more careful guidance and consideration. The paper also highlights a predominant shared trait across the data which signals the need to see reflective practice as a process and to value the kind of reflective practice in which early practitioners engage as being reflective of their stage in the process.

Background and purpose: Social engagement is an important active aging strategy to promote older adults' mental health. The purposes of this study were to compare social engagement in older populations around the world and explore associations with mental health outcomes. Materials and methods: An international cross‐sectional survey was conducted from 2017 to 2019. Data were retrieved from The International Social Survey Programme for a secondary data analysis across 30 countries. This study applied the Taxonomy of Social Activities and its six levels as operational definitions for a consistent concept of social engagement for international comparisons. Results: In total, 9403 older adults with a mean age of 72.85 ± 6.40 years responded. The highest levels of older adults' social engagement were found in Switzerland, Thailand, and New Zealand. Older adults of a higher age, with a lower educational level, who were permanently sick or disabled, who had no partner, who were widowed or whose civil partner had died, who lived alone, and who had lower self‐placement in society had significantly lower social engagement than did their counterparts. In the regression model, older adults' social engagement positively predicted general health, self‐accomplishment, and life satisfaction, but negatively predicted loneliness and depression. Conclusions: In aging societies worldwide, encouraging older adults' social engagement would be beneficial to promote mental health. Implications for nursing practice and health policies: Community professional nurses can develop strategies of social engagement based on the needs and sociodemographic factors of older adults to improve their mental health. Developing efficient strategies and local policies by learning from successful experiences in other countries is important to promote social engagement in aging societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fitts' Law is, more often than not, thought of as standard knowledge in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. However, in many occasions, interface components are being built by professionals with little or no knowledge of HCI principles (e.g., software menus are often being built by software developers with no designer input). How much appreciation of Fitts' Law exists among developers, and how does it affect our collaboration with them and the software they build and we use? To help answer this question, a survey among 65 designers and developers was conducted, as well as an analysis of the Computer Science undergraduate curricula from 94 internationally high-ranked universities. The contribution of this paper is twofold: firstly, treating Fitts' Law as an Open Educational Resource and, secondly, the analysis identified gaps that extend beyond HCI Education and fall in the sphere of Epistemology.

Norovirus is the leading cause of food-borne disease outbreaks. We conducted this study to examine the incidence and molecular characteristics of norovirus genogroup I infections from acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in Taiwan. Between January 2015 and June 2019, 2121 acute gastroenteritis clusters were reported to Taiwan CDC, of which 351 (16.5%) clusters were positive for NoV GI, and GI.3 was the most prevalent (36.8%) during the study period. The GI.3 infections were significantly higher than non-GI.3 infections in the age groups of 0–5 and 6–18 years. The phylogenetic analysis of the MCC tree revealed that VP1 genes were divided into 3 groups: the GI.P3-GI.3 strains in Taiwan were genetically close to Japan and the GI.Pd-GI.3 strains were segregated into 2 other groups which were genetically closely related to China. In addition, 7 GI.Pd-GI.3 recombinants were identified circulating in Taiwan between 2018 and 2019, and the prevalence of GI.Pd-GI.3 should be monitored to assess whether this could become the new predominant strains in neighboring Asian countries or other parts of the world. Both GI.P3-GI.3 and GI.Pd-GI.3 strains cocirculate, the recombination among these two lineages occurs frequently, contributing to the genetic diversity and multiple occurrences of different norovirus lineages, and their rapid evolution makes future control more difficult. Continued surveillance and timely interventions are critical to understand the complexity of norovirus gene variation and to monitor the new emerging norovirus strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equivalent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) by Mahayana Buddhists with vegetarian diets is quantitatively evaluated. The Buddhists in seven Mahayana-dominated countries or regions, i.e., China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, are studied. Assessments of the vegetarian population among these Mahayana-dominated countries or regions are performed. Correlation formulas based on data from a national survey are developed to quantify the GHGEs of various dietary groups by using the meat consumption as the only required input. To demonstrate its reliability, the prediction from the formulas developed is first compared with the results of a food production-and-consumption study using a different approach. Then, the formulas are used to assess the GHGE reduction due to Mahayana Buddhists with vegetarian diets. The assessment indicates that Mahayana Buddhists with vegetarian diets account for the equivalent GHGE reduction of 48.83 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is a huge amount and is equal to 11.3 or 8.9% of the GHGEs from France or the UK in 2012, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the convergence and divergence in the discourses and practices of comparative education in Japan, North America, and Greater China. Research demands, institutional settings, and social and historical background determine the nature of the research discussed and practiced in each place. Some particular patterns were identified in Japanese traditional comparative education such as thick description, limited reference to theories, and a focus on systems and the structural level rather than on classroom practices and pedagogy. Further, an orientation to borrowing foreign policy ideas and to learning about the educational system in neighboring Asian countries has made some themes and geographic research sites popular. Examination of research trends reveals that similar demands to identify policy options also exist in Mainland China and Taiwan. Together with the research on policies and practices in other countries, in Japanese comparative education there is a strong tradition of area studies based on deep linguistic and cultural understanding of the research sites. Such a research approach is often found among members who conduct investigations in East Asia and Southeast Asia. In addition, there is another group of scholars who show strong interest in international agendas such as development or gender and who conduct research contributing to these fields. This type of scholar has increased since the 1990s and tends to focus on regions such as Africa and South Asia. This has brought Japanese research trends closer to that of North America where a large number of publications were on Africa, Latin America, and Asia throughout the post-World War II period. Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of this academic field and its openness to quality research from diverse academic traditions, I argue that comparative education can serve as a platform for academic collaboration for advancing the horizon of research.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in cognitively impaired elderly residents of long‐term care facilities in East Asia and to explore the factors associated with these patterns. Methods: This was a cross‐sectional survey of BPSD in cognitively impaired elderly residents of long‐term care facilities in Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Mini‐Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Nursing Home version (NPI‐NH), were used to assess cognitive status, dementia severity, and BPSD, respectively. NPI‐NH subscale severity scores were multiplied by frequency scores to obtain the subscale scores and aggregated into two groups based on score (clinically insignificant = 1– 3; clinically significant ≥4). Results: Data from 662 people were analyzed. Median age, median Mini‐Mental State Examination scores, and median CDR scores differed significantly among the seven study sites. The prevalence of BPSD varied from 64% in Taiwan to 100% in dementia care units in Japan, and the median total NPI‐NH scores ranged from 2 in Taiwan to 14 in dementia care units in Japan. After stratification of the sample by dementia severity and clinical significance of NPI‐NH scores, differences in the prevalence of clinically significant BPSD were mostly observed among facilities dedicated to dementia patients in the CDR 1 group. In the CDR 3 group, the prevalence of some clinically significant BPSD, such as apathy, was high even among study sites with low median total NPI‐NH scores. Conclusions: Our findings may suggest referral and selection biases in the study sites. Future prospective studies are needed to address the impact of environmental and care factors on the occurrence of BPSD in Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate proportions of married couples aged 30 to 59 years who face simultaneous demands from elderly parents and children in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, and the effects on couples’ life and marital satisfaction. Method: Using data from the 2006 East Asian Social Survey, proportions of sandwiched couples were estimated using three definitions: co-residence, co-residence or nearby residence, and co-residence or frequent provision of financial/physical assistance. Logistic regression models were used to assess the effects on life and marital satisfaction. Results: Three-generational co-residence is more common in Taiwan and Japan (24.3% and 21.4%), whereas co-residence or provision for both generations is higher in Taiwan and Korea (53.7% and 44.5%). The strain of being sandwiched is associated with lower life and marital satisfaction only among women. Discussion: Intergenerational transfers of care play a major role in elderly support in East Asia but take a toll on the well-being of married women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review is built on the seminal work by the New London Group in 1996. Few endeavours have synthesized findings of empirical studies pertaining to the effects and challenges of multiliteracies practices in various schooling and geographical contexts. Through a five-point Likert scale and a deductive and inductive thematic analysis, we conducted a systematic review of 66 multiliteracies articles from the ProQuest® database. These studies were empirical, qualitative/mixed-method, and ranged from 2006 to 2015. Findings show a burgeoning number of multiliteracies studies occurring in 15 countries, with Canada being the most prominently involved. Our evaluation of the reviewed studies was generally favourable with strengths identified in researchers' articulation of pertinent theoretical frameworks and connections to existent literature. Our findings refer to insufficient information of data collection and data analysis in a certain number of papers. We also elaborate on major affordances, challenges, and oversights of the multiliteracies practices as reported by the reviewed studies and discuss implications for future multiliteracies research, policies on literacy education, and teacher education in diverse contexts.

The article discusses the history and beginnings of menstrual education in China from the 1950s to 1980s, focusing on the writings of Japanese public health educator Ishigaki Junji translated into Chinese as a U.S. method to combat nonscientific views. It mentions the claim that superstition and tradition promote incorrect knowledge that are not supported by medical researchers and investigations and explores the effectiveness of science and its gender politics, and medicine in Taiwan.

East Asian dominance in international large-scale assessments is widely known. This is often explained as an outcome of highly competitive, exam-oriented education systems in East Asia, wherein students partake in a fierce competition for limited college entrance. Although achievement scores may be comparatively higher, the argument goes, the relative success comes at a steep price, with the emphasis on high-stakes tests heightening student stress and anxiety. In this paper we refute this persistent and out-dated stereotype by focusing on changes in Japanese education over the past several decades. The two original studies we report herein show that not only do Japanese students feel less school-related anxiety and stress than they once did, but these levels are now comparable to students in America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In showing that stereotypes do not match empirical realities, we seek to open a richer discussion around East Asian student achievement. We conclude by extending the discussion to recent changes in China, Taiwan, and South Korea. We then raise the possibility that fundamentally different outlooks on the learning process explain both differences in achievement and the persistence of the West's distorted images of Japanese and East Asian education.

This paper examines how one particular class of educational leader--international school Heads--relate to managerialism. Representing a novel site of new theorisation, the independence enjoyed by these leaders allows a 'purer' view of managerialism as experienced 'in here' (inside the subject), not just as a reaction to what is 'out there' (i.e. to policy). Through analysis of twenty-five face-to-face interviews, they were found to have relationships to managerialism that are not compliant or transgressive, educational or managerial, but hybridic. Some Heads relate to managerialism pragmatically; they reluctantly 'do' managerialism but avoid, segment and/or moderate managerial influences on their identities. Other Heads proactively use managerialism to discipline their staff and organisations; they draw power from managerial discourses; and they claim its values as their own. Seen through the lens of hybridity, educational identifications remain important, indeed they remain paramount, but for some subjects, they have been conjoined with complimentary managerial ones.

Numerous studies have been published heralding the benefits of physical education in school education. Sport and physical activities form the major content in learning and the arrangement serves as the major source of development in students. This paper identifies "quality" as an internationally concerned issue and within the concept, the perceptual framework in learning is then placed with focus. To conduct this study, a sample of N = 799 ("11 Asian cities") physical education professionals working in different levels were invited to participate in a questionnaire survey with 37 items designed to forge the conceptualization of quality learning in physical education. Results from statistical analysis showed 24 items grouped in 3 subfactors being retained after EFA, of 37 items that were framed through content analysis to assess the quality physical education learning among the PE professionals. The retained three factors from the EFA were further assessed with robust confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The 3-factor model demonstrated a good fit with the data (CMIN/DF = 7.367, NFI = 0.888, CFI = 0.901, PCFI = 0.748, RMSEA = 0.089). In this sample, the QPEL demonstrated an acceptable three-factor structure, internal consistency and inter-factor correlation. These items were appropriate to provide the necessary understanding of the diversified practice in the learning of quality physical education.

International students have continued to be the focus of simplistic stereotyping in media discourse where they are frequently identified as one of the forces behind declining academic standards in Australian universities. Their English language skills, in particular, have continued to be the focus of debate both in the mainstream media and in higher education research and policy. It is argued in this paper, however, that such debates do not sufficiently acknowledge the moral and affective complexity of the so-called "English problem" amongst international students in Australian universities. Drawing from an analysis of small group interviews with international students, domestic students and university staff, the beliefs and experiences of various parties about the English language skills of international students are examined. A key finding from this analysis is that the English language skills of international students, and their concomitant interactions with others, can be the object of both complaints and troubles talk. These complaints or troubles can be either ratified or resisted by those participants. The difficulties international students may experience in using English thus have complex moral and affective consequences. The way in which the so-called English problem in Australian universities is generally couched as one of objective, measurable deficiency on the part of international students arguably neglects the moral and affective complexity of the difficulties facing international students. This neglect leads, in turn, to an impoverished understanding of the English language capabilities of international students.

This paper empirically examines the impact of academic research on high-tech manufacturing growth of 28 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and emerging countries over the 1991-2005 period. A standard research and development (R&D) expenditure based measure is found to be too general to capture the input in high-tech research. To overcome this problem, a novel proxy for high-tech research investment--the supercomputer capacity--is proposed. Empirical evidence strongly supports this choice of variable. It is also found that academic R&D exerts a larger growth effect on high-tech output than its industry and government counterparts, but only the impact differential between academic and government R&D is statistically significant.

Background: At least 2.6 million adults and children receive dialysis treatment for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) worldwide. The large majority of these receive hemodialysis (HD), while the remaining receive peritoneal dialysis (PD). Peritoneal dialysis may be associated with similar mortality outcomes as HD, and patient-reported outcomes are potentially increased with PD. Existing evidence for the mortality associated with PD was summarized over 20 years ago, and there has been greater marginal improvement in survival with PD relative to HD since that time. It is therefore timely to reexamine the question of differential mortality by modality and summarize evidence from more contemporary practice settings. Methods/design: Electronic databases will be systematically searched for publications that report the association between dialysis modality (HD or PD) with death from any cause and cause-specific death in incident patients with end-stage kidney disease. The database searches will be supplemented by searching through citations and references and consultation with experts. Studies published before 1995 will be excluded. Screening of both titles and abstracts will be done by two independent reviewers. All disagreements will be resolved by an independent third reviewer. A quantitative meta-analysis of effect sizes and standard errors will be applied. Discussion: Our systematic review will update previous evidence summaries and provide a quantitative and standardized assessment of the contemporary literature comparing HD and PD including published and unpublished non-English studies from greater China, Taiwan, and Japan. This review will inform shared decision-making around initial dialysis modality choice and jurisdiction-level considerations of dialysis practice. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42018111829 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shen Shiwan was a translator and physician for both Chinese medicine and western medicine in the period of the Republic of China. This paper examined the life and the main academic contributions of Shen Shiwan. It was found that Shen's main contribution were translating medical works, founding journals and opening the door of Chinese medicine to the world. Additionally, he introduced western medicine, such as pathology, fertility and nutrition to Chinese medical professionals. He also introduced the medical schools of Japanese traditional medicine (Chinese medicine in Japan, Han Yi) into China. Shen's contribution in medicine played an important role for the medical professionals in China in understanding the development of western medicine and Chinese medicine in Japan.

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are substances of abuse that easily evade existing controlled drug regulations. This study conducted a systematic review on controlled drug regulations and analyzed the numbers of new psychoactive substances (NPS) reported in six East and Southeast Asian countries in comparison to US and UK from 2009 to 2020. Generally, more NPS were reported in the US (551) and UK (400), compared to Japan (379), China (221), Singapore (142), South Korea (99), Malaysia (41), and Taiwan (35). Legislative mechanisms including the specific listing of individual substances, generic control of a family of substances, analogue control of similar substances, temporary bans of new substances were evaluated. In this review, countries that have adopted a combination of legislative mechanisms were able to identify higher numbers of NPS for regulatory control, such as the US, UK, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. These findings can provide references to countries like Malaysia and Taiwan, to strengthen NPS-related regulations nationally. Countries in the East and Southeast Asian region should be encouraged to collaborate more closely and to implement additional legislative approaches most relevant to the regional NPS trends to bridge the regulatory gap and to prevent the spread of emerging NPS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, we revised the physopeltine genus Physopelta Amyot Serville, 1843 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Largidae) from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Five species were recognized and diagnosed, including two new species, Ph. (Neophysopelta) lutaspidata sp. nov. from northern and central Taiwan and Ph. (N.) fusciscutellata sp. nov. from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan and Taiwan, and three known species, Ph. (N.) gutta gutta (Burmeister, 1834), Ph. (N.) parviceps Blöte, 1931, and Ph. (N.) quadriguttata Bergroth, 1894. Physopelta (Neophysopelta) fusciscutellata sp. nov., was previously regarded as either of the two species, Ph. (N.) cincticollis Stål, 1863 and Ph. (N.) parviceps, for populations from Taiwan. Previous records of Ph. (N.) cincticollis from Japan proper and Korea, and Ph. (N.) slanbuschii (Fabricius, 1787) from the Ryukyu Islands were considered as misidentifications of Ph. parviceps. A key to facilitate the identification of the five species known in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan is provided. Additionally, Ph. (N.) parviceps is recorded from China (Guangdong Province and Zhejiang Province) for the first time.

A critical reason for China-United States trade friction is that China has a huge trade balance, especially the trade balance of goods. However, this huge trade balance is based on the results of official statistics and does not reflect the real economic benefits and environmental costs embodied in China-US trade, where both refer to trade in value-added and embodied CO 2 emission costs, respectively. This paper calculates the trade in value-added and carbon emission transfer between China and the United States based on the World Input-Output Database. Results demonstrate that: (1) Gross trade statistics seriously overestimate China's benefits in China-US trade. The China-US trade surplus, based on gross trade statistics, is 20% higher than when based on trade in value-added accounting. (2) In China-US bilateral trade, China mainly adopts the trade model of importing intermediate products and exporting final products，whereas the United States mainly adopts the trade model of importing final products and exporting intermediate products. China's exports to the United States contain many of value-added in Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. (3) From 2000 through 2014, China maintained a large surplus of CO 2 emissions exports to the United States, and China paid a huge environmental cost in its trade with the United States. (4) In China-US trade, China's environmental costs per unit value-added is 3.02 times that of the United States., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society (PNIRS) created an official Chinese regional affiliate in 2012, designated PNIRS China . Now, just eight years later, the program has been so successful in advancing the science of psychoneuroimmunology that it has expanded to the whole of Asia-Oceania. In 2017, PNIRS China became PNIRS Asia-Pacific . Between 2012 and 2019, this outreach affiliate of PNIRS organized seven symposia at major scientific meetings in China as well as nine others in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. This paper summarizes the remarkable growth of PNIRS Asia-Pacific . Here, regional experts who have been instrumental in organizing these PNIRS Asia-Pacific symposia briefly review and share their views about the past, present and future state of psychoneuroimmunology research in China, Taiwan, Australia and Japan. The newest initiative of PNIRS Asia-Pacific is connecting Asia-Pacific laboratories with those in Western countries through a simple web-based registration system. These efforts not only contribute to the efforts of PNIRS to serve a truly global scientific society but also to answer the imperative call of increasing diversity in our science., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aims: Genetic identification is a public health care concern for management of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) associated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study presents the spectrum and distribution of LDLR, APOB, PCSK9 gene mutations in Asia., Methods: Databases were searched for English papers from 1950 to 2019. The spectrum of the variants was investigated in 8994 FH families in 48 Asian countries. We determined the frequency of variants, zygosity, and clinical features., Results: Twenty countries have studied LDLR variants. A total of 629 mutations were reported and twenty variants were accounted as common variants in different populations. China, Japan, India and Taiwan constituted 68% of published articles. The most frequent mutation was reported in Japan but was not common in other countries. Other missense variants accounted for 50% of the mutations, frameshifts 19%, and nonsense 11%. The pooled frequency of variation was estimated in 1867 individuals. Approximately 67% of Iranian families were homozygous.,The common variant was p.Ser130Ter. p.Arg3527Trp in APOB was common among 184 heterozygous patients; the common variant of PCSK9 was p.Glu32Lys., Conclusions: This is the first systematic review of LDLR, APOB, PCSK9 mutations in FH patients in Asia. These findings underscore the need to fill in the gap of studies on different populations in Asia. It also underlies the importance of early detection and management to decrease atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk in different ethnicities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared they do not have anything to disclose regarding conflict of interest with respect to this manuscript., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chemical sector contributes extensively to the economic development of countries, however, it is one of the main water-consuming industries. Considering that the corporate water accounting along complete SCs can help companies in improving their sustainable water managements along their value chains, this paper aims to study the water consumption in the entire supply chain of the chemical industry from a multi-regional input-output perspective. In this regard, six Asian countries including Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea and India are selected to be studied based upon the availability of their data. In the following, the direct water consumed by themselves and the indirect water used by their suppliers are measured for each country using input-output analysis method. Moreover, to draw on the conclusions of selected Asian countries, the amount of consumed water in their supply chains is compared with each other using one-way analysis of variance method. The results from input-output analysis show that the indirect water consumption in the chemical SCs of Indonesia, China, India and South Korea are 20.66, 4.62, 1.37 and 1.08 times greater than their direct water use, while the indirect water consumption for Japan and Taiwan are 0.73 and 0.13 times less than their direct values. The final results from one-way analysis of variance indicate that direct and indirect amount of water consumptions in the chemical supply chains of the selected countries do not follow the same trend over 15 years. However, India and China are the top two countries in terms of both direct and indirect amounts of water consumption due to their higher population. This study presents valuable information for authorities and policymakers in terms of proper water consumption management in chemical industry and other industrial sectors. In this matter, technology-based or production-related actions are beneficiary for affecting direct water use, while consumption-based or end-use actions are more appropriate for affecting indirect water consumption.

Although Taiwan is a small island, it occupies a strategic biogeographic position between the faunal regions of Japan to the north and the Philippines to the south. As a result, it has an interesting mixture of northern and southern species. In this paper, we report new records of two species of congrid eel, one known previously from Japan and China, and the other known only from the Philippines. The first species, Promyllantor nezumi Asano, 1958, was described by Asano (1958) and reassigned to a newly established genus Acromycter  by Smith Kanazawa (1977). Zhang (1989) reported the species from east of Hainan Island, China. The second species, Gnathophis asanoi Karmovskaya, 2004, was described from the Philippines based on two types. Ho et al. (2015) reported one specimen collected from Taiwan but provided one additional specimen was collected more recently.

Objective: To provide an integrative review of literature on health communication in East Asia and detail culturally-specific influences., Methods: Using PRISMA model, search of PubMed, PsychInfo, Web of Knowledge, ERIC and CINAHL databases were conducted for studies between January 2000 and March 2017, using the terms 'clinician/health professional-patient', 'nurse/doctor-patient, 'communication' and 'Asia'., Results: 38 studies were included: Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The existing body of research on clinician patient communication in East Asia can be classified: 1) understanding the roles and expectations of the nurse, clinician, patient, and family in clinician-patient consultations: a) nurse-patient communication; b) doctor-patient communication; c) the role of family member; and 2) factors affecting quality of care: d) cultural attitudes towards death and terminal illnesses; e) communication preferences affecting trust, decision-making and patient satisfaction; f) the extent to which patient centred care is being implemented in practice; and g) communication practices in multilingual/multi-disciplinary environments., Conclusion: The review detailed the complexity and heterogeneity of clinician-patient communication across East Asia. The studies reviewed indicate that research in East Asia is starting to move beyond a preference for Western-based communication practices., Practice Implications: There is a need to consider local culture in understanding and interpreting medical encounters in East Asia. The paper highlights the need for a specific culturally-appropriate model of health communication in East Asia which may significantly improve relationships between clinicians and patients., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)