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Concerns of equity with respect to the community college model in East Asia persist in educational research. In this study, we described and analysed students' "lived experience" in community colleges in Hong Kong in terms of the "warming up" or "cooling out" of their educational desire. Semistructured interviews with 14 graduates of community colleges in Hong Kong were conducted to determine how their experiences at community colleges affected their educational expectations and the extent to which community colleges help students reconsider their educational disadvantages in a competitive, meritocratic and massified higher education system. The qualitative interview data were inductively thematised into four aspects of college experience in relation to their educational expectations. The data revealed that Hong Kong's community colleges help some students develop their capabilities and change their educational expectations through democratic admissions, liberal pedagogic environments, learner-centred formative assessment and student services for strategic university articulation. Rather than cooling-out students' educational desire (characterised by gradual disengagement, objective denial, alternative achievement), community colleges in Hong Kong provide a second chance for failing and disadvantaged students to pursue a university education, but this warming-up function applies only to students who benefitted from the liberal mode of assessment and discovered and developed their academic capabilities in their college experience. The paper ends with a critical analysis of the problem of such warming up of educational desire and the extent to which community colleges can empower disadvantaged students for a good life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The East Asian experience in tackling COVID-19 has been highly praised, but this high-level generalisation neglects variation in pandemic response measures adopted across countries as well as the socio-political factors that shaped them. This paper compares the early pandemic response in Singapore and Hong Kong, two Asian city-states of similar sizes, a shared history of SARS, and advanced medical systems. Although both were able to contain the virus, they did so using two very different approaches. Drawing upon data from a cross-national, probability sample Internet survey conducted in May 2020 as well as media and mobility data, we argue that the different approaches were the result of the relative strength of civil society vs. the state at the outset of the outbreak. In protest-ridden Hong Kong, low governmental trust bolstered civil society, which focused on self-mobilisation and community mutual-help. In Singapore, a state-led response model that marginalised civil society brought early success but failed to stem an outbreak among its segregated migrant population. Our findings show that an active civil society is pivotal to effective outbreak response and that trust in government may not have been as important as a factor in these contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of exchange rate changes on trade flows among East Asian countries spanning 1990-2021, using pooled mean group estimator, within the framework of panel data analysis. Findings indicate that world income, trade openness, and the real effective exchange rate strongly affect trade balance, and that the real depreciation of exchange rate exerts strong positive benefits on trade flows in the long run. The study also infers that trade openness and real effective exchange rate had strong influence on exports and imports for Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea in the short run. However, the depreciation of their currencies discouraged imports in the long run. More so, world income strongly affects the exports and imports of Hong Kong and Japan, while trade openness is advantageous for all the countries. The study recommends the continuation of the prevailing tradegrowth pattern, and the existing bilateral pegged exchange rate policy with their trading partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rate of international migration for the primary purpose of employment has increased exponentially in recent decades. A significant proportion of this global movement takes place across East and Southeast Asia as workers move on a temporary basis from lower-middle-income home countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to high-income host destinations including Hong Kong and Singapore. Relatively little is known about the unique and long-term health needs of this heterogeneous group of people. This systematic review presents an analysis of recent research into the experiences and perceptions of health of temporary migrant workers in the East and Southeast Asian regions. Methods: Five electronic databases CINAHL Complete (via EbscoHost), EMBASE (including Medline), PsycINFO (via ProQuest), PubMed and Web of Science, were systematically searched for qualitative or mixed methods, peer-reviewed literature published in print or online between January 2010 and December 2020. Quality of the studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research published by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Findings from the included articles were extracted and synthesised using qualitative thematic analysis. Results: Eight articles were included in the review. Findings from this review indicate that multiple dimensions of workers' health is impacted by the processes of temporary migration. In addition, the research reviewed indicated that migrant workers used various strategies and mechanisms to attempt to address their health-related issues and to take better care of themselves. Such agentic practices could help them manage and maintain their health and wellbeing across physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions within the structural constraints of their employment. Conclusions: Limited published research has focused on the health perceptions and needs of temporary migrant workers in East and Southeast Asia. The studies included in this review focused on female migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines. These studies provide valuable insights but do not reflect the heterogeneity of migrants moving within these regions. The findings of this systematic review highlight that temporary migrant workers experience high and sustained levels of stress and are exposed to certain health risks which may compromise long-term health outcomes. These workers demonstrate knowledge and skills in managing their own health. This suggests that strength-based approaches to health promotion interventions may be effective in optimising their health over time. These findings are relevant to policy makers and non-government organisations supporting migrant workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine and compare decision‐making preferences on end‐of‐life care for older people in Japan, the Hong Kong SAR and South Korea. Background: Cultural values and beliefs influence decision‐making on end‐of‐life care. Design: A cross‐sectional design was adopted. Methods: Community‐dwelling people aged ≥65 with additional requirements were recruited in 2016–2017 in the three regions. Their decision‐making preferences on end‐of‐life care were assessed using Pang et al.'s questionnaire. These preferences and their sociodemographic and personal experience variables were compared and analysed using univariate and multiple logistic regressions. The STROBE checklist was followed. Results: This study involved 415 participants. In all three regions, the most preferred decision maker and person with whom to discuss end‐of‐life care issues was a family member. Participants in the Hong Kong SAR were less likely to select a family member as their preferred decision maker than those in Japan (adjusted odds ratio = 0.129). Koreans were less likely to discuss end‐of‐life care issues with medical professionals than people in Japan (adjusted odds ratio = 0.278). More than 70% of the participants in each region indicated that they would not prefer to leave an advance directive to decide their end‐of‐life care. Conclusion: Older Asians prefer to make their own decisions after consulting others. Family members play an important role in helping older people plan their preferred end‐of‐life care arrangements, even acting as decision makers when older people become incapable of deciding for themselves. Relevance to clinical practice: Sufficient information should be provided to older people and their families for the older people to determine their preferred care. Helping families to understand and support the planned care and advance directives is a strategy for maximising family compliance with the care. Continuous efforts should be made to promote advance care planning and advance directives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across East and Southeast Asia, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is expanding and diversifying. More students from affluent families are 'opting out' of mainstream schooling to take the IB's Diploma Programme (DP), which is marketed as a distinctive skill-based education that prepares students for university. This research investigated how DP alumni reflect on their educational experiences in developing cognitive and non-cognitive skills and as preparation for elite universities in Hong Kong. An online undergraduate survey (n = 734) found that DP alumni self-perceived higher capacities than non-DP alumni in communication, creativity, critical thinking, cultural sensitivity, global-mindedness, leadership, and time management. In interviews (n = 42), DP alumni perceived the DP as a privileged educational experience that 'worked' in developing cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The DP alumni were overall positive about their DP experiences in developing skills for university preparation. However, there were complexities as the DP alumni also perceived that students from mainstream schools were often better prepared for pedagogy and assessments in the context of higher education in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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