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Digital contact tracing tools were developed to decrease the spread of COVID-19 by supplementing traditional manual methods. Although these tools have great potential, they were developed rather quickly resulting in tools with varying levels of success. The main issues with these tools are over privacy and who might have access to the information gathered. In general, their effectiveness varied globally, where users expressed privacy concerns associated with sharing identity, illness, and location information. This paper reviews these issues in deployments across Asia, Europe, and the United States. The goal is to begin a discussion that improves the design and development of digital technologies that not only improve the control of infectious disease spread, but also achieve an appropriate standard of privacy and security.

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.

Each year, multitudes respond to the demand for native English speakers to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Asian countries, particularly China, Japan, and South Korea. These EFL transnationals are often young, new to living abroad, and inexperienced as educators. When they arrive, they often find a community, and an identity waiting for them: that of the expatriate. In this paper, I draw on research on EFL expatriates to produce a figuration, a way of engaging with and highlighting contradiction and disjuncture in the narrative identity of EFL expat taken up by some transnational EFL teachers. This figuration serves as a nexus to which I bring two bodies of theory with which to think. These are the Borderlands Thought of Gloria Anzaldúa and Chen Kwan-Hsing's articulation of Asia as Method. Separately, I bring these into conversation with the figuration of the EFL expat, then consider what emerges when all three are brought together. In doing so, I highlight how the figuration of the EFL expat is outlined by privileged and constrictive colonial, racial, professional, and linguistic dichotomies. The theories of Anzaldúa and Chen help to unravel these binaries, suggesting ways in which transnational English teachers can move on from such constraints to become something more than in-but-not-of their local world. I also consider what it means for Western scholars to work respectfully in theoretical spaces that were not developed by and for them, proposing that such researchers can think of themselves as theoretical expatriates.

While internationalization is among the top strategic priorities of universities and colleges globally, research into the expanse of internationalization in the kinesiology discipline is not well researched. Given this gap, critical consideration of the state and status of the phenomenon is needed. Knowing more about what is being done in the name of internationalization within kinesiology and reflecting on how those actions and outcomes are aligned, or not, with key theoretical guidance is necessary in order to plan for improvement accordingly. For these reasons, this paper first provides a primer on internationalization in higher education, including how the phenomenon has come to be defined as well as key contemporary critiques associated with it. In particular, we highlight Beck's (2012) theoretical concept of 'eduscape' to critically consider the influences of globalization on internationalization within higher education kinesiology as well as Khoo, Taylor, and Andreotti's (2016) principles of intelligibility, dissent, and solidarity to consider the ways kinesiology scholars engage critically with internationalization processes. Presented next is a review of the kinesiology literature that is explicitly focused on internationalization. Then, the results of a pilot survey into the views of National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education (NAKHE) members and other Western kinesiology scholars on internationalization is reported next. The paper concludes with recommendations as to how NAKHE and the broader community of Western kinesiology scholars might best navigate internationalization moving forward. We recommend the complexity-informed and principle-driven approach of inclusive leadership as a means of pursuing cognitive justice in the 21st century.

Like all organisations, good governance is a fundamental requirement for the responsible and accountable management of universities in general and open universities in particular. This is to ensure that these (open) universities remain relevant to their mission of facilitating unfettered access to higher education for citizens and at the same time continue being reliable contributors to personal and institutional developments, the vital ingredients to maintaining sustained national development. While several studies have, in the past, been conducted on governance of universities, almost all of them have centred around conventional, face-to-face institutions. Not much published literature is in evidence on the governance of Open Universities. This paper, drawing from a study on the governance of a few open universities in Asia, tries to discuss the nature of their challenges, and the lessons that can be drawn from their practices and experience. The study focused on aspects relating to institutional autonomies such as curriculum, budgeting and financial management, admission standards, conferment of qualifications, academic staff appointments, development and promotions and research policies. Our findings indicate that, similar to conventional systems, the state plays a crucial role in many aspects of governance both in publicly funded and privately supported institutions. Recent attempts at governance transformation towards greater institutional autonomies is beginning to show limited changes in some but not all jurisdictions studied.

The use of flipped learning as a pedagogical approach has increased in the 21st century. While there is an existing survey of literature regarding the development in American educational institutions--and fewer in an Asian context--there are some unique cultural considerations that may need to be examined regarding flipped learning's adoption and adaptation in Asia. This paper serves as a literature review focusing on several Asian nations with respect to three major considerations in comparison to the United States: geographical, educational, and cultural. After the comprehensive review, which comments on the number of relevant publications available per nation, this paper concludes that there is no significant barrier to the implementation of flipped learning in Asia beyond the existing considerations apparent in the United States (access, time, and institutional support). Additionally, the prevalence of flipped learning in Asia, and the purposes of various studies surveyed, indicate that cultural barriers, at least in this area, are becoming less notable or authoritative as national or historical distinctions are diminishing through Millennials' tendencies toward globalization.

The globalization of art therapy requires a high level of multicultural competence among art therapists for ethical practice, which includes understanding the traditional materials of the client's culture. However, the common materials used in art therapy remain mostly Western, which neglects the therapeutic value of art materials from outside the Eurocentric world. This article explores the relations between culture and art materials, using the traditional Eastern materials from the Korean cultural context called "Jipilmuk" -- Ji (paper) "pil" (brush) "muk" ("Meok" [inkstick]). A focus on the philosophical esthetics of East Asia reveals the close connection between materials and culture as well as their therapeutic implications.

How much is hegemony and how much is self-determination in the higher education systems in Southeast Asia? This paper argues that while the question of centre and periphery is still relevant to the analysis of international university systems, the analytical frameworks from which it has arisen may lose viability in the long term. Southeast Asian states are making use of higher education to act in ways that will contribute to the altering of their peripheral position in the global economic and political system. While changes in Southeast Asian higher education are closely tied to global markets and follow what sometimes appears to be a dependent pattern of adaptations driven by Western developed economies, the paper argues that there is also a significant amount of resistance. As Southeast Asian countries adapt in ways that help embed economic globalisation within their national landscape, the manner in which the adaptation occurs is more selective, open, and democratic than before. Moreover, while global communication with core (centre) university systems has been more open and transparent, the system is closed to direct intervention from the outside, making hegemony a less plausible explanation for the manner in which the system is reacting within the new global environment of financial interdependency.

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.

This paper explores the science of prevention, with special attention to prevention research and applications in education and psychology, and the importance of prevention in Asian countries. One example that will be highlighted is the recently adopted Korean government policy on Internet addiction which addresses the problem from prevention to treatment. In addition, the paper provides background by summarizing the history of prevention and definitions of prevention. Research and conceptual papers that have been published in the "Asian Pacific Education Review" serve as examples of important topics to address from a prevention perspective. The topics are school bullying, school achievement, career development, and educator professional development and educational reform. The paper also discusses prevention best practices by summarizing the recently adopted American Psychological Association "Guidelines for Prevention in Psychology", emphasizing that the Guidelines are applicable for professions beyond psychology and they also apply in different parts of the world. Finally, the paper discusses prevention in the future, especially noting that advances in science, technology, and population demographics will increase the importance of prevention in the twenty-first century.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the origin and evolution of multicultural education in Korea, remaining issues, and global implications that the Korean case may provide to educators in other contexts, especially to those in Asia-Pacific countries. To address these topics, this paper analyzes government documents, various survey data, and research literature related to historical, theoretical, and practical aspects of multicultural education in Korea. Major findings show that, despite substantial achievements in a short period of time, significant structural barriers against minority groups still remain, while an assimilationist approach tends to dominate multicultural education in Korea. It is also suggested that reforming teacher education programs to produce culturally competent teachers is crucial for the further development of multicultural education in Korea. Based on the Koran case, this paper calls for collective efforts among educators in the Asia-Pacific region to explore more diversified approaches to multicultural education, as theories and practices based on Western experiences may have limited application to this region.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian region with China, Japan, and South Korea, and an inter-regional entity with the European Union (EU)--known as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The initial aims were security and trade. Recently, however, higher education has been brought into these regionalising processes, largely as a response to the globalising of neoliberalism. The paper argues that regions are social, economic, and political constructions shaped by both material forces and cultural factors. It emphasises the importance of the latter and explains three mechanisms at work: "harmonisation" to build intra-ASEAN higher education cooperation; "socialisation" to create the ASEAN+3 region; and "mutual learning" to engage with the EU in shaping an "ASEM Education Area". These mechanisms influence the ways in which regional actors form new conceptions of self and other, negotiate norms, and (re)construct their identities and interests, thus creating new forms of cooperation and community. Particularly, "mutual learning" generates the outcome of a deeper negotiation for an equal partnership between the "Asia" and the "Europe" in ASEM. Hence, higher education regionalism emerges as a way to reposition Southeast Asia.

This paper examines reasons for teaching about the Holocaust in countries only marginally impacted by these events. Against the backdrop of a recent global study showing that anti-Semitism is still quite pervasive around the globe, an attempt is made to show in what ways teaching about the Holocaust can affect attitudes of young people toward minorities, and the extent to which such education can make young people more accepting of diversity. Special attention is devoted to the findings in the global study relating to South Korea, which revealed that attitudes in this country can be construed as being much more anti-Semitic than in neighboring countries.

Empirical evidence of Asian students' traditional citizenship values was provided in the Asian Regional Module (ARM) of the International Civic and Citizenship Study. This paper is based on a secondary analysis of the ARM data. Three issues are addressed. First, a theoretical analysis of the ARM constructs contributes to their construct validity. Second, the endorsement of these constructs by students from five Asian societies is compared indicating that some of the differences between societies were statistically significant, although effect sizes were generally weak or moderate. Third, the predictive validity of the constructs was examined. They had a small but differential effect on students' civic knowledge and a generally negligible effect on school participation. Variance at school and individual level accounted for by the ARM constructs differed across societies. The implications of these results for civic education and future research in the field are discussed. (Contains 5 tables.)

Amidst emerging trends in transnational migration via globalization, an increasing number of families have gone abroad to help their school-aged children and youth gain international education credentials and provide them an opportunity to acquire English as a global language as early as possible. This early study abroad before college (ESA) has been very popular in traditional Expanding Circle countries, especially with middle class families in East Asia such as Chinese and Korean families. Recent research has just begun to emphasize the role of education in driving migration flows. However, there is little research on this topic in the field of language learning and teacher education while the number of ESA students has been increasing rapidly in certain regions. Therefore, it is imperative to begin discussing the general areas of implications for language teacher education regarding the impact of the rapidly growing ESA learner population on the educational and linguistic landscape in their source and host countries. In this article, the author introduces issues relevant to this emerging group and discusses implications for both English as a second language (ESL) and EFL teacher education.

This study examines generalized trust and trust in institutions in Confucian Asia, covering six countries namely, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, and one dependent region, Hong Kong. Using data from the 2006 AsiaBarometer Survey, our study affirms the reliability and validity of using a two-item scale to measure generalized trust. Our analysis suggests that due to demographic differences, there are variations in the level of generalized trust of countries in Confucian Asia, despite the fact that these societies share a similar background in Confucian philosophy. The relationships between generalized trust and political trust, and between generalized trust and trust in public institutions, are weak but positive. The positive relationship between generalized trust and trust in economic institutions is only significant for some of the economies, while trust in international institutions has the weakest relationship with generalized trust for all societies. We conclude the paper with research implications.

This paper examines private tutoring systems in three East Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, and Cambodia) with the purpose of examining the relationship between those systems and formal education systems. The study of private tutoring systems in each nation can be used to reveal the inadequacies of the formal education system in meeting the ideal of equal opportunity of education in relation to high-stakes examinations. In each nation, the private tutoring system functions as a "shadow education market" to absorb unmet demand for additional education in a parasitic relationship with the formal system. Governments have enacted various policies to respond to the growing private tutoring systems which have proven largely ineffective and often led to further expansion. Pedagogical and curricular practices in the private tutoring systems have functioned to increase "anxiety" and "insecurity" in regard to the formal education system with the purpose of expanding the market. Studies of mass schooling systems and equal opportunity are incomplete without due consideration toward the role of the private tutoring system. Efforts toward education policy-making and reform to further the ideal of equal opportunity of education must be informed by such research on private tutoring. (Contains 6 tables.)

In recent years, local and global for-profit e-learning providers have expanded in Asia. A combination of factors has encouraged such development: The accelerating roll-out of technology, the availability of sophisticated learning management systems, and the high growth rates of Internet usage by the 510 million or so Asians who now represent 39% of the world's users (Internet usage in Asia, 2007) is leading to the belief that there is a huge un- or under-exploited market for e-learning. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in 1995, has created increasing pressure for augmented efforts in opening up the existing education market (Jung, 2005a). Many Asian governments are eager to introduce market principles, constrain expenditures, widen access to higher education and professional development, and improve quality via competition. It is recognized that for-profit providers may better meet rapidly changing educational needs. This paper examines the emergence of new for-profit e-learning providers in Asia. (Contains 28 endnotes.)

Private supplementary tutoring has long been a major phenomenon in parts of East Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. In recent times it has grown dramatically in other parts of Asia and in Africa, Europe and North America. The factors underlying the growth of private tutoring vary, but in all settings it has major implications for learning and livelihood. Families with the necessary resources are able to secure not only greater quantities but also better qualities of private tutoring. Children receiving such tutoring are then able to perform better in school, and in the long run to improve their lifetime earnings. By contrast, children of low-income families who do not receive such benefits may not be able to keep up with their peers and may drop out of school at an earlier age. Tutoring also of course has a direct impact on the livelihoods of the tutors, providing employment and incomes for a range of professionals and amateurs of different age groups. The dynamics of inter-relationships are complex, and vary from one setting to another. This paper argues that private supplementary tutoring deserves much more attention from policy makers and researchers. (Contains 1 table.)

Describes development of Global Age from Japanese perspective; discusses peace and human-rights activities of the United Nations Economic and Social Council; describes development of individual character and universal attributes; explains Japanese concept of living together; discusses awareness problems related to Japan's relationship with other Asian countries, especially Korea; describes implications for education. (Contains 20 references.) (PKP)

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) have long been a strategically important corporate strategy for growth and global expansion. Research on M&As in Asian contexts is linked to the relevant countries' phenomenal business growth, economic transformation, and institutional development. To consolidate and synthesise the existing body of knowledge related to the 'East-Meets-West' notion, this paper will present an examination of the characteristics of M&As both in and out of Asia from an international perspective, with a geographical focus on China, Japan, and South Korea. We investigated the influencing factors related to the distinctiveness and commonalities of M&As in and out of Asia. Our findings suggest that the divergence in Asian M&As may be driven by industrial characteristics and national environments, while their convergence may be due to human aspects. Our study contributes to the divergence and convergence debate in the context of in and out of Asia M&As in relation to the East-Meets-West concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel allows teachers to gather the data and realia to enliven history or global education in the classroom. In this special issue teachers describe personal travel experiences to many parts of the globe. Points of interest, itineraries, budgets, and artifacts collected are discussed. (RM)

Copyright of Asian Journal of Women's Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Contemporary Asia is in the process of not only developing industrialization and democratization, but also establishing Asian homogeneity and intercommunity through the universal cultural phenomenon of sports originating from the West. This paper considers the future of traditional Asian martial arts through Allen Guttmann’s seven characteristics of modern sport. In future, Asia, especially Northeast Asia; South Korea, China, and Japan are likely to become the world’s leading powerhouses based on their infinite potential in human, material and ideological resources. The Olympics will be hosted by three Asian countries in four years: in 2018, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, in 2020 the Tokyo Summer Olympics in Japan, and in 2022 the Beijing Winter Olympics in China, respectively. This paper examines the development of traditional Asian martial arts in China, Japan and South Korea against the background of modernization and globalization. Also, discussions regarding impediments to the efforts and measures for improvement are provided. Asian martial arts have been transformed in both nature and content and the notion of the characteristics of modern sports Guttmann proposes is prominent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responsible supply chain management (SCM) in the era of expanding global sourcing can play a critical role in diffusing corporate responsible practices throughout the emerging Asian economies. Thus, this paper aims to examine how responsible SCM can contribute to supplier performance, including environmental, social and operational performances through the improvement of relationship commitment in the Asian context. The hypotheses of this study were tested with the data from 187 South Korean suppliers and 193 Vietnamese suppliers. The paper finds that responsible SCM enhances relationship commitment as well as improves the sustainability performance of suppliers in Asian countries. Relationship commitment plays a critical and mediating role in the relationships between responsible SCM and environmental, social and operational performances. This study also finds that there is a contextual difference between South Korea and Vietnam. The findings of this paper provide implications for supply chain members to integrate environmental and social issues into their SCM practices so as to foster stronger sustainability performance in the global supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study seeks to understand the discourse on/and legitimisation of ‘change’ in Korean football. The paper asks the following questions: how has the South Korean post-colonial project for development and nation-state building shaped the discourse on football development in South Korea? How this change has been defined, diffused, imposed, debated and/or resisted in South Korean football? To respond to these questions, the paper examines the debates on modernity and modernisation in Korean society and in football. To this end, we trace some of the ways that colonial and post-colonial discourses have been appropriated in relation to South Korea's construction of ‘self’ and ‘otherness’, and in defining meanings about change – in the sense of reform, modernisation, rationalisation and professionalisation – of South Korean football. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examines the publishing for 1,437 Korean journals classified by publisher types and disciplines. The aim of the analysis is to understand the status of the journal publishing and the level of open access in Korea. The results show that society publishers are the majority in Korea, commercial publishers predominating in most advanced countries. More than half of the Korean journals for science, technology and medicine (STM) are open access. The study explains why open access is widespread particularly in Korea and suggests the STM journals be published in English for international recognition and impact. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One important phenomenon to be observed in the world today is the rapid growth of the middle classes in emerging economies, especially in Asia. This development called for a new concept, the global middle class. The purpose of this paper is twofold: one is to examine the ways this term is currently used and clarify its meaning, and the other is to examine one empirical case of South Korea and highlight important processes involved in the making of a global middle class. The term global middle class has 2 meanings: (1) all the middle classes that exist in the world or (2) the affluent and globally oriented segments of the middle classes in developing countries. These 2 different conceptions serve different purposes and address different aspects of globalization's effect on the affected economy and society. While the expansion of the middle classes around the world is an unquestionably welcome phenomenon, the rise of the affluent global middle classes in developing countries represents a more complex and problematic phenomenon. The Korean case demonstrates that the emergence of the global middle class is associated with growing internal division within the middle class and intense processes of class distinction and educational pursuits in the global education market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examines the reform trajectory of financial supervision in South Korea after the 1980s, focusing on external and internal political–economic factors. Research results indicate that the changed economic landscape led the government, which once utilized financial supervision as a tool to support industrial policy, to alter its aims and pursue the development of the financial market itself. During this transformational process, the 1997 Asian financial crisis functioned as a powerful stimulus for the reform of the previous supervisory system. The process was also marked by social actors’ efforts to affect related policies and the government’s efforts to control the reform process, as well as confrontations between organizations that supported contradictory reform plans. A multi-strategy approach including in-depth interviews with a senior staff member from a government financial regulatory agency, literature reviews, and secondary data collection, was adopted in order to enhance the validity and reliability of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we examine international technology diffusion by using patent citations as a proxy for technology diffusion. We focus on some Asian economies, i.e., Korea, Taiwan, China and India, to investigate the relationship between technology diffusion and their trade experience with the U.S., Japan, and other G7 countries. Our empirical results reveal that trade specialization has a significant correlation with technology diffusion. Some policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea has witnessed remarkable economic development since the 1960s. Its economic growth rate has few parallels. However, behind this facade of growth and progress, a chronic housing shortage in the capital region, declining owner-occupation, rising housing costs, and polarisation in housing conditions between the better-off and the worse-off clearly illustrate the increasing impasse and crisis in housing that Korea has faced. The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and the more recent global financial crisis shocked the Korean housing market. Immediately after each crisis, the housing market experienced a serious recession and a sharp drop in prices. This paper addresses the seriousness of the impact of the financial crises on Korean housing conditions and how the Korean government reacted to the housing crises. It also discusses the benchmarks over the years and how pressing exigencies in the last decade have led to dramatic transformations in housing policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baekdong and Gwangcheon areas are located within the Hongseong collision belt of South Korea, and the discovery of late Permian–Triassic eclogites has confirmed this belt as an extension of the Qinling–Dabie–Sulu collision belt in China. The Qinling–Dabie–Sulu belt records a middle Paleozoic continental collision in addition to the late Permian–Triassic collision of the North and South China cratons. In this paper, we present evidence for middle Paleozoic igneous and metamorphic events in the Baekdong and Gwangcheon areas. Metabasites and meta-basaltic andesites in the Baekdong area originated in an arc tectonic setting at ca. 470–437 Ma, and underwent an intermediate-P/T metamorphism (6.2–8.2 kbar, 620–700 °C) at ca. 418–405 Ma. The meta-basaltic andesite in the Gwangcheon area underwent a high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism (close to the eclogite facies) at ca. 392–381 Ma. P–T values of 15.7–19.9 kbar and 860–890 °C were obtained for the peak metamorphism using conventional geothermobarometry, and conditions of 16–17 kbar and 870–920 °C were estimated by thermodynamic pseudosection analysis using the Perplex X program. Together with the late Permian–Triassic eclogites previously reported from the Hongseong area, these middle Paleozoic igneous activities that were related to subduction and metamorphism indicate that the Hongseong area underwent collision in the middle Paleozoic (418–381 Ma), in addition to the late Permian–Triassic collision, as recorded in the Qinling–Dabie–Sulu belt in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights the export potential trade gap in climate smart goods (CSG) in Asia in 2008. Using the trade gravity equation, this article estimates trade value and measures potential trade gap. This potential trade gap suggests that there is a scope to increase the export of CSG. This study identifies individual trade partners and focuses on the trade opportunity in CSG in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonality of suicidal behavior has been widely reported in many epidemiological studies with a well replicated suicide peak in spring followed by a trough in winter season. Research from some regions over the past few decades has shown a diminishing seasonal pattern of suicides and this introduced a new perspective on the suicide study. Data on all suicide deaths from the period 1991 to 2015 was extracted from the South Korean National Death Registration data set which was made available by Statistics Korea. Our findings confirmed a strong seasonal effect of suicides in South Korea throughout the study period and a marked diminishing pattern was observed since the period of 2006–2010. The rhythm of suicides kept changing across the time intervals with a spring peak followed by a second peak in late summer/autumn. The seasonality varied across age groups and the seasonal effect among the Korean elderly suicides was still found to be significant though a diminishing pattern was observed recently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the winter of 2016-2017, an epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) led to high mortality in poultry and put a serious burden on the poultry industry of the Republic of Korea. Effective control measures considering spatial heterogeneity to mitigate the HPAI epidemic is still a challenging issue. Here we develop a spatial-temporal compartmental model that incorporates the culling rate as a function of the reported farms and farm density in each town. The epidemiological and geographical data of two species, chickens and ducks, from the farms in the sixteen towns in Eumseong-gun and Jincheon-gun are used to find the best-fitted parameters of the metapopulation model. The best culling radius to maximize the final size of the susceptible farms and minimize the total number of culled farms is calculated from the model. The local reproductive number using the next generation method is calculated as an indicator of virus transmission in a given area. Simulation results indicate that this parameter is strongly influenced not only by epidemiological factors such as transmissibility and/or susceptibility of poultry species but also by geographical and demographical factors such as the distribution of poultry farms (or density) and connectivity (or distance) between farms. Based on this result, we suggest the best culling radius with respect to the local reproductive number in a targeted area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to show the epidemiological characteristics and the difference in the risk factors and types of collision between older and younger drivers in Korea. Methods: We collected data from the Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance retrieved by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2011 to 2015. We included injured drivers aged ≥ 18 years who were registered in the database, who were limited to drivers of four-wheeled vehicles. The enrolled patients were divided according to age into older (≥ 65 years) and younger (< 65 years) drivers. The total number of enrolled drivers was 37,511; 2,361 (6.3%) of them were older drivers. The epidemiological characteristics (e.g., age, sex, fatality rate) of traffic collision victims for 5 years were determined, and the risk factors (e.g., seat belt use) and types of collision (single- vs. multi-vehicle) between the two groups were compared. Results: The median age and interquartile range (IQR; 25th and 75th percentiles) of all drivers were 41.0 (IQR, 32.0–52.0), and 24,544 (65.4%) of them were men. The median age increased from 40.0 (IQR, 31.0–50.0) to 43.0 (IQR, 33.0–54.0) between 2010 and 2015 (P < 0.001). The proportion of older drivers increased from 5.0% to 8.4% annually during the study period (P < 0.001). Between 2010 and 2015, the fatality rate decreased from 3.1% to 1.2% (P = 0.287) for older drivers and from 0.9% to 0.5% (P = 0.009) for younger drivers. The proportion of single-vehicle collision (25.9% vs. 20.3%) was higher in older than in younger drivers (P < 0.001). Older drivers had a lower rate of seat-belt use than younger drivers (79.0% vs. 83.0%, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The proportion of older drivers increased annually during the study period, and older drivers experienced more single-vehicle collision and used seat belt less frequently than younger drivers. A national policy support to reduce traffic collision in older drivers and public relation activities to enhance their seat belt use should be strengthened in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on more recent science spending developments in countries such as China, Korea, India and Brazil, there is a growing sense that the world’s scientific deck of cards is in the midst of a major reshuffle. But it is not clear if this reordering is limited to just the top spenders, or, indeed, how these changes have been playing out over the longer term. The new, more comprehensive research and development (R&D) spending estimates presented and discussed here reveal that we are in the midst of a possibly game-changing, albeit partial and perhaps irregular, reshuffle of the global R&D deck. These changes have potentially profound domestic and international economic development implications over the medium to long term. Notably, the fortunes of many of the world’s poorer countries continue to look bleak. Using the evolving structure of past R&D spending to project forward, and absent marked changes in science policies and spending priorities, we foresee a continuing and substantial shift in the geography of R&D towards parts of Asia, along with a continuing large, and in many respects growing, gap between the world’s scientific haves and have-nots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa–Asia relations are a controversial subject at the moment and many authors have attempted to shed light on what the renewed relations between Africa and Asia entail. Some have denounced what they see as a ‘New Scramble for Africa’, while others have identified the possibilities offered by these new South–South relations and have drawn attention to the impact of African agency in this new constellation. This article follows on from these discussions by reading the growing global dynamic as a collage of African and Asian entanglements. It is based on research conducted within the University of Frankfurt’s Inter-Centre programme on Africa’s Asian Options (AFRASO). In line with the programme’s empirical, comparative and trans-regional objectives, the three authors conduct research on the interactions between Africa and Asia.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reconsiders state-led development in the changing political context of the East Asian economies of South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Grounded in a political economy approach advanced by the late Alice Amsden and others, I argue that since the late 1980s, the developmental state faced significant challenges of managing the greater desire for democracy and welfare from domestic interest groups and social movements. These three East Asian economies began to adjust and adapt to a new political economy in which the state could no longer wield autonomous power in governing the market and directing the growth trajectories of national firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What will be the post-manufacturing future of the industrial heartlands of Southeast Asia? Fiction and non-fiction author Tim Maughan teams up with speculative architect and educator Liam Young to capture a dystopian vision of desolate dereliction in 2050, in which large-scale mass production has been almost altogether abandoned in favour of small-scale, local 3D printing shops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the process of economic development and associated political transformations in South Korea since the mid-1960s. It claims that, as in the rest of East Asia, capital accumulation in South Korea has revolved around the production of specific industrial goods for world markets using the relatively cheap and highly disciplined local workforce for simplified labour processes, as appendages of the machine or in manual assembly operations. This modality of accumulation resulted from changes in the forms of production of relative surplus value on a global scale through the development of computerisation and robotisation, and the concomitant transformation in the productive attributes of the collective worker of large-scale industry. The article identifies the main characteristics of the political and economic relations through which the structural transformation of the Korean society came about throughout the period studied, as a form of realising the global unity of the process of capitalist development. This analysis not only supports the claims made about the specific characteristics of the East Asian processes of capitalist development. It also shows the intrinsic unity of seemingly diverse political-economy processes, as forms of realisation of the transformations of Korean society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article investigates the use of travel weblogs within Asian markets, in particular those with a Confucian cultural heritage, in an attempt to understand the knowledge-sharing practices of Confucian-heritage travel bloggers. Two significant Confucian markets in Asia, Chinese Singaporeans and South Koreans, are studied in this article. Results of content and semiotics analyses of 17 weblog sites from the Singaporean market and 20 from the South Korean market suggest that cultural aspects can characterise users’ behaviour in virtual environments. In the studied Asian blog user communities, the Confucian value of respect for authority appears to be embedded, affecting the types of knowledge sharing as well as technology-enhanced sharing. The article suggests that tourism marketing researchers and practitioners should recognise that the Asian market’s use of blog sites is influenced by the Confucian value of respect for authority and that practitioners are recommended to consider partnering with authority figures to deliver more ‘credible’ information to the wider community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract:South Korea's diplomatic and security focus has inevitably been on northeast Asia and its difficult relationship with its northern neighbour, but South Korea also has a role to play in the broader Asian Pacific region. This article analyzes South Korea's increasing economic, political, and cultural links with the wider region, in particular with Southeast Asia, and its role in the development of Asian Pacific regionalism. Utilizing the concept of “middle power,” it argues that, while clearly South Korea cannot ignore what is happening in its immediate geographical environment of North-east Asia, it does have the economic and political resources to enable it to take advantage of the opportunities for greater interactions with other parts of the Asian Pacific region, particularly Southeast Asia, if the political will exists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Is there evidence of new, differential space challenging entrenched, status quo abstract space at firms in South Korea? Based on quantitative analyses of responses from 360 survey participants, this study deploys a feminist geographical perspective to examine the careers of female managers in South Korea. Results include extensive descriptive statistics of waged and non-waged work environments, motivations for work and career breaks, income expenditures, and gender-based impacts on opportunities, networks and promotions in the workplace. An overall discriminatory atmosphere leads to decreased equality in opportunities to participate in training and business trips, which in turn leads to fewer promotions for female managers. Likewise, female managers in positions specifically designated for females receive fewer promotions. Korean firms have a stronger preference for sending men on business trips and more overall discriminatory atmospheres than foreign firms, while informal networks figure more predominantly into hiring and promotion at Korean firms. Finally, regression results indicate that both country of origin and organizational discriminatory atmosphere, despite concrete departmental and organizational policies geared toward the reduction of gender discrimination, negatively impact the percentage of female managers at firms in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Korea as of 2009, the immigrant population comprised less than 2.5 % of the total population, whereas almost one in ten marriages taking place during the same year was international, of which more than 75 % were ethnic Asian women married to Korean men. On that ground, this study addresses the importance of Asian values and ethnic identity in ethnic Asian wives' acculturation to Korean society. The subjects of this study have been selected from three ethnic Asian groups-Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese women. Acculturation in this study has been measured in three aspects: Korean cultural attitudes and identity, linguistic assimilation, and the level of satisfaction with Korean culture. First, our findings have revealed that their recognition of Asian values plays an important role in improving their acculturation to Korean society, especially in the realms of cultural attitudes and identity, and satisfaction with Korean culture. Then, there has been no evidence that their sense of ethnic identity is a critical factor of their acculturation to Korean society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of social policy in East Asia has been gaining momentum in recent decades, challenging scholars to offer an explanation. This article addresses two questions: Are we witnessing the rise of welfare states in East Asia? And if so, what are the driving forces behind this development? We draw on theoretical perspectives of Franz-Xaver Kaufmann, who emphasizes the relationship between the state and civil society as the context of welfare statism, and who elaborated the role of international organizations and law in social policy ("welfare internationalism"). Choosing South Korea and Taiwan as examples, we explore the role of international policy diffusion, highlighting the interaction of international and domestic factors. We find that South Korea and Taiwan have indeed turned into welfare states, and that external "social" ideas, which have received little attention in previous research, have contributed to this development in different historical phases. Our analysis extends Kaufmann's perspective beyond Western welfare states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study is informed by the theorizing prompted by recent work on state rescaling. I aim to examine the interaction between the top-down and bottom-up rescaling processes that took place in the South Korean developmental state during the late 1960s and early 1970s. I focus on a regionalism that both built a regional scale and influenced the hegemonic crisis of the ruling regime. Specifically, the study illustrates the features of state space that were shaped during the developmental era and the factors that allow state space to be stable and coherent. By dealing with these questions, I provide a possible interpretation of why and how regionalism was a crucial factor in the hegemonic crisis of the 1960s and generated a rescaling of state space. What makes this study significant is not merely the fact that this space is located in East Asia. It could also, more generally, open up an alternative perspective on state rescaling during the early stages of state-led industrialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an overview of the perceived importance and accelerated spread of English language education, both formal and informal, in three East Asian countries (i.e. China, Japan and South Korea) against the backdrop of globalisation and emergent ideological, sociocultural and educational trends. It begins with a review of the recent developments in English language education in each of the countries, the ostensible reasons for English language education and the ideological issues contributing to the recent English language education initiatives. This is followed by a discussion and a critique of the common trends and themes manifested in the three countries’ recent initiatives to reform and improve English language education. The article concludes with a number of policy recommendations for English language education in East Asia and other countries, where English does not have an institutional role to play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]