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Background: Existing research on health equity falls short of identifying a comprehensive set of indicators for measurement across health systems. Health systems in the ASEAN region, in particular, lack a standardised framework to assess health equity. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework to measure health equity in the ASEAN region and highlights current gaps in data availability according to its indicator components. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was undertaken to map out a core set of indicators to evaluate health equity at the health system level. Secondary data collection was subsequently conducted to assess current data availability for ASEAN states in key global health databases, national health accounts, and policy documents. Results: A robust framework to measure health equity was developed comprising 195 indicators across Health System Inputs and Processes, Outputs, Outcomes, and Contextual Factors. Total indicator data availability equated to 72.9% (1423/1950). Across the ASEAN region, the Inputs and Processes sub-component of Health Financing had complete data availability for all indicators (160/160, 100%), while Access to Essential Medicine had the least data available (6/30, 20%). Under Outputs and Outcomes, Coverage of Selected Interventions (161/270, 59.63%) and Population Health (350/350, 100%) respectively had the most data available, while other indicator sub-components had little to none (≤ 38%). 72.145% (384/530) of data is available for all Contextual Factors. Out of the 10 ASEAN countries, the Philippines had the highest data availability overall at 77.44% (151/195), while Brunei Darussalam and Vietnam had the lowest data availability at 67.18% (131/195). Conclusions: The data availability gaps highlighted in this study underscore the need for a standardised framework to guide data collection and benchmarking of health equity in ASEAN. There is a need to prioritise regular data collection for overlooked indicator areas and in countries with low levels of data availability. The application of this indicator framework and resulting data availability analysis could be conducted beyond ASEAN to enable cross-regional benchmarking of health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on designing a comprehensibility test and a questionnaire for spoken world Englishes in Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, and utilizing the test to investigate the comprehension of Burmese, Cambodians, Indonesians, Laotians, Thais and Vietnamese. We reviewed the demarcation of users of English based on Kachru's (1984, 1985) three concentric models within the bloc's context where two circles--Outer Circle and Expanding Circle are present. The findings established a moderate comprehensibility level of Expanding Circle listeners toward the speakers of the Outer Circle. The variations of comprehensibility scores paved way for the exploration of the comprehension scores' possible relationships with language proficiencies, attitudes toward speakers, familiarity of spoken variety, historical origins of languages, and political ambiance between and among ASEAN nations. (Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.) [Work on this paper was partly supported by Prince of Songkla University's Graduate School Grant.]

The predicted widespread use of English as a lingua franca following ASEAN's 2015 integration mushroomed intelligibility studies between and among Asean nationals including Bruneians, Burmese, Cambodians, Filipinos, Indonesians, Laotians, Malaysians, Singaporeans, Thais and Vietnamese. Previous studies regarding ASEAN nationals' intelligibility and/or comprehensibility were reviewed. This paper presents a study of five exposures that relate to the intelligibility and/or comprehensibility within world Englishes speaker-listener paradigm. They are exposures to English through education, work experiences, outside the classroom (non-educational settings), social media, and travel and stay abroad. The Comprehensibility Testing Flowchart was used as the main framework of the study and data analysis. The findings show that there are positive correlations and significances between the five variables and the comprehensibility levels Aseans gained in the comprehensibility test. Questionnaire is appended. (Contains 1 note, 1 figure, and 6 tables.) [Work on this paper was partly supported by Prince of Songkla University's Graduate School Grant.]

Purpose: It is still unclear how Asian universities incorporate the theory or practice of sustainable development (SD) in their research and education programmes. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to report on a study that has examined how universities in Asian countries handle and address matters related to SD. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a bibliometric analysis and an online survey-method. The online survey data were analysed through descriptive analysis and one-sample student's "t"-test. Findings: The study indicates that there is considerable variation among the Asian countries regarding sustainability practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). The HEIs in far eastern countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are perceived to demonstrate more sustainability practices. Research limitations/implications: Even though a substantial number of participants participated in the survey, it did not cover all Asian countries. The online survey was carried out over a limited period of time, and not all HEIs in the field may have received information about the study. Practical implications: Asia is the largest continent facing a number of sustainability challenges. In this context, the contribution of HEIs is very important. The findings of the current study may serve as a baseline for Asian HEIs to take more initiatives towards SD goals, as HEIs are responsible for the education and training of hundreds of thousands of students who will be occupying key positions in industry, government or education in the coming years. Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing literature in two distinct ways. First, it was possible to develop a comprehensive instrument to measure sustainability practices in HEIs. Second, this study has filled the gap of the scarcity of studies regarding sustainability practices in HEIs in Asia.

This study aimed at summarizing the existing health policies for stateless populations living in the 10 ASEAN countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. We followed scoping review method recommended by Arksey and O'Malley. Our inclusion criteria were based on three concepts: populations (stateless and undocumented people), issues (healthcare policies and regulations), and settings (10 ASEAN countries). Our findings suggest that none of the ASEAN countries have explicit healthcare policies for stateless people except Thailand. We also observed that ratification of international human rights treaties relating to the right to health does not necessarily translate into the provision of healthcare policies for stateless population. Although Thailand seems like the only country among 10 ASIAN countries having health policies for stateless populations in the country, the question remains whether having a policy would lead to a proper implementation by ensuring right to health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of rapid economic growth, skills development systems have become increasingly important to countries in Southeast Asia in response to skills gaps generated by changing labour-market conditions. Countries in the region have no alternative but to invest in the development and maintenance of these systems. This paper asserts that in doing so they should recognise the importance of adopting a definition of skills that encompasses cognitive and soft skills as well as technical skills, they should regard as being essential to the development of effective labour market information systems, and they should adopt and institutional frameworks that are adequate to the task of managing complex and effective national skills development systems.

Southeast Asia has undergone rapid developments in terms of urbanization, economic and population growth. The progress in sewerage treatment infrastructure has not kept pace with such developments. The inadequacy and inefficiency of sewerage systems has prompted the release of untreated sewage into the aquatic environment of Southeast Asia causing many waterborne illnesses since surface water is utilized for recreational, agricultural and aquaculture purposes and, above all, as a source of water intake in Southeast Asia. This paper will review the current data on molecular markers of sewage pollution including sterols and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) in Southeast Asian aquatic environment to clarify the state of sewage pollution and the competence of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in this area. Despite the importance of sewage pollution research in the region, the number of studies using molecular markers to trace the sources of sewage pollution is limited. So far, indicators of sewage pollution have been investigated in aquatic environments of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Brunei among Southeast Asian countries. The concentrations and diagnostic ratios of faecal sterols and LABs show the release of untreated and primary treated urban waste into water bodies of these countries. Further studies are required to fill the data gaps in Southeast Asia and come to a better understanding of the trends of sewage pollution in this part of the world. Graphical abstract.