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This paper presents a contrastive approach to speaker-audience interaction in political speeches, specifically, in relation to culture. It begins with a review of seminal and subsequent research based in the UK, which has shown how speakers use rhetorical devices to invite audience responses, typically applause. This is followed by evaluation of political speech research set in other nations – both Eastern (Japan and South Korea) and Western (USA and European), English-speaking and non-English-speaking – investigating how the behaviour of speakers and audiences contrasts across cultures. Proposals include, that whereas speakers in Western nations predominantly use rhetorical devices to invite audience responses implicitly , their counterparts in East Asian nations are more inclined to use explicit invitations. Furthermore, whereas invited booing is a salient feature from observations of American and French political speeches, the same cannot be said of others, particularly Japan, where such behaviour is reportedly absent. Speech-making was once regarded as monologic, but studies reported herein show how political speeches can be considered dialogic, akin to how people in conversations take turns. However, it is shown here that behavioural specifics of this form of dialogue need to be understood in the context of culture. • Review of UK political speech research: speakers use rhetoric to invite applause. • Evaluation of comparable research set in other nations. • Includes Eastern (Japan/South Korea) and Western (European/USA). • How does the behaviour of speakers and audiences contrast across cultures? • Strong evidence for cultural differences in speaker rhetoric and audience responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impacts of carbon pricing policies on firms' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We include two carbon pricing policies: carbon tax and emission trading scheme (ETS) at national and sub-national (province) levels, measured as policy existence (binary variable) and carbon price (continuous variable). Firms' GHG emissions are measured as total emissions and emission intensity. Using unique recent firm-level data from 2010 to 2021 from three East Asia countries (Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the People's Republic of China (PRC)), we obtain the following key findings. First, the national carbon pricing policy significantly reduced firms' GHG emissions and GHG emission intensity in Japan and the ROK. The greater the carbon price, the greater the impact. Second, the subnational carbon pricing policies implemented in two provinces of Japan (Saitama and Tokyo) decreased firms' GHG emissions. Third, heavy industry sectors such as energy, utilities, and industrials experienced a substantial decrease in GHG emission intensity due to the carbon pricing policy. Finally, our main results are robust to different model specifications and various measures of firms' GHG emissions. Although literature studying the ex-post impact of carbon pricing on emissions at country and sector-level is abundant, this paper contributes to the existing literature providing empirical evidence of the impact of carbon pricing policies on firms' emissions using firm-level data, which is highly limited especially in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stigmatization of children with disabilities at school is a culturally widespread social justice challenge. The paper is the second of a two-part series. In the first paper (Haight, Kayama, Ku, Cho, & Lee, 2016), we described the problem of stigmatization from the perspectives of experienced elementary school educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US. In this paper, we focus on the solutions provided by these same educators; specifically, their perspectives on socialization practices to minimize stigmatization and support the development of self for children with disabilities and their typically-developing peers. We conducted cross-cultural analyses of individual, semi-structured, audio recorded interviews with 26 Japanese, 43 South Korean, 16 Taiwanese and 18 US educators, including school social workers. Educators from all research sites described socialization practices to support children with disabilities and their typically-developing peers. For children with disabilities, US educators focused on individualized support provided in private to minimize stigmatization. East Asian educators intentionally involved peers in supporting children with disabilities. For typically-developing peers, educators described cultivating empathy (Japan), providing formal disability awareness programs (South Korea), teaching moral values (Taiwan) and respecting individual differences (US). We discuss these socialization practices within educators' sociocultural-historical contexts. Educators' perspectives can be used to develop culture- and stigma-sensitive intervention programs for children with disabilities and their peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stigmatization of individuals with disabilities is a widespread social justice issue. This paper introduces a study of disability, stigmatization and self for children with disabilities and their typically-developing peers. It is the first of two companion papers. It examines the problem of stigmatization from the perspectives of experienced elementary school educators practicing in diverse cultural contexts. We conducted cross-cultural analyses of individual, audio recorded interviews with 26 Japanese, 43 Korean, 16 Taiwanese and 18 US educators, including school social workers. Educators from all four cultural groups described disability and stigma as challenging children's development of self: children with disabilities may experience the self as isolated and inadequate, and typically-developing peers may experience the self as lacking culturally expected values of empathy and respect. Educators' understandings of children's experiences also were culturally nuanced. Educators variously described children with disabilities as experiencing a sense of not belonging [Japan], loss of motivation [South Korea], too much shame [Taiwan], and low self-esteem [US]. They variously described typically-developing children as challenged to show empathy [Japan], include children with disabilities in their peer group [South Korea], develop benevolence [Taiwan], and show respect for individual differences [US]. We contextualize educators' perceptions within their specific sociocultural-historical contexts. Our second paper will focus on solutions; specifically, educators' perspectives on how to minimize stigmatization and support the development of self for children with disabilities and their typically-developing peers. Together, these companion papers provide social workers with valuable perspectives for eliminating the stigmatization of children with disabilities in future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Artemisia asiatica Nakai (Compositae) has a long history as a traditional remedy. Preparation from various parts of the plant (aerial parts and leaves) are used to treat a wide range of diseases including gastric trouble, liver dysfunction, and skin inflammation. Aims of this review The aims of this review were: 1) to provide an overview of recent studies and progress on A. asiatica -derived ethnopharmacological compounds and their pharmacological activities; and 2) to summarize existing evidence and provide insight for future studies. Materials and methods This investigation was carried out by analyzing published books and research papers via scientific databases, namely Science Direct, PubMed ACS Publication, Wiley Online Library, CNKI and information obtained online. The keywords “ Artemisia asiatica traditional uses,” “Compounds isolated and studied in Artemisia asiatica, ” and “Pharmacological advances in Artemisia asiatica ” were used and articles published between 1995 and 2017 were considered. In total, 500 works related to biological activities of A. asiatica were identified, and only materials published in English were included in the review. Results Comparative analysis of literature searched through sources available confirmed that the ethnopharmacological use of A. asiatica was recorded in Korea, China, and Japan. Phytochemical studies revealed the presence of flavonoids, sesquiterpene lactones, monoterpenes, and steroids in A. asiatica . Of these, flavonoids have been shown to exhibit significant pharmacological effects such as gastroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-microbial actions. Conclusions Phytochemical and pharmacological studies of Artemisia asiatica have proven that this plant is one of valuable medicinal sources with neuroprotective, gastroprotective, anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. Although ethanol extract of this plant is now being prescribed as gastroprotective and anti-ulcerative medicine, it is now time to expand its application to other human inflammatory diseases such as pancreatitis and hepatitis and further extensive study on toxicity in human. Therefore, the present review will encourage further studies of A. asiatica in the pursuit of wide range of therapeutic remedy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methamphetamine (MA) abuse continues in East Asia and shows an increasing trend among youths in South Korea, Japan, and China. Although the negative effects of MA abuse on youth are considered as significant problems, few studies have been conducted on the topic in these countries. This paper focuses on the effects of MA on the human body and current MA abuse among youths in South Korea, Japan, and China. To investigate the negative effects of MA on the human body, we searched the keywords "MA," "human," and "effect" for studies published from 2013 to 2017. MA activates the neurotransmitter system and the central nervous system, and when used at high dosage or for long term, MA can cause severe neurotoxicity and cardiovascular problems. Online networks contribute to MA abuse by sharing methods for preparing synthetic MA. Despite efforts to reduce MA abuse, social crimes associated with its abuse continue and numbers of illegal MA users are increasing steadily in Korea, Japan, and China. In young users, diverse factors associated with drug addiction, such as curiosity and peer effect, lead to MA abuse and its attendant personal and social problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Provide a comprehensive overview of the solidarity in health and long-term care sectors. • The overall direction of reforms is developing toward universal coverage. • Reforms might be possible without overall consensus on solidarity. • The pay-as-you-go financial arrangements will require strong intergenerational solidarity. • The capacity of informal caregiving of family could be considered. Different from the development of health sector, there are significant variations in the underpinnings and formation timings of solidarity-based long-term care (LTC) systems. This paper compares the historical developmental trajectories and identifies factors of the transitions of the actual practices of solidarity - the scope of community, the scope of interdependence, and the costs of joint action - in the health and LTC sectors in four East Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. Comparative policy analysis. Healthcare tends to be considered a universal value such that its boundary should include all residents, while LTC is closer to an entitlement of citizens. The differing solidarity reflects path dependency as well as historical legacies and policy diffusion between the health and LTC sectors. In both health and LTC sectors, the costs involved in collective service provision are not distributed evenly between generations. Centralized governance is a prevailing feature of health and LTC sectors in East Asia, allowing solidarity-based institutional arrangements to be established without an overall sense of solidarity. The relationship between solidarity and health and LTC systems is complex and dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitive pressures created by the global market, and the demonstration of market potential in one country influences the incentives to adopt successful technologies and business models in similar countries. In this paper, we explore how mobile payment operation models might evolve in China, using the more mature Japanese and South Korean markets for comparison. Comparing existing business models in the three countries, we argue that regulation has affected both the industry structure and the vertical linkages of the different participants in the mobile payments ecosystem. We predict that rather than converging onto the mobile payment models of Japan or South Korea, the Chinese mobile payment industry is likely to see the coexistence of competing business models in the intermediate term. We attribute this to the contradictory incentives created by Chinese financial sector regulation for the participants in the mobile payments industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the frequent coastal activities of human beings, tens of thousands of tons of floating marine plastics pose a serious threat to marine ecosystems and human survival. This paper studies the feasibility of regional marine plastic garbage management, taking the Northwest Pacific as the research object. According to the Cobb-Douglas utility function of the costs and benefits of plastic processing in China, Japan and South Korea, the Shapley value method was used to analyze it. The study found that the data were substituted into the Shapley value model of cooperative game for calculation, and the results showed that any country joining the triple alliance U would create greater benefits, and obtain higher benefits than the sub alliance. It is a triple win situation for China, Japan and the South Korea to jointly manage marine plastic in the Northwest Pacific. The results of the model confirm that the three countries are willing to maintain long-term cooperation on marine plastic governance, this method can be used to solve the trans-national marine governance innovatively and promote regional ocean cooperation governance. At the same time, by comparing the Northwest Pacific Plan with other action plans, China, Japan and South Korea should abandon political controversy, seeking common ground while putting aside differences, to cooperate fully to curb the growing trend of plastic waste problem in the Northwest Pacific, and contribute to the sustainable development of regional marine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the cross-correlations between the stock market in China and markets in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. We use not only the qualitative analysis of the cross-correlation test, but also the quantitative analysis of the MF-X-DFA. Our findings confirm the existence of cross-correlations between the stock market in China and markets in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, which have strongly multifractal features. We find that the cross-correlations display the characteristic of multifractality in the short term. Moreover, the cross-correlations of small fluctuations are persistent and those of large fluctuations are anti-persistent in the short term, while the cross-correlations of all kinds of fluctuations are persistent in the long term. Furthermore, based on the multifractal spectrum, we also find that the multifractality of cross-correlation between stock markets in China and Japan are stronger than those between China and South Korea, as well as between China and Hong Kong. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents an integrated multicriteria analysis method for the quantitative evaluation of a state’s nuclear nonproliferation credibility level. Underscoring the implications of policy on the sources of political demand for nuclear weapons rather than focusing on efforts to restrict the supply of specific weapons technology from the “haves” to the “have-nots”, the proposed methodology considers the political, social, and cultural dimensions of nuclear proliferation. This methodology comprises three steps: (1) identifying the factors that influence credibility formation and employing them to construct a criteria tree that will illustrate the relationships among these factors; (2) defining the weight coefficients of each criterion through pairwise comparisons of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP); and (3) assigning numerical scores to a state under each criterion and combining them with the weight coefficients in order to provide an overall assessment of the state. The functionality of this methodology is examined by assessing the current level of nuclear nonproliferation credibility of four countries: Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Switzerland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Considering the change in pore-water pressure due to rainfall and earthquake. • Good performance with real landslide events in Atsuma. • Cumulative rainfall strongly affect the area of susceptibility class. • Peak ground acceleration strongly affect the area of susceptibility class. • Excess pore-water pressure is the main reason for slope instability. Increased pore-water pressure due to rainfall infiltration and cyclic loading is a major cause of slope instability. Many studies have been carried out to assess rainfall-induced landslide spatial probability based on physical models, combining hydrological models to analyze changes in pore-water pressure on slopes due to rainfall. However, the generation of pore-water pressure due to seismic loading is often disregarded during assessments of earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility. Hence, in this paper, we propose a model to assess landslide spatial probability that takes into account increased pore-water pressure during both rainfall and earthquakes. The procedure for the proposed method includes two main steps. In step 1, we analyze the change in the groundwater table due to rainfall infiltration and subsurface flow during rainfall. In step 2, the slope safety factor is calculated using an infinite slope model, considering the generation of excess pore-water pressure under cyclic loading during earthquakes. Landslide spatial probability is established based on the slope factor of safety. We validated the proposed model by analyzing rainfall-earthquake-induced landslide events occurring on September 6, 2018 in Atsuma town, Japan. According to our results, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the Atsuma landslide data is 82.4% and the true-positive rate of unstable slope classification is 98.1%. The proposed model was then applied to Mt. Umyeon, Korea, to assess the spatial probability of rainfall-earthquake-induced landslide. Our model classifies the likelihood of landslide occurrence according to four susceptibility levels: high, moderate, low and very low. We also compared our results to those of previous models and show that the proposed approach may provide reasonably accurate predictions of landslide spatial probability during rainfall and earthquake events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]