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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]

The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes toward the components of active aging and to examine the relationship of attitudes toward active aging with the impressions of older adults across different age groups and across Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. The sample was a total 1,619 individuals comprising of 615 Taiwanese people, 495 Koreans, and 509 Japanese people. Five factors of attitudes toward active aging were extracted by factor analysis: Health, Participation, Connectedness, Work, and Security. Taiwanese people emphasized more importance on health, social participation, and security; while Koreans and Japanese people emphasized more on social connectedness and work. The age group differences were not significant in the attitudes to active aging. Japanese reported more negative impressions to older adults than Taiwanese people, and Koreans were less willing to live with older adults than Taiwanese people. The older group also reported more positive impressions to older adults. Public stigma of aging may exist, implying that intergenerational mutual understanding would reduce ageism or age discrimination. An active aging policy may reduce the public stigma toward older adults and may reduce the burden of intergenerational redistribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In May 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to introduce same-sex marriage. This article compares the path to same-sex marriage in Taiwan with the situation in three of its neighbours – Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea – where similar debates have proceeded without yet achieving marriage equality. Advocates for marriage equality in Taiwan's neighbours can learn some lessons from the experience of the island democracy. First, the struggle for marriage equality is a long-term effort that is built on progress in LGBTQ rights in general and on a broad coalition of supporters from civil society and political parties. Taiwan was already home to Asia's most vibrant LGBTQ community and movement, and has enacted anti-discrimination legislation. Second, the island has introduced gender education in schools, and this shaped the younger generation's positive attitude towards marriage equality. Third, discourses on rights need to be adapted to a country's culture and values. Taiwanese advocates for marriage equality not only talked about marriage equality as a fundamental human right but also stressed values such as mutual respect and a stable partnership and family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collecting and reporting national data has become a routine practice for assisted reproductive technology (ART) governance. This article compares the building of national registries, the making of health statistics, and the utilization of these data in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. Instead of viewing data registries as tools for health surveillance or monitoring, we approach them in terms of their effectiveness in generating care. Conceptualizing ART data reporting as care infrastructure, built on Maria Puig de la Bellacasa's "matters of care," allows us to compare the extent to which data are collected for strengthening a community's ethical obligation, presented as indicators that could reflect quality of care and inform evidence-based policy making that promotes clinical practices for healthy outcomes. We find that sociotechnical imaginaries for ARTwere shaped by the fact that, in its early stages, in vitro fertilization was considered controversial in Japan, a source of nationalist glory in Taiwan, and a marginal procedure in South Korea. This in turn led to different trajectories of designing national registries in these countries, resulting in different care outcomes. We also point to the importance of mediators, including reflexive medical practitioners, care-centered state bureaucrats, and activists, in translating registry data into better ART health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the Austrian health care system using the ecology of care model. Our secondary aim was to compare data from Austria with those available from other countries. Design: 3508 interviews employing a 30-item questionnaire related to the utilization of the health care system including demographic factors were conducted. Participants were chosen by a Random Digital Dialing procedure. Further, a literature review of studies of other countries use of the ecology of care model was conducted. Main outcome measures: Austria has one of the highest utilization of health care services in any of the assessed categories. The comparison with the literature review shows that Austria has the highest utilization of specialists working in the outpatient sector as well as the highest hospitalization rates. Taiwan and Korea have comparable utilization patterns. Canada, Sweden, and Norway are countries with lower utilization patterns, and the U.S. and Japan are intermediate. Conclusion: In Austria and similarly organized countries, high utilization of all health care services can be observed, in particular, the utilization of specialists and hospitalizations. The over-utilization of all levels of health care in Austria may be due to the lack of a clear demarcation line between the primary and secondary levels of care, and the presence of universal health coverage, which also allows for unrestricted and undirected access to all levels of care. Previous studies have shown that comparable countries lack the health benefits of a strong primary care system with its coordination function. In Austria and similarly organized countries, there appears to be high utilization of health care in general, as well as with particular utilization of specialists and hospitalizations. The high utilization of all levels of care in Austria may be the result of competition, lack of a clear demarcation line between the primary and secondary level of care, and the presence of universal health coverage. Pathways between primary and secondary care should be strengthened as previous studies have shown that comparable countries lack the health benefits of strong primary care and its function for health care coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-cultural studies of neuroethics that focus on Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan tend to dwell on three areas of "cultural" concern: local variations, the gap between the scientific community and the public, and the different approaches to ethical issues taken by different disciplines. According to a survey, Western and Taiwanese views on the relationship between the "soul" and the "mind" may have little in common. In South Korea, scientific research on bilingualism, covered by reports in the mass media, contributed to popular misconceptions about the early acquisition of foreign languages. Meanwhile, Japanese engineers and medical doctors involved in interdisciplinary research projects have run into trouble in the course of framing ethical guidelines for the treatment of human subjects. Every nation in East Asia has begun developing neuroethics projects, and the discipline has grown rather satisfactorily. However, the experiences of the different areas may differ much more than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses two research questions: whether interest in Asian communication has been growing over the past 20 years, and whether there is an increasing level of participation and growing contributions among Asian scholars in the field of communication. Using 23 communication journals in the SSCI database, we identify Asia-related journal article titles and count the number of authors of Asian origins. We find that both are clearly on the rise, especially in the fields of new media and public relations. China, Japan, and South Korea have the largest share of title references, followed by Israel, Taiwan, India, and Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with an interpretation of the Asian financial crisis. Cause of the financial crisis; Comparison of the economic performance of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan; Similarities between the Japanese and the Korean innovation systems.