Search

Copyright of Studii de Ştiintă şi Cultură is the property of Studii de Stiinta si Cultura 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.)

This paper focuses on three Far East cabinets that have ended up in Sweden for various reasons and on various routes. Some specific characteristics have been analysed using various scientific methods: sectional microscopy, wood taxonomy, X–ray fluorescence microscopy, pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, strontium isotope ratio measurement, and radiocarbon dating. The results show that the cabinets contain wood from species endemic to Japan, namely asunaro (Thujopsis dolabrata) and hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtuse). They are coated with urushi sap derived from Toxicodendron vernicifluum trees, in two cases confirmed to be harvested in China, and one case probably blended with sap exuded from Toxicodendron succedanea harvested in North Vietnam. Their black appearance is due to a soot pigment typical of many products from the early Edo period or older. The data obtained with scientific methods, unavailable in the past, improve knowledge about these cabinets. Such new information should be made available to scholars and the general public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Asia Pacifi c War (1937-1945), the Japanese Imperial Army forced women in Japanese East Asian colonies to work as so-called “comfort women” (sex workers). The justice movement for these women is an international intersectional alliance of feminists from Japanese ex-colonies in East Asia, the former colonial power Japan, and other societies, such as Australia, Germany, and the USA. This long-term feminist justice movement has campaigned for an apology and compensation from the Japanese government, as well as for recognition of “comfort women‘s” suff ering and of sexual violence in war in cultural memory. Through researching this justice movement from a processual intersectionality perspective, this paper shows that it gained power and legitimacy from refl ecting and working on its internal intersectional inequalities. This included refl ecting on the class hierarchies between many former “comfort women”, who had power of defi nition, and intellectual feminist activists, as well as on the postcolonial divide between former Japanese colonies and the former colonial power Japan, leading it to develop horizontal cooperation and practices. Following an overview, the paper outlines the movements in South Korea, Japan, and Germany, and highlights the different postcolonial constellation between East Asia and Germany, the main actors, and their aims. While the Japanese government rejected the justice movement‘s demands and the right wing mobilised against it, has been able to infl uence cultural memory to widely recognize sexual violence in war and the dignity of the “comfort women”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy is one of the most promising technologies for developing sustainable energy systems. This paper presents empirical evidence on the finance-green energy nexus. We use an extensive database on financial development (depth, access, efficiency, stability) from 1960 to 2017 for 214 countries, providing the first, to our knowledge, comprehensive empirical investigation on all four dimensions. We show macroeconomic and energy development conditions (public/social awareness and willingness, policy and legal framework, fossil fuels orientation, energy sector competition) are crucial to leverage financing and improve financing conditions for renewable energy entrepreneurs. Our empirical findings show that the financial system in East Asia and the Pacific is a significant constraint for investments in sustainable technologies. The cost of capital and debt, as well as the cost of equity and assets, for green investors, is commonly 30% higher than for non-green investors. Our findings support the crowding-in effect for South Asia. Here we supply empirical knowledge on the policymakers' and investors (governments, institutions, markets) goals, policies, and instruments targeting green financing and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Estudios de Filosofía is the property of Universidad de Antioquia, Instituto de Filosofia 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.)

This paper examines the role of the "Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival" in developing and sustaining regional identities within the context of rural regeneration, sustainability, and the creation of closer relationships between production and consumption in the countryside. It focuses on Donggang, Southern Taiwan, an area with rural development issues, increasing tourism impacts, and contested issues of local identity, sustainability, and an aging society. This paper draws on public discourse and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders in Donggang to understand the conditions required for substantiating authenticity of the gastronomic products and experiences and the promotion of an appealing gastronomic image. This study traces the process of embedding bluefin tuna in Donggang through marketing, branding and provides a preliminary conceptualization of interrelations between gastronomic tourism and community development in East Asia. The paper draws attention to these particular issues issues: the commodification of local heritage and countryside capital, strategies and challenges of hosting culinary festivals and resolving the issue of return migration. • Local food is a marker of openness and balance between fine palate and sustainability. • Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival connects consumers to perceived culture and heritage. • Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival shows that local food can enhance visitor experience. • Social relationships with food are at odds with the ecosystem's health and longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline of the U.S. and the rise of China have been one of the main drivers of change in the foreign policy of the countries in East Asia. Although having been often called "hedging," recent developments show more variation in states' response in the region. President Duterte's leaning towards China, possibly in response to the economic opportunities given by the Belt and Road Initiative, has reversed the predecessor's position. This poses puzzles that demand explanations beyond the state-level analysis. This paper examines what accounts for the shift and whether it is sustainable. Although the Philippines' foreign policy has traditionally been driven by the ruling elites, the election of President Duterte in 2016 has drawn renewed attention to the public as one of the domestic factors that influence foreign policy. Duterte's pivot to China appears to be conflicting with the general sentiments of the public about the U.S. and China, but in line with their aspirations for economic prosperity, considering the potential economic benefits that China can offer. This paper argues that recent policies can be explained by the dominant sentiment present in East Asia called "econophoria" (Buzan & Segal, 1994), which refers to the prioritization of economic growth to the point that legitimacy comes from rising living standards. It contends that econophoria is not something imposed by the state, but it is a choice by society as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Japanese Sociological Review / Shakaigaku Hyoron is the property of Japan Sociological Society 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.)

In an era of digitalization, governments often turn to digital solutions for pressing policy issues, and the use of digital contact tracing and quarantine enforcement for COVID-19 is no exception. The longterm impacts of the digital solutions, however, cannot be taken for granted. The development and use of data tools for pandemic control, for example, may have potentially detrimental and irreversible impacts on data governance and, more broadly, society, in the long run. In this paper, we aim to explore the extent to which COVID-19 and digital contact tracing have led to policy change in data governance, if at all, and what the implications of such change would be for a post-COVID world. We compare the use of contact tracing and monitoring applications across mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore to illustrate both the enormous benefits and potential risks arising from the design of contact tracing applications and the involvement of stakeholders in the various stages of the policy cycle to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that, while COVID-19 has not changed the nature of issues, such as public trust in data governance, the increasing involvement of big tech in data policies, and data privacy risks, it has exacerbated those issues through the accelerated adoption of data technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asian countries are often characterized as productivist welfare states whose social policies are subordinated to economic growth. However, in the past decade, public pressure for welfare expansion (or welfarism) has built up across all East Asian countries - including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. Therefore, this paper asks: How has pro-welfare civil society influenced welfare expansion in East Asia over the past decade? Addressing this research question will help fill the theoretical gap on the relationship between contemporary pro-welfare civil society activism and welfare state expansion in East Asian countries. I address this theoretical gap by devising the New Power Approach which argues that pro-welfare civil society is the main driver of welfare expansions when the incumbent government is conservative. By implication, the stronger the pro-welfare civil society in generating political impetus for reforms, the greater the extent of welfare expansion in the country with a conservative government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, Asia has begun the race for economic supremacy at the global level. The so-called "Four Asian Tigers" are those countries which have continually experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the last half of century and comprise the high growth and income economies of Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. These East Asian countries were largely considered as economic models since their growth rates of real per capita gross domestic product in the period 1960-1995 reached around 6% per year. As economic growth represents the outcome of specific issues, the paper aims to identify and present the main factors that contributed to the meteoric growth of the Asian Tigers by focusing on the economies of three of them, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. The methodological approach was based on a quantitative method. The paper argues that important lessons related to economic growth could be drawn from the valuable experience of these countries. Also, it identifies and presents some of the most important factors, such as the developmental state and the rapid industrialization, that highly contributed to their impressive economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of projects translating the concept of eco-city into practices has accelerated during the last fifteen years, making the eco-city a global phenomenon. Asia in particular has witnessed notable developments, characterized by strong governmental intervention and national initiatives to create model eco-cities. In Japan, the central government launched an “Eco-Model Cities” program in 2008 and has designated twenty-three model cities. In China, hundreds of municipalities have pursued plans to become an eco- or low-carbon city following the government’s demonstration projects. Across East Asia, the eco-city is promoted as an innovative urban policy capable of advancing the agendas of sustainable urbanization and the realignment of the post-industrial urban economy. This paper compares the policies and strategies of developing eco-cities in Japan and China using Kitakyushu and Tianjin Eco-city as case studies. It examines these cities’ common and contrasting approaches to ecological urbanism, their respective technological and urban design strategies, the relationship between eco-city building and local economic development, and the roles played by different stakeholders in this effort. The research focuses on their Key Performance Indicator systems and the spatial qualities they anticipate, which reflect fundamentally different ideas about what societal role an eco-city should best play. The comparative method sheds light on debates around important aspects of planning and managing an eco-city––namely, between new town and retrofit development, between top-down directive and bottom-up force, and between the eco-city as technology and as culture. This paper thus offers critical insight into the changing notions of urbanity within Asian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By examining comparatively two recent projects of university-led large-scale real estate development in South Korea and Singapore, this paper contributes to the ongoing efforts to problematise the methodological statism in the study of East Asian urbanisation, i.e., understanding it as a process dominated by state actors, on the one hand, and to challenge the perspective that university-led real estate projects are a neoliberal strategy as conventionally understood in the West on the other. To this end, this paper uses qualitative research methods to investigate how and why East Asian universities participate in real estate development projects; how the universities pursue their material goals by negotiating with the state, which is known to have led condensed urbanisation and industrialisation in East Asia (Global East). This paper concludes that speculative real estate development activities of East Asian universities are variegated based on their developmental legacies and need to be understood as more nuanced processes. The case studies demonstrate that East Asian universities have worked beyond their social roles by directly participating in the urban process, pursuing the accumulation of real estate assets that would eventually undermine their public role as educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important branch of medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been applied for the treatment of diseases for thousands of years in China and other countries in East Asia. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia (ChP) is a drug code formulated by the Chinese government, and it includes a special volume for the monographs of TCM, which plays an important role in ensuring the quality of drugs. The use of quality control technology has always been a complex and important factor in TCM. Owing to the chemical diversity of TCM, chromatography technology has been proven to be a comprehensive strategy for the assessment of the overall quality of TCM and has become the main analytical method in the ChP. This article provides an overview of the classical and modern chromatographic technologies applied in the ChP, and summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each technique in the TCM monographs. In 2020, the new edition of the ChP (the 2020 edition) has been implemented at the end of 2020. This paper also contains a brief introduction about the application of chromatographic technologies in the new edition of the ChP. [Display omitted] • An overview of the classical and modern chromatographic technologies applied in the ChP. • A discussion of the reason why each chromatographic technologies was chosen in the quality control of TCM. • Introduction of the chromatographic technologies applied in the 2020 edition of ChP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative food networks are embedded in sociocultural contexts and have developed distinctive features in different regions, but the literature has generally overlooked how AFNs interact and build networks across countries. This paper fills this gap by analyzing how consumer cooperatives in Taiwan have been inspired by pioneers in Japan, and how Taiwan AFNs now influence their counterparts in China. It shows that specific social material arrangements consist of translated books, the intermediary organizations and mutual visits facilitating a sequence of influence among consumer cooperatives across national borders. These social material arrangements disseminate a specific morality of consumption, teiki , that has reframed the food consumer as a 'life person', designed solidarity economies for 'collective purchasing', and established local distribution stations for agrifood education or policy advocacy. The paper illustrates how AFNs in East Asia share similar moralities of consumption, but have also adapted teiki to different social contexts and developed different imaginations of consumer citizen. • Examines the interactions and learning among consumer cooperatives and CSAs across countries. • Highlights how specific social material arrangements supported interactions and help disseminate specific discourses and practices. • Advances understanding of the characteristics of East Asian AFNs that share a similar morality of consumption. • Argues that it is useful to analyze the morality of consumption to understand consumer-farmer relations and political agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Taiwanese Sociology is the property of Taiwanese Sociology 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.)

Academic and industrial literature highlight the importance of airport-driven development (ADD) for the 21st Century. Several different types of ADD concepts have been defined, such as aerotropolis and airport city, but there are often substantial differences between authors about definitions. Such differences can potentially create confusion when ADD concepts are used by airport planners in their planning documents (e.g., master plans) and the marketing materials (e.g., brochures and airport websites). Given that large amounts of investment can often depend upon the marketing of a particular ADD concept, such confusion is highly problematic for the air transport industry. However, previous research has not explicitly addressed this issue. To help fill this research gap, the current paper has four different purposes, to: (1) compare definitions of the airport-driven development concepts in the academic literature, (2) compare definitions with real-life examples given by researchers; (3) compare academic definitions and examples with industry usage, as found on airport websites and in airport planning documents; and (4) investigate aspects of the transferability of the ADD concepts (from one region to another and from the academic literature to the industry and vice-versa). Using information from airport websites and master plans, it was found that the terms aerotropolis and airport city are used interchangeably by researchers but not by the industry. However, the use of terms by the industry depends heavily upon the (continental) location of airports, with the analysis presented in the paper distinguishing between airports in North America, Latin America, South and East Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Such analysis enables conclusions to be made about the transferability of ADD concepts, originating in the Global North, to the Global South. • Airports examples of airport-driven development concepts differ by researchers.. • Airports examples of airport-driven development concepts in the academic literature diverge from the industry. • The way the industry classifies airports to airport-driven development concepts depends on the location of airports. • Proximity and strategic investments influence the transferability of the concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of University of Cumhuriyet, Faculty of Sciences & Arts 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.)

Copyright of Asian Economies is the property of Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO 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.)

Mobile assisted language learning (MALL) apps are often said to be 'Anytime' activities. But, when is 'Anytime' exactly? The objective of the paper is to provide evidence for the when of MALL activity around the world. The research method involved the collection and analysis of an EFL app's time data from 44 countries. The findings were surprising in the actual consistency of usage, 24/7, across 43 of the 44 countries. The 44th country was interesting in that it differed significantly in terms of night time usage. The research also noted differences in Arab, East Asian and Post-Communist country usage, to what might be construed to be a general worldwide app time usage norm. The results are of interest as the time data findings appear to inform the possibility of a potentially new innovative pedagogy based on an emerging computational awareness of context and opportunity, suggesting a possible future language learning niche within the Internet of Things (IoT), of prompted, powerful, short-burst, mobile learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to provide judicial perspectives for Public Participation in Environmental Matters in East Asia based on the example of the European Union (EU). This is done both by means of an in-depth literature review which covers research papers, legislative documents and court decisions, and by means of a comparative analysis of court cases. The focus is on the implementation by the EU of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Aarhus Convention, which applies and details Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. The assessment starts by providing an overview of several legislative documents issued by the EU for different policy sectors and briefly describes the contents regarding the implementation of the Aarhus Convention. Based thereon, the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union is analysed. Seventeen judgements enforcing the Aarhus Convention for the EU level are described and their significance to a regional integration process is outlined. This provides valuable information to a region such as East Asia which plans to enter soon into a stronger regional integration process and which has the clear potential for improvement toward increased Public Participation in Environmental Matters based on the globally applicable Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 18 new Ancestry informative markers (AIMs) were screened from the 1000 Genomes Project. • A novel panel of 18 AIMs can improve ancestry distinctions among Asian populations. • Our panel could distinguish the GIH (Gujarati Indian in Houston, TX) from other South Asian groups. At present, several mature ancestry informative SNP (AISNP) panels are used to distinguish between continental regions of the world, but a more accurate division within the continent requires a secondary panel to complete. However, many AISNPs for the subgroup ancestry inference are selected from the Kidd Lab panel of 55 AISNPs or other published papers. These panels inevitably lack valuable markers for subgroup ancestry inference. Therefore, instead of choosing from the published panels, we used the 1000 Genomes Project to screen potentially informational markers in Asian populations, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion/deletion polymorphisms (InDels). The allele frequencies of all autosomal SNPs and InDels of the 1000 Genomes Project were compared between 10 populations in Asia to identify markers with the largest pairwise allele frequency differences. Finally, we established a second-tier panel of 18 AIMs in this study, which not only divided the 26 populations of the 1000 Genomes Project into six clusters, but also divided the Asia subgroup into four clusters: Gujarati, East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to describe how the material culture of the indigenous hunters and fshermen of the Udehe in the Far East of Russia have been transformed by outside infuence, from an autonomous and already sophisticated culture to a dependent and modernized one. The discussion centres around the means of water transport, two kinds of dugout boats (the bat and omorochka) because they were and still are essential for hunting and fshing, which are the main economic activities of Udehe. The author demonstrates how this one part of material culture has changed in manufacturing and use, and what has changed in the everyday life due to this transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights how the Sino-character system, because it lacks a plural form, hinders promulgating and popularizing the concept of plural and diverse futures in Korea, Greater China, and Japan. Difficulties are revealed when East Asian futurists emphasize the plural concept of ‘future + s’, because the linguistic conventions of Sino-character languages and cultures do not clearly express plurality. The singular-form wording for ‘future + s’ excused by East Asian futurists tends to unintentionally stick a knowledge divide between public and futurists. It also shapes a more uniform, less diverse image of the future. This paper suggests that those engaged in East Asian futures studies adopts a standardized and more intuitively understandable Sino-character term for ‘future + s’ to enable futurists to effectively publicize and popularize the more plural, diverse and alternative values of futures studies. It also suggests related guidelines for creating and establishing a more popular term for ‘future + s’. Finally, author coins the term ‘multi + future’ in Sino-characters as a useful term to effectively spread a more diverse, pluralistic concept of alternative futures in East Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastlines have always played a major role in Europe's history. From antiquity through the early stages of colonialism and the advent of the Industrial Revolution, seashores were the economic centres of the continent. Though industrialization marked the beginning of the decreasing importance of these areas, it has been in recent decades that the significance and economic structure of coastal regions has changed completely. The importance of fisheries has declined, the hubs of the marine trade have moved to the Far East, and the significance of the tourism has increased. This article examines how the social and economic role of the European seashores--which used to have a central role in trade and the world economy--has changed in the last 10-15 years. In addition, the article studies the differences between the coastal and terrestrial regions of the European Union based on existing literature and statistics. Finally, the paper analyses some coastal areas, and examines what has led to increases or decreases of population and the economy in certain regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper draws upon the findings and key lessons from the ten papers that are featured in this Special Issue in utilizing science to advance ecosystem-based management (EBM) in the context of the East Asian region. The paper highlights the East Asian region's long experience in integrated coastal management (ICM) implementation, which has provided the foundation for advancing geographic and functional scaling up to cover wider geographic and administrative boundaries and ecosystems, respectively. The experiences in China and Japan, although vary in terms of mode of implementation, demonstrated common elements that characterize EBM practice – that is, recognizing the interconnectedness of marine, coastal and terrestrial systems, including human communities; protecting ecosystem structure, function and processes from the perspective of ecosystem services; addressing cumulative impacts and managing for multiple objectives; addressing multiple spatial and temporal scales in the design and implementation; promoting integrated and multi-sectoral planning; advocating for policy and functional integration and coordination and transforming policy into on-the-ground actions. The paper also highlights the application of innovative approaches and science-based tools to understand and monitor ecosystem functioning and changes; the use of scientific information to identify appropriate management policy and interventions at varying scales and offers some key actions for consideration to support a more comprehensive EBM implementation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper has a four-fold goal: (1) it examines the difficulties faced by Japan, Korea and Taiwan in developing and implementing multicultural programs for their newly arriving migrants; (2) it offers an analysis of indigenous ethnic formation and migration of workers and marriage migrants in the context of ongoing debates on multiculturalism in East Asia; (3) it analyzes narratives behind the educational reforms to shed light on the political contention surrounding multicultural governance in the region; and (4) it discusses why educational institutions in East Asia seem uninterested in offering courses on multiculturalism. This paper suggests that the three countries will continue to face substantial difficulties in institutionalizing their own democratic multiculturalism(s) due to pressures from global and domestic forces. We expect that the three countries will continue to modify their approaches to multicultural governance despite institutional constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criticisms have been cast toward researches concerning race and ethnicity being traditionally dominated by middle class white men, and different responses and positions to the criticisms have emerged. However still, the methodological discussions of the social positions of the researchers are circled around the issues of white researchers' challenges in approaching the minority population, or concerns among researchers of ethnic and racial minority background in studying their own groups or other minority groups. I believe that there is an obvious lack of attention in the current methodological consideration in the field of ethnic relations: What happens when a researcher who is of ethnic and racial minority background researches the white majority population? The paper attempts to open up a methodological discussion that is missing in the field today. As a researcher of East Asian background in Sweden, interviewing white Swedes generates possibilities to observe how white Swedish interviewees interact with and communicate the racial and ethnic differences between the researcher and the interviewees. This paper will draw examples from the qualitative interview materials from my doctoral dissertation on Swedes' attitudes toward interracial relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is on a comparative analysis of the dynamics of economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia, with an analytical perspective on both regions, with a view to finding ways to scale up development in sub-Sahara Africa. In investigating this, the paper posits that in the 1950s and 1960s, several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa shared a similar development profile with many East Asian countries: a dynamic economic sector, characterized by high growth, driven by the agricultural economy. While many nations in sub-Saharan Africa adopted import substitution industrialization as the anchor of development agenda in the sub-region, the East Asian economies embraced a concept dubbed 'authoritarian developmentalism,' a phenomenon driven by export oriented strategies. In the view of paper the East Asian approach to development resulted in high economic growth sustained over the past several decades; furthermore the paper opined that the path to development in Asia has ushered in a period of unprecedented growth, allowing many nations in the region - Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and china and others - to become industrializing economies and as major players in the global market. The paper assert that on the other hand, a combination of bad policies and institutional failure has undermined growth in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly since the 1970s, accounting for the region's sustained economic underperformance; that the inability of most nations in the region to transform the economy has undermined sustained growth and development. The paper applies empirical data to examine the dynamics of economic growth and development in both regions and proffers pertinent recommendations featuring sustained economic reforms in sub-Saharan Africa necessary for economic growth and development, while drawing useful lessons aimed at replicating the export-oriented strategies of the East Asian economies. Sub- Saharan Africa is a region which features all African countries south of the Sahara desert. It features diversity in economic performance across the region with high economic growth volatility in the past few decade. On the other hand, East Asia is a region comprising nations with divergent economic trend over the past several decade. The region has produced the most spectacular economic growth in contemporary history , becoming richer than any other region in the world though both regions share a similar development profile characterized by high growth driven by the agricultural economy. Therefore, the problem this paper tries to find answers to is how can the policy makers across the Sub- Saharan Africa set the path of economic emancipation drawing from the East Asian experience. Arising from the foregoing preview, the paper attempts to do a comparative analysis between the growth and development dynamics between the Sub-Saharan Africa and the East Asian economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to explore the complex and dynamic relationships between political identity and cultural identity historically, with particular reference to East Asia between the 14th century and 19th century. This paper acknowledges there was no conceptualisation of Asia, let along East Asia, until the end of 16th century, and the notion of Asia or East Asia did not really play any part in forming regional consciousness, political, cultural or otherwise, until the first half of the 19th century. None the less, it argues that there was a distinctively regional political identity shaped by China coterminous roughly with today's Northeast and Southeast East Asia including Inner Asia and parts of Central Asia, though the geographical coverage as well as the membership of the shared political identity varied constantly over time. It also points out that there were at least two discernable regional cultural identities, one that included China, Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and Vietnam which existed prior to the period concerned, and another forged by the ruling Manchu elites of Qing China in the 17th century to tie Inner Asia, Central Asia and Tibet to China. Studying these 'East Asian' identities, and the interplay between political identity and cultural identity yield significant insights into the role of culture and identity in politics and conversely, the role of politics in cultural development and identity formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This overview article examines the major similarities and differences among the three countries in East Asia - Japan, Taiwan and Korea - in terms of their immigration policies and observed flows as an introduction to three country- specific papers and a contribution on the simulation of economic impacts of different migration scenarios in Asia. These papers are from a two-year project, "From Origin to Destination: Policy Alternatives for Managing Two- Way Migration Pathways in Asia," funded by the Korea Foundation. The papers demonstrate important common patterns, including the special treatment of ethnic return migrants, population aging and demands for low-skilled migrant workers in the industrial and service sectors, the strict policy on temporary migration for low-skilled migrant workers, and the concentration of women in marriage migration and as carers in labor migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asia-10's stellar performance and provisional decline have prompted competing strands of scholarship to advance various development drivers, i.e. states, markets and culture. After an introductory presentation of nation-states' shifting roles and conceptualisations, this paper purports to provide a critical overview of the statecentric approach. The next step is to ascertain whether network theories can improve upon the statist perspective. The paper concludes that neither approach does justice to the complexity of East Asian development, and suggests that an eclectic approach is a better formula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to critically review the current discourses on "global governance" and to suggest an East Asian view of alternative governance mechanism from the perspective of "soft power. " This paper argues that many countries in the East Asian region have been either reluctantly or unknowingly following the global governance building, led by the "Western" countries, and therefore have failed to build a safety net for themselves in the form of a "region" or regional cooperation. Global governance is connected to the realm of soft power as it affects the preferences and behaviors of the actors while regarding the actual use of physical coercive forces as a last resort. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the discourse of global governance to include the discussion of soft power, and the East Asian region may need to develop its safety net by creating its own soft power and regional governance mechanism. Here, speech acts and standard setting are the prerequisites in developing East Asian soft power. Therefore this paper argues that East Asian actors use the concepts like the "East Asian Governance," "East Asian Standard," "East Asian Consensus" more frequently and intensely than before even if those terms still do not have concrete substances and contents to be intersubjectively taken by the actors in the region. As people use and speak of the terms more often and intensely, there will be more concrete efforts by the East Asian actors to substantiate the concepts, and the contents of East Asian governance will gradually evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to present main tendencies in global and European textile and clothing trade and competitive position of different regions and products especially Far East of Asia countries in the context of the liberalization process within the WTO. Dynamic development of constructions, generating needs for functional, comfortable and decorative designs, decorative clothes, textile wallpapers, carpets and textile floor coverings connected with equipment of interiors of companies, houses and flats (decorative textiles examined in the paper). Increasing importance of the quality of action of the specialized rescue service, which is connected with the increase of dangers resulting from higher freedom of movement of people and liberalization of labor market at an international scale - this results in increase of demand for highly specialized technical textiles also detailed examined in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the way in which new media technologies have compelled policy-makers to adapt regulatory frameworks in order to accommodate technological change and to restructure television broadcasting in selected countries in East Asia, namely Hong Kong SAR, Japan and South Korea. It is primarily concerned with how the state and the players — old and new — in these countries have responded to emerging new media technologies (cable, satellite and Internet television). Based on a comparison of the regulatory history and the structural changes noted in the recent development of pay television in these countries, this paper argues that although the growing array of new technologies fragments and diversifies the industry, there is a significant variation in the degree to which the regulatory framework incorporates all types of pay television. It also argues that the de-regulatory frameworks in Japan and South Korea have been less effective than in Hong Kong SAR in incorporating all types of pay television. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a theoretically grounded empirical contribution aimed at shedding light on Japan's leadership role in promoting regional integration in East Asia. It questions the viability of institutionalised regional collaboration and offers a framework of regional-integrationist approaches to the formation of an East Asian Integration Regime (EAIR). A key finding of this paper is that Japan's regional projects are directly linked to the promotion of an effective regional integration regime in East Asia. Since the advent of the East Asian crisis in 1997-8, Japan's regional policies have promoted a particular form of institutionalised regional collaboration, which has acted as an impetus for promoting a regional integration regime in East Asia. This is illustrated by the lifecycle of regime development, which involves a three-stage process of EAIR formation: 1) emergence: 2) evolution; and 3) institutionalization. In trying to identify the importance of functional-institutional efficiency in the formation of an EAIR, this paper provides a relatively, detailed chronological account of the three analytical frameworks: 1) the emergence of the East Asian Economic Caucus (EAEC); 2) the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) + 3 (China, Japan and South Korea) Summit; and 3) the institutionalisation of ASEAN + 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper represents an “editorial” introduction to this issue, which is one of two special issues of Cretaceous Research on the geology and paleontology of East Asia. This paper makes special reference to the results of joint Japanese, Chinese, and North American expeditions that investigated more than 70 fossil footprint sites and other fossiliferous localities in China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Mongolia, and Thailand. More than 50 of the track sites are considered Cretaceous in age, though in some cases dating is uncertain. We herein present summaries of selected important sites not previously described in detail based on new maps, tracings, and replicas of representative type specimens and related materials that have been assembled in accessible reference collections. Other sites are described in detail elsewhere in this issue and are placed in broader paleoenvironmental context in conjunction with papers that deal with floras, invertebrate and vertebrate body fossils, paleoecosystem reconstruction, and their stratigraphic, sedimentological, and tectonic settings in the second of the two special issues. Preliminary syntheses suggest that Cretaceous vertebrate ichnofaunas of East Asia contain various distinctive elements that are neither typical nor common in other regions. These include an abundance and significant diversity of bird tracks, some with web impressions, various small theropod tracks including diminutive examples (Grallator and Minisauripus) with foot lengths of 2.0–3.0cm, probable small dromeosaurid tracks (Velociraptorichnus), probable coelurosaurid tracks with bilobed heel impressions (Siampodus), and various small ornithopod tracks that resemble Anomoepus. Giant pterosaur tracks (Haenamichnus) are also unique to this area. A review of the ichnotaxonomy generously accepts about eleven valid ichnogenera of dinosaurs, two of pterosaurs, and nine of birds. At least ten other ichnogenera are dubious and among these several have already been rejected. A preliminary overview of these ichnotaxa in broader context suggests that the dominance of bird and theropod ichnotaxa is a valid reflection of a corresponding dominance of birds and theropod body-fossil taxa. We also note partitioning of ichnofaunas into saurischian-dominated assemblages from low, tropical latitudes and semi-arid, inland basin paleoenvironments, and ornithopod-rich assemblages from higher, more temperate latitudes and humid, coastal paleoenvironments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]