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Copyright of Babel (00053503) is the property of Babel 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 applied the general-to-specific econometric modelling technique to estimate demand for tourism imports and the corresponding elasticities for four countries: Australia; Canada; Japan and USA. The findings indicate that tourism imports are generally income and price elastic with values ranging from 1.476 to 1.783 for income elasticity and -1.201 to -1.721 for price elasticity. Furthermore, the findings reveal that, after controlling for seasonality in the data, demand for tourism import is influenced by global financial crisis, disasters and country-specific problems. These findings have important implications for tourism import management, especially in the broader context of promoting tourism imports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an innovative partnership between an Australian and Japanese university: an international distance learning relationship between the University of Sydney and Gifu University. Since 2002, the Faculty of Arts at the University of Sydney and Gifu University's Faculty of Education have participated in a lecture exchange program through which live lectures are transmitted through web-based video-conferencing. Lectures on Australian studies are transmitted from the University of Sydney; lectures on Japanese language, linguistics and culture are transmitted from Gifu University. The paper outlines how the program developed, from the perspective of the four lecturers involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the patterns of language choice and the construction of L2 learning opportunities in foreign language learners' social networks by focusing on how these patterns and opportunities are socially structured in a Japanese language learner's natural interactions. It is based on a range of data, including a script of on-line chat occurring in natural environments as well interview data. Drawing on Cummins' (1996) concept of interpersonal space, the findings indicate that there were a number of social and contextual factors that seemed to affect the learner's language choice and L2 learning opportunities in complex ways. Most of these factors appeared to be related to the learner's and/or his network interactants' identity as an adequate L2 user and their perception of each other's L2 proficiency and/or role. This paper provides insights into how to create environments that promote the learners' opportunities for L2 use and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of UNISCI Discussion Papers is the property of Unidad de Investigaciones Sobre Seguridad y Cooperacion International (UNISCI) 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.)

Abstract: Neighborhood sustainability assessment tools have become widespread since the turn of 21st century and many communities, mainly in the developed world, are utilizing these tools to measure their success in approaching sustainable development goals. In this study, seven tools from Australia, Europe, Japan, and the United States are selected and analyzed with the aim of providing insights into the current situations; highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures; and making recommendations for future improvements. Using a content analysis, the issues of sustainability coverage, pre-requisites, local adaptability, scoring and weighting, participation, reporting, and applicability are discussed in this paper. The results of this study indicate that most of the tools are not doing well regarding the coverage of social, economic, and institutional aspects of sustainability; there are ambiguities and shortcomings in the weighting, scoring, and rating; in most cases, there is no mechanism for local adaptability and participation; and, only those tools which are embedded within the broader planning framework are doing well with regard to applicability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As it is well known, non-cooperative N-person dilemma game has a unique dominant strategy solution where all players choose defecting strategy. In this paper, we analyze an N-person dilemma game by taking the point of view of coalition and try to find the condition that all players choose cooperating strategy in a grand coalition. First, we show that if we transform N-person dilemma game into a coalitional form, then the core is non empty when a characteristic function is defined by the maximin value. We also show the condition that players do not choose cooperating strategy in a grand coalition. Next we specify the condition of existence of core by generalizing a characteristic function. We define a characteristic function by the subjective probability of choosing cooperative strategy. As a result we find that the core is empty when a characteristic function is defined by the maximax value. In general, if players in a coalition believe that other players, who are not members of the coalition, will choose cooperative strategy with a high probability, then the core will be empty by a deviation of a single coalition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents preliminary findings of a project which investigated whether learner background, in terms of instruction mode (i.e., school or intensive first-year course at university) and first language (i.e., character based or non-character based), has an impact on the development of writing skills in Japanese as a second language (JSL). Many students in second-year Japanese at university are post-secondary (i.e., they completed Year 12 Japanese at school). They are in class with students who started Japanese at university (i.e., are post-beginners). The intensity of instruction that the two groups have received is very different. A large number of the students learning Japanese at tertiary institutions in Australia are also native speakers of character-based languages (e.g., Chinese). Although there is a substantial volume of studies comparing the effects of instruction mode on L2 development, little is known of how instruction mode and L1 background together may affect L2 development in adult 1_2 learning settings. The data for the present study include writing samples collected on two occasions from 34 students from a variety of backgrounds. The samples were analysed in terms of length, grammatical complexity and schematic structures, use of kanji (Chinese characters), and vocabulary. The results were compared in terms of study experience and first language. In general, the performance of post-beginner learners from character-based language backgrounds was higher on kanji use and a few other areas, but their superior performance was derived from the interaction of two background factors (L1 and study background). The results show complexity in how different backgrounds affect L2 writing task performance. The study has strong pedagogical implications for teaching a character-based language to students from diverse study backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The action brought by Humane Society International against the Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd in the Australian Federal Court is the latest and most novel attempt to rein in an activity that most in Australia, and elsewhere in the Western World, find morally repugnant. However, the basis upon which this case has been brought is a piece of Australian domestic law. Whilst internally, this is consistent with Australia's assertion of a territorial claim to a part of Antarctica that it calls the Australian Antarctic Territory, hardly any other state (including Japan) recognises the claim, and claims are frozen under the Antarctic Treaty. This paper examines the potential negative consequences of coupling action against whaling to Australian territorial assertions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Languages education, or what has been called the study of languages other than English (LOTE), seems to involve a paradox in Australia. It is supposed to promote cultural enrichment and intercultural understanding, and yet the process of becoming a qualified language teacher tends to be intolerant of the cultural differences of overseas born and educated speakers of these languages. This is clear from an increasing body of literature on the difficulties experienced by overseas educated language teachers, which we review in the first half of this paper. Since this raises questions on how such teachers survive in Australia, we then present an introspective study of the experiences of the first author, including the circumstances that brought her to Australia, the difficulties she faced in teacher training and as a newly employed teacher, and the factors that enabled her to cope and eventually succeed. Her experiences highlight the particular importance of supportive supervisors and colleagues, thus suggesting a valuable role for mentoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a critical perspective on the Bush Doctrine's impact on the Asian, especially Southeast Asian, security order. It proceeds in four parts. The first examines the problematic nature of the Bush Doctrine, such as its deliberate conflation of preemptive and preventive war and its expansive scope as a "grand strategy of transformation." This is followed by an analysis of the responses of Southeast Asian states to the doctrine. The third part looks at the "imitation" effects of the Bush Doctrine in Asia-Pacific, where it may be reshaping, national security strategies of some states such as Australia and Japan. The last part of the paper evaluates how the Bush Doctrine, with its underlying, basis in U.S. power dominance in a unipolar global setting, affects the Asian security architecture, particularly the balance between bilateral and multilateral security approaches to regional order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Assessed the effect of various ELV legislations on vehicle material circularity. • Vehicle material circularity was measured using MCI and PCI methods (product-level). • Identified the impact of changing vehicle technologies on material circularity. • Identified main opportunities for circularity improvement in vehicle material flows. • Higher scrap utilisation has the most potential to increase material circularity scores. For many years, regulation and life cycle studies have focussed on reducing the environmental footprint of vehicles. Despite the implementation of different end-of-life vehicle (ELV) regulations to encourage material reuse and to increase recycling and recovery rates, it is unclear how these policies are progressing towards realising a circular economy (CE). This paper assesses the impact of different ELV regulations implemented in Europe, Japan, Australia, and the US on the effectiveness of product-based circularity using the Material Circularity Indicator and Product Circularity Indicator. Scenario analysis is carried out to identify potential improvements in vehicle material circularity based on different circular economy strategies: more advanced recycling technology; higher scrap utilisation; design for reuse/remanufacturing; and higher product utility; and the effects of changing vehicle technologies on material circularity. This study addresses the gap in current ELV regulations in a CE context using a quantitative assessment approach. It is shown that there is limited impact on the material circularity performance, at most by 17.3%, due to the focus on material recycling rates at the end-of-life phase. It is recommended that current ELV regulations are leveraged to implement effective CE strategies from a holistic life cycle approach, particularly through more scrap utilisation, higher intensity of vehicle use and the design for reuse/remanufacturing. The greatest potential for circularity improvement is shown through higher scrap utilisation. This is also the case for newer vehicle technologies, such as electrification and lightweighting, which have shown a wide range of material circularity outcomes due to changing material composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 1999 the Governments of Australia and New Zealand decided tosubmit their dispute with Japan over southern bluefin tuna to an arbitration procedure under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Pending the constitution of an arbitral tribunal, they also requested the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to prescribe provisional measures. This paper traces the beginnings of tuna as an issue in Australia's relations with Japan, from 1945until the conclusion of the first bilateral negotiations on the subject in 1968. Drawing on recently released archival material the paperexplains why, in terms of the evolving law of the sea, the 1968 agreement was generous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]