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Pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) is rising rapidly in many industrialized and affluent areas in the Asia‐Pacific region. Current available guidelines, mainly from Europe and North America, may not be completely applicable to clinicians caring for children with PIBD in this region due to differences in disease characteristics and regional resources constraints. This position paper is an initiative from the Asian Pan‐Pacific Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (APPSPGHAN) with the aim of providing an up‐to‐date, evidence‐based approach to PIBD in the Asia‐Pacific region, taking into consideration the unique disease characteristics and financial resources available in this region. A group of pediatric gastroenterologists with special interest in PIBD performed an extensive literature search covering epidemiology, disease characteristics and natural history, management, and monitoring. Gastrointestinal infections, including tuberculosis, need to be excluded before diagnosing IBD. In some populations in Asia, the Nudix Hydrolase 15 (NUD15) gene is a better predictor of leukopenia induced by azathioprine than thiopurine‐S‐methyltransferase (TPMT). The main considerations in the use of biologics in the Asia‐Pacific region are high cost, ease of access, and potential infectious risk, especially tuberculosis. This position paper provides a useful guide to clinicians in the medical management of children with PIBD in the Asia‐Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disease phenotype of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) in children from the Asia‐Pacific region differs from that of children from the West. Many parts of Asia are endemic for tuberculosis, making diagnosis and management of pediatric Crohn's disease a challenge. Current available guidelines, mainly from Europe and North America, may not be completely applicable to clinicians caring for children with PIBD in Asia due to differences in disease characteristics and regional resource constraints. This position paper is an initiative from the Asian Pan‐Pacific Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (APPSPGHAN) that aims to provide an up‐to‐date, evidence‐based approach to PIBD in the Asia‐Pacific region. A group of pediatric gastroenterologists with a special interest in PIBD performed an extensive literature search covering epidemiology, disease characteristics and natural history, management, and monitoring. Attention was paid to publications from the region with special consideration to a resource‐limited setting. This current position paper deals with surgical management, disease monitoring, immunization, bone health, and nutritional issues of PIBD in Asia. A special section on differentiating pediatric Crohn's disease from tuberculosis in children is included. This position paper provides a useful guide to clinicians in the surgical management, disease monitoring, and various health issues in children with IBD in Asia‐Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nguyen, O. T. H., Aksenov, I., Phan, N. T., & Sakulyeva, T. (2021). Russia's foreign policy priorities in the Asia‐Pacific region. Journal of Public Affairs, e2745. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2745. The above article, published online on 17 August 2021 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) has been retracted by agreement between the journal's Editor‐in‐Chief, Laura Corazza and Shaista Wasiuzzaman and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed following concerns regarding manipulation of the peer review and publishing process. Concerns were originally raised by a third party (1). Further investigation by the publisher has found manipulation of the peer review process, and overlapping text with other publications. The retraction has been agreed because the peer review of the article was compromised and there is unattributed overlap between this article and several other articles (2)(3). Abalkina, A. (2022). Publication and collaboration anomalies in academic papers originating from a paper mill: evidence from a Russia‐based paper mill https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.13322 Burdzik, T. (2019). Slowly but Surely: Russia's Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics‐and‐comments/columns/asian‐kaleidoscope/slowly‐but‐surely‐russia‐s‐foreign‐policy‐in‐southeast‐asia/?sphrase%5fid=34631795 Rumer, E., Sokolsky, R., Vladicic, A. (2020). Russia in the Asia‐Pacific: Less Than Meets the Eye https://carnegieendowment.org/publications/82614 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper identifies major themes and recommends preferred strategies in Australia’s engagement with the world. These themes and strategies relate to geopolitics, economics and the ‘new international agenda’; there is also a more specific focus on Australia’s Pacific island neighbours and Timor-Leste. There is a strong emphasis on perceived Australian national interests throughout the document. The geopolitical discussion is primarily ‘realist’; economically the document is pro-globalisation; the discussion of the ‘new international agenda’ involves an Australian-oriented pragmatism; there is an assertion of Australian leadership in the South Pacific. With some minor criticism, Labor has accepted the general direction advocated in the White Paper. The document is thus indicative of the likely future direction of Australian foreign policy. Lack of US response indicates declining US engagement with Australia and the Asia-Pacific or Indo-Pacific region. China, as the other major power highly significant for Australia, has been low-key in its criticisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue discusses the present and future of production in the Asia Pacific region, which drives the current world economy. Based on the region's massive working population, production in the Asia Pacific region has led to economic growth, and the GDP share of this region has increased from 20% to 30% in the past 40 years, almost equalling that of the other regions. Considering the above background, this special issue was planned for selecting and presenting interesting and meaningful research papers that deal with current and future production, not only just productions but also services, in the Asia Pacific region. [Extracted from the article]

Australia's most recent White Papers on foreign and defence policy and the 2020 Defence Strategic Update demonstrate the determination of Australian policy planners to do what it takes to strengthen American resolve in the Indo-Pacific. Cuffe pushes back against claims that Australia's Asia-Pacific policy reflected "naive loyalty or toadying to Britain and the US" (201). Too often, as Cuffe says, strategy and diplomacy are viewed as 'high politics and the true work of foreign policy while trade and economic policy are considered "low politics"'(6-7). [Extracted from the article]

Describes the above-named upcoming special issue or section. May include topics to be covered or calls for papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study comprehensively explores cogenerative dialogue in science education from a sociocultural perspective. Analyzing 120 papers and theses from January 2001 to December 2022 in Korean and English journals, we examine their objectives, themes, methods, learners, educational levels, participants, researcher roles, coteaching connections, and program durations. Our data analysis reveals growing diversity in cogenerative dialogue research objectives and subjects across countries. Consistent patterns emerge regarding researcher roles, participant groups, and program durations. This research offers insights into the evolving cogenerative dialogue landscape in science education, informing future investigations and highlighting trends in this field. The findings presented not only shed light on the current state of research but also provide direction for future investigations, highlighting trends and distinctive features in various facets of cogenerative dialogue-related studies. Specifically, we offer suggestions for the need for research in Korean science education contexts and more broadly in the Asia-Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2012 and 2013 the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office transferred some 20,000 colonial files from 37 territories to the National Archives in Kew. These ‘Migrated Archives’ had been repatriated to the UK between 1963 and 1994, but only in 2011 were they fully and publicly disclosed as the result of an English court hearing into claims of human rights violations by British authorities during the Mau Mau emergency in Kenya (1952–60). Yet the Migrated Archives contain many records related to the Pacific, including Fiji, Vanuatu (the New Hebrides), the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu. These Pacific records can be assessed in relation to approaches to contested property, public availability, diplomatic sensitivity and the management of official information. They also provide potentially new sources for Pacific historians on the politics of decolonisation in the region and the synergies and contrasts the Pacific shares with other areas of the former British empire. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The third paper in this group, by Jeongho Cha (Korea) and Mary Dane F. Leonardo (Korea), evaluates a government-implemented science teacher education program in the Philippines using webinars to instruct teachers about a wide variety of technology to support science teaching in online environments in response to COVID-19 school restrictions. The first paper, by Hong-Jeong Kim and Sungmin Im (Korea), investigates pre-service teachers' beliefs about learning physics and explores how teacher beliefs correlate with conceptual understanding and grades in their physics courses. The researchers conclude the paper by sharing suggested guidelines for research on designing online programs for teachers. [Extracted from the article]

This paper aims to analyze the efficiency level of the airports in AsiaPacific region. By using two-stage network DEA, efficiency of the airport is decomposed into two sub-procedures: operations and revenue efficiency. Regression and non-parametric statistical testing were performed to test research questions regarding internal and external factors determining the difference in efficiency levels across the airports. It was shown that AsiaPacific airports have low efficiency in revenue-generating stage, leading to low efficiency overall. Also, several statistically significant factors were identified in terms of determining airport efficiency levels, providing implications for airports in terms of setting managerial strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The average country in Asia–Pacific experiences more natural disasters than average countries of other developing regions. This paper presents stylized facts on natural disasters, human development, and external debt in Asia–Pacific. The paper also contains estimates of the effects that natural disasters have on human development. Controlling for country- and time-fixed effects, the dynamic panel model estimates show that external debt has a mitigating effect on the adverse impacts that natural disasters have on human development; in countries with low external debt-to-GDP ratios, natural disasters significantly decrease the human development index, but not so in countries with high external debt-to-GDP ratios. External debt (i.e., borrowing from abroad) is a financial contract for obtaining resources from abroad (i.e., imports of goods and services). When a country experiencing a natural disaster borrows from abroad to increase imports of goods and services, the population suffers less when a natural disaster strikes. Natural disasters destroy goods and capital (e.g., food, machinery, buildings, and roads) in the countries in which they occur. If imports of goods and services do not increase, then the population has less goods and services to consume following a natural disaster. By increasing imports, which are mirrored on the financial side by an increase in external debt, the population of a country that was struck by a natural disaster can experience consumption smoothing. As the incidence of natural disasters increases globally, a policy recommendation for disaster-prone countries, supported by the empirical results of this paper, is the need for deeper and innovative mechanisms of access to international financing, including reforms in both domestic and international financial systems. The paper's most significant contribution is the unique lens through which it analyzes the often-studied subject of natural disasters. Rather than looking at disasters as merely adverse events and debt as an unwelcome obligation in isolation, it connects the two and uncovers the paradoxically positive and beneficial role a healthy level of external debt can play in mitigating the adverse effects of these disasters. It provides a fresh perspective, a shift in thinking that may immensely benefit external debt and disaster management policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the view that community participation can be defined as the continuous trans-local mobility and localisation of not only organisations and individuals but also various nonhuman elements such as information and events, this paper explores how the community participation of Hong Kong in the conservation of Pokfulam Village is understood as socially extrospective and introspective processes. This paper is aimed to reveal how the knowledge of Treasure Hill in Taipei has been adapted (or not) to the community participation of Hong Kong's Pokfulam Village's heritage conservation. This provides insights into how the global flow of people, information, discourse, and technology has influenced the community participation in heritage conservation, especially across the Pacific Rim cities. Finally, the research discusses how local community can play a role in the dynamic local social structure of conserving their heritage, as well as 'whose heritage' in the mobility of global knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalisation, migration, trade and growth: Honouring the contribution of Jeff Williamson to Australian and Asia-Pacific economic history - Guest Editor's introduction Jeff's research has influenced generations of scholars on such diverse topics as globalisation during the nineteenth century and beyond (Bordo et al., 2003; Jacks et al., 2011; O'Rourke & Williamson, 1994, 1999; Taylor & Williamson, 1994; Williamson, 1996); migration from the Old World to the New World (Hatton & Williamson, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2005) and within the United States and United Kingdom (Weiss & Williamson, 1972; Williamson, 1986); the early development of the United States (Lindert & Williamson, 2013; Williamson, 1961, 1965, 1974); the consequences of the industrial revolution for quality of life (Lindert & Williamson, 1983; Williamson, 1981, 1984, 1990); the development of various Asia-Pacific economies (Becker et al., 1986; Kelley & Williamson, 1971, 1974; Williamson, 1969, 1979); Australian economic history (Bhattacharyya & Williamson, 2016; Panza & Williamson, 2019, 2020); and growth and inequality in the United States (Lindert & Williamson, 1976, 2016; Williamson & Lindert, 1980), Great Britain (Williamson, 1980, 1985), and in a comparative perspective (Aghion & Williamson, 1998; Lindert & Williamson, 1985; Williamson, 1991, 1997, 2011). Likewise, he was a leader in bringing the new economic history into economics (Kelley & Williamson, 1973; Kmenta & Williamson, 1966; Williamson, 1963, 1971a). Sambit and Jeff have previously written two papers on the effects of commodity price shocks on the Australian economy (Bhattacharyya & Williamson, 2011; Bhattacharyya & Williamson, 2016), and this is the main theme of this paper. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: This paper aims to propose various theoretical lenses to explore the relationship between internal communication (IC) and its impact on employee loyalty. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review followed by a synthesis of the literature is adopted after identifying articles from various databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar and EBSCO and found that employee loyalty remains a significant gap in organisational IC research. The review will bring greater attention and focus for scholars to check how IC can help increase employee loyalty using the proposed theories – more so for IC in the Asia-Pacific. Findings: The findings from this paper explicitly highlight that both individual/managerial theories (social cognitive, social identity, social exchange, expectancy and socio-analytic theories) and organisational theories (network, resource-based view and sensemaking theories) are close and relevant to study the IC and employee loyalty. Originality/value: The value of this review is to move forward the debate on how IC can significantly contribute to developing employee outcomes (loyalty), how it can further enhance employee performance and commitment and what theories better explain this relationship. This review will inspire and inform future scholars to explore IC's role in employee loyalty in the Asia-Pacific context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asia-Pacific Science Education (APSE) journal is celebrating its 10th year of publication and is inviting scholars to contribute their work on innovations, advancements, and transformative insights in science education in the Asia-Pacific region. The journal is particularly interested in submissions that explore transformative pedagogies, the role of technology in science education, strategies for equity and inclusion, and teacher professional development. The first issue of the 10th volume features three publications from scholars in Singapore, China, and Korea, which explore topics such as students' risk perceptions of technology, cogenerative dialogue in science education, and the effects of visual cues and non-verbal assessment on students' causal reasoning. These papers provide valuable insights and recommendations for improving science education in the region. [Extracted from the article]

In this historical piece, Bob Teasdale, who was the Editor when the journal was known as the South Pacific Journal of Teacher Education (1975–1980) and who also served as President of the journal's professional organisation then known as the South Pacific Association for Teacher Education (1980–1981), details the early years of the journal's inception during the 1970s, as well as the decision-making behind the journal's name change during the formative years. This paper provides an account from the editor's perspective of the journal's origins, and the policies and politics at play that influenced the journal's growth and direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of the long-debated impact of board busyness within a new framework of firm efficiency in the selected developed and developing Asia–Pacific countries, by assessing the moderation of directors' education towards the relationship between board busyness and firm efficiency. The extant literature on board busyness demonstrates to a lack of clarification of the relationship between board busyness and firm efficiency. Design/methodology/approach: The sample for this paper comprises a panel data of 800 firms in a cross-country context of the selected developed and developing Asia–Pacific countries during the recent period of 2009–2015. This paper performs a non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis to measure firm efficiency and panel regression analysis to examine the moderation of directors' education. Findings: This paper provides support for the busyness hypothesis by documenting that the busy boards are likely to reduce firm efficiency. Moreover, this paper renders support to the upper-echelons theory by demonstrating that the impact of board busyness on firm efficiency is likely to turn positive in the presence of directors' education. Practical implication: This paper highlights practical implication for managers especially in the Asia–Pacific region who seek to enhance firm efficiency, which is essential for firms in attaining the primary goal of profit maximization. Originality/value: This paper builds on the extant literature by providing a contemporary research path regarding the moderation of directors' education to explain the long-debated impact of board busyness within a new framework of firm efficiency, based on a recent and significant sample of Asia–Pacific countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on a comparative study of seven jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region to examine current challenges to progressing inclusive education for students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. The study used a qualitative approach to collect data from each jurisdiction through a purposive sampling of knowledgeable, university-associated informants. Content analysis was used to identify and quantify specific challenges reported in the data. Subsequently, these items were coded as themes to form a matrix of challenges within and across jurisdictions. Findings revealed that challenges were broadly consistent with recent global trends and shared many commonalities, despite occurring in diverse societal, political and education systems. These challenges are: lack of adequate initial teacher education and ongoing professional development for practicing teachers; lack of resources and support to meet the needs of students with SEN; inconsistent policy guidelines and implementation action plans; restricted stakeholder engagement and collaboration across all levels of education; and limited local inclusion research to inform practice in schools. The findings underscore the need for government and institutional commitment and oversight to bridge the policy-to-practice gap, and an urgent need for local research to identify and disseminate successful approaches for including students with SEN throughout the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we perform a systematic evaluation of the impact of Global Positioning System radio occultation (GPSRO) data on typhoon track prediction over the Northwestern Pacific. Specifically, we perform data assimilation and forecast experiments using the Typhoon Weather Research and Forecasting (TWRF) system at 45 km resolution on eleven typhoons (with a total of 327 cases) in the period of 2008-2010 over the Northwestern Pacific, with or without the use of GPSRO refractivity observations. On average, about 100 GPSRO soundings are assimilated over a 12 h partially cycling assimilation period. The results indicate that the assimilation of GPSRO data reduces the 72 h track forecast errors by approximately 12 km (5%). Although this is only a modest improvement, it is statistically significant. The assimilation of GPSRO data improves the analysis and the forecast of temperature, water vapour, and wind fields. Further analysis shows that the reduction in typhoon track forecast errors can be attributed to the improved prediction of Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) and its associated circulation, which leads to better forecasting of the environmental steering flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost overrun has remained a key risk of construction projects that can be prevented by utilizing new technologies. This paper aims to identify the gap in the literature, which can potentially be addressed by using digital tools and technologies, by reviewing the current and state of the art practices. The paper presents the results of a systematic and critical content reviews on cost overruns, to address the question of what factors are affecting the cost overrun. This paper also reviews how building information modeling (BIM) in conjunction with other tools, such as the common tools in the Asia and Asia Pacific regions, are used for cost estimation and monitoring. The paper presents the results of the content review, including their contributions and limitations, which are also used to set key directions for future investigations. A total of 176 papers was identified to develop the construction cost management (CCM) dataset. The method was a mix of systematic reviews, including co-authorship network analyses, co-occurrence analytical map development covering 5671 keywords, and content analysis including theme identification and a critical review of selected papers. The paper critically reviewed 63 selected papers from CCM, which are divided into four clusters based on their scopes: BIM adoption for cost estimation and quantity surveying; BIM implementation for a bill of quantity, risk paths, and cost overruns; cost control and management; and, finally, BIM, virtual design, and value management. A trend analysis using a set of 16 themes (e.g., 3D model, BIM, Decision, Energy, and Life Cycle) for all the papers over the past ten years was developed. The content of each cluster of papers was reviewed based on the frequency of the selected themes in each cluster. The content of each cluster of papers was also reviewed critically and gaps were identified, so a set of directions for future investigations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asia Pacific region has the largest market in the foodservice industry. This study aims to explore the performance of self-service tablets in comparison with traditional paper menus. A field experiment was conducted in a casual dining restaurant. The results show that self-service tablets had better design whereas paper menus had better communication feature. Paper menus elicited better responses than self-service tablets. The study highlighted the technological pause phenomenon and the importance of human contact in the restaurant industry. The implications of this study are applicable to restaurant operators in the Asia Pacific region, especially to those targeting foreign visitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs) are integrated across Asia-Pacific Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), the purpose of this descriptive and exploratory study is to investigate undergraduates' own self-stated commitment to the SDGs and their perceived feasibility by the 2030 target. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methodology approach covered quantitative and qualitative approaches facilitated by purposive selection of an Asia-Pacific HEI via a Japanese liberal arts college where a questionnaire survey was administered in Autumn 2021. Responses were monitored from freshmen students in twin courses within the same major (introduction to "Environment" and "Development" studies, respectively; n = 177) that both integrated SDGs within their respective curricula. Findings: Students in both classes rated the SDGs as a useful learning tool but were sceptical of their feasibility by 2030. A self-stated commitment was high, especially among environment studies students. Multiple regression was run to predict SDGs commitment from gender, major, perceived SDGs' usefulness and feasibility. These variables partially predicted SDGs commitment but only gender and major variables added statistical significance. Moreover, the same variables were less equivocal in terms of predicting the self-stated belief that the SDGs could be achieved by 2030. Practical implications: The findings can inform instructors of students' perceptions towards SDGs. Significant differences raise academic and applied discussion points, such as how to engage male students, for example, by setting up sustainability "business case" practicums. Originality/value: As global HEIs grapple with effective ways to vertically integrate SDGs into a university's curriculum, students' opinions are often underrepresented. This paper's originality and value address these gaps by exploring a holistic student-centric perspective on SDGs in the context of commitment. This paper also has implications for more effective cross-curricula integration of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Guided by the affective events theory (AET), the purpose of this paper was to explore the impact of interpersonal trust in peers, as an affective work event, on two affect-driven behaviors (i.e. job performance and organizational citizenship behavior toward individuals [OCBI]) via positive affect during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in the Asia–Pacific region. Design/methodology/approach: This study is quantitative in approach, and longitudinal survey study in design. The authors collected data from lecturers in 2020 at the beginning, at the end and two months after the first Covid-19 lockdown in Malaysia. Then, the authors utilized the efficient partial least squares (PLSe2) estimator to investigate the relationships between the variables, while also considering gender as a control variable. Findings: The findings show that positive affect fully mediates the relationship between interpersonal trust in peers and job performance and partially mediates the relationship between interpersonal trust in peers and OCBI. Given that gender did not demonstrate any significant relationships with interpersonal trust in peers, positive affect, job performance and OCBI, the recommended policies can be universally developed and applied, irrespective of the gender of academics. Originality/value: This research contributes originality by integrating the widely recognized theoretical framework of AET and investigating a less explored context, specifically the Malaysian higher education sector during the challenging initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the authors adopt a novel and robust methodological approach, utilizing the efficient partial least squares (PLSe2) estimator, to thoroughly examine and validate the longitudinal theoretical model from both explanatory and predictive perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pacific Research Archives (PRA) is one of three national collections held in the archives at the Australian National University (ANU). This paper describes the origins of and relationships among the three core archival collections: the Noel Butlin Archives Centre, the ANU University Archives and the Pacific Research Archives. The entire ANU Archives boasts over 20 kilometres of records, largely held in the ‘Acton Tunnel’, an underground car park redeveloped as a repository. Established in 2007, the Pacific Research Archives includes over 150 collections created by scholars, missionaries, colonial administrators, organisations and individuals who were working, or had interests, in the Pacific Islands in the politico-cultural regions of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. This paper traces the origins of the university’s role as a leader in Pacific studies, the context in which the Pacific Research Archives was created in 2007 and its current method of operation in a collaborative and digital world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bridging the Pacific provides an image of two separate regions which share the Pacific Rim, becoming connected in multiple aspects, not limited to a predominantly economic interconnection. This image, thus, points toward a constructive mechanism to work toward a resolution of the over-arching global issue, including climate change. This image and the method for its practical implementation are suggested by the Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation—FEALAC. In the overall field of regionalism studies, inter-regionalism can be considered as 'the third wave' under the new regionalism, and FEALAC can be located in this analytical framework. To begin, this paper traces the process and features of regionalism by typification of three different versions, or ideal types of regionalism. In this work, each type of regionalism is not viewed as a successor to, considered better than the previous one, but rather provides a typology for analytical purposes. Next, taking up this historical and analytical framework of regionalism, this paper examines the FEALAC in terms of its strengths and weaknesses considered from the perspective of the five systemic functions. Finally, this paper demonstrates the ways in which FEALAC can be considered a relevant framework of inter-regional governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding students' geocognition learning progressions is helpful for science teachers in general, but as the Asia-Pacific region is particularly affected by changes in plate tectonics, their improved understanding can especially benefit students to better understand the local environment. Of particular interest are reports, position papers, and studies describing the impact of STEAM on student learning and student perception of science and science study. Her research focuses on identifying science teacher practices that promote learning for diverse students and on promoting the professionalization of science teachers through classroom-based participatory research. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: This paper aims to assert that knowledge of organisational weaknesses, vulnerabilities and compromise points (here termed "dark knowledge"), is just as critical to organisational integrity and hence, must also be managed in a conventional knowledge management sense. However, such dark knowledge is typically difficult to identify and accordingly, few studies have attempted to conceptualise this view. Design/methodology/approach: Using a background of fraud diamond theory, the authors examine this dark knowledge using a case study analysis of fraud at a large Asia-Pacific telecommunications provider. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the firm's fraud unit. Findings: The authors identify six components of dark knowledge, being artefactual knowledge, consequential knowledge, knowledge of opportunity, knowledge of experimentality, knowledge of identity and action and knowledge of alternativity. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to identify a knowledge type based on organisational compromises and vulnerabilities. The paper shows that accounts of organisational weakness can yet provide knowledge insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) has emerged as a novel variant of K. pneumoniae, exhibiting distinct phenotypic and genotypic characteristics that confer increased virulence and pathogenicity. It is not only responsible for nosocomial infections but also community-acquired infections, including liver abscesses, endophthalmitis, and meningitis, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. HvKP has been reported all over the world, but it is mainly prevalent in Asia Pacific, especially China. Moreover, hvKP can acquire carbapenemase genes resulting in the emergence of carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (CR-hvKP), which possesses both high virulence and drug resistance capabilities. Consequently, CR-hvKP poses substantial challenges to infection control and presents serious threats to global public health. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive summary of the epidemiological characteristics, virulence factors, and mechanisms underlying carbapenem resistance in hvKP strains with the aim of offering valuable insights for practical prevention strategies as well as future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including maritime security in Asia-Pacific region, military operation in East Asia and Indo-Pacific and maritime security threats in the Indian Ocean Region.

The initial idea of the Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA) was first originated by Hai-Sik Sohn, Professor emeritus of Dong-A University, Korea with reputable scholars in the Asia Pacific Region. The APTA's accomplishments are all credited to considerable efforts the national representatives of APTA made in the region and support of APTA members have shown. The late Dr Sohn (1940-2016) was the founder of APTA who had made significant contributions to APTA while serving as its Inaugural President between 1995 and 2005. [Extracted from the article]

This paper is a review of scholarship found in the pages of The Pacific Review over the last 30 years. It does so in three ways: (1) it highlights issues in the theory and practice of the international relations, strategic studies, political culture and political economy of the Asia Pacific region. (2) It looks at change in the region over time by an analysis of the shifting fortunes of the major regional powers, namely Japan, China and Indonesia and the challenges they, and China in particular, post to US regional hegemony. (3) It looks at regional process reflected in the fate and fortunes of the regional integrative project in the key policy domains of trade, finance and the environment. The paper concludes with a reflection on the strains on the regional political and economic orders by the rise in nationalist politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Countries worldwide aim to improve their comparative advantages by efficiently using scarce resources for economic growth and development. While many studies have been conducted to measure intellectual capital at the firm's level, measuring it at the national level has been under-examined. In addition, while the important role of national intellectual capital in economic growth has been theoretically recognized in literature, this important link has largely been ignored in empirical analyses. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the newly developed index of national intellectual capital from Vo and Tran's (2022) study to examine its effects on national economic growth in the long run. The dynamic common correlated effects technique and the pooled mean group estimation are used on the sample of 23 economies in the Asia–Pacific region from 2000 to 2020. Findings: Findings from this study confirm the positive and significant contribution of the national intellectual capital to economic growth in the region. The authors also find that, as a feedback effect, economic growth will also enhance and improve the accumulation of national intellectual capital. Practical implications: The findings of this paper provide valuable evidence and implications for policymakers in managing and improving national intellectual capital in the Asia–Pacific region. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine the impact of national intellectual capital on economic growth in the long run in the Asia–Pacific economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper empirically investigates the role of economic cooperation involving trade in coronavirus disease (COVID‐19)‐related essential medical goods—vaccines and their value chains, personal protective equipment, and diagnostic test kits—across 29 Asia and the Pacific economies. The paper incorporates vaccines and their global value chain products trade for the first time in the empirical literature. We further investigate whether trade facilitation, proxied by membership in regional trade agreements (RTAs), can help mitigate any adverse impact on trade in essential medical goods, applying a structural gravity framework. The results confirm that while trade is critical for Asian economies, its nature differs. Low‐income economies are largely dependent on imports, whereas selected middle‐ and high‐income economies are part of two‐way trade and engaged in the low end of the vaccine value chain. We find that the onset of the pandemic has hurt exports of these goods. This adverse effect is found to be lowered for economies engaged in RTAs. This emphasizes the role of governments in committing to RTAs and implementing trade facilitation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser Time Transfer (LTT) has proven to be able to improve remote time transfer accuracy compared to microwave technology. The impact of satellite clock errors and atmospheric delays during LTT will be further reduced in the common-view mode. The challenge is presented as an optimization problem that is limited by satellite trajectories. This paper introduces an improved simulated annealing algorithm designed to maximize the common-view possibility among various station pairs within regional Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) networks by optimizing satellite orbit trajectories. The study proposes a system model that integrates LTT principles with satellite visibility considerations. The simulated annealing algorithm is improved with new annealing strategies that incorporate control strategies, and modify the cooling function. Comparative simulation analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm, resulting in a significant reduction in computation time by over 10 times. The optimized orbits exhibit common-view windows between 3.337 and 8.955 times longer than existing orbits. Further simulations are conducted to optimize the orbits, and common-view models are established for 45 pairs among 10 stations. The optimizations result in common-view times ranging from 6.183 to 60.633 min in the Asia-Pacific region and from 5.583 to 61.75 min in the Europe-to-Asia region. This can provide valuable references for designing satellite constellations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advances a legitimacy‐based view on what factors determine multinational corporation (MNC) employees' adoption of English at work. We posit that legitimacy judgment represents an alternative mechanism, other than language ability, for explaining MNC employees' response to headquarters' corporate language policy. The hypotheses were confirmed in two studies with mixed‐methods (experiments; semi‐structured interviews), involving MNC employees in China. Our findings verified that corporate language policy increases positive legitimacy judgment, which in turn enhances employees' adoption of English at work. Further analysis showed that language ability moderates the mediating effect of legitimacy judgment, such that this effect is stronger for employees with lower language ability. Semi‐structured interviews confirmed the experimental findings and brought more insight into why and how Chinese employees adopt English in daily work. This paper contributes to the research on corporate language policy, legitimacy judgment, and cross‐border management in Asia Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper explores the effect of tourism (national and international) indicators on income inequality in a sample of 21 Asia Pacific economies. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses panel data set from 1995 to 2020 and employs panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method for the empirical investigation. Findings: The empirical findings from the panel ARDL models suggest that all of the considered tourism indicators have significant negative impacts on income inequalities. The results remain consistent with alternative indicators and methods. Social implications: The findings of this study will be critical for the policymakers to take effective measures to reduce the income inequality. Such measures could include promoting tourism in general, focusing on attracting international tourists or domestic tourists, and putting more weight on developing leisure or business tourism, which will boost the overall economic performance and alleviates inequalities in the society. Originality/value: This is the first study to consider various forms of tourism indicators to see their impact on income inequality in the Asia–Pacific region, and offers important implications for the policy actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]