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This paper compares 'high-impact' papers from China, Japan, India and Korea in 2012, together with papers from these countries in Cell, Nature, and Science (CNS) from 2010 to 2012. China leads on 'highly cited' and 'hot' papers in 2012, while Japan has the highest number in CNS (653), followed by China (471), Korea (131) and India (83). Although China published more high-impact papers in 2012, papers published in CNS were at a relatively low level, which appears to show that while some of the research in China is at a relatively high level, this is not entirely reflected in the number of papers in these 'elite' journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the prevalence of myopia has increased significantly in Asia. One of the possible etiologies for the same may be partly related to the amount of work requiring the use of screens. Therefore, I will present possible causes and countermeasures with regard to the display and its effect on the progression of myopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lists papers of selected institutes concerning economic conditions in the Pacific region published in the November 1998 issue of the periodical 'Asian-Pacific Economic Literature.' Challenges for Asia's trade and environment; Aspects of urban water and sanitation in the context of rapid urbanization in developing Asia; Agricultural price policy in Asia and the Pacific.

The article presents a list of papers about economics literature, including "Export or domestic-led growth in Asia?," "The People's Republic of China and its neighbours: evolving patterns of trade and investment," "Number of children and their education in Philippine households," and "East Asian economic integration and its impact on future growth."

Presents various research concerning economics of selected institutions in Asia, featured in the May 1998 issue of the periodical 'Asian-Pacific Economic Literature.' 'Total Factor Productivity Growth in East Asia: A Critical Survey,' by Jesus Felipe; 'Potential for Services Liberalisation between AFTA and CER,' by Christopher Findlay and Tony Warren.

This paper surveys the recent literature on the economic impacts of SARS, MERS, and COVID‐19, which Asian countries have experienced in the past two decades. In particular, we provide a detailed summary of how each of the past infectious diseases has impacted on the Asian economies and the extent of that impact. This paper also documents how the governments of Asian countries have responded to the COVID‐19 shocks with their economic policies, and discusses the effectiveness of these economic policies to mitigate the COVID‐19 shocks on their economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and organizational outcomes has mainly been studied at the organizational level so far. However, HRM scholars acknowledge that employees are the foundation of organizations, and they play an important role in the effect of HRM on employee and organizational outcomes. While research on HR content focuses on the effects of HR practices, HR process research considers how employee perceptions and attributions of HR influence organizational outcomes. In the special issue of New Frontiers in HR Practices and HR Processes: Evidence from Asia, we focus on emerging research in the Asian region, especially China and Pakistan regarding the role of employees, also known as the micro‐foundations of HR research, in terms of both HR content and HR process. In this Introduction of the special issue, we review the current state‐of‐the‐art studies in both research streams and highlight further research questions. We outline how the papers in this special issue advance our knowledge for the Asian region and we also call for more Asian region HR practice and HR process studies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online marketplaces are growing rapidly globally. They have the potential to significantly benefit women; however, these benefits are not guaranteed. A lack of information on the benefits of or how to participate in online marketplaces could mean womenʼs participation is at an inefficiently low level. Participation could also bring about unintended consequences. We introduce this special issue of Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies on the social and economic benefits of online marketplaces for women in Asia. In this introduction, we set the context for the special issue, then provide an overview of its seven papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Population aging (an increase in the share of the elderly in total population) is occurring in many, if not most, countries in the world, including those in Asia. Both economists and policymakers warn that population aging can have many deleterious effects on a country's economy including a decline in its saving rate, the emergence of a labor shortage, a deterioration in government finances owing to increased spending on old‐age related programs, and reduced innovation and productivity growth. It is therefore imperative for countries to prepare themselves for the advent of an aged society. The emerging and developing countries in Asia are no exception, with the region generally lacking adequate systems in such areas as long‐term care, public pensions, and health insurance. Against this background, an international workshop on “Aging in Asia” was held in Kitakyushu City, Japan, on November 15 to 16, 2016. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the Asian Development Bank Institute and the Asian Growth Research Institute and was organized by Charles Yuji Horioka, Peter J. Morgan, Yoko Niimi, and Guanghua Wan. This special issue of the Review includes nine papers presented at this workshop plus one paper that was not presented there but was written by one of the workshop participants. All of these papers underwent the usual rigorous refereeing process of this Review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the competition and coexistence of flagship carnivores is key to creating strategies for their conservation in the face of global carnivore declines. Although studies exploring the dynamics and competition between tigers (Panthera tigris) and leopards (P. pardus) span decades, there is a lack of understanding regarding the factors that influence their coexistence mechanisms on a broad scale, as well as the drivers determining their exploitative and interference competition. We gathered a comprehensive list of research papers among which 36 papers explored the interspecific interactions between tigers and leopards and tested the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the coexistence mechanisms along three dimensions using multiple response variables regression models; we also tested the influence of ecological drivers determining the exploitative or interference competition between tigers and leopards. Elevation and ungulate density were the most important predictors in regulating the coexistence mechanisms. Tigers and leopards exhibited more positive relations/higher overlaps as elevation increased in the spatial niche. In addition, they showed a higher dietary overlap in the prey‐rich regions. We determined that interference competition between tigers and leopards was less frequently observed in habitats with dense tree cover and homogeneous vegetation structures. Meanwhile, studies with multiple metrics would promote the detection of interference competition. Our study provides new insight into the competitive interactions and coexistence mechanisms of tigers and leopards on a broad scale. Policy‐makers and managers should pay more attention to the factors of elevation, prey abundance, and habitat structures for the conservation of tigers and leopards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Accounting and Finance has evolved from a news bulletin to a full-grown refereed academic journal that has published papers written by authors from Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, Canada, Europe and Asia. The Journal published its 41st volume in 2001 and that anniversary issue coincides with the beginning of the new millennium. As part of the celebration of this important milestone, this article reviews the Journal's evolution, the variety of papers published and the Journal's impact on accounting and finance research in the Asia Pacific region. Data for 394 papers published in the Journal by 570 authors are analysed. I find that the distribution of institutions and authors that have published in the Journal is highly skewed, with the top five (11) institutions accounting for 35 per cent (51 per cent) of the published papers in the Journal. Similarly, 8 per cent of the authors have published 26 per cent of the articles in the Journal. Analysis of the citation pattern indicates that Accounting and Finance does not have much impact on research published in the Asia Pacific region, with the Journal accounting for only 1.06 per cent of all citations in the selected Asia Pacific journals. Sub-period analysis indicates that not even the establishment of the editorial board in the latter half of the 1990s has helped improve the impact of the Journal on research published in the Asia Pacific region. However, compared with other Asia-Pacific journals, Accounting and Finance has the strongest impact on publications in the selected journals. The impact is even stronger in the latter half of the 1990s. Also, the impact of Accounting and Finance on the more recent journals in the Asia Pacific region is stronger than that of the other more established journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This collection of papers also shows how broad regional science is and how diversified regional policy issues are. Papers published in this special issue were collected over the last 2 years. The above-mentioned general rules and findings are to be applied when reading papers collected in this special issue. [Extracted from the article]

The article announces that the Program Committee of the 12th International Convention of the East Asian Economic Association Convention is calling for papers related to its theme "Asia and the Global Economic Recovery." Possible topics for thematic sessions include economic integration, multinationals, global imbalances, and multinationals while for general sessions include exchange rates, labor and human resources, and financial institutions and markets. It is noted that the convention will be held in Seoul, Korea on October 2 and 3, 2010.

Women have become "the source of prosperity and vitality" through their active participation in national economic development. This paper provides the first study to explore the impact of the "One Belt One Road" initiative (Belt and Road Initiative [BRI]) on women's development, which is mainly indicated by gender inequality index (GII). We adopt the difference‐in‐difference method for Asia–Europe regions from 2010 to 2019, and the propensity score matching method is further supplemented for refining the control group. The result suggests a robust negative effect of the BRI on gender inequality, and the decrease in GII caused by the BRI accounts for 33.01%. In addition, a deeper analysis is performed on subindices from multiple dimensions. We find that there has been a significant decrease in maternal mortality due to the policy. Besides, the female population has a larger increase in secondary education compared with men. Moreover, a clear labour shift has been found from family and agricultural labour to high‐value‐added industries and services. The BRI also helps improve the unfavourable condition in backward countries, which is conducive to narrowing the gap in women's development among countries along the route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of intra‐Asian labour migration is regulated on the basis of governing tools that aim at managing cross‐border movement of workers on a strictly temporary, employer‐tied basis. The key elements involved in the operationalization of strictly temporary migration are recruitment, remittances and return; these three 'Rs' are also central to global policy discussions around the migration‐development nexus. The core premise of this paper is that this strict framework results in a particular form of migrant precarity which in turn shapes migrant transnationality, leaving migrants with severely circumscribed labour agency. This leads to the argument that temporary migration paradigm as practiced in much of Asia constitutes involuntary transnationalism. The paper ends by arguing that based on proactive migrant rights activism, the involuntary character of transnationalism is being challenged by bringing a different set of 'Rs' into the discussion derived from global social policy and global justice perspectives: regulation, redistribution and rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preexisting political institutions influence governments' responses to public health crises in different ways, creating national variations. This article investigates how state capacity, a country's fundamental ability to organize bureaucracy and allocate societal resources, affects the timing and configuration of governments' COVID‐19 policy responses. Through comparative case study analysis of five of China's neighboring countries early in the COVID‐19 crisis, the paper shows that more‐capable states (Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan) initiated crisis response faster, mobilized national resources more extensively, and utilized diverse policy tools when the virus risk level was still low. In contrast, low‐capacity states (Thailand and Indonesia) were more reactive in handling the crisis, limited their focus to border‐related measures, and were more constrained in the types of tools they could employ. The paper points to the importance of studying the COVID‐19 response process rather than the outcome (i.e., confirmed cases/deaths) when unpacking the impacts of political institutions in public health crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Government's White Paper ' Australia in the Asian Century' is the first large-scale official look in the twenty-first century at economic change in Asia and how it affects Australian opportunities and challenges. This paper comments on the analysis embodied in and the objectives defined by the White Paper, especially as it relates to Australian resources. This paper generally endorses the aspirations of the White Paper and notes that their achievement is going to require efforts and changes beyond those that are currently contemplated. It comments briefly on six things: the development context of twenty-first century Asian growth; growth and structural change in Asia and Australia's terms of trade; macroeconomic management of a resource-intensive Australian economy; restoring productivity growth; excellence in education; and linking Australia to Asian opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the transformation of agrifood systems in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Context of traditional retail and wholesale system; Determinants of and patterns in the diffusion of supermarkets in the regions; Consequences of the evolution of procurement systems for agrifood business.

COVID‐19 has revealed the policy capacity of some governance institutions, both resilience and vulnerability. Hence, this circumstance has demanded public administration scholars and practitioners to rethink the existing governance practices, particularly in making effective crisis‐related policies. This paper reviewed primary and secondary studies exploring the application of policy capacity competencies in facilitating COVID‐19 handling in Asia. In achieving so, we did a systematic literature review of relevant studies published between January and October 2020. Applying the agreed search term to several databases, we found 2541 studies, while merely 30 were included for review. Findings from the studies are predominantly closely linked to operational capacity (n = 21). Other studies are related to political and analytical capacity (n = 14 and 7, retrospectively). We found that there are some dilemmas and inadequacy of understanding concerning the role of features in certain capacities (such as technology use versus individual privacy, the paradox of trust and legitimacy, or centralisation versus decentralisation), particularly in the time of crisis, which is a calling for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asia–Pacific region's rapid growth and poverty reduction in recent decades have been accompanied by rising income and wealth inequality. Technological progress, globalization, deregulation and market‐oriented reform, and financialization have generated many new opportunities, but rewarded capital more than labor, benefited skilled workers more than the unskilled, widened spatial inequality, and produced a growing number of the superrich. For some countries, population aging has also contributed to rising inequality. The present paper provides an update on recent trends of income and wealth inequality in the Asia–Pacific region, examines causes behind rising inequality, and discusses policy actions needed to tackle inequality. It also assesses how the COVID‐19 has likely worsened inequality in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A call for papers on the role of human resource management (HRM) in the competition, challenges, and changes in the Asia Pacific Region for the special issue of the "Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources" is presented.

World Bank considers financial inclusion a fundamental and practical mechanism for reducing poverty and boosting prosperity in developing and emerging markets. However, the direct benefits of financial inclusion to bank performance appear to have been largely ignored in the academic literature, in particular in the emerging markets in the Asian region. Unlike previous studies, both bank and country characteristics are considered in this paper. The financial inclusion index is estimated using four sub‐indices that can be classified into two groups: the penetration and utilisation of financial products and services. Principal component analysis and dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) are used on a sample of 1507 banks in emerging markets in Asia for the 2008–17 period. Findings indicate that, across various scenarios, financial inclusion provides a positive and significant contribution to bank performance in the Asian region. In addition, a larger distance to the bankruptcy of banks and higher national economic growth will enhance bank performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the backdrop of significant uncertainties largely propelled by the ongoing trade spat between the United States and China, to what degree can the Asian region move forward in terms of de facto trade integration? Drawing on the new economic geography literature, this paper offers new insights into the literature on trade regionalism in Asia by empirically illustrating how Asian economies can tap into the regional market potential. Specifically, the paper examines the scope for further de facto integration among the Asian countries engaged in the negotiation for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement by estimating foreign market potential (FMP) indices. To preview the main findings, the empirical analysis demonstrates that the share of intra‐regional trade in total RCEP trade flows and, consequently, the ratio between within‐ and outside‐RCEP trades are significantly lower than what they could potentially be. The paper makes a case that the enhancement of de jure integration among these economies through the RCEP must be accompanied by efforts to improve de facto integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road infrastructures and collisions with vehicles negatively affect many animal populations globally. However, data on road kills of non‐human primates are very limited, not only due to the rare character of this phenomenon, but also due to the geographical bias of reporting in scientific references.As an alternative, we used data from social media (YouTube videos, online articles and blogs) in addition to searching the existing scientific information. The reports in scientific papers were published in 1994–2018, and the reports in social media dated from 2010 to 2018.In total we collated information on 46 non‐human primate species and 368 individual animals that were killed due to collisions with vehicles on four continents. Numbers of observations and numbers of species in each continent were as follows: Africa, 46 and 15; Asia, 247 and 14; South America, 72 and 16; and Europe, 3 and 1.Only two of the species found in our social media internet search belonged to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Endangered category, but a higher‐than‐expected number of fatalities was in the Vulnerable category. In scientific papers, seven Endangered species were reported as victims of collisions. Often it was young individuals crossing roads that were killed by vehicles.Primates are very charismatic species, so collisions are likely to be reported on social media. We believe that the information we have collected can make a valid contribution to the debate on wildlife‐vehicle collisions, and can be used to plan ways to avoid or mitigate road kills of non‐human primates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for papers for a special issue of the 'Asian Journal of Social Psychology,' devoted to recent conceptual advances and empirical research on psychological aspects of traditionality and modernity in Asia.

The article announces the appointment of members of the editorial team of "Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources," namely Fang Lee Cooke and Nicola McNeil, and provides an overview of papers about human research management (HRM) in the Asia Pacific region published in the January 2013 issue of the journal.

The paper traces the growth of sociology in India through three phases. The first phase, it argues, begins in the 30s with the slow consolidation of the discipline. In this phase, sociology was associated with the Indological perspective and the social was perceived in culturist terms and analysed through the prism of the past, in and through Sanskrit texts. In the second phase, which begins in the early 60s, when University education expands in India, this indigenous perspective is re‐framed. There is a shift from textual studies to empirical investigation and the village becomes the site for studying Indian civilization. This paper makes a detailed analysis of the social anthropological perspective of M.N. Srinivas whose theories on village and caste influenced the sociological imagination in this phase. The third phase starts in the late 70s with the growth of social movements of the subalterns which challenge the received culturist nationalist sociological imagination. Today sociology together with other social sciences are at crossroads in India due to the impact of neoliberalism. The latter has encouraged privatisation of education, decreased state funding in material and human resources and an increased state control on academia. All three have affected the autonomy of the teachers and as well the University system and thus the efforts to chart a new sociological imagination in which the Indian social is perceived in global comparative terms. It is difficult to assess which turn sociology in India will take in these circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of spring soil moisture (SM) anomalies in the mid‐latitudes on the atmospheric circulation in summer over the Northern Hemisphere (NH) are investigated. The results show that there are two regions of maximum interannual variability of the spring SM in the mid‐latitudes, which are located in central North America (CNA) and Europe and central Asia (ECA). In addition, the interannual variation of spring SM anomalies between CNA and ECA exhibits a seesaw pattern. The CNA–ECA seesaw pattern of the spring SM anomalies leads to the surface heat anomalies having opposite phases in CNA and ECA from spring to summer, which subsequently cause the opposite phase of baroclinicity anomalies in spring. The anomalous meridional temperature advections in spring cause the baroclinicity anomalies to have the same phase around CNA and ECA in summer. Corresponded with the same phase of baroclinicity anomalies, the anomalous centers of the stationary Rossby wave train (RWT) and Rossby wave source (RWS) have the same phase in CNA and ECA in summer. Through analysis of the vorticity budgets, the maintenance mechanism of the RWT in summer is considered as a positive feedback that anomalous meridional winds characterized by a RWT, transport the mean absolute vorticity and subsequently lead to an anomalous RWS, which in turn maintains the stationary RWT. Numerical experiments further demonstrate the effects of CNA–ECA seesaw pattern of spring SM anomalies on stationary RWT and RWS in summer. Plain Language Summary: The interannual variation of soil moisture (SM) anomalies in mid‐latitudes exhibits a seesaw pattern in central North America (CNA) and Europe and central Asia (ECA). When spring SM anomalies are negative in CNA and positive in ECA, positive (negative) sensible heat flux anomalies are observed in CNA (ECA) while negative (positive) latent heat flux anomalies are observed in CNA (ECA) from spring to summer, or vice versa. Influenced by surface heat anomalies, baroclinicity anomalies exhibit a seesaw pattern in CNA and ECA in spring, and have same phase in CNA and ECA in summer due to anomalous meridional temperature advections. The baroclinicity anomalies in CNA and ECA in summer contribute to the same variation of wave‐flow interactions. The Rossby wave train (RWT) induced and maintained by CNA–ECA seesaw pattern of spring SM anomalies in spring can be maintained by its meridional transportation of the mean absolute vorticity in summer. Apparently, spring SM anomalies in the middle latitudes can persistently influence the large‐scale atmospheric circulations over the Northern Hemisphere by maintaining RWT. Key Points: Seesaw pattern of spring soil moisture anomalies in central North America (CNA) and Europe and central Asia (ECA)Baroclinicity anomalies change from opposite to same phase in CNA and ECA during the transition from spring to summerRossby wave train induced by spring CNA–ECA seesaw pattern is maintained by its meridional mean absolute vorticity transportation in summer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating a high‐fidelity railroad station model to match the physical details of hundreds of tracks and switches is never a trivial task. The manual modeling approach often costs engineers significant efforts and constrains the generality and extensivity of many advanced methods. Taking advantage that many stations are drawn proportionally into two‐dimensional drawing exchange format (DXF) files via state‐of‐the‐art computer‐aided design (CAD) techniques, this paper proposed an efficient solution to convert DXF files into meaningful station models. The proposed solution consists of two phases (1) converting graphic basic primitives without explicit engineering interpretations into recognizable railroad symbols and (2) modeling undirected railroad station graphs with necessary configurations such as endpoints and routes. The proposed solution is developed into a graphic user interface application with minimal user interactions and subsequently tested at several real‐world passenger stations in Asia for its validity, productivity, and applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brands are moving towards the Metaverse (3D immersive virtual spaces), where the growth of intangible products and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are evolving into a new type of hybrid experience for the users. This paper aims to establish the role of a "gamification of marketing activities" and its influence on consumer‐based brand equity for intangible products (NFTs) in the Metaverse and examine the mediating role of consumers' brand engagement and brand love. To evaluate the conceptual model based on the cross‐cultural data from two emerging countries in Asia and Africa, the study followed a two‐stage, hybrid mechanism using PLS‐SEM and neural network modeling. This study provides insights into the Metaverse–a new taxonomy of technology, in the context of embodiment, presence of AVATAR, and interactivity in the virtual world, supported by the social exchange theory. This study also suggests practitioners focus on brand authenticity while projecting their brand in the Metaverse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beech has long been the subject of ecological research in many fields. Recent studies using new methods are now being conducted. This special feature focuses on local beech forests and offers a collection of articles to readers of Ecological Research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review aims to provide an update on the current scientific understanding of various aspects of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) formation, diagnostic procedures, transmission, ecological effects, pathophysiology and management strategies. In terms of production and financial benefits, the WSSV has been the most virulent in shrimp and several other crustacean sectors around the globe. It spreads vertically from diseased broodstock to post‐larvae and horizontally by cannibalism, invertebrate vectors, freshwater and sediments. In the transfer of white spot disease (WSD) in newly stocked ponds, the survivability of WSSV in sediment is the most important variable. In typical cultural conditions, it is a highly infectious pathogen capable of inflicting total death within 3–10 days after an outbreak. Some of the current biosecurity strategies used to keep diseases out of shrimp ponds such as pond water disinfection, quarantine of new stocks before stocking and broader usage of specific pathogen‐free shrimp. The sequencing and characterisation of various WSSV strains have provided details about pathogen biology, pathogenicity and disease. To develop successful control methods, knowledge of these characteristics is essential. In several shrimp‐producing countries in Asia and the Americas, the infections produced by the WSSV have had disastrous socio‐economic consequences. As a result of international trade or migration of diseased species, the World Animal Health Organization recognised several illnesses as posing a substantial hazard to farmed shrimp. WSD is receiving much scientific research due to the potential economic effects of the virus. Research is now being done to understand better the molecular biology and pathophysiology of WSSV, as well as how to treat and prevent the virus. However, further study should be conducted in countries with more resilient host species to understand their role in mitigating disease impacts since these revelations may aid in developing a WSD treatment. The goal of this paper is to focus the molecular techniques reported till now to detect WSSV on shrimp more conveniently. Moreover, the implication of biosecurity measures to control and prevent WSSV on shrimp also mentioned along with the latest prevention application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yet, while much has been written about sustainable development in its various dimensions, research on the connection between data availability and the achievement of sustainability goals in Asia is surprisingly sparse. The emergence of the new landscape of data means that the future of sustainable development research in regional science is bright. Regional science, by its very nature, addresses the geographic dimensions of social, economic, and environmental challenges to humankind (Stimson, 2016). Mendez and Santos-Marquez employ a novel luminosity-based measure of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from satellite nighttime light data to examine regional convergence and spatial dependence across subnational regions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). [Extracted from the article]

Presents an invitation for a special edition of the journal on "Research on Training and Development and Related Fields in the Asia-Pacific Region."

East Asia's security environment is changing rapidly. Over the past five years or so, the security order has become increasingly unsettled as it is buffeted by a complex array of forces. The region is entering a period of growing rivalry and animosity states are uncertain over the strategic intentions of great and rising powers, nationalism is an increasingly pervasive force, and military spending has been ramping up in many countries over the past decade. That the security environment is changing is unarguable. But what is the extent of these changes? And what are the implications of these shifts for regional states? This paper introduces the special issue "East Asia's Contested Security Order". It begins by discussing the broad contours of the changing East Asian security order and what is at stake for regional powers. It then introduces the seven articles in this edition that challenge existing conceptualisations of the East Asian security order, articulate diverse perspectives on that order held by regional, middle and smaller powers, examine their complex and different security strategies that contribute to shaping the regional order, and consider the extent to which the regional security order may be said to be "contested". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asia's security order is experiencing significant change as it moves from a stable and peaceful geopolitical setting into one of increasingly open contestation. There is no scholarly consensus about the core character of East Asia's old security order, thus making analysis of this period of change especially challenging. The aim of this paper is two‐fold. Firstly, it seeks to provide some order to the broader debate about East Asia's regional security environment. Secondly, it provides a novel account of East Asia's security order that better captures the key dynamics at play in the region than the literature currently does. The paper's first part discusses the different types of security orders identified by scholars and analysts. The second examines the ways in which scholars have attempted to explain East Asia's security order and explores the key forces that they have argued shaped their form. The third part develops a distinctive account of Asia's security order which focuses on the interplay of domestic and international factors and argues that it was the political consensus that existed across the region about its structure and purpose that made the region stable and it is the breakdown of that consensus that is destabilising East Asia today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although capitalism is now widely seen to be the world's only remaining form of political economy, most discussion of capitalism is vague regarding what it is and gives it little analytical importance. In this paper, I attempt to determine whether two more explicit conceptions of capitalism– those of Ellen Meiksins Wood and Hernando de Soto– can shed any light on the literature on rural smallholder commodity production in the Asia Pacific, and vice versa. I use the papers collected in this volume to analyse the relevance of‘market dependence’ (Wood) and the various‘mysteries of capital’ (de Soto) for agrarian relations in the Asia Pacific. The paper tries to point towards a definition of capitalism that distinguishes it from such related terms as commercialisation, markets, and globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines the reaction of global financial markets across 38 economies to the COVID‐19 outbreak, with special focus on the dynamics of capital flows across 14 emerging market economies. The effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy responses to COVID‐19 is also tested. Using daily data over the period January 4, 2010 to August 31, 2020, and controlling for a host of domestic and global macroeconomic and financial factors, we use a fixed effects panel approach and a structural VAR framework to show that emerging markets have been more heavily affected than advanced economies. In particular, emerging economies in Asia and Europe have experienced the sharpest impacts on stock, bond and exchange rates due to COVID‐19, as well as abrupt and substantial capital outflows. Quantitative easing and fiscal stimulus packages mainly helped to boost stock prices, notably for advanced and emerging economies in Asia. Our findings also highlight the role that global factors and developments in the world's leading financial centers have on financial conditions in EMEs. Importantly, the impact of COVID‐19 related quantitative easing measures by central banks in advanced countries extended to EMEs, with significant positive spillovers to EME stock markets in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Going forward, while the ultimate resolution of COVID‐19 may be expected to lead to a market correction as uncertainty declines, our impulse response analysis suggests that there may be persistent effects on bond markets in emerging Europe and on EME capital flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the performances of runoff (Ro) and runoff coefficient (α, the ratio of runoff to precipitation) simulations from 23 models during the historical period and then projects their future changes under the two emission scenarios (SSP1‐2.6 and SSP5‐8.5) in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Compared with the UNH/GRDC Ro dataset (0.82 mm day−1), the multi‐model median (MME) Ro of 1995–2014 produces a comparable global mean magnitude (0.80 mm day−1), displays a similar spatial distribution of mean Ro, and also well captures the seasonal cycles at both global and basin scales. The global mean Ro of MME is projected to be increased by 0.01–0.02 mm day−1 (SSP1‐2.6) and 0.02–0.10 mm day−1 (SSP5‐8.5) during the twenty‐first century. Regional hotspots for strong increasing Ro appear across most areas of northern high latitudes, Africa, and southeastern Asia, with high inter‐model consistency. The global mean α is projected to be slightly decreased (−0.17 to −0.63%) except for the long‐term under the SSP5‐8.5 (0.26%). Although signs of changes in Ro vary with the river basins, periods, and scenarios, α in more than half (7 out of 12) river basins are projected to decrease. The uneven distributions of projected Ro changes over global land areas are related to the response of multiple hydroclimatic variables to the global warming. Given regions with inconstancy change signs of the projected precipitation, we speculate that changes in Ro are affected by more complicated hydroclimatic processes that warrant further investigations with physical‐based approaches. Plain Language Summary: Evidence has indicated that the terrestrial hydrology would be changed unevenly over global land areas under a warmer climate. Runoff (Ro) is one of the key components of the land water budget and it represents the natural freshwater resource on the earth. This study assesses the historical simulation performances and then projects future changes in Ro and α (the ratio of runoff to precipitation) under two emission scenarios (i.e., SSP1‐2.6 and SSP5‐8.5) based on the simulations from 23 CMIP6 models. The results show that the multi‐model median Ro during the historical period is highly consistent with the reference dataset and captures the seasonal variation in most river basins. During the twenty‐first century, the multi‐model median of global mean Ro is overall projected to increase in the future and the α would slightly decrease except for the long‐term under the SSP5‐8.5. While signs and magnitudes of projection changes depend on regions and basins, those changes are more evident under higher warming levels. The uneven distributions of projected changes of Ro over global land areas are related to the response of other land surface hydrological variables to the global warming induced by anthropogenic emissions in climate models. Key Points: The runoff (Ro) and runoff coefficient (α) in CMIP6 are assessed and their future changes are projected under two SSPs in global and basin scalesThe global mean magnitude, spatial pattern, and seasonal cycles over most river basins are well reproduced by multi‐model median RoThe global mean Ro (α) is projected to increase (decrease), but their projections vary with basins and scenarios [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asia has the fastest growing population and economy, but it is also the most disaster‐prone region in the world. Resilience to disaster impacts from natural hazards will be key to the long‐term sustainability of this rapidly growing region. The first step to building resilience is to identify the key threats that this region faces. We describe these key threats as Black Elephants: a cross between a "black swan" and the proverbial "elephant in the room" — they are extreme events that are known but difficult to address and often ignored. We examine the primary drivers of these looming risks and find that the drivers include underestimated or intensifying hazards, growing exposure, high vulnerability, and unaccounted complexities from multi‐hazard events. In mitigating these key risks, we discuss psychological barriers to action and highlight the importance of information, language, and hope. The known but complex impacts from natural hazards in Asia must be further acknowledged and managed in order to build a more sustainable, resilient future in an increasingly globally connected world. Plain Language Summary: Asia has the fastest growing population and economy in the world, but it is also the most disaster prone region and is home to many Black Elephant disaster risks. Black Elephant risks are a cross between extreme events that are known, but difficult to address, and are especially relevant to Asia's development. In this paper, we characterize drivers of these risks, including underestimated or changing hazards, growing number of people, places, and things that are potentially affected by hazards, high vulnerability of built and social systems when exposed to hazards, and growing impacts from multi‐hazard events. Analysis of the drivers of Black Elephant events offer insights for improved resilience to Black Elephant events. In addressing Black Elephant disaster risks, we recommend leveraging the power of language, hope, and existing information for improved resilience in this region. Key Points: Black Elephant events are extreme events that are known, but difficult to address, and are especially relevant to Asia's development and sustainabilityAnalysis of the drivers of Black Elephant events offer insights for improved resilience to these eventsIn addressing Black Elephant events, we recommend leveraging the power of language, hope, and existing information [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential oils (EOs) are commercially important products, sources of compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities considered indispensable for several fields, such as the food industry, cosmetics, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, sanitary and agricultural industries. In this context, this systematic review and meta‐analysis, a novel approach will be presented using chemometric tools to verify and recognize patterns of antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities of EOs according to their geographic, botanical, chemical, and microbiological distribution. Scientific papers were selected following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta‐Analyses statement flow diagram, and the data were evaluated by the self‐organizing map and hierarchical cluster analysis. Overall, this novel approach allowed us to draw an overview of antioxidants and antimicrobials activities of EOs reported in 2019, through 585 articles evaluated, obtaining a dataset with more than 10,000 data, distributed in more than 80 countries, 290 plant genera, 150 chemical compounds, 30 genera of bacteria, and 10 genera of fungi. The networks for geographic, botanical, chemical, and microbiological distribution indicated that Brazil, Asia, the botanical genus Thymus, species Thymus vulgaris L. "thyme," the Lamiaceae family, limonene, and the oxygenated monoterpene class were the most representative in the dataset, while the species Escherichia coli and Candida albicans were the most used to assess the antimicrobial activity of EOs. This work can be seen as a guide for the processing of metadata using a novel approach with non‐conventional statistical methods. However, this preliminary approach with EOs can be extended to other sources or areas of food science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explore the subjective and practical experiences of international social workers, focusing on the content, outcomes, impact, and related factors of their activities in Asia. Individual reports of social workers dispatched from Japan to 11 Asian countries during the period of 2003–2018 were collected (n = 59). A mixed quantitative and qualitative content analysis was used to examine their experiences and perceptions in the field. Parts of their reports were categorized mainly into the relationship between requested activities and perceived needs, the type of social work activities conducted, experiences of success and failure in activities, and perceived outcomes and impact of the activities. The quantitative analysis showed that approximately 48.9% of the social workers described positive outcomes of their activities and 43.9% described positive impacts of their activities on the placement or communities. The qualitative analysis revealed that they experienced a variety of difficulties, together with sociocultural and religious differences. Many of their experiences of success or failure appeared to be associated with their interactions with local stakeholders. The findings suggest the importance of the reflective and contextualized practice of international developmental social workers with local stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secularization, expansion of higher education, and urbanization have led to disenchantment with politics and the erosion of political trust in many societies. Religion may continue to be salient, however, how these forces interact with enduring religious influences to shape political trust is unclear. This paper examines the issue using Asian Barometer Survey (2001–2016) data with hierarchical age–period–cohort (HAPC) models. Our results show supportive evidence for the following findings: in East and Southeast Asia, urbanization is associated with less political trust for most religions except Islam; education is associated with less political trust; education's effect is the most salient for the atheists and Buddhists, but it disappears among the Muslims. The findings suggest the power of modernization and secularization significantly differs across cultures and religions. We should not simply perceive religion as a universally conservative force; instead, we need to understand religions through an integrated macro‐micro perspective by situating it in the social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we leverage on a case study about the governance of groundwater and the hazard of land subsidence in Yunlin, Taiwan, to address the state's political strategies of producing 'hydro‐social territories'. Our goal is to examine how local agents and their knowledge of the socio‐technological system shape groundwater use, with particular attention on how that system has changed due to the governmentalized regulation of groundwater resources as a means to mitigate land subsidence. Drawing from the local agrarian development and its tube well irrigation networks that underlie the groundwater‐scape in this research, the paper demonstrates that the 'hydro‐social territory' itself is complicated, as local farmers who rely on groundwater are never fully controlled by the state, regardless of whether or not they use groundwater for agricultural cultivation or other purposes, yet at the same time, the intention of governmentalizing the local groundwater regime is concealed and has become more concrete with the introduction of new sciences and technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on constitutional rules and their economic effects by extending focus to the de jure–de facto constitutional gap. First, evidence is provided that size of this gap matters as higher gaps lower the effectiveness of the constitutional commitment mechanism. Second, several explanations of this gap are identified, in particular relating to the democratization process, political conflict, age and comprehensiveness of the constitution. The conclusions are based on an empirical study for the unique setting of the post‐socialist countries of Europe and Asia, which all enacted new constitutional frameworks after 1989 and it is shown that in some of these countries constitutions acted as blueprints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capital inflows to and outflows from emerging market economies (EME) have increased significantly since 2000. This rapid increase, accompanied by a sharp rise in volatility, has amplified the complexity of macroeconomic management in EME. While foreign capital provides additional financing for productive investment and offers avenues for risk diversification, unbridled flows exacerbate financial and macroeconomic instability. In this paper, we focus on the experience of six emerging Asian economies (EAE) in dealing with capital flows. Using quarterly data, we identify the waves of capital flows experienced by these EAE and the efficacy of the various policy measures taken. The policy choices include negotiating the trilemma (i.e. balancing the need for monetary policy autonomy, exchange rate flexibility and capital account openness), as per the demands of the macroeconomic situation. The paper also analyses the extent to which intervention in the foreign exchange market and imposition of short‐term capital flow management measures have aided countries to negotiate the trilemma. The efficacy of these responses have been varied across countries, implying that a judicious mix of these measures, along with improvement in financial and institutional development, is required to effectively counter the vagaries of capital flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small pelagic fishes are used for human consumption, fishmeal and fish oil. They constitute 25% of global fish catch and have been of considerable conservation concern because of their intermediate position in aquatic food webs, often being a dominant dietary component of marine predators. This paper provides an overview of trends in abundance and fishing pressure on small pelagic fish stocks from single‐species scientific assessments that constitute 60% of global small pelagic catch. While most individual stocks have exhibited wide variability in abundance (typical of small pelagics compared with other fish taxa), across stocks there has been remarkable stability in average fishing pressure and biomass since 1970. On average, since 1970, the biomass of assessed small pelagic stocks is estimated to have been slightly above the biomass that would produce maximum sustainable yield, but estimation of this quantity for highly fluctuating stocks is quite uncertain. There were significant differences among assessed regions, with the Mediterranean and Black Sea of greatest concern for high and growing fishing pressure. The 40% of global small pelagic fish catch not covered by single‐species quantitative stock assessments since 1970 comes largely from Asia, where catches have continued to increase. At regional levels, the average abundance of assessed small pelagic fish is largely unrelated to average fishing pressure, which we argue results both from the portfolio effect, where numerous stocks fluctuate with little correlation in abundance, and from the short life span of small pelagics coupled with recruitment largely independent of spawning abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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