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This paper draws attention to the current and possible effects of COVID-19 on the mobility trajectories of mainland Chinese students studying in Asia. By drawing on 35 biographical interviews, this paper focuses on their decision to study in Asian countries and regions. Particularly, it calls for more attention to Asia in global student mobilities and discusses whether COVID-19 has changed the position of Asia in the global landscape of student mobility. Results show that even if COVID-19 provides an opportunity for Asian universities to embrace more international students, Asia still lacks the capability to attract great numbers of them. Finally, the study argues that college students' choice of mobility destinations is shaped by their perception of the central-periphery structure of higher education, which is hard to be shaken by the pandemic.

Previous studies of East Asian welfare regimes focus on similarities between social security schemes. In contrast, this paper explores cross-national variations in public–private pension mixes in six welfare states: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Our research echoes the pension policy analysis of international organisations but takes a step forward with emphasis on the historical and institutional characteristics of the respective pension systems. The analysis identifies three institutional patterns. First, the statist pension system (Taiwan and China) primarily relies on public pensions to provide old-age security, with private pensions playing a rather minor role. Second, in the dualist pension system (Japan and Korea) both public and private pensions work in parallel to ensure retirement income, though a clear security gap exists between workers in the formal and informal economies. Finally, the individualist pension system (Hong Kong and Singapore) is characterised by genuine fully funded individual accounts, emphasising citizens' own responsibilities for ensuring old-age security. These three types of pension systems demonstrate distinct institutional characteristics and policy outcomes, illustrated by the juxtaposition of their institutional structures as well as by the comparison of key indicators collected from government reports and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development statistics. The paper concludes with a theoretical reflection of East Asian pension policies and a diagnosis of the distinct challenges confronted by each of the various pension patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 created dangerous public health conditions which pressured governments and health systems to respond in a rapid and effective manner. However, this type of rapid response required many governments to bypass standing; bureaucratic structures of health sector administration and political governance to quickly take; essential measures against a rapidly evolving public health threat. Each government's particular; configuration of governmental and health system decision-making created specific structural and functional challenges to these necessary centrally developed and coordinated strategies. Most East Asian governments (except Japan) succeeded relatively quickly in centralizing essential disease control and treatment initiatives in a timely manner. In contrast, a number of European countries, especially those with predominantly tax-based financing and politically managed health delivery systems, had greater difficulty in escaping bureaucratic governance and management constraints. Drawing on data about these governments' early stage COVID-19 control experiences, this article suggests that structural changes will be necessary if low-performing governments are to better respond to a pandemic. This paper also summarizes other relatively successful strategies. By adopting such strategies, nations can help overcome structural bureaucratic and administrative obstacles in responding to further waves of COVID-19 or similar future pandemic events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stepfamilies, an emerging family form in Asia, are gaining growing academic and social attention in Asia. This paper presents an overview of stepfamilies in Asia, based primarily on research findings in Japan, which suggest underlying two competing stepfamily models as key factors in understanding stepfamily dynamics: the "scrap and build" household model versus the expanded and interconnected network model. The findings in Japan are, then, juxtaposed with existing research findings on stepfamilies in East Asia and Singapore in terms of (a) cultural views on stepfamilies; (b) values of grandparenting, mothering, and fathering; and (c) family law and policies. Some commonalities are found in remaining influence of the "scrap and build" household model and in recent policy changes toward the expanded and interconnected network model, along with some variations, across these societies. Evidently, more studies across Asian societies are needed to obtain a clearer picture of stepfamilies in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the rise of mutual recognition regimes in Asia, focusing on some lessons from the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement. It discusses the difference of these regimes from the models in the European Union (EU) or transatlantic framework. The article concludes that mutual recognition in the region remains a continuous learning process between governments.

How much is hegemony and how much is self-determination in the higher education systems in Southeast Asia? This paper argues that while the question of centre and periphery is still relevant to the analysis of international university systems, the analytical frameworks from which it has arisen may lose viability in the long term. Southeast Asian states are making use of higher education to act in ways that will contribute to the altering of their peripheral position in the global economic and political system. While changes in Southeast Asian higher education are closely tied to global markets and follow what sometimes appears to be a dependent pattern of adaptations driven by Western developed economies, the paper argues that there is also a significant amount of resistance. As Southeast Asian countries adapt in ways that help embed economic globalisation within their national landscape, the manner in which the adaptation occurs is more selective, open, and democratic than before. Moreover, while global communication with core (centre) university systems has been more open and transparent, the system is closed to direct intervention from the outside, making hegemony a less plausible explanation for the manner in which the system is reacting within the new global environment of financial interdependency.

Recently there has been an increase in the number of students learning Mandarin Chinese (in mainland China and internationally). This increase has led to speculation that Mandarin Chinese is becoming a mainstream global language to the point of becoming a "lingua franca." This paper utilizes research findings from different regions and focal points and argues that Mandarin Chinese could be accepted as a "lingua franca" within some contexts, but is unlikely to do so in others. It argues that Mandarin Chinese is generally accepted as the "lingua franca" of China and a possible "lingua franca" within the East Asian region, while unlikely to become a "lingua franca" globally. The paper compares a number of different reasons for studying Mandarin Chinese by different stakeholders (i.e. governments, school boards, individual students) as well as comparative numbers of language learners. This paper also examines if Mandarin is the dominant and undisputed form of global Chinese. It concludes by demonstrating that there is a greater need for further research into Mandarin Chinese as a "lingua franca."

Since the late 1990s technology has become a central component of national education policies in many Asian countries. In Singapore schools, for instance, technology has become central in teaching, learning and administration. On the other hand, Japanese schooling has been largely impervious to advances in educational technology. This paper aims to stimulate discourse between policy makers, teachers, researchers and the community in Japan and internationally to consider informed, meaningful strategies required for developing suitably skilled pupils for today's Digital Age. The paper begins with a summary of Singapore's technology centric education policy, called the Masterplan for IT in Education. The Japanese context is then summarised and a number of recently proposed educational reforms are discussed. It will be argued that these reforms do not lend themselves to supporting the necessary development of digital competency required of Japanese school pupils in the 21st century. To overcome the shortcomings, strategic actions to support meaningful ICT integration in education, influenced by the Singapore experience, will be proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) emerged in Asia in 2001, with Japan and Singapore as the market leaders. South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia have also launched REITs. This paper examines these REIT markets. The paper first examines the background of macroeconomic, financial market and real estate market development. The driving forces for REIT development on the supply and demand sides, government initiatives and market obstacles are also discussed. The initial performance of Asia REITs will be reviewed and contrasted with the common stocks in the respective markets. Finally, the future prospects of Asia REITs are assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the time-series behaviour of house prices for the four Asian markets, namely, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Taipei, by using structural time-series methodology. The paper assumes two types of trend models to characterise and compare the long-run movement of house prices. It also examines the cyclical pattern hidden in the series. The long-run trend rate in these markets ranged between approximately 1.6 and 3.2 per cent per annum. Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei have relatively higher figures, which could be expected in light of the rapidly growing economies. Surprisingly, their cyclical patterns were fairly similar, although causes of the cycles differed. The markets were found to have stochastic cycles of around one year, two to four years and seven to ten years, which were consistent with previous findings on real business cycles commonly observed internationally in other macroeconomic time series. However, the found stochastic nature suggests all these markets are not in a steady state and is still changing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Provide a comprehensive overview of the solidarity in health and long-term care sectors. • The overall direction of reforms is developing toward universal coverage. • Reforms might be possible without overall consensus on solidarity. • The pay-as-you-go financial arrangements will require strong intergenerational solidarity. • The capacity of informal caregiving of family could be considered. Different from the development of health sector, there are significant variations in the underpinnings and formation timings of solidarity-based long-term care (LTC) systems. This paper compares the historical developmental trajectories and identifies factors of the transitions of the actual practices of solidarity - the scope of community, the scope of interdependence, and the costs of joint action - in the health and LTC sectors in four East Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. Comparative policy analysis. Healthcare tends to be considered a universal value such that its boundary should include all residents, while LTC is closer to an entitlement of citizens. The differing solidarity reflects path dependency as well as historical legacies and policy diffusion between the health and LTC sectors. In both health and LTC sectors, the costs involved in collective service provision are not distributed evenly between generations. Centralized governance is a prevailing feature of health and LTC sectors in East Asia, allowing solidarity-based institutional arrangements to be established without an overall sense of solidarity. The relationship between solidarity and health and LTC systems is complex and dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the holistic picture of sustainability curricula in Asian higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis was conducted based on Asian management education for sustainability in higher education. Online courses arrangement, teaching methods, instructors' educational background and cross-referencing data between triple bottom line and sustainability courses have been investigated. Findings: The paper provides empirical insights about the current state of sustainability education in Asia. The results show that there is an opportunity for interdisciplinary integration, as there are imbalanced sustainability courses offered by business, science and engineering schools. It also suggests that Asian universities should add an international connection and active promotion of sustainability education on their Web sites. Research limitations/implications: Findings are based on web-based sustainability-related courses. Future research could apply method of case study to do a deeper study. Practical implications: The paper provides an overview of Asian management education for sustainability and curricula analysis through our research, and that this will further assist in the development of interdisciplinary integration in Asian management education for sustainability. Originality/value: This paper is the first attempt to gain better understanding of sustainability-related courses offered in leading business/management colleges in Asia.

Purpose: It is still unclear how Asian universities incorporate the theory or practice of sustainable development (SD) in their research and education programmes. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to report on a study that has examined how universities in Asian countries handle and address matters related to SD. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a bibliometric analysis and an online survey-method. The online survey data were analysed through descriptive analysis and one-sample student's "t"-test. Findings: The study indicates that there is considerable variation among the Asian countries regarding sustainability practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). The HEIs in far eastern countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are perceived to demonstrate more sustainability practices. Research limitations/implications: Even though a substantial number of participants participated in the survey, it did not cover all Asian countries. The online survey was carried out over a limited period of time, and not all HEIs in the field may have received information about the study. Practical implications: Asia is the largest continent facing a number of sustainability challenges. In this context, the contribution of HEIs is very important. The findings of the current study may serve as a baseline for Asian HEIs to take more initiatives towards SD goals, as HEIs are responsible for the education and training of hundreds of thousands of students who will be occupying key positions in industry, government or education in the coming years. Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing literature in two distinct ways. First, it was possible to develop a comprehensive instrument to measure sustainability practices in HEIs. Second, this study has filled the gap of the scarcity of studies regarding sustainability practices in HEIs in Asia.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory survey as part of a presentation for the Bridging Worlds 2008 conference. It seeks to understand how library institutions in the South East Asia (SEA) region have implemented Web 2.0 technologies--blogs, RSS feeds, wikis, or the use of services like Flickr, YouTube, de.lici.ous. Design/methodology/approach: Libraries surveyed were in: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, People's Republic of China, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan. The survey relied on references in published papers, internet searches and personal contacts. Findings: The survey found that more academic libraries than public libraries were using Web 2.0. technologies. Blogs and RSS feeds were the most common. Blogs were used mainly as web publishing tools rather than as a means to engage library users. Research limitations/implications: The survey is not comprehensive. The search relied mainly on English publications and keywords, while the native language of most countries surveyed was non-English. Future research could comprehensively cover each country, by the type of library or language. Practical implications: The paper contends that Web 2.0 does not rely on technology, but more on practice and participation. The emphasis should be on relationships rather than transactions. Suggestions are offered on how libraries can adopt a Library 2.0 mindset without focusing on technology. A call is made to establish an East Asian Librarians 2.0 directory. Originality/value: The paper offers a non-technological perspective to institutions and practising professionals who are reviewing their Web 2.0 implementation.

The Asia-Pacific region has the highest number of active smokers in the world. Efforts to reduce tobacco use should implement evidence-based measures. The Association of Pacific Rim Universities is a non-profit network of more than 50 universities representing 18 economies. In 2017, it held a virtual global health case competition relating to the use of universities as platforms for tobacco control. This study is a content analysis of tobacco control proposals submitted by 24 teams from 10 economies. Content analysis of the 10-min videos examined (1) general tone and scope of videos; (2) contextual analysis; (3) intervention approaches; (4) theoretical framework; (5) primary versus secondary prevention; (6) individual versus structural approaches. Proposals were not comprehensive; most included some but not all elements recommended by the WHO FCTC. Smoking was often referred to as a 'habit' (instead of an addiction), which likely explains the predominance of individual-level behavior change interventions (smoking cessation) over structural interventions (tobacco ad or sales bans). The most common intervention was the enforcement of current bans on smoking (proposed in 78% of videos), perceived as a major barrier to tobacco control. While most proposals emphasized individual components (e.g. health education and peer support), some also proposed to create more supportive smoke-free environments through billboards, posters and cues to action, such as 'no smoking' reminders and signs with cessation hotline numbers. University faculty, students and campus-wide organizations are well positioned to lead tobacco control efforts. More work is needed to support the establishment of smoke-free campus environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a U.S. report that states that Asian nations are catching up with Europe and the United States in terms of scientific output. According to the report, in 2004, countries from the Asia Pacific region including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and India produced 25 percent of the world's research papers. By comparison, Europe produced 38 percent of the world's scientific papers, and the United States produced 33 percent. Within Asia, China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan grew the most. In China, some institutions even pay researchers extra for publications in indexed journals, especially ones that carry widely cited articles.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in Mathematics and Science Study are two highly respected studies of school pupils' academic achievement. English policy-makers have been disappointed with school children's performance on these tests, particularly in comparison to the strong results of young people from East Asia. In this paper, we provide new insight into the England--East Asia gap in school children's mathematics skills. We do so by considering how cross-national differences in math test scores change between ages 10 and 16. Our results suggest that, although average math test scores are higher in East Asian countries, this achievement gap does not increase between ages 10 and 16. We thus conclude that reforming the secondary school system may not be the most effective way for England to "catch up" with the East Asian nations in the PISA math rankings. Rather, earlier intervention, during pre-school and primary school, may be needed instead.

In Asia, families are shrinking as a result of low fertility and a decline in three-generational households. On top of that, the emerging cohort of “new” grandparents who demand freedom and their own space will have an impact on the re-structuring, functions, and expectations in intergenerational relationships. Drawn from qualitative interviews with three generations conducted in Japan and Singapore, the authors explore the diverse roles of Asian grandparents in the family and show the co-existence of contradictory roles in this article. The experiences and expectations as articulated by the grandparents, combined with voices from the link parents and grandchildren illustrate the grandparents’ over-arching principle of non-interference. However, to what extent is this principle adopted by the grandparents? And how does it co-exist with other roles and expectations? An examination of these questions underscores the dynamics and complexity of intergenerational relationships in changing Asian family contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the volatility spillover effects among six Asian country stock markets using bivariate vector autoregression-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity [VAR(p)-GARCH(1,1)] model. The six Asian countries are India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. This study found that there are statistically significant volatility spillover effects within the stock markets of these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines generalized trust and trust in institutions in Confucian Asia, covering six countries namely, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, and one dependent region, Hong Kong. Using data from the 2006 AsiaBarometer Survey, our study affirms the reliability and validity of using a two-item scale to measure generalized trust. Our analysis suggests that due to demographic differences, there are variations in the level of generalized trust of countries in Confucian Asia, despite the fact that these societies share a similar background in Confucian philosophy. The relationships between generalized trust and political trust, and between generalized trust and trust in public institutions, are weak but positive. The positive relationship between generalized trust and trust in economic institutions is only significant for some of the economies, while trust in international institutions has the weakest relationship with generalized trust for all societies. We conclude the paper with research implications.

In recent years, local and global for-profit e-learning providers have expanded in Asia. A combination of factors has encouraged such development: The accelerating roll-out of technology, the availability of sophisticated learning management systems, and the high growth rates of Internet usage by the 510 million or so Asians who now represent 39% of the world's users (Internet usage in Asia, 2007) is leading to the belief that there is a huge un- or under-exploited market for e-learning. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in 1995, has created increasing pressure for augmented efforts in opening up the existing education market (Jung, 2005a). Many Asian governments are eager to introduce market principles, constrain expenditures, widen access to higher education and professional development, and improve quality via competition. It is recognized that for-profit providers may better meet rapidly changing educational needs. This paper examines the emergence of new for-profit e-learning providers in Asia. (Contains 28 endnotes.)

In this paper, the author tries to set up the framework for understanding the qualitative change of the nature of national policies for higher education through the increasing aspects as "industry" in universities and other higher education sector. Based on this framework, the author analyses, comparatively, the national policies for higher education "industry" in three East Asian countries: Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. Thorough the examination of the policy treatments of higher education "industry" in those three countries, the author tries to argue the importance of balance between flexibility and consistency of the image and definition of higher education which is certainly getting a key position in knowledge economy. (Contains 2 figures.)

Investigates the Singapore-Japan trade relations as well as the non-tariff barriers imposed by Japan. Importance and nature of trade between Singapore and Japan; Singapore's views and perceptions of Japanese non-tariff barriers; Examples of perceived non-tariff trade barriers; Efforts and constraints in promoting exports to Japan.

The article focuses on Asian countries that have experienced economic growth over the past 50 years including Hong Kong, China; Japan; Singapore; South Korea and Taiwan. With the exception of Hong Kong, the economic success of the Asian countries has been attributed to the interventionist framework. Export-orientation is one strategy that is most associated with the success of the five Asian countries. The export-oriented strategy helped the five Asian countries in many ways. The ensuring growth of employment enabled the country to save and accumulate capital for reinvestment. The export-oriented strategy also positively affects the competitive advantages of the country. There are other non-economic factors, such as culture, the need to survive, strong government, historical factors and even luck, that could have helped in the development process of these countries. Policy-makers must know how to use the total-systems approach to solving economic problems. In other words, policy-makers must know how to analyse their economies as complex systems.