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In this article, we discuss the significance of English in the internationalization of higher education and international student mobility, using Kachru's (1985) Three Circles Model of World English. As education is one of the major forms of migration (Liu-Farrer, 2022; Borlongan, 2023) in the so-called 'age of migration' (cf. de Haas, Castles, & Miller, 2020), more and more students are motivated to study abroad to complete their tertiary education. First, we discuss motivating factors both for the internationalization of higher education and international student mobility. Second, we point out how English has been playing a very central role in the internationalization of higher education institutions and international student mobility (Philipson, 2010; Jenkins, 2017) among these factors. Then, we present the dynamics of international student mobility by looking at their global flow, English-medium programs, and English language proficiency requirements. While Inner Circle countries are still the most attractive destinations for most international students, Expanding Circle countries, where English is not an institutionalized medium of instruction in higher education, also value English by expanding English-medium degree programs and requiring English proficiency test scores to admission. Finally, we end the article by reiterating the dominance and utility of English in the internationalization of higher education and international student mobility and its stable position as the language of educational migration.

As Chinese shows both satellite- and verb-framed properties (Slobin, 2004; Talmy, 2012, 2016), it provides a unique lens through which to observe the extent of first-language (L1) typological influence in second language (L2) acquisition of motion expressions. This study has dual purposes. First, it extends Wu's (2016) investigation on motion expressions produced by 80 L1 satellite-framed English learners of L2 Chinese to include newly collected data produced by L1 verb-framed speakers, a sample comprised of 41 L1 Japanese learners of Chinese and 40 Japanese native speakers. Second, it synthesizes the data from both studies and comprehensively examines factors that have been proposed to affect development of L2 thinking-for-speaking (TFS) patterns. The results show that development of L2 TFS is best predicted by learners' L1 type, but the effect is mitigated by L2 proficiency. While the L1 English learners outperform L1 Japanese learners in their development of target-like L2 Chinese TFS, learners with limited L2 proficiency in both groups tend to adopt verb-framed strategies to express only the core path information of a motion event and leave out the manner details. Analysis of L1 Japanese learners' oral narratives in L1 Japanese and L2 Chinese also shows that reverse L2-to-L1 transfer is less likely to happen when learning a typologically closer L2 that requires minimal restructuring of their L1 TFS.

Mainland China's domestic academic literature on foreign issues can be regarded as a reference for its policymaking since the early stages of the "Reform and Opening Up". This investigation constructs a multi-theoretical framework for examining and interpreting mainland China's domestic academic narrative surrounding higher education internationalization in foreign countries/regions. Taking an academic journal data-based approach, it presents the findings and further discusses China's domestic disciplinary culture in the field of international higher education studies, as well as the possible impact of such narratives on its practices.

Working memory refers to the cognitive capacity to temporarily store and manipulate information from multiple sensory domains. Recent studies have shown that cognitive training can improve performance in both visual working memory and tactile working memory tasks. However, it is still unclear whether the effects of training can be transferred from one sensory modality to another. The current study assessed whether the training effect of the tactile orientation sequence task could transfer to visual orientation sequence and visuospatial working memory tasks. The results showed that participants' accuracy in the tactile orientation sequence task was significantly increased after 9 days of training compared with that before training. Remarkably, participants' accuracy in both the visual orientation sequence task and the visuospatial task was significantly improved after 9 days of training. These results suggest that it is possible to improve visual working memory through a transfer effect from tactile task training without practice in the visual domain, which opens a wide range of applications for tactile orientation sequence tasks.

The rise of augmented reality hits the world of Information, Communication and Technology which brings about the booming phenomenon of mobile games. One of hot mobile game with the successful application of augmented reality is "Pokémon Go," issued in August 2016. The uses of augmented reality not only give the gamers a new kind experience to learn new technology, but also provide a new way for teachers and learners to benefit the origins of English and its meanings of each pocket monster. Each pocket monster stands for a new word that is created by its founder. In each new word, the uses of prefix, root and suffix have been established and named, as the single-word utterances of the pokémon names are the sentences. Hence, this article aims at: (1) the overview of augmented reality and educations; (2) the applications of augmented reality into the mobile games; (3) the uses of prefix, root and suffix in learning English and pokémon languages; and (4) the experiments. A total number of 61 students were divided into the experimental group and the control group. The questionnaires, descriptive statistics, a paired-sample t-test, one sample t-test, and ANCOVA were employed into the quantitative data. The research questions were to evaluate: (1) students' learning attitudes; (2) learning satisfactions; and (3) learning achievements in order to show the differences of pre-test and post-test between the experimental group and the control group. The experimental results indicate that the experimental group had significant performances than the control group in promoting their learning attitudes, learning satisfactions and learning achievements.

Purpose: This paper traces the incorporation of western educational histories in the development of normal-school curricula during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China (1901-1944). It uses publication networks to show how the study of comparative educational history facilitated the international circulation of knowledge in the teaching profession, and how the "uses" of educational history were shaped by larger geopolitical forces. Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyzes the international exchange of texts between normal schools in China and Japan and, subsequently, between normal schools in China and the United States. A database of 107 publications in the field of western educational history that were adopted in China reveals specific patterns of textual citation, cross-reference, and canon-formation in the field of educational historiography. Findings: With conclusions derived from a combination of social network analysis and clustering analysis, this paper identifies three broad stages in China's development of normal-school curricula in comparative educational history: "Japan as Teacher," "transitional period" and "America as Teacher." Research limitations/implications -- Statistical analysis can reveal citation and reference patterns but not readers' understanding of the deeper meaning of texts -- in this case, textbooks on the subject of western educational history. In addition, the types of publications analyzed in this study are relatively limited, the articles on the history of education in journals have not become the main objects of this study. Originality/value: This paper uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to uncover the transnational circulation of knowledge in the field of comparative educational history during its formative period in China.

This study examines international brain race for world-class universities as measured by the QS World University Rankings (QS) and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, particularly in the context of Asian nations' institutional competition and benchmarking against American counterparts. Applying mixed methods with statistical analysis of time-series data from 59 nations and case study of four selected nations, the study examines the cross-national trends of global university rankings and the roles of government policies during the era of performance-driven accountability in higher education. Tracking the zero-sum game of global university rankings over the past decade, the study accounts for key driving factors that produced divergent trajectories among the nations: how and why the USA as established leader and Japan as early catch-up leader become losers, whereas China and Korea as fast followers become winners? Although the Asian catch-up model of world-class university development, high-stakes institutional competitions and targeted funding with STEM priorities contributed to their rapid growth of research productivity and rankings, it reveals major limitations and problems. Drawing cross-national lessons and implications, we discuss new directions of higher education policies and global university ranking measures.

This study examined learning strategy use in mathematics among East Asian students in East Asian educational systems. By employing latent class analysis on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 data, we found four classes of learning strategy types, namely memorization with metacognitive strategies (17.49%), metacognitive strategies with memorization (50.70%), elaboration only (10.33%), and metacognitive strategies with elaboration (16.47%). The results showed that the majority of the students in all seven East Asian educational systems belonged to the 'metacognitive strategies with memorization' class, and most students adopted more than one type of learning strategy when learning mathematics. Additionally, students who reported the use of metacognitive strategies along with either memorization or elaboration showed higher mathematics achievement. We conclude that the cognitive processes employed by students of East Asian backgrounds are more complex and nuanced than the previous perception that they relied heavily on memorization.

Cross-border higher education institutions are considered a main way to fulfill the educational internalization in Mainland China; to some extent they represent the attitude of entering the international market. In this paper, the history, status quo, and future of Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools are analyzed and discussed. Cross-border higher education institutions in Mainland China have experienced the process from accidental and disorder to a systematic and quality orientation.

This paper spotlights the twelve slogans of the Olympic Games in order to critically analyze the ideologies underlying the discourse. By taking the principles of critical discourse analysis (CDA) and Halliday's (1994) systemic-functional grammar (SFG) as analytical tools, the paper endeavours to reveal the ideology that predominates in the ruling class and that may impinge on the ways in which the slogans are constructed and elucidated. Furthermore, the images of the host countries manifested in the slogans and their attitude towards and enthusiasm for the Olympic Games are construed. Last but not least, with the rapid development of political and economic globalization, the enhanced call for friendliness and harmony is clearly shown in the linguistic structures of these slogans by analyzing them diachronically.

With a growing demand for learning English and a trend of utilizing computers in education, methods that can achieve the effectiveness of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to support language learning in higher education have been examined. However, second language factors manipulate both the process and production of CMC and, therefore, attention is required when discussing factors influencing CMC in a second language setting. This paper discusses text-based CMC in an English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) context and examines correlations between items included in CMC measures via a second language. Results show that CMC measures and second language proficiency are statistically correlated at a significant level. Some key points raised here are (1) a computer user's second language writing proficiency influences the computer communicative skills that he or she applies to the online dialogues; (2) a computer user's second language proficiency is related to his or her self-perception of the achievement on online dialogues; and (3) an EFL computer user's motivation for CMC is connected to his or her second language writing ability.

In 2008, OECD released one multi-national report about one important survey of its twenty-two member countries, the title of this report is "Improving School Leadership: Volume 1 Policy and Practice". This report analyzed one specific common trend of its members, which is the "unique gender divide among school principals and teachers". That meaning of this phenomenon is, in the context of school education in some OECD countries, the ratio of female teachers among all teachers is much higher than male teachers. However, the contrast point is, the ratio of female school principals is significant lower than male principals. This phenomenon is especially significant in the East Asia countries. For example, the percentage of female school principals is significantly lower than male principals when we observed the longitudinal trend in Taiwan. In Japan, the ratio of female teachers in primary schools is 62.7% and the ratio of female teachers in junior high schools is 54.8%, but the ratio of female primary school principals in Japan is only 17.9% of the total principals. When we look at the ratio of female principals in junior high schools in Japan, it is even lower; the ratio is only 5%. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to explore the unique gender divide among school principals and teachers in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. The research methods include document analysis and descriptive statistical analysis. The statistical data is collected from Ministry of Education in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. The supplemental data is collected from OECD dataset. This study compares the gender distribution among school teachers and principals in these three countries. In the last section of this study, we discuss the findings and their relationships with social cultures in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. Policy and practice implications are offered to rethink the hindrance of female teachers' promotion. How to enhance female teachers' participation in school leadership is another important issue for future studies.

Higher vocational education is the product of economic development, scientific and technological progress. If the country does not have a well-developed vocational education, it is impossible to make a good advanced science and technology into productive forces, it is also impossible to achieve economy development in a high speed. In turn, powers the global economy, there must be a successful higher vocational education as a support. Study on the successful experience of the development of higher vocational education in the United States, Japan, Germany, Australia and other developed countries can give us useful lessons.

"Manga" are graphic novels that are considered to have the potential to effectively convey concepts and engage readers. The efficacy of "manga" has been validated for chemical safety education to students in three universities in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. Students were asked to examine a photo to identify hazards and hazardous behaviors that can potentially lead to accidents before and after reading a "manga" that explains the risk of fires and explosions. The identified hazards/hazardous behaviors were classified into seven categories, and the average number of hazards/hazardous behaviors was determined in each category. The differences before and after the lesson were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of "manga" as an educational tool. In the students' answers, in all three of the universities, some common features were observed: Subjects easily identified certain hazardous conditions in the photo, particularly noting deficient or unsuitable personal protective equipment. The hazards/hazardous behaviors that can potentially result in ignitions, fires, and explosions were more likely to be identified after the lesson. Many students found the "manga" a helpful tool for learning chemical safety.

Since at least the 1980s, motivated, in part, by findings from international comparisons of students' mathematics achievement, some American (U.S.) educators and policy makers have initiated educational reform that focuses on improving teaching practices and curriculum designs by advocating for the adoption of Asian educational models. The implicit assumption behind such reform seems to overlook the possible roles of outside of school factors in superior academic performance in the Asian countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate how outside of school factors were related to students' TIMSS mathematics achievement for the U.S and five top-performing Asian nations or regions, and to examine whether the relative role of school-associated and outside of school factors was consistent across these five Asian countries. The results indicated that students' achievement was highly related to outside of school factors across all six countries. For Singapore and Hong Kong, school-associated factors had somewhat more salient roles than the outside of school factors. However, for Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, school-associated factors played lessor roles in students' achievement performance. As for the U.S., school-associated factors were related to students' performance, however outside of school factors clearly played more salient roles than the school-associated factors. The findings suggest that students' mathematics achievement covaries substantially with outside of school factors. Hence, students' superior mathematics achievement does not necessarily reflect only a superior public school system but also outside of school factors. (Contains 10 tables and 2 figures.)

Habu snakes (Protobothrops flavoviridis) are pit vipers found in the geographically adjacent but ecologically divergent islands of Tokunoshima and Amami-Oshima in southwestern Japan. Abiotic factors can cause variation in animal populations between the two islands, and Habu snakes may show such intraspecific physiological variation. We therefore evaluated the vasoreactivity in aortas isolated from the Habu of both islands. Tokunoshima Habu showed significantly greater contractile responses to angiotensin (Ang) II, acetylcholine (ACh) and noradrenaline, and significantly higher affinities (pEC50) for Ang II and ACh, than Amami-Oshima Habu. ACh caused contractions in aortas from both populations, a finding previously unreported in snakes. Our findings indicate that vasoreactivity may differ between Tokunoshima and Amami-Oshima Habu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the intercultural communication apprehension of university students in Japan and China, and its relationship with language competence, and self-regulation, comparing the two to those in America. A total of 614 students from Japan (N=216), China (N=215), and America (N=183) completed the questionnaire online. Our findings demonstrated that Japanese and Chinese students were higher in intercultural communication apprehension and prevention focus, while Americans were higher in promotion focus. As predicted, apart from the English language ability, self-regulatory focus explained the intercultural communication anxiety of Japanese and Chinese students. The impact of language competence on intercultural communication apprehension was mediated by promotion focus. The findings uncovered some important motivational factors with potential for mitigating the intercultural communication apprehension of students in East Asian cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to investigate the relationship between the massification of higher education, labour market and social mobility in contemporary China. Though only a short period of time has elapsed from elite to mass education, China's higher education has been characterised as a wide, pervasive massification process. Similar to other East Asian countries/economies like South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the expansion of higher education in China has also generated a great impact on labour markets and social mobility. The massification of higher education has increased college access and in general enhanced the extent of equity and equality in society. Nonetheless, the situation has become far more complex as returns of education have flattened out recently and social mobility has slowed down in general. University students have started to doubt the ability of higher education to improve their competitiveness in the job market. This, in turn, has led to a wide dissatisfaction with higher education development in China, particularly when higher education has experienced highly intensified competition in the context of world-class university movement. Realising that students from different family backgrounds may encounter diverse experiences in graduate employment and opportunity for upward social mobility, this article critically reflects upon how variations in social capital and cultural capital have impacted on graduate employment and social mobility as higher education has massively expanded in China.

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.

Since the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a number of research institutes have been sequencing and sharing high-quality severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes to trace the route of infection in Japan. To provide insight into the spread of COVID-19, we developed a web platform named SARS-CoV-2 HaploGraph to visualize the emergence timing and geographical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 haplotypes. Using data from the GISAID EpiCoV database as of June 4, 2022, we created a haplotype naming system by determining the ancestral haplotype for each epidemic wave and showed prefecture- or region-specific haplotypes in each of four waves in Japan. The SARS-CoV-2 HaploGraph allows for interactive tracking of virus evolution and of geographical prevalence of haplotypes, and aids in developing effective public health control strategies during the global pandemic. The code and the data used for this study are publicly available at: https://github.com/ktym/covid19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In August 2022, the Tohoku region of Japan suffered three major heavy rainfall events, while one was related to an anticyclone, and the others were induced by a "Baiu‐like" stationary front. By using the Lagrangian backward trajectories, we found the moisture sources of the three events varied much due to the rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. In general, moisture from the Sea of Japan contributed the most in all events, while the western Pacific also played a certain role. Surprisingly, moisture from tropical storms and the East China Sea did not contribute much due to the along‐transport precipitation. But, based on forward‐traced trajectories, we confirmed that tropical storms did enhance moisture transport from subtropical regions via their southerly wind. Overall, this study highlights the role of the moisture gains nearby and the outer flows of tropical storms during heavy rainfalls in a northern region. Plain Language Summary: Heavy rainfalls hit northern Japan (i.e., the Tohoku region) from early‐ to mid‐August 2022, which were caused by a moving high‐pressure system, a rare north‐located "Baiu‐like" stationary front, and tropical storms. The highly accumulated moisture over Tohoku was supplied by the moistening over the marginal seas and the subtropical western Pacific, while the inland region also supplied a certain amount. Surprisingly, moisture carried by tropical storms (Songda, Trases, and Meari) and that from the East China Sea did not contribute much, because they were lost due to the precipitation during the transport. Most of the moisture was obtained nearby over the Sea of Japan. On the other hand, although storms did not contribute much moisture, their related wind fields did enhance moisture transport from moist‐rich regions to the Tohoku region. Key Points: Three heavy rainfalls occurred over the Tohoku region with varied moisture sourcesMoisture gains from the nearby Sea of Japan contributed the most, while the western Pacific played a secondary roleMoisture that was carried by tropical storms did not contribute much to the events but the storm‐induced southerly wind did [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationships amongst intercultural communication apprehension, language competence, intercultural sensitivity, and global awareness of American, Chinese, and Japanese university students. A total of 584 students (198 from Japan, 188 from China, and 198 from America) responded to an online questionnaire. Results indicated that Japanese students had the highest intercultural communication apprehension, followed by Chinese and American. American students had significantly higher intercultural sensitivity and global awareness compared to Japanese and Chinese. The effect of culture on intercultural communication apprehension was mediated by language competence and intercultural sensitivity. Furthermore, for Japanese and Chinese, language competence mediated the relationship between intercultural sensitivity and intercultural communication apprehension, as well as the relationship between global awareness and intercultural communication apprehension. We discussed the results implicating the need for Japanese and Chinese students to become more apt at dealing with their rapidly internationalizing societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares two high-tech firms in terms of their differences in organizational characteristics and learning activities beyond the boundaries. It finds that the larger company continuously develops new technology to achieve long-term survival through a balance between exploration and exploitation while the smaller enterprise grows quickly by leveraging focused technology and core business. The innovation-oriented firm gives more emphasis to learning beyond its knowledge boundary and the customer-oriented firm focuses on learning beyond its organizational boundary. The two firms' sustainable development illustrates two strategies to adapt to the complexity of the external environment. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)

Background: Taiwan has implemented a national health insurance system since 1995 with high coverage and utilization rate. However, the health care system in Taiwan is facing immense challenges due to rapid population ageing. We have evaluated the landscape of population health by revisiting the results of GBD 2017 study.Methods: Taiwan vital registration data (1980-2016) and Taiwan national health insurance database (2016) were used. We also conducted benchmarking comparisons with selected countries in East Asia from 1990 to 2017.Results: The age-standardized disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) rates decreased by one-quarter from 1990 to 2017; however, progress was relatively slow compared to the comparator countries and has been stagnant recently. The Social-demographic Index (SDI) level in Taiwan in 2017 was 0.86, which is similar to Japan, Singapore, and South Korea in 2017, while the SDI level of China in 2017 was similar to that of Taiwan (0.69) in 1990. Although Taiwan's SDI reached the same level as those in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea in 2017, modifiable risk factors still contributed to nearly half of Taiwan's total disease burden. Five leading risk factors (high fasting plasma glucose, high body-mass index, alcohol use, illicit drug use, and impaired kidney function) accounted for a higher DALY rate in Taiwan than comparator countries in 2017.Conclusion: Taiwan made marked progress in health from 1990 to 2017. However, interventions targeted on major modifiable disease risk factors should be prioritized to realize the full potential of heath improvement in the process of rapid socioeconomic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose: There are scarce reports on the prognostic factors and treatment outcomes of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in Asia. This study aimed to address these matters in a real-world setting.Methods: Medical records of patients with histologically proven MPM diagnosed between 1977 and 2016 at the National Taiwan University Hospital were reviewed. Variables including age, gender, performance status, asbestos exposure, smoking history, histology subtype, staging, and treatment received were recorded. All patients were followed until death or March 1st, 2017. Survival and prognostic factors were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meir method and the Cox proportional hazard model.Results: A total of 93 patients was identified, including 65 men and 28 women. An increasing trend of MPM cases diagnosed was observed in the past 40 years. Stage I/II disease (HR 0.24, 95% CI 0.13-0.46) and epithelioid histology (HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.23-0.75) were associated with favorable prognosis, whereas age ≥70 years (HR 2.66, 95% CI 1.36-5.22) and ECOG ≥2 (HR 5.03, 95% CI 2.69-9.4) were poor prognostic factors. After adjustment for prognostic factors, surgery in stage I-III MPM (HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.15-0.83) and systemic therapy in stage III/IV disease (HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.19-0.94) conferred a survival benefit.Conclusion: This is one of the largest case series of MPM reported in Asia outside of Japan. Prognostic factors in the study population included age, performance status, stage, and histology subtype. Surgery in potentially resectable disease and systemic therapy in advanced MPM confer a survival benefit in Asian patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice blast is one of the most devastating diseases that threatens rice production in Taiwan. A rice blast forecasting model is required to guide the precise application of fungicide. Therefore, BlastGRU-TW model based on deep learning algorithms was developed in this study. The input data comprised approximately 1000 rice blast surveys, collected from 50 fields throughout Taiwan between 2014 and 2021, and the corresponding weather data retrieved from weather observation network in Taiwan. Common and easily accessible meteorological factors, i.e. temperature, humidity, precipitation, and wind, were converted into 20 daily meteorological features which were coupled with different time intervals between 1 and 30 days before survey (DBS) to train the model. The results showed that seven meteorological features (daily maximum temperature, daily mean temperature, daily minimum temperature, daily mean humidity, daily mean WV and daily mean Wu) and the interval from −4 to −24 DBS were informative in disease prediction, thereby indicating that the proposed model could predict the risk of rice blast by using meteorological data 4–24 days before new disease symptoms appeared. The proposed BlastGRU-TW model achieved an accuracy of 87.3%. Furthermore, on adding the 3 day forecast weather data from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in the proposed model, the forecast extended to 7 days ahead of the appearance of new symptoms. Moreover, the BLASTAM model developed in Japan was implemented and validated in Taiwan to evaluate its applicability in different geographical areas. Finally, a rice blast early warning system (https://mycolab.pp.nchu.edu.tw/blast%5fforecast/index%5fen.php) equipped with an interactive web-based map is now available for real-time forecasting of the risk of rice blast in paddy field across Taiwan. • Input data from 1000 rice blast surveys in Taiwan for 2014–2021. • BlastGRU-TW model for deep learning-based rice blast prediction • The model achieves an accuracy of 87.3% • The BLASTAM model developed in Japan was the first to be implemented and validated outside Japan. • Forecast results can be visualized on a user-friendly, interactive web-based map. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sea surrounds both Taiwan and Japan, but they have adopted different marine education policies. This study used the ocean literacy framework published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to examine the ocean literacy of high school students in Taiwan and Japan. We also investigated the channels through which students acquired marine biology knowledge and whether parental education level and students' attitudes toward the ocean affected ocean literacy. Tests were administered in Japanese and Chinese to assess students' ocean literacy, attitude, and background. This study used descriptive statistics, the independent sample t-test, and multigroup structural equation modeling. Taiwanese students considerably outperformed Japanese students in ocean literacy, scoring significantly higher in five of the seven ocean literacy principles. In Taiwan, higher parental education level led to higher ocean literacy scores, but not in Japan. Access to information regarding marine biology also differed by country. These results provide a reference to high schools, teachers, and policymakers in Taiwan and Japan and can help improve curricula, learning environments, and marine education policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Japan will face heavy health burden due to aging society in the future. • Climate change mitigation could bring significant health co-benefit in Japan. • Ozone concentration reduction will contribute most benefits for public health. The degradation of air quality, an environmental consequence of anthropogenic activities, poses a challenge to human health. However, the corresponding control measures incur additional costs. This study presents an analysis of the health and socioeconomic benefits of air quality control measures and climate change mitigation. Multidisciplinary modelling was used for PM 2.5 and ozone distribution to analyze the co-benefits of end-of-pipe measures and electrification as well as their period-specific impacts on human health and the economy. The results indicated that the long-term impacts of end-of-pipe technologies and electrification in Japan's residential, building, and transportation sectors could reduce premature deaths, caused by PM 2.5 and ozone pollution, by 65,500 annually from 2010 to 2050. These technologies could save a per capita work hour loss of 3.64 h and avoid an economic loss of 5.43 billion USD by 2050. This study predicted climate actions would enable western Japan to benefit from PM 2.5 control measures, whereas the entire country would benefit from ozone pollution reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A spiral multilateral well network is a promising production method to enhance long-term gas recovery from prevalent fine-grained hydrate reservoirs. However, practical application is greatly restricted before the optimal well network parameters are determined and the mechanism behind a unique phenomenon in multilateral wells, namely inter-branch interference, is clear. In this study, we numerically optimized the well configuration and spacing when spiral multilateral wells were deployed in two typical fine-grained hydrate reservoirs, i.e., ultra-low permeability hydrate reservoirs (ULPHR, <1 mD) and low-permeability hydrate reservoirs (LPHR, >1 mD). The mechanism behind inter-branch interference was innovatively revealed. The results indicated that the number of spiral branches should be increased, and equidistant branches should be deployed uniformly in the lower ULPHR or throughout LPHR to enhance production efficiency. A wide spacing of spiral multilateral wells with long branches contributed to long-term productivity in fine-grained hydrate reservoirs with any permeability; however, narrow spacing was more favorable for short branches or short-term production. Our study found three inter-branch interference stages during gas production, namely, "no effect" stage, "positive" stage, and "negative" stage; all the three stages are controlled by reservoir permeability, production distance, and production time. Owing to the "positive" interference effect, longer equal-length branches resulted in superior long-term production enhancement in ULPHR, particularly for lengths greater than 30 m. Gas production from LPHR using only two optimal spiral multilateral wells exhibited high production performance similar to that of the sandy hydrate deposits in Japan, suggesting that the optimal spiral multilateral well network is promisingly suitable for commercial production in the future. • Long-term gas production researched using a novel spiral multilateral well network. • Well network parameters optimized in two typical fine-grained hydrate reservoirs. • The mechanism behind inter-branch interference effect was firstly revealed. • Inter-branch interference depends on reservoir permeability, production distance and time. • Due to "positive" interference effect, long equal-length branch was recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depressurization method and its modified scheme may be the best way to efficiently recover marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) from the reservoir. However, the capacity of existing engineering tests still poses considerable challenges to the industrial development of NGH. The complex structure wells can effectively promote the NGH contact area to enhance the exploitation efficiency, but the influence of branch parameters on gas production performance is not well sorted out for reference when performing well type optimization. Therefore, a geological model of an ideal hydrate reservoir and 65 wellbore models were established based on the geological data from station AT1 in Nankai Trough to analyze the influence of different branch parameters on the production capacity for various well types. Results indicate that the open hole section length is heavily constrained by the size of the reservoir for a single well. Compared to the corresponding single well, the multi-branch vertical wells can increase productivity by about 2.12%–51.18%, the multi-branch horizontal wells by about 0.99%–29.75%, and the cluster horizontal wells by about 54.36%–250.66% well. Moreover, the correlation coefficients of various branch parameters were analyzed as a reference when optimizing the well type and show that the cluster horizontal well has the highest sensitivity to branch parameters, which can significantly promote gas production efficiency, and is expected to break the threshold of industrial development. • Complex structure wells were proposed to enhance gas recovery from natural gas hydrate. • A longitudinal heterogeneous reservoir model of 1010m × 1010m × 120m was established based on Japan's Nankai Trough. • Various well type cases were designed to study the influence of branch parameters on gas production. • The gas production characteristics of various well types were counted and compared. • The correlation of different branch parameters on gas production indicators was explored by Pearson's Law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The content of auspicious signs is specified in both the Tang and Japanese ceremonies, and the kinds and colors are basically alike or similar. The kinds in Tang cover 4 degrees: the superior, the high, the middle and the low-qualified; and the Japanese rites have analogical degrees. The specific colors are almost the same in the two countries. However, there is also a difference: The Japanese ceremonies add explanatory notes, which are absent in the Tang ceremonies. Are such notes unique in Japan or original in Tang? To answer this question requires further studies so as to help prove in which way Tang influenced Japan in legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anomalous seismicity patterns in epicentral and surrounding areas have been shown to occur prior to large earthquakes, although the processes determining the spatial distribution and migration patterns of such seismicity are still poorly understood. We applied the improved pattern informatics (PI) method to earthquake data maintained by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) for a broad region including northeastern inland Japan and the source area of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, in order to reveal the precursory processes of the earthquake and its related statistical features. In particular, we focused on the spatial distribution and migration patterns of PI hotspots, which highlight areas of anomalous seismic activity. Our results show that such hotspots had been approaching the epicenter of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake from 2000 until the earthquake occurred. The possibility that this result was obtained by chance was rejected at the 95% confidence level based on Molchan's error diagram. Our result supports the hypothesis that the preparatory processes of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake included anomalous seismic activity and its migration toward the epicenter of the earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: According to the Weller’s allometric model, the slope of the self-thinning exponent α x of a partial organ was calculated from the allometric constants θ x and δ x obtained from the allometric relationships of mean tree height and of organ mass density to mean organ mass . The self-thinning exponent, α x(=1/{1−(δ x + θ x)}), was estimated to be 1.519 for stem, 1.515 for branch, 1.095 for leaf, and 1.482 for aboveground. The α x-value obtained from the estimates θ x and δ x cannot be used for its significance test because these two estimators are dependent of each other. The allometric relationship of the mean occupied area per tree to gives the self-thinning exponent α xk, calculated as 1/ϕ x, which is mathematically and statistically (by ordinary least squares) equivalent to 1/{1−(δ x + θ x)}. The ϕ x -value was 0.6582 for stem, 0.6601 for branch, 0.9129 for leaf, and 0.6748 for aboveground mass. The ϕ x -value was not significantly different from 2/3, but it was significantly different from 3/4 for stem, branch, and aboveground. This means that self-thinning exponents for woody parts were not significantly different from 3/2. This result suggests that the self-thinning exponent was close to 3/2 rather than 4/3. On the other hand, the ϕ L -value for leaf was significantly different from both 2/3 and 3/4, but it was not significantly different from 1.0. This means that stand leaf biomass was constant regardless of population density. The self-thinning exponent for leaf had a negligible effect on that for aboveground because of the small amount of leaf mass compared with the combined mass of the woody organs. Therefore, the present results based on the allometric model of partial organs roughly support the 3/2 power law for aboveground self-thinning. For overcrowded Bruguiera gymnorrhiza stands, self-thinning could be explained by a simple geometric model rather than a metabolic model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of charter services on international tourism in Japan. Particularly, charter flows between Japan and China are analyzed to examine their role in Sino-Japanese tourism. The results show that charters have contributed to geographic spread of tourism destinations in China, and that they meet dispersed and seasonal travel demand from Japanese regions. Scheduled services have not been able to entirely replace charter services, but cause uneven patterns in charter services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Taiwan became a World Health Organization–defined aging country in 1993, and it is estimated to become an aged country by 2017, surpassing Japan as the fastest aging country in the world. However, healthcare services in Taiwan need a wide range of improvements to cope with the challenges of population aging. Methods: Healthcare failure mode and effects analysis (HFMEA) developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs'' National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) was used to evaluate the inconvenience of outpatient registration process for elderly patients. Also, fuzzy set theory was used along with technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method in multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) to rank the failure risks in the HFMEA. Results: The top three failure modes ranked by the TOPSIS method were “short consultation time,” “possible complications of the checkup or treatment were not told,” and “opinions and feelings of patients and relatives were not respected.” Based on those failure modes, improvements were proposed and results were feedback to hospitals. A random sample of 40 elderly patients was selected for interview at the outpatient department of a tertiary medical center in Taiwan. Thirty-seven out of the 40 elderly patients (92.5%) agreed with the executive expert team. This meant the improvement proposals were effective. Conclusion: In this study, HFMEA was extended to explore the impacts of geriatric outpatient service process failures on elderly patients. Using fuzzy set theory and the TOPSIS method in multiple criteria decision making to rank the severity of the failure modes, the risk assessment of the geriatric outpatient service process was more objective when analyzed with quantitative data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With the development of science and technology, a series of creative techniques have been proposed in Japan since 1930s. By illustrating some specific creative techniques in Japan, this paper analyzes the regional characteristics of creative techniques in Japan, namely, integration, reformism, locality, operability, specialization and simplicity. A combination of such local knowledge theories as post-colonial scientific views, philosophy of scientific practice and cultural anthropology contributes to an analysis of the regional characteristics of creative techniques in Japan which reflect the local knowledge and methods. The findings suggest that creative techniques with unique Chinese characteristics should be incubated in the Chinese local culture; hereby, the Chinese local culture deserves to be valued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: What are the skill demands of SMEs of e-business in Taiwan? Based on the need analysis of BNAM (Borich Needs Assessment Model), this survey investigates nearly 1,000 SME in Taiwan and LSE in Taiwan, Japan and U.S.A. using questionnaires comprising 71 e-commerce-related parameters. For the large-scaled enterprises, the skill demand including practical technology of e-commerce, m-commerce programming, development theory of information system, and knowledge management were highly-demand, whereas the SME viewed these skills as lowly-demanded. Although most countries fully realize the importance of the need to implement the computerized e-business into the vast majority of their businesses, somehow, the large-scaled enterprises during the economic development of a country often take the lead, and as a result the needs of SME for wanting to be technologically competitive could often be ignored. Especially, to the economic framework like Taiwan where small and medium enterprises are the economic backbone of the entire Taiwan economy, thus, how to implement computerized e-business into the entire small and medium enterprises should be the challenge and the top priority in the agenda of the government. Through this study, it is hoped that the results revealed from the different needs in skill demand required by SME and LSE could provide both academia and the government the right path with respect to fostering quality e-business professionals that can meet the skill demand of the industry they serve. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Aiming at a better understanding of heterogeneous interdependencies between destination and travel party choices in tourism, this study attempts to simultaneously represent these two choices by integrating the nested logit model with the latent class modeling approach to accommodate both types of nested model structures together. Empirical analysis confirmed the effectiveness of the developed model, using a data collected from more than 2000 tourists in Japan. It was observed that on average the two types of nested model structures are almost equally shared by samples and the model structures could significantly vary with income level and gender. Influential factors related to choices of destination and travel party were also explored. Concretely speaking, travel time, attractiveness of destination and number of tourism spots were found to be important influential factors in destination choice, and gender, age, marital status have important effects on travel party choice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Tang's style of the laws and decrees plays an important role in the state's administration management, e- conomy development, and social order design. Owing to the severe dissipative conditions, the systematic legal foundations of the Tang Dynasty are hard to recover today. Therefore, the saying that the Tang's pattern influences the relevant Japanese legislation has received numerous doubts. Recent years have witnessed successive excavations and reductions of the materi- als, which makes possible the comparison of the systems of the two countries. It is found that a correspondence exists be- tween the systems of the two countries and so transplantation is evidenced. In fact, there is an inherent relationship in be- tween. Accordingly, further proofs will change the possibility of denying the influence and hence reinforce the study per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares media relations in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. There are several significant findings. First, the media-public relations practitioner relationship is more informal and closer in Asia than it is in the U.S. Second, media ethics, such as gift giving and informal gatherings, are different in these Asian cultures and in the U.S. Finally, the U.S. journalists and public relations practitioners have more positive attitudes toward on-line types of source-reporter relations than Asian journalists and practitioners do. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed based on the findings of this comparative analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The policies of the Communist Party of China (CPC) toward Japan have experienced two major stages that are before and after the CPC's ruling power. Before the ruling period, the main policy of CPC as only a party's policy toward Japan was to mobilize all forces to resolutely oppose and defense the Japanese aggression against China, and made a significant contribution for the final victory for the anti-Japanese war. After the founding of new People's Republic of China, the CPC became the ruling party and its policy toward Japan reflected in the Party's diplomacy, but also reflected in the Government diplomacy. The CPC and the government promoted the government relations through civil society to achieve the Sino Japanese diplomatic relations. After reformation and opening up, the CPC introduced actively Japan's advanced technology and management experience as well as economic support to accelerate the modernization of China, also to promote the stable development of Sino-Japanese relations. After the Cold War ended, the Communist Party of China and the government has adapted to the changing times, and actively explored the new position and development of the Sino-Japanese relations to deepen the Sino-Japanese relations and formatted the strategic and mutually beneficial relationship of the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The technology of hot metal pretreatment had tremendous improvements in past decades and was widely used by the overwhelming majority of steelworks in Japan. While, since the first hot metal pretreatment station was established in Taiyuan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd in the later period of 1980s, this process began to be applied in domestic steel plants. And now 30 years have passed, the desilionization and dephosphorization process are still rarely seldom used in China except desulphurization process in most carbon steel plants. So in this paper, the metallurgical principles and effects of hot metal desiliconization were analyzed in great details. Meanwhile, the optimum silicon content of hot metal between iron-making and steelmaking process was summarized and calculated. The necessity of hot metal desiliconizaiton was discussed for the iron and steel companies in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We analyzed temporal changes in site response associated with the strong ground motion of the 2004 Mw 6.6 Mid-Niigata earthquake sequence in Japan. The seismic data were recorded at a site with accelerometers at the surface and a 100-m-deep borehole. We computed the empirical surface-to-borehole spectral ratios and used them to track temporal changes in the top 100 m of the crust. We observed that the peak spectral ratio decreases by 40%-60% and the peak frequency drops by 30%-70% immediately after large earthquakes. The coseismic changes are followed by apparent recoveries, with the time scale ranging from several tens to more than 100 sec. The coseismic peak frequency drop, peak spectral ratio drop, and the postseismic recovery time roughly scale with the input ground motions when the peak ground velocity is larger than ~5 cm/sec (or the peak ground acceleration is larger than ~100 Gal). Our results suggest that at a given site the input ground motion plays an important role in controlling both the coseismic change and the postseismic recovery in site response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Between January 1996 and December 2003, our department treated 16 patients (10 men and 6 women; average age 57.5 years) by performing a laminectomy for thoracic myelopathy caused by ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF). We followed up all patients for 36 to 86 months (mean follow-up time, 57.3 months). The mean (±standard deviation) Japanese Orthopaedic Association score increased from 5.0±1.4 points before the operation to 7.7±1.9 points at the last follow-up (p <0.01). The average values for pre-operative and post-operative kyphosis of the involved vertebrae were 5.8°±4.1° and 8.8°±6.0°, respectively; the mean increase in kyphosis was only 3.0°±2.4°. An intraoperative dural tear was the main complication and none of the patients developed severe neurological complications. We conclude that laminectomy was both effective and safe in the treatment of thoracic OLF, but it must be performed with great care because of frequent dural adhesions to the OLF. The increase in kyphosis after the laminectomy was minimal when most of the facet joints were left intact and when the patient followed a back extensor exercise program post-operatively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Atomic bomb survivors outside of Japan are few and often hard to follow-up. Spinal malignant lymphoma among these survivors is rare in established studies from Japan or the United States. Here, we report an 81-year-old woman, who experienced the atomic bomb explosion in Nagasaki when she was 19 years old, who presented with papillary thyroid carcinoma when she was 70 years old. Both follicular lymphoma over the right elbow region and vertebral malignant lymphoma were found when she turned 81 years old. Bone scan did not show any increased uptake of isotope. However, thoracolumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple infiltrative soft tissue masses involving vertebral bodies at the T10–11 level. Computed tomography-guided biopsy further showed lymphocyte infiltration. Fortunately, the neurological deficit was improved after chemotherapy. The diagnosis of malignant lymphoma in atomic bomb survivors should be more careful and aggressive, even when their bone scan results show negative findings. In addition, the authors suggest that atomic bomb survivors should be followed-up carefully throughout their entire life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]