Asian Landscape Research Articles

Parasite diversity of disease-bearing rodents of Southeast Asia: habitat determinants and effects on sexual size dimorphism and life-traits

We investigated a causal chain of relationships between habitat specialization and parasite species richness in rodent communities in Southeast Asia, and the consequences for variation in immune investment (using spleen size), the degree of sexual competition (using testes) and sexual size dimorphism (SSD). We used data gathered on rodents, their habitat specialization and their parasites (macro- and micro-parasites) in Southeast Asian landscapes. The results supported the hypotheses that parasite diversity drives the evolution of host life-traits and sexual selection. Firstly host habitat specialization explained the variation in parasite species richness. Secondly high parasite species richness was linked to host immune investment, using the relative spleen size of rodents. Thirdly according to the potential costs associated with immune investment, the relative spleen size was found to be negatively correlated with the relative size of testes among rodents. Fourthly, a positive relationship between male-biased SSD and parasite species richness was observed supporting the role of parasitism in sexual selection. Finally, the variation in SSD was positively associated with the degree of habitat specialization. Highest values of female-biased SSD were associated with habitat specialization, whereas highest values of male-biased SSD concerned synanthropic or generalist rodent species. These results, also correlative, will help to facilitate selection of the species that should be thoroughly investigated at the population level to better understand the selective effects of parasites on rodent life-history and behavior.

KIDLAT TAHIMIK AND THE DETERMINATION OF A NATIVE FILMMAKER

Studies on Christianity in Asia have been weighed down by a double burden—the commonplace of Christianity as a passive minority and an invading foreign as well as the notions of religion and secularization derived from western experience. The following essays of Forum Kritika shed both burdens by focusing on the “lived religion” of different Christian groups and leaders on the margins of Southeast Asian societies because of religious faith as well as ethnicity, status or location. Their critical analysis shows how these actors interacted with other social and cultural traditions and problematized narratives of identity linked to the dominant sociocultural ethos. These negotiations, far from being private and divorced from the institutional, point to the complex and dynamic nature of Christianity in the Asian landscape and to how Christian groups and individuals manage to hold their ground.

Cultural Landscapes in Asian Modernity

This study is to investigate the relationship between the cultural landscapes in Asia and Asian Modernity. As first variable, the cultural landscapes chosen are from the UNESCO World Heritage Listing, up to the year 2012. Modernity, the second variable, is the result of simultaneous and contradictory influences and consequences of homogenization, pluralization, and hybridization of the material and non-material items. The foundation of this study is established by studying the basic information of Asian countries, where the cultural landscapes are situated, its population and density, ethnic majority, governance system, and the nomination criteria of UNESCO. The sites are then linked to the contemporary backdrop to reveal the great diversity of the interactions between humans and their environment over the time span, to see whether they are sustaining the traditional living cultures, and to see how the current politics, socio and economic circumstances influence the sites. The analysis is based on four categories: (i) Early human settlement and spirituality (Grottos and sacred sites), (ii) Economy and cultural activity prove (plantation, mining and trading route), (iii) Ancient township and empire remains, and (iv) Intentional human intervention landscape. Out of the 17 cultural landscapes in Asia, 16 are considered highly relevant with its modernity. The cultural landscapes do contribute to ethnic or cultural identity affirmation and pride in Asia, in the probe of modernity. The analysis also prompts us to think further whether the result would be different if other continent (other than Asia) would have been adopted. The positive result indicates the urge for the relevant institutions to brainstorm on what could be done to further enhance the cultural landscapes in this modern era. The proven relationship brings out the significance in safeguarding the continuity of cultural landscape's essence amidst flow of modernity.

The new normal: from media imperialism to market liberalization – Asia’s shifting television landscapes

This article explores television landscapes in Asia two decades after the introduction of satellite television in the region. Exploring both past trends and emergent logics, it argues that whereas nation-states in Asia originally saw foreign, particularly Western, media flows as an existential threat to local culture and identity, and sought to limit them via a variety of gatekeeping mechanisms, the contemporary situation is very different. Indeed, television landscapes all over the continent are generally tilting toward greater openness and greater integration with the global television system, the discursive decline of the idea of media imperialism, and the rise of market-oriented media models, in many cases sponsored by states themselves, all over the continent.

Industry Approach to Nutrition-Based Product Development and Reformulation in Asia.

In the recent years there has been a proliferation of initiatives to classify food products according to their nutritional composition (e.g., high in fat/sugar) to better guide consumer choices and regulate the food environment. This global trend, lately introduced in Asia as well, utilizes nutrient profiling (NP) to set compositional criteria for food products. Even though the use of NP to set targets for product reformulation has been proposed for years, to date only two NP systems have been specifically developed for that purpose. The majority of the NP applications, especially in Asia, focus on marketing and/or health claim regulation, as well as front-of-pack labeling. Product reformulation has been identified, by the World Health Organization and other official bodies, as a key tool for the food industry to help address public health nutrition priorities and provide support towards the reduction of excessive dietary sugar, salt and fats. In the United Kingdom, the Responsibility Deal is an excellent example of a public-private collaborative initiative that successfully reduced the salt content of products available in the supermarkets by 20-30%, resulting in an estimated 10% reduction in salt intake at the population level. Validation of NP systems targeted towards reformulation supports the hypothesis that, by adopting them, the industry can actively support existing policies in the direction of lowering consumptions in public health-sensitive nutrients. The symposium presented a discussion on the current NP landscape in Asia, the importance of reformulation for public health and the Nestlé approach to improve the food environment in Asia through NP.

Global Ambition and Human Resource Reorientation of Indian and Malaysian Managers: Some Indicative Empirical Evidence

Transforming managerial competencies and mindsets is one of the most significant challenges facing contemporary Indian and Malaysian economies. This article provides empirical evidence demonstrating how managers in India and Malaysia are navigating the challenge of acquiring talented personnel to better facilitate central business activities in contemporary economic and cultural contexts. A salient theme of the article is that Indian and Malaysian managers are pursuing notions of human capital accumulation within a premise that the better deployment of resources is linked to an improvement in management systems and practices. The article posits that companies in the South East Asian landscapes are focusing on designing better selection and recruitment strategies to engage in continuous and innovative reform to cope with the demanding pressures of globalization.

Beyond classifications: Combining continuous and discrete approaches to better understand land-cover change within the lower Mekong River region

Human activities operating at multiple spatial and temporal scales induce changes in economic, social and demographic structures, land cover and land use, and natural resource extraction. Reciprocally, human activities are themselves influenced by the manner in which climate variation, variability in the quantity and quality of natural resources, and other processes of environmental change interact with socio-cultural systems. In order to better capture such landscape dynamics, we combine continuous satellite data with discrete land-cover classifications Specifically, we use tasselled cap analysis (TCA), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and thermal analyses of surface temperatures (Ts) to study land-cover change. In so doing, we highlight the importance, within land change science research, of moving beyond a simple classification scheme approach, and demonstrate how the integration of continuous data augments classification methodologies. In our study of a south-east Asian landscape, we find that though the dominant land-cover class in Sisaket, Thailand is rice, and in Ordar Mean Chey, Cambodia, it is forest, nevertheless the current changes in both locations follow a similar pattern. Tasselled cap (TC), surface temperature and NDVI analyses reveal these same patterns of cover: lower NDVI and TCA-Moist, and warmer temperatures in Sisaket, and higher NDVI and TCA-Moist values with cooler surface temperatures in Ordar Mean Chey. The analyses also highlight areas of substantial change, especially within-cover changes, showing how the use of means and variance surfaces for continuous satellite data can add value to a traditional land-cover analysis. Much of the significant change in these landscapes, as well as potential precursors to future changes, occurs within classes in these landscapes, suggesting that the true dynamism and variability of the social-ecological landscape is best captured by combining continuous and discrete analyses, given the importance of within-class variation.

The Analysis of the Album Tin Drum by Japan and its Intercultural and Musical Meaning

Tin Drum, released in 1981, is the fifth and final studio album by the British band Japan. The members of the band were: David Sylvian, Rob Dean, Richard Barbieri, Mick Karn and Steve Jansen. The musical style of Japan is characterized with combination of new wave, indie and electronic styles, with Asian music influence from instrumentation to subject matter. The purpose of this article is to carry out an analysis of the album Tin Drum (consisting of eight songs) based on: music analysis, that is, melody, rhythm, instrumentation, musical form, the ways of structuring different sections, musical tempo and sound effects; text analysis: content, inspiration, motifs, characters, metaphors; musical–cultural context: analyze the ways and meanings of musical and cultural influences from Asia in the work and identity of the British band Japan active in the years between 1977–1982; and video analysis: the video as visual image and escort to Japan music style (use of Asian landscapes, socio-cultural and political context). An essential feature of the style of Japan is a creation of mix between Western electro pop sound with completely distinctive music culture coming from Asia. The music base is upgraded with the song titles and content of the lyrics, visual images and video releases of certain songs.

“Asia Must Live With a China Driving for Great‐Power Status”: An Interview With Fidel V. Ramos, Former President of the Republic of the Philippines

Asian Politics & PolicyVolume 4, Issue 3 p. 437-444 “Asia Must Live With a China Driving for Great-Power Status”: An Interview With Fidel V. Ramos, Former President of the Republic of the Philippines First published: 05 July 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-0787.2012.01354.xCitations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume4, Issue3Special Issue: How China's Rise Is Changing Asia's Landscape and SeascapeJuly 2012Pages 437-444 RelatedInformation

A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia – By Aaron L. Friedberg

Asian Politics & PolicyVolume 4, Issue 3 p. 449-451 A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia – By Aaron L. Friedberg Anna Rosario Dejarlo Malindog, Anna Rosario Dejarlo Malindog People Partner for Development and Democracy, PhilippinesSearch for more papers by this author Anna Rosario Dejarlo Malindog, Anna Rosario Dejarlo Malindog People Partner for Development and Democracy, PhilippinesSearch for more papers by this author First published: 05 July 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-0787.2012.01352.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume4, Issue3Special Issue: How China's Rise Is Changing Asia's Landscape and SeascapeJuly 2012Pages 449-451 RelatedInformation

Not Quite the Diplomat? (http://the‐diplomat.com)

Asian Politics & PolicyVolume 4, Issue 3 p. 455-457 Not Quite the Diplomat? (http://the-diplomat.com) Kalvin Fung, Kalvin Fung Global Studies Institute in Hong Kong, Hong Kong SARSearch for more papers by this author Kalvin Fung, Kalvin Fung Global Studies Institute in Hong Kong, Hong Kong SARSearch for more papers by this author First published: 05 July 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-0787.2012.01355.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume4, Issue3Special Issue: How China's Rise Is Changing Asia's Landscape and SeascapeJuly 2012Pages 455-457 RelatedInformation

Looking for Balance: China, the United States, and Power Balancing in East Asia – By Steve Chan

Asian Politics & PolicyVolume 4, Issue 3 p. 445-446 Looking for Balance: China, the United States, and Power Balancing in East Asia – By Steve Chan Julio S. Amador III, Julio S. Amador III Foreign Service Institute, Republic of the PhilippinesSearch for more papers by this author Julio S. Amador III, Julio S. Amador III Foreign Service Institute, Republic of the PhilippinesSearch for more papers by this author First published: 05 July 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-0787.2012.01357.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume4, Issue3Special Issue: How China's Rise Is Changing Asia's Landscape and SeascapeJuly 2012Pages 445-446 RelatedInformation

How China's Rise Is Changing Asia's Landscape and Seascape: Introduction by the Guest Editor

How China's Rise Is Changing Asia's Landscape and Seascape: Introduction by the Guest Editor

Forest transition pathways in Asia – studies from Nepal, India, Thailand, and Cambodia

Tropical forest habitat continues to decline globally, with serious consequences for environmental sustainability. The South/Southeast Asian landscapes represent one of the most challenging parts of the world to study issues of landscape change. High population densities in the region pose major threats to forest cover. Despite presentations of supposedly catastrophic declines in forest cover, substantial areas have been observed to maintain or increase forest cover in recent years. This research draws on data from Nepal, India, Thailand, and Cambodia to examine trajectories of forest-cover change along gradients of deforestation and reforestation. The gradients we observe extend from Cambodia, a still predominantly forested landscape, with development and change at initial stages, to Nepal which, despite having experienced large-scale forest clearing in the past, has considerable reforestation in recent years. Understanding these processes is critical for policymakers working on climate change and adaptation. This research allows us to link national-scale and local-scale analyses, in terms of both their similarities and differences, and also to see changes still in progress via the inclusion of regrowth and degradation classes, not just reforestation and deforestation.

Feeding Asia in the 21st century: building urban-rural alliances: summary of the main findings of the international conference on Asian food security held in Singapore on 10–12 August 2011

With more than 60% of the world’s population, some of the fastest growing economies and only 37% of the world’s arable land and 36% of the world’s water resources, Asia’s food security challenges are formidable, to say the least. The region is currently home to six of the world’s top ten most populous countries and to half of the world’s urban population. It is thus no wonder that it plays a dominant role in the demand for global food production and inevitably in global food security. However, despite remarkable success in reducing poverty over the years, a strong agricultural sector and vibrant economic growth, pushing some Asian countries to middle income status, Asia still suffers from high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), over 60% of all the undernourished in the world, 578 million out of 925 million, live in this region with an overwhelming share (86%) belonging to middle income countries. The future is similarly disconcerting. Emerging trends occurring globally and regionally are changing the food security landscape in Asia and threatening further its ability to feed itself. Asia’s food security is under significant pressure from a variety of factors that include population growth and urbanisation, increasing affluence, the transformation of the agriculture sector, natural resource constraints, climate change, unsustainable trade practices and high and volatile food and oil prices. Regrettably, the effects of these trends endanger further the hundreds of millions of poor small farms that dominate Asian farming systems and the large number of rural households that depend on them for their existence. Small-holder farmers currently contribute roughly 25% of the overall global food production. However, they also constitute about half of the 1 billion people living in chronic hunger. In order to address the twin aims of poverty reduction and food security in Asia, governments need to urgently prioritise agriculture and make pro-poor investments, particularly if they wish to maintain stability and peace within their borders. With 80% of Asia’s poor still residing in rural areas, significant investments in agriculture R&D, extension services, smallThis report provides the summary of the main findings of the International Conference on Asian Food Security which was convened and organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in Singapore on 10–12 August 2011. The meeting brought together experts from the public, private, civil society and academic sectors. The Conference programme was purposely based around the four basic dimensions of food security: food availability, physical access, economic access and utilisation with the added driver of investment. The aim was to present and examine a broader view of the range of issues involved in ensuring food security in the region, with a particular emphasis on the dependencies between rural and urban environments and to provide policy recommendations. The conference culminated with the ‘ICAFS Statement on Feeding Asia in the 21st Century’, which is summarised at the end of this report.

The Next Frontier: National Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia. By David T. Johnson and Franklin E. Zimring. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 522 pp. $35.00 paper.

The Next Frontier: National Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia. By David T. Johnson and Franklin E. Zimring. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 522 pp. $35.00 paper. By the time the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated in 1948, there were only eight independent states that had completely abolished the death penalty. When the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was approved in 1966, there were still only 26 abolitionist countries, several of them very small states. After 1988, however, the rate of countries abolishing the death penalty increased dramatically. Today, 71 percent of states are either abolitionist in law or abolitionist in practice; that is, they no longer inflict or intend to inflict the ultimate penalty (Hood & Hoyle 2008: n.p.). A human rights dynamic, producing a new pattern of abolition, has been responsible for this extraordinary change, a dynamic that started in Europe but has recently spread to other parts of the world. In The Next Frontier, David Johnson and Franklin Zimring direct their considerable expertise toward the question of whether this dynamic is likely to assist the abolitionist cause across Asia. In doing so they consider the extent to which ''Asian values'' might impede progress across the region. The authors explore the changing penal landscape in Asia through comparative analysis and detailed case studies of certain countries. While only four Asian states (Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, and the Philippines) have so far completely abolished the death penalty, six others are now abolitionist de facto, including most recently South Korea. Johnson and Zimring focus primarily on retentionist jurisdictions in East Asia because of the high rate of executions there and becauseFas they acknowledgeFthey had to be selective, given the challenges of providing a comprehensive analysis of such a vast area. Whilst they demonstrate that China, North Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam are prolific in their use of the ultimate sanction, their comparative analyses suggest a movement away from reliance on state execution elsewhere, with the death penalty seeming to serve little more than a symbolic function in some jurisdictions. More important, they show that when authoritarian states, such as South Korea, become more democratic, recourse to capital punishment declines. So what of the explanatory power of ''Asian values''? Do some Asian states explicitly reject Western individualism and Western concepts of human rights, in preference of local cultures and traditions that place a greater value on social harmony and the good of the community? Not according to this commanding book. Johnson and Zimring show that neither culture and tradition nor crime control can adequately explain the retention of capital punishment across Asia. Instead, they turn the reader's attention to politics; they show that authoritarian state power over the people provides much of the rationale for retention. In this thesis, China, Vietnam, Singapore, and North Korea are the more aggressive users because they are authoritarian regimes. …

The Western powers and the development of regional cooperation in Southeast Asia: the international dimension, 1945–67

The creation of formal regional cooperation in Southeast Asia is generally attributed to initiatives that came from countries in the region. In particular, the creation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was a direct result of the Malaysian–Indonesian talks that ended Confrontation. Indeed, at the time many Asian leaders denied that ASEAN was the result of an outside idea or action. However, this position ignores the importance of Western financial aid in the establishment and subsequent success of ASEAN, as well as the various policy positions Western countries had taken since the end of the Second World War. This article argues that Southeast Asian regional cooperation was influenced by both Western and Asian policy and its development reflected the economic and political transformation of the Southeast Asian landscape that was taking shape at the time.

Conflicts between Amur (Siberian) tigers and humans in the Russian Far East

In 1999, the Russian Federation created a Tiger Response Team (TRT) to investigate and intervene in human–tiger conflicts. We examined data collected on human-Amur tiger ( Panthera tigris altaica) conflicts from January 2000 through February 2009 to: (1) summarize and characterize human–tiger conflicts in the area, (2) examine causes of human–tiger conflicts, and (3) attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the TRT. The team investigated 202 conflicts. Both attacks on humans and depredations were greatest in winter ( X 2 = 9, df = 3, P = 0.03 and X 2 = 64, df = 3, P < 0.001, respectively). Tiger depredation on domestic animals was the most common type of conflict reported (57%), followed by tigers near human habitations (22%), miscellaneous conflicts (12%), and attacks on humans (9%). Dogs were killed more commonly than other domestic animals (63% of 254 animals), likely because livestock were well managed. Nineteen attacks on humans were recorded resulting in 11 injuries and 2 deaths. Nearly four tigers per year ( n = 32 tigers) died, were killed, or were removed from the wild, and all but 1 of 20 tigers killed or removed from the wild by the TRT were considered unfit to survive in the wild. Attacks on humans ( n = 19) were most often (77%) by wounded tigers (80% of injuries were human-caused) and commonly provoked (47% of attacks). The effectiveness of interventions focused on reducing depredation on domestic animals was unclear, but data suggested that removal of injured and other unhealthy tigers from the wild by the Tiger Response Team resulted in fewer human deaths. Our recommendations include that the TRT continues to work to reduce conflict by rapidly removing debilitated tigers from the wild, explores different methods and technologies for reducing depredation on domestic animals, and increases their efforts to maintain tigers in the wild through telemetry monitoring, translocation, and rehabilitation of orphaned cubs. Further, standardized data should be collected to evaluate all interventions, with information from evaluation guiding an adaptive management component of their human–tiger conflict mitigation activities. This process should occur across tiger landscapes in Asia to allow rapid assessment of interventions.

India and Indonesia: Reliable Partners in an Uncertain Asia

The India-Indonesia strategic engagement is both a reflection of as well as a response to the changing politico-strategic landscape of Asia during the post-Cold War era and the first decade of the twenty-first century. The partnership has emerged out of growing concerns about prevailing strategic uncertainty in Asia and the mutual desire of benefitting from the Asian stories of growth, integration, and development. Moreover, two decades of the multi-pronged strategies of engagement under India's Look East Policy have not only broadened the canvas of the engagement but also placed the relationship in the broader strategic context of Asia, a discourse once advocated aggressively by the two leaders of the two countries—Nehru and Sukarno.

Health-related quality of life of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in Asia: how can this be improved?

The multicultural and multilinguistic landscape in Asia poses interesting challenges in the assessment and improvement of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in Asian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This article highlights some of these challenges and addresses the issue of how to improve HRQoL of these patients by: (1) framing important concepts in HRQoL in relation to the chronic relapsing nature and multisystem involvement in this condition; (2) discussing ways to improve measurement of HRQoL of SLE patients in Asia by reviewing existing HRQoL instruments (both generic (i.e. the SF-36) and disease-specific (i.e. the L-QoL, LupusQoL, SLEQoL and SLE Symptom Checklist)) and item banking; and (3) discussing approaches to improving HRQoL in SLE.