East Asian Perspective Research Articles

Prema-chandra Athukorala Comment on Rethinking “Economic Fundamentals” in an Era of Global Physical Shocks: Insights from the Philippines Experience with COVID-19

Prema-chandra Athukorala Comment on Rethinking “Economic Fundamentals” in an Era of Global Physical Shocks: Insights from the Philippines Experience with COVID-19

The interaction between gender and informal social networks: An East Asian perspective

AbstractDespite the increasing attention to gender diversity management in recent decades, there is a dearth of studies that provide an East Asian perspective on this topic. We argue that informal social networks have a crucial role in macrosocial and organisational approaches to diversity, such as social attitudes and laws, which in turn may affect organisational routines and practices of diversity management. In this article, we develop a research framework that connects gender diversity approach across macrosocial and organisational levels of analysis. Responding to the call for contextual research, our focus in this article is on how gender diversity management in East Asia is affected by informal social networks at the macrosocial level, namely guanxi in China, yongo in South Korea, and jinmyaku in Japan. Our review posits informal social networks as salient in mediating the shape and effect of institutional mechanisms at the macrosocial level on diversity practices at the organisational level.

East Asian perspectives on silence in English language education

Since the 1990s, researchers have paid increasing attention to silence among language learners in or from East Asia (e.g., Choi, 2015; King, 2013; Tsui, 1996). Systematic studies have revealed the ...

Book Review: East Asian Perspectives on Silence in English Language Education

Book Review: East Asian Perspectives on Silence in English Language Education

국제난민레짐과 유럽중심주의의 의미: 동아시아적 관점에 대한 소고

국제난민레짐과 유럽중심주의의 의미: 동아시아적 관점에 대한 소고

Introduction to the First Issue of the Journal of Chan Buddhism: East Asian and Global Perspectives

Introduction to the First Issue of the Journal of Chan Buddhism: East Asian and Global Perspectives

The legacies of Marx and Lenin in Vietnam: a historical and regional perspective

In conversation with other essays in this collection but with a focus on Vietnam within a regional East Asian perspective, this essay explores the great significance of Marxist and Leninist legacies by reviewing the historical contexts in which Marxist and Leninist movements emerged as contenders in national politics, and the creation and evolution of socialist institutions where communists took power. Those institutions helped communist regimes dominate their societies for decades and remain important today. Yet how long these regimes can survive in the face of rapidly growing demands for political freedom is an open question.

Early combination versus initial metformin monotherapy in the management of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: An East Asian perspective.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the East Asian population is characterized by phenotypes such as low body mass index, an index of β‐cell dysfunction, and higher percentage of body fat, an index of insulin resistance. These phenotypes/pathologies may predispose people to early onset of diabetes with increased risk of stroke and renal disease. Less than 50% of patients with T2D in East Asia achieve glycaemic targets recommended by national or regional guidelines, which may be attributable to knowledge and/or implementation gaps. Herein, we review the latest evidence with special reference to East Asian patients with T2D and present arguments for the need to use early combination therapy to intensify glycaemic control. This strategy is supported by the 5‐year worldwide VERIFY study, which reported better glycaemic durability in newly diagnosed patients with T2D with a mean HbA1c of 6.9% treated with early combination therapy of vildagliptin plus metformin versus those treated with initial metformin monotherapy followed by addition of vildagliptin only with worsening glycaemic control. This paradigm shift of early intensified treatment is now recommended by the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. In order to translate these evidence to practice, increased awareness and strengthening of the healthcare system are needed to diagnose and manage patients with T2D early for combination therapy.

The selection and rejection of animal face pattern tiles: The Bohai State examined from a greater East Asian perspective

Archaeological findings show that eaves tile components were already in use in the Fufeng and Qishan areas of Shaanxi Province during the Western Zhou Dynasty. As decorative elements, the composition idea and patterns of eaves tiles reflect aesthetic tastes and distinct features of regional cultures. Archaeological research at sites of the Bohai Sate, a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, have uncovered numerous eaves tiles with all kinds of patterns, except for the animal face pattern. In contrast to Bohai State sites, however, animal face pattern eaves tiles are recovered from contemporaneous sites of the Tang Dynasty, Unified Silla, and in Japan. This paper interprets this phenomenon through consideration of the influence of Tang Dyansty culture, regional cultural inheritance from the Koguryo state, as well as the prevalence of Buddhist culture. It suggests that the absence of the animal face pattern eaves tiles resulted from subjective cultural choices. While the animal face pattern was not used for on eaves tiles, it is found to be applied in the decoration of other architectural elements associated with the Bohai Culture, indicating that people have not totally rejected its use.

Husserl’s Intercultural Implication of Ethical Renewal and Theoretical Rationality: A Reappraisal from an East Asian Perspective

Husserl’s Intercultural Implication of Ethical Renewal and Theoretical Rationality: A Reappraisal from an East Asian Perspective

Sexuality, migration and family: understanding Jia and its impact on Chinese young gay men’s migration motives from a temporal perspective

ABSTRACT Based on analyses of the lived experiences and narratives of Chinese intranational migrant young gay men, this article investigates the complicated ways in which jia (family/home) motivates their migrations from a temporal perspective. I identify three temporal aspects of their migrations—life course, generation, and imagining the future. I also demonstrate the different ways in which jia motivates their migrations in relation to their past (pre-migratory experiences), their present (migratory experiences) and their future (narratives of an imagined future). I argue that by combining hetero – and homonormativity with the intersection of individualisation and familism, or, to use Yan’s term, neo-familism, the complicated role that jia plays in motivating Chinese young gay men’s migration can be better understood. By illustrating the intricate entanglements of sexuality, migration, and family, this article aims to challenge the North-centric conceptualizations of intranational queer migration and open up new possibilities to theorise queer migration from an East Asian perspective.

Factors underlying surrogate medical decision-making in middle eastern and east Asian women: a Q-methodology study

BackgroundIt is not clear how lay people prioritize the various, sometimes conflicting, interests when they make surrogate medical decisions, especially in non-Western cultures. The extent such decisions are perspective-related is also not well documented.MethodsWe explored the relative importance of 28 surrogate decision-making factors to 120 Middle-Eastern (ME) and 120 East-Asian (EA) women from three perspectives, norm-perception (N), preference as patient (P), and preference as surrogate decision-maker (S). Each respondent force-ranked (one to nine) 28 opinion-items according to each perspective. Items’ ranks were analyzed by averaging-analysis and Q-methodology.ResultsRespondents’ mean (SD) age was 33.2 (7.9) years; all ME were Muslims, 83% of EA were Christians. “Trying everything possible to save patient,” “Improving patient health,” “Patient pain and suffering,” and/or “What is in the best interests of patient” were the three most-important items, whereas “Effect of caring for patient on all patients in society,” “Effect of caring for patient on patients with same disease,” and/or “Cost to society from caring for patient” were among the three least-important items, in each ME and EA perspectives. P-perspective assigned higher mean ranks to family and surrogate’s needs and burdens-related items, and lower mean rank to “Fear of loss” than S-perspective (p<0.001). ME assigned higher mean ranks to “Medical facts” and “Surrogate own wishes for patient” and lower mean rank to “Family needs” in all perspectives (p<0.001). Q-methodology identified models that were relatively patient’s preference-, patient’s religious/spiritual beliefs-, or emotion-dependent (all perspectives); medical facts-dependent (N- and S-perspectives), financial needs-dependent (P- and S-perspectives), and family needs-dependent (P-perspective).Conclusions1) Patient’s health was more important than patient’s preference to ME and EA women; society interest was least important. 2) Family and surrogate’s needs/ burdens were more important, whereas fear of loss was less important to respondents as patients than as surrogate decision-makers. 3) Family needs were more important to EA than ME respondents, the opposite was true for medical facts and surrogate’s wishes for patient. 4) Q-methodology models that relatively emphasized various surrogate decision-making factors overlapped the ME and EA women’ three perspectives.

Establishment and Operation of Wartime Health Care System in North Korea during the Korean War and Support from the Korean Society in Yanbian.

North Korea's health care system during the Korean War has a significant meaning in North Korean medical history and is also an appropriate research topic for understanding North Korea's wartime system. However, previous studies on North Korean medical history has been focused on before and after the war. This study traces the formation and operation of North Korea's wartime health system to fill the gap in the literature, aiming to identify that the support of the North Korean community in China's Yanbian community was key to North Korea's wartime health system. North Korea reorganized its health care system, centered on the military, such as establishing field hospitals concurrently with the outbreak of the war. However, as time went on, the North Korean health care project began to put an emphasis on protecting the lives and health of the civilians behind the frontline. In addition to the primary need to prevent infectious diseases, the hygiene and prevention project functioned as a means to control and mobilize the public by emphasizing broad public participation. Although North Korea tried to meet the demand for a large medical personnel through short-term training, medical personnel were always in short supply during the war. During the war, it was the Korean society in Yanbian that replenished medical personnel in North Korea and provided a space for a relatively stable hospital operation. Numerous Koreans in Yanbian participated in the Korean War as nurses, paramedic staff, transfusion donors, and army surgeons for North Korea. Such large-scale participation of medical personnel in Yanbian was based on the long-established medical exchanges between Yanbian and North Korea. Koreans in Yanbian also accommodated North Korean wounded, refugees, and war orphans and provided various medical assistance to them. During the war, Yanbian was a "secure rear" capable of performing medical actions that could not be done in North Korea. This study has confirmed that North Korea's current participation in public health projects, which is a characteristic of its health care sector, has its origins in the Korean War. Moreover, it demonstrates that North Korea's medical history needs to be viewed from an East Asian perspective, including the Korean society in Yanbian, rather than a national-only perspective. The application of this view to the analysis of North Korean's health care system in other historical periods would facilitate richer discussions.

I Teach Nursing as a Male Nursing Educator: The East Asian Perspective, Context, and Social Cognitive Career Experiences.

Social and cultural backgrounds, as well as understanding, play key roles in workforce development and human resource shortages, which are associated with the transition to nursing education and teaching from frontline nursing practices. A qualitative method, with the direction of the general inductive approach, was employed in this study. The researcher collected information from 18 male nursing educators who switched their senior roles (from the frontline and practicing fields to nursing education) at nursing schools in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, and Malaysia. Three interview sessions were used to collect information. Three themes were merged from the information: (i) gender-oriented knowledge, teaching and learning; (ii) respect; and (iii) health promotion. More importantly, participants advocated that their male roles and identities provided uniqueness to patients, students, parents, and the general public concerning Asian customs and practices. Based on the social cognitive career theory, personal goals and achievements of career satisfaction took important roles. Although the general public may not agree with these career decisions, due to gender and social biases, participants continued to contribute their energy and knowledge in the health and social caring professions.

I Am a Nursing Student but Hate Nursing: The East Asian Perspectives between Social Expectation and Social Context.

From the East Asian social and cultural perspectives and contexts, this study aimed to understand the relationships and behaviors between nursing students’ sense of filial piety and their decision-making behind selecting nursing education as their major. Forty-two traditional-age nursing students (i.e., six men and 36 women) at their final year of a bachelor’s degree program in nursing were invited. The findings indicated that many nursing students disliked their university major and the potential career pathway as a nursing professional, as none of them selected the major based on their choice and interest. The environmental context and family’s recommendations were the major impacts to influence the decision-making process of the participants. The result also indicated that filial piety, parents’ recommendations, and elderly people’s suggestions were the key factors to influence the selections and decisions of university major and career development pathways. The study provided a blueprint for related staff and professionals to create and design career counselling and services for East Asian youths to enable life investment and development.

Human Security, Peacebuilding, and the Responsibility to Protect in East Asia

East Asia is a region deeply affected by colonial, ideological, and national wars. At the level of international governance, security organizations in the region have looked to minimize the worst manifestations of interstate conflict through emphasizing non-intervention; while domestic governance has emphasized national interest and strength in terms of security and economic growth. East Asian challenges to normative universalism can be defined in cultural, economic, and political terms. This article, however, considers not only the threats to human security in East Asia, but also the roles that East Asian actors play in protecting and promoting human security, noting that under certain conditions, East Asian perspectives may be able to secure, in terms of human security, better results than could be achieved through extra-regional intervention.

Human Security, Peacebuilding, and the Responsibility to Protect in East Asia

East Asia is a region deeply affected by colonial, ideological, and national wars. At the level of international governance, security organizations in the region have looked to minimize the worst manifestations of interstate conflict through emphasizing non-intervention; while domestic governance has emphasized national interest and strength in terms of security and economic growth. East Asian challenges to normative universalism can be defined in cultural, economic, and political terms. This article, however, considers not only the threats to human security in East Asia, but also the roles that East Asian actors play in protecting and promoting human security, noting that under certain conditions, East Asian perspectives may be able to secure, in terms of human security, better results than could be achieved through extra-regional intervention.

Transanal total mesorectal excision: current East Asian perspectives for the future

Transanal total mesorectal excision: current East Asian perspectives for the future

Paul B. Thompson and Kirill O. Thompson (eds), Agricultural Ethics in East Asian Perspective: A Transpacific Dialogue

Paul B. Thompson and Kirill O. Thompson (eds), <i>Agricultural Ethics in East Asian Perspective: A Transpacific Dialogue</i>

Phase 1 to 3 of the update of the EORTC Quality of Life Gastric module QLQ-STO22

Abstract Background The EORTC QLQ-STO22 (STO22) was developed in 2001 to measure quality of life (QOL) of gastric cancer (GC) patients and is a well validated instrument. However, there are some points worth considering. Firstly, the treatment strategies have dramatically changed since 2001. In contrast to 20 years ago, diverse combination regimens with cytotoxic drugs and molecular agents are administered for advanced GC and multidisciplinary approaches including neoadjuvant therapy and minimally invasive surgery are the mainstay of treatment. Thus, the original STO22 might not adequately assess QOL of GC patients currently treated. Secondly, specialists and patients from East Asia were not involved in the development of the STO22. Consequently, QOL issues of East Asian patients might not be reflected in the original ST022. The EORTC QOL group in collaboration with the EORTC Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer Group and the JCOG, aim to update the existing STO22. Methods Updating the STO22 consists of four steps. Pre-phase 1: literature review of studies using the ST022 in East Asia. Phase 1: Compiling an exhaustive list of relevant QOL issues captured from the literature review and interviews with patients and health care professionals. Phase 2: operationalising new issues into items to make a provisional module. Phase 3: Pilot testing the provisional updated ST022 alongside the EORTC QLQ-C30 with patients who meet the eligibility criteria from Europe and East Asia to obtain a response score for each item, together with a rating of relevance and importance. Results This study is in progress and a grant application to the EORTC QOL group is under review. An interim report from pre-phase 1 and phase 1 will be presented at the congress. Conclusions The current STO22 module might need updating to capture the QOL issues related to the new and diverse treatments and to include the East Asian perspective. The updated STO22 would be used more globally across Europe and Asia.