Asian International Research Articles

Access to Justice for the Chinese Consumer – Handling Consumer Disputes in Contemporary China Book Review

Given this confusing landscape, it is not surprising that China’s consumer grievance handling procedure is largely under-studied. Although it has continuously sparked intense interest among English-speaking scholars and commentators, few have had the guts and will to approach this topic in a holistic way (pp. 7, 8). Against this backdrop, Dr. Ling Zhou, currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute of International Asian Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong released Access to Justice for the Chinese Consumer – Handling Consumer Disputes in Contemporary China in 2020. The work was inspired by her PhD research done at the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, based on invaluable data collected from a year of field work of “participation observation and in-depth interviews through internships” (p.3) of important consumer organizations and administrative bodies in Shenzhen, a Southern China city of thriving technology trade and cross-border commerce. To put Shenzhen’s consumption power into a dispute resolution context, the local Consumer Council “deals with more than 20,000 complaints each year” (p.48), a number not including cases that are resolved through judicial means. Like most socio-legal work employing similar ethnographic methods, Dr. Zhou’s book was never merely about black letter law and rules that can be easily tracked down by a statutory search. It is about the living law of ongoing consumer dispute resolution practices in China and how various actors repeatedly interact with the system to shape and be shaped by this extremely vibrant process.

Asian International Students’ Construals of Well-Being and Distress

The ways in which people conceptualize and experience psychological distress and well-being are culturally grounded. This study explored conceptualizations of loss, trauma, anxiety, and well-being among international students from Asia living in the United States. Participants ( N = 24) from China, India, and other South Asian countries described community members who experienced a distressing event and were now either functioning well or not well. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze interview data, and 18 identified themes were organized in the following five domains: contextual conceptualizations of well-being and distress, value of distress, social relationships, intrapersonal factors, and other factors contributing to well or poor functioning. Findings highlighted that conceptualizations of well-being and distress not only included intrapsychic states, but were also grounded in social contexts and included the presence or absence of relational support, material resources, physical health, and academic/career achievement. Having social connections with family, friends, and community were considered vital to well-being, and disruptions in these relationships were thought to lead to distress, among other factors. Participants also reported that after experiencing a distressing event, continuing to withdraw from social relationships was an indicator of poor functioning, whereas reengaging with people and with one’s social roles was an indicator of better functioning. These findings contribute to culturally informed understanding of distress and well-being, and culturally sensitive mental health services for international students.

International students’ self-determined motivation, beliefs about classroom assessment, learning strategies, and academic adjustment in higher education

As an increasing number of international students are studying in English-speaking universities, there has been growing interest in exploring the factors and complexities that impact international students’ academic achievement and adaptation during their studies. The present study aimed to investigate how international students adapt to new academic environments in US universities by exploring the relationships between self-determined motivation, beliefs about classroom assessments, the use of self-regulatory learning strategies, and academic performance based on self-determination theory. To examine international students’ learning experiences, 321 international Asian undergraduate students at a large research-intensive midwestern university participated in an online survey. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the proposed model. The findings demonstrated that self-determined motivation in courses led to adaptive beliefs about classroom assessments, which promoted a variety of self-regulatory learning strategies, including shallow and metacognitive strategies. Metacognitive learning strategies were significantly related to students’ academic performance. This study allows us to better understand how Asian international students adapt to US academic environments through their motivation to learn, perspectives about classroom assessments, and learning strategies across different academic disciplines at the university level.

Diversity in Statistics Education at Postsecondary Institutions

Statistics classes are required for postsecondary students in a variety of majors, in addition to students who are statistics majors themselves. Although many students will experience statistics class during college, there is very little research examining the state of diversity within these classes and within statistics programs. This study uses enrollment data from a large Midwestern university as well as nationally (USA) representative data collected from the United States National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to examine the status of diversity within postsecondary statistics education. Results indicate that the distribution of statistics majors by gender is fairly equitable although females may be somewhat underrepresented. In addition, Black, Hispanic, and White students are shown to be underrepresented compared to the student population, while Asian students and International students are shown to be overrepresented among statistics majors when compared to the student population. Students majoring in the social sciences are often required to take statistics classes as well; results regarding these students indicate that males are underrepresented but that these students are fairly diverse with regard to race/ethnicity. Implications and associated pedagogical guidance are explored.

Training Experience in the US School Psychology Program: Understanding Asian International Students' Assets, Challenges, and Coping.

To address the rapidly increasing demand for culturally and linguistically diverse school psychologists and training needs for international school psychology students in the USA, this study was grounded in the risk and resilience framework and used semi-structured interviews to explore the nuanced experiences of Asian international trainees in school psychology programs in the USA. Participants included 11 Asian international students who were enrolled in or recently graduated from school psychology programs in the USA. Thematic analysis revealed that Asian international school psychology students identified some assets they have brought to the program, including their diverse perspectives and experiences, awareness and commitment to social justice, and the potential to diversify the school psychology workforce. Participants also identified several challenges they were facing, such as acculturative stress, microaggression and discrimination, training program–related issues, and working restrictions related to their visa status. Moreover, they identified some effective strategies (i.e., seeking resources and increasing internal strengths) they have used to cope with these challenges. The findings provide important implications for school psychology graduate programs in the USA to improve the training experiences and training outcomes for international students from Asia and other countries.

An investigation into the effects of extensive listening on pre-intermediate learners’ English vocabulary learning at The Asian International School

Nowadays, most learners, especially students at The Asian International School, have plenty of opportunities for learning English vocabulary from the earliest possible age. However, the students in general faced lots of difficulties in vocabulary learning. Thus, the study was conducted with the purpose to investigate to what extent extensive listening affected the students’ vocabulary learning and their listening habits. Eighty participants were chosen by using convenience sampling and divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. The two groups took a pretest to measure their vocabulary knowledge with Listening Vocabulary Levels Test. Then, besides studying the school’s formal English curriculum, the control group practiced intensive listening while the experimental group practiced extensive listening. All the participants were required to submit one listening journal each week to report what they have done as their listening habits. Finally, they took a posttest (Listening Vocabulary Levels Test) after 12 weeks practicing. The results showed that extensive listening could help to increase the participants’ receptive vocabulary knowledge significantly, including word meanings and word aural forms. Additionally, the more the participants practiced extensive listening, the higher improvement they somewhat had on receptive vocabulary knowledge. The participants tended to practice listening by using visual materials and self-selected materials in their listening habits. To sum up, extensive listening affected impressively the participants’ vocabulary learning that aspires for the study to propose suggestions for future studies so that administrators, teachers, and students could receive huge pedagogical implications of extensive listening.

Inventing the Asian community: The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival as discourse and collective performance

This article examines how the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival constructs an imagined Asian community and how spectators perform their cultural identities at screenings and on social media. By screening films from some Asian nations and diasporas and not others, and by screening a disproportionate number of films from East Asia, Reel Asian’s programming selections imply that some Asian societies are more Asian than others, and posit certain essentialized cultural practices associated with those societies as being emblematic of the Orient as a whole. At screenings and on social media, spectators position themselves either as insiders who identify with the Orient, or as westerners who imaginatively project themselves into an oriental culture through an act of sympathetic understanding. Through an analysis of the Reel Asian Film Festival, this article demonstrates how identity-based film festivals function as sites where an imagined community becomes visible to itself and the general public.

Maladaptive Perfectionism and Depression: Testing the Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Internalized Shame in an Australian Domestic and Asian International University Sample.

ObjectivesTo assess whether maladaptive perfectionism (parental and intrapersonal), mediated by self-esteem and internalized shame, lead to depressive symptoms, and to identify whether this model was invariant (i.e., structurally unchanged) across groups of Australian domestic and Asian international students.MethodsA total of 624 (308 Australian domestic and 316 Asian international undergraduate university students) completed a questionnaire on the variables of interest.ResultsAustralian domestic and Asian international students did not significantly differ in reported levels of study variables apart from parental maladaptive perfectionism, on which Australian domestic students scored significantly higher. The proposed path-model differed across student groups, with findings indicating that intrapersonal maladaptive perfectionism impacted indirectly on depressive symptoms through internalized shame in both groups, however, indirectly through self-esteem in only the Asian international student group.ConclusionIntrapersonal maladaptive perfectionism may be a culturally independent process, capable of predisposing all university students to develop depressive symptoms, but that self-esteem may be a particularly relevant mediator of this relationship among Asian international students.

A Phenomenological Study of East Asian International Students’ Experience of Counseling

Although research has identified factors associated with U.S.-based Asian international students’ psychological help-seeking attitudes, there is scant research addressing how those who have sought counseling services perceived their counseling experiences. Therefore, this is the first known qualitative study to examine the experiences of East Asian international students who had sought mental health counseling in the United States. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, the authors examined East Asian international students’ perceptions of (a) factors that facilitated or inhibited their decision to seek counseling; (b) their positive and negative experiences in counseling, and (c) the role of culture in their decision to seek counseling as well as in their overall experience of counseling. Five Chinese and four Korean international students who had sought counseling services at U.S. universities were interviewed. Six themes emerged: (1) Perceived Influence of Social Networks on the Decision to Seek Counseling, (2) Perceived Stigma, (3) Expectations of a Medical Model of Counseling, (4) Perceived Cultural Incompetence of Counselors, (5) Positive Experience of Counseling, and (6) Expectations of the Counselor’s Background. The findings provide an account of East Asian international students’ experiences of counseling that align with the extant literature on counseling in some respects but also diverge in others, thus contributing to a more complex and less stereotypical view of East Asian international students’ counseling needs.

Asian International Students and Suicide in the United States.

Asian International Students and Suicide in the United States.

Building experience, opportunities, and the resume: motivations of students participating in learning-abroad programmes through the New Colombo Plan

ABSTRACT Student mobility from countries in the Anglosphere to the Indo-Pacific has recently become a significant and growing phenomenon. While there has been a large body of literature on international Asian students’ motivations to undertake overseas study, much less has been known about the desires students from English-speaking countries such as Australia have attached to their intra-degree mobility experiences in the Indo-Pacific. This article responds to this critical gap in the literature. It is based on a research project that includes discourse analysis of government policies and 52 semi-structured interviews with staff and Australian students going to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, India, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam through the New Colombo Plan. The study draws on Bourdieu’s notions of capitals and habitus to analyse students’ motives and aspirations. The findings show that the integrated cultural, symbolic and social capitals students accrue by engaging in the Indo-Pacific through learning abroad programmes hold both strategic and transformative appeal and are centred around building experience, opportunities and the resume. While enhancing employability is one of the key drivers for some participants, many also see short-term study in the Indo-Pacific as being valuable to help them enrich their personal, cultural, experiential and professional selves. However, some are driven by the NCP programme's prestige as a unique and rare opportunity or merely by travelling as lifestyle. Regardless of the value attached to it by the students, the inclusion of learning abroad in a resume marks it as a symbolic capital, thereby giving status and providing a point of differentiation in a crowded labour market. This study provides important implications for institutions to build effective policies and practices for maximising the outcomes of learning abroad programmes.

Author's Response: Revisiting Asia's Regional Architecture

Author's Response:Revisiting Asia's Regional Architecture Andrew Yeo (bio) I am sincerely grateful to each of the roundtable participants not only for sharing insights and praise for Asia's Regional Architecture but also for using my monograph to spark further discussion regarding Asian security and the future of the Indo-Pacific order. I am pleased to continue a conversation that began as an "author meets critic" panel in Singapore at the International Studies Association's 2019 Asia-Pacific conference hosted by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. In my response, I will briefly summarize areas where the other participants and I are largely in agreement before addressing points of difference and disagreement. I identify three primary critiques. First, does the book sacrifice depth for breadth by covering too much ground and too many institutions? Second, does it make conceptual sense to describe Asia's regional architecture under a single, overarching framework? Third, is optimism for liberal internationalism misplaced in an era of "America first" and the "China dream"? I acknowledge the insights and shortcomings my colleagues note in their respective reviews, but in the "spirit of discussion" (to borrow Alice Ba's phrase), this response essay addresses their questions. A Holistic Approach to East Asian International Relations As Ralf Emmers notes, scholars too often treat East Asian international relations in a bifurcated manner. They tend to emphasize either multilateral processes and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or bilateralism and U.S. alliances. The former are more likely to incorporate the role of norms and nontraditional security issues, whereas the latter tend to focus on power and traditional security problems. Underlying this bifurcation is the regional subdivision between Southeast and Northeast Asia. There are sound theoretical and empirical reasons for creating such analytical distinctions in the study of East Asian international relations. Nevertheless, Asia's Regional Architecture was an attempt to examine East Asia as a whole. The roundtable participants generally agree that [End Page 143] more synergies exist across subregions and functional issues than is often acknowledged. The Trump administration's free and open Indo-Pacific concept and China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) further reinforce the need for a "whole of Asia" approach. Both grand strategies identify linkages across subregions—including South Asia—and highlight the economic-security nexus across Asia and the Eurasian continent. For instance, a November 2019 report on the Indo-Pacific strategy released by the U.S. Department of State articulates how U.S. investments in energy, digital economy, and infrastructure support the goals of security, economic prosperity, and good governance in Indo-Pacific countries.1 Likewise, BRI, touted by Beijing as a massive overseas investment and economic development strategy, carries clear implications for regional security.2 In short, there is merit in investigating Asia's regional architecture from a whole-of-Asia perspective. My roundtable colleagues also welcome the use of historical institutionalism to uncover elements of change and continuity in the regional architecture. The application of historical institutionalism allows room for interests, institutions, and ideas to become a part of a nuanced framework explaining Asia's evolving regional architecture. In that sense, the book provides a post-paradigmatic approach to Asian international relations. Choosing Breadth over Depth Even when adopting a holistic approach to the region, researchers must still make trade-offs between depth and breadth in their analyses. Two of the reviewers (Ralf Emmers and Alice Ba) suggest that empirical breadth outweighs theoretical depth in the book. As Ba writes, although the book is "inclusive of nearly all of Asia's actors and a wide range of diverse arrangements," its analysis does not dig as deep into the specific processes and mechanisms that result in Asia's complex patchwork of institutions. Without understanding "cognitive priors," or the bureaucratic or normative [End Page 144] commitments of individuals shaping decisions, the argument leans on a minimalist understanding of historical institutionalism. Perhaps a deeper focus on a few key ASEAN-related organizations such as the ASEAN Regional Forum or the East Asia Summit may have provided a more succinct narrative while also spelling out in greater detail the mechanisms that produce continuity and change within Asia's regional architecture...

Fisheries and conservation assessment of sharks in Pacific Panama

Abstract In Panama, shark fisheries were initially developed in the 1980s and progressively increased in production in the 1990s mainly due to the high demand for shark fins and meat from the international Asian market. Since then, and despite the exploitation rate (average 3,514 t year–1) and endangered status of some species, shark fisheries have seldom been studied, and official statistics are general or incomplete and not suitable for the development of appropriate conservation and management strategies. To understand the dynamics of shark fisheries in Panama, field surveys were conducted between 2007 and 2009 at several landing ports of small‐scale and industrial fisheries, at fish processing plants and on‐board fishing vessels in Pacific Panama, where most of the fishing vessels of the country operate. In general, it was found that the artisanal and industrial fisheries of the Pacific coast of Panama regularly exploit at least 18 species of sharks, which are also being exploited by neighbouring countries in the eastern Pacific, suggesting the importance of coordinated conservation initiatives across the multiple jurisdictions. A large number of the individuals caught were immature, implying a certain level of impact on recruitment rates. This pattern was particularly evident in species such as Sphyrna lewini, for which immature individuals represented at least 99% and 63% of the total catch by small‐scale and industrial fisheries, respectively. Catch per unit of effort analyses showed that Carcharhinus and Sphyrna species were the most exploited (representing ~80% of the catches) by industrial fisheries in Panama between 2006 and 2009, suggesting that fishery management should provide special attention to these groups. It is expected that the information presented here provides a baseline to develop new regulations, including the implementation of annual quotas and fishing seasons and the protection of nursery areas, for the long‐term sustainability and conservation of sharks in Panama.

Association between perceived public stigma and suicidal behaviors among college students of color in the U.S.

BackgroundSuicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among college students and 10 to 34-year-olds in the U.S. While rates of suicide among young people of color have increased, less is known about factors that contribute to suicidality among racial minority students who are sorely underrepresented within existing research. Thus, we sought to explore the association between perceived public stigma of receiving mental health treatment and suicidality among Black, Asian Domestic, Asian International, Latinx, Multiracial, Arab/Arab American, American Indian/Alaska Native, and White college students. MethodsWe analyzed cross-sectional survey responses from racially diverse sample of 153, 635 college students who participated in the Healthy Minds Study from years 2007–2018. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine associations between perceived public stigma and suicide ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempt. ResultsPerceived public stigma was significantly associated with greater odds of suicide ideation, planning, and attempt. Odds of having attempted suicide within the past year were significantly greater among Asian International and Black college students. Sexual minority students broadly, and bisexual students specifically, were also at elevated risk for suicidal behavior. LimitationsCross-sectional survey responses were assessed and causality cannot be determined. ConclusionsStudents who endorsed more perceived public stigma also reported significantly greater odds of having experienced suicide ideation, planning, and attempt within the past 12 months. Subsequent interventions should account for concerns surrounding public perceptions of stigma when working to prevent suicide among students of color.

Effects of Tourists’ Trust on Behaviour Intention in the Thai Tourism Market: Mediating Effects of Perceived Authenticity

Objective – The increasing growth of the Thai tourism market has resulted in international tourists flooding into Thailand and providing significant economic benefits for the country’s tourism development. The purpose of this research is to examine a comprehensive model for Thai tourism. This study aims to investigate how tourists’ trust can enhance their behaviour intentions in travelling to Thailand through perceived authenticity. Methodology/Technique – The research tests a model linking trust to authenticity, and behaviour intention to current Thai tourism. Using a convenience sampling method, a sample of 453 international Asian tourists who travelled to Thailand were surveyed. Findings – The findings show that different levels of trust directly influence tourists’ behavioural intentions, trust influences perceived authenticity, perceived authenticity further affects behaviour intention, and perceived authenticity mediates the relationship between tourists’ trust and their behavioural intention. Moreover, demographic factors moderate the effects of trust on tourists’ perceived authenticity. Novelty – The present research is expected to clarify the potential research topics in the field of Thai tourism development. Type of Paper: Empirical Keywords: Tourists’ Trust; Behaviour Intention; Perceived Authenticity; Thailand. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ya-Ping, A; Chang; Cheng-Y; Kuo. 2019. Effects of Tourists’ Trust on Behaviour Intention in the Thai Tourism Market: Mediating Effects of Perceived Authenticity, J. Mgt. Mkt. Review 4(3) 202 – 208 https://doi.org/10.35609/jmmr.2019.4.3(5) JEL Classification: M16, M30, M39.

Perceived Discrimination, Ethnic Identity, and Mental Distress Among Asian International Students in Korea

This study explored the associations between perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, and mental distress among 118 Asian international college students in Korea. Perceived discrimination and ethnic identity were included as critical factors in international students’ adaptation to living in Korea, and their associations with self-report measures of depression and anxiety were explored using canonical correlation and latent profile analysis. Based on studies identifying two types of discrimination, we explored how each discrimination type relates to mental distress. Results indicated (a) students’ perceptions of personal rejection (i.e., demeaning and overt acts of discrimination) were significantly associated with depression and anxiety, and this association was stronger than that of perceived unfair treatment, and depression and anxiety (b) students’ exploration of ethnic identity had a positive relationship with anxiety. These results suggest the need to provide additional supports for international students engaged in the exploration process. The current results also suggest that Asian international students’ adaptation experiences in Korea may differ from those international students in other countries as reported in the literature. More attention and study with international students is needed to seek possible common parameters of adaptation in diverse cultural contexts of host countries.

Psychotherapy Utilization and Presenting Concerns among International Asian and Asian American Students in a University Counseling Center

ABSTRACT Limited psychological research has disaggregated the experiences of Asian American (AA) from international Asian (IA) college students seeking psychotherapy. When combined, important differences between these groups are overlooked. We examined archival data collected from AA, IA, and European American (EA) students at a large, Western, university counseling center. Results indicated no significant differences between groups related to maximum number of psychotherapy sessions attended or likelihood of treatment discontinuance. However, we found significant differences between these groups on a number of items related to presenting concerns and to severity of presenting distress, with IA students presenting with the most distress, followed by AA, and finally EA. We also found significant differences between groups in treatment improvement, with EA students experiencing most improvement, followed by AA, and IA students. Future research should continue to investigate how specific concerns and experiences of AA and IA students are similar and different.

북한의 비핵화 여부와 동북아 국제관계 전망

북한의 비핵화 여부와 동북아 국제관계 전망

P126 Changes in Frequency of Cooking, Eating Out and the Relationship with Food Consumption of East Asian International Students in New York

Background During 2017-2018, East Asian international students accounted for 46% (n = 466, 265) of total international students in the US. Upon arrival here, they tend to face challenges regarding cooking and eating out while focusing on academic achievement and navigating a different food environment. However, how the transition takes place and how it links to current food consumption have not been explored. Objective To examine East Asian international students' changes in frequency of cooking and eating out upon arrival to the US, and the relationship with food consumption. Study Design, Settings, Participants A cross-sectional survey administered to East Asian international students (n = 511; female 67.1%; mean age 24.8 years;) at four universities in New York State. Measurable Outcome/Analysis A 14-item food frequency questionnaire using nine-point Likert scale was used to measure food consumption. Comparison between cooking and eating out in their home country and in the US were measured by descriptive statistics and t-test. Multiple regression analysis was performed to analyze how current cooking and eating out, and weekly expenditure, were related to current food consumption. Results Students cooked more frequently in the US than in their home countries (t = -19.74; P Conclusion While students tend to spend more on eating out due to busy academic schedules, cooking more often would help them eat more whole foods and less processed foods, leading to healthy food consumption while they stay here. Funding None.

An Examination of Ethnic Identity, Self-Compassion, and Acculturative Stress in Asian International Students

There is a dearth of research examining psychosocial factors that contribute to Asian international students’ acculturative stress. This study examines: (a) whether ethnic identity associates with acculturative stress, (b) whether other-group orientation mediates the relation between ethnic identity and acculturative stress, and (c) whether self-compassion moderates the relation between ethnic identity and acculturative stress. Results indicated that a stronger ethnic identity was associated with heightened acculturative stress. Self-compassion was significantly negatively associated with acculturative stress. Asian international students who strongly affiliated with their own ethnic group reported an increased openness to other ethnic groups and, in turn, reported reduced acculturative stress. Additional studies should examine other mediators that may explain the positive correlation between ethnic identity and acculturative stress.