Pacific Countries Research Articles

Enhancing employee advocacy of the firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities

PurposeThe paper aims to investigate how perceived psychological benefits from employee participation in corporate social responsibility activities affect organizational citizenship behavior across two Asia–Pacific countries with different national cultures.Design/methodology/approachA stakeholder relationship model, based on social exchange theory, underpinned the investigation that also tested the mediating role of organizational pride. In a cross-cultural context, data were collected from 319 full-time employees in Thailand and the US and analyzed with SEM-PLS.FindingsAnticipated psychological benefits of hedonic value and perceived community value were found to be significant antecedents of organizational citizenship behaviors, operationalized as customer-directed CSR advocacy. Organizational pride played a partial mediating role.Originality/valueThis study addresses a lack of micro-level CSR research into the relationship between psychological benefits of employee participation in CSR and organizational citizenship behavior. Specifically, this is the first study to link CSR drivers with customer-directed employee advocacy of the firms CSR activities. The study is also the first to compare relationships between an Asian and Western context for CSR drivers of organizational citizenship behaviors.

8th ABM/EABM European Regional Conference May 11–13, 2023 Split, Croatia

8^th ABM/EABM European Regional Conference May 11–13, 2023 Split, Croatia

Point-of-care detection of Japanese encephalitis virus biomarker in clinical samples using a portable smartphone-enabled electrochemical "Sensit" device.

Japanese encephalitis (JE), a neglected tropical zoonotic disease prevalent in south-east Asian and western pacific countries, caused by the flavivirus JE virus (JEV), has a dearth of electrochemical point-of-care (PoC) diagnostic tools available to manage endemic breakouts. To overcome this, we have developed a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) immunosensor for rapid PoC detection of JEV nonstructural 1 (NS1) antigen (Ag), found circulating in serum of infected individuals using a smartphone based portable "Sensit" device. The modification of SPCE surface with JEV NS1 antibody (Ab) was confirmed via observation of globular protein structures via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), increase in electrode surface hydrophilicity via contact angle measurement and decrease in current via differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The fabrication and testing parameters were optimized based on highest current output obtained using DPV. The SPCE was tested for detection limit of target JEV NS1 Ag ranging from 1fM to 1μM, which was determined as 0.45 fM in spiked serum. The disposable immunosensor was also found to be highly specific in detecting JEV NS1 Ag over other flaviviral NS1 Ag. Finally, the modified SPCE was clinically validated by testing 62 clinical JEV samples using both a portable miniaturized electrochemical "Sensit" device coupled with a smartphone and a laboratory-based potentiostat. The results were corroborated with gold-standard RT-PCR and showed 96.77% accuracy, 96.15% sensitivity, and 97.22% specificity. Hence, this technique may further be developed into a one-step rapid diagnostic tool for JEV, especially in rural areas.

Uses of Papaya Leaf and Seaweed Supplementations for Controlling Glucose Homeostasis in Diabetes.

Studies from laboratory animal models and complementary medical practices have implied that nutrients from special plants or herbs contain antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-obese, anti-hypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties. Seaweed and tropical papaya, which are widely available in Asian and Pacific countries, have been used as home remedies for centuries. The bioactive extracts from these plants contain vitamins A, C, B and E complexes, as well as polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, essential fatty acids, flavonoids, saponins, fucoidan, and phlorotannin. In this review, the authors examine the pathogenesis of diabetes characterized by hyperglycemia due to the dysregulation of glucose homeostasis, antidiabetic/antihyperglycemic seaweed or/and papaya derived bioactive phytochemicals and their proposed mechanisms of action in the management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). The authors also propose combining papaya and seaweed to enhance their antidiabetic effects, leveraging the advantages of herb-to-herb combination. Papaya and seaweed have demonstrated antidiabetic effects through in vitro assays, cellular models, and animal studies despite the limited clinical trials. Nutraceuticals with antidiabetic effects, such as secondary metabolites isolated from seaweed and papaya, could be combined for a synergistic effect on T2DM management. However, the application of these compounds in their purified or mixed forms require further scientific studies to evaluate their efficacy against diabetes-related complications, such as hyperlipidemia, elevated free radicals, pro-inflammatory molecules, insulin insensitivity, and the degeneration of pancreatic beta cells.

Mushroom consumption and risk of gastric cancer: a pooled analysis within the stomach cancer pooling project and a combined meta-analysis with other observational studies.

Edible mushrooms have high concentrations of vitamins and minerals. They are considered 'functional foods' for their disease-prevention properties. Mushroom consumption may reduce the risk of gastric cancer, the fifth most common cancer worldwide. We investigated the association between mushroom consumption and gastric cancer risk in a pooled analysis within the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project and in a meta-analysis that also included previously published studies. A total of 3900 gastric cancer cases and 7792 controls from 11 studies were included in the StoP analysis. Mushroom consumption was measured using food frequency questionnaires. Higher mushroom consumption was associated with a lower risk of gastric cancer [relative risk (RR) for the highest vs. lowest consumption categories, 0.82; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.71-0.95]. The corresponding RRs were 0.59 (95% CI, 0.26-1.33) in a meta-analysis of four previously published studies and 0.77 for all studies combined (95% CI, 0.63-0.95; n = 15 studies). In geographic subgroup analysis, the pooled risk in Western Pacific countries was (RR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40-0.87; n = 6). The stronger effect in Asian countries may reflect high level of antioxidants in mushroom species consumed in Asia.

The Predicament and Outlet of Environmental Impact Assessment Mechanism from the Perspective of Risk Society: Taking Japan’s Accident-Type Nuclear Sewage Disposal as a Cut-In

As an important yardstick of social modernization, nuclear technology not only promotes the in-depth development of the national economy but also hangs a sword of Damocles in the field of the risk society. Against the background of the unrest of the nuclear leakage disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Japanese government has announced its unilateral decision to discharge nuclear sewage into the sea, undoubtedly putting at least the Pacific Rim countries at huge potential risks. In order to maximize risk reduction and focus on preventive construction in advance, Japan's measures to discharge accident nuclear sewage into the sea have a legitimate basis for the application of an environmental impact assessment system. At the same time, in the process of operation, there are numerous risk dilemmas, such as lack of safety treatment standards, long follow-up disposal cycle and negative domestic supervision system, which need to be broken through one by one. The effective application of the environmental impact assessment system in the Japanese nuclear accident not only helps to reduce the environmental crisis caused by accidental nuclear effluent discharge to the sea but also has a positive and far-reaching international demonstration significance, which helps to better build a foundation of international trust and preventive guarantee system in advance for the possible accidental nuclear effluent treatment in the future.

Incentivizing community health workers for scaling up mental health care in rural communities in India: A critical look at principles that work.

Given the low availability of trained mental health professionals, there is evidence on task sharing where basic mental healthcare can be provided by trained community health workers (CHWs). A potential way to reduce the mental health care gap in rural and urban areas in India is to utilize the services of community health workers known as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). There is a paucity of literature that have evaluated incentivizing non-physician health workers (NPHWs) vis-à-vis maintaining a competent and motivated health workforce especially in the Asia and Pacific regions. The principles around what works and does not work in terms of a mix of incentive packages for CHWs, while providing for mental healthcare in rural areas have not been adequately evaluated. Moreover, performance-based incentives which are receiving increasing attention from health systems worldwide, though evidence on the effectiveness of these incentives in Pacific and Asian countries is limited. CHW programs that have shown to be effective rely on an interlinked incentive framework at the individual, community, and health system levels. Drawing learnings from the past eight years in implementing the SMART (systematic medical appraisal, referral and treatment) Mental Health Program in rural India, we critically examine some of the emerging principles in incentivizing ASHAs while scaling up mental healthcare in communities using a systems approach.

Indonesia's Interest in The South-South Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) Policy to Fiji during Joko Widodo’s 2014-2019 Government

This study was conducted to explain Indonesia's interests in the South-South Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) policy towards Fiji in the Joko Widodo administration in 2014-2019. This study uses the theory of national interest and foreign policy. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The research method is used to explain and explore Indonesia's interests through the SSTC's policy towards Fiji with three interests, namely economic, political and security interests. The results showed that Indonesia chose Fiji as a country to implement the SSTC policy because Fiji is one of the south Pacific countries, especially Melanesian countries and Indonesia still failed to carry out diplomacy with Vanuatu. Fiji is a country that has an important role in the internal organization of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), Fiji's involvement is very large in making MSG policies, because Indonesia's goal of being included in the MSG requires a major country that has an important role in the MSG, Besides Indonesia having economic interests, Fiji provides opportunities big for economic development and new market share for Indonesia in the south Pacific region, considering that this region is very strategic, this region has become the location of a trade war between China and the United States. Indonesia's strategy to gain economic, political and security interests by providing through the implementation of the SSTC policy is a form of great concern for Fiji.

Socio-economic and psychosocial determinants of violent discipline among parents in Asia Pacific countries during COVID-19: Focus on disadvantaged populations

BackgroundMobility restrictions and economic downfall as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the risk of child maltreatment, including increased risk for violent discipline use by parents. ObjectiveWe examined the socio-economic and psychosocial determinants of violent discipline among parents against children in Asia Pacific countries. Participants & settingsThis secondary data analysis included 7765 parents with children 6–18 years old in eight Asia Pacific countries. Methods24 potential determinants were identified, including household demographic factors, parents' psychosocial status, and livelihood changes. The dependent variable was parental use of violent discipline (physical, severe physical, psycho-social aggression, and any violent discipline). Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted. ResultsA total of 41 % of households reported violent discipline. Parental demographic characteristics that were positively related to use of violent discipline were living in rural areas, not being a household head, female sex, age younger than 35 years, and large family size. Poor parental mental health status, loss of job or reduced income due to COVID-19, lack of food at household level, parent engagement in petty trade, and owning a business also predicted violent discipline. Mandatory curfew and receiving pandemic-related education materials were also positive predictors. ConclusionSome socio-demographic factors, economic hardship due to COVID-19, and poor mental health status of parents are associated with the use of violent discipline against children in the Asia Pacific region. These results highlight several potential target areas for child protection interventions by governmental and non-profit organizations, including economic, social, and mental health interventions.

Overviewing the Context of Balance of Power to the South China Sea Issue in ASEAN

The issue to raise is that the South China Sea has potential resources not only natural resource but also the geostrategy and geopolitics concerns. Geographically, the sea is a waterway for any activities for Asia Pacific countries and part of it is in the region of South East Asia. The tension emerges when China unilaterally claims that the all area of SCS is part of China based on the nine-dash line of historical Chinese fishing ground drawing. The claim definitely prompts protest and condemnation from other countries which claim have the authority in the water as well. As a result, the countries in South East Asia like Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines launch their objections against China. This situation ignites another ‘world’s great power’ to intervene. The United States proclaims to form Quadrilateral Security Dialogue consisting U.S., India, Australia and Japan as the members. Indeed, the dialogue’s intention is to confront China’s activity in the waters. Therefore, the inquiry to look at is how should ASEAN play its role to create balance and stability in the waters, or extensively in the South East Asia region? To answer this question, it will observe the issue using the realism paradigm since the issue concerns the state's foreign politics and the effort to create order and stability. Through the realism paradigm, the balance of power will be the concept to address the issue. Thus, it is ASEAN’s effort of the balance of power within the conflict and domination of unilateral interests.

Predictive directional measurement volatility spillovers between the US and selected Asian Pacific countries

Predictive directional measurement volatility spillovers between the US and selected Asian Pacific countries

Health and economic benefits of achieving contraceptive and maternal health targets in Small Island Developing States in the Pacific and Caribbean

IntroductionReducing unmet need for modern contraception and expanding access to quality maternal health (MH) services are priorities for improving women’s health and economic empowerment. To support investment decisions, we estimated...

Human Capital, Trade Competitiveness and Environmental Efficiency Convergence Across Asia Pacific Countries.

This study mainly investigates 14 Asia Pacific economies' environmental efficiency. Departing from previous studies ignoring environmental technology heterogeneity, we evaluate environmental efficiency through metafrontier super epsilon based model (EBM). We compare environmental efficiency convergence across different regions via unit root test and truncated regressions. We analyze how trade competitiveness impact environmental efficiency. We also explore effect of green technology and human capital on environmental efficiency from the perspective of endogenous growth. Our findings indicate that stochastic and absolute β-convergence tendencies were confirmed. Human capital can enhance environmental efficiency convergence. Trade competitiveness showed a mixed impact on environmental efficiency convergence, confirming scale, composition and technical effects. It is better to enhance human capital, strengthening environmental regulations under international competition as well as relentlessly pursuing green industrialization across Asia Pacific countries.

Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Medical Workforce: A Case Study in a Remote Province of Indonesia.

Indonesia, one of the Asia Pacific low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), has suffered from a chronic medical workforce shortage. However, there are limited published studies describing the approaches implemented by the Indonesian government regarding the recruitment and retention of the medical workforce. This case study aimed to understand the current practices for recruitment and retention of the medical workforce in Indonesian rural and remote provinces. We conducted a case study of the Maluku Province of Indonesia with a document analysis and key informant interviews with officials responsible for medical workforce recruitment and retention. We used the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines as an analytical matrix to examine the recruitment and retention practices under the four domains of (i) educational, (ii) regulatory, (iii) financial, and (iv) professional and personal development and classified them into either University/Medical School level or Government/Non-government level. Our findings suggest that Indonesia implemented most of the WHO-recommended medical workforce recruitment and retention strategies. However, implementation is still problematic; hence, the aim of establishing an adequate, sustainable medical workforce has not been reached. Nationwide government intervention in educational aspects is important to magnify the impact of regional medical school initiatives. Relevant programmes must be re-evaluated and re-enforced concerning significance, comprehensiveness, and effectiveness for a sustainable rural and remote medical workforce.

S-31-4: STROKE BURDEN AND HYPERTENSION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION

Background: Stroke is a major cause of death and disability globally, especially in particular in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to more than 4 billion people. Among the modifiable risk factors for stroke, hypertension is the strongest, but controllable to confer large outcome benefits. Objective: To investigate the association between hypertension and stroke burden in Asia-Pacific countries. Design and Methods: Stroke burden, as defined as age- and sex-standardised disability-adjusted life-years lost (DALYs) per 100,000 persons attributed to stroke, in Asia Pacific countries was extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2010. The age- and sex-standardised prevalence (%) of hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg among adults aged 18 years or older, in these same countries was obtained from the World Health Organisation (WHO) database for 2015. Linear correlation was then estimated by calculating Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient. Results: The stroke burdens expressed in terms of DALYs were obtained for 26 countries in the Asia Pacific region. The number of DALYs varied widely. being the lowest in Australia (398.2/100,000) and New Zealand (440/100,000), and the highest in Mongolia (4,409.8/100,000) and Indonesia (3,382.2/100,000). The prevalence of hypertension, also highly variable, was lowest in South Korea (11.0%) and Singapore (14.6%), and highest in Pakistan (30.5%) and Nepal (29.6%). There was a modest positive correlation between DALYs attributed to stroke and hypertension prevalence (r = 0.49). Approximately one-quarter of the variance in the DALYs due to stroke was predictable from the variability in hypertension prevalence across the Asia-Pacific region (r2 = 0.24). Conclusion: Both the burden of stroke and hypertension prevalence vary widely among Asian Pacific countries. There is a modest positive correlation between the two parameters. A significant amount of the variability in stroke burden is attributable to the variability in hypertension prevalence.

The European Union Strategy for Partnership in the Indo-Pacific Region

The aim of the paper is to study the European Union’s geoeconomics policy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. In recent times, the Indo-Pacific has been gaining attention of the global economic powers. On this issue, the EU has launched a cooperation policy in the IndoPacific. This study examines the EU’s comprehensive strategy for the expansion of its presence in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The EU wants economic and security partnerships among the Indo-Pacific countries. Among the EU member states, the French government is much enthusiastic about strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The European Union’s policy has been operating in the regions as an instrument of soft and hard power. The research highlighted that the EU implies the construction of structural strategic networks to intensify the high capacities in the projection of power. The EU uses the key approaches of hard and soft power to achieve transatlantic goals. The comparative case study method is useful to know the objectives and results of the research. In conclusion, the EU needs to establish a much stronger relationship among the pacific countries to counter the Chinese aggression and expansion in maritime diplomacy.

Canadian-japanese relations: on the 95th anniversary of the establishment

This May marked the 95th anniversary of Canadian-Japanese diplomatic relations. Having a long history of relations, these two Pacific countries maintain quite close economic and political relations today. Now Japan is one of Canada's most important business partners. In recent decades, Ottawa and Tokyo have intensified the political dialogue that was severed during the Second World War, when Canada, along with its allies, fought against Japan. The context and events on the Canadian-Japanese vector indicate a growing trend towards rapprochement. The development of Canadian-Japanese trade and economic ties has the most favorable prospects.

A medoid-based deviation ratio index to determine the number of clusters in a dataset

Most existing methods of determining the number of groups apply to particular data types or are calculated based on the distance matrix for all object pairs. In this paper, we propose a medoid-based Deviation Ratio Index (DRI) to determine the number of clusters. The DRI is calculated based on the distance matrix for each object to k final medoids. These final medoids are produced by the block-based k-medoids algorithm (BlockD-KM). We choose a specific transformation and a suitable distance for certain variables before executing the BlockD-KM. We illustrated the detailed stages of DRI on secondary data in the 2022 environmental index of Asia Pacific countries, so that they are easy to reproduce. We use eight real datasets, namely Breast Cancer, Heart Disease, Iris, Wine, Soybean, Ionosphere, Vote, and Credit Approval data, to validate the DRI method. We compare the DRI method with the Calinski-Harabaz (CH) and the Silhouette index. The experimental results show that the DRI is 100% correct in predicting the number of clusters. While the CH index correctly predicts 62.5% and the Silhouette index of 75%. We also generated three kinds of artificial data to evaluate the proposed method, and 76.7% of the experiments were predicted correctly.•The medoid-based deviation ratio index aids the researcher in determining the number of clusters•The DRI method applicable to any medoids-based partitioning algorithm•This method is suitable for all data types (categorical, numerical, and mixed)

Reference gene selection for normalizing gene expression using quantitative real‐time PCR in Haemaphysalis longicornis

AbstractThe Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, the dominant species of Ixodidae in Korea, has a wide distribution in East Asia, far‐East Russia, and Western Pacific countries, and has recently been discovered in the Eastern states of the United States of America. H. longicornis transmits various pathogens, including Babesia ovate, Rickettsia japonica, and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV). Considering its medical importance, in order to understand the physiology of H. longicornis, it is crucial to determine the expression of the genes of interest. Although quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR) has been widely used to analyze gene expression, stably‐expressed internal reference genes across samples of different conditions should be selected for the accurate normalization of target gene expression levels. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the expression levels of five candidate reference genes, namely ACT, RPP0, RPL23, TUB, and GAPDH, in H. longicornis under different conditions, including different collection months, developmental stages, and SFTSV infection status. Using four software programs, namely, NormFinder, BestKeeper, geNorm, and RefFinder, their expression stabilities were evaluated. Subsequently, a single gene between RPL23 and RPP0 was validated, which was found to be most stable reference gene after comparing the expression levels of HSP70 determined using different normalization methods.

The tremendous household debt in Asia Pacific countries: is it determined by financial development

Since the early twentieth century, the tremendous increase in household debt has motivated researchers to find the determinant factors of this phenomenon. The paper uses data from Asia Pacific countries and dynamic heterogeneous panel method analysis to determine factors of household debt. The results find that financial development and financial institution access have a long-run positive relationship, stable and convergent with household debt. This implies that as the financial system developed, as evidenced by easy access to financial institutions, it provided some attractive financial instruments and financial markets became liquid. As a result, household debt increased due to easier access to financing and credit options that matched people's needs. However, in the short run, financial development and financial institution access do not strongly affect household debt of countries overall. Also, the real interest rate and housing price have a positive impact, and stock capital accumulation and household consumption harm household debt in the long run. Therefore, supervision of the volatility of household debt and financial development are important for sustainable economic growth.