Hasil untuk "Social sciences and state - Asia (Asian studies only)"

Muhammad Rafiq-uz-Zaman

This research paper has discussed the effects of mother employment on the social behaviours, classroom interactions, and empathies development in South Punjab, Pakistan. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 200 mothers (N=200) all of whom had professional backgrounds (44 percent education, 25 percent medical field and 31 percent other fields). The social-emotional competencies of children were assessed with the help of the maternal reports with the help of the standardized measures that evaluated the social behaviour, interactions with the classmates, and empathy. Findings showed moderate levels of prosocial behaviour (M=2.17, SD=0.21), classroom interactions (M=2.23, SD=0.27) and manifestation of empathy (M=2.10, SD=0.25). The number of job hours and nature of the employment (public versus private sector) were found as important variables and the determinants of children developing socially and emotionally. The results indicate that the South Asian context of maternal employment and child development is a complex issue, and the employment status is not a leading factor that determines social-emotional outcomes of children. Rather, job quality, parental involvement and family dynamics are significant mediating factors. References Abbasi, E. A., Khurshid, D. R., & Zia, D. A. (2025). Effectiveness of play intervention on pre-school students' social emotional development as viewed from teachers' perspective in private sector schools of AJK. ACADEMIA International Journal for Social Sciences, 4(1), 305–317. https://doi.org/10.63056/ACAD.004.01.0073 Amir, T. S., & Kizilbash, S. (2024). Predicaments of married & single working mothers in Pakistan. Academy of Education and Social Sciences Review, 4(4), 505–515. https://doi.org/10.48112/aessr.v4i4.904 Arlianty, L., Setiawan, N., & Achdiani, Y. (2025). Single mother parenting in preschool children's social-emotional development. Indonesian Journal of Community and Special Needs Education, 5(1), 7–16. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijcsne.v5i1.82064 Baranov, V., Bhalotra, S., Biroli, P., & Maselko, J. (2020). Maternal depression, women's empowerment, and parental investment: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. American Economic Review, 110(3), 824–859. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20180511 Del Bono, E., Francesconi, M., Kelly, Y., & Sacker, A. (2016). Early maternal time investment and early child outcomes. The Economic Journal, 126(607), 1879–1912. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12342 Hay, D., Paine, A. L., Perra, O., Cook, K. V., Hashmi, S., Robinson, C. L., Kairis, V., & Slade, R. (2021). Prosocial and aggressive behavior: A longitudinal study. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 86(2), 1–152. https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12427 Hussain, S., & Usman, A. (2025). Social stigmatization, psychological distress and coping strategies among mothers of only female children in rural Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Adolescent Development & Social Studies, 14(2), 77–96. https://doi.org/10.62345/jads.2025.14.2.77 Izzati, A. N., Hernawati, N., & Islamiah, N. (2024). The influence of mother-child attachment and caregiver-child interaction on preschool children's social-emotional development. Journal of Child, Family and Community Studies, 3(3), 167–177. https://doi.org/10.29244/jcfcs.3.3.167 Johnson, R. C., Kalil, A., & Dunifon, R. E. (2012). Employment patterns of less-skilled workers: Links to children's behavior and academic progress. Demography, 49(2), 305–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-011-0086-4 NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2001). Child care and children's peer interaction at 24 and 36 months: The NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Child Development, 72(5), 1478–1500. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00361 Qudsi, H. A., & Rizkillah, R. (2023). The social support, maternal stress, and social-emotional development of preschool children among working mothers family during COVID-19. Journal of Family Sciences, 8(1), 42737–42747. https://doi.org/10.29244/jfs.v8i1.42737 Rashdi, S. M. F., Agha, N., & Hina, B. (2025). The impact of maternal employment on children's educational attainment at primary school level: A sociological study of working mothers in Khairpur City. Inverge Journal of Social Sciences, 4(3), 288–297. https://doi.org/10.63544/ijss.v4i3.167 Sun, J., Liu, J., Liu, M., Feng, Y., & Li, Y. (2023). Maternal warmth and prosocial behaviors among Chinese preschool children: The roles of social competence sibling presence. Early Child Development and Care, 193(2), 2200338–2200351. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2023.2200338 Thabrew, K. C. (2022). Study on how maternal bonding and emotionality of employed women affects work productivity and child development. Sri Lanka Journal of Social Development, 2(1), 14–32. https://doi.org/10.4038/sljsd.v2i1.14 Thomas, S., Kägström, A., Eichas, K., Inam, A., Ferrer-Wreder, L., & Eninger, L. (2023). Children's social emotional competence in Pakistan and Sweden: Factor structure and measurement invariance of the Social Competence Scale (teacher edition). Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1020963. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1020963 Waldfogel, J., Han, W.-J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2002). The effects of early maternal employment on child cognitive development. Demography, 39(2), 369–392. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2002.0021

Zhiye Jin, Yibai Li, K. D. Joshi et al.

This study presents the development of the PsyCogMetrics AI Lab (psycogmetrics.ai), an integrated, cloud-based platform that operationalizes psychometric and cognitive-science methodologies for Large Language Model (LLM) evaluation. Framed as a three-cycle Action Design Science study, the Relevance Cycle identifies key limitations in current evaluation methods and unfulfilled stakeholder needs. The Rigor Cycle draws on kernel theories such as Popperian falsifiability, Classical Test Theory, and Cognitive Load Theory to derive deductive design objectives. The Design Cycle operationalizes these objectives through nested Build-Intervene-Evaluate loops. The study contributes a novel IT artifact, a validated design for LLM evaluation, benefiting research at the intersection of AI, psychology, cognitive science, and the social and behavioral sciences.

Catalina Stanciu

The aim of this paper is to discuss the representations of Zainichi (the Korean Diaspora in Japan) and other peripheral identities in Min Jin Lee’s novel Pachinko (2017). The paper will focus on the intersection between diaspora, as well as other marginal categories, and vulnerability. Regarded here as contiguous to the field of diaspora, the paradigm of vulnerability will be explored according to its multiple facets, while suggesting that layered vulnerabilities fabricate the psyche of the characters in the novel. Apart from the (trans)generational trauma and the vulnerability that the Zainichi family faces in the novel, it is important to verify whether or how the writer opens up space for resistance, forms of empowerment or solidarity. In other words, the following question will be posed: is there something more than vulnerability and trauma that defines marginal identities? Lastly, in distinguishing between diasporic and peripheral identities, a few main and secondary characters will be discussed in parallel in order to explore the dynamic interplay between periphery and centre.

Yunzhang Ji

The article focuses on the characteristics and dynamics of migration processes in post-Soviet Central Asia, covering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, from the 1990s to the present. It examines both internal and external migration flows, including their socio-economic, political, and cultural factors. Special attention is paid to labor migration, which is currently the most widespread form of population movement caused by economic imbalances, unemployment rates, and uneven development in the region. The subject of analysis is the key areas of migration, among which Russia plays a special role as the main host country, as well as countries such as Kazakhstan, Turkey, and the Gulf States. The study examines the impact of migration on demographic development, the labor market, the functioning of social institutions, and the formation of national identity. It is noted that migration processes in Central Asia are complex and multi-layered, with economic, political, and cultural factors intersecting. Migration has become not only a consequence of the systemic crises of the transition period, but also a means of adaptation to global socio-economic changes. Special attention is paid to current migration trends, such as the increasing proportion of women among migrants, the problem of brain drain, the growth of transnational communities, and the role of remittances in supporting the economies of labor-exporting countries. The article also examines aspects of state migration policies, international cooperation, and the protection of migrants' rights. In conclusion, it is concluded that migration processes in Central Asia are closely related to globalization, integration processes, and regional security. Understanding migration as a multifaceted social phenomenon allows for a deeper understanding of the current challenges and prospects for sustainable development in the region

S. Okutayeva, G. Baibash, Gulzhan Kadyrova et al.

The purpose of the study was to examine social entrepreneurship as a means of employment for socially vulnerable population groups in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A contextual analysis of the national labour market was conducted using the PEST framework and statistical data from the Bureau of National Statistics, the Asia Pacific Career Development Association, and the World Bank Group. The cases of three social enterprises in Kazakhstan, Green TAL, Garbar Group, and Kunde, were also analysed. The contextual analysis demonstrated that despite a relatively low average annual unemployment rate of 3.3-3.6%, certain categories of the working-age population remain the least competitive in terms of receiving job offers, earning competitive wages, or achieving career advancement. These categories include graduates of vocational and higher education institutions without work experience, women, and persons with physical disabilities. The case studies demonstrated the high potential of socially oriented enterprises in addressing systemic social issues, including job creation, training and retraining of specialists, elevating the status of specific professions, and reducing property inequality. Several strategy groups were developed to enhance the effectiveness of social enterprises in employing vulnerable population groups: expansion of state support and regulatory frameworks for social entrepreneurship; development of a financial and investment support system for socially oriented enterprises; educational and advisory initiatives aimed at increasing awareness of the prospects of social entrepreneurship; and the development of partnerships and infrastructure in the field of social enterprise. The findings may be used to improve the performance of socially oriented enterprises, the activities of which have only been legally regulated since 2021

Charlotte Ciavarella

This article examines how the labor and community structures of female skin-divers, the Japanese ama and Korean haenyeo, believed to exemplify the primitive ability to adapt to extreme climates, became staple research subjects for global adaptation-resilience science. In the context of development studies, adaptation-resilience discourse has been seen as reflecting the emergence of neoliberal governmentality. In contrast, this article frames adaptation-resilience as a reactionary technological response that emerges in times of scarcity and crisis. This article demonstrates how the discourse can be traced back to interwar Japanese physiologists, who saw themselves as rescuing Japan from the ills of modernity through a socio-biological development program that drew on the diver’s adaptability as a means to create subjects not only capable of surviving extreme deprivation but willing to do so in the service of the community and the state. These scientists and their research were taken up uncritically in the postwar by international science and development organizations, who found in them a shared vision of a labor-intensive and low ecological impact model of community-rooted development that offered a sustainable and healthier alternative to capitalism, one that could help humanity overcome crises of modern excess such as climate change. However, sustainability meant the valorization of absolute austerity as a development goal, ruling out relief for suffering marginalized populations. This article therefore suggests that resiliency-based development entraps its subjects in a regime of self-exploitation that forces them into a constant state of emergency, paradoxically deepening their vulnerability in the process.

Esra SİPAHİ DÖNGÜL, Hatice Öztürk

Purpose Social welfare, while it expresses the general well-being, happiness and quality of life of individuals and society, can also affect the social, economic and psychological situations of individuals and society. It is aimed at examining in detail the research trends and developments regarding the concept of social welfare within the scope of international research in the literature.Design/methodology/approach In this study, the bibliometric analysis of the studies published between 1991 and 2023 on the concept of social welfare in the Web of Science (WOS) was analyzed with the VOSviewer (Version 1.6.9) package program.Findings This study indicates that 3,276 works on the topic of “Social Welfare” were produced. Examining the year-based distribution, 2021 has the most publications (381 works), making it the year with the highest number. Journal articles have the most publishing types, with 2,974 works. There are 3,276 published works, all in English. Upon analysis of the most frequently used keywords that were connected to one another in the study and were used at least twice, it was found that “child welfare” was the most used term with 214 repeats, followed by “social work” with 183 repetitions and “welfare state” with 154 repetitions. In terms of publications on social welfare, social work (1,233 works) and management (679 works) are the research disciplines with the most. In terms of the works, they produce in the field of social welfare, it has been shown that the USA (502 works) and the UK (650 works) are pioneers.Research limitations/implications Considering the limited interdisciplinary studies on social welfare and the gap in this field, it has become necessary for researchers, practitioners and policymakers to focus on this issue. This study is limited to the bibliometric analysis of English language studies published in the WOS database between 1991 and 2023 on the concept of social welfare on March 20, 2024, it is recommended to investigate similar studies in different databases in certain periods in order to explore research trends from the perspective of different disciplines.Practical implications This study with bibliometric analysis provides forward-looking insights into social welfare on the basis of research, practice and policy. The dominance of social welfare research by major publishing houses and leading academic institutions demonstrates the influence of this field in the literature. However, it should be noted that the promotion of different types of publications, such as books and book chapters, can contribute to the enrichment of the literature in this field. In particular, book studies with in-depth analyses and critical approaches can help expand the body of knowledge in the field of social welfare.Social implications By encouraging international conference papers, social welfare policies implemented in different countries can be discussed in the context of academics, experts and policymakers. At this point, it can be suggested that research in the field of social welfare should be expanded to cover different geographical regions and cultural contexts. Increasing social welfare work in regions such as Asia and Africa can contribute to a better understanding of societal issues in these regions.Originality/value Considering the limited number of interdisciplinary studies on social welfare and the gap in this field, it can be stated that this study is original in terms of revealing research trends on social welfare.

Yun-Hao Chuang, Hao Huang

This study aims to explore the adaptation process of Southeast Asian migrant workers in Taiwan and the ethnic struggles they face. Utilizing social science observational methods and literature analysis, the research focuses on the complex interactions between migrant workers and the local society, particularly the conflicts and collaborations among different ethnic groups. The findings indicate that Southeast Asian migrant workers, while living in a foreign land, must not only overcome cultural differences and language barriers but also face structural discrimination and exclusion from the local society. These phenomena can be understood through the theoretical frameworks of nationalism and racism. Nationalism emphasizes the impact of national identity on social integration, while racism reveals the existing power inequalities and exclusion mechanisms within society. Additionally, the theory of multicultural formation provides insights into how different ethnic groups interact and coexist in shared spaces. Despite these challenges, migrant workers demonstrate strong adaptive abilities, gradually achieving social integration by establishing community support networks and actively participating in local economic activities. This study aims to provide empirical recommendations for migrant worker policies and social integration strategies to promote the coexistence and development of multiculturalism, as well as to offer a theoretical foundation for future related research. Finally, this paper summarizes the following conclusions and follow-up suggestions: first, "cross-cultural conflict" will make the physical and mental conditions of foreign migrant workers unhealthy, and management measures should be based on "human rights issues" to allow foreign migrant workers to have a certain degree of freedom and development in their right to work and socialize, so enterprises should formulate relevant measures to allow foreign migrant workers to get physical and mental adjustment in a foreign land. to promote more effective communication and cooperation.

Joseph Christian Obnial, Catherine Joy Escuadra, A. Miranda et al.

Objectives This study compared the research output of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to understand research trends and clarify past, present, and future patterns using scientometric techniques. Methods This scientometric study systematically mined health and social science publications from the Web of Science and Scopus databases using keywords associated with infectious disease. The analysis included only English-language articles and review articles by authors from any ASEAN country. Publication, citation, and text co-occurrence network analyses were performed. R Studio and VOSviewer enabled data management, analysis, and visualization. Results Searches identified 12,511 articles published between 1925 and 2022, with a notable increase in research publications since 2003. The leading journals on infectious disease were associated with established publishing houses, including BMC, BMJ, and The Lancet. The most-cited articles were primarily global burden of disease studies, with 7,367 citations. Among ASEAN countries, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore had the most publications and collaborative efforts on the topic. Analysis of keyword co-occurrence revealed clusters related to global health, dengue, bacterial studies, non-dengue viral topics, and diagnostics. Most early studies examined diagnostics, gene and sequencing methodologies, and virology; later, the focus shifted toward herbal and alternative medicine. Conclusion Recently, the research capacity of Southeast Asia has expanded dramatically, with substantial contributions from high-income countries. Intense cooperation between member states is essential, emphasizing the role of HICs in supporting their neighbors. Increased research efforts and collaboration must be dedicated to innovative approaches to combat persistent health conditions, along with emerging issues like climate change.

Alejandro M. Sanz Guillén

Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza edita el primer manual de grabado en madera japonés en castellano, escrito por la artista y docente Fabiola Gil Alares. Esta obra se articula en varias secciones, partiendo de una introducción histórico-artística sobre la estampa japonesa, efectuada por el profesor David Almazán, seguida de varios bloques que describen los procesos, desde la preparación del diseño y la talla de la madera hasta la estampación de la matriz, e introducen nuevos consejos y recursos nunca antes descritos. El libro se complementa con ilustraciones creadas por la autora, que ayudan a la comprensión de las explicaciones, así como materiales audiovisuales complementarios.

Shiqin She

This paper attempts a new reading of Gongsun Long’s “Baima lun”, through comparison with the Heidelberg School’s interpretation of Hölderlin’s “Being and Judgement” as a critique of self-consciousness and its judgmental form. It demonstrates that “Baima lun” correspondingly employs a reflectivity, or logic-transcending, anti-foundational perspective of “Being”, in order to undertake an ironical critique of judgment by a judgment as an illustration and confirmation of the epistemological ideas developed in “Zhiwu lun” and “Mingshi lun”. Consequently, based on the GSLZ, this paper proposes a new nominalist approach which differs from that of Hansen. Derived from further elaboration of the Heidelberg School’s interpretation of Hölderlin’s conception of Being, this paper posits that “things”, as read in “Mingshi lun”, are a specific dimension of “Being”, as singular infinity, and “name”, as superior to “zhi” or judgment in the rendering of things as criticized in “Zhiwu lun” and “Baima lun”.

Tidi Maharani, Citra Reflesia

Indonesia menduduki posisi kedua sebagai penghasil limbah plastik terbesar di dunia. Kondisi ini, junto dengan berbagai bencana alam yang terjadi, menekankan kebutuhan akan pendidikan karakter bagi masyarakat Indonesia. Program reduce, reuse, recycle(3R) merupakan salah satu metode untuk menumbuhkan sikap peduli lingkungan dan rasa tanggung jawab dari para peserta didik, demi menciptakan lingkungan yang bersih dan nyaman. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membentuk karakter peserta didik sesuai dengan profil pelajar Pancasila, seperti kepedulian terhadap lingkungan dan rasa tanggung jawab, melalui inovasi sekolah sebagai sarana belajar yang efektif. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah deskriptif dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pelaksanaan program 3R di SDN 17 Lubuklinggau berhasil membentuk karakter peduli lingkungan dan rasa tanggung jawab. Upaya ini dilakukan dengan membiasakan peserta didik untuk memisahkan sampah berdasarkan jenisnya, yaitu limbah organik dan anorganik. Selain itu, pembentukan karakter ini juga dilakukan melalui kebiasaan sehari-hari, teladan dari pendidikan, penanaman sikap disiplin, integrasi dalam pelajaran, aktivitas rutin sekolah, serta penataan lingkungan belajar.

Ivaylo Valentinov Tassev

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or Daesh) was established on June 29, 2014. The ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate stretching from Aleppo in Syria to Diyala in Iraq. By 2017 most of its territories were lost including the two bastions Mosul (in Iraq) and Raqqa (in Syria). Then in 2019 finally ISIS was defeated in the city of Baghouz, its last holdout. This study will examine the concept of sovereignty within the establishment of the caliphate from 2014 up to now. Al Baghdadi announced a new state based on Sharia Islamic laws and principles. Nevertheless, the international community rejected this newly formed entity which was one of the compulsory conditions for a state to receive recognition. ISIS ceased to exist in 2019 and is now functioning only through its affiliates in other parts of the world. They try to constitute a permanent presence in some areas like the Sahel in Africa or the Khorasan province in Central Asia. The research will compare the initial strategy of having sovereignty by ISIS in the beginning with the one today as viewed by its branches. The hypothesis put forth is that ISIS has always had problems with achieving sovereignty, back in 2014 and even now. Therefore, the local units pursue other strategies such as suicide attempts, bombings, and guerrilla warfare and have abandoned the initial purpose of territorial expansion.

Maria T. Baldassarre, Danilo Caivano, Berenice Fernandez Nieto et al.

In recent months, the social impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gained considerable public interest, driven by the emergence of Generative AI models, ChatGPT in particular. The rapid development of these models has sparked heated discussions regarding their benefits, limitations, and associated risks. Generative models hold immense promise across multiple domains, such as healthcare, finance, and education, to cite a few, presenting diverse practical applications. Nevertheless, concerns about potential adverse effects have elicited divergent perspectives, ranging from privacy risks to escalating social inequality. This paper adopts a methodology to delve into the societal implications of Generative AI tools, focusing primarily on the case of ChatGPT. It evaluates the potential impact on several social sectors and illustrates the findings of a comprehensive literature review of both positive and negative effects, emerging trends, and areas of opportunity of Generative AI models. This analysis aims to facilitate an in-depth discussion by providing insights that can inspire policy, regulation, and responsible development practices to foster a human-centered AI.

Tiziano Piccardi, Martin Saveski, Chenyan Jia et al.

Social media plays a central role in shaping public opinion and behavior, yet performing experiments on these platforms and, in particular, on feed algorithms is becoming increasingly challenging. This guide offers practical recommendations for researchers developing and deploying field experiments focused on real-time reranking of social media feeds. The article is organized around two contributions. First, we provide an overview of an experimental method using web browser extensions that intercepts and reranks content in real time, enabling naturalistic reranking field experiments. We then describe feed interventions and measurements that this paradigm enables on participants' actual feeds, without requiring the involvement of social media platforms. Second, we offer concrete technical recommendations for intercepting and reranking social media feeds with minimal user-facing delay, and provide an open-source implementation. This document aims to summarize lessons learned in running field experiments on social media, provide concrete implementation details, and foster the ecosystem of independent social media research. Finally, we release the source code that serves as a blueprint for implementing future feed-ranking experiments.

Dan Pirjol

The short maturity limit $T\to 0$ for the implied volatility of an Asian option in the Black-Scholes model is determined by the large deviations property for the time-average of the geometric Brownian motion. In this note we derive the subleading $O(T)$ correction to this implied volatility, using an asymptotic expansion for the Hartman-Watson distribution. The result is used to compute subleading corrections to Asian options prices in a small maturity expansion, sharpening the leading order result obtained using large deviations theory. We demonstrate good numerical agreement with precise benchmarks for Asian options pricing in the Black-Scholes model.

Lance Calvin Lim Gamboa, Mark Lee

Work on bias in pretrained language models (PLMs) focuses on bias evaluation and mitigation and fails to tackle the question of bias attribution and explainability. We propose a novel metric, the $\textit{bias attribution score}$, which draws from information theory to measure token-level contributions to biased behavior in PLMs. We then demonstrate the utility of this metric by applying it on multilingual PLMs, including models from Southeast Asia which have not yet been thoroughly examined in bias evaluation literature. Our results confirm the presence of sexist and homophobic bias in Southeast Asian PLMs. Interpretability and semantic analyses also reveal that PLM bias is strongly induced by words relating to crime, intimate relationships, and helping among other discursive categories, suggesting that these are topics where PLMs strongly reproduce bias from pretraining data and where PLMs should be used with more caution.

R. Mason, R. Azeredo

This Special Issue delves into the increasing number of Latin American migrants currently residing in the Asia-Pacific region, providing the first scholarly exploration of their collective experiences. Whereas previous scholarship tended to focus on individual states, bilateral relations, and the patterns of migration associated with them, we aim to highlight new and emergent relationships across the Pacific Ocean that transcend the boundaries from the state to the region. In so doing, we seek to acknowledge the substantial changes in migration patterns that have occurred in recent years, alongside a shift in focus from political identity to questions of wellbeing and connectedness to place. Given the increasing scale and complexity of Latin American migration to the Asia Pacific, the studies presented in this collection are particularly timely. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs reports that between 2000 and 2020, the number of migrants from Latin America (including the Caribbean) residing outside their country of origin increased by 74 per cent (UNDESA 2020). In 2020, approximately 550,000 Latin American migrants were living in Eastern Asia, South-Eastern Asia, and Oceania, in what is commonly referred to as the Asia-Pacific region. Although this figure is relatively low compared to Latin Americans residing in other regions such as Europe and North America, it is still a significant number that has been increasing at noteworthy rates. Such numerical presence is only one way in which to determine the significance of Latin American migration in the twenty first century, and what the contemporary migration from Latin America to the Asia Pacific represents. Latin American diaspora scholarship consists predominantly of studies that explore movements to the United States of America and Western Europe, emphasising South-North migration patterns and a sense of dependence, domination and marginalisation (Overmyer-Velázquez and Sepúlveda 2015). Shifting the gaze towards the Latin American diaspora beyond the traditional regions in the Global North, therefore, provides novel perspectives on the diversity of Latin America and what it means to be a Latin American migrant. As proposed by Overmyer-Velázquez (2019), the growing globalisation of the Latin American diaspora has an impact on the diasporic identities, one that Latin American Studies is yet to capture. This argument resonates with this collection. As the articles in this Special Issue demonstrate, new expressions of culture, creations of community and attachments to place are articulated when the Latin American diaspora is analysed from the Asia-Pacific perspective. This collection also provides novel perspectives to the existing literature on Latin American migration to the Asia-Pacific region, expanding its geographical scope and demonstrating how avenues for future research and inquiry continue to emerge within the field. Most of the existing literature on the Latin American migration to the Asia Pacific is made of studies on returning Asian descendants, with a strong focus on connectedness between Japan, Brazil and Peru (e.g. Takenaka 1999, Tsuda 1999, 2000). Research into this form of nikkeijin return migration spanned over three decades, and new works in this area continue to emerge, often

J. Tse

Abstract:In terms of Asian Americans whose reputations have been popularly derided, the concerned parent activist Hak-Shing William Tam perhaps ranks among the top. Tam was a citizen proponent of California's Proposition 8 in 2008 to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and became a hostile witness for the plaintiffs in the subsequent 2010 lawsuit to overturn the amendment, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. In this paper, I explore Tam's claim to privacy in his understanding of these events, both in terms of his sexualized imagination of liberal civil society and his suffering from what he understood as violations of his own privacy. I argue that Tam tried to operationalize an understanding of society that idealized the "Asian family" as the bulwark of an order composed primarily of secure private spaces, which speaks (I further claim) to longstanding anxieties within Chinese America about how what Gary Okihiro calls the "social formation"–an interlocking institutional network that composes a governing apparatus–subjects Asian Americans to ongoing colonization. In so doing, I hope to show that Tam's concerns do not only speak to concerns in Asian American studies about pervasive evangelical influence in Asian American communities. Instead, they reveal that Asian American conceptions of the private sphere are ideologies that circulate within our communities and should be taken seriously in Asian American studies.

Ayyoob Sharifi

with leasehold land. The degree of control over land conferred by de facto property rights varied among users, depending on their positions. Ordinary urban residents were situated on the lowest tier of social structure and had least control over their occupied land. Chapter 6 concerns the rural spatial changes that came from the bottom, where the land right was collective. The rural nonfarm sector gave way to in-situ urbanisation. The rise of a rentier class and private governance is described here with case studies. The seventh chapter examines the issue of governance over spatial change. The high rate of urbanisation in China calls for the development of the compact city as population sizes are large and the density high. The absence of state gives rise to interrelated land rights, which generally leads to unsustainable landforms. The author takes the case study of The Renewal and Refurbishment of the Pearl River Delta to look at the process of rural fragmentation to urban integration. It is easy to comprehend that the author’s task was not a simple one. Zhu has tried to explore the situation where the socialist state was transforming itself by constructing the market for an imperfect commodity like land. History shows that landownership not only gives rise to inequalities in income and wealth, but also leads to a non-working rentier class with feudal values and bourgeois vices. Articles based on singular case studies are available in Urban Studies and other journals: the story of Shenzen (Lai et al., 2016) or the role of a particular policy, for example, Increasing versus Decreasing Balance (Chen et al., 2023) are detailed analyses of specific programmes. However, this book is gigantic in the sense that it covers the urban development of China, focusing on land, for a span of seven decades: the nuances of nationalised land for three decades (1949–1978); and then the gradual transformation towards market, separately for villages and cities, the transformation of villages through non-farm activities, migrants and residents and all the related issues were covered over four decades (1978–2018). Various methods, such as case studies, data analysis and legal discourse, are used to tell the complete story with all its virtues and vices. As the book is intended for both Chinese and non-Chinese academics, a map of China showing the location of the case studies would have been helpful. A chronological table detailing important policy changes and legal provisions would also have been useful for readers less familiar with Chinese political changes.