Includes bibliographical references.

Structure or Relationship? Rethinking Family Influences on Juvenile Delinquency in Malaysia -- Skin Beauty as Erotic Capital and Production of “Luckiness”: A Look at Menopausal Women Using Hormone Therapy Replacement for Skin Treatment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam -- Climate Adaptation, Technological Self-Reliance, and the Developing World: Evidence From an Emerging Economy -- Doomed to Separate: A Neoclassical Realist Perspective of the Third India–Pakistan War of 1971 and Independence of Bangladesh -- A Critical Ethnographic Study on Betel Quid Dependence Among Young Men in Mandalay, Myanmar -- Low-Cost Carrier Passenger Repurchase Intention: A Structural Equation Model Analysis -- Senkaku/Diaoyu Island Dispute and the Reconstruction of China as Japan’s “Other” -- Comparative Analysis of WW II Japanese Comfort Women and Its Derivative Contemporary Filipina Transnational Prostituted Women System -- A Theoretical Analysis of Non-formal Education as a Social Movement for Change in Thailand -- On Migration Solutions and Interventions: An Afterthought -- Living with Endometriosis in the Philippines -- Exploring Antecedents to Thai Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Organizational Performance -- Combatting ASEAN Human Trafficking: A Regional Process and Challenges -- Local Governments in the Digital Era.

[Article Title : Structure or Relationship? Rethinking Family Influences on Juvenile Delinquency in Malaysia / Tan Bee Piang, Zuraini Jamil Osman and Noor Banu Mahadir, p. 171-184]

Abstract : A broken family structure and poor family relationship are seen as contributing to delinquent behavior in different ways. Despite Malaysian society being strongly focused on family values, there have been significant increases in the rates of both divorce and single-parent families. Thus, there is the question of whether these changes in family structure are a contributing factor to the increasing rate of juvenile delinquency seen in recent years. This study aims to examine the relative influences of family structure and family relationship on juvenile delinquent behavior in Malaysia. A sample of 196 juveniles from two rehabilitation centers in Malaysia participated in this study. The study finds that there are no significant correlations between family structure and juvenile delinquent behavior. The data show that a significant percentage of juveniles are not from broken families. Most, however, do experience a poor-quality family relationship.

[Article Title : Skin Beauty as Erotic Capital and Production of “Luckiness”: A Look at Menopausal Women Using Hormone Therapy Replacement for Skin Treatment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam / Huynh Thi Xuan Tam, Pimpawun Boonmongkon, Xiaochuan Wang and Thomas E. Guadamuz, p. 185-195]

Abstract : According to social and cultural constructs of aging and femininity, menopausal women‘s bodily transitions cause them to initiate hormone therapy replacement (HRT) to restore their youth and beauty. For example, they might take HRT to improve their wrinkled and sagging skin. A problem emerges, however, because there is little systematic research that explains the specific factors that motivate women to take HRT for the purpose of anti-aging skin treatment. This study aims to examine the intertwined social and cultural contexts influencing menopausal women’s choice of HRT in a dermatological hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Four dermatologists and 15 menopausal women patients were interviewed regarding their experiences with HRT. Results suggest that skin conditions are closely related with Vietnamese notions of femininity, sexuality, youth, health, and beauty. An ideal skin condition carries cultural auspiciousness, sexual attractiveness, and a positive indication of health. Use of HRT does not merely aim at improving skin condition but also at maintaining beauty and overcoming sexual dysfunction in general—to fix the body from inside. The emphasis on the ideal skin as the key to beauty, sexuality, youth, and social and physical well-being reflects how the female body has been influenced by a social and cultural construction of menopause. While fitting the traditional paradigm of “improving from within,” HRT also repairs women’s sense of luckiness by removing wrinkles, which are perceived as bringing bad luck to family and business. This notion of being lucky enables menopausal women to rebuild their social-sexual agency without being judged against the moral norms for well-behaved older women when they reach menopause.

[Article Title : Climate Adaptation, Technological Self-Reliance, and the Developing World: Evidence From an Emerging Economy / Rodolfo Calzado Jr. and Jose Santos Carandang VI, p. 196-213]

Abstract : Despite good intentions, development assistance from donor countries are often underutilized by recipient nations due to weak absorptive capacities. Addressing this issue has become more imperative with recent international accords engendering the rapid influx of massive climate assistance funds into the developing world. Particularly, interventions are focused on addressing exceptional vulnerabilities of developing nations to near-term climate impacts, for example, devastating typhoons and associated hazards. Fundamental to this effort is establishing the necessary technology infrastructure for generating quality climatic and environmental information, which serves as valuable logistical support for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management plans and activities. Efforts to address this in developing countries, however, are often sluggish or met with gridlocks. This is despite following internationally-prescribed best-practice roadmaps, conditioned by access to foreign aid. The Philippines’ experience in implementing its technological self-reliance policy provides a possible framework for overcoming this difficulty. Contribution analysis, through dissecting and examining the policy implementation period of 2010–2015, reveals that a more cooperative sociopolitical landscape, engendered by the visibility of a program “championing” the country’s drive to break away from technological dependence, can provoke rapid technological catch-up, bringing about the desired transformation.

[Article Title : Doomed to Separate: A Neoclassical Realist Perspective of the Third India–Pakistan War of 1971 and Independence of Bangladesh / Shafiqur Rahman, p. 214-238]

Abstract : Within South Asian politics and society, events of the year 1971 with the bloody military crackdown on East Pakistan, the third India–Pakistan war, and subsequent emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country, still hold a living and outsized presence. Most popular historical accounts of the events argue that the separation of the two halves of Pakistan was not an inevitable outcome but a product of contingency, world historical developments, and choices made by political actors. In this paper, I argue from a perspective of Neoclassical Realist theory of international policy-making that not only the separation of the two halves of Pakistan was highly predisposed but also a violent parting was highly likely. I also argue that contingent and individual choice-based accounts of the events in 1971 help perpetuate misperception and friction in current politics of the subcontinent. Accepting the inevitability of the emergence of Bangladesh would go a long way in normalizing relations between the three large countries of South Asia. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India–Pakistan War, realism, Neoclassical Realism

[Article Title : A Critical Ethnographic Study on Betel Quid Dependence Among Young Men in Mandalay, Myanmar / Thida Moe, Pimpawun Boonmongkon, Xiaochuan Wang, Darunee Phukao, Timo T. Ojanen and Thomas E. Guadamuz, p. 239-248]

Abstract :Betel quid is a carcinogenic psychoactive preparation, often containing tobacco, which is widely consumed in Myanmar. Studies on betel quid dependence have illuminated betel quid chewers’ demographics and reasons for chewing, but dependence formation is not fully understood. This study aims to describe the social context, patterns of use, and subjective experiences of betel quid chewing among novice and dependent chewers, and to analyze the hidden structural factors that contribute to the emergence of betel quid dependence. Data on the subjective and objective aspects of betel quid chewing were collected through a five-month ethnographic study in Mandalay, Myanmar. Betel quid chewers were recruited for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The data were analyzed within a critical medical anthropology framework. Male betel quid chewers begin to chew out of curiosity and social pressure. They believe that chewing boosts their sexual attractiveness and increases their negotiation power with peers and family. Dependence develops when chewers continue chewing beyond the initiation stage. Chewing is used as a social lubricant that enhances social gatherings and work activities. Weak law enforcement and the need for employment among the unskilled rural population encourage the emergence of betel quid economies. Betel quid is used as a drug food to facilitate hard work and to self-medicate suffering caused by exploitative socioeconomic conditions. Betel quid chewing becomes indispensable as a part of the chewer’s habitus. The economic conditions of chewers need to be improved and community-based programs initiated to discourage early initiation of betel quid chewing.

[Article title : Low-Cost Carrier Passenger Repurchase Intention: A Structural Equation Model Analysis / Sujira Vuthisopon and Chalita Srinuan, p. 249-266]

Abstract : Low-cost carrier (LCC) aviation has exploded globally, which now represents 26% of all passenger seats, while in Southeast Asia LCC passengers have soared to 54%. The purpose of this research was, therefore, to develop and examine the accuracy of a structural equation model of the factors affecting repurchase intention of low-cost carrier passengers in Thailand. Convenience sampling was utilized to obtain a sample of 440 individuals from four Thai low-cost carriers, including Thai AirAsia, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air (Don Muang Airport-DMK), and Thai Smile Airways (Suvarnabhumi Airport-BKK) in 2016. To examine the study’s five latent and 22 observed variables, a 97-item survey was used. Results from the study determined the positive and significant influences that customer satisfaction has on customer loyalty, followed by electronic service quality on customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction on repurchase intention, respectively.

[Article Title : Senkaku/Diaoyu Island Dispute and the Reconstruction of China as Japan’s “Other” / Michal Kolmaš, p. 267-280]

Abstract : In the recent years, much has been written about Japan’s security “normalization,” that is, the resurgence of Japan as a “proactive contributor to world peace.” This article aims to add to this debate, but it will approach it from a novel angle. Basing its epistemology in critical security studies, I investigate the relationship between national identity and Japan’s foreign policy (i.e., its normalization). The article dismisses realist assumptions that Japan’s security rejuvenation is a reaction to the changing balance of power in Asia. Rather, it argues that the normalization is a product of Japan’s discursive practice of victimization, that is, situating itself as a victim of foreign pressure. The identity of a victim is reproduced through the practice of “othering”—differentiating from various “others.” For most parts of the 20th century, the United States served as the focal other to Japan’s self-identification. In the last two decades, however, Japan’s identity has become practiced through differentiation to China. The article illustrates this process on the case study of Japan’s primary discourse on the Senkaku/Diaoyu island dispute of 2010 through 2014. Japan’s narrative on the dispute has managed to depict China as a coercive, immoral and abnormal state that bullies subsequently weak, coerced, but moral and lawful Japan. By writing Japan as a coerced, yet lawful state protecting the status quo, Tokyo succeeded in persuading the United States to subdue the disputed territory under its nuclear umbrella. Through the process of victimization of a weak Japan then, the Prime Minister Abe Shinzo managed to propagate the new security legislature as a means of reconstruction of Japan from weak to a normal state.

[Article title : Comparative Analysis of WW II Japanese Comfort Women and Its Derivative Contemporary Filipina Transnational Prostituted Women System / P. C. Kutschera, Marie A. Caputi, Benigno Jr Legamia, and Elena C. Tesoro, p. 281-293]

Abstract : This research compares and contrasts the emergence of the 21st century Philippine global, transnational, and domestic prostitution system with its predecessor, the Japanese Comfort Woman (JCW) scheme of the 20th century. Its ultimate goal is to bring into focus the relationship between the two models with the former as the foundational template for the expansion of the latter. The outcome is the conceptualization of a 21st Century Filipina Comfort Woman social construct (Tanaka, 2002; Kutschera, 2016).

[Article title : A Theoretical Analysis of Non-formal Education as a Social Movement for Change in Thailand / John Draper and Pennee Kantavong, p. 294-306]

Abstract : In a society where class conflicts arise, people usually form a collective group to lead change. One underlying tool for change may be based on non-formal or informal activities. Recently in Thailand, following the May 2014 military coup, the New Democracy Movement (NDM) arose. It was formed by a core group of 14 students from a variety of class backgrounds.

[Article Title : On Migration Solutions and Interventions: An Afterthought / Dennis V. Blanco, p. 307-313]

Abstract : Migration is a phenomenon or event in which there is movement of people from one place to another place, from one region to another region, from one country to another country, or from one continent to another continent for varied reasons which can be economic, political, social, cultural, and moral in nature or a combination and amalgamation of all reasons aforementioned. International migration is the movement of people to another country, leading to temporary or permanent settlement. In the aggregate, it commonly raises questions about national identities and social membership. In a perspective that is content with common sense, migration is the relocation of individuals to some distant place, that is, at least beyond one’s own city or town (Bartram & Poros 2014, p. 4).

[Article Title : Living with Endometriosis in the Philippines / Jeane C. Peracullo, p. 314-319]

Abstract : What is it like to live with endometriosis in the Philippines? In the course of my decades-long search for a permanent treatment for endometriosis, I have collected a significant number of experiences of the many ways issues of gender, class, and access to quality health care have intersected among, and within, each other. This essay seeks to share my story of endometriosis, a debilitating condition that I have
been living with for the most part of my reproductive years. Although it would seem that endometriosis is just a simple gynecological condition that affects women only, the disease requires multiple approaches, interventions, and attention from all members of the community. The realities of Philippine society and the state of health care in the country make for a compelling case to elevate awareness about a disease that targets women in their reproductive and productive years. The impact of endometriosis is evident in the marital/sexual relationships, social spirit, and on physical and psychological aspects of women’s lives (Moradi, Parker, Sneddon, Lopez, & Ellwood, 2014).

[Article Title : Exploring Antecedents to Thai Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Organizational Performance / Kitti Kiatsuranon and Opal Suwunnamek, p. 320-331]

Abstract : Thailand is quickly taking steps to embrace a sustainable, value-based economy under what has become known as Thailand 4.0 (Tortermvasana, 2016). Building digital communities, creating digital innovative start-up networks, and establishing digital parks for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has become a Thai government priority (Jones & Pimdee, 2017). This is easy to understand knowing there are 2.7 million Thai SMEs, which account for 98% of all business units in Thailand, and 37% of Thailand gross domestic production (GDP), providing 10 million jobs in 2014 (“Digital economy,” 2015). Information and communication technology (ICT) therefore, is one of key drivers of national development, particularly for achieving a transition to a knowledge-based, digital economy (“Thailand 4.0 mean opportunity Thailand,” 2017; The Government Public Relations Department, 2016).

[Article Title : Combatting ASEAN Human Trafficking: A Regional Process and Challenges / Nopraenue Sajjarax Dhirathiti, p. 332-334]

Abstract : The book provides a generous background on the issue of human trafficking in ASEAN by highlighting three main case studies in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The cases were selected based on key commonalities of these countries, committing in the legal binding regional process called the COMMIT Process and their exposure to fight against human trafficking. The book divides the analysis of ASEAN human trafficking into chapters focusing on the background of ASEAN, its community building process, and norms in relation to human rights and human trafficking. The chapter on the overview of ASEAN and its influence on community-building between internal and external regions seems to be the weakest one, which provides mainly a narrative background of ASEAN reiterating the origin and evolution of the association and its pathway to the ASEAN integration and ASEAN community.

[Article title : Local Governments in the Digital Era / Yossathorn Taweephon, Nopraenue Sajjarax Dhirathiti, Somsak Amornsiriphong, p. 335-336]

Abstract : The beginning of the book titled, Setting Sail into the Age of Digital Local Government Trends and Best Practices, is based on identifying the questions concerning the roles of E-Government in developed countries such as America, Germany, France, and Japan—all of which have been influenced by the change of information technology and public service delivery as well as role of citizens toward public management. In other words, the influence of information communication technologies affects the public management and results in E-Government affecting how the government works, especially the local government in the developed countries.