On the Road to Democracy? Political Liberalization in Myanmar. Asia Policy Brief 2014/01, January 2014

Myanmar’s liberalizing reforms initiated by President Thein Sein after taking office in March 2011 are raising high hopes of peace and democracy in the country. Progress, after nearly three years, has however been uneven: there have been positive developments in the area of press freedom, with regard to political prisoners and in dealing with the political opposition. At the same time the dialogue with ethnic groups has stagnated and ethnic and religious violence has escalated. This Asia Policy Brief critically assesses the reform policy and weighs up the chances of democratization of the long-time military regime.

Jokowi's Victory: The End of the New Order in Indonesia? Asia Policy Brief 2014/05, August 2014

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. It is of immense importance for the security situation and economic integration in Pacific Asia. Political events in Indonesia have a profound impact on the whole region of Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, the 2014 parliamentary and presidential elections were hardly reported in the foreign media. The presidential elections in particular turned out to be a hard test for the young democracy.

Asian Middle Classes - Drivers of Political Change? Asia Policy Brief 2014/06, November 2014

Asia watchers have been kept exceptionally busy by recent political developments in the region. An unprecedented landslide victory in India’s general elections, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, close elections in Indonesia, a coup in Thailand – the list goes on. As unrelated as these events appear, analysts may find a missing link among a social group that is currently exploding in numbers: Asia’s middle classes. Often discussed simply in terms of its economic potential, Asia’s middle-income population is also flexing its political muscle. A closer look at its influence throughout the region in recent months seems to confirm for the field of politics what economists have known for some time: The rise of the Asian middle classes constitutes one of the most fundamental transformations of our time. The consequences remain to be seen.

The Coup One Year on: Thailand's "Ugly German" Constitution. Asia Policy Brief 2015/02, May 2015

A year after becoming a military dictatorship once more, Thailand’s new constitution – the 20th since 1932 – is taking shape. In it, the arch-conservative charter drafters stipulate that future elections will be conducted using a variant of Germany’s mixed-member proportional representation system. Their hope is that the resulting coalition governments will prevent future administrations from turning into populist one-man shows. The drafters may be hoping in vain.

Europe’s potential in addressing maritime security in Asia: a Japanese view. EPC Commentary, 29 June 2016

The level of interest in, and concerns about, Asia’s maritime security situation have increased substantially in Europe in the past few years, reflecting growing tensions particularly in the South China Sea (SCS). China’s actions there – island-building, reclamation and militarisation – are frequently making headlines in newspapers these days, including in Europe.

Emerging viral diseases of South-East Asia and the Western Pacific: A brief review

Over the past 6 years, a number of zoonotic and vectorborne viral diseases have emerged in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Vectorborne disease agents discussed in this article include Japanese encephalitis, Barmah Forest, Ross River, and Chikungunya viruses. However, most emerging viruses have been zoonotic, with fruit bats, including flying fox species as the probable wildlife hosts, and these will be discussed as well. The first of these disease agents to emerge was Hendra virus, formerly called equine morbillivirus. This was followed by outbreaks caused by a rabies-related virus, Australian bat lyssavirus, and a virus associated with porcine stillbirths and malformations, Menangle virus. Nipah virus caused an outbreak of fatal pneumonia in pigs and encephalitis in humans in the Malay Peninsula. Most recently, Tioman virus has been isolated from flying foxes, but it has not yet been associated with animal or human disease. Of nonzoonotic viruses, the most important regionally have been enterovirus 71 and HIV.

Positionality and Comparisons: Critical Views on Qualitative Research across Asia

Ce cahier est basé sur la réflexion autobiographique de deux chercheuses ayant effectué des recherches qualitatives et ethnographiques, de 2008 à 2014, en Asie centrale et du Sud-­‐Est. Les expériences sur le terrain constituent des moyens de comparaisons dans le présent document. En mettant l’accent sur le positionnement sur le terrain, l’étude montre que, d’abord, il est essentiel de détenir une poste intermédiaire et de parler une langue locale afin de garantir un accès et de mener des activités de recherche sur le terrain. Deuxièmement, différentes régions prédéterminent des contextes culturels et politiques ponctuels qui, à leur tour, façonneraient la recherche en sciences sociales. Troisièmement, le fait d’être une femme présente à la fois des avantages et des inconvénients. Enfin, en termes de méthodologie, les stages et les entrevues se sont avérés des méthodes fiables pour la collecte des données empiriques sur les régions ci-­‐dessus mentionnées, sans pour autant permettre de bâtir la confiance.

Positionality and Comparisons: Critical Views on Qualitative Research across Asia

Ce cahier est basé sur la réflexion autobiographique de deux chercheuses ayant effectué des recherches qualitatives et ethnographiques, de 2008 à 2014, en Asie centrale et du Sud-­‐Est. Les expériences sur le terrain constituent des moyens de comparaisons dans le présent document. En mettant l’accent sur le positionnement sur le terrain, l’étude montre que, d’abord, il est essentiel de détenir une poste intermédiaire et de parler une langue locale afin de garantir un accès et de mener des activités de recherche sur le terrain. Deuxièmement, différentes régions prédéterminent des contextes culturels et politiques ponctuels qui, à leur tour, façonneraient la recherche en sciences sociales. Troisièmement, le fait d’être une femme présente à la fois des avantages et des inconvénients. Enfin, en termes de méthodologie, les stages et les entrevues se sont avérés des méthodes fiables pour la collecte des données empiriques sur les régions ci-­‐dessus mentionnées, sans pour autant permettre de bâtir la confiance.

Re-envisioning sovereignty : the end of Westphalia?

Fables of sovereignty / Wayne Hudson Sovereignty discourse and practice : past and future / Joseph Camilleri Guises of sovereignty / Gerry Simpson Westphalian and Islamic concepts of sovereignty in the Middle East / Amin Saikal Wither sovereignty in Southeast Asia today? / See Seng Tan Ambivalent sovereignty : China and re-imagining the Westphalian ideal / Yongjin Zhang Confronting terrorism : dilemmas of principle and practice regarding sovereignty / Brian L. Job Sovereignty in the 21st century : security, immigration, and refugees / Howard Adelman State sovereignty and international refugee protection / Robyn Lui Do no harm : towards a Hippocratic standard for international civilisation / Neil Arya Sovereignty and the global politics of the environment : beyond Westphalia? / Lorraine Elliott Westphalian sovereignty in the shadow of international justice? a fresh coat of paint for a tainted concept / Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto Development assistance and the hollow sovereignty of the weak / Roland Rich Corruption and transparency in governance and development : reinventing sovereignty for promoting good governance / C. Raj Kumar Re-envisioning economic sovereignty : developing countries and the International Monetary Fund / Ross P. Buckley Trust, legitimacy, and the sharing of sovereignty / William Maley Sovereignty as indirect rule / Barry Hindess Indigenous sovereignty / Paul Keal Civil society in a post-statist circumstance / Jan Aart Scholte.

Wheat Production Systems And Global Climate Change

About this book: Over 100 authors present 25 contributions on the impacts of global change on terrestrial ecosystems including:key processes of the earth system such as the CO2 fertilization effect, shifts in disturbances and biome distribution, the saturation of the terrestrial carbon sink, and changes in functional biodiversity,ecosystem services such the production of wheat, pest control, and carbon storage in croplands, and sensitive regions in the world threaten by rapid changes in climate and land use such as high latitudes ecosystems, tropical forest in Southeast Asia, and ecosystems dominated by Monsoon climate.The book also explores new research developments on spatial thresholds and nonlinearities, the key role of urban development in global biogeochemical processes, and the integration of natural and social sciences to address complex problems of the human-environment system.

Evaluating Two Mass Screening Methods for Tungro Disease Resistance

Tungro is one of the most destructive viral diseases of rice in South and Southeast Asia. It is associated with two viruses---rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) ,and rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV) (Hibino et al 1978). Both viruses are transmitted by the green leafhopper (GLH) Nephotettix virescens (Ling 1979), However, prior acquisition of RTSV is required for Ihe transmission of RTBV alone (Hibino 1983). Plants infected with both viruses show severe stunting and yellowing. Those infected with RTBV alone show mild stunting but no leaf discoloration whereas those infected with RTSV alone do not show any apparent symptoms (Hibino el al 1978). Since the late 1960s, tungro has been mainly managed through varietal resistance (Khush 1989). The instability of resistant varieties in the field (Dahal et .a1 1990) led to a reexamination of the nature of the incorporated sources of resistance and to the adoption of more precise and more accurate screening methods.

School-based experiences : developing primary science preservice teachers' practice

Reviews into teacher education emphasise the need for preservice teachers to have more school-based experiences. In this study, a school-based experience was organised within a nine-week science curriculum university unit that allowed preservice teachers’ repeated experiences in teaching primary science. This research uses a survey, questionnaire with extended written responses, and researcher observations to investigate preservice teachers’ (n=38) learning experiences in two school settings. Survey results indicated that the majority of these preservice teachers either agreed or strongly agreed that school-based experiences developed their: personal-professional skill development (100%); system requirements (range: 81-100%); teaching practices (81-100%); student behaviour management (range: 94-100%); providing student feedback (89-94%); and reflection on practice (92-100%). Qualitative data provided insights into their development particularly for science content knowledge and receiving positive reinforcement on effective teaching behaviours. According to these preservice teachers, the school-based experiences facilitated “teachable moments – having the knowledge or skills to run with students’ questions or ideas” and allowed preservice teachers to “critically reflect between groups to make the task flow better”. Embedding school-based experiences needs to be part of each and every preservice teacher education unit so preservice teachers can develop confidence, knowledge and skills within authentic school contexts.