The influence of face and group orientation on the perception of luxury goods:a four market study of East Asian consumers

Purpose: The paper aims to further extend our understanding by assessing the extent to which two prominent cultural values in East Asia i.e. face saving and group orientation drive consumers' perceptions of luxury goods across four East Asian markets. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-methods research approach was adopted consisting of: an expert panel of close to 70 participants, group discussions with five extended East Asian families, personal interviews with eight East Asian scholars, a pilot test with over 50 East Asian graduate students and a multi-market survey of 443 consumer respondents in Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore and Hanoi. Findings: The authors extend previous conceptual studies by empirically investigating the impact of these two cultural values on the perception of luxury among East Asian societies. Specifically the study reveals that across all four markets face saving has the strongest influence on the conspicuous and hedonistic dimensions of luxury, group orientation meanwhile is the strongest predictor of the quality, extended self and exclusivity dimensions of luxury. Collectively these two cultural values significantly influence East Asian perceptions of luxury. Overall, the findings reiterate the importance of understanding different cultural values and their influence across different East Asian societies. Practical implications: The findings have important implications for managers of western luxury branded goods that are seeking to penetrate East Asian markets or seek to serve East Asian consumers. Specifically, to assist with developing suitable brand positioning, products, services, communications and pricing strategies. Originality/value: This study contributes to our understanding of the subject by exploring the impact of face saving and group orientation on the perception of luxury goods across four East Asian countries. Several directions for future research are suggested. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Common variants of the TCF7L2 gene are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a UK-resident South Asian population

Background - Recent studies have implicated variants of the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene in genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus in several different populations. The aim of this study was to determine whether variants of this gene are also risk factors for type 2 diabetes development in a UK-resident South Asian cohort of Punjabi ancestry. Methods - We genotyped four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TCF7L2 (rs7901695, rs7903146, rs11196205 and rs12255372) in 831 subjects with diabetes and 437 control subjects. Results - The minor allele of each variant was significantly associated with type 2 diabetes; the greatest risk of developing the disease was conferred by rs7903146, with an allelic odds ratio (OR) of 1.31 (95% CI: 1.11 – 1.56, p = 1.96 × 10-3). For each variant, disease risk associated with homozygosity for the minor allele was greater than that for heterozygotes, with the exception of rs12255372. To determine the effect on the observed associations of including young control subjects in our data set, we reanalysed the data using subsets of the control group defined by different minimum age thresholds. Increasing the minimum age of our control subjects resulted in a corresponding increase in OR for all variants of the gene (p ≤ 1.04 × 10-7). Conclusion - Our results support recent findings that TCF7L2 is an important genetic risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes in multiple ethnic groups.

What factors influence concordance with medications? Findings from the UK Asian Diabetes study

Aims: To investigate concordance with medication, as assessed at baseline and at 1- and 2-year follow-up, and to examine factors associated with non-concordance in a UK-resident South-Asian population. Methods: Data from the UK Asian Diabetes Study were analysed. Concordance with medications was assessed and recorded at three time points during the study. Multiple logistic regression was used to investigate the factors associated with non-concordance; the associations of baseline factors with year 1 concordance and baseline plus year 1 factors with year 2 concordance. Results: Data for 403 patients from seven practices participating in the UK Asian Diabetes Study were analysed. The numbers of patients who were non-concordant were: 63 (16%) at baseline 101 (25%) at year 1; and 122 (30%) at year 2. The baseline-measured variables that were significantly associated with year 1 non-concordance included diabetes duration, history of cardiovascular disease, components of the EuroQol quality of life questionnaire, the EQ-5D score, and number of medications prescribed. In multivariable analyses, the most important determinant of year 1 non-concordance was baseline non-concordance: odds ratio 13.6 (95% confidence limits 4.7, 39.9). Number of medications prescribed for blood pressure control was also significant: odds ratio 1.8 (95% confidence limits 1.4, 2.4). Similar results were observed for year 2 non-concordance. Conclusions: Non-concordance with medications was common and more likely in people prescribed more medications. The current target-driven management of risk factor levels may lead to increasing numbers and doses of medications. Considering the high cost of medications and the implications of poor health behaviours on morbidity and mortality, further investigation of prescribing behaviours and the factors affecting patient concordance are required.

Bureaucratic reform in post-Asian crisis Indonesia:the Directorate General of Tax

Our research examines a key aspect of the extensive bureaucratic reform program that was applied to the Indonesian public sector following the Asian Economic crisis. The organisation we focus on is the Indonesian Directorate of Tax. The reforms moved the case organisation towards more bureaucratic organisational arrangements. The most notable elements of the reforms related to the organisational efficiency and changes in administrative style and culture. An ethnographic approach was adopted, in which the researcher was immersed in the life of the selected case organisation over an extended period of time. This research extends a thin literature on the topic of management control and culture in the Indonesian context. Also, this paper fills a gap in the theoretic approaches for studying bureaucracy, which is dominated by western conceptualisations. This paper provides a reminder to policy makers (including organisation such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund) of the consequences of neglecting cultural influences when conducting bureaucratic reform.

Self-monitoring of blood glucose in Black Caribbean and South Asian Canadians with non-insulin treated Type 2 diabetes mellitus:a qualitative study of patients' perspectives

Background: To examine the views and current practice of SMBG among Black Caribbean and South Asian individuals with non-insulin treated Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Twelve participants completed semi-structured interviews that were guided by the Health Belief Model and analyzed using thematic network analysis. Results: The frequency of monitoring among participants varied from several times a day to once per week. Most participants expressed similar experiences regarding their views and practices of SMBG. Minor differences across gender and culture were observed. All participants understood the benefits, but not all viewed SMBG as beneficial to their personal diabetes management. SMBG can facilitate a better understanding and maintenance of self-care behaviours. However, it can trigger both positive and negative emotional responses, such as a sense of disappointment when high readings are not anticipated, resulting in emotional distress. Health care professionals play a key role in the way SMBG is perceived and used by patients. Conclusion: While the majority of participants value SMBG as a self-management tool, barriers exist that impede its practice, particularly its cost. How individuals cope with these barriers is integral to understanding why some patients adopt SMBG more than others. © 2013 Gucciardi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

The Kim Dynasty and North-East Asian security:breaking the cycle of crises?

Purpose—This article considers North Korea and the notion of crisis, by linking historical development over the Korean peninsula to the conflict resolution literature, and investigates why despite a large number of destabilizing events, a war involving Pyongyang has yet to erupt. Design/methodology—This article uses historical data and a framework developed by Aggarwal et al., in order to highlight patterns of interaction between states such as the United States, North Korea and South Korea, organizations such as the United Nations, as well as processes such as the Six- Party Talks and the Agreed Framework. The article then develops a crisis framework based on conflict resolution and negotiation literature, and applies it to three North Korean administrations. Findings—Findings suggest that an open- ended understanding of time (for all parties involved on the peninsula) leads to an impossibility to reach a threshold where full- scale war would be triggered, thus leaving parties in a stable state of crisis for which escalating moves and de- escalating techniques might become irrelevant. Practical implications—It is hoped that this article will help further endeavors linking conflict resolution theoretical frameworks to the Korean peninsula security situation. In the case of the Korean peninsula, time has been understood as open-ended, leading parties to a lingering state of heightened hostilities that oscillates toward war, but that is controlled enough not to reach it. In-depth analysis of particular security sectors such as nuclear energy, food security, or missile testing would prove particularly useful in understanding the complexity of the Korean peninsula situation to a greater extent. It is hoped that this paper will help further endeavours linking conflict resolution theoretical frameworks to the Korean peninsula security situation. Originality/value—This research suggests that regarding the Korean peninsula, time has been understood as open- ended, leading parties to a lingering state of heightened.

The Kim Dynasty and North-East Asian security:breaking the cycle of crises

This article considers North Korea and the notion of crisis, by linking historical development over the Korean peninsula to the conflict resolution literature, and investigates why despite a large number of destabilising events, a war involving Pyongyang has yet to erupt. The paper considers historical data and uses a framework developed by Aggarwal et al. in order to highlight patterns of interaction between states such as the United States, North Korea and South Korea, organisations such as the United Nations, as well as processes such as the Six-Party Talk and the Agreed Framework. The paper then develops a crisis framework based on conflict resolution and negotiation literature, and applies it to three North Korean administrations. Findings suggests that an elastic understanding of time (for all parties involved on the peninsula) leads to an impossibility to reach a threshold where full-scale war would be triggered, thus leaving parties in a stable state of crisis for which escalating moves and de-escalating techniques might become irrelevant.

Combustion and emission characteristics of a typical biodiesel engine operated on waste cooking oil derived biodiesel

Waste cooking oils can be converted into fuels to provide economical and environmental benefits. One option is to use such fuels in stationary engines for electricity generation, co-generation or tri-generation application. In this study, biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil was tested in an indirect injection type 3-cylinder Lister Petter biodiesel engine. We compared the combustion and emission characteristics with that of fossil diesel operation. The physical and chemical properties of pure biodiesel (B100) and its blends (20% and 60% vol.) were measured and compared with those of diesel. With pure biodiesel fuel, full engine power was achieved and the cylinder gas pressure diagram showed stable operation. At full load, peak cylinder pressure of B100 operation was almost similar to diesel and peak burn rate of combustion was about 13% higher than diesel. For biodiesel operation, occurrences of peak burn rates were delayed compared to diesel. Fuel line injection pressure was increased by 8.5-14.5% at all loads. In comparison to diesel, the start of combustion was delayed and 90% combustion occurred earlier. At full load, the total combustion duration of B100 operation was almost 16% lower than diesel. Biodiesel exhaust gas emissions contained 3% higher CO2 and 4% lower NOx, as compared to diesel. CO emissions were similar at low load condition, but were decreased by 15 times at full load. Oxygen emission decreased by around 1.5%. Exhaust gas temperatures were almost similar for both biodiesel and diesel operation. At full engine load, the brake specific fuel consumption (on a volume basis) and brake thermal efficiency were respectively about 2.5% and 5% higher compared to diesel. Full engine power was achieved with both blends, and little difference in engine performance and emission results were observed between 20% and 60% blends. The study concludes that biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil gave better efficiency and lower NOx emissions than standard diesel. Copyright © 2012 SAE International.

Representation of people of South Asian origin in cardiovascular outcome trials of glucose-lowering therapies in Type 2 diabetes

Aims : Our aim was to investigate the proportional representation of people of South Asian origin in cardiovascular outcome trials of glucose-lowering drugs or strategies in Type 2 diabetes, noting that these are among the most significant pieces of evidence used to formulate the guidelines on which clinical practice is largely based. Methods : We searched for cardiovascular outcome trials in Type 2 diabetes published before January 2015, and extracted data on the ethnicity of participants. These were compared against expected values for proportional representation of South Asian individuals, based on population data from the USA, from the UK, and globally. Results : Twelve studies met our inclusion criteria and, of these, eight presented a sufficiently detailed breakdown of participant ethnicity to permit numerical analysis. In general, people of South Asian origin were found to be under-represented in trials compared with UK and global expectations and over-represented compared with US expectations. Among the eight trials for which South Asian representation could be reliably estimated, seven under-represented this group relative to the 11.2% of the UK diabetes population estimated to be South Asian, with the representation in these trials ranging from 0.0% to 10.0%. Conclusions : Clinicians should exercise caution when generalizing the results of trials to their own practice, with regard to the ethnicity of individuals. Efforts should be made to improve reporting of ethnicity and improve diversity in trial recruitment, although we acknowledge that there are challenges that must be overcome to make this a reality.

Seasonality and geographical occurrence of West Nile fever and distribution of Asian tiger mosquito

The importance and risk of emerging mosquito borne diseases is going to increase in the European temperate areas due to climate change. The present and upcoming climates of Transdanubia seem to be suitable for the main vector of Chikungunya virus, the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus Skuse (syn. Stegomyia albopicta). West Nile fever is recently endemic in Hungary. We used climate envelope modeling to predict the recent and future potential distribution/occurrence areas of the vector and the disease. We found that climate can be sufficient to explain the recently observed area of A. albopictus, while in the case of West Nile fever, the migration routes of reservoir birds, the run of the floodplains, and the position of lakes are also important determinants of the observed occurrence.

The integration by trade and FDI of emerging economies: The Asian example

The paper investigates the role of regionalization and regional identity in the endeavours of emerging economies to connect successfully to the global world economy. It addresses the question of whether the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with its loose institutional integration framework, has contributed to the global integration of its very heterogenous members in the first decade of the 21st century – and, if so, what are the drivers behind this. The paper summarizes connecting theories, using a multidisciplinary approach, and uses descriptive statistical analysis to identify the achievements of the ASEAN-6 countries within global trade and foreign direct invesment (FDI) flows in the given time period. We suggest that ASEAN countries, with their efforts to initiate interconnecting regional organizations in Asia, most specifically the ASEAN+3 (APT) construction, did contribute to greater integratedness of member countries; and they have created a regional image with a common market and production base. Such achievements, however, can be in great part attributed to the micro-level activities of international and regional firms wishing to establish cross-border production networks in these countries.

Irradiance and spectral quality affect Asian tropical rain forest tree seedling development

Iridescent blue leaf coloration in four Malaysian rain forest understory plants, Diplazium tomentosum Bl. (Athyriaceae), Lindsaea lucida Bi. (Lindsaeaceae), Begonia pavonina Ridl. (Begoniaceae), and Phyllagathis rotundifolia Bl. (Melastoma- taceae) is caused by a physical effect, constructive interference of reflected blue light. The ultrastructural basis for this in D. tomentosum and L. lucida is multiple layers of cellulose microfibrils in the uppermost cell walls of the adaxial epidermis. The helicoidal arrangement of these fibrils is analogous to that which produces a similar color in arthropods. In B. pavonina and P. rotundifolia the blue-green coloration is caused by parallel lamellae in specialized plastids adjacent to the abaxial wall of the adaxial epidermis. The selective advantage of this color production, if any, is unknown.

Effects of irradiance and spectral quality on leaf structure and function in seedlings of two Southeast Asian Hopea species

We studied the development of leaf characters in two Southeast Asian dipterocarp forest trees under different photosynthetic photon flux densities (PFD) and spectral qualities (red to far-red, R:FR). The two species, Hopea helferi and H. odorata, are taxonomically closely related but differ in their ecological requirements; H. helferi is more drought tolerant and H. odorata more shade tolerant. Seedlings were grown in replicated shadehouse treatments of differing PFD and R:FR. We measured or calculated (1) leaf and tissue thicknesses; (2) mesophyll parenchyma, air space, and lignified tissue volumes; (3) mesophyll air volumes (Vmes/Asurf) and surfaces (Ames/Asurf); (4) palisade cell length and width; (5) chlorophyll/cm2 and a/ b; (6) leaf absorption; and (7) attenuance/absorbance at 652 and 550 nm. These characters varied in response to light conditions in both taxa. Characters were predominantly affected by PFD, and R:FR slightly influenced many characters. Leaf characters of H. odorata were more plastic in response to treatment conditions. Characters were correlated with each other in a complex fashion. Variation in leaf anatomy is most likely a consequence of increasing leaf thickness in both taxa, which may increase mechanical strength and defense against herbivory in more exposed environments. Variation in leaf optical properties was most likely affected by pigment photo-bleaching in treatments of more intense PFD and was not correlated with Amax. The greater plasticity of leaf responses in H. odorata helps explain the acclimation over the range of light conditions encountered by this shade-tolerant taxon. The dense layer of scales on the leaf undersurface and other anatomical characters in H. helferi reduced gas exchange and growth in this drought-tolerant tree.

Pivot or periphery? Xinjiang's regional development and Chinese-Central Asian relations at the century's end

Xinjiang, once described by Owen Lattimore as the "pivot of Asia", has played a strategically important role in China's national defense and security. Historically linked on the famous Silk Road with Central Asia, Xinjiang was crucial to East-West economic and cultural exchanges. During the period of Russian/Soviet expansion into Central Asia and Sino-Soviet rivalry, China's need for Xinjiang's defense and territorial integrity became paramount, and consequently Xinjiang's economy was relegated to the periphery.^ The demise of the Soviet Union--which resulted in the independence of five Central Asian states--and China's reform suggest dramatic new possibilities for Xinjiang's regional development as well as interregional cooperation. As China has begun to shift regional emphasis to the interior, Xinjiang's economic development will be accelerated. With the growth of Sino/Xinjiang-Central Asian relations, Xinjiang's importance will not only be borne out in terms of defense and security, but more significantly in terms of trade and economics. At the century's end and the beginning of the 21st century, Xinjiang will likely move away from the periphery and play an increasingly pivotal role in the economy. ^

Community formation among Asian Indians in southeast Florida

Nearly one million Asian Indians have immigrated to the United States. Asian Indians are scattered across wide geographic areas. While some have chosen transnationalism, most are taking the traditional route of building ethnic communities. Using what the West has to offer in terms of communication and transportation technologies, they are constructing communities without geographic boundaries, with the extensive use of the automobile and air transportation, cellular phones, FAX machines, commercial delivery services, multi-party conference phones. Also, they are incorporating the American tradition of immigrant associations into an Asian Indian syncretism of community. In the process there emerges an Asian Indian identity and concept of kinship and community. ^