Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigating the funding success factors affecting reward-based crowdfunding projects

ABSTRACT The issue of which factors influence the success or failure of crowdfunding projects is a critical topic, as it can bring founders sufficient financial support to realise their ideal innovation. We present a useful framework for two aspects of marketing (attraction-promotion and cognition-promotion) and four related factors to foster the success of reward-based crowdfunding ventures. We investigate this issue by analysing data collected from 323 funding projects from four crowdfunding platforms in Taiwan and Japan. We found that the cognition-promotion aspect obviously influenced funding success, because the factors it encompasses – signalling (including founder response, founder updates frequency and having a formal website) and kindness (including donation to other projects and rewarding sponsors) – are all significant in the logistic regression model. Regarding the attraction-promotion aspect, we found that the past experiences of the founder in terms of the attention factor do not influence funding success. Our study contributes to the literature on crowdfunding discussion platforms and engagement, and our empirical results provide a comprehensive message to the founders and sponsors of crowdfunding platforms.
Quantity-Quality and the One Child Policy:The Only-Child Disadvantage in School Enrollment in Rural China

Many believe that increasing the quantity of children will lead to a decrease in their quality. This paper exploits plausibly exogenous changes in family size caused by relaxations in China's One Child Policy to estimate the causal effect of family size on school enrollment of the first child. The results show that for one-child families, an additional child significantly increased school enrollment of first-born children by approximately 16 percentage-points. The effect is larger for households where the children are of the same sex.
Developing Effective Tourism Leadership

This study explores the development of effective leadership in the tourism industry from the perspective of current industry leaders in Hong Kong, China. The literature reviews the key themes in tourism leadership research, which is followed by an empirical qualitative study of 10 leaders in the tourism industry in Hong Kong. Findings are explored in relation to three key areas: (a) how the leaders learned their skills, (b) what makes an effective leader, and (c) advice for aspiring leaders. The key findings are that leaders learn their skills from their own experiences and from others; effective leadership is gained through a combination of business knowledge and personal skills including determination, being open-minded, self-reflection, and excellent communication and team-building skills. Advice for aspiring leaders is to be passionate and knowledgeable about the industry and, ultimately, not to be afraid of hard work. The implications of the research are discussed in relation to organizations and individuals in terms of developing effective leadership.
Productivity Demand Shocks And Asia-Pacific Real Exchange Rates

The evidence for a productivity-based explanation for real exchange rate behavior of East Asian currencies is examined using sectoral output and employment data, relative prices and relative productivities for China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Time series regressions of the real exchange rate on relative productivity ratios indicate significant relationships for the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. Only when augmenting the regressions with real oil prices are significant relationships obtained for Indonesia and Japan. Panel regression results are less supportive of a relative productivity view of real exchange rates except for Hong Kong, China and Thailand. Surprisingly, government spending does not appear to be a determinant of real exchange rates except for the countries of Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.
Sectoral Systems of Innovation in Asia: The Case of Software Research Activities

The article compares sectoral systems of innovation (SSI) related to software in the selected Asian countries: China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, focusing on industry-academia relations. It attempts to answer a question about the relevance of scientific research in each of the countries for local software companies, using tech mining research method. The analysis focuses on relevant scientific output of individual countries: publications from Compendex database in a 5-years time frame (2000-2004). The paper characterizes the involvement of private sector in scientific research, identifying the leading regional science-based software firms as well as key foreign vendors, conducting software research in Asia. It subsequently analyzes the balance between basic and applied research by clustering applied research topics and verifying contributions to dominant software domains. Finally, it measures the responsiveness of researchers to emerging technologies. The analysis helps identify potential inefficiencies and strategic threats in the software sectors of the concerned countries.
International technology diffusion in Computers & Communications Field

Researches in technology diffusion is popular in economics; however most papers focus on geographical pattern. In this research, we examined the international technology diffusion by using patent citations and focused on Computers and Communications field to investigate technology in-flow and out-flow between countries. The results indicate that technology diffusion of this field is more significant intra-field, differing by countries. It shows more concentrations of technology in-flow, and more spread of out-flow. Technology diffusion of major countries: US, Germany and Canada have performed fewer dependencies on the other nations; Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have performed a technological cluster; Netherlands has performed spread of technology out-flow; France, United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland have performed spread of technology in/out flows.
Research progress in rehabilitation treatment of stroke patients: A bibliometric analysis

Background: Stroke presents as a transient or chronic brain dysfunction and is associated with high morbidity and high mortality. The doctors and scientists would like to argue how to enhance the validity of the rehabilitation treatment and how to further improve the level of treatment on stroke. Objective: The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyze the current worldwide progress in research on stroke rehabilitation treatment based on Web of Science database and ClinicalTrial.gov in the past 10 years. Methods: We conducted a quantitative analysis of clinical trial articles regarding stroke rehabilitation published in English from 2003 to 2013 and indexed in the National Institutes of Health Clinical Trials registry and Web of Science databases. Data were downloaded on March 15, 2013. Results: (1) From 2003 to 2013, 2 654 clinical trials investigating stroke were indexed in ClinicalTrials.gov. There were only 58 clinical trials registered in 2003, and there was a marked increase from 2005. A total of 605 clinical trials on the rehabilitation of stroke were conducted in the past 10 years. (2) The analysis showed that most of the trials in the field were registered by North American institutions. With respect to the Asian countries, China and Taiwan area of China also published a reasonable proportion of the trials, but comparatively speaking, the number of trials is really rare. Most of the interventions were drugs, followed by the devices, and behavioral interventions were ranked third. (3) In the past 10 years, there were 4 052 studies on stroke indexed by Web of Science database. Conclusion: From perspective of research progress, we found that the number of clinical trials and papers on stroke rehabilitation has increased significantly in the past 10 years, between them a remarkable positive correlation exists.
Crises and Financial Contagion : The Subprime Crisis

Our purpose in this paper is to examine financial contagion using the DCC GARCH (1, 1) technique and a correlation test. Our sample includes stock returns of 10 emerging markets from 1 January 2005 to 01 July 2010. The DCC GARCH (1, 1) results indicate a significant conditional correlation between emerging markets returns (Argentina, Brazil, Korea, HonkKong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Shanghai, Singapore and Taiwan) and the American market during the subprime crisis except for the Shanghai market (China). Moreover, defining contagion as a significant increase of relationships across markets and adjusting correlation coefficients to control for heteroscedasticity, we notice a contagion effect from the US towards Argentina, Brazil, Korea, Honk-Kong, Malaysia, Mexico and Singapore.
Risk perceptions, anxiety and the future of international trade: a cross-national study of public trade preferences in Asia under COVID-19

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has stalled the world’s economic activities and obscures the future of economic and trade. Many observers concern that the pandemic would result in growing protectionist attitudes in trade. This article provides one of the first systematic assessments to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public’s trade preferences. Using original cross-national surveys in six key and highly integrated economies in Asia – Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand – we found that most people support establishing closer trade relationships with foreign countries. However, most people prefer to buy more domestic products than foreign products. We test a behavioural model of trade preferences to understand the psychological impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. Consistent with prior studies, we found that a greater level of anxiety is negatively associated with support for trade and foreign product preference, after controlling for the effects of ethnocentrism, education and other socioeconomic factors. Job and health insecurities reduced public preference for buying more foreign products, but it stimulated more support for trade with other countries. This study contributes to the behavioural theory of international political economy and sheds light on the future of economic globalization.
Resistance to Three Distinct Begomovirus Species in the Agronomical Superior Tropical Pumpkin Line AVPU1426 Developed at the World Vegetable Center

The Squash Leaf Curl China Virus (SLCCNV) and Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi Virus (ToLCNDV) are species of Begomovirus (whitefly-vectored Geminiviridae) and cause serious damage to the cucurbit crops of the genus Cucurbita in the areas of South and Southeast Asia, across Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, respectively. Cucurbita moschata’s inbred line AVPU1426, developed at the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) from a Bangladeshi landrace through pedigree selection, was observed to be resistant to both begomoviruses in field tests conducted at the WorldVeg Research and Training Station, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Thailand, which is a hotspot for these viruses. When AVPU1426 was tested for reaction to inoculation by viruliferous whiteflies with Squash Leaf Curl Philippines Virus (Taiwan strain) (SLCPV-TW) in the screen net-house at WorldVeg headquarters in Taiwan, it showed good resistance, though SLCPV-TW DNA-A could be detected in all inoculated plants, indicating that it did not show immunity to this virus. The objective of this study was to validate the resistance to SLCCNV and ToLCNDV in AVPU1426 by using whitefly-mediated inoculations to determine the mode of inheritance of the resistance. The results showed that AVPU1426 was resistant to SLCCNV and ToLCNDV. Upon crossing AVPU1426 with a susceptible check variety, Waltham Butternut, the resistance to both begomoviruses was observed to be conferred by a single recessive gene. This open-pollinated pumpkin line AVPU1426 bears flat round, mottled green immature fruits with yellow flesh in mature fruit. The fruit yield of AVPU1426 (20.74 t/ha−1) was comparable to ‘Rajah’ (18.61 t/ha−1), a recently released commercial F1 hybrid of East-West Seed (EWS). The fruit of AVPU1426 were estimated to have a good average β-carotene content (1.57 mg/100 g fresh weight). This line is a good source to breed pumpkins resistant to the three begomoviruses.
Health and Social Constraints for The Elder Chinese Women Who Lose Their Only Child and Spouse: A Perspective of Resilience

Ageing Chinese people who lose their only child are a newly developed vulnerable group as the result of the one child policy in China. As an integral part of this group, women who lost their only child and spouse are more vulnerable and have their own particularity. From the perspective of resilience, this study applies the qualitative methods to explore the resilience of women who have lost their only child and spouse from the interaction of risk factors and protective factors at individual and environment levels. From the perspective of resilience, this article examines the psychological suffering, health and social constraints experienced by elder women who lose their only child and spouse and who lack appropriate support from the government and society. It analyses that the internal protective factors of the resilience of women who lost their only child and spouse include being hard-working and being able to bear hardships, forbearance and good ability to seek social support, while the external protective factors include the care from relatives and the support from multiple social relationships. There are many forms of resilience of women who have lost their only child and spouse, including traditional positive resilience and recessive resilience, such as complaining and somatization, indicating profound health and social implications that require the development of appropriate policies in China.
Risk Allocation in Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Projects: Comparative Study

It is important for the public and private sectors to establish effective risk allocation strategies for public-private partnership (PPP) projects in order to achieve a more efficient process of contract negotiation and reduce the occurrence of dispute during the concession period. This paper aims first to identify the preferred risk allocation in PPP projects of mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (referred to as China and Hong Kong from here onward) and then to compare these preferences to those in the U.K. and Greece by a questionnaire survey based on the same risk register. The results in China and Hong Kong show that the public sector preferred to retain most political, legal, and social risks, and share most microlevel risks and force majeure risk; while the majority of mesolevel risks were preferred to be allocated to the private sector. The comparative analyses of risk allocation preference among these four countries/jurisdictions indicate that the public sector in the U.K. was most able to transfer the PPP risks to the private sector, followed by Greece, Hong Kong, and China. Respondents from Greece exhibited the greatest degree of support for the public sector to retain the macrolevel risks. All respondents agreed that private investors should take a more active role in managing the mesolevel risks. Respondents from China and Hong Kong considered that majority of the microlevel risks should be shared equally between the public and private sectors, while respondents from Greece indicated that the private sector should take a more active role in managing the microlevel risks. The comparative study provides international investors a better understanding of risk preferences in different countries/jurisdictions so that they could adjust their strategies according to the specific situation and achieve better value for money in running their PPP projects.
Genetic data revealed co-diversification and host switching in the Wiebesia pumilae species complex, pollinators of Ficus pumila

Figs and their pollinating fig wasps constitute a classic example of co-evolution. Recent molecular studies revealed that multiple cryptic fig wasp species may interact with single or different fig hosts; these species include pollinators associated with Ficus pumila. However, previous studies focused on different geographical ranges and fig varieties. The full evolutionary picture of F. pumila and its pollinating wasp, Wiebesia pumilae, has not been unraveled. Here, we collected mitochondrial COI sequences from the literature and studied the evolutionary history and phylogeography of the pollinating fig wasps of F. pumila L. var. pumila (creeping fig) and F. pumila var. awkeotsang (Makino) Corner (jelly fig). The W. pumilae contains three distinct lineages, of which Sp. 3 is mostly associated with F. pumila var. awkeotsang and Sp. 1 and Sp. 2 exclusively with F. pumila var. pumila. Wiebesia sp. 3 showed no genetic differentiation between sample collected from China and Taiwan. Besides, Sp. 3 samples from China exhibits only approximately 50% of genetic diversity compared to samples from Taiwan, suggesting Sp. 3 in China was recently introduced from Taiwan. Our study clarified the co-evolutionary relationships among F. pumila varieties and their pollinators, while showing how human activities have influenced their distribution. We also provide support for the endemism of both F. pumila var. awkeotsang and Sp. 3 in Taiwan.
Death – a concept of ‘martyrology’: references from Maoists people’s war in Nepal

ABSTRACT In the post-conflict Nepali society, death is discussed in subjective terms. The Maoists equated death with sacrifice. The dead person was seen as a sacrificing revolutionary and the dead was discussed in the pretext of a political and social movement. Consequently, while the security forces used the notion of death to protect the nation state, the Maoist revolutionary used it to defeat the existing power structures, the reactionary and feudal forces. In this paper, while drawing from ethnography carried out during 2009–2010 and a followup in 2018 in Nepal, I explore various narratives that seek to frame death as a concept of ‘martyrology’ - liberation from socio-cultural and political inequality. Martyrdom occupy a significant place in the Maoist revolutionary ideology Death – mrytu is exalted as ‘the image’ that revolutionaries adhere to, as a by-product of the process of revolution and to place oneself in a category of the self-actualised being. The Maoists framed this within the ideology of ‘martyrology’ where death and destruction were seen as creative strategies for revolution to continue and dying for social cause was a means to self-actualisation. Death during Maoists conflict was thus argued meaningful in terms of political martyrdom.
Orgasm and Faking Orgasm: Heterosexual Interactions in China

ABSTRACT This article examines the prevalence and correlates of orgasm and faking orgasm in the last year among a representative sample of Chinese men and women. Existing research on orgasm in China has largely been confined to medical research. To our knowledge, no published studies have examined faking orgasm in a Chinese context. These data come from the Chinese Health and Family Life Survey (CHFLS) conducted in 1999 and 2000. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify independent correlates of orgasm and faking orgasm among 1496 women and 1497 men, ages 20–64. In accounting for orgasm and faking orgasm in China, we found evidence that men and women are trying to manage social expectations and to act in accordance with gender expectations, consistent with research in other countries. Results provide insight into how specific sexual practices (e.g., oral sex) and interactional pressures (e.g., insecurity) are correlated with orgasm and faking orgasm. Findings pave the way for future research on the presence of gender inequality as evidenced through lower orgasm rates among women and higher rates of faking orgasm. These findings have implications for how we conceptualize and study gendered and interactional components of sex, which are often overlooked in research and programmatic efforts in China.
Keeping the peace in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the quest for positive peace

Abstract Southeast Asia has gone through a remarkable transformation in recent decades and seen peaceful change since the end of the Cold War era despite great power interference and rivalry and ongoing territorial disputes including the South China Sea conflict. The region has transformed its image from the so-called Balkans of the East in the 1960s and 1970s to an economically competitive and peaceful region today. Despite these accomplishments, the record of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in maintaining regional peace and security has also been seriously challenged, particularly at the domestic and transnational level. The paper argues that the Southeast Asian experience of peaceful change calls for a different framework of analysis that goes beyond the traditional International Relations theories which do not provide a compelling answer to whether regional peace has prevailed. It reviews ASEAN’s approaches to managing peace and security in Southeast Asia and brings close attention to domestic and international dynamics. The paper claims that the Southeast Asian states’ approach to positive peace, reflected in the notion of comprehensive security and the building of national and regional resilience, is instructive in understanding peaceful transformations in the region.
How #TaiwanCanHelp Reverberates: An Exploratory Analysis of Advocacy Hashtag on Twitter

Taiwan’s unique circumstance as a contested state makes it imperative for the country to increase international support for and awareness of its embattled democracy at the hands of the authoritarian government in Beijing through positive public visibility. #TaiwanCanHelp, while perhaps similar to other forms of hashtag activism, is also very different because it also encompasses digitalization of diplomacy, in which the Taiwanese government seeks to raise international awareness of its struggle and gain goodwill through its medical equipment donations. The social influence of #TaiwanCanHelp has not been measured and examined extensively. Evaluation of hashtag use at a holistic level is imperative to the understanding of the extent of resonance across social media. This study explores the dynamics of the #TaiwanCanHelp hashtag on Twitter by quantifying the public response and uncovering the public opinions around #TaiwanCanHelp. A mixed-methods methodology incorporating time-series analysis, sentiment analysis, spatial analysis, and word clouds has been adopted. Our results reveal that #TaiwanCanHelp has resonated beyond Taiwan and received positive responses from diverse users across the globe. Our findings also suggest that the prominence of #TaiwanCanHelp rides on real-life events and is a successful attempt by the Taiwan government in generating international interest through digitalization of diplomacy to advance Taiwan’s interests.