Asian Journal of Social Science最新文献

Regional disparities in Korea are gradually intensifying, coupled with changes in regional demographic characteristics. Despite the implementation of various policies, progress concerning decentralization and securing the financial independence of local governments have not been very effective. The widening of the gap between the regions is due to changes in the regional populations. This study analyzes policy countermeasures based on the relationship between population changes and the degree of financial independence among regions. We empirically analyzed the influencing factors in the financial independence of the local government using a spatial panel model with a longitudinal approach. The spatial range includes 225 municipal and provincial government units. Our results suggest that demographic characteristics, such as the elderly population ratio, population size, and population growth rate, have diverse relationships with the local government's financial independence. Local governments with a high proportion of the elderly population are likely to face low levels of financial independence and high dependency on central government subsidies. It is important to consider the criteria that exacerbate the financial conditions and sustainability of local governments. Active management and assistance policies from the central government can support those local governments with low financial independence ratios and unstable demographic characteristics.

The present study aimed to explore the lived experience of Iranian mothers about the process of e-learning for their children by way of a qualitative approach and phenomenological study. Semi-structured telephone interviews were held with 28 mothers residing in Tehran (the capital of Iran) in the second half of 2021. Maximum variation sampling was carried out to recruit a variety of interviewees, and theoretical sampling was performed to reach conceptual saturation. The interview data were encoded by thematic analysis. The themes were classified into the three categories of basic, organizing, and global themes. The research findings showed that Iranian mothers have been faced with multiple challenges, burdens, and inequalities with respect to their children's e-learning during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Family-centered and mother-centered e-learning, motherhood at the intersection of multiple identities, mothers’ multiple fears and concerns, and gender inequality in parental duties constituted a major part of the lived experience of Iranian mothers during the pandemic. In total, the findings showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the multiple responsibilities of women, especially about their children, and has delegated a double burden of education responsibilities to mothers.

The armed Naga political movement resulted in the statehood of Nagaland with a special provision for administration of the state based on customary laws and procedures under Article 371 (A) of the Indian Constitution. Like caste and religion which, formed the basis of associational life in postcolonial India, the colonial categorization of tribes, along with Article 371 (A) in the postcolonial state, deepened the identity of tribes in the associational life of Naga society. Naga society also interacts with the realities of militarized conflict. The identity of belonging to a tribe provides social capital in civil society organizations, and in the electoral democratic process. The contestations emanating from the enmeshment of identity politics in civil society and the dynamics of these interactions in the background of an armed conflict are explored in this article.

The paper focuses on trends over time in differentials between Southeast Asian Muslims and non-Muslims in the incidence of divorce and various aspects of divorce. There has been a considerable narrowing of differentials in divorce rates, which the paper seeks to document using appropriate measures, as well as to explain. Time trends in divorce rates according to age at marriage are examined, along with intervals between marriage and divorce, and in the partner initiating the divorce. The similar social and labor market forces affecting both Muslims and non-Muslims in these increasingly urbanized societies are seen to be largely responsible for both the narrowing of differentials in divorce and the general upward trend in divorce rates in the first 2 decades of the 21st century.

The paper focuses on how the neoliberal economy is changing the agriculture and traditional food system of the Kondh tribes of Odisha, India. As Kondhs’ culture and the ritual system moves around agriculture, its increasing commercialization has led to changes in the larger socioeconomic structure. The paper discusses the immediate impacts of neoliberalism on the Kondhs’ youths and rising materialism. Widespread cultivation of Bt. Cotton and GM seeds in the region are one of the ways to trace the impact of the neoliberal market system. Most commercial exchanges performed by Kondhs and nontribal middlemen are a site for multiple negotiations and terms for trading, in which Kondhs most loose, both ecologically and economically. The paper uses ethnographic data and experiences to discuss socioeconomic distress among Kondhs, changing from barter to a cash system. It concludes by discussing if local NGOs and food movements can become a solution.

In the rural Punjab region in Pakistan, some women who experience pregnancy loss are believed to suffer from athra, which is considered a major cause of childlessness. Women with athra can have several miscarriages, and they are prone to stillbirth and neonatal death. This study presents results from ethnographic fieldwork in a rural, religiously diverse Christian–Muslim community in Punjab, Pakistan. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with community members and women who had experienced athra. This study explores the perception of athra in this community, as well as the impact of a diagnosis of athra on the women affected. This study follows the model developed by Link and Phelan (2001) to explore the process through which athra is stigmatised. According to Link and Phelan (2001), stigma occurs when labelling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination occur within an unequal power situation.

Owing to the conflicting waves of nationalism in mainland China and localism in Hong Kong, the long-standing dispute over Hong Kong's identity has intensified over the past decade or so. The historical discourses presented in the films about the kung fu master Ip Man reflect this trend. Focusing on the Ip Man series, Ip Man: The Final Fight, and The Grandmaster, this article examines how they dramatise the life story of Ip Man and articulate identities from various historical perspectives. These films exemplify how the kung fu genre actively responds to the ideological landscape and socio-political climate of the prevailing society.