volume-19-number-2

Author: Romeo B. Lee

Preliminaries

Year: 2019, Volume 19 Number 2

Page: 1-14

Many previous studies in the literature concerning qualification-job mismatch have focused primarily on the effect of over-education on labor market outcomes such as wages, whereas the topic of over-skilling has received relatively little attention in the literature primarily due to the unavailability of data. Moreover, some previous studies in the literature have also been constrained by the absence of panel data providing controls for unmeasured heterogeneity that might otherwise bias results. In an attempt to resolve these issues, this paper places emphasis on the wage effect of being over-skilled and extends the analysis by making use of the panel element of the Youth Panel 2007 survey. The major findings confirm and support the findings of other studies as follows: For the whole sample, significant wage penalties exist when over-skilled college graduate workers are compared with their well-matched counterparts. The wage penalties associated with over- skilling are stronger for women than for men when the data is disaggregated by gender. It indicates that the problem of being over-skilled is generally more severe in the case of women. For both genders, the wage effects of being over-skilled are greatly reduced when accounting for unobserved individual-specific characteristics such as lower abilities. The results mentioned indicate that the use of appropriate panel methodology considerably reduces the size of the relevant coefficients and suggest that cross-section results should be viewed with caution, particularly in the Korean setting.

Keywords: Skill mismatch, over-education, over-skilling, wages, gender

Page: 15-29

Shareholder value maximization is one of the main objectives of a corporation; however, the management may not always achieve such an objective that may force them to employ some earnings management practices to manage reported earnings. This study deals with the opportunistic perspective where managers are suspected to perform some earnings management practices using cash flows from operations (CFO), production costs (PROD), and discretionary expenses (DISEXP), and further utilize their company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to shield the real earnings management (REM) performed. This study primarily investigates the role of CSR on the relationship of REM with financial performance and firm value. It examined 90 publicly listed companies in the Philippines for a five-year period from 2012 to 2016. Real earnings management is evaluated through deviations from normal operations which is termed as “abnormal” operations. Results show that when the company employs REM and uses CSR to shield such, the significant association between the two causes of improvement in the company’s financial performance. This study provides evidence of the benefits of using REM to manage company earnings. Employing REM and using CSR (to shield the earnings management performed) benefits not just the community but also serves the economic objectives of the firm. This study concludes that the public companies in the Philippines may have CSR activities on different dimensions and areas; however, the intention is not purely to fulfill their social obligations to the community but also to strategically achieve some economic objectives. Corporate social responsibility is used by the management not just to shield REM but also to improve the company’s financial performance.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Real Earnings Management, Financial Performance, Firm Value, Structural Equation Modeling

Page: 30–46

During the 2017 BRICS Summit, the Chinese government announced the idea to promote the “BRICS Plus” cooperation approach, encouraging closer partnership among the group of emerging markets and developing countries. The idea was fixed in the final declaration, but the mechanism of its implementation remains uncertain, as well as the list of participants. At the same time, China’s approach to “build an open and diversified network of development partnerships to get more emerging market and developing countries involved in our concerted endeavors for cooperation and mutual benefits” (Huang, 2017, September 5) may push the developing world to integrate and challenge the contemporary system of global governance. Thus, the potential modalities of a newly proposed scenario need to be explored. The paper aims at reflecting at the Russian approach of implementing the BRICS Plus concept, as suggested by the chief economist of the Eurasian Development Bank Yaroslav Lissovolik, and explore directions of potential cooperation among the countries of the expanded format. The developed concept stems from the constructivist background. The “BRICS Plus Circle” unites the members of the five integration blocks, driven by the BRICS countries, which are mainly developing countries, seeking not just redistribution of powers, but the creation of a more balanced global architecture, based on the principles of non- discrimination, equal access to resources, and their fair distribution. The paper contains a comprehensive analysis of potential directions of cooperation within the expanded format, which lay mainly in economic field: traditional trade and financial cooperation, as well as new directions such as e-commerce, cooperation in the interests of small and medium enterprises, and technological cooperation. The financial area seems to be potentially the most promising, and trade and investment cooperation may potentially take the second position. The successful performance of the multilateral cooperation may, in the medium and long run, contribute to the changing global architecture and governance, create the alternative to the existing international financial organizations, mainly, the IMF, and lower the developing countries’ dependence on its financing. At the same time, deeper and closer trade and investment cooperation among the five integration blocks will contribute to the gradual harmonization of their content.

Keywords: BRICS, BRICS Plus, international trade, regional economic integration, international financial cooperation, currency swap agreement, technological cooperation

Page: 47–62

Family studies is a developing field in Southeast Asia. Scholars attempt to touch on family relations as they cover issues on national identity, state policies, gender division of labor, migration, agriculture, and modernization. It is important to give particular focus on the farming families in the region because, of all types of families, they are the ones who face and adapt to most changes in political, economic, cultural, and social terms. By reviewing literatures done in relation to farming families in Malaysia and the Philippines, this paper argues for the importance of (1) acknowledging the convergence in the definition and usage of the terms “family” and “kinship” in studying different forms of families, (2) exploring contemporary sociocultural perceptions on the family farm, and (3) ensuring that scholarly works go beyond focusing on development approaches and wife-husband dyad relations. Towards the conclusion, this work highlights the possibility of exploring Geertz and Ellen’s ecological approach in studying the role of the land in the strengthening or weakening of family relations. It also recommends Agarwal’s bargaining approach be extended to Southeast Asia and that siblingship and generational positionalities be considered.

Keywords: development, family, farm life, Malaysia, Philippines

Page: 63–79

Chinese and Korean animation film markets are important markets for U.S. animation filmmakers, and audience in these two markets are considered to show different preference towards marketing factors which are used by film producers and suppliers. This study explores the effects of selected factors affecting Chinese and Korean consumers’ choice for U.S. animation films with a comparative survey method. Two important dimensions of film marketing tools (i.e., localization and production images) are considered as factors which include title translation, poster localization, actor image, director image, and film studio image. Total of 450 responses are collected both from South Korea and China and used for comparative analysis. Chinese and Korean consumers are found to show different preference toward marketing programs which are applied to U.S. animation film products. Findings provide suggestions and implications for marketers and distributors of imported animation film products.

Keywords: Localization, Production Image, Title Translation, Animated Film, Consumer Choice, Cultural Difference

Page: 80–98

This study utilized a Straussian grounded theory approach to create a theory of being and becoming a tattooed person. Co-researchers were chosen using purposive and snow-balling sampling. A semi-structured interview was audio- recorded. This study answered the grand tour question “What does it mean to be a person with tattoos?” The data was meticulously transcribed, coded, and analyzed using constant comparative analysis. The findings revealed that there were quite a few changes that happened after acquiring a tattoo. Changes in physical, social, emotional, and mental aspect were shown. However, the perception of the society about tattoos was explored wherein those in favor of tattooing urges others to acquire tattoos, yet negative ideas are still associated with tattoos like delinquency. Prejudice and its psychological and social effects were also tackled in this study. Moreover, there were concepts and roots expounded in uncovering the decision making in undergoing tattoo. Thus, 13 categories emerged from the data and were connected and analyzed to create a successful theoretical grounding and process on becoming a tattooed person.

Keywords: tattoo, tattooing, tattooed person, society, grounded theory

Page: 99–114

This paper examines the constructions of “Indian-ness” in Malaysia and the way these constructions shape the interactions between Indian expatriate professionals and the local Malaysian workforce in the ICT sector. The paper uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyze the “texts” on Indians and Indian-ness produced in interviews with the professionals—both Indians and Malaysians—in the ICT sector, a sector driven by the transnational workforce. The analysis will be structured along three questions: What defines and categorizes Indian-ness in Malaysia and how are these constructions of Indian-ness a product of the socio-political ideologies borne out of Malaysia’s colonial legacy? How do these discourses of Indian-ness influence the behavior and perceptions towards expatriate Indian professionals, especially from the ICT sector? What is the potential for cross-cultural hybridity (if any) underlying these representations of Indian-ness? By posing these questions, the paper explores cultural nuances that shape the interactions between local population and the Indian expatriates in Malaysian workforce in order to understand how the presence of Indians from India or Mainland Indians (as they are referred to in the common parlance) fit into, challenge, and modify the notions of Indian-ness.

Keywords: Malaysia, India, Indian-ness, discourse, colonialism, expatriate, Information Technology

Page: 115-130

The employment of acts of political demonology has become common among power holders in Thai society. Demonization campaigns trace back to the early 1970s when Thai nationalists deemed Communists to be “beasts in human clothing.” This paper reviews demonization strategies employed by power holders (countersubversives) to undermine, marginalize, and repress anti-government protesters (subversives), beginning with the formative 1970s student movements, and continuing through the 2014 military coup d’état. We argue through a series of vignettes that the Thai elites have conveniently labeled anti-government protesters and their mobilization networks as demons, trolls, or animals due to their supposed threats to the Thai state, its monarchy, or national religion.

Keywords: political demonology, Thailand, dehumanization, state violence, repression

Page: 130-141

This paper characterizes the high incidence of breast cancer in Bacolod City, Philippines. The methods of research involved (1) an epidemiological study; (2) a determination study on the environmental factors that cause breast cancer; and (3) a breast cancer behavioral study. A statistical analysis of the personal demography profile found significant indicators of the presence or absence of breast cancer in the areas of breastfeeding duration (p = 0.0029), age when they experienced first sexual intercourse (p = 0.0449), cancer cases in the family (p < 0.0001), incidence of smoking (p = 0.0322), and occupation (p < 0.0001). From an environmental perspective, data obtained from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 6 showed nothing of suspect. The sociological dimension found a correlation between stress and the presence or vulnerability of patients and their families to breast cancer incidences. The study likewise found that the women in the study incorporated a range of attitude and behavior that directly and indirectly aim to manage the strains of home and office works revolving around the confluence of (i) faith, (ii) their family, and (iii) and anticipated future. The study promotes the creation of breast cancer support groups as they present a positive and viable mechanism within the community to create social awareness about breast cancer and foster genuine social support networks for its members and their families as well as promote initiatives for low-income members to obtain medicines, referrals, and information. Investing in counseling for the survivors and their families leads to stress management and increased awareness about self-examination, increasing the probability of early detection. Overall, this study can serve as an important document that could be used by government agencies in drawing up screening as well as treatment and management programs for breast cancer in the Philippines.

Keywords: breast cancer, epidemiology, behavior and environmental aspects

Page: 142–154

This paper aims to investigate the dengue fever discourse and discursive practices in a Thai village that produces lucky bamboo in terms of the source of poor sanitary, vector breeding, site of transmission, and responses of those in the village. In particular, villagers who produce lucky bamboo have been blamed for the risk for dengue emergence in the community, despite having no cases of dengue fever. The study included 14 months of participant observation, ethnographic interviews with 19 lucky bamboo farmers, in-depth interviews with 69 villagers, semi-structured interviews with 10 local government officials, and a discourse analysis on international guidelines, research articles, policy texts, official reports, and project documents. The critical discourse analysis framework inspired the inquiry and analytical procedure. The key findings of this study were as follows: (1) the dengue fever discourse was produced through expert communication events consisting of an entomological approach and by the epidemiological triangle model, which has formed the basic conceptual framework that has been used by both international health agencies and public health interventions in many countries; (2) entomological surveillance, a dengue risk map and red flag labels were used as legitimate strategies for influencing people and the community; and (3) the response of the community included questioning the blame, and acceptance of the dominant discourse or sublimation. This study demonstrates that expert knowledge and practice were factors in naming and blaming the people even in periods without infection.

Keywords: blame, critical discourse analysis, dengue fever, ethnography, lucky bamboo village

Page: 155-163

The study examines a set of factors for their influence on the brand loyalty of diners to certified Thai Restaurants in the United States. Specifically, the study investigates the hypothesized direct or indirect influences of image, service quality, customer expectations, sensory perception, and customer satisfaction on brand loyalty. A total of 620 diners who had eaten at least once in certified Thai restaurants in the United States were interviewed using a self-accomplished questionnaire. Results confirm almost all of the hypothesized influences of the structural equation model variables on loyalty. Customer satisfaction is the factor having the strongest influence on loyalty, followed by customer expectations, service quality, image, and sensory perception in that order. Overall, the variances in loyalty, customer satisfaction, and sensory perception are well-explained by the variables included in the model, but there are nuances in which to appreciate these key findings. Data are useful for Thailand as it continues to deepen its offshore strategies to further cement the competitiveness of Thai Select and Thai Select Premium restaurants in the United States.

Keywords:Thai restaurants, Thai Select and Thai Select Premium restaurants, Thai food, brand loyalty, tourism, structural equation model

Page: 164–179

The force of regionalization has become the main discourse in public policy for many years, especially in the extent of what a regional integration would contribute to the success of the objectives set out to promote economic, political, and social cohesion. Following the completion of the integration process of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in late 2015, the higher education sector is one of many policy branches where the force of regionalization has touched. Although Europe has ventured on the route towards a deeper integration and harmonization of higher education to establish a platform where graduates and educational staff can benefit from aligned higher education systems for teaching and learning, research and mobility, the same scenario does not seem to hold true in Southeast Asia despite the move toward a deeper ASEAN integration. This study takes on the main objectives to, firstly, do a stocktaking of policy discourses and implementation in ASEAN countries regarding the harmonization of higher education in the region using the key harmonization dimensions set up in the Bologna Process. Despite policy rhetorics at the ASEAN Secretariat and by some political leaders, each member country seems to move along the process at a different rate and varieties. The second objective is to examine the role of the key actors in the region in promoting the process, ranging from the national governments, higher education institutions, and regional higher education networks. Depending on the governance structure of each country, the development of the harmonization process seems to be shaped by all three main actors, with a different degree of involvement and success.

Keywords: harmonization of higher education, ASEAN Community, ASEAN Higher Education

Page: 180-191

Although Thailand’s Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) has provided almost free healthcare access, there is still a concern of unmet healthcare need especially for older adults due to their mobility limitations. Thus, this study investigated factors associated with unmet healthcare need among older adults under the UCS context. Descriptive and binomial logistic regression analyses with the nationwide Health and Welfare Survey 2015 data were performed to explore socioeconomic characteristics of older adults, and investigate whether the socioeconomic characteristics were associated with unmet healthcare need. The results indicated that mobility limitation was a major reason for the unmet need. Additionally, long wait-time in and long distance to healthcare facilities were significantly associated with the unmet need. For socioeconomic conditions, older adults, as compared to younger ones, generally had low income and education levels, were unemployed and chronically ill, and lived without a spouse. Such socioeconomic conditions were even worse for the older adults who experienced the unmet need than those who did not. By the results, policy interventions must set priorities of older adults according to their vulnerability. Specifically, older adults who have a mobility limitation and live alone without a regular connection or support must be the first target group. In the short term, the current village health volunteer program should assist the urgent needs of older adults through home care and emergency van arrangement services. In the long-term, the government should continue the investments for the current limited healthcare resources through the National Health Development Plan.

Keywords: unmet need for healthcare, older adults, Universal Coverage Scheme, Thailand

Page: 192-205

Youth well-being has become a phenomenon of interest to community youth workers. Despite the potential of youth well-being to promote positive youth outcome and strengthen community settings, the practice remains unfamiliar to many. Thus, this study used multidimensional constructs to measure youth well-being in Malaysia. The aims of this study were to (1) construct and validate a multidimensional measure of the Youth Well-Being Scale (YWS) and (2) scrutinize the psychometric and measurement properties of the YWS in Malaysian youths. A quantitative study was conducted to validate the 97-item YWS with a sample of 500 Malaysian youths. The YWS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties for 10 YWS dimensions in the exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the multidimensional constructs fit the YWS data. Participants confirmed that the validity and reliability of youth well-being take place at the intersection of personal, relational, and collective strengths. Going forward, the analysis of results offers a big picture of community ideals, needs, strength, as well as potential actions that could enhance personal, relational, and collective well- being of youth in Malaysia.

Keywords: Malaysia, youth well-being, measurement validation, community development

Page: 206-217

This paper investigates the impact of the abortion law changes on family labor supply in the United States in the early 1970s. It attempts to answer the key question: do the law changes affect labor supply of fertile women and their parents who co-reside with them? Following the works of Chiappori, Fortin, and Lacroix (2002) and Oreffice (2007), I propose a collective labor supply model for households in which a fertile daughter resides with her parents. In empirical section, using data from the March Current Population Survey and Panel Study of Income Dynamics, I find a significantly positive influence of the law on fertile women’s capacity to work and a negative influence on their mothers in mother-daughter family scenario. It can be explained that the availability of the birth control allows the daughters more time to work for earning and provides their mothers fewer opportunities to financially support their newborn grandchildren. The paper uses the Heckman selection bias correction technique to correct the bias due to missing data on working behaviors of the family members. The novelty of this paper includes the investigation of the effect on working behaviors of people rather than spouses in an extended family.

Keywords: Abortion reform, labor supply, fertility, bargaining, children, fertile women

Author: Patrick David Cenon

Book Review

Year: 2019, Volume 19 Number 2

Pages: 218-221

Author: APSSR Editorial Team

Data at a Glance

Year: 2019, Volume 19 Number 2

Page: 222

Author: APSSR Editorial Team

Data at a Glance

Year: 2019, Volume 19 Number 2

Page: 223