volume-21-number-2

Author: Romeo B. Lee

Preliminaries

Year: 2021, Volume 21 Number 2

Pages: 1 – 10

From medieval to modern and postmodern times, thoughts about death have been among the most important subjects in literature. Among writers who have discussed death, Haruki Murakami addressed not only the notions of death and life after death but also the nature of death through existence. His point of view becomes metaphysical reflections. Through cultural semiotics, psychoanalysis, and existential theory, I show that death is associated with mythical thought and the hybrid between Japanese cultural tradition and Western existentialism. In Murakami’s novels, death represents Mono no aware and the beauty of melancholy presage. Life after death is associated with shadow, soul, and a new existence in which death and sex have expressed the desire for eternal freedom. Death is a mixing body and soul, nature and culture. Through death, Murakami created new aesthetic categories. 

Keywords: death, shadow, soul, metaphysical destiny, Mono no aware, freedom, Murakami 

Pages: 11 – 30

The notion that corporate boards should be more gender-diverse is attracting greater attention around the world. Some scholars argue that gender diversity on boards improves firm performance and induces more prudent corporate decision- making. This rationale is based on the hypothesis that women are less overconfident and are innately more risk-averse than men. Other researchers argue that firms having more female directors are associated with greater corporate risk-taking, as past studies show that risk-seeking women tend to be appointed to the board. Still, another strand of literature argues that risk- aversion does not vary between homogeneously male boards and more gender-diverse boards. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between board diversity for Philippine firms and corporate risk-taking over the period 2003 to 2015. We use four alternative measures of corporate risk-taking and employ the two-step system generalized method of moments estimation technique to account for endogeneity issues that may influence this relationship. Overall, we find some evidence that greater female participation in the boardroom increases financial risk-taking, proxied by the leverage and current ratio, but decreases riskiness of firm outcomes, proxied by the volatility of return on assets. This suggests that greater gender diversity in Philippine corporate boards, while addressing the usual equality, social, and fairness considerations, also has economic consequences that may or may not be desirable with respect to firm risk. 

Keywords: Board diversity, Corporate risk-taking, Philippine corporations, System Generalized Method of Moments 

Pages: 31 – 47

The unexpected community quarantine period in the Philippines due to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a total switch from traditional classroom teaching to online teaching. The unprecedented challenges of whether teachers were prepared enough in terms of materials and their capability in delivering their lessons from traditional to online teaching prompted the researchers to conduct this study. Thus, this study attempted to investigate the robustness of UTAUT constructs and an aspect of IDT and explore the integration of trialability and compatibility to find out the preparedness of the teachers in using Canvas features during their lockdown days. Empirical data were collected through online surveys among university faculty (N=786) that used Canvas online features. Modeling and structuring approaches, such as a statistical tool called SmartPLS 3, were used. Results indicated that all the eight hypotheses tested, integrating trialability and compatibility with UTAUT constructs, were supported at p <0.000. Most particularly, the findings revealed the following: (a) Trialability of Canvas usage affects effort expectancy of users; (b) Social influence is directly related to facilitating conditions; (c) Compatibility on Canvas usage is directly related to facilitating conditions to use; (d) Effort expectancy influences usage of Canvas features; (e) Facilitating conditions affect the usage of Canvas features directly; (f) Performance expectancy is directly related to the usage of Canvas features; (g) Compatibility has a direct effect on performance expectancy; and (h) Trialability is directly related to compatibility in using the technology. Thus, the actual usage and acceptance of Canvas had been justified, giving evidence that the faculty were ready for online teaching during the quarantine period. It was recommended that educators continue with the online learning mode that meets learners’ needs. The models used in the study may be tried by future researchers using the same Canvas features. 

Keywords: Canvas features, trialability, compatibility, performance expectancy, social influence 

Pages: 48 – 62

Investment decision-making is the process of identifying decisions, collecting relevant information, and making informed choices. This study unfolds the behavioral determinants which affect the investment decision-making behavior of equity investors. A survey was conducted on a sample of 384 registered individual investors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The impact of behavioral determinants, including heuristics, herding effect, and market variables on investment decision-making behavior, was measured through structural equation modeling. The analysis outcomes indicated a positive and significant impact of behavioral determinants on investment decisions. Hence, heuristics, herding effects, and market variables have strong and significant roles in making educated and informed decisions. The present study proposes multidimensional functional insights for academicians, money and mutual fund managers, stockbrokers, and investment advisors to comprehend the determinants, which are important for the investment decisions of equity investors. 

Keywords: heuristics, herding effect, market variables, investment decision making, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)

Pages: 63 – 74

This article is premised on the identification of perceived benefits of various web applications in ELT classrooms among 20 English language teachers from four countries in the ASEAN region (i.e., Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam), the different issues they experienced, and the ways through which they mitigated these issues. Through in- depth semi-structured interviews, it was found that the teacher-participants perceived some pedagogical, operational, and dispositional benefits of using web applications. Despite this positive perception, different issues were also identified. This article concludes with a note on the importance of striking a balance between technology integration and teachers’ taking charge of the English language learning experience—a promising partnership, and the need for schools in the ASEAN region to ensure that there is proper planning and a clear policy on the integration of technology into the ELT classroom so that issues that may come along with it can be properly addressed. 

Keywords: ASEAN region, English language teaching, information and communication technology, language and technology, web applications for language learning 

Pages: 75 – 89

The study explored the hypothesized role of social networking site behavior in mediating the effect of customer orientation on innovation among hotel employees. The survey was conducted on a sample of 392 managers from some selected foreign chain hotels in Beijing and Shanghai, China. The participants were recruited using the multistage sampling method. Structural equation modeling was performed to assess the direct and mediating relationships. The measures were adapted from previous research and assessed for language accuracy through back-translation. The measures were found to have adequate internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity. Social networking site behavior was found to significantly mediate the relationship between customer orientation and innovation as hypothesized. The configured model appeared to represent an adequate fit to the data. The findings benefit the upscale hotel industry as hotel management will have a better understanding of the manager’s social networking site behavior and customer demand while promoting innovation creation in the hotel environment. 

Keywords: social networking site behavior, customer orientation, innovation, conservation of resources theory 

Pages: 90 – 102

The use of vegetarian/vegan diets as a complementary therapy for NCDs and the communication interaction between those who use these diets and their family members is the focus of this manuscript. Communication accommodation theory (CAT) forms the theoretical underpinning for the study of this subject, with qualitative research methods being the chosen methodology as it allows for the gleaning of in-depth personal experiences. In-depth interviews of 11 pairs of vegetarian/ vegan respondents who followed a vegetarian/vegan diet after being diagnosed with NCDs and their family members were conducted in Yangon. Interviews were analyzed using a content analysis matrix. Different CAT strategies used in this study are rooted in the negotiation process based on the meanings of animal and vegetable diets and family support. Although vegetarian/vegan practice is a non-traditional practice for the Myanmar family context, the cultural and religious beliefs regarding diet and negotiating behaviors influence the effectiveness of communication for health management. The use of a vegetarian/vegan diet as a complementary therapy for NCDs is a new area of study within Myanmar, especially because diets are culturally rooted within societies. Future research could focus on ethnographic participant observations of this social phenomenon. 

Keywords: Family-focused communication; vegetarianism/veganism, NCD, Communication accommodation theory 

Pages: 103 – 124

Underpinned by anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of intercultural willingness to communicate (IWTC) on the relationship between intercultural barriers (anxiety, uncertainty, and ethnocentrism) and intercultural communication among undergraduates in five Malaysian public universities. A quantitative method using a questionnaire was employed to gather data for the study, and analyses were performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) – partial least square (PLS). The analysis of responses from 450 undergraduates revealed that intercultural willingness to communicate mediates the relationship between anxiety, uncertainty, ethnocentrism, and intercultural communication. This study further revealed that anxiety, uncertainty, and ethnocentrism have a direct negative influence on intercultural willingness to communicate and an indirect negative influence on intercultural communication. 

Keywords: anxiety/uncertainty management; intercultural willingness to communicate; intercultural communication; ethnocentrism; undergraduates 

Pages: 125 – 142

Urban areas around the world face challenges in public service production and provision to respond to complex expectations of their diverse publics. In response to these problems, organizationally complex solutions that involve inter-sectoral collaboration and cooperation among public, private for-profit, and nonprofit organizations are frequently “engineered” to create hybrid-organizational arrangements. The current article is premised on a prior assessment that there has been an inadequate application of organizational variables to understand how these organizationally complex forms of local governance emerge and operate. It uses its hybrid organization model in descriptive and analytic assessments of two organizationally complex local public service approaches in urban settings of Southeast Asia. For descriptive purposes, the hybrid approach assists in understanding why and how organizationally complex arrangements emerge in urban governance. For analytic purposes, it considers the consequentiality of these arrangements, particularly in terms of concerns raised by Stoker regarding the challenges that organizational complexity poses to the good governance dimensions of responsiveness, accountability, and transparency. The study finds that hybrid organizational approaches can contribute to good governance in urban areas. It also asserts the importance of assessing contextual factors in making inter-local comparisons in terms of good governance impacts. 

Keywords: Local governance, good governance, hybrid organization, public service, Southeast Asia

Pages: 143 – 159

 This study aims to reveal the influences of personal value priorities on consumers’ environmental attitude and their intention to adopt fourth-generation shared bikes (DBSS) in Southern China based on the value-attitude-behavior model. Also, how environmental attitude mediates the relationship between predictors and consumer intention to adopt DBSS is tested. Three hundred sixty-three self-administrated questionnaires were collected in Nanning City in China. Quota sampling, judgmental sampling, and convenient sampling techniques were applied for data collection. In terms of data analysis, the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) approach based on Smart PLS 3 was employed to evaluate the structural equation model and mediation effect. The results reveal that openness-to-change plays the most important role in affecting consumer environmental attitude, which significantly influences consumers’ intention to adopt a dockless bike- sharing scheme. Also, the mediation effect of environmental attitude is confirmed. Thus, it is recommended that certain programs be organized to boost the usage of DBSS and create a good public reputation for the users and companies, and creating an inclusive environment at the firm level is necessary to facilitate the user community. 

Keywords: Personal Values, Environmental Attitude, Bike Sharing Scheme, Intention to adopt, PLS-SEM 

摘要

在基于价值-态度-行为模型上，本文研究个人价值对消费者环境态度以及使用第四代共享单车意图的影响，还检验了环境态度在预测因素与消费者使用第四代共享单车的意愿之间的 中介效应。本研究采用配额采样、判断采样和便捷采样三种研究方法在中国南宁市收集了363份问卷，并且使用偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）方法去评估结构方程模型和中介效果。研究结果表明，开放性变化在影响消费者的环境态度中起着最重要的作用，同时极大地影响了消费者采用无桩共享单车的意图。此外，环境态度的中介效应也被证实。因此，本文建议在公司层面上创建一个包容性环境以促进用户社区的发展，组织特定项目以提高无桩共享单车的使用率，从而在用户和公司中建立良好的公众声誉。

关键词：个人价值观；环境态度；自行车共享计划；使用意愿；偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）

Pages: 160 – 170

Korea ranks at the top of the ICT sector evaluation index by country, such as Internet penetration rate and speed, but at the same time, aging is rapidly progressing. In order to prevent problems such as a digital divide and information alienation that can occur in such a society, there is an increasing need for information education for the elderly. The purpose of this study is to identify the information education program classification and level preferred by that generation by surveying current information-education programs for those aged 50 and over. To achieve this aim, we surveyed and organized information education programs in Seoul, and with the help of experts and the elderly, derived the classification and level of each program. Based on this, a correspondence analysis was conducted. The results of this study showed that Microsoft Office Master and Information Technology Qualification (ITQ), Computer basics and ITQ, Excel, and PowerPoint, constitute the basic level of information education; photograph and image editing, ITQ, and computer literacy constitute the general level; and web publishing, the Internet of Things, data processing and robotics, and IT professional training make up the expert level. Based on the findings of the present study, we were able to suggest a direction for information-education programs for the elderly. 

Keywords: informatization, elderly, information education, correspondence analysis 

Pages: 171 – 183

In the literature for Pakistan, the asymmetric effect of the exchange rate on the agricultural sector stands ignored. Current research is designed to investigate the possible asymmetric effect of exchange rate fluctuations on the agricultural sector using a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) framework. The data set comprises a period of 1970 to 2019, which is taken from the Ministry of Finances and handbook of the State Bank of Pakistan. The variables used in the study are real effective exchange rate, agricultural production, inflation, primary export, government investment, terms of trade, imports, and exports. The ADF unit root test confirmed that the research series is a combination of stationary and non-stationary variables. The study, therefore, uses the ARDL approach, but the focus is to investigate the asymmetric effect; thus, the NARDL technique is also applied. The NARDL results suggest that positive movements have lesser impacts than those of negative movements in the exchange rate on the agriculture sector both in short run and in the long run. 

Keywords: asymmetry, agricultural sector, exchange rate fluctuation, Pakistan 

Pages: 184 – 201

The study examines the experiences, coping strategies, and responses of Filipino migrant domestic workers (FMDW) to inequalities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The collected narratives of migrant leaders from Italy, the U.K., and Hong Kong reveal that FMDWs employ their notions, ethics, and practices of care/care work in coping with the structural and social inequalities caused by the pandemic. We argue that the labor of care exhibited by FMDWs goes beyond the dichotomies of paid work and unpaid obligations of social reproduction. A “community of care” is manifested, which fosters community-building and solidarity in response to social exclusion and inequalities brought about by the COVID-19 crisis. The narratives also indicate a dynamic realignment of care circulation, with FMDWs becoming agents of multidirectional care. 

Keywords: multidirectionality of care, community of care, migrant domestic workers, COVID-19 

Pages: 184 – 201

The study examines the experiences, coping strategies, and responses of Filipino migrant domestic workers (FMDW) to inequalities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The collected narratives of migrant leaders from Italy, the U.K., and Hong Kong reveal that FMDWs employ their notions, ethics, and practices of care/care work in coping with the structural and social inequalities caused by the pandemic. We argue that the labor of care exhibited by FMDWs goes beyond the dichotomies of paid work and unpaid obligations of social reproduction. A “community of care” is manifested, which fosters community-building and solidarity in response to social exclusion and inequalities brought about by the COVID-19 crisis. The narratives also indicate a dynamic realignment of care circulation, with FMDWs becoming agents of multidirectional care. 

Keywords: multidirectionality of care, community of care, migrant domestic workers, COVID-19 

Authors: Chidchanok Anantamongkolkul and Ken Butcher

Research Brief

Year: 2021, Volume 21 Number 2

Pages: 222-230

Author: Paveesuda Nutsathapana

Research Brief

Year: 2021, Volume 21 Number 2

Pages: 231-239

Authors: Roana Marie Flores, Simon V. De Leon, and Marita G. Valerio 

Research Brief

Year: 2021, Volume 21 Number 2

Pages: 240-249