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The purpose of this paper is to describe the mental health issues among teachers globally and to investigate the significant factors that specifically impact the mental health of school teachers in Okinawa, Japan.

This cross-sectional study examined depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem and resiliency among 174 teachers from seven schools in Okinawa, Japan. The study questionnaire consisted of four parts, including demographic data, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale (DASS-42), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), and Connor-Davidson Resiliency Scale (CD-RISC). Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of mental health variables.

Of the 174 teachers, 111 were females (64%) and 60 were males (35%). Average age of participants was 41.65 (SD = 10.07). Average number of years being a teacher was 15.50 (SD = 9.88). There was a significant gender difference in the level of self-esteem. Significant differences in anxiety were found among varying grade levels taught. Regression analyses indicated that resiliency and self-esteem significantly predicted depression, anxiety and stress among school teachers in Okinawa.

This is the first study among school teachers in Okinawa that examined the impact of resiliency and self-esteem on their mental health. To reduce psychological distress common within the teaching profession, social and environmental support should be provided within the school to better foster the successful promotion of teacher resiliency and self-esteem.

Building on key ideas about the value of savoring in understanding the importance of vacation memories, a sample of Iranians were asked to write a long paragraph (one page) which described a particularly important, happy, and enjoyable vacation occasion. The answers were coded using five categories developed from savoring studies. By benchmarking the scores with data from well-matched samples from other countries (specifically a European sample from Austria, and Chinese and Japanese respondents), the Iranian tourists were shown to be especially appreciative of vacations being grateful, marveling, luxuriating, and having a strong sense of the status value of their time. For Iranians, vacations provide powerful, evocative highlights for their lives.

What were the spinning industries like in the initial stage in Japan? From which class did the founders of these industries come, ex‐warrior or commoners (merchants or farmers)? This will interest readers. Viewed from a capital investment, it was most significant in Japan whether the government financed an industry or not. This article deals with Tanigawa Tatsumi, the founder president (presidency 1885‐1911) of Okayama Cotton Spinning Company (an enterprise for employing ex‐warriors). Whereas cotton spinning companies for employing ex‐warriors played an important role in the initial stages of the development of the cotton spinning industry, these became bankrupt before long. Under such circumstances, Tanigawa’s Spinning Company weathered many years. An examination of a brief history of Okayama Spinning Company with special reference to Tanigawa’s life history will reveal the significance of the entrepreneur’s learning and virtue, organizing ability, and leadership. Furthermore, it will make clear what otherwise might have been overlooked about the initial nature of industrialization in Japan.

The author of this article is a Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and also a student of Ikebana, Japanese flower arrangement. Her Ikebana master since 1978 has been Takashi Sawano, a Master of the Kohdoh School. In this article, the author shares her experiences of studying and practising Ikebana over the last 30 years, and how it can be used to promote personal well‐being and creativity. This has included developing a Japanese sanctuary garden within a mental health service setting and running Ikebana workshops for staff and patients to promote well‐being and to explore creativity.

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between management practices and manufacturing performance, based on evidence from India and Malaysia – two countries from the cultural area of Southern Asia.

The authors theorized by drawing not only on the strategic human resource management (SHRM) literature but also on cross-cultural research. A total of 233 leaders constituted this study’s sample: 96 production leaders from 16 Indian companies and 137 production leaders from 16 Malaysian companies participated in the survey.

Some of the high-performance work practices (HPWPs) were effective across India and Malaysia. The use of HPWPs in Indian culture led to better manufacturing performance than the use of HPWPs in Malaysian culture.

This study did not measure national culture itself but instead used a dummy-coded variable of country as its proxy. Not only can national culture explain varieties in management practices including HPWPs, but it can also interact with these practices to affect performance.

Indian and Malaysian managers can learn about their management practices from this, and they can learn about benefits they might bring to their workplaces if they manage through the use of HPWPs.

The authors’ research provides insight into the capability of national culture to moderate the relationship between HPWPs and manufacturing performance, even among two countries situated in the same region of Southern Asia.

“Fostered idols” refer to entertainment idols and young stars-in-the-making who begin their careers as amateurs. Today, the fostered idol model has become increasingly popular in China, and fans demonstrate incredible consumption power. Despite the booming market, little is known about this phenomenon. Therefore, this study aims to explore fans’ motivations and consumption practices from the consumer’s perspective within the framework of self-determination theory.

In all 20 in-depth interviews with fostered idol fans were conducted through online phone calls. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and subsequently analysed using a grounded approach.

The results indicate that fans’ consumption practices are motivated both intrinsically and extrinsically. Intrinsic motivation includes sensory pleasure while extrinsic motivations are composed of a sense of being needed and a sense of success. Extrinsic motivations play a dominant role and reflect the needs of relatedness and competence. Additionally, consumption practices are found to be consistent with motivations.

The results show the crucial role of psychological satisfaction experienced by fans in the consumption of the fostered idol and highlight the importance of a relatedness- and competence-supportive environment to secure fans’ persistent consumption and loyalty.

This study focuses on fans of fostered idols that has not been explored in existing studies and offers valuable insights regarding the similarities and differences between fan consumption in China and other Asian countries. The results will inform marketing practitioners for the development of effective strategies and business decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to define and characterise the precise nature of these cultural systems and their resulting impact on the respective art and artists of each territory, by ascertaining the impact on those systems of their respective government and governance.

This paper is based on three approaches to art market modelling. All three are based on political ideologies. The first, which typifies the art markets of Western Europe and the USA, is predicated on a Pluralist and Neo-Liberal ideology. The others correspond to the systems of government in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

It has been shown in this paper that political systems and their accompanying ideology, born of cultural preferences, have impacted on the art markets of China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. It has been demonstrated that all four markets are employing variants of the international norm.

The art that is exported from East Asia will only be accepted by East Asian national markets when East Asian art markets exercise a majority influence on emerging and transitional markets. It is not the intention of this paper to pursue this thought beyond the possibility that it may occur.

The ineluctable conclusion is, therefore, that the global art market is moving towards a bipolar affair.

This paper also suggests the disengagement of East Asian and Chinese “culture” and art from a global (western) norm and production and consumption of national culture in East Asia by East Asians.

The paper looks (for the first time) at the direct (and subliminal) influence of political systems on art markets and the consequential effects of political ideology on the art markets of East Asia and China. The paper arrives at a series of precise definitions for the way that these art markets operate.

Based on the book Japan′s Winning Margin – Management, Training and Education, co‐authored with Professor Takashi Kenjo and published by Oxford University Press in April 1994, argues that learning should be lifelong and worldwide. In particular, there are lessons from Japan, whose industrial successes have been largely a result of their very well developed systems of learning. Finds Japan′s key strengths are in its very effective education system, the approach to training and in the role of managers. Describes an Anglo‐Japanese comparative research project carried out by the author, concludes that the lessons of use for all are in structured competence development, personal development plans (including new software versions developed by the author), the management of knowledge and in clarity of vision.