• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2020

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic once again demonstrated how crucial it is to have unlimited access to scientific information. At the same time, the economic disparities that the pandemic revealed and aggravated made us realize that many of us cannot afford access to expert knowledge. While the international community is speculating about possible outcomes of the crisis, one can be said for sure, the pandemic accelerated many inevitable changes that would otherwise happen at a slower pace including increasing digitalization of the society and the expanding role of open data in the life of the academic community.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.31-42
• /
• 2020

There is great confusion over what constitutes public diplomacy (PD), who its actors are, and the relevance of non-state actors. In the Korean context, in addition to the general fuzziness of the concept, linguistic peculiarities of the terms gonggong and gongjung both of which refer to public, waegyo, which is interchangeably used for international affairs, foreign policy and diplomacy, and juche which is simultaneously used for actor and agent, add more layers of confusion. While the term PD in Korea is based almost entirely on Western conceptualization, these linguistic peculiarities prevent fruitful conversations among scholars and practitioners on PD. Against this background, this research note explores and addresses conceptual ambiguities that pertains to PD and the policy discourse on the topic, particularly on non-state PD in Korea. The paper draws on Korean government's PD-related policy documents and Diplomatic White Papers and all relevant academic articles found in Korean-language journals registered in the Korean Citation Index (KCI), which are analysed to gain an understanding of the PD-related policy discourse in Korea.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.1-21
• /
• 2017

The Jakarta Provincial Government utilizes the YouTube channel to interact with citizens and enhance transparency. The purpose of this study is to explore online perceptions of local government image perceived by online audiences through the YouTube platform. The concepts of organizational image and credibility in the political image are adapted to analyze online public perceptions on the Jakarta Provincial Government image. Using the video summarization approach on Three hundred and forty-six official YouTube videos, which were uploaded from 1 March 2016 to 31 May 2016, and content analysis of Eight thousand two hundred and thirty-seven comments, this study shows both political and bureaucratic image emerge concurrently in the Jakarta Provincial Government case. The typology model is proposed to describe and explain the four image variations that occurred in the case study. Practical recommendations are suggested to manage YouTube channel as one of the social media used in the local government context.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.82-92
• /
• 2017

The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between organizational capacity and the use of firefighter volunteers by volunteer fire departments within local/county governments. The study is based on a nonrandom sample of 213 U.S. volunteer fire departments within local governments. The fire chief of these fire departments responded to an annual survey conducted by Firehouse Magazine in 2010 and 2011. This study uses OLS regression analysis to assess the impact of organizational capacity (measured as annual budget) on the number of firefighter volunteers used by the volunteer fire department. There is evidence to suggest that organizational capacity has a positive and statistically significant effect on the number of volunteers used among U.S. volunteer fire departments. This study extends current literature on public volunteerism by analyzing factors that explain variation in the use of volunteers by local governments, specifically fire departments. Findings suggest that fire departments with greater resources in terms of revenue are more likely to use volunteers.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.69-81
• /
• 2017

This study examines how South Korean governments responded to the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS) using the adaptive governance framework. As of November 24, 2015, the MERS outbreak in South Korea resulted in the quarantine of about 17,000 people, 186 cases confirmed, and a death of 38. Although the national government had overall responsibility for MERS response, there is no clear understanding of how the ministries, agencies, and subnational governments take an adaptive response to the public health crisis. The paper uses the adaptive governance framework to understand how South Korean governments respond to the unexpected event regarding the following aspects: responsiveness, public learning, scientific learning, and representativeness of the decision mechanisms. The framework helps understand how joint efforts of the national and subnational governments were coordinated to the unexpected conditions. The study highlights the importance of adaptive governance for an effective response to a public-health related extreme event.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.39-55
• /
• 2014

This study aims to examine and develop a Triple Helix model for social innovation to eradicate pervasive poverty in developing countries. To do this, this study explores and analyzes the Rural Saemaul Undong (RSU), a rural community development movement for eradicating poverty that was driven by the South Korean government during the 1970s. First of all, this study explores the characteristics of the RSU and explains why the RSU was a social innovation. To support and explain why the RSU was a successful social innovation, this study analyzes the roles and activities of three distinct actor groups: the chief policymaker and his aides who presented the vision and purpose, or the "why" of the Saemaul Undong; central and local government officials who were the planners and managers who showed "how" to plan and drive it; and village Saemaul leaders as the drivers and coaches showing rural villagers "what" to do. Based on this analysis, this study develops an actor-based Triple Helix model for social innovation to eradicate poverty.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.57-68
• /
• 2014

This paper positions the triple-Helix as a meso-level notion, an epicycle in a grander circle of technological change, institutional change, and psychological change. Because of the differing speeds of these several kinds of change, speed is proposed as a high-level system metric. This implies that what we commonly call bridging agencies or facilitators - lawyers, venture capitalists, incubators, etc. - are better called buffering agencies, as they help to engage entities changing at different speeds. They use human judgment as well as information technologies to choose feasible timing for these engagements. The paper highlights implications for thinking about innovation diffusion: The grand cycle of socio-technical change means we should, rather, think in terms of innovation reinforcement, or a circle of innovation.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.5-17
• /
• 2013

This paper discusses the future of journalism, including social-media use. The findings within this paper are based on the results of the "Social Survey on Social Media Use in the Great East Japan Earthquake." The author conducted this Internet-based survey in June 2012, and the results discussed herein are based on a sample size of 1,000 persons. The main findings suggest that social-media use during and immediately following the March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan has been developing in a mutually complementary manner with traditional media.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.19-34
• /
• 2013

Previous research assessed media reporting on nuclear accidents and risks, whilst studies about the Fukushima accident focused on the impact of the Internet on coverage of the incident. However, little research has addressed news framing or comparisons of the perceptions of journalists in relation to reporting nuclear accidents. The aim of this study is to apply framing analysis to news content in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today about the Fukushima accident. It explores the question of how journalists view reporting on complex events. Content analysis of these three newspapers shows that conflict, responsibility, and economic consequences were the most frequently used frames. According to the journalists interviewed, the biggest problem was the inability to assess information due to contrary positions held by experts. It is argued that the Fukushima accident was framed as a conflict of experts and officials' opinions, utility and government officials' responsibility, and economic consequences for the United States. Adherence to professional norms of objectivity and impartiality was signified as the best approaches to risk reporting.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.61-87
• /
• 2013

This study applies grounded theory to develop an emic substantive theory of regional integration in Greater East Asia. The role of norms and policies is explored through discursive content analysis of a wide theoretical sample of official elite policy statements dealing with regionalism and related policy areas. A resulting model of regional integration titled "Harmony through Holistic Engagement" is then discussed in relation to the etic consensus on the phenomenon. The study concludes that the etic consensus on the nature of regional integration in Greater East Asia greatly differs from the results of an emic approach and thus reflects a normative consensus rather than a descriptive reality.