Childhood Masturbation in South Asia: A Review

This chapter comprises the countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and states in Oceania. This region is quite diverse when compared to Latin America and the Middle East. The results show few indications that globalization was linked to more terrorism; in fact, there was evidence that the countries less integrated into the world system had higher per capita levels of terrorism. There are few indications that foreign investment was affected by higher levels of terrorism. There is some evidence that tourist visits were negatively affected in some time periods but the patterns were volatile.

Introduction: Dentistry is the field that brings back one’s smile. It is this field that teaches about the importance of oral hygiene. Dental education varies in all Southeast Asian and South Asian countries. Aim: To compare dental education concerning fee structure, dentist population ratio, and year of graduation between South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Methodology: This study was conducted to the comparison of dental education in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Southeast Asian countries were classified as Group A and South Asian countries were classified as Group B. Data was retrieved from manual and electronic databases using search engines (Pubmed, google scholar, Web of Science). In this study, the keywords were Dentistry, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Dental colleges, and Dentist population ratio used in the search. Result: This study determined the difference between dental education, dentist population ratio, and the dentist’s average salary among Group A and B. The number of Dental colleges was the maximum in India (71%) among all other Group A and B. Conclusion: Nevertheless South Asia had a plethora of colleges, and high-paying dental jobs were possible only in Southeast Asian countries. Hence substantial numbers of dental colleges with proper apportionment and job contentment is obligatory for better treatment outcome of patients.

China shares border with five South Asian countries, while India has borders with six of them. Other South Asian countries share borders with not more than any two countries in South Asia. Though China is not part of South Asia, it is politically more attractive than India for most of the South Asian countries. Chinese investment and trade with South Asian countries are remarkable. South Asian regional security, particularly in the nuclear dimension, cannot be understood without factoring China. China and India were involved in a war in 1962. Both the countries are yet to resolve their territorial disputes. Apart from the nuclear dimension in regional security, China has also been an important factor in determining relations between India and other South Asian countries. Unresolved border issues between India and China, coupled with perceptions of hegemonistic intentions on both sides, the establishment of cordial relations with other South Asian countries, particularly with Pakistan, by China is seen by India as a threat to it. Weaving through the new dimensions that have emerged in South Asia,this chapter aims at constructing/building some future scenarios with regard to relations between China and South Asia.

This paper uses data for the period 1950–2050 compiled by the United Nations Population Division together with methods including spatial autocorrelation analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and the standard deviational ellipse, to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution of population and urbanization in the 75 countries located along the routes of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, to identify future population growth and urbanization hotspots. The results reveal the following: First, in 2015, the majority of Belt and Road countries in Europe, South Asia and Southeast Asia had high population densities, whereas most countries in Central Asia, North Africa and West Asia, as well as Russia and Mongolia, had low population densities; the majority of countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa had rapid population growth, whereas many countries in Europe had negative population growth; and five Belt and Road countries are in the initial stage of urbanization, 44 countries are in the acceleration stage of urbanization, and 26 are in the terminal stage of urbanization. Second, in the century from 1950 to 2050, the mean center of the study area’s population is consistently located in the border region between India and China. Prior to 2000, the trajectory of the mean center was from northwest to southeast, but from 2000 it is on a southward trajectory, as the population of the study area becomes more concentrated. Future population growth hotspots are predicted to be in South Asia, West Asia and Southeast Asia, and hotspot countries for the period 2015–2030 include India, China, Pakistan and Indonesia, though China will move into negative population growth after 2030. Third, the overall urban population of Belt and Road countries increased from 22% in 1950 to 49% in 2015, and it is expected to gradually catch up with the world average, reaching 64% in 2050. The different levels of urbanization in different countries display significant spatial dependency, and in the hundred-year period under consideration, this dependency increases before eventually weakening. Fourth, between 2015 and 2030, urban population hotspots will include Thailand, China, Laos and Albania, while Kuwait, Cyprus, Qatar and Estonia will be urban “coldspots.” Fifth, there were 293 cities with populations over 1 million located along the Belt and Road in 2015, but that number is expected to increase to 377 by 2030. Of those, 43 will be in China, with many of the others located in India, Indonesia and the eastern Mediterranean.

Editors' choice.

South Asian countries have been experiencing frequent drought incidents recently, and due to this reason, many scientific studies have been carried out to explore drought in South Asia. In this context, we review scientific studies related to drought in South Asia. The study initially identifies the importance of drought-related studies and discusses drought types for South Asian regions. The representative examples of drought events, severity, frequency, and duration in South Asian countries are identified. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was mostly adopted in South Asian countries to quantify and monitor droughts. Nevertheless, the absence of drought quantification studies in Bhutan and the Maldives is of great concern. Future studies to generate a combined drought severity map for the South Asian region are required. Moreover, the drought prediction and projection in the regions is rarely studied. Furthermore, the teleconnection between drought and large-scale atmospheric circulations in the South Asia has not been discussed in detail in most of the scientific literature. Therefore, as a take-home message, there is an urgent need for scientific studies related to drought quantification for some regions in South Asia, prediction and projection of drought for an individual country (or as a region), and drought teleconnection to atmospheric circulation.

BackgroundASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is composed of ten Southeast Asian countries bound by socio-cultural ties that promote regional peace and stability. South Asia, located in the southern subregion of Asia, includes nine countries sharing similarities in geographical and ethno-cultural factors. Chikungunya is one of the most significant problems in Southeast and South Asian countries. Much of the current chikungunya epidemic in Southeast Asia is caused by the emergence of a virus strain that originated in Africa and spread to Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, in South Asia, three confirmed lineages are in circulation. Given the positive correlation between research activity and the improvement of the clinical framework of biomedical research, this article aimed to examine the growth of chikungunya virus-related research in ASEAN and South Asian countries.MethodsThe Scopus database was used for this bibliometric analysis. The retrieved publications were subjected to a number of analyses, including those for the most prolific countries, journals, authors, institutions, and articles. Co-occurrence mapping of terms and keywords was used to determine the current state, emerging topics, and future prospects of chikungunya virus-related research. Bibliometrix and VOSviewer were used to analyze the data and visualize the collaboration network mapping.ResultsThe Scopus search engine identified 1280 chikungunya-related documents published by ASEAN and South Asian countries between 1967 and 2022. According to our findings, India was the most productive country in South Asia, and Thailand was the most productive country in Southeast Asia. In the early stages of the study, researchers investigated the vectors and outbreaks of the chikungunya virus. In recent years, the development of antivirus agents has emerged as a prominent topic.ConclusionsOur study is the first to present the growth of chikungunya virus-related research in ASEAN and South Asian countries from 1967 to 2022. In this study, the evaluation of the comprehensive profile of research on chikungunya can serve as a guide for future studies. In addition, a bibliometric analysis may serve as a resource for healthcare policymakers.

South Asian countries have a lot of commonalities exhibited through socio-political and economic situations. The cultural as well as political dynamics within the countries form more or less a similar pattern. These are closely related to colonial pasts, post-colonial histories, polyethnic population, political leadership and governance. These commonalities are also related to political instability, ethnic violence and a greater role of religion in the formation of secular democracies. Scholars have observed that in the post-colonial period, religion has played an important role in political formations in South Asian countries. This article looks at political situations, since the early 1950s, and traces the trajectory of religions’ association in formation of secular democracies in these countries. The article looks at available literature on South Asia and discusses two key ideas: how and why religion and politics are intertwined in South Asian countries, and ramifications of such association in the expansion of secular democracy. The article argues that religion has always been a potent force in South Asian countries and secularisation, in the Western sense, has never been achieved. Therefore, formations of secular democracy take different trajectories in South Asia.

The discipline of International Relations (IR) started its journey in 1919, to understand why wars occur, reflecting the concerns arising out of World War I. The origin of the discipline thus has carried a Western bias since its inception and often remained oblivious to investigate the concerns of non-Western countries. In this context, the aim is to locate the centers of learning about the development of institutional IR in South Asia, by probing into the academic development of IR in different countries of the region. While doing so, it is necessary to emphasize how the concept of “international” emerged in South Asia much before the ideas of international relations in modern sense made their ways in the region. While there is a rich heritage of “international” in South Asia, the modern statehood often juggled between the old and the new. The institutional development shows that South Asian IR, despite a rise in local contribution to global IR, still yearns to follow Western path in educating about IR. The investigations on South Asian IR and its institutional set ups take two broad views into concern. First, it elaborates on the root and the expanse of the idea of “international” indigenously prior to the idea of modern statehood penetrated South Asia. This discussion also highlights on how the region building itself has gone through transformation and finally the political region emerged through institutionalization of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The institutional expanse of IR in South Asia, its rise, location and development of IR in different countries of the region are worth a serious study. It should be noted here that the first institutional beginning of IR took place in modern day Bangladesh, established by the British colonial ruler in 1947, right before the partition of the subcontinent. However, one must take into account of the trend in South Asian IR of how the concept of “international” is imbued in the teaching and research of IR. In the case of Afghanistan, very few academic resources are available to ascertain if this is the case, like in other South Asian countries. Bhutan is seeing a development in the understanding of “international” as well as expanding on research in this area except it has not institutionalized the study of IR like other South Asian countries. The discussion concludes by arguing that while South Asian IR has made its distinct contribution in developing IR as a discipline, it is yet to create its own foothold as it is influenced by Western traditions in its teachings.

Childhood obesity in South Asian population

China's twenty-first-century Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) is a massive infrastructure development initiative currently in progress in Asia, Africa and Europe. Many projects are already in place, and many more have been proposed under this initiative in South Asia. According to the available information, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives have pledged full support to be part of this project. The countries in South Asia have lacked the much-needed infrastructure facilities for decades, which has affected their overall development. For many countries in South Asia, this project provides a golden opportunity to achieve their future development goals. But, due to obvious geopolitical reasons, India has refused to be part of this important initiative. India sees the growing Chinese influence in the region as a threat to its regional hegemony. India's stance and its power to influence its smaller neighbours against the growing Chinese influence in the region has created a geopolitical paradox for many countries in the region. The study emphasised the inductive method of analysis, which builds up a conclusion from the special situation of Chinese development initiatives in South Asia and the geopolitical reactions of the interested stakeholders to these development projects.

The Digital Economy in Southeast and South Asia: Towards Mutually Beneficial Cooperation with Korea

Sino-Saarc Trade Relations: Commentary and Analysis

Background Despite strengthening health systems for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in South Asia, low healthcare utilization (HCU) and unequal access to services remain challenges. We conducted a systematic review to explore factors affecting HCU for major NCDs (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in South Asia. We examined both service availability (supply‐side) and patients’ willingness and ability to use services (demand‐side). Additionally, we investigated the overall prevalence of HCU and the distribution between public and private healthcare systems. Method Our review included English language studies published between 2016 and August 31st, 2023, identified through a systematic search of PubMed, CINAHL Ultimate, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. We employed a combination of Joanna Briggs Institute’s convergent integrated approach, framework synthesis, and “synthesis without meta‐analysis” (SWiM) to synthesize the evidence. Result A total of 8297 articles were identified, of which 81 met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed that the top three frequently reported supply‐side determinants of HCU were wait times, quality of patient engagement with healthcare providers, and direct costs related to healthcare visits. Financial limitations, healthcare center proximity, and educational qualification emerged as the top three frequently reported demand‐side determinants of HCU among patients with NCDs. Across South Asian countries, the prevalence of HCU for NCDs varied widely. In outpatient departments, HCU ranged from 21.9% to 93.7%, while inpatient departments saw a range of 0%–61.7%. Public health facilities showed HCU prevalence between 6.9% and 69.0%, while private facilities ranged from 21.6% to 87.5%. Conclusion This review highlights the need for further research on HCU for NCDs in South Asia. This systematic review provides a foundation for researchers and policymakers to develop intervention strategies that strengthen healthcare systems for NCDs in South Asia.

Most countries in South Asia will fail to meet more than a third of their millennium development goals (MDGs), delegates agreed at a recent conference in Kathmandu, Nepal. The forum,...