Explore the vast range of titles available.

This article examines the contradictory processes that have given women a greater access to Japan’s urban night space as the increasingly flexible work environment offered them white-collar employment opportunities and enhanced women’s economic resources, which in turn generated shifts in commercial practices to de-problematize drinking for women and a proliferation of diverse drinking venues. This study contends that these changes, which are largely commercially driven and not necessarily reflecting a stronger social acceptance of women drinking in public late at night by the broader Japanese society, nonetheless legitimize women’s place in the once male-dominated urban night space by recognizing women’s contributions to the night-time economy as consumers, hence affirming also the importance of white-collar work for women as a valid realm.

This paper is an ethnographic account of the desires and struggles of some parents in South Korea who invest - financially and emotionally - in their children's dream of becoming K-pop stars in the hope of securing a better future for their young, and repositioning themselves more favorably in an extremely restrictive and competitive environment. It is based on personal interviews with 15 mothers and 8 fathers, and participation-observation of young South Koreans' activities in a private academy where they receive \"professional training.\" This study contends that these parents are strategically benchmarking and re-benchmarking their place within a rapidly changing society by following shifting trends of pursuits that have emerged as new measures of success and status, so that they would not be \"left behind\" by a rapidly globalizing society. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Despite a significant increase in the number of white-collar female workers in post-war japan, scant attention has been paid to the importance of Japanese women's social relations that are work-related, and unconnected to the family or the local community. This article examines how two groups of Japanese women with professional careers innovatively mobilize their after-work friendship networks as a strategic site for mitigating the disappointing gaps between their expectations and actual experiences, and for negotiating a greater sense of self-worth and self-esteem. It argues that work-related relations for women can prove rewarding in their own right, and that work can also shape their understandings of self and of friendships, as women respond to transformations to the broader social, economic, and political conditions that shape their experiences. Malgré l'augmentation significative du nombre de femmes parmi les employés « en col blanc » dans le Japon de l'après-guerre, l'importance des relations sociales liées au travail et non à la famille ou à la vie de quartier de celle-ci n'a guère suscité d'intérêt. Le présent article étudie la manière dont deux groupes de femmes actives japonaises mobilisent de façon novatrice leurs réseaux d'amitiés « d'après le travail » pour en faire un site stratégique où elles peuvent atténuer l'écart décevant perçu entre leurs attentes et leur vécu et négocier un sentiment amélioré de valeur personnelle et d'estime de soi. L'auteur avance que les relations de travail des femmes peuvent s'avérer gratifiantes par elles-mêmes et que le travail peut modeler leur perception d'elles-mêmes et de leurs amitiés, au fil des transformations des conditions sociales, économies et politiques générales qui façonnent leur vécu.

Asian markets have more than felt the tremors from the Nasdaq's decline in the past few weeks. From Singapore to Hong Kong to South Korea, technology stocks in particular have taken a precipitous dive, pulling the share price of many newly-listed companies down to below their offer prices. Hong Kong's once popular Tom.com, the web portal in which the flagship companies of Hong Kong's property tycoon Li Ka-shing has a stake, saw its share price plunge from a peak of HK$14.30 to HK$7.80 on April 14. Pacific Century CyberWorks, the darling internet stock among investors, has fallen 39.1 per cent from its peak of HK$26.35 in February. The IPO ground was even more fragile for companies in the \"old economy\", especially for Chinese state-owned enterprises in which investor interest has already been waning. PetroChina, the main unit of China's biggest oil company China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), almost did not succeed in its HK$22.5bn IPO in March, and had to rely on the help of several strategic investors. A total of six companies - including BP Amoco which bought US$1bn worth of PetroChina's shares - were brought in at the last minute to keep the IPO afloat.

Hefty provisions and write-offs led China Telecom Hong Kong, the listed arm of China's former monopoly, to report a 30 per cent decline in profits, from Rmb6.9bn in 1998 to Rmb4.8bn ($580m) in 1999. Without the provisions, China Telecom's net profit for 1999 would have been Rmb10.32bn, an increase of 45.6 per cent on 1998. The company's 1999 earnings, prior to provisions, were largely due to an increase in contributions from three newly-acquired wireless service assets. Together, China Telecom's revenues rose 46.6 per cent from Rmb26.34bn to Rmb38.62bn in 1999.

Great Wall Technology plans to invest Rmb5.2bn ($628m) over the next three years to develop a new broadband internet access network on the mainland, the Chinese computer maker said yesterday. The total number of internet users on the mainland is expected to surge 133 per cent from 15m today to 35m next year, according to Wang Zhirong, Great Wall Technology's vice-president.