• Energy Research

Given that mental health issues are acute in Asian countries, particularly Japan and Korea, and university students are more vulnerable to depression than the general population, this study aims to examine the landscapes of scientific research regarding depressive disorders among university students and evaluate the effectiveness of international collaboration and funding provision on the scientific impact in Korea, Japan, and China. Based on articles retrieved from the Web of Science database during the period 1992–2018, we found that the number of scientific publications, international collaborations, and allocated funds regarding depressive disorder among university students in China (97 articles, 43 international collaborations, and 52 funds provided, respectively) overwhelmingly surpassed the case of Korea (37 articles, 12 international collaborations, and 15 funds provided, respectively) and Japan (24 articles, 5 international collaborations, and 6 funds provided, respectively). The differences in collaboration patterns (p-value < 0.05) and the proportion of allocated funds (p-value < 0.05) among Korea, Japan, and China were also noted using Fisher’s exact test. Based on the Poisson regression analysis, China’s associations of scientific impact with international collaboration (β = −0.322, p-value < 0.01) and funding provision (β = −0.397, p-value < 0.01) are negative, while associations of the scientific impact and scientific quality with funding provision and international collaboration were statistically insignificant. These findings hint that Korea and Japan lacked scientific output, diversity in research targets, international collaboration, and funding provision, compared to China, but the quality of either China’s internationally collaborated or funded articles was contentious. As a result, policymakers in Korea and Japan are suggested to raise the importance of mental health problems in their future policy planning and resource distribution. Moreover, it would be advisable to establish a rigorous system of evaluation for the quality of internationally collaborated and funded studies in order to increase scientific impact and maintain public trust, especially in China.

(1) This study aims to examine the prevalence of depression and its correlation with Acculturative Stress and Social Connectedness among domestic and international students in an international university in Japan. (2) Methods: A Web-based survey was distributed among several classes of students of the university, which yielded 268 responses. On the survey, a nine-item tool from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) and Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) were used together with socio-demographic data. (3) Results: The prevalence of depression was higher among international than domestic students (37.81% and 29.85%, respectively). English language proficiency and student age (20 years old) showed a significant correlation with depression among domestic students (β = −1.63, p = 0.038 and β = 2.24, p = 0.048). Stay length (third year) also displayed a significant correlation with depression among international students (β = 1.08, p = 0.032). Among international and domestic students, a statistically significant positive correlation between depression and acculturative stress, and negative associations of social connectedness with depression and acculturative stress were also found. (4) Conclusions: The high prevalence of depression, and its association with Acculturation stress and Social Connectedness, among the students in this study highlight the importance of implementing support programs which consider the role of Acculturation and Social Connectedness.

Stakeholders’ support is essential for the effective and successful implementation of policies that prioritize enhancing and preserving ocean and coastal ecosystems. However, cross-national studies examining factors influencing the stakeholders’ policy support are still lacking. The current study aimed to provide preliminary evidence on factors (e.g., socio-demographic factors, country income level, and perceived impacts of marine and coastal ecosystems) that affect stakeholders’ endorsement of a policy centered on preserving marine and coastal ecosystems. To conduct the study, we applied the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) on a dataset of 709 stakeholders from 42 countries generated by MaCoBioS – a research project funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020. The results showed no differences in policy endorsement levels across stakeholders with different ages, education, and country income level. However, female stakeholders tended to support the policy prioritizing ocean protection stronger than their male counterparts. Stakeholders perceiving the impacts of marine and coastal ecosystem preservation on human well-being, climate and weather, and climate change reduction also tended to support the policy more strongly. Meanwhile, the perceived impacts of ocean and coastal ecosystems on global and local economies had an ambiguous effect on stakeholders’ policy support. Based on these findings, we suggest that raising awareness and knowledge of stakeholders can help improve their support for ocean and coastal preservation policies. Moreover, it is necessary to concentrate more on communicating the adverse consequences induced by the ocean and coastal ecosystems’ loss (e.g., climate change and health) and concentrate less on the economic aspects.