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NUS Business School Publishes Study on The Well-Being of East Asians

Singapore, Nov 2, 2009 - (ACN Newswire) - Three professors from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, Dr Tambyah Siok Kuan, Associate Professor Tan Soo Jiuan, and Professor Kau Ah Keng, have compiled their findings on the concerns of East Asians regarding their wellbeing in a book titled The Wellbeing of Singaporeans, launched in September 2009.

The book covers findings concerning the physical, socio-economic, political and emotional aspects of the lives of East Asians such as standard of living, satisfaction with life domains, priorities in life, value orientations, national identity and political rights and overall quality of life.

The countries in this study include China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The survey includes face-to-face interviews with 8070 respondents aged 20 to 69 years old. Over 1000 respondents from each country were interviewed.

The data was collected by the AsiaBarometer Project.

Some significant findings for East Asians include:

-"Being healthy" ranks as the top priority for all East Asians although variations were observed for China, Japan, and Taiwan. People from China are the only ones to rank having access to good medical care as one of the top priorities. Raising children is also a priority, resonating with the one-child policy. Japanese put spending time with family and being on good terms with others as priorities; while Taiwanese placed being able to live without fear of crime as one of prime importance.

- While poverty and unemployment are top worries, Japanese have a different set of worries. They are worried about natural disasters, crime, environmental destruction, wars and conflicts, and moral decline. These are issues that did not worry other East Asians.

- Correspondingly, how they want their respective governments to spend their money reflected such priorities and worries. People from China want their government to spend more on across the board, while generally, people from the more advanced countries are more selective. For instance, Japanese want more government spending on health and environment, but not so for the military and defense.

- Singaporeans and Vietnamese are the happiest lot while Taiwanese are the least happy.

-Vietnamese appear to be enjoying their lives the most while the Taiwanese are less sanguine about this aspect of wellbeing.

- Singaporeans feel they have accomplished the most out of life while South Koreans feel the least so.

- Among social circles, East Asians feel that family and relatives are the most important. While the place of work is the 3rd most important for all, Koreans and Vietnamese feel that the neighbourhood is the 3rd most important social group.

- When asked what qualities they encourage their children to learn at home, most indicate honesty, independence and diligence. However, for Japanese, mindfulness is by far the most important quality to inculcate. To Koreans, sincerity is also a quality they cherish in their children.

- While East Asians want their sons and daughters to be loving and charitable, finding a good marriage partner for daughters is more critical than for sons across all countries. Other son-daughter differences include being respected by the masses and being more proficient in their professions.

- Singaporeans and people from Hong Kong seem to be the most global in outlook.

- Generally, East Asians are proud of their country's people. The least proud of their own people are the Taiwanese.

- While Vietnamese, Singaporeans and Taiwanese tend to identify themselves as Asians, Japanese tend not to identify themselves with any transnational group. There is some tendency for Koreans and Hong Kong people to identify with thelanguage group that they speak.

Further findings are detailed in the attached tables for your reference. Please contact Dr Tambyah Siok Kuan at biztsk@nus.edu.sg or (65) 6516-3155 or Ms Adeline Leong (Corporate Relations & Communications) at bizlmka@nus.edu.sg or (65) 6516 8996 for more information or clarification.

About NUS Business School

Established in 1965, National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School is known for its focus in providing management thought leadership from an Asian perspective, enabling our students and corporate partners to leverage on the best global knowledge and deep Asian insights to drive business education and growth in Asia and around the world. This combination of global knowledge and Asian insights is reflected in all aspects of its research, teaching and industry outreach. As Asia's Global Business School, NUS Business School is a leading authority on business in Asia.

The School has consistently received top rankings in the Asia-Pacific region by independent publications and agencies, such as The Financial Times, Economist Intelligence Unit, and QS Top MBA, in recognition of the quality of its programmes, faculty's research and graduates. In its 2009 rankings, The Financial Times ranked the NUS Business School's Asia Pacific Executive MBA programme 11th in the world, the highest ranking ever achieved by any business school in Singapore till then. The Financial Times ranked the NUS MBA 35th in the world in 2008. In 2009, QS Global 200 Business Schools 2009: The Employers' Choice Survey rated NUS Business School graduates third in the Asia Pacific. The School's research is ranked 47th in the world by the University of Texas, Dallas. The School is accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), an endorsement that the School has met the highest standards for business education.

The School has more than 110 top research faculty, over 2,500 BBA, MBA, Executive MBA, and PhD students; more than 2,000 annual participants in Executive Education programmes; and over 45,000 alumni in diverse organisations and positions of leadership throughout the world. For more information, please visit http://bschool.nus.edu.sg.

Source: NUS Business School

Contact:

Dr Tambyah Siok Kuan 

Tel: +65-6516-3155

Email: biztsk@nus.edu.sg



Ms Adeline Leong 

Corporate Relations & Communications

Tel: +65-6516-8996

Email: bizlmka@nus.edu.sg