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As our increasingly globalized world alters the dynamics of migration, the ideas that migrants have about returning to their home countries have evolved as well. This diverse collection examines the changes and complexities of migration patterns in a range ofAsian countries and cities, exploring how globalization and transnationalism shape and give meaning to the migrant experience. From Japanese-Brazilian transmigrants and Filipina students in Ireland to skilled migrants from India, the authors address migrants'backgrounds, ambitions, and opportunities to offer intriguing insights and propose fascinating new questions about the lives of migrants in today's world

The Orang Suku Laut consider themselves indigenous Malays. Yet their interaction with others who call themselves Malays is characterized on both sides by fear of harmful magic and witchcraft. The nomadic Orang Suku Laut believe that the Qur'an contains elements of black magic, while the settled Malays consider the nomads dangerous, dirty and backward. At the center of this study, based on first-hand anthropological data, is the symbolism of money and the powerful influence it has on social relationships within the Riau archipelago. The first major publication on these maritime nomadic communit

Caterpillar fungus, often called the Himalayan Viagra, is a subject of the latest commodity boom which changed the economic fates of Tibetan pastoralists in China. This expensive medicinal resource made a spectacular market career in East Asia after the outbreak of avian influenza and SARS. Growing demand for this 'wonder drug' created for people on the Tibetan plateau where this fungus is endemic attractive income opportunities which they never had before. Tibetan pastoralists engaged in this new 'gold rush' and turned from subsistence-oriented yak and sheep breeders living in a cash-poor environment into local economic elite. This book tells a story of successful pastoralists high on the Tibetan plateau who take advantage of the economic boom in the Chinese market to accomplish their own goals. They emerge as far more sophisticated actors than most outsiders would give credit to before reading this book

Controversies and problems with regard to language policy and language education still exist in Malaysia. Despite the attempts of language policy makers to promote multilingualism, the implementation has been marred by political and religious affiliations. Malaysia is a melting pot of many different cultures and ethnicities, the three largest being Malay, Chinese and Indian. Therefore, an analysis of the language variation in this polyglot nation will help in understanding the variety of languages and those who speak them. This book gathers the work of researchers working in the field of language change in Malaysia for over two decades. As there is no book published internationally on the language policy in Malaysia and the effects on the language change in urban migrant populations, this book is a timely contribution not only to an understanding of Malaysian linguistic pluralism and its undercurrents, but also to an understanding of the Indian Diaspora

Oceans of crime : maritime piracy and transnational security in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh -- Contents -- Maps, Tables, and Photos -- List of Abbreviations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Part I: Contemporary piracy in southeast Asia and Bangladesh -- 1. Pirate attacks on merchant vessels in southeast Asia and Bangladesh, 1980–2006 -- 2. Piracy and fishers: attacks on small craft in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh -- Part II: The sea -- 3. The fishing industry -- 4. Merchant shipping -- Part III: The dark side -- 5. Organized crime -- 6. Terrorist and guerrilla movements -- Part IV: Counter-forces -- 7. State responses to piracy -- 8. Privatizing the fight against piracy -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1 -- Appendix 2 -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the author.