FROM THE EDITOR

Analyzing social concerns from different disciplinal contexts is the pervading theme of the
June 2010 issue of the Asia-Pacific Social Science Review. It presents seven technical articles
written by sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and economists from various countries.
A wide range of issues are discussed which include multi-dimensional measurement of poverty,
migration and cultural identity, governance, gender-differentiated perspectives on patronage of
fast-food chains, rural credit markets and existence of street children. This issue also covers
insightful articles on sociological theorizing and frontier governmentality.

The article by Ty Matejowski tackles health problems which arise from patronage of fast
food chains by respondents distinguished by gender in a selected city in Northern Philippines.
This is followed by an in-depth exposition by Dennis Erasga of the evolution of sociological
theorizing due to the strong interlinkage between sociology and literature. An introspective
analysis of why street children choose to live in the streets rather than enjoy the comforts of a
safe shelter is presented in the essay written by Carmelo Martinez. On the other hand, the article
by Kajari Roy and Sushil Haldar presents a new index which considers the multidimensional
aspects of poverty and includes the non-income determinants of human deprivation and their
inequalities at three points of time: 1980-81, 1990-91 and 2000-2001 across the all states in India.
The next contribution by Tanmoyee Banerjee (Chatterjee), Chandralekha Ghosh, and Malabika
Roy discusses access to formal credit by low income households in India and recommends some
basic reforms in rural credit policy to be undertaken in this regard. The next essay by Pak Nung
Wong presents deep introspection on the concept of frontier governmentality , using a case study
of the ethnographic biography of a former mayor of Tuguegarao City , Cagayan, Philippines. The
article by Antonio Contreras expounds on the synergy between language and popular culture in
explaining the concept of Filipino identity among Filipino migrants in Hawaii.

Towards the end, two book reviews are presented .The first one is by Michael Hawkins on
the book by Mark Philip Bradley on “Imagining Vietnam & American : The Making of Post
Colonial Vietnam 1919-1950”. The second one is by Anderson Villa, who commented on the
book by Stephen Castles and Raul Wise on “Migration & Development : Perspectives from the
South”.

The diversity of issues discussed in this issue highlight the commitment of this journal to
an interdisciplinary forum where researchers are encouraged to share their insights and path-
breaking ideas and discuss their recommendations on vital social concerns.

I wish to thank this issue’s contributors and the distinguished referees who have spent time
in critically commenting on the submitted manuscripts. I take this opportunity also to thank the
members of the editorial board including Adrianne John Galang and Dean Exaltacion Lamberte for their great
logistical support and genuine commitment toward achieving a scholarly exchange of ideas in this journal.

Cristela Goce-Dakila, PhD

Editor, APSSR June 2010 issue