Ming-Chang Tsai is a Research Fellow and Executive Director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies, RCHSS, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. He is currently President of the International Sociological Association's Research Committee of Social Indicators (RC 55), and Vice-President of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies. His primary research interest is in quality of life comparisons in East Asian countries. His recent works include a number of journal articles on comparative studies of family relationships, inter-generational exchange and wellbeing. Wan-Chi Chen is Professor of Sociology at National Taipei University, Taiwan. She is currently the Director of Research Center for Taiwan Development, National Taipei University. Her research areas include education, family, gender and work, with a particular interest in the causes and consequences of individual educational outcomes and how East Asian educational systems work. Her recent works include a number of journal articles on divorce, family relationships, high school tracking in Taiwan, and also the use of social media in social movements.

Includes comparative investigations into changing patterns of familial relationships in Asia

Part I: Introduction.- Chapter 1. The Family-Work Nexus and Wellbeing in Asia: An Introduction.- Part II: Family Structure.- Chapter 2. Familial Exchange and Intergenerational Contact in East Asian Societies.- Chapter 3. A New Era in Living Arrangements: Determinants of Quality of Life among Chinese Older Adults.- Part III: Gender, Work and Culture.- Chapter 4. Multiple Dimensions of Gender-Role Attitudes: Diverse Patterns Among Four East-Asian Societies.- Chapter 5. Moral Beliefs About Filial Support, Work and Gender in Japan. A latent class Analysis.- Chapter 6. Division of Housework in Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan.- Chapter 7. Women's Greater Independence from Family? Change and Stability in the Social Determinants of Wives' Labor Force Exit in Taiwan.- Part IV: Family and Work: Reconciliation, Wellbeing and Frustration.- Chapter 8. Effect of Mothers' Nonstandard Work Hours on children's Well-being in Japan.- Chapter 9. Men's Unpaid Domestic Work: A Critique of (Re)doing Gender in Contemporary Japan.- Chapter 10. Strategies to Facilitate Work and Family Balance in the Nualjit Community of Bangkok.

This book delivers timely research on the various interfaces of family and work, and their impacts on individual wellbeing in East and Southeast Asia. It highlights changing family structures and processes, with special attention to inter-generational relationships, gender roles, cultural norms and employment. The book presents both qualitative and quantitative research works, adopting a comparative approach to analyze a number of demographics. In-depth field studies are also included, which present in detail the daily efforts of certain populations to attain better living standards by mobilizing available resources from within and outside the family. As such, the book is a valuable addition to contemporary research perspectives on family, work and living conditions in Asia.