A. Reviews: general

JOURNAL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES, Vol. 1. Edited by ATHANASIUS TH. PHOTOPOULOS. Athens, 1989. viii, 245 pp.

RELIGION AND SOCIETY IN ARAB SIND. By BERRYL N. MACLEAN. (Monographs and Theoretical Studies in Sociology and Anthropology in Honour of Nels Anderson, 25.) Leiden, Brill, 1989. x, 191pp. Hf1.75‐/$37.50.

AN ARAB‐SYRIAN GENTLEMAN AND WARRIOR IN THE PERIOD OF THE CRUSADES: MEMOIRS OF USAMAH IBN‐MUNQIDH. Translated by PHILIP K. HITTI. Columbia University Press, 1929; reissued by Princeton University Press 1987. x, 265pp. 3 illustrations, 1 map. US$9.95.

THE ASSASSINS. By BERNARD LEWIS. London, al‐Saqi Books, repr. 1985. £4.95.

ECONOMIC LIFE IN OTTOMAN JERUSALEM. By AMNON COHEN. (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization.) Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989. 179pp., 6 photographs, 1 map. £27.50.

SUMMON UP REMEMBRANCE. By MARZIEH GAIL. Oxford, George Ronald, 1987. 295pp. £14.95 (H/B); £7.50 (P/B).

AFRICANISMO Y ORIENTALISMO ESPAÑOL EN EL SIGLO XIX. By VICTOR MORALES LEZCANO. Madrid, Universidad Nacional de Education a Distancia, 1989. 175pp.

ORIENT AND OCCIDENT. By AHMAD AMIN, translated by WOLFGANG H. BEHN. Berlin, Adiyok 1984. 76 pp. DM19.50.

ISLAM, THE PEOPLE AND THE STATE; ESSAYS ON POLITICAL IDEAS AND MOVEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. By SAMI ZUBAIDA. London and New York, Routledge, 1989. xi, 192pp. £27.95

POWER AND STABILITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. Edited by BERCH BERBEROGLU. London, Zed Books, 1989. 206pp., tables, index.

THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF JUSTICE: LAW AS CULTURE IN ISLAMIC SOCIETY. By LAWRENCE ROSEN. (Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures, 1985.) Cambridge and New York, Cambridge University Press, 1989. 101pp. Plates. £22.50/$34.50 (h/b), £7.50/$12.95 (p/b)

THE DRUZE. By ROBERT BRENTON BETTS. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1988. xiv, 161pp. 5 maps, 22 black & white plates.

PUBLIC OPINION AND THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE. Edited by ELIA ZUREIK and FOUAD MUGHRABI. London, Croom Helm, 1987. 206pp.

PALESTINE AND ISRAEL: THE UPRISING AND BEYOND. By DAVID MCDOWALL. London, Tauris, 1989. 322 pp.

THE PLO UNDER ‘ARAFAT: BETWEEN GUN AND OLIVE BRANCH. By SHAUL MISHAL. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1986. 178pp.

THE MIDDLE EAST: TEN YEARS AFTER CAMP DAVID. Edited by WILLIAM B. QUANDT. Washington DC, Brookings Institution. £28.75

RADICAL ISLAM: THE IRANIAN MOJAHEDIN. By ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN, London, I.B. Tauris, 1989. 320pp. £29.50 (hardback), £9.50 (paperback).

ARAB WOMEN IN THE FIELD: STUDYING YOUR OWN SOCIETY. Edited by SORAYA ALTORKI and CAMILLIA FAWZI EL‐SOLH. Syracuse, Syracuse University Press, 1988. xii, 184pp.

KHUL‐KHAAL: FIVE EGYPTIAN WOMEN TELL THEIR STORIES. By NAYRA ATIYA. London, Virago Press, 1988. xxii, 182pp.

WE SHALL RETURN: WOMEN OF PALESTINE. By INGELA BENDT and JAMES DOWNING. London, Zed Press, 1982. iii, 129pp.

THREE WOMEN OF HERAT. By VERONICA DOUBLEDAY. London, Jonathan Cape, 1988. xi, 222pp. £12.95.

DOING DAILY BATTLE: INTERVIEWS WITH MOROCCAN WOMEN. By FATIMA MERNISSI, translated by JO LAKELAND. London, The Women's Press, 1988. 224pp. £5.95.

BOTH RIGHT AND LEFT HANDED: ARAB WOMEN TALK ABOUT THEIR LIVES. By BOUTHAINA SHAABAN. London, The Women's Press, 1988. vii, 242pp. £5.95.

THE PRESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST: CONSTRAINT, CONSENSUS, CENSORSHIP. By BARBARA KOEPPEL. Washington, Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), [c.1989]. 14pp. US$2.00.

INFORMATION AND THE MUSLIM WORLD: A STRATEGY FOR THE TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY. By ZIAUDDIN SARDAR. London, Mansell, 1988. x, 186pp. £24.75

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF SERVICES IN THE ARAB GULF STATES: COMPANY AND INDUSTRY CASES. By M. SAMI KASSEM and GHAZI M. HABIB. Berlin and New York, de Gruyter, 1989. xxi, 480pp.

THE MODERN ARABIC SHORT STORY: SHAHRAZAD RETURNS. By MUHAMMAD SHAHEEN. London, Macmillan, 1989. 158 pp.

MUSIC OF AFGHANISTAN. By JOHN BAILY. (Cambridge Studies in Ethnomusicology.) Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988. 183pp., cassette. £32.50.

WOMEN'S COSTUME OF THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST. By JENNIFER SCARCE. London and Sydney, Unwin Hyman, 1987. £40.00.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF EARLY MUSLIM ARCHITECTURE. By K.A.C. CRESWELL, revised and supplemented by J.W. ALLAN. Aldershot, Scolar Press, 1989. 435pp. 273 illustrations, 3 maps. £47.50

THE HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SAUDI ARABIA. By G.R.D. KING. London and New York, 1986. 208pp.

YEMEN: 3000 YEARS OF ART AND CIVILISATION IN ARABIA FELIX. Edited by WERNER DAUM. Innsbruck, Pinguin‐Verlag and Frankfurt/Main, Umschau‐Verlag, 1987. 483pp.

MANDA: EXCAVATIONS AT AN ISLAND PORT ON THE KENYA COAST. By NEVILLE CHITTICK. (Memoirs, 9.) Nairobi, British Institute in Eastern Africa, 1984. xvi, 258pp. £25.00     

Resisting the Fall: The Single Dominant Party,Policies and Elections in Malaysia

Before Malaysia’s 2013 general election, one of the few remaining dominant coalitions in the world was aware it would struggle to retain power. A fledgling opposition coalition had inspired public confidence of its capacity to competently rule while public discontent with the ruling party was rife due to the ubiquity of patronage that had prevented the responsible implementation of policies. However, regime change did not occur. How does the protracted rule of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional coalition, and the hegemonic party in it, the United Malays National Organisation, relate to debates over authoritarian durability, during a period when dominant parties struggle to sustain power? Malaysian elections have been free enough that the opposition has been able to obtain and retain control of state governments, so why has Barisan Nasional not lost power? This article reviews the 2013 election examining three issues: the significance of coalition politics; how policies have shaped voting trends; and the growing monetisation of politics. These perspectives provide insights into the institutional structure of coalitions and their conduct of politics, including clientelistic practices, forms of mobilisation and governance and the outcomes of policies introduced to address socio-economic inequities and drive economic growth.     

Long-term impact of family group conferences on re-offending: the Indianapolis restorative justice experiment

Objectives

The purpose of the current study is to test the long-term effect of Family Group Conferences (FGCs) on recidivism prevalence and time to first re-offense for first-time youthful offenders.

Methods

The current study builds on an experiment with a reasonably large sample (n?=?782) conducted in Marion County (Indianapolis), Indiana, USA. The current study extends this work by following the cases for an additional 10?years. To examine the empirical relationships among the variables, this study employs a two-step approach. The initial analysis, employing logistic regression, measures prevalence of re-offending based on whether the youth ever was re-arrested during the follow-up period. The second step employs Cox Proportional-Hazards Regression to examine time until first re-offense.

Results

The findings revealed that when extended to a 12-year follow-up period, there were no significant differences between the FGC and control groups in re-offending prevalence or time to re-offense.

Conclusions

An earlier study suggests that treatment group youths experienced reduced risk in the short-term and there is no evidence in the present study to suggest that youths participating in FGCs were placed at greater risk for re-offending. Given these findings and the body of research suggesting improved outcomes for victims, continued experimentation with FGCs and related restorative processes seems warranted. Future studies would benefit from blocking procedures in the experimental design in order to examine whether treatment effects are moderated by gender, race, and initial type of offense. The lack of such blocking procedures represents a limitation of the current study.     

Chains of Love? Global Production and the Firm‐Level Diffusion of Labor Standards

Under what conditions does the global economy serve as a means for the diffusion of labor standards and practices? We anticipate variation among internationally engaged firms in their propensity to improve labor standards. Upgrading is most likely when a firm's products exhibit significant cross‐market differences in markups, making accessing high‐standards overseas markets particularly profitable. Additionally, upgrading is more likely when lead firms attach a high salience to labor standards. Therefore, while participation in global production induces “trading up” behaviors among firms overall, the effect strength varies across industries. We test our expectations via a survey experiment, which queries foreign firms operating in Vietnam about their willingness to invest in labor‐related upgrading. We find strong evidence for the effect of markups on upgrading choices and suggestive evidence for the saliency mechanism.     

Family Firms,Networks and ‘Ethnic Enterprise’: Chinese Food Industry in Britain

Chinese family enterprises in the United Kingdom have penetrated many different sectors of the economy, including restaurants, wholesaling, retailing, trading, manufacturing, property development, computer services and investment holding. Among the companies in these sectors, those involved in different segments of the food industry, as manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers, reputedly feature characteristics of Chinese culture. A majority of these enterprises, for example, function as family firms. This study explores the assertion that, among companies owned by ethnic minorities, culture strongly influences form of business development. This argument will be assessed through a focus on Chinese food-based enterprises in the UK. Two family-controlled companies, Seven Seas (Frozen Food) Ltd and Dayat Foods Packaging Ltd, were selected as case studies as they are involved in key business components of the Chinese food chain industry. Through an in-depth comparative study of the history and development of these two firms, we consider the argument that Chinese businesses have evolved well because of family ties and their inclusion in mutually-beneficial ethnically-constructed networks. Through these case studies, we provide an alternative perspective to diasporic Chinese business development which brings into question the extensive use of the concept of ethnic enterprise.