Lessons from a crisis: An analysis of Toyota's handling of the recall crisis

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how Toyota managed the recall crisis through surveying public relations experts. By gathering and analyzing the perspectives of public relations (PR) executives and professors toward the Toyota recall crisis, this study tries to evaluate and measure Toyota's public relations strategies for managing the recall crisis. To collecting data, 34 public relations professors and 92 public relations practitioners were interviewed. According to the findings of this study, PR professionals emphasized that Toyota responded poorly (slowly/dishonestly) and lacked communication with the public. With regard to improvements Toyota may work on, PR experts advised not only to resolve internal corporate problems but also to strengthen the relationships with consumers and obligation to investigate further. In regarding with the lessons from the Toyota's crisis, PR professionals highlighted that it is necessary to take anticipated preventative measures and improve investigative duties and preparation for better dealing with crises.     

Regional socio‐economic variations and deprivation indices

People and Places II: Social and Economic Distinctions in England. By David Gordon and Ray Forrest. SAUS, the University of Bristol, 1995. Pp.135. £19.95.     

推动资源枯竭型城市转型 深入推进可持续发展战略

该文指出,面对新的历史发展机遇和挑战,中国应当进一步明确发展思路和发展重点,努力在经济结构调整、发展方式转变上探索出一条新路,为资源枯竭型城市谋求新一轮发展,推进中国可持续发展。     

隐形知识的转型:马来西亚华人家族制造业研究

马来西亚华人家族企业文化的特征是以"家"作为其管理模式,是一种集企业文化与权威于一体的家族文化。在"家族至上"的意识下,企业的成员和个体完全归属于家族,个人利益也须服从于家族利益,一切都以家族利益为重。所有的家族成员都有义务尽全力去追求家族的兴旺、发达和荣耀。家族成员都身居要职,掌握着家族企业的隐性知识和核心秘密。由于马来西亚华人家族的利益和企业利益的高度一致,因此他们都会严守秘密,创新其组织,因而制造出利基产品(Niche Product)而使本身企业在激烈的竞争中立于不败之地。当马来西亚华人中小型家族企业(SMEs)经历世代交替之际,这些华人企业却鲜少着重于如何发展其创办人的隐性知识。然而,为确保企业的永续发展,马来西亚华人企业的新一代已开始将隐性知识更加具体化,培育和创新其企业管理、进行企业改革和改善企业的行销技巧。     

Beijing’s New Strategies toward a Changing Taiwan

Beijing’s new strategies toward Taiwan are informed by neo-functionalism derived from European experiences, assuming that economic integration will eventually lead to political accommodation and integration. Despite the surprising Sunflower Movement and the fiasco of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in the 2014 local elections, Beijing will try its best to maintain the momentum of peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. Facing a brand new Taiwan that seems an oddity to the mainland, however, Beijing has adapted to ‘the new normal’ with a slower pace, refocusing on the economic and cultural issues. Whether or to what degree Beijing will change its asymmetric engagements with the two main parties on the island, however, is contingent upon whether the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) can reach a balance of power domestically and whether their policies toward the mainland converge rather than diverge. At any rate, Beijing is likely to pay more attention to ordinary people’s feelings about cross-Strait economic and cultural exchanges and consider quality of cross-Strait exchange as more important than quantity of activities.     

新疆地区宗教形势与去极端化

宗教极端主义是滋生恐怖主义的重要原因之一。新疆特别是南疆地区,宗教氛围异常浓厚,为宗教极端思想的传播提供了有利的环境。宗教狂热的深层次原因必然是教育、就业、民生、文化、宗教等问题。因而,要从推行全面教育提高少数民族文化水平,提高就业率,规范宗教活动等方面改良滋生恐怖主义的土壤。     

Unemployment and crime: the role of apprehension

An increase in the unemployment rate decreases the opportunity cost of crime and increases the crime rate according to standard microeconomics models. However, a large body of empirical research has shown that an increase in unemployment may increase or decrease crime. By incorporating the return to crime into standard economic models, this paper shows that an increase in unemployment, as in recessions, decreases the opportunity cost of crime and the return to crime as well. As a result, the effect of unemployment on crime is ambiguous and depends on the apprehension rate. An increase in the unemployment rate tends to decrease the crime rate at lower apprehension rates, but to increase it at higher apprehension rates. An increase in the generosity of unemployment insurance benefits does not necessarily reduce the crime rate, and the effect of more generous unemployment insurance on crime depends again on the apprehension rate.