Towards a Sociological Understanding of Islamic Radicalism in Indonesia

An upswing in labour costs and currency appreciation during the 1980s caused companies from more advanced Asian economies, such as Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, to search for new manufacturing sites in order to obtain lower costs. China was one of the main options for these outward investments, with its huge and rapidly growing market, plentiful, low-cost labour and vast territory. The literature on foreign direct investment has analysed the location strategies of multinational enterprises across national borders, but there have been fewer studies of location decisions by foreign investors within the borders of a single country. We examine how companies determine which location offers the best opportunity to establish an assembly-type manufacturing site in China. We surveyed 17 Taiwanese enterprises that have established this kind of manufacturing base in China, and found that the major factors influencing location selection are economics, politics, the cluster effect and bureaucratic efficiency. It was found that the eastern region, which includes Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, was considered better for establishing manufacturing bases than other regions.     

Sewing to satisfaction: craft-based entrepreneurs in contemporary Kyrgyzstan

This article focuses on the reassembling of apparel production in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. We contribute to this special issue on well-being in Central Asia by examining how individual craft-based apparel producers (a subset of producers in the apparel industry) describe the process through which they built upon their Soviet past and reoriented their professional trajectories in a new competitive market environment. These producers locate professional satisfaction in their ability to draw upon and creatively re-employ local knowledge and experience learned in Soviet institutions, ultimately – as they articulate and perceive – deriving pride and well-being from the process of selling highly regarded ethnically inspired apparel products both at home and abroad.     

Between poverty and prosperity: China’s dependent development and the ‘middle-income trap’

Despite China’s rapid economic growth in the past three decades, Chinese officials and experts are increasingly worried that the country is slowly heading towards the ‘middle-income trap’. The fear is that China might suffer the same stagnation and turbulence as Latin American economies did in the 1980s and 1990s. Will China be able to avoid this trap? Building on the insights of world-systems theory, this paper argues that China’s dependent development, although enabling it to escape the ‘poverty trap’, is likely to bog it down in the ‘middle-income trap’. China’s heavy reliance upon foreign technologies and investment has harmful effects on its economy. Dependent development not only increases China’s economic vulnerability but also truncates domestic industries. To escape the trap, the Chinese state should play a more active role in shifting its growth model away from low-end commodity manufacturing to knowledge-based, high value-added activities.     

International Production Networks,Clusters, and Industrial Upgrading: Evidence from Automotive and Hard Disk Drive Industries in Thailand

This paper illustrates the role of international production networks (IPNs) and industrial clusters (ICs) in the upgrading process with a view to gain a better understanding of their upgrading experiences. This can shed some light on the ongoing debate regarding the relative importance of IPNs and ICs and their implications for prudential industrial policy. The automotive and hard disk drive (HDD) industries in Thailand are chosen as case studies because their outstanding export performance in the world market in the past two decades suggests their success in industrial upgrading. Nonetheless, these two industries differ in their modes of networking. In the former, industrial clustering has been observed and has reached a level where the local content of a locally manufactured vehicle is approaching 100 percent. For the latter, industrial clustering has naturally occurred and reached a certain level, while IPNs still play a crucial role. This result suggests the possibility of coexistence between IPNs and ICs. The observed industrial clustering in the HDD industry in the later stage also shows that ICs would be a developmental outcome rather than a precondition of technological upgrading. The choice between IPNs and ICs should be a private sector decision, driven by the economic fundamentals.The public sector should focus on strengthening the supply‐side capabilities of local firms as well as creating an investment climate to further promote upgrading activities.     

日资出逃对中国制造业的影响——基于可计算一般均衡模型CGE的模拟分析

基于可计算一般均衡模型CGE的模拟分析结果表明,在继续大力实施吸引外资政策的前提下,即使由于政治等因素,日本缩减对华投资,除对日资依赖性较强的炼焦、煤气及石油加工业等资源加工业外,日资的出逃对大多数制造业不会有大的影响。     

甘肃省装备制造产业结构的发展演化：2002—2012

该文通过构建结构相似系数、产业需求弹性系数以及比较劳动生产率等统计量,探寻甘肃省装备制造产业发展演化过程中的特征和规律。研究发现,甘肃省装备制造产业结构整体上呈现出趋同性,但也有部分产业与其他产业间存在分化的迹象;金融制品产业市场容量存在进一步缩小的趋势,交通运输设备制造业在多数年份的市场容量均较小;产业内部的劳动生产率存在明显的差异性,且其变动趋势也不尽相同。     

Reliability of paper brightness in authenticating documents

Evaluation of paper brightness in multipage documents is a practice of forensic document examiners when there is a question of a page insertion or substitution. This article demonstrates that occasional errors occur in the manufacturing process that affects the consistency of paper brightness. The inconsistency of paper brightness may therefore influence conclusions reached in authenticating documents. Reams of multipurpose paper, from 21 manufacturers, were examined. When assessing the individual pages of each package with an ultraviolet light, approximately 30% of the reams revealed differences in paper brightness. A study of the paper-manufacturing process was conducted to determine where variations originate. It is concluded that brightness differences occur when one incompatible roll of paper is mistakenly placed with others used for one production run. It was also determined that brightness variations (when present) are patterned throughout individual reams. When the authenticity of a document is in question, consideration of these findings is essential to assure an accurate assessment.     

空间生产：贵州文化旅游创新区的文化坚守

文化旅游发展创新区”不是一个单纯的自然空间,它是权力作用下的一个政治空间。贵州的文化旅游创新区应突出贵州文化的地域性,有利于展现贵州的文化名片。建设“文化旅游发展创新区”在本质上是文化空间生产,在这个空间,有文化的创新,更有文化的坚守。建立文化旅游创新区是一种经济发展的规划,也是一种文化保护与传承的战略,既要为旅游者提供其最想消费、最具有消费价值的文化产品,还要将文化转化为文化产品,保证其历史的血脉和民族的灵魂。     

从两起非法制售“瘦肉精”案看如何构建食品安全防线

非法制售“瘦肉精”案透现出道德缺失,片面追求经济利益,主管部门多头分管,互相推诿管理职责,监管不到位,打击处理不力。构建食品安全防线,重新构建食品安全管理体制,修改有关涉及食品安全的刑事法律,建立食品安全宣传教育工作的长效机制,完善和强化食品安全监管体系,加大对食品安全违法犯罪行为的打击力度,严格食品安全监管部门责任制和责任追究制。     

Introducing 3D Printed Models as Demonstrative Evidence at Criminal Trials

This case report presents one of the first reported uses of a 3D printed exhibit in an English homicide trial, in which two defendants were accused of beating their victim to death. The investigation of this crime included a micro‐CT scan of the victim's skull, which assisted the pathologist to determine the circumstances of the assault, in particular regarding the number of assault weapons and perpetrators. The scan showed two distinct injury shapes, suggesting the use of either two weapons or a single weapon with geometrically distinct surfaces. It subsequently served as the basis for a 3D print, which was shown in court in one of the first examples that 3D printed physical models have been introduced as evidence in a criminal trial in the United Kingdom. This paper presents the decision‐making process of whether to use 3D printed evidence or not.