New shop owners in old buildings: spatial politics of the apparel industry in Kyrgyzstan

This article adopts a political economy approach with insights from the political geography literature to illuminate how the apparel manufacturing sector in Kyrgyzstan has thrived in a region known for significant challenges in electricity access and availability. In contrast to studies that have analyzed the role of state policies and informal relations in promoting industrialization, we focus on how myriad shop owners gain access to elite-controlled, privatized urban infrastructure through owner–tenant relations in a new market economy. Drawing upon original interviews with Bishkek-based shop owners, we find that despite the challenges associated working in these spaces, including poor infrastructure and exploitative relationships with owners, they remain due to the constant provision of electricity and convenient location. We contribute to understanding how everyday shop owners make sense of and grapple with production challenges in a new market context, against the backdrop of Soviet infrastructural legacies and post-Soviet privatization processes.     

关于1927年11月中共中央临时政治局扩大会议研究的几个问题

11月中央临时政治局扩大会议是大革命失败后莫斯科对华政策转折和探索的结果,它的错误是探索中的失误,它的探索对共产国际和中共中央后来确立中国革命的正确策略具有导引作用;会议对当时革命形势的估计以及在暴动策略的制定上是留有余地的,并非一味地强调即时暴动和拼命暴动;会议虽然犯了不恰当地强调党的指导机关干部工人化的错误,但是在当时提出把中共建设成为马克思主义布尔什维克党的决定,却是重新整合党的组织资源的必要,是保持无产阶级政党性质的必要,是统一全党思想认识、推进党内民主建设的需要。     

本土法与外来法:美国的经验

美国法的历史经历了从无到有,从继受外来法到形成发展美国本土法 的漫长过程。这一过程是有机的、渐进的、不可任意割裂。１７世纪早期殖民地的法 制状况具有多元化与创新性相结合的特点。１８世纪殖民地大规模、全面系统地继受 英国法。独立战争至１９世纪中叶美国本土法形成。在移植外来法、形成本土法的过 程中,美国人重视法律本土资源,坚持可适用性原则。在法律移植过程中,最先被本 土化的是初级规划,次级规划则较晚被本土化。     

Mapping the road to development: a methodology for scaling up participation in policy processes

Understanding local variability in context and mobilising local participation to define development agendas are widely accepted development strategies. There remain, however, significant challenges to the systematic and effective inclusion of local communities and households. Projeto MAPLAN, a pilot project in Ceará, Brazil, is a joint effort of the public sector and civil society designed to create a process of participatory development planning which integrates local-level contextual variations. In this effort, the use of a Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) stimulates the participation of community members in analysing their needs, goals, and priorities. The visualisation of these factors through easily understood maps facilitates communication and contributes to a democratic and transparent planning process, thus permitting the articulation of local priorities with the state-level planning apparatus. MAPLAN represents part of a shifting paradigm for rural development planning in the state and provides the tools for the effective inclusion of citizen voice in development policy.     

Indigenous protest,social networks,and ethnic stereotyping: some insights from the Peruvian Amazon

This article examines the nature of social protest undertaken by an Amazonian indigenous organisation against international energy companies working in Peru. It analyses the response of Peruvian and international NGOs to the indigenous group's activities and challenges certain stereotypes concerning the nature of indigenous collective action and perceptions of community. In particular, it focuses on the way in which NGO workers attempt to explain the failure of the indigenous organisation to mobilise and sustain collective protest. The article highlights the dissonance between romanticisation of indigeneity and the lived reality of the indigenous group. It advocates the use of anthropological studies and social-movement theory to explore the limits to indigenous mobilisation and suggests their use for more sensitive planning of initiatives with indigenous groups. As demand for oil and gas grows across the globe, and governments in developing countries seek to increase revenues from lucrative extractive industries, clashes between indigenous groups and energy companies are likely to increase. The need for sensitive engagement between NGOs and indigenous groups is therefore of the utmost importance.     

Solidarity economy and recycling co-ops in São Paulo: micro-credit to alleviate poverty

Lack of working capital hinders collective commercialisation of recyclables. Social exclusion and bureaucratic constraints prevent recyclers from obtaining official bank loans. As they continue to depend on intermediaries, the cycle of poverty, dependency, and exclusion is perpetuated. The article discusses collective commercialisation and the micro-credit fund created among 30 recycling groups in the Brazilian city of São Paulo. A committee of eight women recyclers manages this fund. The article contextualises reflections on empowerment and community-based development, applying the theoretical framework of social and solidarity economy. The author finally suggests that inclusive governance structures have the potential to generate greater justice and sustainability.     

Measuring the impact of fair trade on development

This study of the impact of fair trade relies on new field data from coffee and banana co-operatives in Peru and Costa Rica, including a detailed assessment of its welfare effects by comparing FT farmers with non-FT farmers as a benchmark. Attention is focused on three major effects: (a) direct tangible impact of FT arrangements on the income, welfare, and livelihoods of rural households; (b) indirect effects of fair trade for improving credit access, capital stocks, investments, and attitudes to risk; and (c) institutional implications of fair trade for farmers' organisations and externalities for local and regional employment, bargaining, and trading conditions. Although direct effects in terms of net income remain fairly modest, important benefits are found to include capitalising farmers and strengthening their organisations.     

Pedagogical changes in curricula in higher education in Central Asia： A case study in psychology

This paper has three goals. First, to introduce a major pedagogical transition and discuss the challenges faced during the transition. Second, to provide a specific example of course changes that were required to meet this pedagogical transition and the challenges faced in adoption of new teaching techniques. The third goal of this paper is to provide faculty and universities with useful information to enhance their programs and meet the challenges faced during pedagogical transitions.     

美国和日本对东南亚山地僳族的研究——兼与中国傈僳族研究的比较

傈僳族既是中国的世居民族之一,也广泛地分布在东南亚山地地区,是这一区域内重要的跨境民族。本文在对1968-2008年美国、日本人类学东南亚山地傈僳族研究文献梳理和评述的基础上,阐明二者在理论和资料关注、研究脉络和研究对象认知、民族志写作等方面的差异。最后,从家户的研究问题、比较维度和联系性研究视角、田野调查和多元研究方法3个层面就美、日东南亚山地傈僳族研究与中国傈僳族研究进行比较。希望在这种比较中搭建与国际傈僳族研究对话的研究框架。     

美国“新经济”成长的制度因素及对我国的启示

20世纪90年代以来,美国经济出现了二战后罕见的持续非线性的高速度增长.其主要表现为高增长率、高就业、高规模、高扩张,人们将这种经济现象定义为-新经济.新经济出现在美国绝非偶然,本文旨在探讨新经济现象背后的制度因素--科技创新、制度创新、政策性保障及对中国知识经济发展的借鉴意义.