Asia as Method

Asia as Method
Author: Kuan-Hsing Chen
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2010-04-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 0822391694

Centering his analysis in the dynamic forces of modern East Asian history, Kuan-Hsing Chen recasts cultural studies as a politically urgent global endeavor. He argues that the intellectual and subjective work of decolonization begun across East Asia after the Second World War was stalled by the cold war. At the same time, the work of deimperialization became impossible to imagine in imperial centers such as Japan and the United States. Chen contends that it is now necessary to resume those tasks, and that decolonization, deimperialization, and an intellectual undoing of the cold war must proceed simultaneously. Combining postcolonial studies, globalization studies, and the emerging field of “Asian studies in Asia,” he insists that those on both sides of the imperial divide must assess the conduct, motives, and consequences of imperial histories. Chen is one of the most important intellectuals working in East Asia today; his writing has been influential in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and mainland China for the past fifteen years. As a founding member of the Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Society and its journal, he has helped to initiate change in the dynamics and intellectual orientation of the region, building a network that has facilitated inter-Asian connections. Asia as Method encapsulates Chen’s vision and activities within the increasingly “inter-referencing” East Asian intellectual community and charts necessary new directions for cultural studies.

Joint Venture Agreements in the Qatari Gas Industry

Joint Venture Agreements in the Qatari Gas Industry
Author: Talal Abdulla Al-Emadi
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2019-03-29
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3030126234

This book addresses a question of importance for both theory and practice: Why are joint venture agreements preferred over other types of agreements such as concession agreements, service contracts, and production sharing agreements in the Qatari gas industry? On a theoretical level, the author analyses this decision-making process by developing an approach that integrates a micro-level analysis, more specifically within international oil companies, with a macro-level analysis that spring from the organisational culture of the Qatari gas industry. At the micro level, the author proposes John Dunning’s eclectic paradigm (as one set of theoretical ideas) to explaining one element of the decision-making process leading to the preference for joint venture agreements, that is, that of international oil companies. At the macro-level, the author proposes Antony Giddens’ structuration theory (as another set of theoretical ideas) to explaining another part of this decision-making process, that is, how it is being shaped by the organisational culture of the Qatari gas industry. On an empirical level, the proposed book applies a combination of a micro-economic approach such as Dunning’s eclectic paradigm with a macro-sociological approach such as Giddens’ structuration theory by empirical investigation. Grounded on a qualitative strategy that focuses on the meaning-making which brings together different perspectives of this decision-making process including those of international oil companies and the organisational culture of the Qatari gas industry, the proposed book utilises a case study design, named the case of the Qatari gas industry. The author employs a triangulation of data collection techniques to access empirical data: analysing official documents and semi-structured interviews (a sample of the interview questions are included in an appendix to the proposed books). In line with the qualitative nature of this proposed book, a thematic Analysis is adopted to interpret data based on Dunning’s eclectic paradigm at the micro level and Giddens’ structuration theory at the macro level. In doing so, this book connects theory with practice by investigating the preference for joint venture agreements in the case of the Qatari industry by the combined application of one of the most effective frameworks for explaining foreign direct investment, named Dunning’s eclectic paradigm along with the most complex sociological framework that offers a rich definition of organisational culture, named Giddens’ structuration theory. Audience could include academics, professionals, and graduate and senior undergraduate students.

The SAGE Handbook of Power

The SAGE Handbook of Power
Author: Stewart R Clegg
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 505
Release: 2009-02-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1446206718

Power is arguably one of the key concepts within the social sciences. The SAGE Handbook of Power is the first touchstone for any student or researcher wishing to initiate themselves in the state of the art. Internationally acclaimed, Stewart R Clegg and Mark Haugaard have joined forces to select a collection of papers written by scholars with global reputations for excellence. These papers bridge different conceptual and theoretical positions and draw on many disciplines, including politics, sociology and cultural studies. The sweep and richness of the resulting handbook will help readers contextualise and grow their understanding of this dynamic and important subject area.

Theories of Violent Conflict

Theories of Violent Conflict
Author: Jolle Demmers
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN: 0415555337

The book examines related questions from a number of perspectives: constructivism, social identity theory, structuralism, political economy, human needs theory, relative deprivation theory, collective action theory, and rational-choice theory. The final chapter aims to synthesise structure and agency-based theories by proposing a critical discourse analysis of violent conflict.

Ethnic Identity in Tang China

Ethnic Identity in Tang China
Author: Marc S. Abramson
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2008-01-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780812240528

"Marc S. Abramson's portrait of this complex, multiethnic empire draws on political writings, religious texts, and other cultural artifacts, as well as comparative examples from other empires and frontiers. Abramson argues that various constituencies, ranging from Confucian elites to Buddhist monks to "barbarian" generals, sought to define ethnic boundaries for various reasons but often in part out of discomfort with the ambiguity of their own ethnic and cultural identity. The Tang court, meanwhile, sought to absorb some alien populations to preserve the empire's integrity while seeking to preserve the ethnic distinctiveness of other groups whose particular skills it valued. Abramson demonstrates how the Tang era marked a key shift in definitions of China and the Chinese people, a shift that ultimately laid the foundation for the emergence of the modern Chinese nation."--BOOK JACKET.

Rome, China, and the Barbarians

Rome, China, and the Barbarians
Author: Randolph B. Ford
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2020-04-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108596606

This book addresses a largely untouched historical problem: the fourth to fifth centuries AD witnessed remarkably similar patterns of foreign invasion, conquest, and political fragmentation in Rome and China. Yet while the Western Roman Empire was never reestablished, China was reunified at the end of the sixth century. Following a comparative discussion of earlier historiographical and ethnographic traditions in the classical Greco-Roman and Chinese worlds, the book turns to the late antique/early medieval period, when the Western Roman Empire 'fell' and China was reconstituted as a united empire after centuries of foreign conquest and political division. Analyzing the discourse of ethnic identity in the historical texts of this later period, with original translations by the author, the book explores the extent to which notions of Self and Other, of 'barbarian' and 'civilized', help us understand both the transformation of the Roman world as well as the restoration of a unified imperial China.

Free Enterprise

Free Enterprise
Author: Lawrence B. Glickman
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2019-08-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0300249004

An incisive look at the intellectual and cultural history of free enterprise and its influence on American politics Throughout the twentieth century, “free enterprise” has been a contested keyword in American politics, and the cornerstone of a conservative philosophy that seeks to limit government involvement into economic matters. Lawrence B. Glickman shows how the idea first gained traction in American discourse and was championed by opponents of the New Deal. Those politicians, believing free enterprise to be a fundamental American value, held it up as an antidote to a liberalism that they maintained would lead toward totalitarian statism. Tracing the use of the concept of free enterprise, Glickman shows how it has both constrained and transformed political dialogue. He presents a fascinating look into the complex history, and marketing, of an idea that forms the linchpin of the contemporary opposition to government regulation, taxation, and programs such as Medicare.

Structuration Theory

Structuration Theory
Author: Rob Stones
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2017-03-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0230213642

This important text argues for a 'strong' notion of structuration theory in contrast to the seminal but more abstract and relatively under-developed project represented by Anthony Giddens's writings. Emphasis on the duality of structure is placed at the centre of the tradition. It is argued that the distinctive power of structuration theory lies in its potential to critically investigate a specific range of in situ questions. Structuration Theory produces a synthesis that draws on Giddens's work, on other versions of the structuration problematic, and on key empirical uses of the approach. The final chapters make use of extended case examples to illustrate the critical power of strong structuration.

Trust Within and Between Organizations

Trust Within and Between Organizations
Author: Christel Lane
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 354
Release: 1998-06-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0191584177

In the current turbulent business environment, there is a premium on trust. It has become a much desired resource in business organizations, but at the same time it has remained a very elusive idea. How to build and preserve trust, how to cope with opportunism and distrust, and how they affect organizational performance are crucial problems. This original book is the first to offer a wide-ranging study of trust within and between organizations from the perspective of several social and management sciences. The specially commissioned contributionsmany from well-known expertscombine theoretical analysis of problems around trust with empirical study in a range of different organizations in contexts such as China, Japan, India, the US, as well as several European countries. The many issues covered by the book include the relationship between trust and power, trust and law, how to build trust where there was previously none, the impact of trust on performance, and the fragility of trust in different societal contexts. The wide theoretical scope, together with the range of organizational settings and the rich empirical detail of behaviour around trust and opportunism, make this an important and instructive volume.