Search results

The nature of the relationship between the Arabs and China in its historical and current dimensions raises the issue of compatibility and coexistence and the possibility of its continuity among nations and cultures. During the fifteenth-century-period, in which Arab–Chinese relations developed, a model of coexistence and harmony between the two civilizations and cultures emerged, which is rare to find in the history of relations between societies and countries. In this chapter, the researchers attempt to return to history to discuss the forms of the development of peaceful relations between China and Arab societies, and the cultural and psychological motives that led to the normalization of political relations in a pattern of mutual respect and peaceful cooperation on many common issues, which still continue to affect positively the relations between China and the Arab world nowadays. The study found that the nature of the eastern mentality of both parties and the positive stereotypes that each side has about the other long time ago have contributed decisively to shaping these relations in the subsequent centuries.

In recent years, the airline industry has been growing and transforming rapidly in the Asia-Pacific area. This study analyzes and benchmarks the comparative operational efficiencies of the major Asian air carriers. Data envelopment analysis model and disaggregate output efficiency measures are used to evaluate the operational efficiencies of 31 Asian airlines from 2015 to 2019. The findings suggest that nonflag carriers, low-cost carriers, and high-income regions' carriers have significantly higher levels of efficiency than flag carriers, full-service carriers, and low-income regions' carriers in overall, revenue, and passenger traffic efficiencies. The efficiencies between alliance carriers and nonalliance carriers along with those of ASEAN and non-ASEAN carriers are not significantly different.

Using the modified theory of planned behavior, this study aims to understand residents’ supporting or rejecting mindsets toward legalizing gambling in Kinmen, Taiwan, where exists a complex and somewhat contradictory relationships between economic growth and the preservation of the natural environment in the context of tourism specifically to small island destinations. This study develops a convenience sampling procedure in which 365 questionnaires are collected. A series of hypotheses tests are conducted via structural equation modeling. This study notices that perceived behavioral control is the most important attribute affecting behavioral intention. However, behavioral intention does not necessarily lead to actual behavior. Attitude is considered as a more reliable predictor of actual action. Attitude relied heavily on positive perceived behavioral control. Further, the respondents are concerned more about how legalizing gambling affects their current lifestyle.

This chapter investigates how market competition relates to firm corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment strategy. Using separate measures to capture different dimensions of competition, we find that firms are likely to invest more (less) in socially responsible initiatives when competition from existing rivals (potential entrants) is high. We also find that industry leaders are more likely to engage in more CSR when higher levels of competition exist, while followers primarily choose to strengthen other aspects of their competitiveness instead. Finally, analyzing the impact of CEO overconfidence on CSR engagement, our study finds novel evidence suggesting that firms with overconfident CEOs tend to underestimate the intensity of competition and are less sensitive to the impact of market competition on CSR engagement, relative to rational CEOs.

The analyses of civil–military relations during public health emergencies are traditionally confined to applications in international and humanitarian action related to conflict and disaster. The expansive global response to the COVID-19 pandemic fused health and national security issues, and such a response involved extensive collaboration between the military and civil sectors. The expanded scope and centrality of the military in government pandemic response have been noted globally, and Southeast Asia presented interesting developments. This study investigates how the pandemic affected civil–military relations in the region by looking at the cases of the Philippines and Malaysia. First, it assesses the extent to which the pandemic has been framed within the security language through war analogies that rationalised military response. Second, it investigates the roles of the military in the respective governments’ public health emergency response, providing clues on how the increased military intervention affected people’s trust and confidence in public institutions during the pandemic. The study finds that securitising the pandemic correlated to expanding the military’s power and scope in the government response, but notes that civil–military relations remained dependent on the historical roles of the armed forces in politics and society. The two countries have similarly framed the pandemic as a security threat, but the military’s participation in Malaysia’s response shows development opportunities, while the case of the Philippines reveals how a military-centric pandemic response could lead to deleterious effects.

This chapter reports on findings from a critical autoethnography (Anderson, 2006) about the strategies and experiences of male microcelebrities from Australia. The author Jonathan Mavroudis, himself identifies as a microcelebrity with a following of over 27,000 on Instagram at the time of writing. This position granted him insider access to this specific cohort and the microcelebrity world in general. The study comprised participant interviews, analyses of the author’s own experiences, and a survey of over 500 of his Instagram followers. The author draws from these data sources to introduce the concept of “fame labor.” Fame labor reconfigures the way visibility labors such as self-branding labor is understood. It offers a macro perspective that relates to nonmicrocelebrities as well as microcelebrities and illuminates potential wider implications of microcelebrity culture.

Researchers continue to seek understanding of industrialization as a state managed process. How to create and implement new industries based on advanced knowledge is on the policy agenda of many advanced nations. Measures that promote these developments include national capacity building in science and technology, the formation of technology transfer systems, and the establishment of industrial clusters. What these templates often overlook is an analysis of use. This chapter aims to increase the understanding of the processes that embed new solutions in structures from an industrial network perspective. The chapter describes an empirical study of high-technology industrialization in Taiwan that the researcher conducts to this end. The study shows that the Taiwanese industrial model is oversimplified and omits several important factors in the development of new industries. This study bases its findings on the notions that resource combination occurs in different time and space, the new always builds on existing resource structures, and the users are important as active participants in development processes.

Ports are widely recognised as crucial nodes in international trade and transport. However, for various reasons, capacity does not always match demand: sometimes there is overcapacity, whereas in other cases, demand exceeds capacity and there is a shortage of the latter. This chapter therefore looks at where port congestion occurs, both globally and in the port-calling chain; it analyses actual responses by various chain actors, and it sheds some light on potential future evolution and reaction patterns.

Congestion, in general, can feature various forms of appearance: it can be more or less hidden, featuring congestion costs, or it can be visually present, featuring queues which are building up. The chapter discerns eight zones in the port-calling chain where congestion may emerge. As a result of a wide literature search, supplemented with a survey, it can first of all be observed that quite some congestion seems to occur, globally spread, and hitting larger as well as smaller ports. Most of the congestion is generated at the terminals, hinterland connection points and hinterland transport itself.

In terms of reaction patterns, one would assume that pricing throughout the system is adapted in such way that demand equals capacity. In practice, prices are hardly making any effort to make marginal revenue equal marginal cost. The reason is mainly that the power balance is quite strongly in favour of shipping companies, who impose on port and port operators the need to expand capacity at low fees. Port operators, in turn, apply various kinds of technical and procedural adaptations. The same is true for hinterland operators.

Looking towards the future, it seems that with the increase in world trade, the risk of port congestion will be even more outspoken, be it in some parts of the world more than in others. It is also very much likely that most problems will occur landside, as this is the part of the chain where solutions are least easy: who is going to take the initiative, how will co-ordination take place and where will the funding come from? Most actors seem to be aware of this trend, and seek for solutions like dedicated terminals and vertical integration or co-operation.

With the above observations, the chapter sheds some light on where the future needs and trends in the abatement of capacity will lie. It is therefore useful from a scientific point of view as well as with an eye on policy-making and operational port management.