scholarly journals Beyond (anti)utilitarianism: khat and alternatives to growth in northern Madagascar

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
Lisa L. Gezon
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
Homo Economicus ◽  
Economic Decision Making ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Cognitive Orientations ◽  
State Infrastructure

Abstract: Madagascar has one of the lowest GDPs in the world. Colonization brought the country into the global economy, but left it at its margins—vulnerable to the hardships of structural adjustment and limitations of state infrastructure. This analysis reveals economic decision-making that defies the utilitarian logic of homo economicus and inspires creative thinking about alternatives to growth as a dominant paradigm. In northern Madagascar, the economy of the stimulant khat is part of one socionatural world characterized by low levels of production and consumption. Madagascar provides a case study for suggesting that "making a living" invokes an intricate web of material desires, cultural meaning, and social connections that do not necessarily revolve around a capitalist growth motive. This article proposes that a path to sustainability is not only in changing social imaginaries but also in valorizing and leveraging cognitive orientations and practices that exist but that may fall below the radar of traditional economic analysis. Keywords: Madagascar, khat, utilitarian, degrowth, economy, urban

NGOs as Intermediaries for Pro-Poor Electrification in India

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 178-204
Author(s):  
Bipasha Baruah
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
Shock Therapy ◽  
Basic Service ◽  
Multiple Stakeholder ◽  
Alternative Practices ◽  
The City

Neoliberalism is generally associated with certain paradigmatic regulatory experiments, such as privatisation, deregulation, trade liberalisation, financialisation, structural adjustment, welfare cutbacks and monetarist shock therapy. Prominent observers of the global economy swiftly proclaimed the “end of neoliberalism” after the global economic crisis of 2008. This paper shares the experiences of two Indian NGOs participating in a multiple-stakeholder pro-poor urban electrification programme that was designed to demonstrate a viable alternative to neoliberal models of basic service provision. By 2008, close to 100,000 homes had been electrified in the city of Ahmedabad and the programme is currently being replicated in smaller cities in Gujarat and in the neighbouring state of Rajasthan. The broader findings from this research suggest that the news of neoliberalism’s demise may be greatly exaggerated. The “alternative” practices and strategies that have emerged more recently, such as the ones documented in this article, may challenge certain aspects of neoliberal thinking even as they reconfigure and recalibrate others. Although this case study cannot in any way enable us to gauge if India is moving toward “post-neoliberalism”, it does highlight the importance of documenting and understanding sub-national scales and actors in experimenting with and testing alternatives to market-based solutions.

Low Temperature Fault Isolation Using Soft Defect Localization

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristopher D. Staller
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Fault Isolation ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Cold Temperature ◽  
Multiple Point ◽  
Defect Localization ◽  
Low Levels

Abstract Cold temperature failures are often difficult to resolve, especially those at extreme low levels (< -40°C). Momentary application of chill spray can confirm the failure mode, but is impractical during photoemission microscopy (PEM), laser scanning microscopy (LSM), and multiple point microprobing. This paper will examine relatively low-cost cold temperature systems that can hold samples at steady state extreme low temperatures and describe a case study where a cold temperature stage was combined with LSM soft defect localization (SDL) to rapidly identify the cause of a complex cold temperature failure mechanism.

Logistics management in China: A case study of Haier

2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27
Author(s):  
Jason C.H. Chen ◽  
Binshan Lin ◽  
Lingli Li ◽  
Patty S. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Communication Networks ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Collaborative Advantage ◽  
Logistics Systems ◽  
Business Partners ◽  
Business Operations ◽  
Global Brand ◽  
The Many ◽  
Foreign Competitors

Chinese businesses began with a weak foundation in the intense world trade environment, similar to the many other companies that grew from developing countries. How were these Chinese businesses able to compete with foreign competitors armed with strong capital structures and efficient communication networks? Haier is an excellent example of how Chinese companies have successfully adapted to and prospered in the global economy, using information technology as a strategic weapon to improve its competitive advantage and further to create collaborative advantage. Haier's growth is miraculous: in less than two decades, it grew from a state-owned refrigerator factory into an innovative international giant. The company has become China's first global brand and the fifth largest appliance seller in the world. What are the secrets of Haier's success? Many researchers have conducted extensive studies on Haier's management and found the key is Management Information Systems such as e-Commerce and logistics systems that improve business operations between its suppliers, customers, and business partners. This article recounts the journey of Haier's achievements to excellence through its MIS, and provides analyses of the company's business model, the market chain management model.

scholarly journals Seaports during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Terminal Operators’ Tactical Responses to Disruptions in Maritime Supply Chains

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4339
Author(s):  
Marta Mańkowska ◽  
Michał Pluciński ◽  
Izabela Kotowska ◽  
Ludmiła Filina-Dawidowicz
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Inductive Reasoning ◽  
Main Function ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Tactical Decisions

The world-wide crisis caused by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a significant impact on the global economy functioning and the sustainable development of supply chains. The changes also affected seaports being the key links of maritime supply chains. The purpose of the research study described in this article was to identify the sources and kinds of disruptions observed in various maritime supply chains as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on the operations of various types of seaport terminals, namely those serving bulk (universal, specialised) and general cargoes (universal, specialised). An additional purpose was to identify the dependencies between the type of terminal and its main function, and the tactical decisions adopted by the particular terminals. The research was carried out using the multiple-case study method. The study covered some selected port terminals functioning in Polish seaports (Gdańsk, Szczecin, Świnoujście), applying direct, semi-structured in-depth interviews. The analysis of the results was carried out using the inductive reasoning method. The research study has shown that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic some maritime supply chains ceased to exist, some of them were operating with decreased cargo volumes, while in other cases the transshipment volumes actually rose during the pandemic. Among terminal operators’ tactical responses to disruptions in maritime supply chains, there were pro-active and adaptive measures. Pro-active (offensive) measures included actions taken by an enterprise in order to engage in new maritime supply chains, and even participating in establishing new maritime chains in response to limitations caused by the pandemic. Adaptive (defensive) measures covered actions taken by the port terminals as a consequence of changes in the existing maritime supply chains, caused by the pandemic in the port’s foreland or hinterland. The research study results revealed that the terminals extent of engagement and tactical decisions related to the pandemic were depended on the type of terminal (universal or specialised) and its main function played within a supply chain.

Decoding the Globe: Globalism, Advertising, and Corporate Practice

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick McHaffie
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Computer Systems ◽  
Symbolic Power ◽  
Space Program ◽  
Spatial Practices ◽  
Hewlett Packard ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Us ◽  
Corporate Practice

The current graphical rhetoric of advertising includes everything from images of the globe borrowed from the US space program (for example, Hewlett-Packard Corp. computer systems), to pseudotribal renderings of a very different sort [for example, Minute Maid's (The Coca Cola Co.) Fruitopia]. The use of these images are part of what Goldman calls the economy of ‘commodity signs’, where produced meanings are linked to commodities through the medium of the print or broadcast advertisement. The increased incorporation of global images in Western advertising presents an opportunity to analyze the ideological underpinning of the ‘new global economy’. The sheer volume of purchased advertising space places these often confusing images before our eyes at an increasing pace, producing meanings which tend to obfuscate and fetishize discourse related to globalism. A decoding of specific advertisements with the use of the Hewlett-Packard Corporation as a case study, juxtaposed against the real spatial practices of the company will reveal ruptures, contradictions, and incoherence in advertising messages which appropriate the symbolic power of global images.

Film Production and Consumption in Contemporary Taiwan

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Feng Mon
Keyword(s):  
Film Industry ◽  
Sensory Experience ◽  
Media Convergence ◽  
Film Production ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
And Control ◽  
Depth Interviews

This book uses the potent case study of contemporary Taiwanese queer romance films to address the question of how capitalism in Taiwan has privileged the film industry at the expense of the audience's freedom to choose and respond to culture on its own terms. Interweaving in-depth interviews with filmmakers, producers, marketers, and spectators, Ya-Fong Mon takes a biopolitical approach to the question, showing how the industry uses investments in techno-science, ancillary marketing, and media convergence to seduce and control the sensory experience of the audience-yet that control only extends so far: volatility remains a key component of the film-going experience.

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