This book examines the relationship between land tenure, conservation and rural development in the context of the Southeast Asian archipelago. In particular, it is concerned with people living in and around national parks and other protected areas. It discusses the value of reinforcing indigenous tenure and sustainable resource use practices and of including them in policies and projects that attempt to integrate conservation and development.

This book provides a detailed examination of judicial decision-making in Japanese cases involving sexual violence. It describes the culture of 'eroticised violence' in Japan, which sees the feminine body as culpable and the legal system which encourages homogeneity and conformity in decision-making and shows how the legal constraints confronting women claiming sexual assaults are enormous. It includes analysis of specific case studies and a discussion of recent moves to address the problem.

Social Policy in East and South East Asia provides the first systematic comparison of the policy sectors of income maintenance, health, housing and education in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. It focuses particularly on the provision and financing arrangements of these four Asian newly industrialized economies and their outcomes in terms of adequacy, efficiency and equity, drawing on extensive primary research carried out by the author. Locating the importance of Asian social policies in the wake of the recent financial crisis in the region, this work provides a comprehensive analysis of the different types of welfare state in contemporary Asia.

The application of psychological principles to research and practice in crime prevention, detection, legal processes and offender treatment is a feature of the growing number of advanced undergraduate courses and graduate courses, and professional training programmes. This book reflects the need to provide an overview of psychological knowledge and its forensic applications and implications, to psychology students and its forensic applications and implications, to psychology students and to related professional disciplines such as psychiatry, nursing, policing, law, prison work and probation.
The Editors are very well known academics and clinicians. The chapters are written by contributors who are recognised leaders in their own fields, and they have provided accessible accounts of the applications and implications of behavioural sciences for their peers, and for professionals and students in other disciplines. Multi-professional case work and innovative approaches to crime and offenders are being supported by research, by poicy and by legislation. There is a growing need to provide a wide range of professionals with a common framework and knowledge base to aid their shared understanding of crime and offenders, and of related interventions.
""Behaviour, Crime and Legal Processes" will be of great interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers and others concerned with understanding and treating offenders. The book is readable, scholarly and wide-ranging, covering legal issues, psychology and the police, witness evidence, decision-making in court, criminological theories, risk assessment and the treatment of mentally disordered and sex offenders." - Professor DavidFarrington, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, UK

The only collection of its kind on the market, this reader gathers the work of some of the most esteemed urban ethnographers in sociology and anthropology. Broken down into sections that cover key aspects of ethnographic research, Ethnography and the City will expose readers to important works in the field, while also guiding students to the study of method as they embark on their own work.

Post-war Japan offers a compelling case study of national apologies for past wrongdoings. Actions of the Japanese Army and government during the Second World War caused enormous suffering and distress throughout Asia, leaving a legacy of resentment and distrust. Beginning in the mid-1980s, apology for wartime actions became a recurring issue for Japan. Repeated calls for apology from various quarters as well as repeated apologies by Japanese officials provide a rich source for the study of national apology and how public apology discourse develops over time. Unlike most rhetorical studies that focus on apologia in the broad sense, this study concentrates on the strategy of the 'true apology.' The study combines rhetorical, sociological and historical approaches to address multiple examples of Japanese apology during the period 1984 to 1995. The author suggests that motive is more complex than the 'image restoration' theory that is prevalent in rhetorical theory. More specifically, this study emphasizes repair of relationships, self-reflection leading to a 'new' improved identity and affirmation of moral principle as reasons for apology.

The first book-length study of adoption in Japan, this impressive work tackles the innovative and sometimes controversial subject of the policies of adoption agencies in Japan. The book places special adoption in the context of a liberal reformist agenda that has challenged traditional concepts of the family through the efforts to place children with difficult family backgrounds, including mixed and minority ethnic backgrounds. Drawing on empirical source material gathered since the late 1980s, the authors consider the central policy issue of whether agencies should be given a free hand to create their own policies, or whether they should be more tightly regulated. Finally, the book analyzes how different agency strategies for finding homes for hard to place children are related to different assumptions about the psychology and reasoning of prospective parents. Adoption in Japan makes a significant contribution to the academic literature in the fields of Japanese studies, public policy, social work and sociology. It will also be of interest to professionals involved in adoption agencies, specialist social work and adoption panels.

Older persons are often portrayed as social and financial burdens because pensions, health and social care have to withstand increasing old age dependency ratios. Due to a lack of access to representation or a lack of social and economic power, older people have found few opportunities to have their voices heard, making age an immensely political issue. Written by an impressive team of authors, this book provides an in-depth analysis of the experience of ageing in Singapore examining key issues such as health, work, housing, family ties and care giving. It looks at how social categorization enters into everyday life to elucidate the multiple meanings of age and identity encountered in a rapidly changing economy and society. Providing original critical discourse from Asian writers recording Asian voices, Ageing in Singapore will appeal to a wide readership and is an invaluable resource for policy makers, service practitioners and scholars working on Asian gerontology.

Hagiographies or idealized biographies which recount the lives of saints, bodhisattvas and other charismatic figures have been the meeting place for myth and experience. In medieval Europe, the 'lives of saints' were read during liturgical celebrations and the texts themselves were treated as sacred objects. In Japan, it was believed that those who read the biographies of lofty monks would acquire merit. Since hagiographies were written or compiled by 'believers', the line between fantasy and reality was often obscured. This study of the bodhisattva Gyoki - regarded as the monk who started the largest social welfare movement in Japan - illustrates how Japanese Buddhist hagiographers chose to regard a single monk's charitable activities as a miraculous achievement that shaped the course of Japanese history.

During the period 1949 to 1979, communist China was officially pursuing a policy of self-sufficiency, and the United States and its allies were officially implementing a trade embargo against communist China. However, this book, based on extensive original research, demonstrates that China was highly dependent on Western/Japanese grain imports. The text shows that groups lobbying on behalf of Western/Japanese grain producers and related industries had successfully found ways of by-passing the embargo. This book charts the complicated picture of how economic relations between China, the West and Japan developed in these years.

Laos - the Lao People's Democratic Republic - is one of the least understood and studied countries of Asia. Its development trajectory is also one of the most interesting, as it moves from state, or perhaps more appropriately subsistence, to market. Based on extensive original research, this book assesses how economic transition and marketisation are being translated into progress (or not) at the local level, and at the resulting impact on poverty, inequality and livelihoods. It concludes that the process of transition in fact contributes to the growth of poverty for some people, and shows how people manage to cope in very unfavourable circumstances.

The stand-off across the Straits of Taiwan continues to be one of the most dangerous confrontations in Asia. The technical superiority of the Taiwanese forces has been a major factor in maintaining balance, but as mainland China's armed forces modernize, Taiwan's advantages are being eroded. In response, Taiwan has recently undertaken a major reform of its armed forces. Bringing together a wide range of experts including people who are involved in defence policy making in Taiwan, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of these reforms, and assesses their likely effectiveness. Chapters are devoted to issues including the Chinese threat, the domestic context of reform, the role of the United States and specific defence issues, making the book an invaluable guide to the changes undertaken and underway within Taiwan's strategic environment. With a foreword by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's Defense Reform will be of interest to policy makers and academics working in this vital strategic area.

Economic reform in China has resulted in a widening gap between the rich and the poor, and urban poverty has emerged as a key factor which may affect future development. This new book examines the poverty problem in relation to housing and social changes in large inland cities, and assesses the effectiveness of recent government anti-poverty policies. The book also puts the Chinese experience in the wider context of transitional economies and discusses the similarities and differences between China and Central and Eastern European countries. The book is based on a long period of research on Chinese urban development, and benefited from several research projects conducted in Chinese cities. It is an important reference for all of those interested in housing, urban studies and social change, and is a key text for students of the Chinese economy and society.

After more than four decades the Cold War ended with the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union. Almost simultaneously China emerged as the new potential disruptor of international stability, with Beijing replacing Moscow as the key source of Western insecurity. Drawing upon extensive primary resources, Ali questions the logic behind this perception, reflected both in popular and academic literature. Disclosing hitherto unknown aspects of the Soviet Union's disintegration, the text reveals a secret strategic alliance between the USA and China during the Cold War's final decades. Presenting an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the two countries, the book identifies the bases on which the alliance emerged; the growing mutual concern of a 'Soviet threat'. Using documentation from the three capitals, Ali presents a compelling tale of intrigue and conspiracy at the highest level of the international security system. The text brings a new dimension to the current literature and deepens our understanding of a key aspect of the Cold War - its end.

Jia Pingwa, whose novels have caused both fame and controversy, has an enormous readership throughout the Chinese speaking world. However, despite Pingwa's cultural significance and the use of his poetry, novels and prose in schools and universities, there has never been any substantial academic study of the writer and his writings. Filling that gap, this book examines the corpus of Pingwa's writing and emphasizes his importance, prominence and relevance to contemporary Chinese society. This pioneering study discusses Pingwa's works in the light of 'cultural nationalism', showing how he links the cultural identity of China with the cultural authenticity of his local Shaanxi Province. In addition, the book highlights issues of nationalism in contemporary Chinese literature and underpins the significance of regional writing in negotiating China's national identities.

This book examines the strategic interactions among China, the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asian States in the context of China's rise and globalization after the cold war. Engaging the mainstream theoretical debates in international relations, the author introduces a new theoretical framework-institutional realism-to explain the institutionalization of world politics in the Asia-Pacific after the cold war. Institutional realism suggests that deepening economic interdependence creates a condition under which states are more likely to conduct a new balancing strategy-institutional balancing, i.e., countering pressures or threats through initiating, utilizing, and dominating multilateral institutions-to pursue security under anarchy. To test the validity of institutional realism, Kai He examines the foreign policies of the U.S., Japan, the ASEAN states, and China toward four major multilateral institutions, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Plus Three (APT), and East Asian Summit (EAS). Challenging the popular pessimistic view regarding China's rise, the book concludes that economic interdependence and structural constraints may well soften the "dragon's teeth." China's rise does not mean a dark future for the region. Institutional Balancing in the Asia Pacific will be of great interest to policy makers and scholars of Asian security, international relations, Chinese foreign policy, and U.S. foreign policy.

This iconoclastic work on the prehistory of Japan and of South East Asia challenges entrenched views on the origins of Japanese society and identity. The social changes that took place in Japan in the time-period when the Jomon culture was replaced by the Yayoi culture were of exceptional magnitude, going far beyond those of the so-called Neolithic Revolution in other parts of the world. They included not only a new way of life based on wet-rice agriculture but also the introduction of metalworking in both bronze and iron, and furthermore a new architecture functionally and ritually linked to rice cultivation, a new religion, and a hierarchical society characterized by a belief in the divinity of the ruler. Because of its immense and enduring impact the Yayoi period has generally been seen as the very foundation of Japanese civilization and identity. In contrast to the common assumption that all the Yayoi innovations came from China and Korea, this work combines exciting new scientific evidence from such different fields as rice genetics, DNA and historical linguistics to show that the major elements of Yayoi civilization actually came, not from the north, but from the south.

This book tracks the phases of Singapore's economic and political development, arguing that its success was always dependent upon the territories links with the surrounding region and the wider global system, and suggests that managing these links today will be the key to the country's future. Singapore has followed a distinctive historical development trajectory. It was one of a number of cities which provided bases for the expansion of the British empire in the East. But the Pacific War provided local elites with their chance to secure independence. In Singapore the elite disciplined and mobilized their population and built successfully on their colonial inheritance. Today, the city-state prospers in the context of its regional and global networks, and sustaining and nurturing these are the keys to its future. But there are clouds on the elite's horizons; domestically, the population is restive with inequality, migration and surplus-repression causing concern; and internationally, the strategy of constructing a business-hub economy is being widely copied and both Hong Kong and Shanghai are significant competitors. This book discusses these issues and argues that although success is likely to characterize Singapore's future, the elite will have to address these significant domestic and international problems.

On July 1st, 2007, Hong Kong celebrated the 10th anniversary of its return to the People's Republic of China, but the past decade has been a bumpy ride for both the Hong Kong people and the central leaders in China. In fact, in 2003 Beijing had already succumbed to public pressure within the fairly short period of its rule by abruptly replacing its handpicked first Chief Executive with a British-groomed civil servant. This book examines the origin and evolution of Hong Kong's political system, analyses the current contradictions in the system, and discusses how the system might develop in future. It focuses in particular on the office of Chief Executive in the context of Hong Kong's transformation from a British colony to a Special Administrative Region in China. The dualistic structure of the Chief Executive's office embodies a dilemma between two competing imperatives - Communist China's imperative to retain a colonial political system where executive power is concentrated at the top; alongside the need to accommodate new, increasing demands for democratic representation within the territory. The Political Future of Hong Kong demonstrates how the British legacy left its imprint on Hong Kong's political system. It analyses the strategies adopted by the Sovereign state as it attempted to cope with demands for representative government in the post-handover years, and the strains placed on Hong Kong's political institutions by the uneasy relationship between central government and local forces of liberal autonomy. Kit Poon examines the possibility of the introduction of universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive, and considers how Hong Kong can secure a democratic future in the context of broader Beijing-Hong Kong relations.

Since the late nineteenth century, hundreds of thousands of Chinese have moved to Russia and Eastern Europe. However, until now, very little research has been done about the initial migrants in the nineteenth century, the presence of the Chinese in Europe and Russia in the twentieth century before the collapse of the 'socialist' regimes or about the great wave of Chinese migration to Eastern Europe and Russia which occurred after 1989.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the Chinese in Russia and Eastern Europe from the nineteenth century to the present day. Particularly important is the movement of entrepreneurs in the early 1990s, who took advantage of unmet demand, inadequate retail networks and largely unregulated markets to become suppliers of cheap consumer goods to low-income Eastern Europeans. In some villages, Chinese merchants now occupy a position not unlike that of Jewish shopkeepers before the Second World War. Although their interactions with local society are numerous, the degree of social integration and acceptance is often low. At the same time, they maintain close economic, social, and political ties to China.

Empirical in focus, and full of rich ethnographic data, Pal Nyiri has produced a book that will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese studies, international migration, diaspora and transnationalism.

Outsourcing is an increasingly popular strategy deployed by a variety of institutions, including banks, multinational companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The book assesses the problems and solutions for those attempting to outsource through an analysis of human resource management, insourcing, lifecycles of the project, insurance requirements, operational management and recruitment within the context of the financial services industry, automotive and IT industries of Japan, North and South Korea, South Africa, Mexico, Eastern Europe, China and India. Including detailed comparative case studies, this book: considers how outsourcing can best be made to work explores the human side of outsourcing offers practical advice for improving organizational relationships and performance looks at important practices such as insourcing provides much needed analysis of the risk and insurance issues involved in outsourcing.

The Indonesian term adat means 'custom' or 'tradition', and carries connotations of sedate order and harmony. Yet in recent years it has suddenly become associated with activism, protest and violence. This book investigates the revival of adat in Indonesian politics, identifying its origins, the historical factors that have conditioned it and the reasons behind its recent blossoming. It considers whether the adat revival is a constructive contribution to Indonesia's new political pluralism or a divisive, dangerous and reactionary force, and examines the implications for the development of democracy, human rights, civility and political stability. The Revival of Tradition in Indonesian Politics provides detailed coverage of the growing significance of adat in Indonesian politics. It is an important resource for anyone seeking to understand the contemporary Indonesian political landscape.

This book provides detailed systematic micro-level analysis of the historical development of the Chinese banking industry, focusing in particular on the development of the Bank of China (BOC) in the period 1905 to 1949. Banking reform is a key area of China's economic transformation, and this book, bringing a vast amount of material to a Western audience for the first time, provides a detailed evidence of the key challenges faced by a major Chinese bank. The book: addresses important issues in its evolution, including corporate governance government intervention, foreign competition and white-collar crime evaluates how the challenges in these areas were met considers the results of its efforts draws lessons for policy making today.

There is a growing interest in human security in Southeast Asia. This book firstly explores the theoretical and conceptual basis of human security, before focusing on the region itself. It shows how human security has been taken up as a central part of security policy in individual states in Southeast Asia, as well as in the regional security policy within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The book discusses domestic challenges for human security including the insurgencies in southern Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. Transnational security issues such as terrorism, drugs, human trafficking and the situation in Burma are explored by the author, and the 'ASEAN' way of contrasting the values and approaches of Southeast Asian countries with those in the West is assessed. By focusing on the ongoing changes and efforts to achieve human security in Southeast Asia, this book contributes to theoretical debates on human security as well as regional studies on Southeast Asia.

The political downfall of the Suharto administration in 1998 marked the end of the "New Order" in Indonesia, a period characterized by 32 years of authoritarian rule. It opened the way for democracy, but also for the proliferation of political Islam, which the New Order had discouraged or banned. Many of the issues raised by Muslim groups concerned matters pertaining to gender and the body. They triggered heated debates about women's rights, female political participation, sexuality, pornography, veiling, and polygamy. The author argues that public debates on Islam and Gender in contemporary Indonesia only partially concern religion, and more often refer to shifting moral conceptions of the masculine and feminine body in its intersection with new class dynamics, national identity, and global consumerism. By approaching the contentious debates from a cultural sociological perspective, the book links the theoretical domains of body politics, the mediated public sphere, and citizenship. Placing the issue of gender and Islam in the context of Indonesia, the biggest Muslim-majority country in the world, this book is an important contribution to the existing literature on the topic. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of anthropology, sociology, and gender studies.