Guanxi, Networks and Economic Development: The Impact of Cultural Connections

Abstract: This course explores the history of early-modern and modern China, from the seventeenth century to the present. We will examine the rise and fall of China’s last empire, the emergence of a modern nation-state, the sources and development of revolution, and the implications of complex social, political, cultural, and economic transformations in the People’s Republic of China. Course materials include scholarly monographs, a memoir, primary sources, and visual and material artifacts that offer diverse perspectives. We will meet twice a week for a combination of lectures, discussion, and viewing of visual texts.

Abstract: Abstract : This study analyzes Chinese commercial negotiating practices for two reasons. The first is to minimize future misunderstandings in such activities, and the second is to provide guidance for government-to-government negotiations. The research procedure used involved interviews with American businessmen and bankers with extensive experience in the China trade, and--in order to control for American cultural factors--interviews with comparable Japanese bankers and businessmen. What was learned from the experiences of businessmen is to value in government-to-government negotiations, even though there are substantial differences between commercial and diplomatic relationships. At present both Beijing and Washington seek a more cooperative and complementary relationship. (Author)

Abstract: The rational choice approach to social behaviour rationality, egoism and social atomism models of the actor rationality, action and deliberation individualism and social structure.

Abstract: A comprehensive critical examination of China's folk architectural forms. Together with its companion volume, \"China's Living Houses: Folk Beliefs, Symbols, and Household Ornamentation\", it provides a study of the environmental, historical and social factors that influence housing forms for nearly a quarter of the world's population. Both books draw on the author's 30 years of fieldwork and travel in China, as well as on published and unpublished material in many languages. The work begins by tracing the interest in Chinese vernacular buildings in the 20th century. Early chapters detail common and distinctive spatial components, including the interior and exterior modular spaces that are axiomatic components of most Chinese dwellings as well as conventional structural components and building materials that are common in Chinese construction. Later chapters examine representative housing types in the three broad cultural realms - northern, southern and western - into which China has been divided. Knapp completes his survey with an exploration of China's old dwellings in the context of the rapid economic and social changes that are destroying so many of them.

Abstract: The psychological principles that govern the perception of decision problems and the evaluation of probabilities and outcomes produce predictable shifts of preference when the same problem is framed in different ways. Reversals of preference are demonstrated in choices regarding monetary outcomes, both hypothetical and real, and in questions pertaining to the loss of human lives. The effects of frames on preferences are compared to the effects of perspectives on perceptual appearance. The dependence of preferences on the formulation of decision problems is a significant concern for the theory of rational choice.

Abstract: BOOK REVIEW: Constructing grounded theory. A practical guide through qualitative analysis Kathy Charmaz, 2006, 208 pp. London: Sage. ISBN 2005928035

Abstract: Theory The Role of Theory in Doing Case Studies What is the Case Study Method? What is the Role of Theory in Doing Case Studies Exploratory Case Studies Case Selection and Screening: Criteria and Procedures Causal Case Studies I: Factor Theories Causal Case Studies II: Explanatory Theories Descriptive Scase Studies Conclusions Descriptive Case Studies A Case Study of a Neighborhood Organization Initiation and Structure of the Organization Revitalization Activities and Their Support Relationship to Voluntary Associations and Networks Relationship to City Government Outcomes List of Respondents and Annotated Bibliography Computer Implementation in a Local School System The Computer System in Operation Organizational Issues Explanatory Case Studies A Nutshell Example: The Effect of a Federal Award on a University Computer Science Department Essential Ingredients of Explanatory Case Studies: Three Drug Prevention Examples Simplified Case Example No. 1: "Town Meetings Galvanize Action Against Drug Dealing" Simplified Case Example No. 2: "Interagency Collaboration to Reduce BWI Incidents" Simplified Case Example No. 3: "Designated Driver Program, Delivered Through Vendors" "Transforming" a Business Firm Through Strategic Planning Company Profile and Conditions Leading to Change Strategic Plan Transforms the Business Chronology Sheriff's Combined Auto Theft Task Force The Practice and Its Funding Implementation of the Practice Outcomes to Date Chronology Cross-Case Analyses Technical Assistance for HIV/AIDS Community Planning Defining a Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness of Technical Assistance (TA) Documented Outcomes, Varieties of TA Studied and Possible Rival Explanations for the Outcomes Findings on Individual Hypotheses Regarding Reasons for Successful TA Delivery Proposal Processing by Public and Private Universities Introduction to the Study The Time Needed to Process and Submit Proposals Costs of Preparing Proposals Case Studies of Transformed Firms Why Study Transformed Firms? What is a Transformed Firm? What Kind of Transformation Did the Firms Experience? Did the Transformations Share Common Conditions Summary: General Lessons About Transformed Firms About the author

Abstract: While heated arguments between practitioners of qualitative and quantitative research have begun to test the very integrity of the social sciences, Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba have produced a farsighted and timely book that promises to sharpen and strengthen a wide range of research performed in this field. These leading scholars, each representing diverse academic traditions, have developed a unified approach to valid descriptive and causal inference in qualitative research, where numerical measurement is either impossible or undesirable. Their book demonstrates that the same logic of inference underlies both good quantitative and good qualitative research designs, and their approach applies equally to each. Providing precepts intended to stimulate and discipline thought, the authors explore issues related to framing research questions, measuring the accuracy of data and uncertainty of empirical inferences, discovering causal effects, and generally improving qualitative research. Among the specific topics they address are interpretation and inference, comparative case studies, constructing causal theories, dependent and explanatory variables, the limits of random selection, selection bias, and errors in measurement. Mathematical notation is occasionally used to clarify concepts, but no prior knowledge of mathematics or statistics is assumed. The unified logic of inference that this book explicates will be enormously useful to qualitative researchers of all traditions and substantive fields.