« May 20, 2012 - May 26, 2012 | Main | June 03, 2012 - June 09, 2012 »
June 01, 2012
Ex-National Anthems: Don't Sing this One at Home Alone.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Cross-Culture on Class Mobility in India: "The offshore industry shook all that up."
Over at Richard Lewis's always-fine Cross-Culture see "Shifting Social Dynamics in Modern India" by Anita Punamiya. Excerpts:
Many Indians, whether they admit it or not, covet the Western way of life. However in the past it was only a select few who actually managed to realize their aspirations to study/travel/live abroad. For the majority, it was just a dream. Traditional Indian society has always been restrictive in many senses. Social mobility was restricted. Family, gender, caste, and hierarchy defined one’s place in the social order, determined how others viewed you, related to and behaved towards you and what is expected of you.
It also defined what options were open to you in terms of what you could accomplish and who you could become in life. It favoured the privileged and those in the upper classes in society. So dreams of going abroad seemed the only way to break the social shackles.
The offshore industry shook all that up. It levelled the playing fields in some ways. It opened new doors, offered new opportunities and financial freedom, which brought in its wake many other changes. The social fabric of Indian society is undergoing dramatic changes. The changes are redefining the concept of identity among younger Indians and reshaping the role of family and the Indian values of interdependence, modesty, family honour, social hierarchy and so on.
Bookstand in Delhi, 2004. Photo: Nick Papadopoulos.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2012
Marrakesh by Design.
Buy this book, okay?
.jpg)
Posted by JD Hull at 12:46 AM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2012
The Economist: "Companies are like jets; the elite go private."
Photo: Jon Berkeley and The Economist.
The Decline of the Publicly-Traded Company? The public company idea is only about 150 years old and, like the slightly older animal we call "the corporation", is so far only a blip on the screen of world economic history. What will the future hold for companies in which the public is offered a shot at sharing in a company's growth and profits in return for their contribution of capital? Read in The Economist "The endangered public company: The rise and fall of a great invention, and why it matters".
The number of public companies has fallen dramatically over the past decade—by 38% in America since 1997 and 48% in Britain. The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in America has declined from an average of 311 a year in 1980-2000 to 99 a year in 2001-11. Small companies, those with annual sales of less than $50m before their IPOs—have been hardest hit. In 1980-2000 an average of 165 small companies undertook IPOs in America each year. In 2001-09 that number fell to 30. Facebook will probably give the IPO market a temporary boost—several other companies are queuing up to follow its lead—but they will do little to offset the long-term decline.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)