Suchergebnisse

Recent decades highlight an extraordinary growth of casino gambling all over the world. In the race to build casino-cities, particularly to reap economic and social benefits, most aspirers look to replicate the development models of the most famous casino-cities known to date, Las Vegas and Macao. Countries that have modelled after the aforementioned casino-cities have had mix results of success; e.g., Singapore, which followed Macao, yielded considerable success, while other states of the US which modelled Las Vegas, such as Atlantic City, did not have as much luck. In this respect, the countries adhere to the words of the wise; "Standing on the shoulders of the giants". Yet, perhaps explaining why no country can really replicate the successful development experiences of Las Vegas and Macao, most countries fail to see beyond the glitz and glamor to recognize the key challenges and opportunities that helped make Las Vegas and Macao; e.g., with respect to the presence of domestic organized crime groups. This paper delves deep into identifying the key actors and circumstances that made the aforementioned cities what they are today, elucidating the integral development strategies used during their formative years. Utilizing a Marxian approach to understanding the state and state-civil society relations, the paper elucidates why no country can really replicate the development models of Las Vegas and Macao without appreciating its socio-political characteristics and the intricate ties between the upperworld and underworld during their formative years. In light of the findings, recommendations are provided for future research and pragmatic endeavours.

China's new National Security Law, enacted in Hong Kong on 30 June 2020, has amplified widespread concerns among the city's population regarding the implications of this law. These concerns have at root anxieties related to Hong Kong's resinicisation, referring to anxieties over Hong Kong's political and economic dependence on mainland China, including loyalty and patriotism towards the motherland. This paper explores these developments in relation to the ongoing legacy of localism, argued to be instilled as a colonial project to help secure the populations' identification with Hong Kong. Seen as 'criminals' from the perspective of mainland Chinese authorities, many of those involved in today's protests (many of whom include young people) see themselves as engaging in legitimate forms of civil disobedience. First explicating the context of Hong Kong's colonial history in order to help make sense of present-day turmoil, we turn to recent trends in arrests related to the protests, as well as evidence of rapidly declining trust in the Hong Kong Police Force, seen by some as increasingly beholden to the interests of mainland China. Implications for these trends going forward are considered, with a discussion of the need for greater attention to colonial histories and post-colonial ramifications.

Abstract
This study explored the influence of parental socialisation, relative to that from crucial dispositions of the offspring and other socialisation agents, on the offspring's intentions to engage in radical protest actions in Hong Kong, a city that has been experiencing periodical socio-political upheavals and generational rifts over politics. A sample of 666 university students, aged eighteen to twenty-five years, from eight universities in Hong Kong completed the survey. Employing hierarchical regression analysis, the results revealed that participation in ritual protests among fathers positively associated with radicalism intentions. With the introduction of a broader group of socialisation agents, however, its effect on the dependent variable became statistically non-significant. Rather, peer influence and media consumption positively associated with radicalism intentions, whilst family discussions about politics negatively associated with such intentions. After including the respondents' political characteristics in the final model, which accounted for the greatest variance in the dependent variable, no variables reflecting influences from the household remained statistically significant. Apart from peer influence and media consumption, the respondents' past histories of activism and radicalism and his/her political sympathies over the self-determination stance positively associated with radicalism intentions. In the light of the findings, implications for future studies and social work practice are discussed.