Next generation smart manufacturing and service systems using big data analytics

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd This special issue explores advancements in the next generation manufacturing and service systems by examining the novel methods, practical challenges and opportunities in the use of big data analytics. The selected articles analyse a range of scenarios where big data analytics and its applications were used for improving decision making in manufacturing and services sector such as online data analytics, sourcing decisions with considerations for big data analytics, barriers in the adoption of big data analytics, maintenance planning, and multi-sensor data for fault pattern extraction. The paper summarises the discussions on the use of big data analytics in manufacturing and service sectors

Paradigm Shift of Regional Economic Cooperation Mechanism in East Asia: The Case of RCEP and CJKFTA

The economies in East Asia, since the late twentieth century, have been important driving forces of regional and global economic growth. Among them, the development of regional FTAs and the continuous promotion of regional integration processes have played a key role. Both RCEP and CJKFTA, as two representative cases of regional FTA vision, are considered regional economic cooperation mechanisms with great potential. However, due to various factors, especially the intervention of the United States based on its interests in the Asia-Pacific region, the development process and final results of both are very different. An in-depth analysis of the two different regional FTAs can help further understand East Asia’s changing overall economic and political situation and the paradigm shift in FTA strategies in the process. What is beyond doubt is that future economic cooperation in East Asia will be confronted by the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy’s policy of containment of China’s regional influence. The competition between the two for regional leadership will significantly influence the future economic integration process in the region and the Asia-Pacific region. In the context of the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic, higher-level regional cooperation will effectively stimulate the potential development capacity of the East Asian region. It will lead to the recovery of the global economy through trade and other forms. On the contrary, if there is a double standard in East Asia, which is the core of the global value chain, due to political reasons, it will seriously slow down the overall global economic recovery process

Data Exclusivities and the Limits to TRIPS Harmonization

2019 marks the silver anniversary of the WTO TRIPS Agreement. Policymakers and commentators remain deeply divided about the strengths and limitations of this agreement. On the one hand, they marvel at its success in establishing international minimum standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. On the other hand, they widely criticize the agreement for imposing high one size fits all standards upon developing countries.Regardless of one\u27s perspective, the harmonization project advanced by the TRIPS Agreement, and continued through TRIPS-plus bilateral, regional and plurilateral agreements, has been at the forefront of the international intellectual property debate. While this article is interested in exploring this continuously controversial project, the discussion will focus on a topic that international intellectual property scholars have underexplored: the limits to TRIPS harmonization.To help examine these limits, this article focuses on the protection of undisclosed test or other data for pharmaceutical and agrochemical products. It begins by discussing issues on which the TRIPS negotiating parties had achieved consensus or had failed to do so. The article then examines the negotiation of new international minimum standards under the TPP Agreement, the proposed RCEP Agreement and the recently completed United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).The article continues to identify three sets of additional complications that have affected the efforts to develop international minimum standards at both the multilateral and nonmultilateral levels. Specifically, the article examines the arrival of new technologies, new politics and new regimes. It concludes by drawing six distinct lessons regarding the TRIPS harmonization project

The impact of Brexit on designing a material-based global supply chain network for Asian manufacturers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate effects on global supply chain reconfigured in the customs duty rate of parts and specific material types brought about by Brexit and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Design/methodology/approach – The supply chain network is modeled and formulated using mixed integer programming. Numerical experiments are conducted using bill of materials with information such as the procurement cost of each part, 3D-CAD and an industry census. Findings – The experiments indicates that if the customs duty rate increases by Brexit, manufacturers would be necessary to restructure supply chain configuration and locate the domestic factory and market. Additionally, when the UK leaves the EU and joins the TPP, there is a case where the total cost decreases in the global supply chain network compared to the baseline without Brexit. Therefore, it is reasonable for the UK to join the TPP. Practical implications – The study shows how a new trading rules from non-partnership countries can critically disrupt existing global supply chain equilibrium. Asian manufacturers should evaluate a move to more local sourcing, opening new facilities and setting up warehouses to stock finished goods or raw materials in different trading areas to overcome any barriers to the goods movement. Originality/value – This study enables us to quantitatively evaluate what there are opportunities or cost increasing risks by the selection of supply chain configuration for Asian manufacturers by political and economic factors of each country such as Brexit and participation in TPP

Social Transformation toward Sustainable Society

Transformation refers to a dramatic change, which prompts a different form to\ud the new one. In natural science, this is associated with a metamorphosis\ud process, which convert something into a new form or nature. In the context of\ud social science, social transformation refers to social change in dramatic way,\ud while business transformation designates fundamental changes in business\ud way to achieve its specific purposes, such as high level of efficiency, market\ud value or financial sustainability. The study of business and social\ud transformation sheds new light on an important contingency and resourcebased\ud theory, which reveals pathways for continuing research.In emerging economies, social transformation indicates a new wave of\ud development studies, which brings about new concept of sustainable\ud development, followed by sustained superior performance. The capacity of\ud organization to deal with environmental turbulence, such as market,\ud competitiveness, technology and policy plays pivotal role on superior\ud performance and sustainability. This paper discusses the concept of social\ud transformation and sustainable community, which provides challenge for\ud conceptual and empirical research

Exploring the impacts of Sino–US trade disruptions with a multi-regional CGE model

With the aim to explore the boundary effects of the Sino–US trade war, this study considers a multi-region CGE model to set up six trade disruption scenarios based on the severity of trade friction, and empirically examines the gains and losses for China and the US, as well as potential impacts on other countries. The results show that: (1) Sino–US trade disruptions will likely result in a lose- lose situation; (2) compared to agriculture, China’s restriction on manufacturing imports may generate a greater negative impact on the US; (3) a trade diversion pattern is observed, indicating shrinking of bilateral trades between the two countries and increasing exports toward third trading partners; (4) although the US trade sanctions will substantially reduce the trade deficit with China, the trade deficits with other countries will likely increase. By empirically quantifying the boundary effects of Sino–US trade disruptions, this study sheds light on the negative effects of a trade war for both countries, as compared to proper negotiations

Asian Perceptions of Gulf Security

Gulf stability is coming to play a larger role in the foreign policy calculus of many states, but the evolving role of Asian powers is largely under-represented in the International Relations literature. This volume addresses this gap with a set of empirically rich, theory driven case studies written by academics from or based in the countries in question. The underlying assumption is not that Asian powers have already become important security actors in the Gulf, but rather that they perceive the Gulf as a region of increasing strategic relevance. How will leaders in these countries adjust to an evolving regional framework? Will there be coordinated efforts to establish an Asian-centered approach to Gulf stability, or will Asian rivalries make the region a theater of competition? Will US–China tensions force alignment choices among Asian powers? Will Asian states balance, bandwagon, hedge, or adopt some other approach to their Gulf relationships? These questions become even more important as the western boundaries of Asia increasingly come to incorporate the Middle East. The book will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of International Relations, Security Studies, and International Political Economy, as well as area specialists on the Gulf and those working on foreign policy issues on each of the Asian countries included. Professionals in government and non-government agencies will also find it very useful

Geo-Politics in Northeast Asia

Geo-Politics in Northeast Asia focuses on the dynamics of Northeast Asia as a region. The chapters in this book offer a nuanced approach for understanding the geo-politics of this strategically critical area of the world. Focusing on China, Japan, Russia, and the Koreas, as well as the involvement of the United States, the contributors to the volume offer a timely and critical analysis of Northeast Asia. They collectively emphasize the different scales at which the region holds significance, and particularly note how the region is often granted significance by local political forces as well as national interests. Borderlands and sub-regions are especially important in this perspective, and the contributors show both how regionalism influences the people living in these areas and how they in turn shape the political priorities of states. At the same time, the worsening of relations between Japan and the Koreas and the increasing assertiveness of both China and Russia make it essential to understand the dynamics of the region, as well as how they have changed during and following the Trump era. Geo-Politics in Northeast Asia is essential reading for students and scholars of Political Geography, International Relations and Strategic Studies, as well as for those with a research focus on Northeast Asia, or the wider Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions

Asian Perceptions of Gulf Security

Gulf stability is coming to play a larger role in the foreign policy calculus of many states, but the evolving role of Asian powers is largely under-represented in the International Relations literature. This volume addresses this gap with a set of empirically rich, theory driven case studies written by academics from or based in the countries in question. The underlying assumption is not that Asian powers have already become important security actors in the Gulf, but rather that they perceive the Gulf as a region of increasing strategic relevance. How will leaders in these countries adjust to an evolving regional framework? Will there be coordinated efforts to establish an Asian-centered approach to Gulf stability, or will Asian rivalries make the region a theater of competition? Will US–China tensions force alignment choices among Asian powers? Will Asian states balance, bandwagon, hedge, or adopt some other approach to their Gulf relationships? These questions become even more important as the western boundaries of Asia increasingly come to incorporate the Middle East. The book will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of International Relations, Security Studies, and International Political Economy, as well as area specialists on the Gulf and those working on foreign policy issues on each of the Asian countries included. Professionals in government and non-government agencies will also find it very useful

Rule-Makers or Rule-Takers? Exploring the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is an effort by the United States and the European Union to reposition themselves for a world of diffuse economic power and intensified global competition. It is a next-generation economic negotiation that breaks the mould of traditional trade agreements. At the heart of the ongoing talks is the question whether and in which areas the two major democratic actors in the global economy can address costly frictions generated by their deep commercial integration by aligning rules and other instruments. The aim is to reduce duplication in various ways in areas where levels of regulatory protection are equivalent as well as to foster wide-ranging regulatory cooperation and set a benchmark for high-quality global norms. In this volume, European and American experts explain the economic context of TTIP and its geopolitical implications, and then explore the challenges and consequences of US-EU negotiations across numerous sensitive areas, ranging from food safety and public procurement to economic and regulatory assessments of technical barriers to trade, automotive, chemicals, energy, services, investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms and regulatory cooperation. Their insights cut through the confusion and tremendous public controversies now swirling around TTIP, and help decision-makers understand how the United States and the European Union can remain rule-makers rather than rule-takers in a globalising world in which their relative influence is waning