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Yes Logo: Uncovering the Recipes of Branding Success in the World’s Largest Consumer Market
by Jiazhuo George Wang Shuo Qin Allison WangThis book focuses on how to succeed in China, the globe’s largest consumer market, through the branding market strategy. What are the undisclosed recipes that brands can follow to capture the attention and emotion of consumers in China? What’s the magical key to open the locked doors? The answer to these questions would be intriguing for many readers outside China, including but not limited to executives of global brands, owners of medium-and-small-sized businesses aiming for the global market, branding/marketing professionals, financial investors and analysts, business professors and researchers in universities and colleges, graduate and undergraduate students, and readers with an interest on these topics in the general public.In comparison with many case studies that focus on only a single or few cases, or else lean toward being a macro-discussions of China’s consumer market without in-depth analysis of representative cases, this book provides both. Many branding strategies, programs, and activities presented in this book are of the innovative type, which could be very fresh and interesting to readers. Many of the in-depth analyses and specific insights presented in this book are provided by well-recognized business analysts/writers, which may not be available in other publications. Overall, this book provides readers with the opportunity to receive some valuable new knowledge about how to succeed in the globe’s largest consumer market, providing foodstuff for both thought and enjoyment.
Subjective Well-Being in the Indian Context: Concept, Measure and Index
by Tithi BhatnagarThis book offers an understanding of subjective well-being (SWB) in the Indian context across ages and strata. It discusses the conceptualization and measurement of both subjective well-being (SWB) and subjective ill-being (SIB) through a multi-phased research study. The structure of SWB and development, standardization, and indexing of an SWB Measure provide insights on how the SWB Measure can enable nations to find out the national level of SWB/SIB for its citizens. The index may be useful in identifying the level of people’s well-being or ill-being. It explores the possibility of implications and interventions in optimizing SWB both at the individual and collective levels. It is a consolidated account of the work done in SWB research, particularly with a cultural focus from the Indian context. This book has a wide application for students, researchers, psychometricians, practitioners, policymakers, and all individuals interested in concepts like SWB and Happiness.
Education and Social Cohesion in a Post-conflict and Divided Nation: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
by Taro KomatsuThis book discusses education’s role of developing social cohesion in a post-conflict environment where tensions continue to exist between the three “constituent” ethnic groups. It offers fresh insights into the relationship between education and social cohesion in a specific context of Bosnia & Herzegovina, where the need to rebuild social trust is acutely felt. This book first elaborates the concept of social cohesion and illustrates possible mechanisms through which education can develop, or further erode, social cohesion in already divided societies. Then, it carefully examines such mechanisms, using a case study of a Bosnia & Herzegovina which witnessed violent conflict instigated by ethno-identity politics during 1992-1995, and has been struggling to reconstruct its broken social fabric since then.
Videolised Society
by Jian Meng Hui ZhaoThis book traces the development of video (especially short video, duan shipin) in China over the past few years, exploring how these videos engaged with China’s rapidly changing society, how they enriched existed theories of society, media and communication, and new theories to be extracted. The book offers a new, critical model for understanding the relationship between video, video theory, video industry and the State. This book sheds light on the overall description and explanation of the current socio-political, economic and cultural environment concerning the development of video (especially short video). It interprets the emergence of the “Social Videolization” through the subjects of media psychology, communication studies and cultural criticism, media industrial studies, sociology and anthropology.
Disaster Management and Risk Reduction: Proceedings of NERC 2022
by Sudip Mitra Kaustubh Dasgupta Arindam Dey Rajshree BedamattaThis book presents select proceedings of North-East Research Conclave (NERC 2022) that will help pave way toward disaster risk reduction through a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. The book discusses topics, such as rapid pace of climate change, its deleterious effects on nature and natural systems, human interventions in altering the natural geographical and geological systems, widespread urbanization, recurrent unwarranted rainfall and cloud bursts, unprecedented flooding, catastrophic landslides, dam breakages, glacial outbursts, snow avalanches, seismicity and its impacts, liquefaction, and wreaking environmental pollution leading to unimaginable toll on lives, property and economy. The book also discusses approaches to address such issues and frame a refined path towards a sustainable future, such as a three-fold approach like – Awareness, Inferences and Implementations. For this approach, it is ardently necessary to understand the core reasoning behind the disasters, their impact on the socio-economic contexts, and the ways to mitigate them. The book can be a valuable reference for beginners, researchers, and professionals interested in disaster risk reduction and allied fields.
Participatory Sound Art: Technologies, Aesthetics, Politics (Palgrave Studies in Sound)
by Vadim KeylinThis book addresses a major gap in sound art scholarship: the role of audience participation. It offers a survey of participatory sound art from its origins in the historical avant-gardes to the non-institutionalized forms of sonic creativity in contemporary digital culture. In doing so, it proposes an innovative theoretical framework for analysing such phenomena, rooted in Pragmatist aesthetics, affordance theory and postcritique. Combining artwork analyses with qualitative studies, it focuses on three principal aspects of participatory sound art: the ways the materialities of the artworks facilitate and structure the participatory processes; the interplay of the creative agencies of the artists and the participants; and the postcritical approach to sound art’s politics, unfolding through the participants’ affective gestures. In considering these multiple dimensions, this book contributes to the growing fields of sound studies and participation studies, as well as to curatorial practice regarding sound art and participatory art.
Make America Fit Again: CrossFit’s Articulation with Authoritarian Populism
by Shaun E. EdmondsThis book critically examines the CrossFit phenomenon and makes the argument that CrossFit uses the rhetoric and tactics found in modern forms of authoritarian populism to rally adherents around its brand. CrossFit is a private branded fitness organization whose unorthodox methods and adversarial leadership has challenged dominant ideas around health and fitness worldwide. In exploring CrossFit’s articulations with healthism and the obesity epidemic, the risk discourse of the prepper and survivalist movements, and the increasing valorization of the military and military personnel, Shaun E. Edmonds makes legible the ideological underpinnings of the CrossFit practice. After a deeper look at how CrossFit’s variation of authoritarian populism has been used to counter critics and mobilize the community, the book concludes by considering what might be next for CrossFit following former CEO and co-founder Greg Glassman’s controversial departure from the company.
Traumas Resisted and: Inquiring into Lost and Found Narratives in Music Education (Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education #36)
by Shelley M. Griffin Nasim NiknafsThis book focuses on the traumatic experiences within and through music that individuals and collectives face, while considering ways in which they (re)engage with their traumas in educational settings. The chapters delve into the physical, psychological, philosophical, sociological, and political aspects, as they relate to the reciprocal influences of trauma on musical practices and education. Readers are immersed in topics related to societal violence, physical injuries, grief, separation, loss, death, and ways of working through these in educational and artistic situations. In the introductory chapter, the co-editors draw attention to theoretical matters related to trauma through narrative inquiry in music education. The first section of the book, Separation Revisited, brings together notions of separation, focusing on how loss is emotionally and physically manifested when death, grief, and bodily injury are experienced. In the second section, (Re)Engaging with Lost and Found, readers are encouraged to imagine new possibilities considering trauma and loss in educational and musical spaces. These pieces offer deliberate ruminations moving the discourse toward (re)engagement in and through music education and artistic contexts. The co-editors conclude the book by drawing attention to narrative inquiry’s double-edged nature in stories of trauma and how the retelling of lost and found narratives offers a way to imagine lives otherwise—lives not smothered by grief and horror—through the conceivable reliving of unfathomable stories of experience. This book emerges from the 7th International Conference on Narrative Inquiry in Music Education (NIME7), October 2020, co-hosted by Brock University, Faculty of Education and the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music, Ontario, Canada.
The Aceh Separatism Conflict in Indonesia: The Practice of Governance in Conflict (SpringerBriefs in Political Science)
by Novri SusanThis book is the first to analyse the practice of governance to resolve conflict in the case of Aceh in Indonesia. Combining theoretical discourse on conflict, democracy, and governance, it draws from original field research on the separatist conflict, utilizing a social constructivist approach in collating observations and interviews with political elites from both the Government of Indonesia and the Aceh Independent Movement (GAM). The conflict was an intractable one in which thousand civilians were killed between 1976 and 2006. The author zooms into the 2003 and 2007 period, against the broader context of the political landscape of Indonesia under the Suharto regime. In doing so, the book tackles the challenges presented by intrastate conflicts relating to ethno-religiosity, land use, and separatism. It unpacks the Indonesian political system’s shift from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one, and demarcates the prevalence of state violence in managing conflicts, as exemplified in the Aceh separatism conflict. Relevent to political scientists and scholars in peace, conflict and development studies, this co-published book presents novel sociological insights into Indonesia’s historical, and contemporary, political landscape.
Constructing Regional Smart Education Ecosystems in China (Lecture Notes in Educational Technology)
by Haijun Zeng Zhisheng Li Jiong Guo Zhuo ZhangThis book enriches the understanding of regional smart education in China and promotes sharing of smart education case studies in China and abroad. It presents 46 case studies selected from a total of 644 case studies collected nationwide in China. These selected case studies focus on regional construction, research findings, and solutions. The case studies on regional construction mainly focus on the sustainable development mechanism of regional smart education. The research findings case studies showcase research results produced by research teams and individuals, which involve theories, models, technologies, practical investigations, or international comparisons related to smart education. Lastly, the solution case studies are technical solutions provided by enterprises for the development of smart education, which include application scenarios, methods, and effects in regions or schools around smart educational equipment, platforms, networks, tools, resources, or integrated solutions.
Cultural and Social Influences on Consumer Behavior: Uncertainty Avoidance, Rituals, and External Threats (Management for Professionals)
by Xuehua WangThis book explores how cultural and social influences affect consumer decision making with a focus on uncertainty avoidance, rituals, and external threats. Indeed, uncertainty avoidance can exert significant influence on consumer behavior. For example, consumers in a culture with high uncertainty avoidance may show less positive attitudes towards new products than those in a culture with low uncertainty avoidance. Prior cultural research has mainly focused on how individualism/collectivism or power distance belief influences consumer attitudes and behaviors at an individual level, while seldom does research investigate the effect of uncertainty avoidance on consumption. This book examines how uncertainty avoidance affects superstitious consumption as well as its underlying mechanism and boundary condition. Rituals, as a component of culture, can affect consumer behaviors. However, few studies have shedded light on how repeating rituals can affect consumers’ willingness to use the products involved in the ritual. Consumer behavior is complex. Consumers are surrounded with various external threats such as health, economic, and informational threats, while prior research has primarily focused on health threats. Beyond this, inter-client conflicts, as a special type of social threat, can also affect consumption experience. In all, this book aims to examine how uncertainty avoidance, rituals and external threats influence consumer attitudes and behaviors. In this book, new research models would be developed. This book enriches our understanding on how cultural and social influences affect consumer decision making and provides insights for both researchers and practitioners in marketing.
Forced Migration and Urban Transformation in South Asia: Displacement, Resettlement, and Poverty
by Rajith W. D. Lakshman S. Irudaya RajanThis book discusses the displacement of urban populations, inequality, and poverty in three cities in South Asia—Colombo, Jaffna in Sri Lanka, and Kochi in India. It focuses on the long-term effect resettlement and relocation has on the lives and livelihoods of urban internal displacement of populations (IDPs) primarily from urban poor classes. It also discusses the concerns faced by the displacement in post-war Sri Lanka. It examines the impacts of conflict on poverty and recovery in peri-urban settings. It emphasizes the role of agency of urban IDPs in strengthening their own well-being. It draws attention to how the agency of urban IDPs is compromised by the displacement processes and the weak local level governance structures in the cities. The book is intended for researchers, graduate students, and teachers of Geography, Social Policy, Refugees and Migration Studies, History, International Development, Urban Studies, and South Asian Studies.
Truth-telling and the Ancient University: Healing the Wound of Colonisation in Nauiyu, Daly River
by Gavin John Morris Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann Judith Atkinson Emma L. SchubergThis book shares a strength-based truth-telling model, which reveals the trauma associated with the experience of colonisation and the traditional healing practices specific to the Nauiyu Nambiyu community in Australia. It explores the significance of community placed on developing the 'Ancient University', an Aboriginal-based, stand-alone healing centre that incorporates traditional healing practices. This book outlines the truth-telling model, which was developed by the Nauiyu community to address a community need. This unique approach represents a deliberate shift from decolonial scholarship, which merely captures Indigenous voice speaking back to the colonisers. This book explores Indigenous critical pedagogies to investigate theoretical frameworks with implications for planning, learning and teaching which are culturally responsive in a variety of contexts. It is the first of its kind that utilises an Indigenous research methodology on the country and with the people to which it belongs.
People: A Psycho-Culturological Approach (Contributions to International Relations)
by Huipeng ShangThis book explores the relationship between the “human constant” (Jen) of the four large-scale civilizational societies—China, the USA, Japan, and India—and their international behavior, response patterns, and interaction with the international system. The book analyzes the characteristics and limitations of the current international system, as well as the way it is related to the Western type of “human constant”. It also analyzes the challenges facing China in its integration into the international system. This book aims to explore international relations from the combined psychological and cultural perspective. The key concept of this book is “Jen”, which contains a distinct Chinese cultural experience, into the theory of international relations. Unlike other IR books to treat state as the main political actor, the book analyzes both the political aspects of state as an “organizational entity” and its civilizational aspects as a “civilizational entity”; hence, it proposes a new ontology of international relations. By integrating the concept of “Jen” based on the unique Chinese cultural experience into the theory of international relations, the book reveals the interactive nature of relationship between the international system and “human constant”. The book explains the causal relationship between state’s behavior and its “human constant”, analyzes the cultural characteristics of state actors and the international system, and tries to provide a new theoretical framework for understanding culture and modernity.
Women's Empowerment and Public Policy in the Arab Gulf States: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities (Gulf Studies #11)
by Rabia NaguibThis open access book explores the various dimensions of women’s empowerment in public policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, with a particular focus on Qatar, comparing the country to the other Gulf states. Through its rich compilation of empirical qualitative research, the text unpacks the various ways in which women’s empowerment materializes in the GCC context, providing insights into public policy perspectives in high-income rentier states more broadly. The Arab world has long been part of the global dialogue on women’s economic and political empowerment and the GCC has, over the past decade, situated women’s empowerment amongst their respective national priorities and long-term strategies. In turn, the Gulf has seen gradual implementation of policies aimed at women, specifically, in looking to attract and retain them in the labour market, and in the public sector more broadly. The collection surveys and evaluates the progress made in recent decades, paying close attention to the cultural and policy constraints still limiting women’s empowerment in the Gulf. With a key linkage to SDG5, this book is a timely text addressing the context and drivers behind policies centering on women in the Arab region, in its analysis of the interplay of international women’s empowerment discourse and regional public policy decisions. It is relevant to researchers and policy makers focused on women and gender issues in relation to social, cultural, economic, and political empowerment in the Gulf specifically, but also in the Arab world and beyond.
Seismic Digital Shift: Rethinking Our Digital Future
by Yong HuThis book is an in-depth study on the past, present and future of digitalization, an important contribution to the literature on the development of the digital economy in China. The technological revolution in telecommunications has brought a “seismic shift” - the periphery has moved to the center, accelerating the emergence of a new digital world. The adoption and integration of advanced digital technologies such as 5G mobile networks, the Internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data analysis and robotics means that the traditional economy, with its organizational, productive and governance systems, is merging with the digital economy, with its innovative features in terms of business models, production, business organization and governance. This makes the digital transformation process highly dynamic and complex, thus challenging many aspects of economies and societies. The author discusses not only what digital transformation means for businesses, but also its impact on society at large, inspiring readers to understand China and the world and think about what digital future we would like to have.
The: Theories and Experience in/from Asia (Contemporary East Asian Visual Cultures, Societies and Politics)
by Lu PanThis edited volume aims to fill the gap in the research, juxtaposition, and focused discussions in the existing literature on art archives in Asia. Most of the archives included in the book are independent and initiated by individuals, folk groups, or non-profit organizations. In this book, one can trace the dynamics and self-generative capacity in this particular historical and cultural milieu through these “alternative” archives and through the practices of artists and curators who apply their specific understanding of archive to their works. Many chapters resonate with each other in that they capture the experiences shared by many places in Asia. Those experiences could have resulted from the encounter with the Western idea of archive, the influence of the colonial experience, or a memory crisis triggered by the rapid transformation of media, and may serve as a basis for producing archive theories in/from Asia. The book provides an opportunity for the archives in Asia and those who work around them to recognize one another, understand what their colleagues in archival work do, how they do it and what else there is for them to do.
Reshaping Engineering Education: Addressing Complex Human Challenges
by Fawwaz Habbal Anette Kolmos Roger G. Hadgraft Jette Egelund Holgaard Kamar RedaThis open access book is dedicated to exploring methods and charting the course for enhancing engineering education in and beyond 2023. It delves into the idea that education, coupled with social connections, is indispensable for a more profound comprehension of the world and the creation of an improved quality of life.The book serves as a conduit for incorporating complex problem-solving into engineering education across various formats. It offers a structured approach for tackling complex issues, comparing an array of techniques for managing complexity within the realm of engineering education. Moreover, the book scrutinizes several complex case studies derived from the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, it explores intricate problem-solving and curriculum change case studies specific to engineering education from Harvard University, the University of Technology Sydney, and Aalborg University.
Education in China and the World: Achievements and Contemporary Issues
by Niancai Liu Zhuolin Feng Qi WangThis open access book provides a comprehensive overview of education in China, covering 12 critical topics including basic education, higher education, professional education, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, mental health education, and international education and excellence initiatives. Drawing from current research, theoretical literature, and real-life stories, this book examines the developmental trajectories, achievements, and best practices in the above-mentioned topics, to reflect realities of education transformation in China. It also incorporates a global comparison of key indicators to explore strengths of and gaps in Chinese education with its global counterparts. Setting its context in an ever-changing world, this book intends to explore conceptual support to develop “a modern education system with Chinese features and world standards”, to provide implications for further developing quality education in all sectors, and to promote understanding and inspire critical discussion on education development in China and around the world. This book serves as a valuable resource for students, scholars, and policy makers in the field of education studies, as well as for the general public who are interested in Chinese education.
Changes in Work and Family Life in Japan Under COVID-19 (SpringerBriefs in Population Studies)
by Shigeki Matsuda Hirohisa TakenoshitaThis book describes how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way of work, the division of household labor, and family formation in Japan. One of the characteristics of Japanese employment practices is a stable employer–employment relationship and seniority-based wage system. In return, long working hours, especially for men who are called “salarymen” (salaried workers, or “company men”), are required. The pandemic has led to an expansion of telework and has reduced their working hours, which has made them return to their homes to work. In contrast, non-regular employees, who are mostly women, has become more unstable in employment and their incomes fell. This tendency has become even stronger under the pandemic.Compared with conditions in Western countries, in Japan wives have a greater responsibility for domestic chores. In the pandemic, as children's classes shifted to online and childcare support facilities were temporarily closed, the burden of housework and child-rearing increased for wives. However, husbands who worked from home shared a part of the housework, and popular home delivery services helped to reduce the burdens on wives. Japan is one of the developed countries with low fertility rates. Under the pandemic, many Japanese postponed starting a family, which further shrank the country’s birthrate. There was a remarkably significant tendency to postpone having children among economically disadvantaged and socially isolated families. This book provides a portrait of Japan’s experience regarding the notable impacts of the pandemic on work and family life.
International Conference on Neural Computing for Advanced Applications: 4th International Conference, NCAA 2023, Hefei, China, July 7–9, 2023, Proceedings, Part II (Communications in Computer and Information Science #1870)
by Haijun Zhang Yinggen Ke Zhou Wu Tianyong Hao Zhao Zhang Weizhi Meng Yuanyuan MuThe two-volume set CCIS 1869 and 1870 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Neural Computing for Advanced Applications, NCAA 2023, held in Hefei, China, in July 2023.The 83 full papers and 1 short paper presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 211 submissions. The papers have been organized in the following topical sections: Neural network (NN) theory, NN-based control systems, neuro-system integration and engineering applications; Machine learning and deep learning for data mining and data-driven applications; Computational intelligence, nature-inspired optimizers, and their engineering applications; Deep learning-driven pattern recognition, computer vision and its industrial applications; Natural language processing, knowledge graphs, recommender systems, and their applications; Neural computing-based fault diagnosis and forecasting, prognostic management, and cyber-physical system security; Sequence learning for spreading dynamics, forecasting, and intelligent techniques against epidemic spreading (2); Applications of Data Mining, Machine Learning and Neural Computing in Language Studies; Computational intelligent Fault Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerant Control, and Their Engineering Applications; and Other Neural computing-related topics.
International Conference on Neural Computing for Advanced Applications: 4th International Conference, NCAA 2023, Hefei, China, July 7–9, 2023, Proceedings, Part I (Communications in Computer and Information Science #1869)
by Haijun Zhang Yinggen Ke Zhou Wu Tianyong Hao Zhao Zhang Weizhi Meng Yuanyuan MuThe two-volume set CCIS 1869 and 1870 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Neural Computing for Advanced Applications, NCAA 2023, held in Hefei, China, in July 2023.The 83 full papers and 1 short paper presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 211 submissions. The papers have been organized in the following topical sections: Neural network (NN) theory, NN-based control systems, neuro-system integration and engineering applications; Machine learning and deep learning for data mining and data-driven applications; Computational intelligence, nature-inspired optimizers, and their engineering applications; Deep learning-driven pattern recognition, computer vision and its industrial applications; Natural language processing, knowledge graphs, recommender systems, and their applications; Neural computing-based fault diagnosis and forecasting, prognostic management, and cyber-physical system security; Sequence learning for spreading dynamics, forecasting, and intelligent techniques against epidemic spreading (2); Applications of Data Mining, Machine Learning and Neural Computing in Language Studies; Computational intelligent Fault Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerant Control, and Their Engineering Applications; and Other Neural computing-related topics.
A Contemporary Portrait of Life in Korea: Researching Recent Social and Political Trends
by Jibum KimThis book delves into the values, attitudes, and behaviours of Koreans over the course of the past twenty years. Compiled by leading Korean scholars, the book uses the Korean General Social Survey (KGSS), the most comprehensive source of information detailing recent continuity and change in Korea, and addresses a diverse, wide-range of topics such as nationalism, familyism, social inequality, politics, religion, welfare, trust, attitudes towards North Korea, and attitudes towards sex. These issues, in continuously shaping and influencing the lives of Koreans, deserve further examination so as to fully grasp a deeper understanding of Korean contemporary culture. Each chapter covers an overview of background information about the chapter subject and then compares Korean attitudes to those of other countries, drawing on cross-national data derived from sources such as the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) and the East Asian Social Survey (EASS). It collates this data and then unpacks it to demonstrate trends and how they are impacted by stability or change. Despite the rapid economic development and democratization in Korea, it remains difficult to pinpoint common denominators regarding recent social trends in Korea, and there are surprisingly few books that present a current, nuanced, and empirically substantiated scholarly depiction of Koreans and their social issues. This book fills this gap in serving as an indispensable reference for students and scholars interested in the diverse issues in Korean society.
A Narrative Inquiry into the Experiences of Vietnamese Children and Mothers in Canada: Composing Lives in Transition (Global Vietnam: Across Time, Space and Community)
by Thi Thuy TranThis book recounts the understanding of three Vietnamese children and their mothers’ experiences as they navigate being newcomers to Canada. It explores the cultural, traditional, familial, intergenerational, personal, social, institutional, political, historical, community, and linguistic narratives shaping Vietnamese children and mothers as they compose their lives. The author employs narrative inquiry as a methodological approach, beginning by positioning herself through her narrative beginnings, delving deep into philosophical and methodological underpinnings. The author lays out the three child–mother pairs’ experiences as they negotiated a new culture in Canada, particularly the spaces of home, schools, and communities. The book brings a holistic and relational way of understanding familial curriculum-making as support for children’s school curriculum-making and for the ways in which Vietnamese families’ sustain their ongoing life making. It also looks at the influence of the homeland’s language, culture, and educational traditions. Through the complex interplay between the children and mothers’ narratives and the writer’s own stories, this book discusses multiperspectival and multidimensional ways of supporting Vietnamese newcomers and other ‘arrivals’ composing their lives in similar landscapes. The book is relevant to educators, researchers, cultural brokers, and policymakers, opening avenues for understanding cultural ethics within the relational ethics of narrative inquiry, as well as familial narratives in relation to institutional and social narratives.
Urban Dynamics, Environment and Health: An International Perspective
by Braj Raj Kumar SinhaThe comprehensive volume focuses on spatial, temporal, conceptual and empirical approaches to various elements of urban dynamics, environment and urban health. It demonstrates a multidisciplinary account of the significant dimensions of urbanization and urban life. Chapters by leading international experts are presented in sections on urban dynamics, Urban Environmental Issues, Urban Health Problems and Urban Development, Planning and Policies. Each chapter provides a breadth of information on conceptual and empirical studies of urban issues. It enables the readers to understand the interconnections of various vital elements of each urban-related topical issue locally, regionally and globally. Extensive maps, charts, diagrams and tables as cartographic tools facilitate the reader’s understanding. It also outlines an action plan for policy program change in both the developed and less developed countries toward sustainable urban development and environment for better health, prosperity and quality of life of the present and future urban population. It is an indispensable reference for students, research scholars of geography and environmental, medical, and social sciences at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
New Research and Possibilities in Wellbeing Education
by Mathew A. White Faye McCallum Christopher BoyleThis book examines a variety of issues related to wellbeing education and cross-cultural education, curriculum and pedagogy, education policy and systems, teacher education and professional development of educators, educational administration, management and leadership, and inclusive education. Stimulated, in part, by the launch of positive psychology, wellbeing education has grown worldwide. Various theories of wellbeing have been adopted in education, coining the term 'wellbeing education', defined in this book as how school leaders and teachers plan to implement evidence-informed wellbeing interventions to promote wellbeing and academic goals. This book investigates a series of questions related to wellbeing education, and how evidence-informed wellbeing approaches are integrated into learning, teaching, and education.
FemTech: Intersectional Interventions in Women’s Digital Health
by Lindsay BalfourThis edited collection draws from cultural studies and Feminist Science and Technology Studies to offer a timely and exciting intervention into the growing field of women’s digital health. It explores the intersection of gender and embodied computing, with particular attention to access barriers and the forms of biometric surveillance that operate in wearables, ingestibles, and embeddables marketed to women (the industry generally known as “FemTech”). While the most utilized and profitable FemTech products include ovulation and fitness trackers, reproductive technologies, contraceptive microchips, and “smart” pills, this only represents a fraction of health concerns affecting women. This volume aims to explore FemTech within the context of Feminist Science and Technology Studies, whereby the entanglements of race, class, gender, ability, sexuality and other social and cultural identities are brought to the fore. By addressing the gaps in FemTech research and socio-cultural barriers to access, this volume critiques the forms of knowledge and experience produced through medical and cultural discourses regarding women’s bodies to both highlight the inequalities in women’s digital health, and imagine alternative models which optimise technology for women in a way that is safe, accessible, and inclusive.
Independent Africa, Dependent Science: Scientific Research in Africa (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by R. SooryamoorthyThis book offers an examination of Africa’s scientific landscape based on extensive empirical data encompassing fifty-four African countries. It traces the evolution of science on the continent, highlighting research areas, global partnerships, funding sources, research capacity, and the impact of science policies. Acknowledging that Africa relies heavily on external sources, particularly from the Global North, for scientific research, the book identifies and addresses obstacles hindering self-reliance and underscores the urgent need for revitalized partnerships and cooperation to bolster Africa's scientific autonomy. It offers valuable recommendations to promote self-reliance, making it an indispensable resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners.
Smart Learning Ecosystems as Engines of the Green and Digital Transition: Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Smart Learning Ecosystems and Regional Development (Advances in Sustainability Science and Technology)
by Mihai Dascalu Óscar Mealha Sirje VirkusThe book brings together the contributions of the 8th International Conference on Smart Learning Ecosystems and Regional Development aimed at promoting reflection and discussion on the relevance of smart learning ecosystems for regional development and social innovation (e.g., schools, campuses, working places, informal learning contexts) and on how the effectiveness of the relation of citizens and smart ecosystems can be boosted. This forum is interested in understanding how technology-mediated instruments can foster the citizen’s engagement with learning ecosystems and territories, namely by understanding innovative human-centric design and development models/techniques, education/training practices, informal social learning, innovative citizen-driven policies, technology-mediated experiences, and their impact. This set of concerns contributes to fostering the social innovation sectors and ICT, economic development, and deployment strategies alongside new policies for smarter proactive citizens.
Chinese People’s Time Use and Their Quality of Life: Research Report of Chinese Time Use Survey
by Fenglian Du Wenbin Wang Xiaoyuan DongThis book analyzes how Chinese people use their time, including how busy Chinese seek a healthy work-life balance, how some children win from the outset in terms of education, and how people pursue quality of life outside of or after work. General readers will get a vivid and detailed impression of the way Chinese people spend their time, while researchers will find a wealth of phenomena and data for analysis from both economic and social perspectives. The research presented here was conducted in the context of the Chinese Time Use Survey (CTUS), a nationwide initiative launched by Inner Mongolia University in 2017. The CTUS covers 29 Chinese provinces, and the database contains the time use information of 30,591 people aged 3 years and over from 12,471 households. The survey collects information at three main levels: personal, family and community.
‘Other’ Voices in Education—: Stories as Analytical Tool (SpringerBriefs in Education)
by Carmen BlythThis book explores how stories can be used as ‘data’ that prefigure and make possible the numerous permutations of life that comprise existence, and examines how stories can be reconfigured to transform that existence into something 'other'. It uses varied theoretical and critical frameworks such as autoethnography and posthumanism with which to explore the stories shared that go ‘beyond cause and effect’. This book looks to engage with storying and storytelling as inquiry in non-Western ‘worlds’, and looks to make ‘storying’, ‘restor(y)ing’, and ‘stories’ written by non-Western educators the locus of attention. By doing so, it seeks to illustrate what distinctive ways of storying and storytelling can look like in worlds other than those that follow a Western ethico-onto-epistemological worldview. It provides a way to articulate thought that may be commonly omitted in teacher education around the world, and looks at ‘truth’ as situated rather than as totality, local rather than global, with stories used to problematize subject/object positionings within those same stories.
Sustainable Urban Development in Singapore: Imagining Walkability in an Urban Concrete Jungle (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Melissa Liow Li Sa Sam Choon-YinThis book offers theoretical and practical insights into land use, transport, and national policies in one of world’s well-known urban concrete jungle, none other than the Singapore city. The emphasis is situated on Singapore’s attempt to promote walking and cycling. Greater appreciation of walkability thrives on Singapore’s rich history, green city, people and the gastronomic kopitiam and hawker culture. The book offers a comprehensive coverage of walkability as a crucial component of urban design to reduce vehicular congestion with the associated carbon emissions, foster a healthy lifestyle and community participation and create jobs to help the economy. A high income per capita and an aging society, lessons drawn from Singapore’s experience will be useful to other societies. Scholars in sustainable tourism field, urban planners, government bodies, tourist boards, entrepreneurs, national parks board, residents, and inbound travellers will benefit from reading the book.
Perspectives and Trends in Education and Technology: Selected Papers from ICITED 2023 (Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies #366)
by Anabela Mesquita António Abreu João Vidal Carvalho Cleuciliz Santana Cristina Helena Pinto de MelloThis book presents high-quality, peer-reviewed papers from the International Conference in Information Technology & Education (ICITED 2023), to be held at the Nilton Lins University, Manaus, Brazil, during June 29–30, 2023. The book covers a specific field of knowledge. This intends to cover not only two fields of knowledge—Education and Technology—but also the interaction among them and the impact/result in the job market and organizations. It covers the research and pedagogic component of Education and Information Technologies but also the connection with Society, addressing the three pillars of higher education. The book addresses impact of pandemic on education and use of technology in education. Finally, it also encourages companies to present their professional cases which will be discussed. These can constitute real examples of how companies are overcoming their challenges with the uncertainty of the market.
Minzu as Technology: Ethnic Identity and Social Media in Post 2000s China
by Lei HaoThis book provides a unique ethnographic approach to the understanding of ethnogenesis in the Chinese context, with a particular focus on how it is being reshaped in the post-2000s era. It reinterprets the Chinese concept of ethnicity, or minzu, by investigating its evolution in relation to the proliferation of media technologies. In an era characterized by digital connectivity, the quest for ethnic identity has taken on new dimensions. Ethnic groups, like the Sibe community from Xinjiang, are now extending beyond the state’s traditional interpretations of minzu. Leveraging the power of media technology, they are articulating and expressing their ethnic identities in new and personalised ways. These developments have led to the emergence of what this book terms ‘networked ethnicity,’ a fresh manifestation of ethnic identity formation in the era of social media. The pivotal question this book attempts to answer is: How does an ethnic group in China today understand its identity, and what role does technology and media play in that process? This exploration offers a critical perspective on the complex interplay between digital technology, individual agency, and ethnic identity formation. This study will be of interest to scholars of cultural studies, Chinese society, ethnic studies, and media studies, or anyone keen to understand the changing landscape of ethnic identity in the digital age.
Applying the Science of Learning to Education: An Insight into the Mechanisms that Shape Learning
by Wei Loong David Hung Azilawati Jamaludin Aishah Abdul RahmanThis book provides an overview of the various 'Science of Learning' (SoL) research projects led by researchers at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and international research collaborators. It presents the goals and rationale behind the Science of Learning in Education (SoLE) initiative and examines a spectrum of topics relevant to bolstering our understanding of the science underlying learning. The Science of Learning (SoL) is an advancing field, with proponents extolling its potential impact on educational practice. This book investigates the possible correlations or causal relationships between brain functioning and development, physiology, environment factors, and their impact on learning. It promotes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding biological to behavioural mechanisms of learning that are oriented toward optimizing and maximizing every learner’s potential.
A City Cannot Be a Work of Art: Learning Economics and Social Theory From Jane Jacobs
by Sanford IkedaThis open access book connects Jane Jacobs's celebrated urban analysis to her ideas on economics and social theory. While Jacobs is a legend in the field of urbanism and famous for challenging and profoundly influencing urban planning and design, her theoretical contributions – although central to her criticisms of and proposals for public policy – are frequently overlooked even by her most enthusiastic admirers. This book argues that Jacobs’s insight that “a city cannot be a work of art” underlies both her ideas on planning and her understanding of economic development and social cooperation. It shows how the theory of the market process and Jacobs’s theory of urban processes are useful complements – an example of what economists and urbanists can learn from each other. This Jacobs-cum-market-process perspective offers new theoretical, historical, and policy analyses of cities, more realistic and coherent than standard accounts by either economists or urbanists.
Analysis of Categorical Data from Historical Perspectives: Essays in Honour of Shizuhiko Nishisato (Behaviormetrics: Quantitative Approaches to Human Behavior #17)
by Eric J. Beh Rosaria Lombardo Jose G. ClavelThis collection of essays is in honor of Shizuhiko Nishisato on his 88th birthday and consists of invited contributions only. The book contains essays on the analysis of categorical data, which includes quantification theory, cluster analysis, and other areas of multidimensional data analysis, covering more than half a century of research by the 41 interdisciplinary and international researchers who are contributors. Thus, it offers the wisdom and experience of work past and present and attracts a new generation of researchers to this field. Central to this wisdom and experience is that of Prof. Nishisato, who has spent much of the past 60 years mentoring and providing leadership in the research of quantification theory, especially that of “dual scaling”. The book includes contributions by leading researchers who have worked alongside Prof. Nishisato, published with him, been mentored by him, or whose work has been influenced by the research he has undertaken over his illustrious career. This book inspires researchers young and old as it highlights the significant contributions, past and present, that Prof. Nishisato has made in his field.
Chinese Rural Households in Relative Poverty and Their Economic Activities
by Wenrong QianThis book summarizes the new economic phenomenon and problems of rural families in China from the perspective of relative poverty. Based on the data of China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS), a nationwide on-site survey conducted door to door by Zhejiang University, this book focuses on the theme of relative poverty and provides a systematic analysis of the economic activities of rural households in three main aspects: agricultural production and management, land utility and transfer, and migration of rural households and citizenization of migrant workers. Besides, this book also explores focuses on the performance of relatively poor households in terms of agricultural production, land transfer, non-farm employment and social security, and provides a basic mapping of the situation of relatively poor households in rural China, so as to provide a scientific basis for improving the living standards of rural households, establishing a long-term mechanism for poverty alleviation. CRHPS not only includes individual-level and household-level data, but also corresponding community-level data, which makes it possible to conduct a comprehensive study of the rural households. Researchers of Chinese rural problems and government officials (especially the department of agriculture officials) will find this book especially interesting.
Philosophies of Appropriated Religions: Perspectives from Southeast Asia
by Soraj Hongladarom Jeremiah Joven Joaquin Frank J. HoffmanThis book brings together different intercultural philosophical points of view discussing the philosophical impact of what we call the ‘appropriated’ religions of Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is home to most of the world religions. Buddhism is predominantly practiced in Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Laos, and Cambodia; Islam in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei; and Christianity in the Philippines and Timor-Leste. Historical data show, however, that these world religions are imported cultural products, and have been reimagined, assimilated, and appropriated by the culture that embraced them. In this collection, we see that these ‘appropriated’ religions imply a culturally nuanced worldview, which, in turn, impacts how the traditional problems in the philosophy of religion are framed and answered—in particular, questions about the existence and nature of the divine, the problem of evil, and the nature of life after death. Themes explored include: religious belief and digital transition, Theravāda Buddhist philosophy, religious diversity, Buddhism and omniscience, indigenous belief systems, divine apology and unmerited human suffering, dialetheism and the problem of evil, Buddhist philosophy and Spinoza’s views on death and immortality, belief and everyday realities in the Philippines, comparative religious philosophy, gendering the Hindu concept of dharma, Christian devotion and salvation during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines through the writings of Jose Rizal, indigenous Islamic practices in the Philippines, practiced traditions in contemporary Filipino celebrations of Christmas, role of place-aspects in the appropriation of religions in Southeast Asia, and fate and divine omniscience. This book is of interest to scholars and researchers of philosophy of religion, sociology of religion, anthropology of religion, cultural studies, comparative religion, religious studies, and Asian studies.
Reconstructions of Gender and Information Technology: Women Doing IT for Themselves
by Hilde G. CorneliussenThis open access book explores what makes women decide to pursue a career in male-dominated fields such as information technology (IT). It reveals how women experience gendered stereotypes but also how they bypass, negotiate, and challenge such stereotypes, reconstructing gender-technology relations in the process. Using the example of Norway to illuminate this challenge in Western countries, the book includes a discussion of the “gender equality paradox”, where gender equality exists in parallel with gender segregation in fields such as IT. The discussion illustrates how the norm of gender equality in some cases hinders rather than promotes efforts to increase women’s participation in technology-related roles.
Super Inequality: Theoretical Essays in Economics and Social Policy
by Christian AspalterThis book bridges the disciplines of micro-economics and social policy in general, and, in particular, behavioral/explanatory social policy and public choice theory, plus Leibenstein’s X-efficiency theory. Being trained as an economist and social policy scientist, the author leaps out of the comfort zone of most social policy scientists and experts, right into the exciting world of micro-economic theory, and then extending and connecting those theories to explain major social, political and economic conundrums of our time. In doing so, the book offers a new set of theoretical—and practical—explanations derived from the general proposition of micro-economic theory, of how government officers, policymakers, administrators and the people themselves alike are, by and large, motivated in their daily as well as strategic (long-term) decision-making. Using a meta-analytical approach (based on a number of grand theories), this book also explains systemic factors behind human behavior and the thereof resulting shortcomings in lifetime outcomes (health, wealth and happiness of a person) and at the same time societal, policy-making, and economic outcomes on societal level, and in global comparison.The outcomes thereof can be measured exactly (and hence validated), especially through the method of empirical comparative social science/economic research. Here, the author also (but not only) introduces the new method of using Aspalter's Standardized Relative Performance (SRP) Index in measuring exactly complex, aggregate performances of multiple governments, and that at the same time also across the entire world.
Health Without Bodies: Health Claims and Scientific Evidence on the European Market (Health, Technology and Society)
by Kim HendrickxHealth Without Bodies invites readers on an ethnographic exploration of the boundary between food and medicine. Food-related health claims are governed in the EU as voluntary statements on food labels to help consumers make ‘informed choices’. This poses an interesting problem: when claims refer to health, one can no longer ignore that consumers have bodies. Asking how these claims have become possible as a new kind of truth-statement on the market, this book reveals the contours of a fundamental tension between what is expected from consumers in a liberal market economy, and how food and the body come to trouble those expectations. In doing so, it illuminates why the difference between food and medicine is such a sensitive issue, and why seemingly trivial health claims have been subject to so much debate and political control.
Understanding Disability: Interdisciplinary Critical Approaches
by Ranu Uniyal Fatima RizviThis edited volume brings together contributions on disability studies organized around two themes: literary and sociological aspects. The contributors include academics, disability activists, and researchers from within and outside the Indian periphery. While the book strengthens the disability discourse and contributes to building academic scholarship on this subject, it also promotes disability activism by giving space to both direct practitioners and persons with disabilities. The chapters discuss various analytical and literary aspects of the marginalization experienced by the disabled community and bring forth new and elaborate perspectives. It draws connections across multiple identities and includes personal narratives across nations, cultures and societies. It is an excellent research resource on disability studies in India for scholars and students in the area of humanities, education, law, sociology and social work, while at the same time also addressing the global context.
The Skills and Ethics of Professional Touch: From Theory to Practice
by Taina Kinnunen Jaana Parviainen Annu HahoThis book introduces readers to the ethical and goal-oriented functions of touch in professional practice. Touch is both an increasingly visible topic today and a core skill in many professions, especially in health, education and social work. This book combines helpful theoretical discussions and practical information, offering a balanced and culturally-informed introduction to an issue that both students and professionals often find difficult to navigate. Chapters discuss the various functions of touch and its uses, giving readers a deeper understanding of the potential of tactile work practices. The authors offer clear legal and ethical guidance to empower learners. They discuss key issues such as harmful touch and the increasing digitisation of patient work. Activities, case studies and further readings promote learning and help readers reflect on their own relationship to touch. This book will be an invaluable resource for students in undergraduate and graduate courses in healthcare, nursing, education and social work, and to practitioners looking for guidance on this topic.
Complexifying Religion
by Andrei-Razvan ColteaThis book provides an original and challenging perspective of religions as abstract complex adaptive systems, using an interdisciplinary approach to try to understand what religions are and how they function, two fundamental issues which, despite an intense struggle from several fields, have not yet been resolved. What is the source of religious belief? How do religions work and what are they made of? Why is religion so important for us that it has survived centuries of scientific progress and secularization? Why are people religious even outside religion? The book addresses these questions using an interdisciplinary approach that seeks to untangle the Gordian knot of defining religion. In short, they can be considered entropy-reducing technologies. What differentiates them from other meaning-producing systems is their configuration which employs specific building blocks as tools for mitigating entropy, which are also subsystems and combine in various ways to build a unique configuration: rituals, myths, taboos, supernatural agents, authority, identity, superstitions, moral obligations, afterlife beliefs and the sacred. As a reaction to perturbances or pressure, systems can collapse. Inspired by Nicholas Nassim Taleb, it is, in this book, referred to as fragility—the negative reaction of systems to random events, and four parameters can be used to evaluate it in religious systems: monotonicity (the inability to learn from past mistakes), coupling (linking with other systems: such as political or economic), centralization and stress starvation. Several case studies are provided in order to test the theoretical claims made in this book, based on the author's field research in Romania, Japan, North Korea and Mongolia, and offering details that could be of interest to casual readers, students and researchers of religion.
Emerging Local Politics in Indonesia: Patronage-Driven Democracy in the Post-Soeharto Era
by Wawan SobariThis book provides a richer understanding of democratic local politics in Indonesia after the implementation of local direct elections in 2005. Co-published with the University of Airlangga Press, it confronts the question as to why incumbent political leaders succeed and fail in their bid for re-election. By focusing on urban and rural districts in East Java, one of the most populated regions in Indonesia, the work unpacks the general trends of local Indonesian politics, drawing from an empirically sound and theoretically well-grounded case study. The author demonstrates that good policy performance does not guarantee the political survival of the incumbent, and reversibly, bad policy performance does not necessarily mean losing political power. It considers the core political strategies of populism, rivalry, and tangibility and cautions that—rather than helping liberal democracy to grow—these strategies support patronage-driven democracy. Within this system, a small number of vital protectors and defenders control patronage, and, problematically, exert influential control over the country’s electoral processes. Relevant to scholars and students in Indonesian studies, and within political science and Asian studies more broadly, this book follows a gripping and nuanced narrative that explains the relationship between policy choices, informal politics, voting behavior, and political survival in Indonesia.
India’s Relations with Neighboring South and South East Asian Countries: Perspectives on Look East to Act East Policy (Dynamics of Asian Development)
by Lipi Ghosh Anasua Basu Ray ChaudhuryThis book presents a holistic perspective across various facets of culture, history, politics, economics and strategy in India’s relations with neighbouring South and Southeast Asian countries. This book not only analyses various issues of India’s foreign policy diplomacy but also explores the perspectives of neighbouring countries towards India. It engages experts from India and its South and Southeast Asian neighbours to discuss topics, such as overland linkages, people-to-people interactions, opportunities and implications of India’s Act East policy on its neighbours in changing geopolitical backdrop. The book emphasises on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and suggests a greater scope of regional cooperation on emergencies such as health crises in the Bay region. This rich collection of essays has strategic and scholarly relevance for researchers working on a wide range of topics related to development studies, cultural studies, Asian studies as well as policy makers and general readers.
Discrete Choice Experiments Using R: A How-To Guide for Social and Managerial Sciences
by Liang Shang Yanto ChandraThis book delivers a user guide reference for researchers seeking to build their capabilities in conducting discrete choice experiment (DCE). The book is born out of the observation of the growing popularity – but lack of understanding – of the techniques to investigate preferences. It acknowledges that these broader decision-making processes are often difficult, or sometimes, impossible to study using conventional methods. While DCE is more mature in certain fields, it is relatively new in disciplines within social and managerial sciences. This text addresses these gaps as the first ‘how-to’ handbook that discusses the design and application of DCE methodology using R for social and managerial science research. Whereas existing books on DCE are either research monographs or largely focused on technical aspects, this book offers a step-by-step application of DCE in R, underpinned by a theoretical discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of the DCE approach, with supporting examples of best practices. Relevant to a broad spectrum of emerging and established researchers who are interested in experimental research techniques, particularly those that pertain to the measurements of preferences and decision-making, it is also useful to policymakers, government officials, and NGOs working in social scientific spaces.
The 5G Era: What is 5G and How Will it Change the World?
by Ligang XiangThis book states that the seventh information revolution is the intelligent Internet, and 5G is the foundation of the seventh information revolution. This book gives a clear introduction to the three major scenarios, six characteristics, core technologies, and global landscape of 5G, and answers "What is true 5G?" This book also gives an in-depth explanation of 5G-enabled traditional industries, and outlines the profound changes that 5G will bring to transportation, medical, industry, and agriculture. Finally, the author made bold assumptions about the opportunities and challenges that human society faces in the post-5G era. For readers who want to fully understand 5G, this book provides an important reference and is a must-have book.
Identity, Space, and Everyday Life in Contemporary Northeast China
by Zhen Troy Chen Jiawen Han Xianwen Kuang Xi LiuThis edited volume is first of its kind to document and critically analyse the changes took place snice China’s opening-up and reform and its impact on Dongbei, China’s North-East region, known for its remote and vast landscape, unique and othered culture, rich resources, mighty infrastructures and industries, geopolitical significance. Through presenting up-to-date and multidimensional case studies, the book covers three major aspects of Dongbei, which put people at the heart of our scholarly focus, namely people’s mediated life through traditional and new media; people’s social, cultural, and living spaces; artistic and fictional representations of people’s everyday life.
LGBT+ Youth and Emerging Technologies in Southeast Asia: Designing for Wellbeing (Perspectives on Children and Young People #14)
by Benjamin HanckelThis book investigates the ways in which emerging digital technologies are shaping and changing the worlds of sexuality and gender diverse youth in Southeast Asia. Primarily focused on the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, the book examines the potential of digital technologies to enhance wellbeing in and across these contexts. Drawing on multi-site ethnographic field research, interviews, survey data, and online content analysis, the book examines the design and use of websites and content by and for LGBT+ youth. The book innovatively interrogates the design of transnational digital wellbeing initiatives, alongside the digital practices of those the technologies are designed for. It illustrates not only the (im)possibilities of technological design, but also the capacity for design to participate in what Hanckel calls ‘(trans)national digital wellbeing’ processes. He asks us to consider the ways that global technologies are contextual—a paradox that is explored throughout the book. The analysis extends important discussions in youth research, contributing to a greater understanding of how LGBT+ youth are engaging new technologies to participate in identity-making, health and wellbeing, as well as political action. It also considers implications for digital wellbeing and digital health promotion efforts globally with young people who experience marginalisation. In doing so the book makes a critical contribution to understanding the ways that transnational digital interventions get deployed and (at times) incorporated into youth practices.
A Social View of Socotra Island: People, Culture, Heritage
by Nataša Slak Valek Ahmad Abdelmoniem ZedanThis book focuses on Socotra Island, geographically based in Yemen, and aims to explore the island from the social sciences point of view. This book focuses on people indigenous to Socotra, Socotri cultures, heritage and also offers contributions from business, tourism, linguistic, communication, and anthropology. While a lot has been published in natural science about Socotra’s endemic species, biodiversity, and nature in general, social scientific research of the island is very limited. This book addresses therefore addresses this gap and explores various topics of tourism, behaviours, cultures, and language.This book focuses on a clear social science approach of Socotra. The purpose of this book is to publish research about the people, behaviors, heritage, and potential tourism of Socotra. The Socotra Archipelago has long been a land of mystery. It is unknown as a tourism destination for many, however, is a popular destination for adventurers, photographers and travelers who like to travel to remote and undeveloped places. This book explains how Socotra has limited resources of electricity, which is provided by diesel generators, Internet is very slow and limited to certain points on the island. There are no shopping malls or five-star hotels. Roads, schools, and hospitals have been built only recently. This book shoes how these island people do not know the development as we do, which makes it principally interesting to research. Previous interviewers of Socotri people about tourism development in the island have faced many challenges such as language barriers, lack of understanding the meanings and interviewing content, lack of support for the anticipated research results. This book successfully undertakes this challenge as not only in understanding the language, but understanding phenomena like e.g. tourism. Whilst acknowledging the ways in which indigenous island people have never travelled or seen a developed city. Thus, words like ‘developed’, ‘tourism destination’ or ‘washing machine’ may be unfamiliar terms for them. Therefore, new and innovative research methods that are sensitive to Socotra people were implemented in the creation of this book.
Chinese Schooling and Free-Spirit Education
by Wei YuReaching deep into the wealth of Chinese philosophical wisdom, this book offers rich insights into a way of educating that has found staunch advocates among educators through the ages. The ‘free-spirit education’, which calls on educators to respect and nurture the natural goodness of each child, affords an educational principle that is embedded in one of the most important Confucian classics: The Doctrine of the Mean. This book analyzes the meaning, history, principles, and educational application of ‘free-spirit education’ and also explores its contemporary development in the context of a school improvement initiative. It introduces the intellectual origins of ‘free-spirit education’, the application in ’process-based inductive teaching’ and cases from the field. It presents the collection of pedagogical cases that are rooted in the traditions of Chinese philosophic inquiry and viewed through the lens of contemporary pedagogy for human development. This book is a useful reference for university faculty, educational researchers, school teachers and leaders, graduate and undergraduate students in curriculum studies and in philosophy, social science, and education, curriculum developers, and all those educators who are interested in understanding ‘free-spirit education’—a key component of the humanistic traditions of Chinese education.
English Language Education for Graduate Employability in Vietnam (Global Vietnam: Across Time, Space and Community)
by Tran Le Huu Nghia Ly Thi Tran Mai Tuyet NgoThis open access book examines the teaching and learning of English for employability in Vietnamese higher education. Its content is framed within one country to better examine the research issues within the influence of contextual factors. This book investigates how English can contribute to the development of students' employability capitals, particularly in the aspects of human capital, social capital, cultural capital, identity capital, and psychological capital. It presents employers' and employees’ perspectives of how and why English is increasingly important for career development. This book is a collection of discussions and viewpoints from teachers, students, and other stakeholders like employers, graduates, and course coordinators on current practices and their proposed improvements to prepare students for their future education, work and life. Based on empirical evidence, this book calls for repositioning English language education within the employability agenda to elevate its status and increase stakeholders' engagement. This book contributes to current debates on advancing the effectiveness of English language education in non-English speaking countries, as a response to internationalization and globalization.
The Artefacts of Digital Mental Health (Health, Technology and Society)
by Jacinthe FloreThe Artefacts of Digital Mental Health focuses on smartphone apps, wearables devices, and ingestible sensors, which are at the centre of research, development, and investment in mental health and digitalisation. The book aims to examine digital mental health through three artefacts that are defined by their ubiquity, everydayness, popularity, innovation and hype, and emergent qualities. It engages with theoretical approaches to technology, mental health, and wellbeing informed by Science and Technology Studies, sociological studies of health and mental health, and sociomaterialism. The book brings together different theories of mental health, subjectivity, the body, care, and digitalisation alongside biodigital artefacts as exemplars of transformations in digital mental health.
Humanistic Spirit of Traditional Chinese Medicine
by Genhai LuoThis book aims to introduce in everyday language the profound culture and unique legacy of the ancient healing art with mesmerizing stories, allusions and anecdotes in the history of its evolution, handpicked from three perspectives, including contributions of master TCM practitioners, the nourishment of TCM by traditional Chinese culture, and the exchanges between TCM and its western counterparts. The vivid narrative of each section is complemented with elaboration of one related key TCM concept in a specific column. It is a brilliant reader for those interested in TCM and traditional Chinese culture.
Sense of Place, Identity and the Revisioning of Curriculum (Cultural Studies and Transdisciplinarity in Education #17)
by Terry LockeThis book explores intersections between sense of place, the formation of identity, indigeneity and colonisation, literature and literary study, the arts, and a revisioned school curriculum for the Anthropocene. Underpinning the book is a conviction that sense of place is central to the fostering of the change of heart required to secure the survival of human life on earth. It offers a coherent overview of seemingly disparate realities on a geographically and historically sprawling canvas. The book is a work of literary non-fiction, drawing on a range of sources: literary works and criticism, theoretical research, empirical studies and artworks. Of its very nature, the book enacts an extensive cultural critique. After establishing a cross-disciplinary foundation for “sense of place”, the book describes its relationship to identity with reference to such terms as attachment, dispossession, reclamation and representation. It shows how a hopeful narrative for planet stewardship can be developed by the uptake of indigenous and traditional discourses of place. It concludes with the envisioning of a place-conscious curriculum, and ways in which an activist agenda might be pursued in the Anthropocene.
Queering Gender, Sexuality, and Becoming-Human in Qing Dynasty Zhiguai: Querying the Strange Tales (Palgrave Series in Asia and Pacific Studies)
by Thomas William Whyke Melissa Shani BrownThis book offers queer readings of Chinese Qing Dynasty zhiguai, ‘strange tales’, a genre featuring supernatural characters and events. In a unique approach interweaving Chinese philosophies alongside critical theories, this book explores tales which speak to contemporary debates around identity and power. Depictions of porous boundaries between humans and animals, transformations between genders, diverse sexualities, and contextually unusual masculinities and femininities, lend such tales to queer readings. Unlike previous scholarship on characters as allegorical figures or stories as morality tales, this book draws on queer theory, animal studies, feminism, and Deleuzian philosophy, to explore the ‘strange’ and its potential for social critique. Examining such tales enriches the scope of historic queer world literatures, offering culturally situated stories of relationships, desires, and ways of being, that both speak to and challenge contemporary debates.
Sustainable Health in Low and Middle Income Countries: Achieving SDG3 in the (Post) Pandemic World (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Fingani MphandeThis book highlights lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and explains how these can be used to build sustainable health systems, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). It investigates the impact of outbreak response and management on health sustainability in LMIC from the perspective of SDG3: “Ensuring healthy lives and wellbeing for all at all ages”. Despite strides being made in some areas for SDG target 3.3 to fight communicable diseases, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused interruptions that will considerably affect vaccination coverage as well as the progress that was made, for example: in reducing malaria cases. Vulnerable populations who were already struggling to access their healthcare needs before the pandemic may face even greater challenges at present and in the years to come, post-pandemic. This book considers the progress on attaining the SDG3 targets, specifically: to improve early warning systems for management of national and global health risks, and the effect of pandemics - including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic - and emerging disease outbreaks. It explores the weaknesses and strengths in LMIC and how to strengthen capacities in these countries. The author also investigates and proposes approaches that can, or should, be implemented to ensure sustainable health systems in developing countries, including early warning systems, risk reduction, and the management of global and national health risks. This book is of great interest to public health professionals, infectious diseases experts, and epidemiologists, as well as students and researchers of public health systems and healthcare infrastructure in developing countries.
Storying Pedagogy as Critical Praxis in the Neoliberal University: Encounters and Disruptions (Rethinking Higher Education)
by Mark Vicars Ligia PelosiThis book examines how teaching and learning and teacher and student identities are being reframed in higher education by neoliberal policies and practices. It shares how teachers perform teaching and learning duties in relation to prescribed institutional policies and how teachers insert dissonant pedagogies as a critical practice.The book explores narrative pedagogy as a disruptive presence and a space for critique. It interrogates personal/professional experience of educational systems that present educators juggling complexity and meeting competing demands to make learning meaningful for students. Each contribution will act as a counterpoint and provide a synoptic method for comparison. The book re-constructs meaning from the generic narrative of the public face of education, which homogenizes and diminishes collective understandings of teachers and teaching. This book provides a contemporary account of the social realities experienced within the higher education classroom across the globe.
Economic Analysis of Mental Health in China (Applied Economics and Policy Studies)
by Xuezheng Qin Chee-Ruey HsiehThis book uses an economic approach to analyze the socioeconomic causes and consequences of mental health disorders in China, with a special focus on mental depression. Based on a nationally representative dataset, we first investigate the prevalence and distribution of depression and depressive symptoms among China’s adult population, and then use several econometric methods to estimate the multi-dimensional disease burden of the mental disorder, such as its direct medical costs, its indirect economic costs, and its hidden costs on social trust and life satisfaction. In addition, we specifically address the socioeconomic determinants of mental health by examining how the relative and absolute economic status may determine people’s mental depression. Lastly, we propose an analytical framework to evaluate the four major hurdles that cause the treatment gaps of mental health care, and discuss the policy options to overcome such hurdles and to address the unmet mental healthcare needs in China and other developing countries. The book may facilitate our understanding on the complex determinants and implications of the rising prevalence of mental health disorders in developing countries like China. In addition to the students, teachers, and researchers in the fields of health economics and public health, the book may also be of interest to health policy makers and non-government agencies who are concerned with addressing the global mental healthcare challenges using economic policy tools.
Cultivating Reasonableness in Education: Community of Philosophical Inquiry (Integrated Science #17)
by Marella Ada V. Mancenido-Bolaños Cathlyne Joy P. Alvarez-Abarejo Leander Penaso MarquezThis book focuses on the real-world application of the Philosophy for/with Children (P4wC) pedagogy to cultivate reasonableness in individuals through communities of philosophical inquiry. It presents a collection not only of theories but, more importantly, of experiences, discoveries, and innovations on P4wC by scholars, trainers, advocates, and practitioners around the world. Each chapter provides readers with insights and lessons that have resulted from the continuous application, exploration, and enrichment of the concepts, principles, and practices that were developed by Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp into what P4wC is today - a dialogic pedagogical approach that may just be what is needed at a time when reasonableness and dialogue are essential to maintaining global stability and progress. In this light, this book also looks into how the P4wC approach can be practiced with adults such as when it is employed in various settings or contexts such as in business consulting, textbook writing, peace education, and extremism prevention, among others. Furthermore, this book also features chapters that discuss how the P4wC pedagogy can be beneficial once integrated into processes such as classroom teaching, teacher education, bioethics, and employee education. This book provides valuable insights about how reasonableness that is cultivated through building communities of philosophical inquiry in education can be a powerful tool for nation-building and social transformation.
Realism for Social Sciences: A Translational Approach to Methodology (Translational Systems Sciences #36)
by Ken Urai Masaaki Katsuragi Yoshiyuki TakeuchiThis book discusses the growing interest in realism in social sciences of the twenty-first century. The first part of this book provides recent discussions on realism in philosophy. The second part describes specific problems that have returned to realism in various fields of the social sciences, such as economics, cultural anthropology, management science, and statistics. This book clarifies what kinds of movements are taking place and consequently the direction in which the social sciences are heading in the future. Readers would also find that there is great diversity in the way realism and reality are perceived and understood, depending on the objectives and circumstances of each field of social science. This suggests that rather than having a unified view (stance) of realism and reality, it may be more meaningful to value the differences, diversity, and range itself. Therefore, this book does not present a unified view of realism, reality, and actuality. Although the definitions of realism and reality may differ from chapter to chapter, this represents a corner of the current state of the social sciences. This book is unique in that it examines how the issues of realism and reality are viewed, understood, and dealt with in the various fields of social science, instead of examining them by philosophers and philosophers of science. This would clarify how philosophical discussions have been translated into the various fields of social science.
Value Realization in the Phygital Reality Market: Consumption and Service Under Conflation of the Physical, Digital, and Virtual Worlds (Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research)
by Lin Huang Biao Gao Mengjia GaoThis book is a timely and much-needed comprehensive compilation that reflects the development of research on consumption and communication in the conflation of the real and digital worlds, bringing together the current state of thinking about the phygital reality market and the cutting-edge challenges that are involved. In this book, the term “phygital reality market” is used, implying that the physical, digital, and virtual realms are fused into one to recognize and understand the market with multiple or mixed realities. The concept of the phygital reality market captures the new realities that consumers are shopping, consuming, and living, and companies are competing within the physical, digital, and virtual marketplaces. The book covers the research on consumption, service, and communication in the phygital reality market and compiles the current state of thinking, challenges, and cases having to do with the acceptance and diffusion of new technologies of phygital reality. The interest in the phygital reality market, such as omnichannel retailing integrating physical stores and online services, has grown hugely over the last two decades, particularly since the coronavirus pandemic. COVID triggered severe social and economic disruption around the world but has accelerated the acceptance and diffusion of new technologies in the phygital reality market, where the physical, digital, and virtual worlds are conflated. Versatile problem solving and new challenges are reflected in the value realization process of innovation — in other words, widespread acceptance and diffusion of devices or services that embody new technologies. The excitement and hype associated with the metaverse have highlighted the need to understand the creation and adoption of new technologies in consumption and marketing, recognition of the foundational role of new technologies in driving consumer behavior, and marketing theory and practice in value realization as a vital part of the process of digital transformation.
Education for Everyday Life: A Sophistical Practice of Teaching (SpringerBriefs in Education)
by Carl Anders SäfströmThis book examines the role of teaching within public education. It critiques its function in today's educational policies and theories and establishes an alternative way of understanding teaching. It explores teaching from within a Sophist tradition of educational practice and thought.The first part of the book discusses the vital link between public education and democracy, the shifts in schooling's role in fostering competition and comparisons at the cost of social responsibility and democratisation. It identifies the driving force of those shifts as forces of aggression and destruction, central to a neoliberal ideology. The second part of the book argues for a practice of Sophistical teaching rather than Socratic teaching. It explores in-depth what it could mean to be teaching in an up-to-date sophist tradition of educational thought and practice.The book also includes insights for teaching to counter aggressive forces of nationalism, racism, and late capitalism's violence and the escalating climate crisis. Readers will be able to understand teaching within educational thought and precisely how different teaching forms can contribute to education as democratisation.
Transforming Unequal Gender Relations in India and Beyond: An Intersectional Perspective on Challenges and Opportunities (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Saroj Pachauri Ravi K. VermaThis book offers a unique intersectional perspective on gender equality, SDG5. It presents an intersection of gender with caste, class, region, ethnic and sexual identities, and other structural drivers of inequalities in various development sectors. It presents case studies and empirical findings from development practice and policymaking and highlights the challenges to implementing SDG5 in practice. It discusses policies to promote gender equality and prevent violence against women and girls, and women in decision-making and leadership positions. The chapters reinstate that gender equality is possible only if unequal gender norms are transformed to recognize women and girls as independent economic entities and not merely homemakers providing unpaid care. It also analyzes to deconstruct the idea of monolithic masculinity to recognize gender diversity and men’s role in providing care. The book shows how much has been achieved, yet how far is also left to go. It is an essential reference point for researchers, policymakers, students, and scholars across gender studies, women’s studies, and sociology.
ASEAN and Regional Actors in the Indo-Pacific
by Sueo Sudo Chosein YamahataThis book discusses the shifting regional geopolitical engagements and development of rearranged connections emerging among ASEAN and non-ASEAN actors.First, the book focuses on the crucial discourse surrounding the Indo-Pacific region, including its challenges, continuity, and relevance. The discussion highlights the growing influence of regional actors such as India, Thailand, Japan, and the US, particularly in the context of a pressing question of collaboration versus containment amidst China’s rise. The book delves into various topics, such as geopolitical anxieties, economic strength, foreign policy, international relations, development, and security promotion in South and Southeast Asia, through the lenses of ASEAN centrality and the Indo-Pacific strategy.Second, the volume emphasizes on the escalating tensions and the worsening crises in the region that cause major anxieties and the subsequent realignment and new alignment of countries’ relationships. Among several chapters of the volume, a large Indo-China state, Myanmar, takes a special place in the book’s discussions as it has grown as an important ground for a resource/energy race among geopolitically strategic partners. Additionally, Myanmar has the potential to become a balancer in ASEAN. Therefore, any positive development and change in course of relations to Myanmar, particularly with its neighbors, Japan, and Russia, in both historical and contemporary contexts, can have a significant impact not only on Myanmar’s course towards peace, democracy, and security, but also regional stability. The editors and contributors examine the unique position of ASEAN, with a focus on ASEAN centrality as a platform for addressing anxieties and building relationships to bridge the gap between world and regional players, including both friends and foes.Overall, the volume provides valuable insights into the Indo-Pacific region’s complex dynamics, including cooperation and collaboration among regional actors for long-term stability and prosperity. The interdisciplinary composition of the book invites readers from various backgrounds to engage with constructive debates on general perception, contextual discussion, and the highlights of engaged research from local and international perspectives.
A Phenomenology of Career Change in the Malaysian Workforce: The Narratives of Rejectors, Navigators and Seekers
by Jennifer Yee Tham Yit Sean Chong Pervaiz K. AhmedEvolution in economy, technology and social institutions over time have given rise to boundaryless and Protean careers that promote mobility and self-direction in managing one’s career. This has led to the phenomenon of career change whereby individuals undertake a shift from one field of work to a completely different field of work. In career change research, career changers have been studied as a collective, singular group undergoing a similar change experience, which neglects individual differences that may contrast the experience of change from one changer to another. Furthermore, the emotional experience that accompanies a career change has been examined with a primary focus on the role of positive emotions, which overlooks the role of negative emotions in career change. Thus, this book sheds light on three key narratives of career change; Rejectors, Navigators and Seekers, that were identified in a phenomenological study of career change amongst Malaysian working adults. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 career changers across age, gender and ethnicity with a focus on how they made sense and meaning of their lived experience of career change within their environment and context. Each career change narrative was found to have different characteristics, motivations and behaviors respectively, which shaped their unique career change process. Negative emotions were also revealed as key drivers of the career change process, although each narrative expressed different types of negative emotions.Finally, the book also introduces an adaptive perspective to career development by way of the Adaptive Career Construal Model (ACCM) which was proposed based on the continuous bi-directional relationship between career decisions and career outcomes.
EcoDesign for Sustainable Products, Services and Social Systems II
by Shinichi Fukushige Hideki Kobayashi Eiji Yamasue Keishiro HaraThis 2-volume book highlights cutting-edge ecodesign research and covers broad areas ranging from individual product and service design to social system design. It includes business and policy design, circular production, life cycle design and management, digitalization for sustainable manufacturing, user behavior and health, ecodesign of social infrastructure, sustainability education, sustainability indicators, and energy system design. Featuring selected papers presented at EcoDesign 2021: 12th International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing, it also includes diverse, interdisciplinary approaches to foster ecodesign research and activities. In the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), it addresses design innovations for sustainable value creation, considering technological developments, legislation, and consumer lifestyles. Further, the book discusses the conceptof circular economy, which aims to develop circular business models for resource efficient society by taking advantage of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, internet of things, digital twin, data analysis and simulation. Written by experts from academia and industry, Volume 2 focuses on the sustainability assessment of product lifecycle, waste management, material circularity and energy efficiency, food and agriculture, user behavior and health, and transportation. The methods, tools, and practices described are useful for readers to facilitate value creation for sustainability.
Interfaith Engagement Beyond the Divide: Approaches, Experiences, and Practices
by Johannes M. Luetz Denise A. Austin Adis DuderijaThis book features reflections by scholars and practitioners from diverse religious traditions. It posits that the global challenges facing humanity today can only be mastered if humans from diverse faith traditions can meaningfully collaborate in support of human rights, reconciliation, sustainability, justice, and peace. Seeking to redress common distortions of religious mis- and dis-information, the book aims to construct interreligious common ground ‘beyond the divide’.Organised into three main sections, the book features sixteen conceptual, empirical, and practice-informed chapters that explore spirituality across faiths and cultures. Chapter 1 delineates the state of the art in relation to interfaith engagement, Chapters 2–8 advance theoretical research, Chapters 9–12 discuss empirical perspectives, and Chapters 13–16 showcase field projects and recount stories and lived experiences.Comprising works by scholars, professionals, and practitioners from around the globe, Interfaith Engagement Beyond the Divide: Approaches, Experiences, and Practices is an interdisciplinary publication on interreligious thought and engagement:Assembles a curated collection of chapters from numerous countries and diverse religious traditions;Addresses interfaith scholarship and praxis from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives;Comprises interfaith dialogue and collaborative research involving authors of different faiths;Envisions prospects for peace, interreligious harmony in diversity, and a world that may be equitably and enduringly shared.The appraisal of present and future challenges and opportunities, framed within a context of public policy and praxis, makes this interdisciplinary publication a useful tool for teaching, research, and policy development. Chapter 16 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Perception of Family and Work in Low-Fertility East Asia (SpringerBriefs in Population Studies)
by Junji Kageyama Eriko TeramuraThis book is the first of its kind to incorporate subjective well-being (SWB) data to comprehensively explore perceptional factors that relate to fertility behavior in East Asia. The advantage of SWB data lies in the accessibility to rich information regarding perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. With this advantage, the book inquires into the perceptions toward family and work and explores the attitudes that lead to low fertility in the region.To this end, first a comparative analysis with international cross-sectional data is performed and the East Asian characteristics of family and work perceptions are documented. Then, three democracies in the region are focused on—Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—to investigate the relationships between cultural orientations, work–life balance, and fertility outcomes with panel data. In addition, East Asian results are compared with those in India, which has also been experiencing a rapid transition from a traditional society to an industrial one. The results support the idea that the friction between persistent gender-based role divisions and socioeconomic transformation in East Asia makes it difficult for women to balance family and work, prompting fertility decline to the lowest-low level in the region.
Inclusion and Belonging in Cities of Tomorrow: Governance and Access by Design
by Victor Santiago PinedaThis open access book uncovers the historical context and entrenched beliefs that have perpetuated exclusionary urban landscapes and disadvantage for marginalized groups. It offers an in-depth exploration of the intricate interplay of geographical space, recognizing its pivotal role in shaping our cities and exacerbating spatial injustice. The construction industry, a vital agent in forging accessible environments, often falls short in accommodating persons with disabilities and older individuals. This important book underscores the urgent need for integrated approaches woven into the fabric of cities, companies, and the construction industry itself, to ensure universal accessibility. Drawing upon practical strategies and compelling case studies, the book presents actionable frameworks such as the DisCo Policy Framework and the Iceberg of Inequality Model, facilitating the assessment of progress towards achieving radical inclusion. Inviting readers to embark on a journey into the cities of tomorrow, where inclusion and belonging are the norm, it concludes with a simple idea: the future is accessible.
EcoDesign for Sustainable Products, Services and Social Systems I
by Shinichi Fukushige Hideki Kobayashi Eiji Yamasue Keishiro HaraThis 2-volume book highlights cutting-edge ecodesign research and covers broad areas ranging from individual product and service design to social system design. It includes business and policy design, circular production, life cycle design and management, digitalization for sustainable manufacturing, user behavior and health, ecodesign of social infrastructure, sustainability education, sustainability indicators, and energy system design. Featuring selected papers presented at EcoDesign 2021: 12th International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing, it also includes diverse, interdisciplinary approaches to foster ecodesign research and activities. In the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), it addresses design innovations for sustainable value creation, considering technological developments, legislation, and consumer lifestyles. Further, the book discusses the concept of circular economy, which aims to develop circular business models for resource efficient society by taking advantage of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, internet of things, digital twin, data analysis and simulation. Written by experts from academia and industry, Volume 1 highlights sustainable design such as product and process design, collaborative design, sustainable innovation, digital technologies, design methodology for sustainability, and energy system design. The methods, tools, and practices described are useful for readers to facilitate value creation for sustainability.
From Blockchain to Web3 & Metaverse
by Huawei Huang Jiajing Wu Zibin ZhengThe Metaverse seamlessly integrates the real world with the virtual world and allows avatars to engage in a broad range of activities including entertainment, social networking, and trading. In this book, we dive into the Metaverse by discussing how blockchains connect various Metaverse components, digital currencies, and blockchain-empowered applications in the virtual world. On the other hand, Web3 has also attracted considerable attention due to its uniquely decentralized characteristics. The digital economy, currently undergoing a rapid development, is a critical driver to highly efficient societies. It is imperative that we investigate how to use Web3 technologies to address the critical concerns encountered during the development of the digital economy by fully exploring Web3. In this book, we also share insights into the Web3-based ecosystem in the Metaverse; topics of interest include decentralized finance, digital assets, the asset-trading market, etc. Unlike most works on the subject, this book mainly concentrates on insights and discussions regarding blockchain, the Metaverse and Web3. In other words, it focuses on using blockchain technologies to enable an ecosystem for both the Metaverse and Web3. Topics addressed include blockchain fundamentals, smart contracts, value circulation in the Metaverse, the connection between the Metaverse and Web3, the establishment of the Metaverse on the basis of blockchain technologies, decentralized autonomous organization, decentralized storage, digital economy, Web3-based economic systems for the Metaverse, etc. This book will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, engineers, and policymakers working in various areas related to blockchain, the Metaverse and Web3. We hope that it will also inspire readers from academia and industry alike, and ultimately help them create a truly open, fair, and rational ecosystem for the Metaverse and Web3.
Human Security in Asia: Interrogating State, Society, and Policy
by Debasish Nandy Debtanu MajeeThis book discusses Human Security from a theoretical perspective. It builds theories in order to understand a phenomenon in a structured and well-ordered way. It sheds light on the conditions of the economy, food, health, community, environmental and political security in Asian states. It explores the idea of human security to understand the issues jeopardizing an individual’s security in the Asian continent and suggests policies to overcome these problems. This book argues that the nature of the government and the constitution are equally essential in ensuring the human security of a country. Some countries in Asia are not only economically vulnerable but also politically disrupted. The issues of hunger, poverty, illiteracy, militancy, terrorism, and ethnoreligious conflicts have posed threats to human security. The pandemic COVID-19 has brought a great humanitarian crisis. The role of the Asian states in combatting COVID-19 and protecting public health is highlighted in this book. With a multidimensional outlook this edited volume attempts to delineate an interdisciplinary discourse of human security in an Asian context.
Security, Privacy and Data Analytics: Select Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference, ISPDA 2022 (Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering #1049)
by Udai Pratap Rao Mamoun Alazab Bhavesh N. Gohil Pethuru Raj ChelliahThis book constitutes refereed proceedings of the International Conference on Security, Privacy and Data Analytics, ISPDA 2022. The volume covers topics, including big data and analytics, cloud security and privacy, data intelligence, hardware security, network security, blockchain technology and distributed ledger, machine learning for security, and many others. The volume includes novel contributions and the latest developments from researchers across industry and academia working in security, privacy, and data analytics from technological and social perspectives. This book will emerge as a valuable reference for researchers, instructors, students, scientists, engineers, managers, and industry practitioners across the globe.
Understanding Happiness: An Explorative View
by Saamdu Chetri Tanusree Dutta Manas Kumar Mandal Priyadarshi PatnaikThis book provides a comprehensive and enriching understanding of the construct of happiness from diverse perspectives. It provides readers with an overview of the issues, problems, and challenges related to well-being and happiness. The book is divided into three sections. It brings together researchers and practitioners from various disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and development studies. Each section includes chapters from leading academicians from across the world. The first section helps the reader understand happiness from a neuroscientific perspective and explores the relationship between happiness and subjective well-being. The second section of the book discusses the importance of building personal resources for happiness from a positive psychology point of view. The last section examines the importance of happiness in the workplace and suggests a sustainable development plan for happiness. It is a must-buy book for individuals nurturing critical thought and searching for a quintessential understanding of happiness. It presents a unique contribution to the literature with its multidisciplinary focus on specific topics.
Case Study of Targeted Poverty Alleviation in 100 Villages in China: General Report (International Research on Poverty Reduction)
by Peilin Li Yuan Ma Houkai Wei Guangjin ChenThis book is the general report of the targeted poverty alleviation and elimination project of 100 villages, presenting the overall progress of poverty alleviation and development of all sample villages in the tide of poverty alleviation. From 2016 to 2018, the project selected 104 poor villages (including those out of poverty) across the country to carry out national research and recorded the great changes in more than 100 poor villages in recent years with steps, nib and lens. Based on questionnaire survey data and data from village research reports, the book describes the basic village situation, poverty situation, village-level poverty management and assistance measures, causes of poverty and assistance measures, progress and results of targeted poverty alleviation in 100 poor villages across China since 2016.
Paul Ricoeur: Empowering Education, Politics and Society (SpringerBriefs in Education)
by Alison Scott-BaumannThis open access book employs Paul Ricoeur's methodologies to identify, challenge, and replace with responsible language the many continuing abuses of power, including in the university curriculum and in the international discourse of right-wing populism. Using Ricoeur’s philosophy, the book provides a meta-frame for current debates about the university and a pragmatic micro-frame for supporting staff and students to develop important conversations on campus. It introduces the Community of Inquiry approach and describes its use to engage with complex ideas on which society has recently become silent. By contrasting Ricoeur’s work on Algeria and his work in Chicago, USA, .a bias blind spot is revealed in his desire for dialectical balance and reciprocity. This prevented him (and for some years the author) from accepting the connections between colonialism, slavery and racism and the urgent need for reparative justice. With Ricoeur, the readers can think differently: how to recognize and tackle racism and the democratic deficit, how to reduce epistemic injustice by learning how to speak out, how to move away from forced polarities and develop a pedagogy of hope as well as an acceptance of provisionality and the intractability of certain existential problems.
ICSBE 2022: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Sustainable Built Environment (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering #362)
by Ranjith Dissanayake Priyan Mendis Kolita Weerasekera Sudhira De Silva Shiromal Fernando Chaminda Konthesingha Pradeep GajanayakeThis book highlights the latest knowledge and innovations in the fields of civil engineering and construction industry striving for a sustainable built environment. It consists of high quality and innovative research findings selected from the proceedings of the 13th ICSBE 2022 under the themes of sustainable construction, urban green infrastructure and planning, rainwater harvesting and water conservation, high-performance concrete, indoor environmental quality and indoor plants, wind and hydro-power energy, waste and wastewater management for enhanced sustainability, impacts of climate change, carbon footprint, global climate model and landscaping, material flows and industrial ecology, sustainable materials, etc.
Heritage Conservation and Tourism Development at Cham Sacred Sites in Vietnam: Living Heritage Has A Heart (Global Vietnam: Across Time, Space and Community)
by Quang Dai TuyenThis open access book considers the growing field of heritage tourism from community perspectives. It explores how the Cham—Vietnam’s large ethnic minority—reconcile their needs for economic development with the boundaries circumscribed by their traditional culture. It examines struggles that local minority stakeholders like the Cham face when trying to participate in areas of development that typically fall under State control. How will tourism affect the ancient sacred spaces that are the Cham’s lifeblood? In what areas is their participation permitted? From what areas are they excluded? Through a novel mix of indigenous methods, participant observation, local voices, and rich ethnographic description, this book provides a rare glimpse into the discourses that have been percolating throughout the community in recent years. The relevance of this study extends beyond the Cham community, and aims to resonate with experiences of the myriad indigenous and minority communities around the world who face similar issues with heritage conservation and tourism development. This book is of interest to students and researchers of heritage studies, tourism management, cultural studies, Asian studies, as well as policymakers, and academicians seeking current research on the connections between culture, conservation, sustainable development, and tourism.
Crimes in Outer Space: Perspectives from Law and Justice (Issues in Space)
by G. S. SachdevaThis book flags and contemplates the lurking problem of space crimes that may escalate and expand with diversification of space activities, greater footfall on the celestial bodies and passage of time, for the lack of appropriate solutions. It appraises the incumbent problems to evolve solutions and make recommendations regarding space crime situations. Recognizing current situation where commercial space travel has commenced, and space tourism is not far behind, the book takes a pole position on discussing the topic with its endemic challenges. Space transportation is expected to lead to commercial mining of celestial mineral resources from the Moon and asteroids, as has been found technically feasible and commercially viable. Space-specific products have been identified for industrial mining, processing, and manufacturing, for which manpower would be necessary, howsoever minimal, despite artificial intelligence devices. Blueprints for space habitations on the Moon and Mars are being prepared. In this scenario, where outer space and celestial bodies may soon be inhabited by multi-nationality, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural groupings of tourists, workers, and residents, given cramped and not so comfortable or private living spaces, attitudinal disparities and conflicting beliefs, differences, disputes, conflicts, and crimes are sure to raise their head. Economic activity and business culture may usher in crimes of competition and spying on intellectual property. Space crimes through technologies like cyber, lasers, etc., may also permeate the space domain for ill-intentioned abuses. The criminals may be individuals or collective groups or incognito terrorists. The book also discusses crimes and near-crimes that have already occurred in space but have been ignored or condoned. Absence of sovereignty on celestial bodies coupled with crimes in space or on celestial bodies, presents problems of jurisdiction, extradition, and other legal procedures. The dilemma of multi-national judicial systems, legal codes and norms of social justice need to be resolved by a specialized treaty reconciling major bends in the existing system vis-à-vis the nature of space crimes. Limitations in handling such crimes by the existing judicial system under established doctrines of international law by International Court of Justice or International Criminal Court, is highlighted in the book. It has strong take-aways for research scholars, law fraternity, diplomatic corps, judicial administration, policy-makers and the political class, enabling them to pro-actively initiate action for suitable answers.
Shanghai Narrative: A Socio-spatial Perspective
by Hai Yu Huahua ZouThis book focuses on urban development in Shanghai over the past four decades, which is composed of two major development processes—the development of new spaces and the renewal of old ones. Seeking to bring the concept of space back into social analysis, the book explores changes affecting communities, interpersonal interactions, lifestyles and social mindsets in Shanghai from a spatial perspective. What’s more, all these social themes are presented using a narrative of spatial representation and spatialization. The book combines both academic and documentary-style contributions. It also provides cutting-edge research on the most representative case in Shanghai. As the book demonstrates, the story of social spaces in Shanghai is more than a combination of social analysis and spatial analysis but also involves historical analysis and contemporary narrative.
Proceedings of Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology: ICICT 2023, London, Volume 1 (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems #693)
by Xin-She Yang R. Simon Sherratt Nilanjan Dey Amit JoshiThis book gathers selected high-quality research papers presented at the Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology, held at Brunel University, London, on 20–23 February 2023. It discusses emerging topics pertaining to information and communication technology (ICT) for managerial applications, e-governance, e-agriculture, e-education and computing technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) and e-mining. Written by respected experts and researchers working on ICT, the book offers a valuable asset for young researchers involved in advanced studies. The work is presented in four volumes.
Environmental Pollution and Community Rebuilding in Modern Japan
by Masafumi Yokemoto Miho Hayashi Mayuko Shimizu Keiji FujiyoshiThis book describes how modern industry affected people in Japan and their communities by polluting their living environment with toxic emissions. It also shows how the populace endeavored not only to restore their once-clean environment but also to rebuild communities that had been damaged by pollution and its accompanying effects. Environmental pollution is usually referred to in Japan as kogai, public damage, meaning that such pollution not only harms the physical environment—air, water, soil, and the human body—but also destroys the social and personal relationships in the polluted area. Those people who took action recognized that industrial and economic development had been given the highest national priority even at the cost of their health and welfare. In this sense, anti-kogai movements led them to alternative community development and to rethinking what kind of environment and community they wanted. This book also explores the efforts driven by residents in several parts of Japan after the middle of the twentieth century and the endeavors of museums and archives as a memorial to those who suffered from the pollution and for the prospect of a better society with a good environment.
Proceedings of Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology: ICICT 2023, London, Volume 4 (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems #696)
by Xin-She Yang R. Simon Sherratt Nilanjan Dey Amit JoshiThis book gathers selected high-quality research papers presented at the Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology, held at Brunel University, London, on 20–23 February 2023. It discusses emerging topics pertaining to information and communication technology (ICT) for managerial applications, e-governance, e-agriculture, e-education and computing technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) and e-mining. Written by respected experts and researchers working on ICT, the book offers a valuable asset for young researchers involved in advanced studies. The work is presented in four volumes.
Imperial Museum Dynasties in Europe: Papal Ethnographic Collections and Material Culture (People, Cultures and Societies: Exploring and Documenting Diversities)
by Alison L. KahnThis book reveals the history of the Vatican’s ethnographic collections by exploring the imperial, scientific, technological, and religious agendas behind its collecting and curating practices in the early twentieth century. It focuses on two principal contributors: the academic, priest, and ‘Pope’s Curator’, Father Wilhelm Schmidt, SVD, and the missionary and linguist, Father Franz Kirschbaum, SVD. Their narratives are embedded in a unique set of comparisons between the ‘liberal humanist ideals’ that underpinned the 1851 Great Exhibition, mid-nineteenth-century German museology, and the 1925 Pontifical Missionary Exhibition. It relates to the period of high colonialism and rampant missionary activity worldwide. It unravels the complicated political and ideological stance taken by the Catholic Church and its place within the science/religion debates of its time. Establishing an essential link between the secular and catholic practices of collecting and curating ethnographic objects from non-Western traditions, the author proposes a broader framework for post-colonial approaches to scholarly studies of ethnographic collections, including those of the Catholic Church. This book appeals to students and scholars of anthropology, museum studies, history, art history, religion, politics, and cultural studies.
CHINA and the Catholic Church: Through Mutual Eyes (Christianity in Modern China)
by Sergio TicozziThe volume approaches the relations between China and the Catholic Church in a quite comprehensive and unprejudiced way. Its approach is new since it clarifies the root of the persistent antagonism of both the imperial and republican Chinese Authorities toward the Catholic Church: no matter how the Catholic approach has been, they kept their Sino-centric attitude. It also points out the lack of a truly objective and complete understanding of China by the Western society, including Catholic missionaries: from a blind admiration to a negative evaluation, determined by contingent circumstances and motivations. It tries to clarify myths and stereotyped understandings, that have been created during the historical process, including the role of the Jesuits and in particular of Fr. Matteo Ricci. It also pays particular attention to the role of the Vatican in the recent religious policy of Chinese Government. The reading of the book could be enlightening especially for academics, university students and Christian clergy interested in the history of Catholic Missions in China.
Urban Migrants in China
by Daming ZhouThis book focuses on the background, migration, and settlement of new migrants in China. It also examines the status of their social networks, the role of urban society, social security, and future planning. Based on semi-structured interviews, the book analyzes these aspects of new urban migrants and argues that:- Intellectual migrants, with their strong educational background, are willing to engage in urbanization and have clear entry strategies.- Labor migrants find it is challenging for labor migrants to receive the same welfare as citizens and they are subject to significant segregation in urban societies due to existing policies and market economy conditions.- Operational migrants have stronger settlement and family-oriented tendencies compared to labor migrants.
Proceedings of Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology: ICICT 2023, London, Volume 2 (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems #694)
by Xin-She Yang R. Simon Sherratt Nilanjan Dey Amit JoshiThis book gathers selected high-quality research papers presented at the Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology, held at Brunel University, London, on 20–23 February 2023. It discusses emerging topics pertaining to information and communication technology (ICT) for managerial applications, e-governance, e-agriculture, e-education and computing technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) and e-mining. Written by respected experts and researchers working on ICT, the book offers a valuable asset for young researchers involved in advanced studies. The work is presented in four volumes.
Proceedings of Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology: ICICT 2023, London, Volume 3 (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems #695)
by Xin-She Yang R. Simon Sherratt Nilanjan Dey Amit JoshiThis book gathers selected high-quality research papers presented at the Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology, held at Brunel University, London, on 20–23 February 2023. It discusses emerging topics pertaining to information and communication technology (ICT) for managerial applications, e-governance, e-agriculture, e-education and computing technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) and e-mining. Written by respected experts and researchers working on ICT, the book offers a valuable asset for young researchers involved in advanced studies. The work is presented in four volumes.
Spirituality, Mental Health and Quality of Life: Pathways in Indian Psychology
by Naveen PantThis book is about spiritual intelligence and its effects on mental health and quality of life. As mental health and related problems are increasing rapidly and have become a matter of great concern, there has not been a unanimous and empirical approach to assess and cure it, due to its divergence or other causes. This book is based on the most developed construct: spiritual intelligence and its effects on mental health and quality of life. Spirituality and its other constructs are one of the most interesting topics nowadays in the area of positive/indigenous/transpersonal psychology and among social/behavioral scientists. This book provides content on spirituality, spiritual intelligence, mental health, and quality of life. The book also attempts to review related literature (whether review or empirical), to have a look at past and current scenarios on spirituality and mental health and quality of life research. Through an exploration of Indian indigenous psychology, this book provides a look at mental health and the mind from an Indian psychological perspective and examines Indian psychology, taking into consideration modern psychological concepts.
Office Gossip and Minority Employees in the South African Workplace
by Nasima M. H. CarrimThis book examines how employees from marginalized communities handle office gossip and provides recommendations to corporate leaders regarding on how to support their marginalized employees better. Office gossip is a phenomenon that is omnipresent in the workplace and experienced by minority employees at all levels within the organization in different ways. Gossip is felt more acutely by minority employees compared to their majority counterparts at certain occupational levels and this book provides an empirical basis for understanding this phenomenon in organizational settings based on the experiences of marginalized workers. The chapters use a variety of research methods to examine various aspects of the experience of office gossip among marginalized employees including: perceptions of diverse groups regarding workplace gossip, workplace gossip within teams, intersectional experiences of employees from racial minority and LGBTQ+ communities and foreign nationals, experiences of managers from racial minority backgrounds, and experiences in specific fields such as sport and healthcare. This book is of interest to students and researchers of diversity studies, organization research, human resource management, and industrial psychology as well as an important resource for corporate leadership and human resource and DEI departments in corporate organizations.
State-of-the-Art Indonesia Energy Transition: Empirical Analysis of Energy Programs Acceptance
by Dinita SetyawatiThis book discusses how people can come together to address current energy justice and access poverty problems by examining the relationship between energy systems and society in diverse energy sources. The novelty of this book is that this is the only complete guide for readers who wish to understand the status of Indonesia’s energy transition and renewable energy development. Energy programs that are explored are the ones prioritized by government administrations, including coal, nuclear power, solar energy, green electricity, and geothermal energy. Based on extensive fieldwork and empirical data, the book combines insights from historical data on energy subsidies and economic diversification, current empirical data on social acceptance of new energy technologies, and contemporary studies that forecast the implications of the transition to the coal industry and fossil fuel subsidies. It asks how Indonesia has enacted policies that support energy transition. How do the public and civil society view those policies? What are the implications for broader themes and discussions on energy sources, technology, systems, policies, and service? Strategies are suggested to advance a sustainable transition in the developing world that will mitigate developmental risks associated with the transition away from fossil fuels while encouraging decision making in a sustainable and socially just manner. This book is an informative and engaging read for a general audience as well as a valuable resource for scholars, researchers, and students in environmental and energy studies.
Tracing Contemporary Chinese Art: An Ethnographic Journey Through a Decade in Shanghai (Contemporary East Asian Visual Cultures, Societies and Politics)
by Isaac LeungThis book explores the author's ten-year ethnographic journey in different locations in Shanghai. His immersion in China’s art world is grounded in a topology of places and new ways of writing and deploying history today. The ethnographic approaches to experiencing, analysing and representing space offer a critical tool to explore a different version of realism invisible in the nominal art and art history paradigms. As the market and institutional norms are still being defined, this book also documents and analyses how individuals have strived to negotiate boundaries in the art world and thus create unique selfhood. Instead of conventional methods of periodisation and stylistic analysis, this book presents a historiographic strategy emphasising the philosophical significance of spatial realism to offer insights into history, subjectivities and political institutions.
On the Standardization of Chinese Legislative Language
by Xiaobo Dong Yafang ZhangBy integrating different research angles and methods of philosophy of law, sociology of law, applied linguistics, and legal translation, this book presents a groundbreaking approach to the non-standardization phenomenon in Chinese legislative language, unveils the underlying causes and adverse effects thereof, and provides potential principles, strategies, and methods to be followed in the standardization of Chinese legislative language. Divided into three parts, this book firstly talks about the fuzziness of language, addressing both the active and negative influences thereof on the legislation; secondly approaches the non-standardization phenomenon in Chinese legislative language from the perspective of philosophy of law; and thirdly offers a comprehensive studies on the standardization of Chinese legislative language, offering possible solutions to address the above-mentioned problems and promote the standardized development of law making. This book facilitates the legal practitioners, jurists, law students, legal translators as well as the non-experts to get a better understanding of the mechanism and process of legislation and improve their skills and capacities in apprehending and translating Chinese laws and regulations.
Applied Psychology Readings: Selected Papers from the Singapore Conference on Applied Psychology 2022
by Peter Macaulay Lee-Ming TanThis book is a compilation of the best papers presented at the 2022 edition of the Singapore Conference of Applied Psychology (SCAP), led by East Asia Research in Singapore in collaboration with the University of Derby in the UK and the Singapore University of Technology and Design. Chapters include research conducted by experts in the field of applied psychology from the Asia-Pacific region, and cover areas such as community and environmental psychology, psychotherapy and counseling, health, child and school psychology, and gender studies. The volume is of interest to educators, psychology researchers and practicing counselors.
Birthing in Unprecedented Times: Geographies of Risk in Birth Stories
by Nadia von Benzon Rebecca Whittle Jo Hickman-DunneThis book shines a light on the way in which risk – in and beyond childbirth – is highly contextual, and the way in which risk-management strategies can be understood as socially and materially constructed.
**Missing**: Becoming (Partially) Posthumanist (Children: Global Posthumanist Perspectives and Materialist Theories)
by Kathryn RileyThis book is situated in the simultaneous thinking (theory) and doing (action) of posthumanist performativity and new materialist methodologies to bring forth a multitude of stories that demonstrate co-constituted and co-implicated worldmaking practices.It is written in response to the fact that our Earth is at a critical juncture. As atmospheric temperatures rise and cast unprecedented and wide-spread social and ecological crises across the planet, social and ecological injustices and threats cannot be separated from globalising, neoliberal, capitalist, and colonial discourses that proliferate through anthropocentric and humancentric logics. Manifesting in binary classifications that position the human as separate from the Earth, and dominant categories of the human in hierarchies of power, such logics homogenise and institutionalise the field of environmental education and result in an over-emphasis on instrumentalist, technicist, and mechanistic teaching and learning practices.Exploring the affects emerging within, and between, an assemblage comprising Researcher/Teacher/Environmental Education Worldings, this book seeks to understand how the researcher makes sense of herself with/in the broader ecologies of the world; collaborative processes with an elementary-school teacher in Saskatchewan, Canada, as actualised through four co-created and co-implemented multisensory researcher/teacher enactments (Mindful Walking, Mapping Worlds, Eco-art Installation, and Photographic Encounters); and how the researcher/teacher organises themselves with Land-based pedagogies, environmental education curriculum policy, and wider discourses of Western education. This book does not propose a better way of teaching and learning in environmental education. Rather, showing how difference between categories is relationally bound, this book offers a conceptual (re)storying of human/Earth relationships in environmental education for social and ecological justice in these times of the Anthropocene.
Covid-19 Pandemic: Problems Arising in Health and Social Policy
by Christian AspalterThis book presents an overview of social problems and health problems that arose out of, or were flared up by, the global COVID-19 pandemic. It addresses most vital problems in developed and developing countries from literally around the world, by top country experts in their respective fields of study. The book debates first certain overall thematic topics and then analyzes a number of key country case studies. Apart from a set of key theme/problem-based chapters, the country case studies from major-hit countries in the world are yet another highlight of the book. They also feature, in addition to analyzing the pandemic and policy responses per se, one extra special focal point each. The book hence covers the core of most severe social problems, including health problems, that have been spurred or set off by the COVID-19 pandemic. An overall theory chapter that uses a global data analysis and a short theoretical appraisal on the 'human face' of the Pandemic is also offered at the beginning of book, to bring back humanity and human decency (i.e. decency of the human condition) into the scientific debate as well as policy making arena, which is utterly needed at this point of human development.