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Wholehearted School Leadership: Rewiring our Schools for Courage, Justice, Learning, and Connection
by Kathryn Fishman-WeaverRelationships are the heart of great teaching, great leadership, and our greatest predictor of achievement. This book provides you with the tools and a values-based framework to ensure you’re prioritizing learning relationships and rewiring your school for courage, justice, and connection! Each chapter includes strategies and reflective exercises to guide your leadership work. Written by an educational administrator and researcher with experiences in intercultural and technology-mediated contexts, this exciting new book provides a compelling vision for the complex and evolving landscape of schools. Refreshingly honest and relevant, this book will make you laugh, think, notice, and prioritize what matters most in schools – student and those who support them. It is a must-read title for school leaders and a powerful choice to read with your leadership team.
Other Backward Classes in India: Modernisation and Exclusion
by Simhadri Somanaboina Akhileshwari RamagoudThis book presents an exhaustive account of the development of movements, thoughts and policies of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in India. It discusses various facets of the OBC situation in India today along spatial and specific caste lines.A comprehensive work on the politics of identity and plurality of experiences of OBCs in India, this handbook: Scrutinises social deprivation, mobilisation, involvement of the state, public policies and programmes for development and indent formation of OBCs Studies specific communities and industries shaped by OBC communities, the impact of these businesses on the larger socio-political scene and their changing contours Sheds light on the lives of nomadic and denotified tribes, weaver communities, shepherding tribes, Dudekula/Noorbasha Muslims and other minority groups Showcases the impact of new media and globalisation on shaping OBC experiences in the contemporary society The companion to The Routledge Handbook of the Other Backward Classes in India, this book will be essential reading for scholars and researchers of exclusion and discrimination studies, diversity and inclusion studies, Global South studies, affirmative action, sociology, Indian political history, Dalit studies, political sociology, public policy, development studies and political studies.
Bayesian Meta-Analysis: A Practical Introduction
by Robert Grant Gian Luca Di Tanna"…this book is extremely timely…not just a technical exposition, but provides practical guidance about using different software platforms, as well as valuable advice about extracting summary statistics, eliciting prior information, communicating results, visualisation, and many other issues…reflects years of thoughtful experience, and should be of huge value to anyone faced with pooling studies into a coherent whole."~From the Foreword by Professor Sir David SpiegelhalterMeta-analysis is the statistical combination of previously conducted studies, often from summary statistics but sometimes with individual participant data. It is widespread in life sciences and is gaining popularity in economics and beyond. In many real-life meta-analyses, challenges in the source information, such as unreported statistics or biases, can be incorporated using Bayesian methods. Bayesian Meta-Analysis: A Practical Introduction provides an approachable introduction for researchers who are new to Bayes, meta-analysis, or both. There is an emphasis on hands-on learning using a variety of software packages.Key Features Introductory chapters assume no prior experience or mathematical training, and are aimed at non-statistical researchers Examples of basic meta-analyses in seven different software alternatives: BUGS, JAGS, Stan, bayesmeta, brms, Stata, and JASP Practical advice on extracting information from studies, eliciting expert opinions, managing project decisions, and writing up findings Discussion of specific problems, including publication bias, unreported statistics, and a mixture of study designs, with code examples Accompanying online blog and forum, with all code and data from the book, plus more translations to different software This book aims to bridge the gap between the researcher who wants to carry out tailored meta-analysis and the techniques they need, which have previously been available only in mathematically or computationally demanding publications.
The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century: A Celebration of Outstanding Travel Storytelling from Around the World
by Jessica VincentTravel writing mattersExplore the world through this beautiful collection of the finest travel writing published in British media in the 21st century - as judged by some of the most respected travel writers in the world: Levison Wood, Monisha Rajesh, Jessica Vincent and Simon WillmoreThe world has changed, but our desire to explore new places remains as strong as ever. The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century includes 30 outstanding travel stories published in British media over the last two decades, as chosen by some of the top names in travel writing today. Through travel's most talented storytellers, you'll face adversity along the Congo's raging River Lulua, make new friends aboard Iraq's night train, and embark on life-changing pilgrimages from India to Saudi Arabia.This book is an ode to travel and all that it offers, but it's also a celebration of a genre that brings the world closer to us. At its best, travel writing encourages empathy and inspires change. Join our award-winning writers in marvelling at the power and beauty of travel, and let them inspire you to fall in love with the world all over again.
Organized Crime and National Security in Spain: Challenges and Responses
by Andrés De CastroThis book offers an analysis of how organized crime operates in Spain and the security apparatus designed to contain it.Organized crime is currently one of the most serious security threats facing democratic societies. Despite its intense presence and the responses that states have articulated in recent decades, little attention has been paid to the measurement of the effectiveness of the means adopted to combat it. Thus, this volume delves into this issue and performs an analysis of the police dimension of the response to organized crime in Spain. Firstly, this volume describes the international phenomenon of organized crime and its evolution in Spain, and continues by analyzing the profile and the characteristics of the different police forces and their resources and capabilities. This book then discusses the consequences of the measures at international level, European Union level, and local level, in relation to other police forces. Finally, the volume addresses the legal and public policy efforts that Spanish Law Enforcement Agencies have made in supervising or regulating their own police forces, which is necessary to carry out a detailed analysis of the consequences on the presence and strength of organized crime in the structures, strategies and decisions that Spain adopted over the last decades. As a result, this book builds on and updates the previous work by international scholars and proposes an interesting methodology that can contribute to the advancement of security studies.This book will be of interest to students of organized crime, criminology, Spanish politics and security studies.
Artificial Intelligence and SMEs in Developing Economies (Routledge Studies in Development Economics)
by Tulus T.H. Tambunan Timilehin Olasoji OlubiyiArtificial Intelligence and SMEs in Developing Economies explores the emergence and application of Artificial Intelligence in developing economies. This is in response to the shift in Artificial Intelligence research towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the environmental problems and methods to solve them.Written by experts from around the globe from developing countries, the book contains a balance of theoretical and empirical chapters that explore Artificial Intelligence in the context of business. It focuses especially on integrating industry 5.0 where Artificial Intelligence plays a major role. The chapters include knowledge and applications for small businesses, ranging from disruptive Artificial Intelligence technologies to determinants of Artificial Intelligence adoption in SMEs from major developing economies such as Africa, Latin America and Asia. In the latter chapters, the book discusses the application of Artificial Intelligence, such as how to leverage it for sustainable and responsible small businesses, and the importance of appreciating in a business environment. This book is the first substantial study on Artificial Intelligence and the future of sustainable small businesses in emerging economies.It is a useful resource for academics and university students with interest in Artificial Intelligence and sustainable small businesses, specifically small business development. It is also a valuable read for policy makers and SME stakeholders.
Life Stories in Mughal India: Indo-Persian Biographies, 16th-18th centuries
by Shivangini TandonSituated at the intersections between history and literature, the book explores the life-stories written in the Mughal period to recover socio-cultural developments in the period. It focuses on the genre of life-stories and looks at the complex interactions between agency and the ruling structure in shaping historical formations.The biographical dictionaries explored in this book highlight the significance of the agency of political actors, and the strategies through which the aristocrats and the elites reproduced the political system. At the same time, these texts are also quite helpful in recovering processes through which the ordinary people, in routine, everyday forms negotiated with and contested the political system. Delving into the life-narratives preserved in the tazkiras or biographical compendia, this book looks at the household as a political formation and positions the aristocratic households as integral to the reproduction of imperial sovereignty. The work also delves into the world of emotions and argues for the need to draw linkages between political developments and shifts in emotions and affect.This book will be an essential resource for scholars and researchers of history especially early modern history, cultural studies, literature, sociology, South Asian history. It will also be of interest to those studying gender and political discourse in early modern South Asia.
Inside Psychosis: A clinical and therapeutic exploration of working on male and female acute psychiatric wards
by Helen L HolmesThis book offers an introductory overview of treatment of psychosis in inpatient acute ward settings, looking at both male and female wards. Taking a broadly psychoanalytic perspective, the book explores the organizational dynamics on male and female acute wards, exploring both patient and staff dynamics. Containing detailed case studies from across male and female psychiatric wards in London, the author sets out how psychoanalytic concepts, such as transference, questions of trauma, and issues of gender can shape both the presentation of psychosis and our understanding and treatment of it. The book then explores the part played by religion in psychosis and equips readers with ideas for future practice and training on psychosis. With clear guidance on how to understand and work with psychosis in an inpatient setting, and how many unconscious factors can affect patients and staff, this is key reading for psychiatrists, psychoanalysts and therapists, clinical psychologists, and other mental health professionals working in inpatient acute care and community settings.
IVF and Childlessness in Bangladesh: Constructions of Motherhood
by Mirza Taslima SultanaThis book examines motherhood and childlessness within the context of the emergence of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in Bangladesh. It studies the development of IVF procedures through a socio-economic and historical lens. The author delves into policy issues, the media representations of IVF, IVF advertisements, and looks at IVF clinics as sites for commercializing the hope of childless people. The book addresses the lack of regulation surrounding IVF procedures. It brings to the fore the dynamics of reproductive restraint and choice, as well as patterns of gender empowerment and control, which are at play within the norms, practices, and dynamics of Bangladeshi identities.Rich in ethnographic case studies, this book will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of public health, women’s health, gender studies, women’s studies, science and technology studies, sociology, medical anthropology, public policy, and South Asian studies.
Consumer Decision-Making, Analytics and AI (Routledge Studies in Marketing)
by John Harvey Andrew Smith Gavin Smith James Goulding Evgeniya Lukinova Roberto Mansilla Georgiana Nica-AvramMany decisions in our lives are decisions we make as consumers and buyers. Analytics- driven marketing underpinned by machine learning and AI has had a seismic impact on the execution of these decisions and on behavioural outcomes. This book dissects processes and issues at the heart of our emerging reality as human actors embedded in a system of exchange driven by fast-evolving technologies. It is a seminal work on a complex but urgent issue in social and behavioural science.Based on extant and emerging research, the book presents new evidence and innovative theoretical structures and concepts to explore how data analytics and AI can influence consumer thinking and behaviour. It synthesizes consumer research with the relevant literature on computational ‘thinking,’ human– computer interaction, AI, decision delegation and consumer analytics, linking them in a coherent fashion. The authors utilize original exhibits and real- world data in an accessible format to both engage and challenge the reader.This cutting- edge book is a must- read for scholars and upper- level students researching and studying marketing, consumer behaviour, AI, decision-making and behavioural science.
Limit States of Compressed Concrete Elements by Transverse Deformations
by Yuri Ribakov Iakov Iskhakov Ilya FrolovThe theoretical stress-strain model for compressed concrete (Iskhakov and Ribakov, 2018), is based on the structural phenomenon and requires no empirical coefficients. It includes such main parameters of concrete behavior as stresses and strains at the border between the elastic and non-elastic behavior, ultimate elastic strains and stresses and strains at the end of the post-peak region. Particular attention was focused on the descending branch of the stress-strain diagram and on concrete elastic and plastic potentials that are important for dynamic response of concrete element section and for concrete creep.The book presents experimental and numerical results confirming this model. It deals with experimental verification of theoretical models of cracking and failure scheme for cylindrical specimens. The importance of using transverse deformations for analysis of initiation and development of inelastic deformations under high loading rates is verified. The experimental and numerical results are in good agreement with the theoretical ones, which significantly reduces the number of empirical coefficients in compressed concrete elements design.
Introduction to Natural Language Processing: Exploring Techniques, Applications, and Challenges (River Publishers Series in Rapids in Computing and Information Science and Technology)
by Xiaochun Cheng Preethi Nanjundan Jossy P GeorgeThis book provides a thorough and comprehensive introduction to natural language processing (NLP), a critical field at the intersection of artificial intelligence and computational linguistics. It explores key techniques such as sentiment analysis, which enables the detection of emotional tone in text, machine translation, facilitating the conversion of text between languages, and named entity recognition (NER), which identifies and classifies entities like names, dates, and locations within text data.The book delves into deep learning advancements, particularly the use of neural networks such as transformers and recurrent models, which have revolutionized NLP applications. Readers will gain insights into how these models drive innovations in areas such as text classification, language generation, and speech recognition.In addition to technical concepts, the book also addresses the ethical considerations surrounding NLP, emphasizing the responsible use of AI technologies to mitigate issues like bias, misinformation, and privacy concerns. Practical case studies and real-world examples are included to illustrate how NLP is applied in various sectors, including healthcare, finance, and customer service.This book is an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and industry professionals seeking to understand the foundational concepts, cutting-edge advancements, and broader implications of NLP, equipping them with the knowledge to innovate and apply these technologies effectively in their respective fields.
International Causes of Hunger and Malnutrition: Food Insecurity and the Global Economy (Routledge Studies in Food, Society and the Environment)
by Francis AdamsThis book examines the international causes of hunger and malnutrition and reveals how critical elements of the global economy heighten food insecurity in the developing world.At present, over two billion people in the developing world do not have secure access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food. With the global population projected to rise to almost 10 billion by 2050, ensuring universal access to food will become increasingly urgent. The global community will need to redouble its efforts to effectively address the underlying causes of food insecurity. Within countries, a number of causes – poverty, poor governance, civil conflict, environmental decline - are immediately apparent and must be addressed to have any hope of lessening hunger and malnutrition. At the same time, a number of other factors well beyond national borders often constitute equal or greater obstacles to meeting the nutritional needs of all people. These factors are not nearly as visible and are largely outside the control of individual countries and local communities. This book examines how core elements of the global economy cause, prolong, and intensify food insecurity in the developing world. Emphasis is placed on agricultural trade, seed privatization, transnational land acquisitions, industrial fishing, and climate change. Understanding how these five factors impact the poorest communities in the poorest countries is essential for constructing an equitable, inclusive, and sustainable global food system that meets the nutritional needs of all people. By highlighting five major international causes of hunger and malnutrition, this book offers an alternate framework for understanding and combatting global food insecurity.This book will be of particular interest to students, scholars, and practitioners in the fields of global food security, international development, and global political economy.
Cambodian American Youth, Identity, and Schooling: Ethnographic Research
by Vichet ChhuonThis book examines how Cambodian American high school youth reconcile stereotypes, identities, and school opportunities and the ways these factors impact academic achievement and well-being, through ethnographic research.The backdrop for Cambodian American life is intimately embedded within how Asians and Asian Americans are imagined within U.S. society. This book argues that how Cambodian American students negotiate certain identities are in relation to perceived advantages associated with ethnic and panethnic labels across varying social contexts. It highlights how the embrace of the model minority stereotype can come at a psychological cost for Asian Americans including increased feelings of internalized racism. The chapters draw on ethnographic research collected across two years in one Southern California community. Through students’ own meaning-making, it shows readers how Cambodian American youth are simultaneously invisible and hyper-visible in their school and community, which shapes access to important identities and relationships. This work invites interrogation of the Asian American category itself and seeks to move the fields of Asian American and educational studies forward by critically examining not only how the model minority stereotype is constructed and imposed but also how it can be adopted and affirmed by Asian American youth themselves.Practitioners who work with marginalized and underrepresented students and students of courses such as Asian American studies, anthropology, cultural studies, and education and psychology will find this to be a helpful and enlightening text. The accessible and clear writing makes this book of interest to a general audience as well.
Many Ideas of Nationalism in India: Priorities and Challenges
by Bidyut ChakrabartyThis book is a comprehensive analysis of the many visions of nationalism and nationalist leadership that emerged during India’s struggle for independence. The volume examines key nationalist thinkers such as Aurobindo, Gandhi, Tagore, Nazrul, Savarkar, and Ambedkar. It delineates different strands of nationalism in the post-moderate phase of nationalist movement and discusses political emancipation, social emancipation, and ethnic emancipation.Accessibly written for students with a helpful overview of how nationalist thought emerged in India, this book will be of great interest to students of South Asian history and politics. It will also be helpful for civil service aspirants.
Building Trust in the Generative Artificial Intelligence Era: Technology Challenges and Innovations (Routledge Studies in Trust Research)
by Jerzy Gołuchowski Joanna Paliszkiewicz Kuanchin Chen Magdalena Mądra-SawickaIn an era where generative artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries and daily life, trust has become a cornerstone for its successful adoption and application. Building Trust in the Generative Artificial Intelligence Era: Technology Challenges and Innovations explores how trust can be built, maintained, and evaluated in a world increasingly reliant on AI technologies. Designed to be accessible to a broad audience, thi book blends theoretical insights with practical approaches, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of the topic.This book is divided into three parts. The first part examines the foundations of trust in generative AI, highlighting trends and ethical challenges such as "greenwashing" and remote work dynamics. The second part provides actionable frameworks and tools for assessing and enhancing trust, focusing on topics like cybersecurity, transparency, and explainability. The final section presents global case studies exploring university students' perceptions of ChatGPT, generative AI's applications in European agriculture, and its transformative impact on financial systems.By addressing both the opportunities and risks of generative AI, this book delivers groundbreaking insights for academics, professionals, and policymakers worldwide. It emphasizes practical solutions, ensuring readers gain the knowledge needed to navigate the evolving technological landscape and foster trust in transformative AI systems.
Bottom of the Class: Children’s Stories of Low Attainment in Primary School (Foundations and Futures of Education)
by Laura QuickThis book offers a much-needed look at the impact of our attainment-driven education system on those children considered ‘low attainers’. It reveals how difficult they find it to feel good about themselves, their capacity to learn and their futures, as well as shedding light on the role schools are playing in maintaining inequality and the illusion of meritocracy.At the heart of Bottom of the Class are the engaging and thought-provoking stories of four children whom the author followed through three years of primary school. Concerned with friendships, getting ‘told off’ and struggling with schoolwork, they are in some ways very ordinary. Yet, caught between competing messages about who they ‘ought’ to be and their fears of failure, they are also extraordinary, showing impressive courage, creativity and integrity in the way they navigate their paths through school.By bringing the voices of ‘low attainers’ into the centre of the debate around low attainment, this crucially important book is a must-read for anyone interested in educational inequality and school experience within education studies, policy studies, the sociology of education, initial teacher training and educational leadership.
Determinism, Causality and Explanation in Economics: An Austrian School Perspective (Routledge INEM Advances in Economic Methodology)
by Dawid MeggerIn recent years, the concepts of determinism, causality, and explanation have taken on particular importance in the economic literature. Due to the failures of economic predictions based on mathematical models, philosophers and economists turned their attention to methodological issues. At the same time, heterodox approaches to economics have received increased attention, including the Austrian school of economics, an intellectual tradition that perceives economics as a science of human action and has emphasised the role of causal explanations practically from its inception. This book opens by exploring disputes in the philosophy of science over the fundamental goal of science. While instrumentalists argue that scientists should aim at good predictions regardless of the veracity of theories, according to scientific realists, they should look for knowledge that reflects reality. The book shows that the Austrian tradition adheres to scientific realism and can be perceived as a middle ground between historicism and positivism. It discusses the determinism/free will problem in economics and its methodological relevance. Then, it examines various theories of causality (regularity, counterfactual, interventionist, probabilistic, and process/mechanistic) and their applicability to economics. Finally, it explores possible and desirable types of explanations in economics. As the book tries to show, the Austrian school offers a unique and valuable approach to these issues. The book will be of particular interest to readers in economic theory, philosophy of economics, and economic methodology, especially those appreciating heterodox traditions.
Intelligent Systems and Simulation: Mathematical and Environmental Modeling (Intelligent Data-Driven Technology for Sustainability)
by Ahmed J. Obaid Jyoti Sekhar Banerjee Sharadia Dey Sabyasachi Mondal Abhijit PaulThis book covers a wide range of topics such as mathematical modeling, computational methods, simulation techniques in engineering, and their applications in environmental sciences. It begins with an introduction to the fundamental concepts and principles of mathematical modeling with subsequent sections delving into various simulation techniques, including numerical methods, statistical modeling, and bio-mathematical modeling. It also explores the application of these techniques in addressing complex environmental problems.Features: Covers mathematical and computational modeling techniques for simulation in engineering, mathematical, and environmental domains Explores intelligent techniques and simulation methods to enhance accuracy and efficiency in modeling and simulation Includes practical applications and studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of techniques in real-world scenarios Incorporates pertinent newly developed methodologies and applications Discusses CFD software tools like Fortran, MATLAB®, and Mathematics This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students in computer engineering, applied mathematics, and applied ecology.
White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, Modernist Architecture, and Contemporary Preservation: Remaking the Past, Preserving Power (Interventions)
by Robert FlahiveThis book examines the afterlives of the built environment produced through early 20th-century settler colonialism. The author analyzes contemporary architectural preservationists’ narrative strategies to remake what were designed as racialized “European” zones – in opposition to “Indigenous” zones – as white cities through the documentation, preservation, and addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List. This book interrogates the fashioning of white cities through ethnographic methods with local architectural preservationists and primary sources, such as World Heritage Committee meeting notes and World Heritage List nomination files and inscription materials, in the preservation of built form in Asmara, Brasília, Casablanca, Rabat, and Tel Aviv.The book is aimed at scholars and students interested in the politics of the built environment, spatial politics, urban studies, architectural history, international relations, urban geopolitics, settler colonialism, international organizations, and the politics of commemoration.
Dermoscopy of the Hair and Nails 3e
by Antonella Tosti Andrea SechiThis new edition of a bestselling text almost amounts to a completely new book, with over 750 figures of common and uncommon disorders, including new chapters on trichoscopy of hair transplantation, teletrichoscopy, and trichoscopy of the shaved scalp. The chapters also list the key clues that are important to help the practitioner reach the correct diagnosis about problems with hair or nails."Numerous high-quality photos are helpful in demonstrating key features" (Doody’s Reviews) [of the previous edition]
An Analytical Exploration of Love and Narcissism: The Tragedy of Isolation and Intimacy
by Susan E. SchwartzThis book reflects the psychic wounds of narcissism from the perspective of Jungian analytical psychology. Oriented towards the richness and plurality of the psyche, it sheds light on clinical practice as well as the common and intricate issues of this personality type.Narcissism is described as a grandiose sense of self, exhibitionistic, needing reassurance, but suffering in disturbed relationships. The perspective of Jungian analytical psychology expands the symbolism within narcissism. Clinical examples, dreams, the myth of Narcissus and Echo, and basic Jungian concepts move us further into the psyche. Topics covered are: what narcissism is and why it’s misunderstood, and if narcissists are capable of love and their perfectionist burden. It explores how to forge knowledge and emotional transformation with a narcissist in clinical treatment and all relationships.Exploring this complex and intriguing phenomenon, the book will appeal to readers and therapists from various fields including psychoanalysis, general psychology, gender studies, culture, and sociology.
Getting to Nuclear Zero in Northeast Asia: The Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone as a Vehicle for Change (Asian Security Studies)
by Jae-Jung Suh Keiko Nakamura Gregory Kulacki Tatsujiro SuzukiThis book presents realistic alternatives to security policies based on nuclear weapons for the Northeast Asian region.Northeast Asian governments and populations feel less secure than ever, and the governments of the USA, Russia, China, and North Korea are all expending considerable resources on increasing their nuclear arsenals. This book presents realistic alternatives to security policies dependent on threats to use nuclear weapons and demonstrations of the resolve to use them in a war. Those alternatives are grounded in the well-established concept of common security. The long-term goal of these alternatives is the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Northeast Asia. This book demonstrates that lessons learned during the creation of existing nuclear-weapon-free zones can be successfully adapted, using the proposed alternatives to nuclear threats, to the considerably more challenging circumstances that exist in contemporary Northeast Asia. More importantly, it makes the case that the mere process of pursuing this objective, even if the goal is not realized for many decades, would help facilitate regional risk-reduction measures and global nuclear arms control measures that could lead, in the long term, to the general and complete disarmament promised by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) of 2021. This book will be of interest to students of nuclear proliferation, Asian security, foreign policy, and International Relations.
Independent Music in Russia: Escapism, Patriotism and Protest (2008-2022) (BASEES/Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies)
by Marco BiasioliThis book explores Russian independent music – nezavisimaia muzyka – in a time of profound transformations in Russian society, looking especially at the mutual influence between music and the socio-political context in which it was created. Contrary to what is commonly believed, the book argues that nezavisimaia muzyka, as a widespread form of non-state-sponsored culture, was not necessarily oppositional to the Russian state; instead, it was rooted in identity quests that could overlap with some aspects of the official narrative as they could mock, disrupt and refashion others.The book demonstrates that Russian independent music is considerably more than the creation, appreciation and dissemination of sounds. For the practitioners, to get involved in the scene is to participate in the construction of cultural legitimacy, imagined communities and national identity, involving values that can be cosmopolitan, “Western”, conservative, supposedly “Russian” and often a mixture of all these. In addition, the book examines Russian independent music’s interaction with Western and global trends and assesses its successes and failures in conquering a niche in foreign markets.This book will be of interest to scholars of Russian culture, media and politics, as well as to scholars of popular music, sociology, national identity and Russia-West relations.
National Role Conception and Neoclassical Realism: A Synthetic Exploration of the Sino-Soviet Alignment (Role Theory and International Relations)
by Guangyi PanDespite China’s alignment with Russia being one of the most significant factors shaping the international order, the dynamics of their historic relationships and, more importantly, the sources of China’s alignment policy remain underexplored. In this book, National Role Conception and Neoclassical Realism, a synthetic exploration into the Sino-Soviet alignment, Guangyi Pan investigates this question by analysing the changes in China’s national role conception from a cross-level perspective.Adding value to existing scholarly works on China’s decision-making logic, he examines two critical and dramatic moments in the history of Beijing’s alignment policy towards Moscow: the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s and the normalisation in the 1980s. Based on massive historic documents and archives, he argues that the evolution of Beijing’s approach to aligning with Moscow results from its changing perception of China’s role in the world platform, especially its role relationship with the Soviet Union. The fundamental logic lies in how China positions itself, with the Soviet Union long serving as a mirror reflecting Beijing’s desired roles during pivotal transformations. By developing a more rigorous and coherent framework to analyse role conceptions, Guangyi Pan explores unit-level factors – including leader images, elite cohesion and political culture – alongside the impact of systemic stimuli. This approach constructs the complex process of role formation, evolution, performance and policy outcomes, offering a comprehensive understanding of China’s alignment with Russia throughout modern history.Aimed primarily at scholars whose research fields include international relations theory, the Cold War history and politics of China, National Role Conception and Neoclassical Realism may also be of interest to foreign policymakers, students and political history enthusiasts.