This new and extended edition of Chinese: An Essential Grammar is an up-to-date and concise reference guide to modern Chinese (Mandarin) grammar. Refreshingly jargon-free, it presents an accessible description of the language, focusing on the real patterns of use today. This Grammar aims to serve as a reference source for the learner and user of Chinese, irrespective of level, setting out the complexities of the language in short, readable sections. It is ideal either for independent study or for students in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types. Features include: Three new chapters on speech habits, writing conventions and new lexicalisation processes Chinese characters, as well as the pinyin romanisation, alongside all examples Literal and colloquial translations into English to illustrate language points Detailed contents list and index for easy access to information A glossary of grammatical terms.

Published annually, this 23rd edition brings together a unique combination of the latest data on, and detailed analysis of, a vast region. Scrupulously updated by Europa's experienced editors, the volume also includes contributions from regional specialists. New for 2015: - new essays detailing Latin America's burgeoning relationship with the People's Republic of China and examining the geopolitics of energy in the Caribbean - analysis of all recent elections in the region, including the re-election of Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia and the changes of government in the Central American countries of Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama - completely revised articles on political change in Latin America, violence and insecurity in Mexico, reassessing the war on drugs in Latin America and natural hazards in the Caribbean General Survey Essays written by acknowledged experts on the area provide an impartial overview of the region. Country surveys Individual chapters on each country, comprising: - essays on the geography, recent history and economy of each country - a statistical survey - a full directory section - a select bibliography. Regional Information A directory of research institutes and bibliographies of books and journals covering Latin America and the Caribbean.

Exhaustively researched and updated, South Asia 2015 is an in-depth library of information on the countries and territories of this vast world region. New for 2015: - a new essay examining gender-based inequalities in South Asian development, and a new article on the economy of Nepal - a section dedicated to Telangana, India's newest state - detailed coverage of political developments following highly significant elections in India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Nepal. General Survey Essays by specialists examine issues of regional importance, including: - the USA's 'AfPak' strategy, population and environmental issues, security issues, the politics of water and political Islam. Country Surveys Individual chapters on each country, containing: - essays on the geography, recent history and economy of each nation - up-to-date statistical surveys of economic and social indicators - a comprehensive directory providing contact details and other useful information for the most significant political and commercial institutions. In addition, there are separate sections covering each of the states and territories of India. Regional Information - detailed coverage of international organizations and their recent activities in South Asia - information on research institutes engaged in the study of the region - a survey of the major commodities of South Asia - bibliographies of relevant books and periodicals. Additional features - a Calendar of Political Events charts key developments in 2013-14 - biographical profiles of almost 300 prominent individuals in the region.

This book examines the law and its practice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The objective is to understand the logic of the legal system in the UAE through a rounded analysis of its laws in context. It thus presents an understanding of the system on its own terms beyond the accepted Western model. The book shows how the Emirati law differs from the conventional rule of law. The first section of the book deals with the imperial, international, and cultural background of the Emirati legal system and its influences on some of the elements of the legal system today. It maps the state's international legal obligations according to core human rights treaties showing how universal interpretations of rights may differ from Emirati interpretations of rights. This logic is further illustrated through an overview of the legal system, in federal, local, and free zones and how the UAE's diversity of legal sources from Islamic and colonial law provides legal adaptability. The second section of the book deals mainly with the contemporary system of the rule of law in the UAE but at times makes a detour to the British administration to show how imperial execution of power during the British administration created forerunners visible today. Finally, the debut of the UAE on the international scene contributed to an interest in human rights investigations, having manifestations in UAE law. The work will be a valuable resource for researchers and academics working in the areas of Comparative Constitutional Law, Legal Anthropology, Legal Pluralism, and Middle Eastern Studies.

This book places the palace library within the framework of the multifaceted cultural and scientific activities in the era of the caliphs, Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun, generally regarded as the Golden Age of Islamic civilization.

This book is a timely exploration of an unprecedented, cataclysmic pandemic episode. It examines certain critical aspects of socio-scientific theory across a variety of diverse themes, and through an epistemic lens. The book investigates the general theory of pandemic episodes and their adverse long-term effects on human and environmental wellbeing. It includes an in-depth study of COVID-19 but also looks to the future to contemplate potential pandemics to come. The existing approach to the study of pandemics is critically examined in terms of the prevalent isolated and thus mutated way of viewing human and mechanical relations in the name of specialization and modernity. The book presents a novel model of science-economy-society moral inclusiveness that forms a distinctive theoretical approach to the issue of normalizing all forms of pandemic challenges. It is methodologically different from existing economic theory, including the critical study of microeconomic foundations of macroeconomics. Human and environmental existence along with its multidisciplinary outlook of unity of knowledge between modernity, traditionalism, and socio-cultural values is emphasized in the treatment and cure of pandemic episodes. The book is a unique reference work, offering fresh wisdom within the moral methodological worldview.

- Engaging and critical analysis of current and historical economic policies and their implications for the American population and growing inequality. - Wide range of empirical and quantitative facts and journalistic reporting both illustrate the authors' arguments and lend a balanced, credible view at American society. - New edition provides a more well-rounded discussion of inequality and social class by incorporating nuances of race and gender into the framework of their sociological and economic arguments.

Literature after Fukushima examines how aesthetic representation contributes to a critical understanding of the 3.11 triple disaster - the Great East Japan earthquake, tsunami, and multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Through an examination of key works in the expanding corpus of 3.11 literature the book explores how the disaster-both its immediate aftereffects and its continued unfolding-reframed discourse in various areas such as trauma studies, eco-criticism, regional identity, food safety, civil society, and beyond. Individual chapters discuss aspects of these perspectival shifts, tracing the reshaping of Japanese identity after the triple disaster. The cultural productions explored offer a glimpse into the public imaginary and demonstrate how disasters can fundamentally redefine our individual and shared conception of both history and the present moment. Literature after Fukushima is the first English-language book to provide an in-depth analysis of such a wide range of representative post-3.11 literature and its social ramifications. Contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the post-disaster climate of Japanese society and adding new perspectives through literary analysis, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of Japanese and Asian Studies, Literary Studies, Environmental Humanities, as well as Cultural and Transcultural Studies.

This book presents several perspectives on the COVID-19 crisis as it impacted the United States, focusing on policies, practices, and patterns. It considers the relationship between government policies and neo-liberalism, (anti)federalism, economies of scale, and material culture. The COVID-19 crisis became the primary current event in the United States in March 2020 and continued for several years. In the early days of the crisis, the United States lacked a cohesive, comprehensive approach to combating its spread. As a result, the pandemic was experienced differently in different parts of the United States and at different scales. The chapters in this volume include both quantitative and qualitative explorations of the pandemic as it occurred in the United States. Collectively, they help the reader to better understand this geographically salient issue and provide lessons to learn from so as to improve upon responses to crises in the future. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of Geography, Sociology, Political Science, and Economics with an interest in United States and the socio-political effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Geographical Review.

As a newcomer to tourism, China has amazed the world with its rapid growth of inbound, outbound, and domestic tourism. Tourists from the Greater China area (Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) are well positioned to change the world s tourism landscape. Influence of China in the global tourism arena will be even more significant with the realization of WTO s vision of Mainland China as a top world tourism destination and tourists-generating country by 2020. The preeminent role of Chinese travellers in the social space of tourism has stimulated much interest in understanding their behaviors and psychology in various tourism settings. The chapters in this collection investigate different aspects of Chinese consumer behaviors and psychology in tourism settings.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the "Journal of China Tourism Research.""

This book explores the world of religion, spirituality and secularity among the Millennial generation in the United States and Canada, with a focus on the ways Millennials are doing (non)religion differently in their social lives compared with their parents and grandparents. It considers the influences exercised on the (non)religious and spiritual landscapes of young adults in North America by the digital age, precarious work, growing pluralism, extreme individualism, environmental crisis, advanced urbanism, expanded higher education, emerging adulthood, and a secular age. Based on extensive primary and secondary quantitative data, complemented with high-quality qualitative research, including interviews and focus groups, this book offers cross-national comparisons between the United States and Canada to highlight the impact of different social environments on the experience of religion, spirituality and secularity among the continent's most numerous generation. As such, it will appeal to scholars of religion and sociology, with interests in religious and societal change as well as in religious practice among young adults.

Zhang analyses the phenomenon of private supplementary tutoring from a global perspective. The expansion of such tutoring alongside schooling is among the striking global shifts since the turn of the century. In many countries over half of the relevant cohorts of children receive private tutoring, with that proportion in some locations exceeding 80%. The sector has far-reaching implications for social inequalities, (in)efficiencies in educational processes, study burdens on students, family finances, innovation, and employment. Yet greatly-needed government regulations have typically been slow to catch up with the phenomenon. Commentary in the volume juxtaposes countries with strong regulations with counterparts having weak regulations. Conceptually, the book considers forces changing the roles of multiple stakeholders, including governments, entrepreneurs, teachers, families and students. A useful read for students and researchers interested in comparative education and governance.

• Presents a critical and intersectional examination of gang life • Assists researchers who wish to utilize a progressive, critical, and intersectional approach to study the impacts of gangs • Uniquely contextualizes the lived experiences of gang members

* Draws on a unique pool of data to provide a national-level picture of the policing operational environment in Canada * Addresses police reform in response the "wicked problems" of mental health, addiction, homelessness, and missing persons, which are ongoing in Canada as well as other nations around the world * Offers an often-ignored Canadian perspective on the challenges of police reform

This timely and significant book explores the characteristics and complexities of Asian urban tourism, considering the extent to which Western paradigms can be transferred to Asian settings and the striking contrasts that exist within the region. In an era of unprecedented urban expansion in Asian cities, this book comes at a time of great urgency, illuminating the possible problems and opportunities that arise when a destination emerges as a tourism hotspot. Split into three parts; introducing Asian urban tourism and urbanization, the management and marketing of Asian cities, and emerging trends and issues associated with Asian urban tourism, the book offers a range of varying and vibrant perspectives from international and interdisciplinary experts in the field. Chapters include studies on a wide range of destinations such as Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia, Phuket, Kolkata, Busan, Delhi, and Sri Lanka among many others, and explore crucial contemporary themes such as overtourism, urbanization and administrative challenges, world heritage, smart cities and the use of technologies such as VR in urban tourism experience creation. It will be a vital resource for upper-level students, researchers, and academics in tourism, city tourism, Asian studies, development studies, cultural studies, and sustainability, as well as professionals in the field of tourism management.

This biography of Candida Xu (1607-1680), granddaughter of the prominent Chinese Christian convert and statesman Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) and foremost Chinese Christian woman of the seventeenth century, is based on the biography of Candida Xu titled Histoire d'une dame chretienne de la Chine (Paris, 1688) written by her confessor Philippe Couplet, S.J. (1623-1693), an obituary of his mother and other writings by her eldest son, and the Xu family history. Using these as well as other relevant European missionary and Chinese language sources, Candida Xu's life as daughter, wife, mother, and generous contributor to the Christian Church is recounted. Events in her life are set in the context of historical and religious circumstances in China at the time. Consideration of the situation of women, particularly Christian women, draws out how Candida Xu's faith helped her and other believing Christian women to gain greater freedom of choice and action.

Malaysia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world today, and this book reflects current debates about the future directions of the national economy, polity and society in light of the late 1990s watershed period of financial crisis, the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim and the subsequent 1999 general election. Malaysian Economics and Politics in the New Century aims to answer questions about how the economy and society are organized, about how the benefits from economic development are distributed, about government's relations to major national institutions, and about the nature of the political process. With its focus firmly on Malaysia's future, this will be a volume of particular interest to scholars, academics, researchers, business leaders and policymakers involved in the Asian region, and Malaysia in particular.

Chambers, Nuangjamnong, and their contributors look at how the development of the beer industry in East Asia presents a unique opportunity for understanding the region's political economy. Asia is both the world's largest beer-consuming and beer-producing region, and the fastest growing beer market. Per-capita consumption is lower than Europe, but catching up fast. Beer consumption is also widely understood to correlate closely with economic growth and urbanization, much more so than other alcoholic beverages like spirits. With ten country case studies from both Northeast and Southeast Asia, the contributors to this volume look at the history of beer production and consumption across East Asia through a lens of historical institutionalism and political economy. In doing so they not only examine the development of the beer industry in the region but also what it tells us about the countries themselves. They ask questions such as: To what extent have state versus societal actors influenced the path of beer production? How has beer production changed? Was there a critical juncture at which beer production abruptly changed course? A valuable resource for students and scholars of modern East Asian History, and particularly those with a focus on colonial history, industrial history, and state-society relations.

Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage explores the construction of "authenticity" and its consequences in relation to Chinese cultural heritage - those objects, texts, and intangible practices concerned with China's past. Including contributions from scholars around the world reflecting on a range of different materials and time periods, Understanding Authenticity emphasizes the situatedness and fluidity of authenticity concepts. Attitudes towards authenticity change over time and place, and vary between communities and object types, among stakeholders in China as they do elsewhere. The book examines how "authenticity" relates to four major aspects of cultural heritage in China - Art and Material Culture; Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation; Living and Intangible Heritage; and Texts and Manuscripts - with individual contributions engaging in a critical and interdisciplinary conversation that weaves together heritage management, art history, archaeology, architecture, tourism, law, history, and literature. Moving beyond conceptual issues, the book also considers the practical ramifications for work in cultural heritage management, museums, and academic research. Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage provides an opportunity for reflection on the contingencies of authenticity debates - not only in relation to China, but also anywhere around the world. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in a variety of fields, including heritage studies, Asian studies, art history, museum studies, history and archaeology.

The objective of Arab Criminology is to establish a criminological sub-field called 'Arab Criminology.' The ever-evolving field of criminology has advanced in the past decade, yet many impediments remain. Unlike criminology in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania based merely on geopolitical constructs, the Arab world has unique commonalities that do not exist in the other established sub-fields on criminology. The Arab world has largely remained in criminology's periphery despite the region's considerable importance to current international affairs. In response, this book explores two main questions: Why should we and how do we establish a sub-field in Arab Criminology? The authors examine the state of criminology in the Arab world, define its parameters, and present four components that bond and distinguish Arab criminology from other criminological area studies. They then identify the requirements for establishing Arab criminology and detail how local, regional, and international researchers can collaborate, develop, and expand the sub-field. Arab Criminology will challenge some of the recurrent Orientalist and Islamophobic tropes in Northern criminology and progress the discipline of criminology to reflect a more diverse focus that embraces regions from the Global South. Presenting compelling arguments and examples that support the establishment of this sub-field, Arab Criminology will be of great interest to Criminology, Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, and Middle Eastern/North African studies scholars, particularly those working on Southern Criminology, Comparative Criminology, International Criminal Justice Systems, and Arab studies.

• This new edition has been fully revised to include chapter summaries for students new to medieval sexuality, material from eastern Europe and the Islamic World, gender fluidity and trans identity have been added, the latest work on slavery has been included and lastly the discussion of sex work and how this was defined has been revised, all of these updates offer students additional lenses through which they can see the nuances of medieval attitudes towards sex and sexuality. • Provides a broad survey of sexuality in medieval Europe covering a wide scope, chronologically, geographically, and includes material from Christianity, Judaism and Islam allowing students to see comparisons and differences across countries and centuries. • Written in an engaging way for 2 and 3 year undergraduate and postgraduate students, it guides students through the complex topic whilst introducing the historiography and sources from the period. An all-round textbook for medieval history students.

Situated within an emerging academic interest in documentary film in the Middle East and North Africa, this book studies the development of diverse documentary forms in relation to revolutionary and emancipatory movements that took place across the twentieth century in the so-called Arab World. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s image of a “rhizome,” the author takes a de-territorialized approach to revolutionary filmmaking, embracing the diversity and fluidity of revolutionary works in the “Arab World.” As well as outlining the documentary film histories of the main film-producing nations of the region – Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco – the book analyzes the formal and esthetic features of individual works in relation to specific socio-political historical developments. Topics addressed include de-colonization, the wars of liberation, the Tricontinental movement, the Palestinian question, the Rif Uprising, the Leaden and Black Years, civil war in Lebanon, the recent Arab revolutions, state authoritarianism and totalitarianism, gender, collectivism and political subjectivity. Ultimately, the book contributes to a general theory of revolutionary documentary film forms by studying the works of consecutive periods from different ideological contexts. The book is much-needed reading for students and academics interested in film and media studies and the history, culture and politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

This book opens a new research field in Balkan contextual theology. By embracing culturally rich traditions of the Western Balkans as its starting point, it explores their existential and theological bearings. Placed at the crossroads of civilisations and religions, this region has witnessed some of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. At the same time, it has produced unique textures of inter-cultural life. The volume addresses some of the most poignant phenomena endemic to the region, such as sevdalinka music, intimate forms of neighborhood, archetypes of 'sacred warriors,' the experience of democratic jet lag, collective melancholy, and intergenerational trauma. As the first book of this nature, it aims to encourage further development of contextual theological thinking in the region and promote its international reception.

Rivals in the Gulf: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Abdullah Bin Bayyah, and the Qatar-UAE Contest Over the Arab Spring and the Gulf Crisis details the relationships between the Egyptian Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and the Al Thani royal family in Qatar, and between the Mauritanian Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah and the Al Nahyans, the rulers of Abu Dhabi and senior royal family in the United Arab Emirates. These relationships stretch back decades, to the early 1960s and 1970s respectively. Using this history as a foundation, the book examines the connections between Qaradawi's and Bin Bayyah's rival projects and the development of Qatar's and the UAE's competing state-brands and foreign policies. It raises questions about how to theorize the relationships between the Muslim scholarly-elite (the ulama) and the nation-state. Over the course of the Arab Spring and the Gulf Crisis, Qaradawi and Bin Bayyah shaped the Al Thani's and Al Nahyan's competing ideologies in important ways. Offering new ways for academics to think about Doha and Abu Dhabi as hegemonic centers of Islamic scholarly authority alongside historical centers of learning such as Cairo, Medina, or Qom, this book will appeal to those with an interest in modern Islamic authority, the ulama, Gulf politics, as well as the Arab Spring and its aftermath.

This book analyzes the specifics of corporate governance of China's State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and their assessment under EU merger control, which is reflected in the EU Commission's screening of the notified economic concentrations. Guided by the going global policy and the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese SOEs have expanded their global presence considerably. Driven by the need to acquire cutting edge technologies and other industrial policy considerations, Chinese SOEs have engaged in a series of corporate acquisitions in Europe. The main objective of this book is to demonstrate the conceptual and regulatory challenges of applying traditional merger assessment tools in cases involving Chinese SOEs due to the specifics in their corporate governance and the regulatory framework under which they operate in China. The book also explores the connection between the challenges experienced by the merger control regimes in the EU and the recent introduction of the EU foreign direct investment screening framework followed by a proposal concerning foreign subsidies. The book will be a useful guide for academics and researchers in the fields of law, international relations, political science, and political economy; legal practitioners dealing with cross-border mergers and acquisitions; national competition authorities and other public bodies carrying out merger control; policy makers, government officials, and diplomats in China and the EU engaged in bilateral economic relations.