This book offers an intimate and personal look at what China's poverty alleviation has meant for individuals. The dramatic progress in reducing poverty in China over the past three decades is well known. According to the World Bank, more than 500 million people were lifted out of extreme poverty as China's poverty rate fell from 88 percent in 1981 to 6.5 percent in 2012. Behind this statistic are the millions of families in rural China who have moved from extreme poverty to a more comfortable way of life in modern China. This is the story of four generations of one such family. Grandma Zhen and her eight children have faced the hardship of war, the great famine of 1958-1960, the Cultural Revolution of 1967-1977 and Opening-up and Reform. They have had to adjust to a rapidly changing culture that has affected all aspects of their lives, including marriage, the one-child policy, and education. Through incredible endurance and hard work, they have not only survived, but thrived. This book will be of value to anthropologists, developmental economists, sinophiles, and more.

Globalization, Urbanization, and Civil Society is an interdisciplinary compilation of chapters concerning civil society in the global geopolitical context. The establishment of civil society is essential for urbanism and the global community because it is the sense and essence of development concerning what humankind is, as a collective entity on the globe. This thought-provoking book covers the multidimensional aspects, issues, challenges, and consequences of geopolitics and globalization on civil society, including freedom in the public sphere, alienation, neo-fascism, social cohesion, racial inequality, political narcissism, political-economic exceptionalism, Islamic radicalism, social justice, and resistance. The author brings a fresh and essentially non-Western critical perspective to bear on the fundamental challenges faced by civil society as a result of the globalization of corporate capitalism in the Digital Age, as well as providing a rich perspective on colonialism. This book will appeal to scholars and graduate students of geopolitics and globalization, global development, sociology, international relations, cultural studies, psychology, and philosophy, as well as practitioners and policymakers who are interested in interdisciplinary approaches in the field of global studies.

Taxation and Inequality in Latin America takes a heterodox political economy approach, focusing on Latin America, where current problems of taxation have existed for a century and great wealth contrasts with abject poverty. The book analyzes the relation of natural resource wealth, allocational politics and the limited role of taxation for redistribution, and progressive resource mobilization. By drawing on the political economy of tax regimes, the book considers the specific conditions of taxation in Latin America, which apply to a large part of the Global South and more than 100 countries specializing in the extraction and export of raw materials. This book will cover: taxation and the dominance of raw material export sectors; taxation and allocational politics; new perspectives on political economy and tax regimes. Scholars and advanced students of political economy, political science, development studies, and fiscal sociology will find several key issues in tax research from a novel angle. The book provides an analytical orientation that relates central questions of taxation to patterns of regional political economy, thereby opening up the debate with tax scholars from other world regions of the Global South.

This book examines the changing roles and functions of the soybean throughout world history and discusses how this reflects the complex processes of agrofood globalization. The book uses a historical lens to analyse the processes and features that brought us to the current global configuration of soy. From its origins as a peasant food in ancient China, today the protein-rich soybean is by far the most cultivated biotech crop on Earth, used to make a huge variety of food and industrial products, including animal feed, tofu, cooking oil, soy sauce, biodiesel and soap. While there is a burgeoning amount of literature on how the contemporary global soy web affects large tracts of our planet’s social and ecological systems, little attention has been given to the questions of how we got here and what alternative roles the soybean has played in the past. This book fills this gap and demonstrates that it is impossible to properly comprehend the contemporary global soybean chain, or the wider agrofood system of which it is a part, without looking at both their long and short historical development. However, a history of the soybean and its changing roles within equally changing agrofood systems is inexorably a history about globalization. Not only does this book map out where soybeans are produced, but also who governs, wields power and accumulates capital in the entire commodity chain from production to consumption, as well as identifying the institutional context the global commodity chain operates within. The book concludes by considering the soybean’s future role in a desirable agrofood system which improves human health, culture and livelihoods, and the provision of ecosystem services. This book is essential reading for students and scholars interested in agriculture and food systems, global commodity chains, globalization, environmental history, economic history and social-ecological systems.

This book explores how to tackle the challenges of urbanization through international lessons in sustainable development and smart growth strategies. As readers will discover, smart growth offers an approach to urbanization with the aim to: improve the efficiency of land use, protect the natural and cultural environment, promote economic prosperity and improve the quality of life. Authors address various challenges experienced in China, including deepening regional imbalances, an aging population, wholesale environmental degradation and traffic congestion. China's official long-term urbanization plan sets many challenges for urban planners, these range from implementation of the plan and financing, to protection of vulnerable groups and social justice. This book brings readers up to date on the use of big data and modern technologies such as geographic information system technology (GIS). The work encompasses themes of environmental planning, community development, cultural heritage preservation, land use and transportation, urban studies, climate change, housing and community development, infrastructure planning, disaster planning and social equity. Authors present the very latest theories and practices of smart growth and offer many valuable insights to urban planners and scholars, as well as policy makers.

This book explores how community influences civic engagement, focusing on the case of Ghana. It offers an interdisciplinary perspective to those studying psychology, political development and civic engagement in African countries. Previous research has shown that the social and economic context in which an individual interacts influences their political behaviors and attitudes, and that personal characteristics account for differences in political behavior and attitudes. This work moves away from the cultural demographics of a person, which often take center stage in existing investigations of partisan political behavior in the African context, and addresses the following five questions: (1) To what extent do individual traits influence civic engagement in Ghana? (2) To what extent is community identity similar or different in small rural villages versus large metropolitan areas in Ghana and how does community identity influence civic engagement? (3) To what extent does trust influence civic engagement in Ghana? (4) What factors and activities influence political knowledge and how does political knowledge influence civic engagement? (5) What is the status of women in civic engagement?

This book distinguishes conceptually between indigenous and constructed social capital and the associated spontaneous and induced collective action for rural development and natural resource preservation. While some of the case studies in this book show that induced collective action can lead to cost-effective, community-centric and empirically grounded rural development initiatives, other case studies show that spontaneous collective action, based on indigenous social capital, can result in resource preservation, positive development outcomes, and resistance to the excesses engendered by conventional development. The authors also explore a hybrid form whereby spontaneous collective action is given a more effective and sustainable shape by an outside organization with experience of induced collective action. Exploring alternative community-centric paths to development, especially those attuned with sustainability imperatives, is part of a global search for solutions. While the volume draws on the Pakistani case, the problem with conventional development approaches and the need for complementary alternatives is not unique to only this country; and the volume has broader relevance to students and researchers across the fields of social policy and development.

This fully revised and expanded new edition provides a short and accessible introduction to how climate change is governed by an increasingly diverse range of actors, from civil society and business actors to multilateral development banks, donors, and cities. The issue of global climate change has risen to the top of the international political agenda. Despite ongoing contestation about the science informing policy, the economic costs of action and the allocation of responsibility for addressing the issue within and between nations, it is clear that climate change will continue to be one of the most pressing and challenging issues facing humanity for many years to come. The book: Evaluates the role of states and non-state actors in governing climate change at multiple levels of political organization: local, national, and global Provides a discussion of theoretical debates on climate change governance, moving beyond analytical approaches focused solely on nation-states and international negotiations Examines a range of key topical issues in the politics of climate change Includes multiple examples from both the north and the global south Providing an inter-disciplinary perspective drawing on geography, politics, international relations, and development studies, this book is essential reading for all those concerned not only with the climate governance but with the future of the environment in general.

Provides the ‘how to’ for international practitioners doing business in the Middle East. A clear and comprehensive approach takes the reader through the different aspects of business that are recognisable globally but nuanced for the Middle East context. Written by leading authors in the field, the book draws on research rather than conjecture.

• Most business schools use case studies to teach students how to apply concepts in practice, and this case-based textbook applies the case study method to the South Asian business context. • Each case study is complemented by reflective questions, references, further reading and activities, as well as teaching notes for lecturers available online. • Features over 20 concise case studies edited by a renowned case study author and lecturer, covering the key trends in South Asian business from countries across the region.

Covers climate change fundamentals and its impact on different ecosystems and natural disasters Describes non-renewable energy aspects like fossil fuel, coal, oil, natural gas and so forth Explores sustainable development in terms of environment, social and economic aspects Includes species diversity and loss, agriculture productivity, water resources scarcity, health and environmental, rise in sea level and coastal area submergence Illustrates scientific hybridization of traditional ecological knowledge for enhancing climate change adaptation

• Most business schools use case studies to teach students how to apply concepts in practice, and this case-based textbook applies the case study method to the South Asian business context. • Each case study is complemented by reflective questions, references, further reading and activities, as well as teaching notes for lecturers available online. • Features over 20 concise case studies edited by a renowned case study author and lecturer, covering the key trends in South Asian business from countries across the region.

This volume analyzes the global challenges of food security, land use changes, and climate change impacts on food production in order to recommend sustainable development policies, anticipate future food services and demands, and identify the economic benefits and trade-offs of meeting food security demands and achieving climate change mitigation objectives. The key points of analysis that form the conclusions of this book are based on measuring the quantity and quality of land and water resources, and the rate of use of sustainable management of these resources in the context of socio-economic factors, including food security, poverty, and climate change impacts. In six parts, readers will learn about these crucial dimensions of the affects of climate change on food security, and will gain a better understanding of how to assess the trade-offs when combating multiple climate change challenges and how to develop sustainable solutions to these problems. The book presents multidimensional perspectives from expert contributors, offering holistic and strategic approaches to link knowledge on climate change and food security with action in the form of policy recommendations, with a focus on sociological and socio-economic components of climate change impacts. The intended audience of the book includes students and researchers engaged in climate change and food security issues, NGOs, and policy makers.

The Nigerian state has been oil-rich for decades, and yet perennially incapable of converting its oil resources into wealth for ordinary Nigerians. Adeoye O. Akinola tackles this "vexed" oil question by examining the political economy of efforts to deregulate the Nigerian downstream oil industry. Focusing on themes of globalization and democratization, this book considers how a resource-rich developing country like Nigeria can exploit the opportunities of globalization and navigate the pressures of democratization and the challenges of liberalization. Pairing sophisticated theoretical frameworks with firsthand accounts from actors in the oil industry, this book identifies the root causes of Nigeria's development struggles and offers practical policy solutions for successfully deregulating the oil sector. For public officials and policymakers as well as researchers, this book offers a critical new lens on the future of natural resource management in Nigeria and the Global South.

This book, written decades into the HIV epidemic, reflects critically on the idea that the socially excluded populations often focused on in HIV research are in fact difficult to access and reach. The author broadly applies the concept 'hard to reach' to characterize populations that researchers find difficult to engage with. Social factors that produce marginalization and ultimately result in people choosing not to engage in research are not captured by the concept of 'hard to reach'. Limited attention has focused on how researchers can address the social factors that result in decisions to not engage in research. Disrupting the ways in which people are conceptualized as 'hard to reach' so as to refocus on transforming social systems and personal values, beliefs and approaches is understudied. This book uses case examples based on HIV research with Indigenous youth, internally displaced women, LGBTQ communities in the Global North and Global South, and persons at the intersection of these identities, to identify successful approaches to working with marginalized and often vulnerable communities and groups. The chapters signal the need for attention to five key social factors when developing successful approaches: context and storytelling; cultural humility; critical hope; imagination and possibility; and love, intimate inquiry, and the beloved community, if nations, individuals and communities are to address the epidemic in a sustainable and impactful way.

Design for Global Challenges and Goals charts the developments, opportunities and challenges for design research in addressing global challenges facing developing contexts focusing on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The book explores the role that design and social responsibility play in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and how design works in developing contexts. It presents 10 design-led case studies addressing different Sustainable Development Goals ranging from reducing poverty and hunger, improving health and wellbeing, promoting gender equality, developing more sustainable cities and communities, encouraging more responsible consumption and production, and tackling climate change. Design for Global Challenges and Goals also addresses the future, offering foresight into the research in global challenges by identifying the opportunities and emerging trends for researchers. Providing a guide to the state of the art of design research that addresses the Sustainable Development Goals, this book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and students who want their research to address global challenges.

This volume explores interactions between academia and different societal stakeholders with a focus on sustainability. It examines the significance and potential of transdisciplinary collaboration as a tool for sustainability and the SDGs. Traditionally, academia has focused on research and education. More recently, however, the challenges of sustainable development and achieving the SDGs have required the co-production of knowledge between academic and non-academic actors. Compromising theory, methods and case studies from a broad span of transdisciplinary collaboration, Transdisciplinarity For Sustainability: Aligning Diverse Practices is written by specialists from various academic disciplines and represents an important step forward in systematising knowledge and understanding of transdisciplinary collaboration. They are designed to provide a roadmap for further research in the field and facilitate pursuing and realizing the SDGs. The book will appeal to researchers and postgraduate students in a variety of disciplines such as architecture, design, economics, social sciences, engineering and sustainability studies. It will also be of significant value to professionals who are engaged in transdisciplinary collaboration that supports sustainable development.

This book draws attention to political aspects of sustainable development goal-setting, exploring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the global-national nexus during their first five years. After broad global deliberation and political negotiations, the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs were adopted in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2015, and by now many countries have political structures in place for working towards their realisation. This book explores three concepts to call attention to the political qualities of processes related to the SDGs: legitimacy, responsibility, and accountability. Legitimacy is required to obtain broad political ownership for policy goals in order for them to become effective in addressing cross-border sustainability challenges. Responsibility needs to be clearly distributed among political institutions if a long-term set of broad goals such as the SDGs are to be realised. Accountability to the public is the retrospective mirror of political responsibility. The Politics of the Sustainable Development Goals contributes new knowledge on political processes at the nexus of global and national levels, focussing on three countries at different levels of socio-economic development and democratisation: namely Ghana, Tanzania, and Sweden. These countries illustrate a variety of challenges related to the realisation of the SDGs. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of sustainable development, international organisations, and global politics.

This book presents the contemporary history and dynamics of Mexican midwifery - professional, (post)modern or autonomous, traditional and Indigenous - as profoundly political and embedded in differing societal stratifications. By situated politics, the authors refer to various networks, spaces and territories, which are also constructed by the midwives. By politically situated, the authors refer to various intersections, unsettled relations and contexts in which Mexican midwives are positioned. Examining Mexican midwiferies in depth, the volume sharpens the focus on the worlds in which midwives are profoundly immersed as agents in generating and participating in movements, alliances, health professions, communities, homes, territories and knowledges. The chapters provide a complex panorama of midwives in Mexico with an array of insights into their professional and political autonomy, (post)coloniality, body-territoriality, the challenges of defining midwifery, and above all, into the ways in which contemporary Mexican midwiferies relate to a complex set of human rights. The book will be of interest to a range of scholars from anthropology, sociology, politics, global health, gender studies, development studies, and Latin American studies, as well as to midwives and other professionals involved in childbirth policy and practice.

This book explores how public and private actors can interrelate to achieve also by means of law a sustainable development which is beneficial for the environment, society and the economy. The Role of Law in Governing Sustainability assesses the structure, functions and perspectives of law in the wider governance frameworks of sustainable development. It provides latest and in-depth insights from each of the three dimensions of sustainable development and the relations among them. Latest political developments on global and regional level related to the environmental, social and the economic dimensions are provided as well as in-depth case studies. Thereby the book explores how international and national laws and governance can help us move towards a more sustainable future. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental law, global governance and sustainable development.

In the modern globalized world of work, society's capitalist and patriarchal norms perpetuate old and create new differences based on gender, class, ethnicity, age, and other social categorizations. This book proposes a novel conceptual framework offering theoretical and methodological insights for thinking through the present and future inequality challenges in the globalized world of work and working life issues in the context of spatio-temporal relations. Bringing together global feminist studies of intersectionality and transnationalism, work-life research, and studies of space, place, and identity, this edited collection responds to the growing interest in peripheries, rurality, and other spaces beyond the urban and business market centres. In crossing the theoretical boundaries between intersectionality and peripherality, this volume brings these concepts together to identify how racism, capitalism and heteropatriarchy operate on bodies in the name of work, particularly as expressed in precarious labour conditions. It also advocates for transnational solidarity as part of feminist ethics, while providing an opportunity to reflect on ways forward for feminist intersectional studies of work and working life, drawing on embodied relationality and a feminist ethics of care. Working Life and Gender Inequality explores the intersectional nature of gender, class, race and other inequalities from a global and spatial perspective. It will be of value to researchers, academics, students, managers, consultants, and policy makers in the fields of organizational studies, leadership, feminist and gender studies, working life, intersectionality and transnational feminism.

Cultural Sustainability, Tourism and Development considers how tourism provides a lens to examine issues of cultural sustainability and change. It discusses how cultural and natural assets, artistic interventions, place identity, policy strategies, and community well-being are intertwined in (re)articulations of place and local dynamics that occur in tourist locations. With a primary focus on culture in sustainable development, the book clarifies connections between culture as a core dimension of local sustainability and cultural dimensions of sustainable tourism. It highlights the roles and place of cultural expression, artistic activity, and heritage resources in local or regional sustainable development contexts. Chapters critically examine the dimensions of tourism-invoked dynamics of change and the cultural impacts of tourism-related activities. The book concludes with proposals for new culture-informed and creativity-based approaches, mediations, and relations to encourage a better balance between visitors and residents' quality of life and the broader sustainability of the area. Interdisciplinary and international in scope, contributions reflect on communities and rural areas located in Brazil, Canada, Croatia, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and the United States. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of cultural development and policy, heritage studies, cultural tourism and sustainable tourism, cultural geography, and regional development.

Early Records of British India (1972) is an important collection of source material deriving from official documents which now form part of the India Office Records. It throws light upon the beginnings of British power through the rise of the East India Company and the corresponding decline of the Mughal Empire. The extracts are illustrated, or held together, by an explanatory narrative which enables the work to be read continuously as a coherent whole whilst an ample index provides ready identification of particular circumstances.

Buddhism, Imperialism and War (1979) is a lively, provocative and informative study of two of the most important Buddhist countries of South East Asia – Burma and Thailand. Buddhism gives, in theory, a high place to the maintenance of peace, both between individuals and between social groups. In practice however, Buddhist nations are no strangers to the battlefield. This book explores the complexity surrounding the issue, and reveals much for the first time that has been obscure and misunderstood.

Where the Waves Fall (1984) centres the stories of the Pacific Islanders and how they were affected by European explorers and colonisers in this unique account of human settlement and cultural interchange in the Pacific islands. It follows the fortunes of the seafarers who discovered island after island in the world’s largest ocean, traces the development of their civilisations and examines in depth the interaction between them and the newcomers – European explorers, traders, beachcombers, missionaries, merchants – who from the sixteenth century came in an increasing series of waves. The book’s framework enables the author to throw new light on hitherto isolated events. Novel suggestions are advanced as to why some islands became ‘kingdoms’ in the earlier years of European contact and why others did not, and of how and why missionaries were accepted on some islands but not on others. Nor does Professor Howe shrink from provocative and at times controversial arguments concerning the ambitions and strategies of island leaders and indeed the overall nature and extent of the initiatives taken by the islanders.