Gender and Education in China analyzes the significance, impact and nature of women's public education in China from its beginnings at the turn of the twentieth century. Educational change was an integral aspect of the early twentieth century state-building and modernizing reforms implemented by the Qing dynasty as a means of strengthening the foundations of dynastic rule and reinvigorating China's economy and society to ward off the threat of foreign imperialism. A significant feature of educational change during this period was the emergence of official and non-official schools for girls. Using primary evidence such as official documents, newspapers and journals, Paul Bailey analyzes the different rationales for women's education provided by officials, educators and reformers, and charts the course and practice of women's education describing how young women responded to the educational opportunities made available to them. Demonstrating how the representation of women and assumptions concerning their role in the household, society and polity underpinned subsequent gender discourses throughout the rest of the century, Gender and Education in China will appeal to students and scholars of Chinese history, gender studies, women's studies as well as an interest in the history of education.

Providing insights into this neglected Southeast Asian city, this interesting book interprets Vientiane's landscape - physical as well as imagined - as a reflection of key aspects of Lao geo-political history, the nature of Lao urbanism, and its critical relation to constructions of Lao identity in the contemporary period. It is argued that the patterns of change seen through Vientiane's past embody the key political and economic processes and transformations impacting on the people of Laos. The Lao urban past has rarely been an object of attention by scholars. Laos, in fact, is continually portrayed as a rural backwater, marginal to the dynamic trends affecting most of the Southeast Asian mainland. In contrast to these persistent and static portrayals of Laos as a tiny landlocked backwater, with no significant urban present or past, the authors aim to document, explain and evaluate the significance of the Lao urban landscape. Focusing on the theme of Vientiane's 'marginality' in its various forms, the book interprets this apparent marginality as an historically-produced phenomenon resulting from geo-politics dating from the pre-colonial period and extending into the post-colonial period. Drawing on a wide range of research materials, Vientiane is the first work of its kind on this ignored city.

This volume discusses The Thousand and One Nights' themes of space and travel showing how they are used not only as a setting in which the story unfolds, but also as the dynamic force which propels the heroes and the story to the final dA(c)nouement.

These events often symbolize a process of transformation, in which the hero has to search for his destined role or strive to attain the object of his desire. In this way, themes of travel are the narrative backbone of stories of various genres including love, religion, magic and adventure.

This book not only gives a fresh approach to many stories of the collection, but also proposes new insights in the nature of The Thousand and one Nights as a self-reflexive narrative and is essential reading for scholars of Arabic literature.

Taking ideas and frameworks from philosophy, psychology, political science, cultural studies and anthropology, this book tells the larger 'truth' about the Singapore state. This book argues that this strong hegemonic state achieves effective rule not just from repressive policies but also through a combination of efficient government, good standard of living, tough official measures and popular compliance. Souchou Yao looks at the reasons behind the hegemonic ruling, examining key events such as the caning of American teenager Michael Fay, the judicial ruling on fellatio and unnatural sex, and Singapore's 'war on terror' to show the ways in which the State manages these events to ensure the continuance of its power and ideological ethos. Lively, and well-written, this book discusses key subject areas such as: leftist radicalism and communist insurgency nation-building as trauma Western 'yellow culture' and Asian Values judicial caning and the meaning of pain the law and oral sex food and the art of lying cinema as catharsis Singapore after September 11.

Taking ideas and frameworks from philosophy, psychology, political science, cultural studies and anthropology, this book tells the larger 'truth' about the Singapore state. This book argues that this strong hegemonic state achieves effective rule not just from repressive policies but also through a combination of efficient government, good standard of living, tough official measures and popular compliance. Souchou Yao looks at the reasons behind the hegemonic ruling, examining key events such as the caning of American teenager Michael Fay, the judicial ruling on fellatio and unnatural sex, and Singapore's 'war on terror' to show the ways in which the State manages these events to ensure the continuance of its power and ideological ethos. Lively, and well-written, this book discusses key subject areas such as: leftist radicalism and communist insurgency nation-building as trauma Western 'yellow culture' and Asian Values judicial caning and the meaning of pain the law and oral sex food and the art of lying cinema as catharsis Singapore after September 11.

This book explains the exceptional nature of the East Timor intervention of 1999, and deals with the background to the trusteeship role of the UN in building the new polity. All of these developments had an important impact on regional order, not least testing the ASEAN norm of 'non-interference'.
Australian complicity in the Indonesian occupation of East Timor was a major factor in the persistence of Indonesian rule in the territory which was maintained for twenty-five years despite international censure and which required an unremitting campaign against the independence movement. This work reviews the reasons for that history of complicity, and explains the extraordinary change of policy that led ultimately to the occupation of the territory by the Australian-led INTERFET coalition.

This volume explains the beginnings and expansion of China's space program, analyzing how China is now able to hold such ambitions and how the interaction between technology, politics and economics has influenced the Chinese space program. It opens by tracing out the earlier development of the space program and identifying the successes and problems that plagued this initial effort, later focusing upon its development over the past decade and into the future. As China is now able to reach into outer space with its machines and, since 2003, with its humans, the authors examine how this move from a non-participant status to a state operating at the highest level of space activities has confirmed its potential place as the new economic and military superpower of the twenty-first century. They also demonstrate how recent successes mean that China is now confronted by an issue previously encountered by other space 'powers', such as the United States and the former Soviet Union: what is the value of the space program, given its high costs and likelihood of dramatic failure? Chinese Space Policy will be of great interest to students of space studies, Chinese politics, security studies, and international relations in general.

Boxing is infused with ideas about masculinity, power, race and social class, and as such is an ideal lens through which social scientists can examine key modern themes. In addition, its inherent contradictions of extreme violence and beauty and of discipline and excess have long been a source of inspiration for writers and film makers. Essential reading for anyone interested in the sociology of sport and cultural representations of gender, Boxing, Masculinity and Identity brings together ethnographic research with material from film, literature and journalism. Through this combination of theoretical insight and cultural awareness, Woodward explores the social constructs around boxing and our experience and understanding of central issues including: masculinity mind, body and the construction of identity spectacle and performance: tensions between the public and private person boxing on film: the role of cultural representations in building identities methodologies: issues of authenticity and 'truth' in social science.

Boxing is infused with ideas about masculinity, power, race and social class, and as such is an ideal lens through which social scientists can examine key modern themes. In addition, its inherent contradictions of extreme violence and beauty and of discipline and excess have long been a source of inspiration for writers and film makers. Essential reading for anyone interested in the sociology of sport and cultural representations of gender, Boxing, Masculinity and Identity brings together ethnographic research with material from film, literature and journalism. Through this combination of theoretical insight and cultural awareness, Woodward explores the social constructs around boxing and our experience and understanding of central issues including: masculinity mind, body and the construction of identity spectacle and performance: tensions between the public and private person boxing on film: the role of cultural representations in building identities methodologies: issues of authenticity and 'truth' in social science.

With expert contributions from both the US and Japan, this book examines the legacies of the US Occupation on Japanese politics and society, and discusses the long-term impact of the Occupation on contemporary Japan. Focusing on two central themes - democracy and the interplay of US-initiated reforms and Japan's endogenous drive for democratization and social justice - the contributors address key questions: How did the US authorities and the Japanese people define democracy? To what extent did America impose their notions of democracy on Japan? How far did the Japanese pursue impulses toward reform, rooted in their own history and values? Which reforms were readily accepted and internalized, and which were ultimately subverted by the Japanese as impositions from outside? These questions are tackled by exploring the dynamics of the reform process from the three perspectives of innovation, continuity and compromise, specifically determining the effect that this period made to Japanese social, economic, and political understanding. Critically examines previously unexplored issues that influenced postwar Japan such as the effect of labour and healthcare legislation, textbook revision, and minority policy. Illuminating contemporary Japan, its achievements, its potential and its quandaries, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Japanese-US relations, Japanese history and Japanese politics.

The comparative dimension is, all too often, missing from writing on Israeli history. Zionist ideology restricts comparisons between Zionism and other forms of nationalism. Also, Zionist claims to have initiated a radical rupture with the Jewish past mask continuities between Israel and the experiences of modern diaspora Jewry. Over the past two decades, Israeli historiography has become more critical, and a number of books have presented Israel as a variant of settler-colonialist societies such as the United States and South Africa. The framework of continuity across space commands attention, but it lacks nuance and is often built upon politicized foundations. Moreover, this framework neglects areas of continuity across time, between Israel and the Jewish past.
"Israel in History: The Jewish State in" "Comparative Perspective" seeks to address these issues. The essays in this book combine a variety of comparative schemes, both internal to Jewish civilization and extending throughout the world. These frameworks include:
- modern Jewish society, politics and culture
- historical consciousness in the 20th-century western world, and the matrix of Western colonialism,
- Third World anti-colonialism and post-colonial state-building.
The book's underlying theme is the need to study Israeli history within multiple and overlapping comparative frameworks. The benefit of comparison is not limited to a richer understanding of the circumstances under which Israel was born and has developed. Rather, an open-ended, comparative approach offers a useful means of correcting the biases found in so much scholarship on Israel, be it sympathetic or hostile. "Israel in History: The JewishState in Comparative Perspective" will appeal to scholars and students with research interests in Middle East studies and Israeli history.

Covering topical issues concerning the nature of the Israeli state, this engaging work presents essays that combine a variety of comparative schemes, both internal to Jewish civilization and extending throughout the world, such as:

• modern Jewish society, politics and culture
• historical consciousness in the twentieth century
• colonialism, anti-colonialism and postcolonial state-building.

With its open-ended, comparative approach, Israel in History provides a useful means of correcting the biases found in so much scholarship on Israel, be it sympathetic or hostile. This book will appeal to scholars and students with research interests in many fields, including Israeli Studies, Middle East Studies, and Jewish Studies.

Law reform in developing countries has become an increasingly topical subject in recent years. A critical issue is why so many law reform projects in developing economies are regarded by their sponsors and recipients as unsuccessful. This informative book:

• examines examples of law reform projects in post-socialist and post-authoritarian states in Asia
• identifies common problems
• proposes analytical frameworks for understanding the problems identified.

Though parallels between Asian models and those in developing states elsewhere in the world are strong, the book has been developed to avoid suggestion that the issues covered are somehow peculiarly a ~Asiana (TM)- indeed, it is shown that cultural relativist approaches to Asia are unsustainable. This is an invaluable reference for those involved in the areas of development economics, Asian studies and comparative politics.

Medieval Andalusian Courtly Culture discusses the unicum manuscript of the Hadith Bayad wa Riyad, the only illustrated manuscript known to have survived for more than eight centuries of Muslim and Arabic-speaking presence in present-day Spain. The manuscript is of paramount importance as it contains the only known surviving version, both in terms of text and of image, of the love story of Bayad wa Riyad. This study will place this manuscript within the context of late medieval Mediterranean courtly culture, offering: an annotated translation into English of the entire text reproductions of its images an analysis of both text and images in a series of progressively broader contexts including that of al-Andalus(Arabic-speaking); of "reconquista" Iberia; and the larger Mediterranean world. Cynthia Robinson broadens understanding of the Mediterranean region during the Middle Ages, making this text an invaluable resource for scholars with interests in Medieval Spain, art and Mediterranean courtly culture.

This book surveys a 'cluster' of works that seek to explore the cultures of cyberspace, the Internet and the information society. It introduces key ideas, and includes detailed discussion of the work of two key thinkers in this area, Manuel Castells and Donna Haraway, as well as outlining the development of cyberculture studies as a field. To do this, the book also explores selected 'moments' in this development, from the early 1990s, when cyberspace and cyberculture were only just beginning to come together as ideas, up to the present day, when the field of cyberculture studies has grown and bloomed, producing innovative theoretical and empirical work from a diversity of standpoints. Key topics include:

• 
  
• life on the screen
• 
  
• network society
• 
  
• space of flows
• 
  
• cyborg methods.

Cyberculture Theorists is the ideal starting point for anyone wanting to understand how to theorise cyberculture in all its myriad forms.

Ever since the terrorist incident of September 11 a general understanding seems to have arisen among people that the challenges posed by Islam have now acquired human and global dimensions. What is particularly worthy of note in this debate is the tendency to view all such confrontations from a dualistic standpoint, as tussles between the Western (democratic) world and the world of Islam. "Popular Movements and Democratization in the Islamic World" contains case studies of people's movements in diverse areas and periods, and it seeks to develop a comparative view of Islam and democracy. It also presents an alternate picture of the world's Muslim societies, one transcending the simple dichotomy of 'Islam and democracy.' Unraveling the complexities that have arisen between Islam and democracy is the principal task of Islamic scholars, and this book will undoubtedly prove a starting point for all such endeavors. While primarily intended for students and scholars "Popular Movements and Democratization in the Islamic World" will prove of interest even to general readers with interests in Islamic studies.

Helen James considers security in Myanmar/Burma. She uses the ideas put forward in the United Nations Development Programme's 1994 report, of human, as opposed to state and security, going on to argue that freedom from want, and freedom from fear (of the regime) are in fact mutually supportive ideas, and that the security of the people and the security of the state are in fact in a symbiotic relationship with each other.

Presenting new and significant information of the security concept of Myanmar/Burma, Jamesa (TM) original work considers economic development, health, education, environmental issues, the drugs trade, human rights, minority peoples and political, social and economic reforms, arguing that improved governance, the development of civil society and economic development would both strengthen the state and ensure the security and well-being of its citizens.

This is an impressive work that traces the relationship between the Soviet Union and Turkey on the one hand, and the Soviet Union and the Turkish Communist Party on the other, from the consolidation of the communist regime in Moscow until its fall. The book considers how 'Soviet Eastern Policy' was formed, how it changed over time, what the Soviet leaders hoped to gain in Turkey, and what impact Soviet policy had on the development of the Turkish communist movement. It is a valuable resource for students and scholars with an interest in Russian and Soviet poltics and international relations.

The Development of Modern South Korea provides a comprehensive analysis of South Korean modernization by examining the dimensions of state formation, capitalist development and nationalism. Taking a comparative and interdisciplinary approach this book highlights the most characteristic features of South Korean modernity in relation to its historical conditions, institution traditions and cultural values paying particular attention to Korean's pre-modern civilization.

Over the last twenty years the proportion of development cooperation resources earmarked for agricultural development has dwindled to between six and seven per cent of total bi- and multilateral Official Development Assistance. This is despite the fact that eighty per cent of the world's poor live in rural agricultural areas and that the poor are disproportionately affected when political, military and natural events lead to regional or global food shortages. Brandt and Otzen's key book fills a gap in current literature, undertaking a wide-ranging conceptual reorientation of development cooperation, criticizing the current orthodoxy and its bias towards urban areas, and arguing that in order to effectively alleviate poverty across the world, agricultural and rural development measures need to be implemented both by central and subnational governments, aid agencies and the private sector. The authors investigate the world food question, the current pressures it is under and its link to rural poverty, and set out the policies that need to be undertaken to reduce global poverty.

Can merely changing one's perspective on one's past lead to the alleviation of mental and physical suffering? Are our personal pasts an inviolable terrain, or are they capable of reinterpretation and revision? This book explores the Japanese practice of Naikan, a psychotherapeutic method which combines meditation-like body engagement with the recovery of memory and the reconstruction of one's autobiography in order to bring about healing and a changed notion of the self. Although it arose out of a Shin Buddhist self-cultivation practice, Naikan has achieved success in Japan, in both hospitals and dedicated centers, as a therapy for addiction and physical and mental illnesses, and has spread abroad to both Europe and the USA. The Naikan method operates along the borders of religion and therapy, inviting an investigation into the distinctiveness and interpenetration of these two domains. Drawing upon the author's personal experiences of participation in Naikan, this book situates an ethnography of Naikan, its setting, practices, and the roles played by practitioners and clients, within the context of both Japanese society and the Buddhist tradition. It is an important resource for those interested in the roles of memory, autobiography and narrative in health and recovery, the dialogue between western psychotherapies and Buddhist thought, and the practice of Naikan and its place in Japanese culture and society.

The local media - local newspapers and radio, regional television, cable television and local news on the internet - represents a diverse and rapidly-changing sector of the British media landscape. Bringing together media academics, local journalists and other media professionals, this text presents a thorough, up-to-date and authoritative account of recent developments and future prospects for Britain's local newspapers, local media and local journalism. Drawing on current research and relevant literature, the book covers: *key developments in the local media scene *the distinctive editorial format of local newspapers *news sources and other sources available to local journalists *recent developments in media policy *online journalism *ethics and regulations *the impact of new technology. Situating the study within the context of local, national and multi-national media networks, this unique text provides students with a well-written and wide-ranging assessment of all aspects of the local media in the UK and as such, will be a welcome addition to the current literature.

In recent years, the importance of disseminating the findings of social research has been given increased emphasis. The most effective way in which this can be done is via the mass media. However, there are frequent complaints that media coverage of social and educational research is very limited and often distorted. Through a detailed analysis of a particular case about ethnic inequalities in educational achievement, this book examines some of the processes involved in the reporting of research findings, and their implications for judgements about media distortion and bias. This volume is relevant to many fields, including education, media studies, cultural studies, sociology and social policy.

This volume of original chapters is designed to bring attention to a neglected area of feminist scholarship - aging. After several decades of feminist studies we are now well informed of the complex ways that gender shapes the lives of women and men. Similarly, we know more about how gendered power relations interface with race and ethnicity, class and sexual orientation. Serious theorizing of old age and age relations to gender represents the next frontier of feminist scholarship. In this volume, leading national and international feminist scholars of aging take first steps in this direction, illuminating how age relations interact with other social inequalities, particularly gender. In doing so, the authors challenge and transform feminist scholarship and many taken for granted concepts in gender studies.

"Bodies in Code "explores how our bodies experience and adapt to digital environments. Cyberculture theorists have tended to overlook biological reality when talking about virtual reality, and Mark B. N. Hansen's book shows what they've been missing. Cyberspace is anchored in the body, he argues, and it's the body--not high-tech computer graphics--that allows a person to feel like they are really "moving" through virtual reality. Of course these virtual experiences are also profoundly affecting our very understanding of what it means to live as embodied beings.
Hansen draws upon recent work in visual culture, cognitive science, and new media studies, as well as examples of computer graphics, websites, and new media art, to show how our bodies are in some ways already becoming virtual.