What is it about some men that makes them an object of our deepest desires? And how far are we willing to go in pursuit of those desires? Chasing Adonis: Gay Men & the Pursuit of Perfection delves into one of the most central mysteries of gay life: What is it gay men find attractive in other men, and why? How much is nature, how much is nurture . . . or maybe just clever marketing? This unique book examines steroid use, body image disorders, gym culture, Internet hook-ups, obsession, stalking, porn, erotic Web sites, strip clubs and everything else that makes gay men act a little bit nutty when they meet someone who drives them crazy! Frank, sexy, and controversial, it uses a light touch to examine a serious subject: how gay society objectifies the male body. Tim Bergling, author of Sissyphobia: Gay Men and Effeminate Behavior and Reeling in the Years: Gay Men's Perspectives on Age and Ageism, surveys gay men about their individual concepts of beauty and desire and about the almost unattainable Adonis standard many of them set for themselves. Teenagers, senior citizens, and the guys stuck in the middle discuss the idea of perfection, how much it changes or evolves over time, and whether the exterior package outweighs what's inside. From the author: It never ceases to amaze me just how powerful the 'd-word''(desire) can be, how it can take control of our lives and shut everything out, sometimes for just a few moments, sometimes for days or weeks at a time, depending on how badly we're smitten. Ask just about anybody, and they can likely pull up a story from their pastor their presentwhen they've done something incredibly stupid or ill-advised, or maybe just something completely out of character, in pursuit of their heart's desire. Chasing Adonis examines: obsession and rejection self-esteem issues the allure of youth preferences in body shapes, types, and sizes designer genes vs. first impressions assessing body parts narcissism or comfort level-why men chase after guys who look like them AIDS and HIV gay porn adult book stores and the Internet the Calvin Klein ad campaign featuring Marky Mark Wahlberg the Abercrombie & Fitch ads Tom of Finland gay icons weight training and fitness clubs steroids and plastic surgery circuit parties body dysmorphia and much more! Chasing Adonis: Gay Men and the Pursuit of Perfection is an entertaining and enlightening read for gay men of all ages.

In recent years China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Singapore have been transformed from impoverished developing nations into strong and internationally competitive economies, but it is now clear that this rapid development has come at a high price in terms of ecological sustainability and environmental protection. The critical question for the future is -- how can the state effect the greening of industries and business without inhibiting economic growth? Can they 'leapfrog' the development process and build industrial economies that are both competitive and environmentally sustainable? This edited interdisciplinary volume uses case studies of all the important newly industrializing economies of Asia to address these vitally important questions. It makes an important contribution to the large international body of studies on environmental management and the greening of industries. It's findings are relevant to all developing countries, as well as to those with a particular interest in contemporary Asia. The work also addresses a wide readership of professionals and consultants in various state institutions and international development agencies, such as the World Bank, the United Nations Environment Program, the Ford Foundation and the Asian Development Bank.

Introducing the Negev-Bedouin land issue from the international indigenous land rights perspective, this comparative study suggests options for the recognition of their land. The book demonstrates that the Bedouin land dispossession, like many indigenous peoples', progressed through several phases that included eviction and displacement, legislation, and judicial decisions that support acts of dispossession and deny the Bedouin's traditional land rights. Examining the Mawat legal doctrine on which the State and the Court rely on to deny Bedouin land rights, this volume introduces the relevant international law protecting indigenous land rights and shows how the limitations of this law prevent any meaningful protection of Bedouin land rights. In the second part of the work, the Aborigines' land in Australia is introduced as an example of indigenous peoples' successful struggle for their traditional land rights. The final chapter analyzes the basic elements of judicial recognition of the land and shows that the basic elements needed for Bedouin land recognition exist in the Israeli legal system. Proposing practical recommendations for the recognition of Bedouin land, this volume is a key resource to scholars and students interested in land rights, international law, comparative studies, and the Middle East.

Kragur village lies on the rugged north shore of Kairiru, a steep volcanic island just off the north coast of Papua New Guinea. In 1998 the village looked much as it had some twenty-two years earlier when author Michael French Smith first visited. But he soon found that changing circumstances were shaking things up. Village on the Edge weaves together the story of Kragur villagers' struggle to find their own path toward the future with the story of Papua New Guinea's travails in the post-independence era. Smith writes of his own experiences as well, living and working in Papua New Guinea and trying to understand the complexities of an unfamiliar way of life. To tell all these stories, he delves into ghosts, magic, myths, ancestors, bookkeeping, tourism, the World Bank, the Holy Spirits, and the meaning of progress and development. Village on the Edge draws on the insights of cultural anthropology but is written for anyone interested in Papua New Guinea.

Summarizes the great achievements and shortcomings of China's reform and opening-up over the past 40 years Analyzes the changes in China's economic structure from 1953 to 2016 and those in the livelihood of the Chinese people from 1978-2016 Introduces the differences between the economic development of China and that of the world's major economies from 1960 to 2016 Analyzes the evolution, status quo and causes of the income distribution pattern of Chinese residents over the past 40 years Analyzes the changes in China's education level and residents' health level in the past 70 years and their impact on China's economy

Since the late-19th century, Japan has made remarkable strides in industrialization. Beginning with the economic vision of Miura Baien in the 18th century, and employing a detailed comparison with the West, this book delves into the economic thought of the scholars who played a pivotal role in Japan's modernization process. The author takes Fukuzawa Yukichi's theory of 'civilization' as the standard measure of Japan's modernization and compares it with differing visions from various critics whose research focused on rural poverty and social problems, such as Maeda Masana, early socialists, Yanagita Kunio and Kawakami Hajime. Further, the book explores new liberalism (Ishibashi Tanzan, Fukuda Tokuzo) and Marxism (Yamada Moritaro, Uno Kozo) in the 1920s and 1930s. After discussing the dilemmas faced by economists during wartime (Takata Yasuma, Ryu Shintaro, Shibata Kei), the author concludes this intellectual history with the country's post-1945 democratic reforms and their early demise. This book is valuable reading for students and researchers of Japan's intellectual history. However, due to the book's comparative perspective, as well as the universality of the modernization experience, it will also appeal to students and researchers of the history of economic thought and modern intellectual history.

Unlike most books which consider China's transformation and globalization over the last four decades by focusing on China's economic growth, this book examines how the Chinese regime has handled the increasingly complex sociopolitical and socio-economic challenges generated as a result of the country's economic growth and transformation, challenges arising both from within the country and also from the external political environment. Based on extensive original research, the book outlines how China's economic development has generated social and governance pressures, discusses the government's social, educational, and governance reforms, and highlights how China's development experiences, which differ from the Western economies with democratic political regimes, have drawn increasing attention from other countries in the developing world as an example to follow.

Includes evidence from Soviet scholarship that is often not accessible to scholars working on this period.

Considers how legal reforms and awareness-raising associated with building the rule of law, have engaged the popular legal consciousness, producing contradictions that have in turn shaped the nature of the resultant legality. Explores the case study of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This book will appeal to comparativists, Africanists, and socio-legal scholars.

This book identifies differing approaches to the issues of conceptualising hegemony, hegemony-building processes and the relationship between a hegemonic state and a rising power. It focuses on transformations of the Chinese state, society and political-economy, China's rapidly ascending status in the world order and changing relations with the outside world, in particular with the US. Bringing together mainstream and critical approaches from Anglo-America and China, which occupy different positions in the core-periphery structure of social sciences knowledge production and provide diverging standpoints to understanding the phenomenon of a rising China, the book questions the existing division of labour in IR and in general social sciences knowledge production. Through the lenses of multiple Anglo-American and Chinese scholars, it offers a nuanced and multifaceted view on the issue and focuses on a direct comparison of different localized perspectives. The author scrutinizes the heterogeneity of knowledge, the relationship between power and knowledge production and the region-centricity, in particular the Western-centricity, of knowledge production by analysing the discourse on the "(re-) rising" status of China in the world. The book problematizes the close link between power and knowledge production and presents a more critical view on the conclusions drawn by each approach. Offering an understanding of the nexus between knowledge production and power structures, the heterogeneity and multiplicity of knowledge and the influence of locality on the knowledge produced in social sciences, the book will be of interest to academics working in the fields of International Relations theories, critical approaches, non-Western theories, Euro- or Western-centrism, and social sciences in China, Area Studies, in particularly China and East Asia.

This book compares the different expressions of, and outcomes from, banking nationalism in two European countries to draw wider conclusions about the consequences for Banking Union in Europe and to show how national governments deal (or fail to deal) with international commitments. It reveals how and why one case - Spain - managed to tackle failing banks within EU Banking Union regulations even before they became written in EU law, while the other - Italy - had more persistent problems. The book argues that Spain demonstrates a successful case of liberal economic nationalism, typified by aggressive, early state intervention to restructure Spanish banks, and help from the European Stability Mechanism even in the face of local political opposition. Italy, meanwhile, suffered from the weaker, delayed intervention which forced it to confront European institutions with demands for special treatment as a means of externalizing its own internal weakness. This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and professionals in economic policy, Economic and Monetary Union and Banking Union in Europe, European and global governance, European/EU studies, European public policy, European public administration and EU law, as well as professionals working in the banking sector.

* This collection builds a broad basis for a possible and necessary paradigmatic shift in the field of theater and performance historiography. * Would be recommended reading in for any undergraduate or master's level students studying theatre history, drama and dance. * The closest competitors do not explore the term 'entangled histories'. Therefore this collection breaks new ground by looking at this concept as a new paradigm in the field.

Through analysis of the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad, which pledge protection to diverse faith communities, this book makes a profoundly important contribution to research on early Islam by determining the Covenants' historicity and textual accuracy. The authors focus on the Prophet Muhammad's relationship with other faith communities by conducting detailed textual and linguistic analysis of documents which have received little scholarly consideration before. This not only includes decrees of the Prophet Muhammad, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, but also of important Muslim rulers. They present their findings in relation to contemporaneous historical writings, historic testimonies, official recognition, archaeological evidence, historic scribal conventions, date-matching calculations, textual parallelisms, and references in Muslim and non-Muslim sources. They also provide new and revised translations of various Covenants issued by the Prophet Muhammad which were attested by Muslim authorities after him. The authors argue that the claim of forgery is no longer tenable following the application of rigorous textual and historical analysis. This book is essential reading for Muslims, Christians, Jews, Samaritans, and Zoroastrians, as well as anyone interested in interfaith relations, Islamophobia, extremist ideologies, security studies, and the relationship between Orthodox and Oriental Christianity with Islam.

This book considers how a phenomenon as complex as coercive control can be criminalised. The recognition and ensuing criminalisation of coercive control in the UK and Ireland has been the focus of considerable international attention. It has generated complex questions about the "best" way to criminalise domestic abuse. This work reviews recent domestic abuse criminal law reform in the UK and Ireland. In particular, it defines coercive control and explains why using traditional criminal law approaches to prosecute it does not work. Laws passed in England and Wales versus Scotland represent two different approaches to translating coercive control into a criminal offence. This volume explains how and why the jurisdictions have taken different approaches and examines the advantages and disadvantages of each. As jurisdictions around the world review what steps need to be taken to improve national criminal justice responses to domestic abuse, the question of what works, and why, at the intersection of domestic abuse and the criminal law has never been more important. As such, the book will be a vital resource for lawyers, policy-makers and activists with an interest in domestic abuse law reform.

This comprehensive and absorbing book traces the cultural history of Southeast Asia from prehistoric (especially Neolithic, Bronze-Iron age) times through to the major Hindu and Buddhist civilizations, to around AD 1300. Southeast Asia has recently attracted archaeological attention as the locus for the first recorded sea crossings; as the region of origin for the Austronesian population dispersal across the Pacific from Neolithic times; as an arena for the development of archaeologically-rich Neolithic, and metal using communities, especially in Thailand and Vietnam, and as the backdrop for several unique and strikingly monumental Indic civilizations, such as the Khmer civilization centred around Angkor. Southeast Asia is invaluable to anyone interested in the full history of the region.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to chado, the Japanese tea ceremony. Unlike other books on the subject, which focus on practice or historical background or specific issues, this book considers the subject from multiple perspectives. It discusses Japanese aesthetics and philosophy, outlines how the tea ceremony has developed, emphasizing its strong links to Zen Buddhism and the impact of other religion influences, and examines how chado reflects traditional gender and social status roles in Japan. It goes on to set out fully the practice of chado, exploring dress, utensils, location - the garden and the tea house - and the tea itself and accompanying sweets. Throughout, the book is illustrated both with images and with examples of practice. The book will be of interest to a wide range of people interested in chado - university professors and students, tourists and people interested in traditional Japanese arts.

Traditionally, linguistic research has focused on the Indo-European language family - particularly English - and languages like Japanese and Chinese have not been pursued in theoretical developments. However, once scholars started to pay more attention to Japanese, its similarities to and differences from Indo-European languages not only revealed a great deal of typological variation, but also helped to provide a more accurate picture of the fundamental properties of human language. For the past four decades, linguistic research on the Japanese language has made remarkable progress, contributing to the intellectual and scientific exploration of the linguistic and cognitive sciences, synchronic and diachronic sociocultural developments, and to the humanities more generally. This three-volume collection, compiled of published articles that are considered seminal in the development of Japanese linguistic research, represents a variety of formal and functional approaches to a broad range of areas of linguistics. The collection also includes articles from journals and chapters taken from monographs and edited volumes.

This book, containing essays on themes relating to India's relations with Iran and Israel, deals with issues that have been intensely debated in the country for some time now. India's robust ties with both Iran and Israel - bitter adversaries for more than three decades - have intrigued West Asia watchers. The essays herein highlight the parallel nature of India's engagements with the two countries and attempt to understand the critical concept of strategic autonomy that defines India's foreign policy postures on contentious issues. The first five essays touch on the central drivers of India's Iran policy and discuss the limits on New Delhi's relations with the Islamic Republic. The last three essays dealing with Israel highlight the significance of India's intervention on questions relating to Israel as well as Israel's inspirational connection with India. With its unique treatment, lucid analysis and unusual organisation, this factually informed and policy oriented collection of essays on India, Iran and Israel will be an extremely useful resource for scholars, students, policymakers and diplomats alike. It will also interest business community involved with the West Asian region as well as any intelligent layperson looking for facts and figures on subjects discussed in the book.

The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism - the first of its kind - offers a systematic and wide-ranging survey of the scholarship on regionalism, regionalization, and regional governance. Unpacking the major debates, leading authors of the field synthesize the state of the art, provide a guide to the comparative study of regionalism, and identify future avenues of research. Twenty-seven chapters review the theoretical and empirical scholarship with regard to the emergence of regionalism, the institutional design of regional organizations and issue-specific governance, as well as the effects of regionalism and its relationship with processes of regionalization. The authors explore theories of cooperation, integration, and diffusion explaining the rise and the different forms of regionalism. The handbook also discusses the state of the art on the world regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Eurasia, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Various chapters survey the literature on regional governance in major issue areas such as security and peace, trade and finance, environment, migration, social and gender policies, as well as democracy and human rights. Finally, the handbook engages in cross-regional comparisons with regard to institutional design, dispute settlement, identities and communities, legitimacy and democracy, as well as inter- and transregionalism.

This is the first book to offer a systematic comparison of the philosophies of Albert Camus and Frantz Fanon. It shows how the ethical, political, and psychological outlooks of these two influential thinkers can further our understandings of how to bring about justice in the face of deep power imbalances. The author foregrounds the bloody Algerian War of Independence in his analysis of the philosophies of Camus and Fanon. Although neither supported French colonial occupation of Algeria, they held radically different views of the conflict. Fanon supported emancipation through violence, which the author argues has been uncritically romanticized. Camus, on the other hand, supported an ethics of moderation that shunned indiscriminate violence. The author argues that Camus has been unfairly accused of being an apologist for colonialism. Finally, the author draws out the common endorsement of humanist values that drive both Camus' and Fanon's thought. Camus and Fanon on the Algerian Question will appeal to scholars and advanced students interested in twentieth-century Continental philosophy, postcolonialism, existentialism, and African philosophy.

This renowned reference title provides essential statistical and directory material on these vast North American nations and the issues surrounding it. Completely revised and updated, this eighth edition brings together statistical, factual and directory information on these two vast nations and their constituent states, provinces and territories.
It includes:
* Over 600 pages of in-depth analysis and thoroughly researched data
* Comprehensive geographical, historical, economic and political information
* Contributions from acknowledged regional experts.
Introductory Essays
* Leading experts on the area analyse topics of interest and importance to the region as a whole, including: "NAFTA at Ten: A New Pacific Century? North America and the Pacific Rim; Immigration Policies and Nation-building in Canada and the" "USA; Environment at the Crossroads "and "The Economic Development of Alaska and the Canadian North."
Each country is dealt with in greater detail within its own section. Part Two: USA, Part Three: Canada
Each country chapter includes:
* Introduction
* Essays" US Foreign" "Policy under George W. Bush: The Implications of 11 September and the War in Iraq; The Role of the USA in the Middle East: An Historical Overview; Manufacturing and Construction in the USA; In a Complicated State: Health Policy in the USA; Politics and Administration in Canada; Natural" "Resources and Primary Economic Activities in Canada; Perspectives on Canadian Social Policy: Social Security, Health and Education "and "Canadian Government Finances."
* Directory and Statistics.

Extensive coverage of the political, economic and social affairs of the region.
This impartial up-to-date survey of the countries and territories that make up the region includes:
* Over 700 pages of current political, economic and social affairs
* Incisive analysis by acknowledged experts
* The latest statistics on the major economic indicators and population
* Invaluable directory material.
General Survey
* Leading authorities on the region analyse topics of regional importance including: "International Relations of Russia" "and the Commonwealth of Independent States; Politics of Energy in the Caspian Sea Region; Militant Islam in Central Asia and the Caucasus; The Economics of the Commonwealth of Independent States; Russia's New Federalism; Poverty and Social Welfare in the Commonwealth of Independent" "States; Trends in Religious Policy; Organized Crime in the Russian Federation and the CIS "and" Environmental Degradation: Past Roots, Present Transition and Future Hopes.
"
Country Surveys
Individual chapters on every country containing:
* An introductory survey, containing essays on the geography, recent history and economy of each country, which includes a map and full chronology
* An extensive statistical survey of economic indicators, which include area and population, health and welfare, agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, industry, finance, trade, transportation, tourism, media and education.
* A full directory containing names, addresses, contact numbers and e-mail and internet addresses for the following areas: the constitution, the government, legislature, local government, political organizations, diplomatic representation, thejudiciary, religion, the media, finance, trade and industry, transport, tourism, culture, education, social welfare, the environment and defense
* A useful bibliography, providing sourcesfor further research.
Political Profiles
* Biographical details on the leading figures in the region.
Regional Information
* Detailed information on the following: regional organizations; research institutes; a select periodicals bibliography and a select books bibliography.