Bare Architecture: a schizoanalysis, is a poststructural exploration of the interface between architecture and the body. Chris L. Smith skilfully introduces and explains numerous concepts drawn from poststructural philosophy to explore the manner by which the architecture/body relation may be rethought in the 21st century. Multiple well-known figures in the discourses of poststructuralism are invoked: Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Roland Barthes, Georges Bataille, Maurice Blanchot, Jorges Luis Borges and Michel Serres. These figures bring into view the philosophical frame in which the body is formulated. Alongside the philosophy, the architecture that Smith comes to refer to as 'bare architecture' is explored. Smith considers architecture as a complex construction and the book draws upon literature, art and music, to provide a critique of the limits, extents and opportunities for architecture itself. The book considers key works from the architects Douglas Darden, Georges Pingusson, Lacatan and Vassal, Carlo Scarpa, Peter Zumthor, Marco Casagrande and Sami Rintala and Raumlabor. Such works are engaged for their capacities to foster a rethinking of the relation between architecture and the body.

Academics' International Teaching Journeys provides personal narratives of nine international social science academics in foreign countries as they adapt and develop their teaching. The team of international contributors provide an invaluable resource for other academics who may be exposed to similar situations and may find these narratives useful in negotiating their own conflicts and challenges that they may encounter in being an international academic. The narratives provide a fascinating reference point and a wide range of perspectives of teaching experiences from across the world, including Europe, Australia, North America and the Caribbean. The book offers a timely spotlight on contemporary issues of globalisation that many higher education institutions around the world may encounter. It contributes to the originality of constructing new knowledge in the field of transnational higher education - a modern phenomenon which will be increasingly prominent in the current and next generation in the globalised higher education contexts.

O. Yul Kwon uses an institutional framework to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental and operational dynamics of international business in South Korea from the rapid growth period 1963-1996, through recovery from the 1997 financial crisis, to the present. The study assesses that the South Korean market and business practices will maintain some sui generis characteristics because of the country's idiosyncratic culture and singular form of institutional development in the recent past. The book contains comprehensive analysis of macro-level topics (such as business opportunities, cultural influence, country risk and market configuration) and micro-level topics (including business negotiation, business ethics, management of international joint ventures and the management system). This book delivers a wealth of valuable information for a scholarly audience including undergraduate and postgraduate students and academics in international business, as well as for firms considering market entry into South Korea.

Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. "The Big Ratchet" is the story of how it happened, of the ratchets--the technologies and innovations, big and small--that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket.
The Big Ratchet itself came in the twentieth century, when a range of technologies--from fossil fuels to scientific plant breeding to nitrogen fertilizers--combined to nearly quadruple our population in a century, and to grow our food supply even faster. To some, these technologies are a sign of our greatness; to others, of our hubris. MacArthur fellow and Columbia University professor Ruth DeFries argues that the debate is the wrong one to have. Limits do exist, but every limit that has confronted us, we have surpassed. That cycle of crisis and growth is the story of our history; indeed, it is the essence of "The Big Ratchet." Understanding it will reveal not just how we reached this point in our history, but how we might survive it.

Though conflict is normal and can never fully be prevented in the international arena, such conflicts should not lead to loss of innocent life. Tourism can offer a bottom-up approach in the mediation process and contribute to the transformation of conflicts by allowing a way to contradict official barriers motivated by religious, political, or ethnic division. Tourism has both the means and the motivation to ensure the long-term success of prevention efforts. Role and Impact of Tourism in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation is an essential reference source that provides an approach to peace through tourism by presenting a theoretical framework of tourism dynamics in international relations, as well as a set of peacebuilding case studies that illustrate the role of tourism in violent or critical scenarios of conflict. Featuring research on topics such as cultural diversity, multicultural interaction, and international relations, this book is ideally designed for policymakers, government officials, international relations experts, academicians, students, and researchers.

Contributes to the history of Middle Eastern narrative lore and its impact on Western tradition.

Ideal for students and general readers, this single-volume work serves as a ready-reference guide to pop culture in countries in North Africa and the Middle East, covering subjects ranging from the latest young adult book craze in Egypt to the hottest movies in Saudi Arabia. Part of the new Pop Culture around the World series, this volume focuses on countries in North Africa and the Middle East, including Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and more. The book enables students to examine the stars, idols, and fads of other countries and provides them with an understanding of the globalization of pop culture. An introduction provides readers with important contextual information about pop culture in North Africa and the Middle East, such as how the United States has influenced movies, music, and the Internet; how Islamic traditions may clash with certain aspects of pop culture; and how pop culture has come to be over the years. Readers will learn about a breadth of topics, including music, contemporary literature, movies, television and radio, the Internet, sports, video games, and fashion. There are also entries examining topics like key musicians, songs, books, actors and actresses, movies and television shows, popular websites, top athletes, games, and clothing fads and designers, allowing readers to gain a broad understanding of each topic, supported by specific examples. An ideal resource for students, the book provides Further Readings at the end of each entry; sidebars that appear throughout the text, providing additional anecdotal information; appendices of Top Tens that look at the top-10 songs, movies, books, and much more in the region; and a bibliography. Allows readers to make cross-cultural comparisons by relating pop culture in the Islamic world to pop culture in the United States Supplies highly relatable content for young adult readers that is presented in a fun and engaging way Provides information that students can use in daily life, such as renting a popular or acclaimed Middle Eastern film or watching a YouTube video of Egyptian music Enables students to better understand the uneasy paradox that is pop culture in the Islamic world

As the global populace continues to boom, especially in developing countries, it has become essential to find ways to effectively handle this population increase through various urbanization methods. However, these techniques have posed potential issues, as well as opportunities for improvement. Population Growth and Rapid Urbanization in the Developing World emphasizes the trends, challenges, issues, and strategies developing countries evaluate when facing a population upsurge and expeditious development of urban environments. Exploring the use of different governance techniques, trending patterns in urbanization and population growth, as well as tools and the appropriate allocation of resources used to address these issues, this book is a comprehensive reference for academicians, researchers, students, practitioners, professionals, managers, urban planners, technicians, and government officials.

For businesses to remain competitive, managers must continuously update their leadership methods. By attempting to learn from foreign experiences and approaches, managers can gain significant value in cross-cultural comparisons in the business realm. Examining Cultural Influences on Leadership Styles and Learning From Chinese Approaches to Management: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an informative scholarly reference source that examines the cultural aspects of management styles and techniques. Highlighting relevant topics such as leadership development, value systems, validity tests, and organizational communication, this publication will benefit all academicians, professionals, practitioners, managers, and business owners that are interested in discovering a more inclusive way to hone their leadership skillsets.

Advancing our understanding of one of the most influential 20th-century philosophers, Robert Vinten brings together an international line up of scholars to consider the relevance of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s ideas to the cognitive science of religion. Wittgenstein's claims ranged from the rejection of the idea that psychology is a 'young science' in comparison to physics to challenges to scientistic and intellectualist accounts of religion in the work of past anthropologists. Chapters explore whether these remarks about psychology and religion undermine the frameworks and practices of cognitive scientists of religion. Employing philosophical tools as well as drawing on case studies, contributions not only illuminate psychological experiments, anthropological observations and neurophysiological research relevant to understanding religious phenomena, they allow cognitive scientists to either heed or clarify their position in relation to Wittgenstein’s objections. By developing and responding to his criticisms, Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Science of Religion offers novel perspectives on his philosophy in relation to religion, human nature, and the mind.

The concept of the game illustrates a collectively recognized representation of existence in American literature. This investigation explores the concealment of the function of division beneath the function of communication. The philosophical cornerstones of this investigation are Marshall McLuhan, Guy Debord, and Michel Pecheux. Inspired by Henry Miller, an innovative methodology is established that focuses on patterns of experience (symbol/sign), patterns of structure (myth), and patterns of language (metaphor). The concept of the game renders an essential social relation tangible (interpellation), and it epitomizes a commitment to the restoration of American spiritual values. It is a rejection of "a mistaken idea of freedom" and an advocate of "true freedom."

Based on original fieldwork in Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico, this book offers a bridge between geography and historical sociology. Chris Hesketh examines the production of space within the global political economy. Drawing on multiple disciplines, Hesketh's discussion of state formation in Mexico takes us beyond the national level to explore the interplay between global, regional, national, and sub-national articulations of power. These are linked through the novel deployment of Antonio Gramsci's concept of passive revolution, understood as the state-led institution or expansion of capitalism that prevents the meaningful participation of the subaltern classes. Furthermore, the author brings attention to the conflicts involved in the production of space, placing particular emphasis on indigenous communities and movements and their creation of counterspaces of resistance. Hesketh argues that indigenous movements are now the leading social force of popular mobilization in Latin America. The author reveals how the wider global context of uneven and combined development frames these specific indigenous struggles, and he explores the scales at which they must now seek to articulate themselves.

Technological Change and Mature Industrial Regions explicitly adopts an inter-disciplinary approach to analysing the structural transformation of mature regions. The major focus of the book is from an economics perspective, but it also employs sociological analyses, business history approaches and technological analyses. It critically considers the identification and development of regional capabilities and regional policy initiatives for mature industrial areas in the context of globalisation and technological change. Specific cases from a range of different countries help to distinguish which aspects of mature regions' technology, knowledge or structure are region-specific, and which are more generally applicable to mature industrial regions throughout the world. The book will prove to be invaluable for academic researchers as well as government and policy communities.

This book examines the major economic and political factors influencing China's exchange rate policies from the foundation of the People's Republic to the present. It considers how national economic and political priorities, international influences, domestic institutional interests and the new constraints imposed by China's rapidly globalising post-Mao economy determine exchange rate policy. The authors argue that China's exchange rate decisions were not made simply in response to external pressures, rather that they were formed on the basis of domestic assessments of domestic circumstances to serve domestic interests. They go on to illustrate that such decisions are made on the basis of what policymakers perceive are the nation's best interests, and thus constitute dynamic interplay between national priorities and the interests of institutional and non-institutional actors in the policy arena. Fulfilling the demand for further research on how China formulates exchange rate policy, this book will strongly appeal to a wide-ranging audience including: students, academics and researchers with an interest in political economy, Asian studies, international relations, comparative politics, international business and international economics and finance. Policymakers and bankers will also find much to interest them in this book.

Scholars from Japan and a range of other countries explore in this book the still-unfinished effort to achieve the reconciliation of old enmities left over from past wars in East Asia. They present concrete policy proposals for a 'grand design' of peace based on the Japanese concept of 'kyosei', a word roughly translated as 'conviviality'. A positive peace through kyosei means not only the absence of violence, but also the amelioration of past injustices, exploitation and oppression. The diversity of disciplines represented in the volume-international law and politics, history, philosophy and theology - enrich the contributors' search for an intellectually appropriate, practically transformative and viable grand theory of peace in the twenty-first century. Chapters address issues such as security in North-South conflict situations, foreign policy strategies for Japan, the perspective of comparative religions, and current skepticism for the possibility of peace and reconciliation. These insightful and compelling analyses will be of great interest to students and researchers of East Asia and the politics of peace in general.

Consigned to oblivion by the Franco regime and traditional historiography, the Other Silver Age Spain (1868-1939) encompasses an array of cultural forms that are coming back into view today with the aid of mass digitization. This volume examines the period through a digital lens, reinterpreting literary and cultural history with the aid of twenty-first-century technologies that raise aesthetic and ethical questions about historical memory, the canon, and the archive. Scholars based in Spain, Germany, and the United States explore modern Spanish culture in the context of digital corpora, archives, libraries, maps, networks, and visualizations-tools that spark dialogues between the past and the present, research and teaching, and Hispanism in the academy and society at large.

In discussions about people power or nonviolent action, most people will immediately think of Gandhi or Martin Luther King, a few will recall the end of the Marcos regime in the Philippines in the mid-1980s, and some others will remember or have heard of the Prague Spring nearly two decades earlier. Moreover, for most activists and others involved in peace action and movements for social change, there will be little knowledge of the theories of nonviolent action and still less of the huge number of actions taken in so many countries and in such different circumstances across the world. Even recent events across the Middle East are rarely put in a broader historical context. Although the focus of this book is on post-1945 movements, the opening section provides a wide-ranging introduction to the history and theoretical bases of nonviolent action, and reflects the most recent contributions to the literature, citing key reference works.

An anthology of essays on the new syncretic, or 'fusion', styles of music of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific region, who have adopted forms of popular music as an expression of their cultural identity. Its strength lies in the layering up of a sense of community of inquiry, and the fostering of an intertextual head of steam, grounded in a set of empirical, rather than theoretical, concerns. It considers the interrelation between music, popular culture, politics and (national) identity, but also looks at the business aspect of producing and distributing music in the Pacific region.