'The definitive account of the history of poverty finance' - Susanne Soederberg Finance, mobile and digital technologies - or 'fintech' - are being heralded in the world of development by the likes of the IMF and World Bank as a silver bullet in the fight against poverty. But should we believe the hype? A Critical History of Poverty Finance demonstrates how newfangled 'digital financial inclusion' efforts suffer from the same essential flaws as earlier iterations of neoliberal 'financial inclusion'. Relying on artificially created markets that simply aren't there among the world's most disadvantaged economic actors, they also reinforce existing patterns of inequality and uneven development, many of which date back to the colonial era. Bernards offers an astute analysis of the current fintech fad, contextualised through a detailed colonial history of development finance, that ultimately reveals the neoliberal vision of poverty alleviation for the pipe dream it is.

'The definitive account of the history of poverty finance' - Susanne Soederberg Finance, mobile and digital technologies - or 'fintech' - are being heralded in the world of development by the likes of the IMF and World Bank as a silver bullet in the fight against poverty. But should we believe the hype? A Critical History of Poverty Finance demonstrates how newfangled 'digital financial inclusion' efforts suffer from the same essential flaws as earlier iterations of neoliberal 'financial inclusion'. Relying on artificially created markets that simply aren't there among the world's most disadvantaged economic actors, they also reinforce existing patterns of inequality and uneven development, many of which date back to the colonial era. Bernards offers an astute analysis of the current fintech fad, contextualised through a detailed colonial history of development finance, that ultimately reveals the neoliberal vision of poverty alleviation for the pipe dream it is.

The 39th Annual Denver X-Ray Conference on Applications of X-Ray Analysis was held July 30 -August 3, 1990, at the Sheraton Steamboat Resort and Conference Center, Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The "Denver Conference" is recognized to be a major event in the x-ray analysis field, bringing together scientists and engineers from around the world to discuss the state of the art in x-ray applications as well as indications for future develop ments. In recent years there has been a steady expansion of applications of x-ray analysis to characterize surfaces and thin films. To introduce the audience to one of the exciting and important new developments in x-ray fluorescence, the topic for the Plenary Session of the 1990 Conference was: "Surface and Near-Surface X-Ray Spectroscopy. " The Conference had the privilege of inviting five leading world experts in the field of x-ray spectroscopy to deliver lectures at the Plenary Session. The first two lectures were on total-reflection x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Professor P. Wobrauschek of Austria reviewed "Recent Developments and Results in Total-Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence. " Trends and applications of the technique were also discussed. Dr. T. Arai of Japan reported on "Surface and Near-Surface Analysis of Silicon Wafers by Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence. " He emphasized the importance of using proper x-ray optics to achieve high signal-to-noise ratios. A mathematical model relating the x-ray intensity to the depth of x-ray penetration was also described.

'Standard' employment relationships, with permanent contracts, regular hours, and decent pay, are under assault. Precarious work and unemployment are increasingly common, and concern is also growing about the expansion of informal work and the rise of 'modern slavery'. However, precarity and violence are in fact longstanding features of work for most of the world's population. Lamenting the 'loss' of secure, stable jobs often reflects a strikingly Eurocentric and historically myopic perspective. This book argues that standard employment relations have always co-existed with a plethora of different labour regimes. Highlighting the importance of the governance of irregular forms of labour the author draws together empirical, historical analyses of International Labour Organisation (ILO) policy towards forced labour, unemployment, and social protection for informal workers in sub-Saharan Africa. Archival research, extensive documentary research and interviews with key ILO staff are utilised to explore the critical role the organization's activities have often played in the development of mechanisms for governing irregular labour. Addressing the increasingly widespread and pressing practical debates about the politics of precarious labour in the world economy this book speaks to key debates in several disciplines, especially IPE, global governance, and labour studies. It will also be of interest to scholars working in development studies and critical political economy.

'Standard' employment relationships, with permanent contracts, regular hours, and decent pay, are under assault. Precarious work and unemployment are increasingly common, and concern is also growing about the expansion of informal work and the rise of 'modern slavery'. However, precarity and violence are in fact longstanding features of work for most of the world's population. Lamenting the 'loss' of secure, stable jobs often reflects a strikingly Eurocentric and historically myopic perspective. This book argues that standard employment relations have always co-existed with a plethora of different labour regimes. Highlighting the importance of the governance of irregular forms of labour the author draws together empirical, historical analyses of International Labour Organisation (ILO) policy towards forced labour, unemployment, and social protection for informal workers in sub-Saharan Africa. Archival research, extensive documentary research and interviews with key ILO staff are utilised to explore the critical role the organization's activities have often played in the development of mechanisms for governing irregular labour. Addressing the increasingly widespread and pressing practical debates about the politics of precarious labour in the world economy this book speaks to key debates in several disciplines, especially IPE, global governance, and labour studies. It will also be of interest to scholars working in development studies and critical political economy.

"Traditional food production and food economies have changed drastically as a result of social, economic, and political influences. A decrease in subsistence production and consumption of country food and concomitant increase in imported and prepared food has brought increased health risks. But neither are country foods without risk, with impacts of contamination, climate, and cultural change. Contributions from a 5-year multi-disciplinary study examine the impacts of development and environmental change, conservation, co-management and quota systems, fur boycotts and anti-sealing lobbies, the disruption of traditional distribution networks, impacts of new technologies, transportation and infrastructure, the influence of wage economies, market forces, social policies, as well as legal and jurisdictional influences. Issues and their intensity vary between regions of the circumarctic, but many common themes emerge. Introduction by Gerard Duhaime and Nick Bernard. Chapters by: Sophie Theriault, Ghislain Otis, Gerard Duhaime, and Christopher Furgal; Gerard Duhaime, Eric Dewailly, Paule Halley, Christopher Furgal, Nick Bernard, Anne Godmaire, Carole Blanchet, Heather Myers, Stephanie Powell, Susie Bernier, and Jacques Grondin; Heather Myers, Stephanie Powell, and Gerard Duhaime; Heather Myers, Stephanie Powell, and Gerard Duhaime; Marcelle Chabot; Rasmus Ole Masmussen, Gerard Duhaime, Eric Dewailly, Christopher Furgal, Nick Bernard, Carole Blanchet, Peter Bjerregaard, and Alexandre Morin; Rasmus Ole Rasmussen; Josee Arsenault; Ludger Muller-Wille, Leo Granberg, Mika Helander, Lydia Heikkila, Anni-Siiri Lansman, Tuula Tuisku, and Delia Berrouard; Ludger Muller-Wille, Jorunn Eikjok, and Dietbert Thannheiser; Tuula Tuisku; Larissa Abrutina; Chris D. James Paci, Cindy Dickson, Scot Nikels, Hing Man Chan, and Christopher Furgal; and Gerard Duhaime and Nick Bernard. Poster presentations presented as plates by: Gerard Duhaime, Nick Bernard, and Alexandre Morin; Ghislain Otis and Sophie Theriault; Paule Halley and Genevieve Parent; Marcelle Chabot; Paule Halley; Marie-Josee Verreault and Paule Halley; Alexandre Morin and Gerard Duhaime; Veronique Belanger and Paul Halley; and Anne Godmaire and Gerard Duhaime. "

There can be little doubt that the "benign neglect" from which the EC/EU so long benefited has come to an end. As European institutions expand and affect member State citizens in an ever more direct manner, issues of supranational governance and constitutionalism surge to the fore in every sphere of activity. These issues do not easily lend themselves to resolution. Scholars are in general agreement that the EU, although it displays some features of federalism, is a new kind of entity that continues to resist any known constitutional model. Multilevel Governance in the European Union presents the EU as a system in which public power is divided into layers of government where each layer retains autonomous power and none can claim ultimate power over the others. The author invites us to regard the EU as the product of the need for cross-border common action over a wide range of economic and social issues in the context of the absence of a conscious and willing European demos. He argues against a purely intergovernmental understanding of the EU just as much as against a purely supranational one. With a wealth of reference to caselaw, he shows that co-operation and co-ordination rather than assertion of ultimate authority are the principles on which the EU legal order is organised. The implications for law and constitutionalism are profound. The law is less the expression of a programme of government than the result of interaction between multiple stakeholders and the constitution less a set of fixed boundaries on power than a framework to organise that interaction. In its emphasis on the multilevel and polycentric character of the EU policy, Multilevel Governance in the European Unionshifts the focus of EU scholarship to a highly promising new locus highlighting issues of legitimation, citizenship, and the multiplicity of actors capable of influencing legislative outcomes. It is a rich and rewarding study that almost certainly will be seen as a ground-breaking work on the legal, social, economic, and political structure of Europe at the turn of the 21st Century.