The importance of subnational welfare measures, and their complex embeddedness in wider multilevel governance systems, has often been underplayed in both urban studies and social policy analysis. This Handbook gives readers the analytical tools to understand urban social policies in context and bridges the gap in research. It provides a novel perspective of social policy analysis, answering the common debates such as: what is the role of local institutions in welfare provisions? Do they exert an influence beyond their jurisdiction? What difference can we trace among different types of locales (e.g. urban vs. rural)? How does the role of cities change in different national regulatory systems? Chapters disentangle the interplay between jurisdictions, politics, policy instruments and contexts in the spatial construction of social policies. Thanks to the impressive selection of contributors, the volume discusses urban social policies with broad geographical coverage including cases from Europe, North America, South America and Asia, and provides cursory references to the COVID-19 pandemic in different policy fields. This book will be of interest to a broad range of students in different fields from welfare to urban studies, as well as those interested in multilevel governance and policy analysis. Scholars interested in comparative social policy, but also in social innovation, public administration and political science, will also find this book a good companion.

A beautifully illustrated oracle deck inspired by meditation, with 54 mantra cards to bring guidance and affirmation to your divination.   Mantras are sacred sounds originally conceived to aid in meditation, which have taken on significance in a more general sense as a way to manifest your desire or strengthen your intentions. This beautiful deck—illustrated in full color by the author’s husband, painter Bastien Coulon—is an elegant way to incorporate the concept of mantras, mudras, and their role in meditation into your daily practice. The Mantra Oracle works both as a tool for concentration and as a daily affirmation deck that can provide guidance and clarity. An informative guidebook also lists the properties and meanings of each card and how to use the deck for a variety of purposes.    Fans of Tracee Stanley’s Radiant Rest will find similar vibes in these self-care oracle cards, with author Lili Barbery-Coulon’s background as a yoga instructor bringing the same themes of relaxation and clarity to this deck. Adorned with painter Bastien Coulon’s beautiful art, this deck is an elegant and inspirational gift perfect for anyone looking for oracle cards to accompany their meditation practice.    

Mining agreements (MAs) often reflect governments' political aspirations. To allow their deals to conclude with minimum risk and maximum benefit, mining investors must know and understand the motivating factors of the governments of applicable countries, and their consequences. The form and substance of MAs vary considerably and may be adapted to suit a country's particular legal and socioeconomic framework and the peculiarities of the sector of the mining industry concerned. Developing countries are now relentlessly competing for investment funds, offering attractive conditions for transnational mining companies. In developed countries, on the other hand, the desires to protect the environment and to guarantee or restore natives' rights have caused a downward shift in investment priorities. This text: sets out the various forms an MA can take; examines the key role played by national political will in MA negotiation through an analysis of MA evolution in four host countries - Australia, Chile, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, all of which are particularly attractive countries for foreign mineral investment; explores the main trends in the evolution of MA content over the past 30 years - including the dramatic increase in environmental requirements, the growing concern over natives' rights, and the decrease in economic rent and equity shares; traces the trends' origin in the HCs' political will with the TMCs' need for stability; and explains how to write an MA that will stand the test of time. These features position this work to provide participants in the running industry - transnational and mining companies, national governments, and international organizations - with bargaining solutions for the mining agreements of the future and to heighten their awareness of actual present and foreseeable changes in the political, social and investment climate.

The temples and teahouses of Kyoto are the scene of a Frenchwoman's emotional awakening in the stunning new novel by international bestseller Muriel Barbery. Rose has turned 40, but has barely begun to live. When the Japanese father she never knew dies and she finds herself an orphan, she leaves France for Kyoto to hear the reading of his will. In the days before Haru's last wishes are revealed, his former assistant, Paul, takes Rose on a tour of the temples, gardens and eating places of this unfamiliar city. Initially a reluctant tourist and awkward guest in her late father's home, Rose gradually comes to discover Haru's legacy through the itinerary he set for her, finding gifts greater than she had ever imagined. This stunning novel from international bestseller Muriel Barbery is a mesmerizing story of second chances, of beauty born out of grief and roses grown from ashes.

Love and Dreams is a romance set in the context of New York society in a period that spans the last century. The story is woven into New York's richly textured social history and the rituals established by New York's first settlers: the WASP gentry and the German-Jewish aristocracy. Love and Dreams tells of friendship and of love. Love is powerful and the characters of this story3/4Ogden Graves, Bandit and Charlotte Hutchins, Henley and Hayes Buchanan, Andy Morgan, Alice Munro Gonzalez, Vera Whitmore, and others3/4are touchingly human. A story of friendship and love is always a story of loss. People die. Those left behind must try to transcend the limitations of life on this earth. The friends are helped by each other. They are helped by imagined or real invisibles. . . angels devoted to preserving remembrance. The characters of Love and Dreams live in a world of unqualified privilege and experience. As we join them in their struggles and triumphs, we understand them only too well. Their names may be Ogden or Charlotte or Andy. But they are really ourselves. "It's about time she shared with us her remarkable insight into human life. . .what she has seen to be true of women. . .and, of particular note in Love and Dreams, to be true of men." --Mary-Leighton Land Smith

The Regulatory Technology Handbook The transformational potential of RegTech has been confirmed in recent years with US$1.2 billion invested in start-ups (2017) and an expected additional spending of US$100 billion by 2020. Regulatory technology will not only provide efficiency gains for compliance and reporting functions, it will radically change market structure and supervision. This book, the first of its kind, is providing a comprehensive and invaluable source of information aimed at corporates, regulators, compliance professionals, start-ups and policy makers. The REGTECH Book brings into a single volume the curated industry expertise delivered by subject matter experts. It serves as a single reference point to understand the RegTech eco-system and its impact on the industry. Readers will learn foundational notions such as: - The economic impact of digitization and datafication of regulation - How new technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain) are applied to compliance - Business use cases of RegTech for cost-reduction and new product origination - The future regulatory landscape affecting financial institutions, technology companies and other industries Edited by world-class academics and written by compliance professionals, regulators, entrepreneurs and business leaders, the RegTech Book represents an invaluable resource that paves the way for 21st century regulatory innovation.

From the author of the New York Times bestseller, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog."
In the heart of Paris, in the posh building made famous in "The Elegance of the Hedgehog," Pierre Athens, the greatest food critic in the world, is dying. Revered by some and reviled by many, Monsieur Arthens has been lording it over the world's most esteemed chefs for years, passing judgment on their creations, deciding their fates with a stroke of his pen, destroying and building reputations on a whim. But now, during these his final hours, his mind has turned to simpler things. He is desperately searching for that singular flavor, that sublime something once sampled, never forgotten, "the Flavor" par excellence. Indeed, this flamboyant and self-absorbed man desires only one thing before he dies: one last taste.
Thus begins a charming voyage that traces the career of Monsieur Arthens from childhood to maturity across a celebration of all manner of culinary delights. Alternating with the voice of the supercilious Arthens is a chorus belonging to his acquaintances and familiars?relatives, lovers, a would-be protege, even a cat. Each will have his or her say about M. Arthens, a man who has inspired only extreme emotions in people. Here, as in "The Elegance of Hedgehog," Muriel Barbery's story celebrates life's simple pleasures and sublime moments while condemning the arrogance and vulgarity of power.

The enthralling international bestseller.
We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Ren?e, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Ren?e is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence.
Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.
Paloma and Ren?e hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Ren?e's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

"This book provides an excellent synthesis of conservation practices...The book has insightfully blended constructive concepts supported by well-recognised models and case studies on how to manage agricultural production and biodiversity...I strongly recommend this brilliant book to students, scientists, managers, policymakers and politicians engaging in biodiversity conservation in the agricultural landscape globally." Journal of Nature Conservation More intensive, monocultural agriculture has been associated with a decline in diversity of habitat and plant species which leads to corresponding declines in diversity of insect, bird and mammal species. There is mounting evidence that a more biodiverse landscape improves ecosystem services which benefits farmers. Reconciling agricultural production with biodiversity conservation provides an authoritative review of current biodiversity conservation practices, including field margins, agroforestry systems, hedgerows and improved pasture and grassland management. The collection additionally summarises the theoretical framework that underpins biodiversity conservation in agriculture, dedicating chapters to key developments in areas such as landscape approaches, mapping and modelling diversity, as well as ways of assessing the economic value of biodiversity conservation practices.