This title was first published in 2000: This text presents the results of a three-year study in social research, which aimed to measure and explain anomie in different parts of the world with different cultures and different socio-political and economic conditions. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied, and the book not only represents the projects in juxtaposition, but also attempts to show how they relate to each other. The project elaborated instruments for practical use of both public and private agents in development co-operation in order to assess the stability or instability of a given society and to orient development policies accordingly. The book aims to provide the basis for an early detection system for anomie. The main interest is intercultural setting, the detection of hidden anomic potential and the close linkages between scientific research and its applicability for development policy and practice in applied anomie research.

Beijing has formed South-South relations with many developing countries and emerging economies by providing foreign aid, setting up trade agreements, making investments, and employing public diplomacy. China's economic rise and diplomatic initiatives to expand strategic partnerships with countries of the Global South are starting to impact the very structure of international relations. The contributions to this volume provide insights into the rapidly unfolding trans-regional dynamics of China's fast developing formal and informal ties to Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. The book also reveals the inadequacies of the traditional architecture of area studies in taking up the challenge of trans-regional research. (Series: Chinese History and Society / Berliner China-Hefte - Vol. 42)

Twenty years ago, foreign researchers once again began to venture into China for fieldwork. Today, "the field" itself has become mobile, ephemeral, and virtual, as more research focuses on human mobility and communication. The book takes a look at some of the trends and problems of fieldwork in and about China today, touching on issues that range from Internet research to sexual harassment in the field, foreign investors in China, Chinese tourists abroad as research subjects, and the role of social and poverty assessment in development.

Bettina Gransow teaches at the Free University Berlin, Germany, and Hohai University, Nanjing, China. Pl Nyri is a lecturer in anthropology and director of the Applied Anthropology Programme at Macquarie University, Sydney. Shiaw-Chian Fong is a professor in the Department of Journalism, National Chengchi University, Taipei.