This book offers a comprehensive exploration of contemporary issues in consumer law. Organized by the International Association of Consumer Law (IACL) and presented at the 18th World Consumer Law Conference in Hamburg, it examines multifaceted challenges across various jurisdictions and sectors. It begins with an analysis of the integration of consumer protection into financial services, featuring insights into Brazilian over-indebtedness frameworks and South African corporate responsibility. A significant portion is devoted to trade obligations and faulty goods, including comparative studies involving Ghana, the UK, and the EU, alongside discussions on product durability.
The volume adopts an interdisciplinary approach, exploring the intersection of consumer law with competition law, gender studies, and intellectual property. It brings together international perspectives, ranging from gender protection in Argentina to trademark analysis in China. In the digital context, the book addresses evolving challenges such as Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), blockchain, and the liability of online platforms under EU and Turkish law. It also examines the impact of artificial intelligence in healthcare, deceptive design practices, and the important link between consumer protection and environmental sustainability.
Covering emerging areas such as food law and the protection of international tourists, this book is an essential resource for legal scholars, practitioners, and policymakers navigating the complex landscape of modern consumer protection.

Since South Africa's democratization in 1994, the urban centers have become hubs for international finance and tourism while the peripheral townships remain burdened by poverty and crime. In Cape Town, the country's leisure capital, racial segregation has grown a township tourism market that promises an "authentic" South African experience for visitors and an economic opportunity for township residents. Black women, rejecting the notion of "slum tourism," have spearheaded an accommodation sector by turning their township homes into bed and breakfasts and guesthouses. These entrepreneurial hostesses welcome white Western tourists as well as more frequent, though less recognized, Black South African guests. By tailoring their gendered service labor for different clientele, they curate multiple narratives of township life and South Africa's future.

Pinpointing women's homes as sites of ideological construction, Accommodating Aspirations considers how tourism shapes the way we understand "developing" countries. Annie Hikido critically examines how historical structures and everyday practices produce perceptions of neighborhoods and nations. Drawing from rich ethnographic fieldwork, Hikido demonstrates how township hostesses construct competing portrayals of place through race, class, gender, and nation. Poignant portraits of their homespun hospitality illuminate the promise and precarity of Black townships in the afterlife of apartheid.

This book offers a groundbreaking exploration into the elusive concept of arrogance, providing a comprehensive review that builds upon the fragmented and often silent literature. It delves into the intricate relationships between arrogance, leadership, and organizational culture, offering insights that are crucial for enhancing leadership effectiveness and workplace environments. By examining arrogance through various lenses, the authors challenge the notion that its consequences are solely negative, proposing instead that it may play a role in creativity and renewal.

Key concepts explored include the origins and development of arrogance, its distinction from similar constructs, and its impact on leadership and organizational dynamics. The authors present a nuanced analysis of arrogance as both a state and a trait, its emotional triggers, and its measurement through innovative qualitative methods. The book also investigates the potential benefits of arrogance in fostering creativity and innovation, as well as the emerging relationship between arrogance and artificial intelligence.

Ideal for scholars, students, and professionals in business and management, Arrogance in the Workplace is an essential resource for those seeking to understand and address arrogant behavior in leadership and organizational settings. This timely volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the complexities of human behavior and its impact on organizational success.

This book critically explores ethical leadership and responsible business practices in emerging markets, with a particular focus on Ghana and the African continent. Bridging theory and practice, it examines corruption, corporate social responsibility, stakeholder engagement, and public sector ethics through interdisciplinary analysis and real-world case studies. The work challenges Western-centric ethical paradigms by centering African perspectives and experiences, offering a contextual model of ethical leadership. It addresses the moral complexities faced by organizations in socio-politically dynamic environments and provides actionable insights for navigating ethical dilemmas. This timely contribution is essential for academics, students, policymakers, and business leaders seeking to understand and promote ethical governance and sustainable development in the Global South.

Die Arbeit untersucht die ungeklaerte materielle Reichweite des Herkunftslandprinzips in den Geltungsbereichen der ECRL und des DSA im Vergleich zur Reichweite des Sendestaatprinzips der AVMD-RL. Zudem werden die Auswirkungen des Herkunftslandprinzips im DSA auf die landesrechtliche Regulierung von Medienintermediaeren in Deutschland behandelt und bestehende regulatorische Spielraeume im Rahmen des MStV, JMStV, JuSchG und NetzDG analysiert. Beide Fragen sind dringlich, da der DSA als unmittelbar anwendbare Verordnung gilt und Vorrang gegenueber entgegenstehendem Landesrecht in Deutschland hat.

This book presents a multidisciplinary exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) and its transformative impact across diverse sectors, from logistics and agriculture to architecture, social media, management, law, and ethics. Through selected papers from the ICAIS'24 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Studies under the theme of "Future Trends in AI: Academy Meeting with Industry", the book examines real-world applications and theoretical implications of AI technologies, offering insights into GPU-accelerated object detection, precision agriculture, interior design, digital HR practices, and equitable anti-money laundering solutions. The selected papers also address pressing ethical concerns and legal frameworks surrounding AI, including prohibited systems and jurisdictional differences in case prediction. Designed for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, this collection fosters a deeper understanding of AI's evolving role in shaping sustainable, inclusive, and technologically advanced societies.

This conference proceedings examines the integration of sustainability into corporate strategies, exploring green tourism, environmental management, and eco-friendly innovations. Featuring papers presented at the 2025 Global Conference on Business and Economics (GLOBE) held in Sarasota, FL, USA, it includes case studies and research on topics such as sustainable supply chains, renewable energy adoption, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Offering practical frameworks and evidence-based solutions to balance profitability with environmental stewardship, this book is a vital resource for scholars, researchers, academics, practitioners and policy makers interested in fostering sustainable growth in global markets.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to foreign exchange from multiple perspectives, including professional practice, public policy, and academic research. It examines theories of exchange rate determination in light of how real-FX markets are structured and how FX transactions are actually conducted, and actual developments in foreign exchange rates. Furthermore, drawing on the author's experience working at Japan's Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for the country's foreign exchange policy, the book offers detailed insights into exchange rate policy and the international monetary system. Overall, it bridges theory and practice, helping readers understand both the analytical frameworks used to interpret exchange rates developments and the institutional and market realities that shape outcomes.

This book offers an interdisciplinary investigation into the role of metaphorical language in Chinese oral epics. Rooted in cognitive-pragmatic theory, it analyzes how metaphorical discourse operates, both as a cognitive tool and a pragmatic strategy, in shaping and transmitting the cultural narratives embedded in these epics. Integrating theoretical frameworks from cognitive linguistics and pragmatics with a bilingual corpus, the work explores metaphorical patterns and their functions in oral performance. By connecting micro-level linguistic features to macro-level cultural logic, it proposes a Three-Layer, Six-Mechanism Model, describing how metaphor links individual cognition, communal discourse, and cultural continuity. Furthermore, the study discusses cross-epic variations and seeks to contribute to international metaphor studies by sharing perspectives from Chinese oral traditions, while addressing broader debates on cultural heritage and narrative studies.

The development of pragmatics has been shaped by thought experiments without which it could not have become an autonomous subfield of linguistics. However, their nature and their impact on current trends in pragmatics has not yet been made subject to systematic scrutiny. The book addresses that gap by confronting a central puzzle: How can thought experiments in pragmatics yield new experiential information about communication when they take place entirely within the researcher's imagination. The volume offers a clear and original answer by showing that their power lies not in invention or speculation, but in a disciplined process of argumentative re evaluation of existing experiential knowledge.

The book is unique in at least two respects. First, it presents carefully elaborated case studies on Searle's and Grice's seminal thought experiments, which yield an original solution to the paradox. The key idea of the solution is that thought experiments in pragmatics neither generate new experiential information per se, nor are they mere speculations on imaginary situations. Rather, their novelty is rooted in the plausible argumentation process during which they cyclically and prismatically re-evaluate experiential information. Second, through this solution, the book contributes to the controversies on the semantics-pragmatics interface in particular as well as the methodological foundations of pragmatic research in general.

Written with conceptual clarity and supported by extensive engagement with current scholarship, this volume is of vital interest to researchers and advanced students in pragmatics, cognitive linguistics as well as the history and philosophy of linguistics.

In a world where language connects people across cultures, Teaching for a Better World invites readers to imagine classrooms where words do more than teach grammar; they build empathy, resilience, and understanding. This groundbreaking volume is the first to focus on the integration of social-emotional learning (SEL) into English language teaching from a global perspective, bringing together educators and researchers from diverse cultural and educational contexts. Through conceptual discussions, research, and practical examples, the authors demonstrate how English lessons can also be lessons in compassion, collaboration, and global citizenship.

Organized into three sections-Conceptual Pieces, Empirical Studies, and Practical Examples-the book offers a comprehensive examination of SEL's theoretical foundations, evidence-based practices, and real-world classroom applications. Contributors explore SEL through lenses such as culturally responsive pedagogy, trauma-sensitive practices, teacher and student well-being, ecolinguistics, and intercultural dialogue. Readers will find innovative and practical ways to create inclusive, culturally responsive classrooms; support student and teacher well-being; and use English as a bridge for intercultural dialogue. Accessible and inspiring, this book's combination of conceptual depth, empirical rigor, and applied strategies position it as a foundational resource for advancing research and practice in SEL-informed English language pedagogy worldwide.

Readers of Teaching for a Better World will

• Learn pedagogically sound ways to foster empathy and resilience while creating inclusive, culturally responsive classrooms.
• Find ready-to-use lesson plans and activities.
• Encounter diverse perspectives of educators from a range of contexts, including conflict-affected regions, refugee resettlement contexts, and higher education.

Visions of Buddhist hell transformed fear of death into ritual care and hope for salvationIn thirteenth-century Japan, death was fraught with spiritual uncertainty. Salvation depended on dying with perfect concentration on the Buddha-an ideal that was seemingly unattainable amid political upheaval, famine, and social instability. The Ill-Fated Afterlife uncovers a striking religious response to those anxieties: vivid paintings of the Buddhist underworld created to care for the dead.

Centered on a monumental set of thirteenth-century Six Paths paintings preserved at Shojuraikoji temple, the study explores how images of hell functioned not merely as warnings about karmic punishment but as active ritual tools. Through careful analysis of their iconography, ritual use, and preservation, Miriam Chusid reveals how these paintings reshaped understandings of death, salvation, and the Buddhist cosmos in medieval Japan.

Scenes of torment, judgment before King Enma, and miraculous liberation invited viewers to confront suffering while participating in practices intended to aid the deceased. Rather than reinforcing a purely retributive vision of the afterlife, these images opened pathways for compassion, merit transfer, and salvation-even for those believed to face the greatest spiritual obstacles, including women and sinners.

Bringing together art history, ritual studies, and the material history of Buddhist objects, The Ill-Fated Afterlife demonstrates how powerful images transformed fear of the afterlife into a dynamic system of care for the living and the dead.

This book argues that these failures stem from a persistent neglect of the region's complex historical, political, and socio-economic realities. Terrorism in the Sahel has deep historical roots, yet many analyses overlook this long continuum and treat the violence as a recent development. Such ahistorical approaches have contributed to repeated policy failures. Regional and international counter-terrorism initiatives-from ECOWAS and the African Union to long-standing U.S. training programs and Russia's newer military engagements-have achieved little in reversing the militants' expansion. Heavy-handed operations, particularly by Russian forces, have further alienated local populations.

National security strategies cannot succeed within a transnational conflict system that spans the Sahel's vast, porous landscapes. International interventions have often reinforced authoritarian regimes while ignoring the structural drivers of radicalization and the infiltration of state institutions by militant actors.

Drawing on historical analysis and contemporary field dynamics, this book traces the emergence of key Islamist movements, examines the socio-economic factors sustaining them, and provides a detailed profile of the major groups operating across the Sahel. It also evaluates the effectiveness of regional and global counter-terrorism actors. The concluding recommendations outline practical measures to reduce the influence of Salafist jihadism and promote genuine long-term stability in the region.

This book presents a classical liberal perspective on the governance and economic implications of artificial intelligence. As generative AI transforms industries and institutions, this book reframes urgent debates on safety, regulation, labour, and autonomy through the lens of classical liberal economic and political philosophy.

Drawing on Austrian economics, liberal growth theory, and institutional economics, this book argues that classical liberalism and its philosophical framework has not only historically inspired the design of artificial intelligence but also remains a critical guide for its future development and application. From neural networks as emergent orders to AI agents as capital goods, the book explores how liberal principles can guide innovation, mitigate risk, and preserve individual rights. Chapters examine interpretability, the future of work, open-source commons, and the calculation debate, engaging with theorists such as Hayek, Kirzner, Simon, and Schumpeter. The book proposes polycentric governance models for AI safety and rights protection, emphasizing pluralism, contestability, and due process over precautionary control.

This book will be an essential resource for scholars in political economy, law and economics, technology policy, and digital governance. It will also appeal to a broader readership interested in academically rigorous, liberal approaches to the challenges and opportunities of the intelligence explosion.

This is the 39th volume of Springer's Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics series, the official book series of the Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES). This volume features selected papers presented at the 52nd EBES Conference, held in Istanbul, Tuerkiye, on July 3-5, 2025. The conference was organized with the support of the Istanbul Economic Research Association, jointly organized with the Gulf Financial Center and the College of Business Administration, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait, in Collaboration with the Bahcesehir University. At the conference, 215 papers were presented by 471 colleagues from 59 countries. The conference was held in a hybrid format, featuring both in-person and online paper presentations.

This book explores the evolving role of the credit channel in contemporary macroeconomic policy and financial stability. In ten analytical chapters, Cristina Peicuti examines the dual function of the credit channel-as both a conduit for monetary policy transmission and a macroeconomic stabilizer-within the broader context of capitalist economies.

Grounded in both theoretical inquiry and empirical investigation, the volume first establishes the conceptual foundations of the credit channel, drawing on influential contributions from leading economists. Peicuti systematically demonstrates the channel's critical role in amplifying or mitigating the effects of monetary interventions, thereby shaping macroeconomic outcomes.

A central focus of the book is the empirical analysis of the credit channel's performance during the European subprime crisis. Pairing case studies with policy evaluations, Peicuti assesses the measures adopted by EU Member States to preserve credit flows and support economic recovery. This analysis not only underscores the operational significance of the credit channel during periods of financial distress but also highlights its potential as a strategic policy instrument.

The concluding chapters advocate for a structural rethinking of capitalism's financial architecture, emphasizing the need for central banks to integrate the credit channel more explicitly into their policy frameworks. By doing so, the book argues that monetary authorities can foster conditions conducive to sustainable growth, price stability, and crisis prevention.

The resulting book contextualizes modern economic governance and highlights the transformative potential of the credit channel.