This book offers a groundbreaking analysis of the ancient Ever-Normal Granary system, illuminating its significance in both historical and modern economic discourse. This work systematically explores the theories and practices of buffer stocks within the contexts of Chinese and Western economic histories, creating a dialogue between ancient wisdom and contemporary challenges.

What sets this book apart is its innovative framework, which evolves the concept of Ever-Normal Granary into a dynamic model of "Maintaining Balance through the Mean," culminating in the formulation of the "Ever Normal Law." This theoretical advancement highlights the "Spirit of the Middle Way" intrinsic to Chinese economic thought, revealing the unique insights that shape China's economic strategies.

Designed for scholars, researchers, and students in history, economics, and agricultural policy, as well as policymakers and those interested in food security, this book strikes a balance between academic rigor and accessibility.

This book addresses an urgent need to rethink the future of human settlement in the context of significant economic, social and environmental changes, arguing that we must look beyond our current paradigm of 'sustainability' to envision a continuously evolving framework for human settlements.

The book tackles the role of the service economy in human settlement evolution, filling a major gap in the literature. While service-driven business models are already regularly evaluated and utilized, the social challenges of the service economy - and its positive impacts in exacerbating economic and environmental crises - are poorly understood from the point of view of human settlement evolution. The chapters in this book, based on a new theoretical approach centered around post-industrial and post-anthropocentric perspectives, highlight the need for the innovative design and development of human settlements. The book proposes a framework of six strategies for evolving human settlements that integrates economic, social, and environmental dimensions and explains the logic of the evolutionary path. A set of case studies illustrates practical applications of post-industrial settlements building through the prism of a suggested innovative holistic approach.

With its innovative approach and blend of theory and real-world considerations, this book will be a highly valuable read for an interdisciplinary audience of scholars from economics, business, sociology, urban planning, geography, sustainability studies and more.

Abraham Lincoln and the American Experiment in Self-Government revisits the most pressing question of the republic's past and present: Can a nation founded on the principles of liberty and equality sustain itself through crisis? Leveraging an interdisciplinary group of senior and emerging scholars, this book offers a sweeping re-examination of Lincoln's political thought and statesmanship. Through probing analyses of his rhetoric, constitutionalism, moral philosophy, and wartime leadership, the collection reveals Lincoln's enduring insights into how free societies can preserve themselves. Together, these essays illuminate how Lincoln's example can guide Americans seeking to sustain self-government in the twenty-first century.

This book explores the tangible societal contributions of Zhu Xi (1130-1200) and his disciples during their lifetimes, alongside the enduring impact of their practices on contemporaries and subsequent generations. A towering Neo-Confucian philosopher of the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi revolutionized Confucianism by synthesizing the metaphysical concepts of li (principle) and qi (material force) into a coherent theoretical framework. His interpretations of Confucian classics became imperial orthodoxy for over 700 years, shaping education, civil service examinations, and social ethics across East Asia. By integrating Buddhist and Daoist insights into Confucian thought, Zhu deepened its philosophical richness while upholding core values such as ren (benevolence) and moral self-cultivation, leaving an indelible mark on traditional Chinese governance, cultural identity, and the intellectual landscapes of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Translated from the Chinese academic monograph Zhuxi jiqi houxue de lishixue kaocha by leading Ming-Qing history scholar Chen Zhiping, this volume diverges from conventional philosophical approaches to Zhu Xi studies. Instead, it centers on concrete actions over abstract ideas. Leveraging his expertise in Chinese economic and social history, Professor Chen delivers a systematic analysis of Zhu Xi and his followers' engagement in governance and daily life, offering fresh perspectives on their historical role and far-reaching influence.

This book offers an in-depth and penetrating exploration of cybercrimes committed against one of the most vulnerable groups in society-children-within the hidden environment of the dark web. Approaching the subject through an interdisciplinary and analytical lens, the volume investigates how anonymity technologies, encrypted communication channels, cryptocurrencies, and concealed online platforms enable and sustain child sexual exploitation in digital spaces.

Acting as a guide through the hidden layers of the dark web, the book examines the tactics, strategies, and evolving methods used by cybercriminals to target children. It provides detailed analysis of secret forums, underground networks, and AI-enabled tools, including deepfake technologies and automated content generation, that have reshaped the nature and scale of these crimes. Moving beyond surface-level discussions, the book offers a deeper understanding of offender behavior, psychological drivers, and operational methodologies underpinning cyber-enabled child exploitation.

Grounded in real-world case studies and investigative experiences, the volume bridges the gap between academic analysis and practical application. These cases provide concrete insights into victim experiences, offender techniques, and the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies, reinforcing the urgency of effective prevention, detection, and response mechanisms.

Balancing critical analysis with forward-looking solutions, the book equips readers with the knowledge needed to identify threats and protect children in the digital age. It empowers parents, guardians, educators, policymakers, and practitioners with actionable insights, policy-relevant recommendations, and technological perspectives to strengthen digital defenses. By emphasizing international cooperation, public-private partnerships, and interdisciplinary collaboration, the book positions itself not only as a rigorous academic contribution, but also as a practical resource and a call to collective action toward creating a safer online environment for children.

Game theory is a very powerful instrumental framework designed to analyze and solve complicated situations, especially decision-making problems under conditions of uncertainty. Major problems and issues in legal practice and jurisprudence are decision-making problems under conditions of uncertainty, therefore, it seems quite natural to use game theory to solve these problems. Moreover, game theory's solutions for these legal problems and issues are very simple, easily applicable, inexpensive and considered to be fair in comparison to other solutions. The objective of this book is to make game theory in the legal context accessible for the reader, especially for legal practitioners, academics and students, using clear, simple and comprehensive theory, explanations and examples from daily legal practice. The applications in law include analysis of the law, existing and ideal, as well as applications in legal practice. Although game theory is classified as a branch of mathematics, the book is written and designed in a way that no mathematical background is required to fully understand the theory itself and its applications.

Der Workshop ?Ziviler Ungehorsam im demokratischen Verfassungsstaat“ auf der Welttagung der Internationalen Vereinigung fuer Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie in Seoul 2024 bietet eine aktuelle und systematische Standortbestimmung zu einem der umstrittensten Themen moderner Demokratie. Aus rechtsphilosophischer, rechtsvergleichender und dogmatischer Perspektive analysieren fuehrende Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler das Spannungsfeld zwischen Demokratie, Rechtsstaatlichkeit, Legalitaet und Legitimitaet.

Die Autorinnen und Autoren diskutieren Grundlagen, Bedingungen und Grenzen Zivilen Ungehorsams, beleuchten das Verhaeltnis zu Widerstandsrechten und nehmen unterschiedliche nationale Rechtsordnungen ? darunter Korea und die Schweiz ? in den Blick. In den hier versammelten Texten werden darueber hinaus auch neue Phaenomene wie etwa Ziviler Ungehorsam ?von oben“ in populistischen Kontexten beleuchtet. Die Beitraege bereichern die wissenschaftliche Debatte und liefern Impulse fuer die rechtspolitische Diskussion.

This book is the first academic work to comprehensively examine fact-checking practices outside Western democracies, featuring exclusively Global South voices. Unlike existing literature dominated by Western perspectives, this volume provides insider knowledge from scholars and practitioners operating in challenging environments with limited resources, political instability, and restricted data access. The book introduces concepts like "checktainment" and explores AI deployment in non-Western contexts, revealing how fact-checkers adapt methodologies to local conditions. Written by Global South scholars and practitioners with direct experience, it fills a critical gap in understanding how misinformation is combated across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Volume 1 offers an overview of the fact-checking ecosystem in the Global South, pointing out the differences with Western democracies and considering the institutions behind fact-checking organizations, cooperative endeavours, and the deployment of emerging technologies in the industry.

Over the past century, the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements have transformed the global Christian landscape with their emphasis on personal encounters with God. In this rigorous work, Andersen explains how Pentecostal experiences can also serve as a genuine source for Christian theology.

Theology tends to draw upon traditional sources, those of Scripture, tradition and reason. Andersen brilliantly highlights how all these sources relate to the religious experiences, and how they all influence each other reciprocally in systematic theology.

Through developing key criteria of how to evaluate these experiences, this book examines in detail what positive role Christian affections play in theological work and reflection processes. Highlighting the interplay between emotions and beliefs, the author combines Pentecostal theology of Christian affections with neuroscience and the somatic marker hypothesis.

Finally, the book makes a cumulative case for the reliability of Pentecostal experiences of God. It synthesises arguments from the philosophy of religion to suggest a nuanced proposal of their distinct theological contribution as manifestation beliefs that represent relational and personal knowledge of God.

This book presents a historical overview of how Christians have described and negotiated the causes of natural evil.
Within the context of his study, John Adair defines natural evil as evils that are not an obvious, direct result of moral compromise initiated by the free choice of a moral agent, but rather stem from nature itself-e.g., natural disasters, illness, or loss of life. While historical Christian communities' justifications for and responses to natural evil has evolved over time, Adair traces how Christian theodicy rests on a firm commitment to God's goodness. Across seven chapters, this book narrates this evolution of thought, focusing on key figures in history who illustrate the theological continuity around God's goodness. In doing so, Adair builds a theological conversation, prompting readers to consider the collective weight of this historic response to questions of natural evil and query how a response which affirms God's goodness might impact our own reactions to questions of God's relation to the horrors of our daily lives.

In the fashion and beauty industries, relevance is everything, and innovation is critical to survival in competitive markets. Denise Hardesty Sutton presents a selection of curated case studies to highlight how innovation, often shaped by specific historical, cultural, economic, and socioeconomic influences, is a key factor in pivotal events initiating fundamental change.

Drawing on relevant contextual elements and insights from the entrepreneurial impulse-both inside and outside of traditional economic systems-Sutton covers a variety of turning points within the industries, including the introduction of maternity and plus-size women's apparel (Lane Bryant), new textiles, (DuPont's Kevlar), luxury streetwear (Dapper Dan), creative upcycling (feed sacks), new cosmetics markets (Fashion Fair), and business models in beauty (Weleda, Dr. Hauschka).

As Sutton examines each case, she positions it within its unique context to illuminate the cultural meanings and impacts of its development alongside wider industry trends like the turn to inclusivity and the growing use of technology in pursuit of efficiency, product development, and problem-solving.

This groundbreaking volume examines the relationship between new religions, alternative spiritualities, and popular music.

Interdisciplinary in its approach, this book draws on scholarship within the study of new religions, the sociology of religion, popular music studies, ethnomusicology, and critical musicology. It examines the ways in which devotion to a band can lead to the establishment of a new religion and also
how new religions use popular music evangelistically, ritualistically, and as a source of income.

What emerges is a complex picture in which religious beliefs and popular music cultures cross-fertilize each other in unexpected and fascinating ways.

Explores racial/ethnic identity development as a life-long process of negotiating self, context, and others' perceptions and behaviors from early adolescence to adulthood.

Guided by early foundational and recent compelling theories on race/ethnicity and identity development across the lifespan, Celina Chatman Nelson, Stephen C. Peck, Oksana Malanchuk, and Jacquelynne S. Eccles provide a detailed analysis of their collected research on the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (MADICS) to demonstrate the diversity of racial/ethnic identity profiles and how they change over time. MADICS began with nearly 1500 7th graders and their families in the early 1990s, following many of them into their early 30s at the turn of the millennium. Using mixed-method research involving case studies and interview data, this book demonstrates racial/ethnic identity as multidimensional, contextualized, and idiosyncratic, within a bidirectional, iterative, and nuanced process. Through the presentation of their research findings on Prince George's County youth, the authors encourage families, schools, and communities to have an open dialogue about race/ethnicity to promote active reflection not only among developing youth, but also within the world we live in today.

Labor Precarity, Social Exploitation, and Trade Union Engagement: Critical Approaches to Work from Spain and Portugal collection provides some normative interpretations of the labor crisis' effects on both Spain and Portugal, focusing on how digital platforms and gig economy have altered patterns of labor relations and trade union membership in Spain and Portugal.

While for a time, labor appeared to have lost its centrality within critical theory and social philosophy, recent years have disproved this. The evolution of advanced neoliberal societies has shown the extent to which labor is crucial for understanding a wide array of concepts such as domination and exploitation, modes of subjectivity, health and diseases, gender relations, and the organization of democracy. Labor is a privileged space for understanding the profoundly active and constructive nature of neoliberalism. In contrast with characterizations emphasizing its laissez-faire policies of deregulation, labor is one area in which the interventionist activism of neoliberalism has been most intense, provoking changes in work processes, legislation, production models, and individualization. Moreover, many of today's social conflicts unfold in relation to work and its conditions: new forms of trade unionism, associationism and activism renew the language and practices of resistance in a situation demonstrating a new relationship between business corporations, trade unions and the State.

A unique and global perspective on the issues facing the beautiful game in today's complex world.

Soccer isn't just a sport anymore. It's a 24/7 obsession, a global business empire, a land of have and have-nots, a spectacle that most of the world is in love with. Yet, despite this obsession, most fans remain relatively unaware of the inner workings of the sport.

In The Beautiful Game? The Stories Shaping the Future of Soccer, Nicholas M. Watanabe poses thought-provoking questions about the state of soccer, blending storytelling with detailed investigations to uncover the hidden machinery behind the world's most popular sport. Each chapter focuses on a unique soccer topic that has important implications for the entire sport, ranging from the business of soccer and financial management-as seen through an examination of what led Messi to Miami-to player welfare-explored through a critical look at the knee injury crisis in women's soccer. Other issues include the Saudi World Cup, players competing in too many games, analytics, technology, American investors, and more.

The Beautiful Game? is a multifaceted view of modern soccer that promises to challenge, enlighten, and occasionally unsettle readers. Whether you're a die-hard fan or a casual observer, Watanabe offers a fresh perspective on this truly global sport, revealing the complex ecosystem that underpins the beautiful game.

Drawing on interviews with founders of independent missions, field work in Africa, India, and Haiti, and her experience as director of an independent mission, Carrie A. Miles explores the challenges and strengths of missions built on interpersonal relationships and spiritual capital.

This book examines the rise of a new movement within Global Christianity: the independent mission. Once death-defying, residential, lifelong commitments, undertaken and supported by career professionals, a growing number of international missions are now small agencies operating without institutional support, and undertaken by volunteers who travel occasionally to the mission field but who live and work at home. Focusing on the importance of culturally respectful collaborations with national partners, this book also deals with the harm caused by missionaries who do not share that orientation. In a compelling example, Miles recounts her discovery that early missionaries to East Africa taught that God cursed humankind in Creation. Making no attempt to understand the meaning of curses in traditional religions, however, the missionaries created a devastating syncretism that persists to this day. The Transformation of Missions in the Twenty-First Century: Cross-Cultural Partnership without Syncretism argues that, in requiring cross-cultural awareness to operate, the constraints of working independently are also its strengths.

This dynamic exploration of two key modes of visual culture - fashion and photography - in 19th-century Istanbul contributes to an expanding body of research on fashion and the dressed body outside the Euro-American context. Based on meticulous analysis of visual, written and material objects, it focuses on women's lived experience during a time of dramatic change in the Ottoman Empire.

Over the 19th century, the women of Istanbul gradually transformed their appearance, adopting European dress and new modes of self-fashioning, including photographs. The book reconstructs a complex fashion history, and the dramatic changes that took place in women's lives in this period, and given the diverse population of Istanbul in terms of ethnicity, class, race and religion, attends to the differing clothing habits of the women of the city. The book focuses particularly on elite women as fashion tastemakers and on the dress of enslaved and working women.

Appealing to scholars across a range of fields, including fashion history, Ottoman studies, women's and gender history, visual culture and photography history, Fashion in Late Ottoman Istanbul provides a fascinating insight into women's histories, writing and dress practices in a rapidly changing Istanbul.

This book offers a critical examination of the migration and settlement of Koreans in the former Soviet region, situating the Koryo Saram within the broader context of the Korean diaspora.
Tracing their complex history from Imperial Russia through the Soviet era and into the present, Jinhye Lee investigates how policies of assimilation, socio-political transformations, and shifting geopolitical landscapes have shaped their identities and mobility. Lee brings the Koryo Saram from the margins to the center of diaspora studies by foregrounding the diversity of their experiences and examining their integration within host societies. Through in-depth analysis, the book offers insights into the challenges and possibilities of coexistence in increasingly pluralistic settings, while contributing a valuable case study of migration and integration that proposes a broader framework for understanding diasporic identity and promoting diversity in contemporary societies.