This book explores the complex interplay between test-takers' strategic competence, task complexity, and performance, focusing on Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). It introduces and empirically validates the Strategic Competence Model of L2 Speaking (SCMLS), the first framework in second language research to clearly conceptualise strategic competence in speaking, designed primarily for Chinese EFL learners. It also provides a feasible solution to the long-standing challenge of designing and assessing task complexity and multimodality in L2 testing by using Robinson's (2015) Triadic Componential Framework. Methodologically, the employment of quantitative hierarchical linear modelling and qualitative, ChatGPT-assisted coding to investigate these relationships offers rigorous and efficient approaches to data analysis for future studies. The book provides pedagogical implications for metacognitive scaffolding and task development for EFL speaking instruction. This book serves as a useful reference for language assessment researchers, applied linguists, teacher educators, test developers, and graduate students interested in second language speaking performance and strategy use in assessment contexts.

This book details the temporal transformations in modernity as they have manifested in social structures and relationships. Globalization has created a new reality in the image of the new-age truth-the reality of pluralism which has transformed the way human relations have been organized. There has been a surge of new values and new ideas. All these have collectively formed a new consciousness. This book captures the said consciousness in its totality through its various manifestations in various domains on human socialization. The authors of the book provide broader generalizations on globalization, situating it through various standpoints, and particular analyses of how globalization has impacted particular domains. They have provided tales of resistance, adaptations, coexistences, and contestations. The major themes that will be addressed are: The rise and/or fall of social institutions; discovering global identities; global sensibilities: nihilism or hope?; cultural nostalgia and the yearning for the past; epistemological crisis in law: fragmentation, segmentation, and the loss of exclusivity. Additionally, the third section of the book is dedicated for author-meditations on SDGs. This type of a study is relevant, as time is ripe for a stocktaking-for globalization has set in as an endless evolution-of the human willing and acting in a globalizing word. It is its temporal lens, the way of looking at things, which makes this book contemporaneous.

The volume examines the lessons learned and challenges identified during the almost two years of application of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) by the European Commission, legal practice and contracting authorities, and places them in the context of an assessment of the FSR's conceptualisation, international reactions and the proliferating criticism in the academic literature. The contributions to this volume present the various challenges of the FSR through different lenses, thus providing a complex view of the FSR.

The Handbook offers a theoretical and practical guide to transformative philosophies, drawing on past theories still viable today and on contemporary approaches which prioritize key transformative notions. Bringing together international top scholars, this handbook breaks ground in its scope and depth, its erudition and originality, its theory and practice. The new field it defines ultimately addresses the question of what philosophy is, what it has been, and what it can be.

Part I offers historical perspectives on the transformative power of philosophy from antiquity to the 21st century. Addressing first various epochs in Western philosophy (Ancient and Hellenistic Philosophies; Late modern and Medieval; Renaissance and modern philosophies), it also formulates the impact that Eastern philosophies, chiefly Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism, had on the west, and without which the last two centuries of transformative philosophy cannot be understood.

Part II is divided thematically rather than historically and focuses on contemporary approaches to transformative philosophies. Each chapter addresses in depth one central notion, which, when brought to bear on practice, helps to define a new field in transformative philosophy. They include awareness, wonder, imagination, will, decision, experience, understanding, birth, autonomy, love, integrity, self-esteem, meaning, joy, humor, and happiness.

By unraveling the transformative power of philosophy, this handbook hopes to strengthen philosophy's place in the academe as a force to reckon with. By enabling personal change for the benefit of the individual and the society in which we live, it answers contemporary concerns. By making explicit the transformative power of various philosophies, of different philosophic notions, and of philosophy itself as an ambitious discipline which critically changes one's mind through the mixture of rational and non-rational elements, the Transformative Philosophy Handbook lays the ground for a new philosophic field, whose influence will transcend narrow concerns. This Handbook appeals to students and researchers in academic philosophy and related disciplines.

Verschwoerungstheorien sind keine Eigenheit der Moderne. Vielmehr gab es sie bereits in der griechisch-roemischen Antike. In der spaeten roemischen Republik und dem fruehen Prinzipat waren Verschwoerungstheorien normal und weit verbreitet; im Gegensatz zur Gegenwart wurden sie nicht prinzipiell infrage gestellt und kritisiert.

Anhand sorgfaeltig kontextualisierender Fallstudien zum Bundesgenossenkrieg, zu ciceronischen Reden und zu Caesars Ermordung untersucht diese Arbeit, wie antike roemische Verschwoerungstheorien gestaltet und eingesetzt wurden und welche politischen Auswirkungen ihre Verwendung im Rahmen der politischen Kultur der spaeten roemischen Republik hatten. Die Analyse verschiedener Quellen aus der fruehen Kaiserzeit zeigt zudem, welche Veraenderungen sich durch den Uebergang zum Kaisertum ergaben. Insgesamt werden so Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede antiker und moderner Verschwoerungstheorien deutlich, woraus sich Schlussfolgerungen bezueglich der weiteren interdisziplinaeren Erforschung des Phaenomens ergeben.

This book contains a selection of papers carefully chosen from among those presented at the 6th International Conference on Production Management held in Taiwan in August 2025. The unified theme of the conference was "DX Thinking and Innovation in Production Management," and presentations were based on three areas of research: 1) operations and supply chain management, 2) business strategy and business management, and 3) information technology and its applications. Readers will see how these three fields deal with the creation of innovation that incorporates digital transformation (abbreviated as "DX") thinking in the management of business and production.

This valuable resource is relevant not only for researchers, university professors, and graduate and undergraduate students interested in production and business management in general, but also for businesspeople themselves. With its unified theme, the book provides a trove of facts and applications in both theory and practice.

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded into the fabric of everyday individual, organizational, and societal life, the issue is not whether leaders should make a binary choice of whether to use it or not, or figuring out what policy to guide its use. The issue we face is the proper alignment between AI and human engagement. This alignment depends on the nature of the problem to be solved. Problems range from simple to complex and evolve over time so there are distinct phases of problems with different problem-solving needs. As problems become more complex, human critical and creative thinking dominate, and when they are simpler, AI dominates. Regardless of the technological advances in artificial intelligence over the next years and decades, there will always be a need for human involvement when faced with complex and human-based problems. This book provides leaders with the knowledge to assign the most effective resource alignment between the level of AI and human engagement to ensure successful outcomes.

This volume explores the transformative role of digital cultural heritage in shaping sustainable cultural tourism. It examines how innovations such as 3D reconstructions, immersive media, and memory twins-digital counterparts of monuments and artefacts-enhance visitor engagement and protect fragile sites. By linking physical heritage with digital narratives, the book demonstrates how technology fosters informed, meaningful tourism experiences while addressing challenges like overtourism and environmental stress. Featuring peer-reviewed contributions from the EuroMed2024 workshop under the UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage, it bridges theory, policy, and practice. This resource offers scholars, policymakers, and practitioners actionable insights into managing cultural tourism in the digital era, aligning heritage preservation with the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The must-have textbook for A-level Politics

The updated sixth edition of Essentials of UK Politics and Government covers everything you need to know about UK Politics for the Pearson Edexcel specification. It will show you how politics works in the real world, and help you to think critically about the subject through examples, debates and case studies.

A wealth of features helps to explain and cement your learning for the Edexcel specification, such as specification checklists, key terms from the Edexcel specification, and exam style essay and source questions in every chapter.

Kathy Schindler brings this edition right up to date with every chapter being reviewed and updated including:

- coverage of the 2024 general election and 2025 mayoral elections;
- extended material on devolution;
- detailed analysis of the changing nature of Parliament and the way it fulfils its scrutiny function; and
- brand new or updated case studies in every chapter

A companion website provides extra material for students such as flashcards for key terms and definitions and tips for planning and organising revision. Teachers can also access further resources, bonus case studies, specification matching tables and example student answers.

This Handbook is the first to bring together scholars working in the quickly evolving field of menstruation in sport research. After decades of silencing, stigma and taboo, menstruation in sport is finally garnering the attention of sports organizations, media and the public alike. Yet many longstanding and new challenges continue to face menstruators as they participate in sport and physical activity environments. Focusing on health, wellbeing and performance, this foundational volume brings together researchers from different disciplines and contexts to advance new theoretical, methodological and practical insights into the historical, social, cultural, economic, mediated, technological, physiological and endocrinological complexities of menstruation in sport. With contributions from those living and working in a range of geographical contexts (Africa, Australia, China, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States of America and the United Kingdom), the Handbook explores the importance of cultural contexts in shaping knowledge, practices and policies relating to menstruation in sport and physical activity. The extensive transdisciplinary and international breadth of topics provides not only a cohesive summary of the current literature of menstruation in sport but critical perspectives on current debates, oversights, and next steps in the study, policy and practice of menstruation in sport. In so doing, the Handbook makes a timely and critical intervention for scholars, students, sports organisations and practitioners working to remove gendered barriers and obstacles in sport and physical activity.

This is an excellent and timely book that makes a valuable contribution to the field of bisexual studies. The range of genres covered in this book, and the ways in which authors have been able to site their discussions in similar theoretical ground (liminality, erasure, stereotypes) without the discussions ever feeling repetitive, is impressive. Instead, each chapter sheds new light on these complex topics. This book will be essential reading for academics, students, and general audiences seeking to make sense of the ways in which bisexuality is represented in popular culture."
- Dr Helen Bowes-Catton, Senior Lecturer, The Open University, UK

This book explores the multifaceted representations of bisexuality within the cultural imagination, focusing on how bisexuality is portrayed and understood through literature, television, and media. By examining these diverse forms, this collection addresses the critical need to understand bisexuality's crucial role in shaping societal perceptions of sexual identity.

Bisexuality and Popular Culture considers how bisexuality disrupts traditional binaries and offers new frameworks for understanding bisexual identity.

This book offers an innovative perspective on cultural heritage, blending theory, practice, and management through a comprehensive, interdisciplinary lens. It proposes a systemic approach to understanding heritage as a dynamic and evolving entity, emphasizing its interconnectedness with social, cultural, environmental, and technological systems.

By challenging traditional methods of preservation and management, this work advocates for more inclusive, sustainable, and adaptive practices that engage local communities, incorporate digital technologies, and address the challenges posed by globalization and climate change. It provides practical frameworks, real-world case studies, and strategies for heritage professionals, aiming to inspire a shift toward more holistic and collaborative approaches to cultural heritage conservation. Ultimately, this book serves as a timely and essential resource for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, seeking to redefine how cultural heritage is understood, valued, and protected in a rapidly changing world.

This book responds to the growing presence of "middle elements"-intermediaries and migration agents-in the facilitation of labour migration and advances an economic sociological explanation for their rising relevance in the contemporary migration landscape. Rather than treating the proliferation of agents as an organic development of neoliberal capitalism or attributing migrant precarity solely to their mediation, the book reconceptualizes brokerage as an institutionally constituted and contested market of migration services. It argues that a market perspective offers fresh insights into why migration agents consolidate into a durable industry, how brokerage serves the interests of labour exporting, remittance-dependent emigration states such as Nepal, and why intermediaries persist despite the stabilization of migrant social networks and the expansion of state mechanisms that replicate and attempt to replace commercial brokerage. By examining market organization, the sedimentation of its practices, and struggles over market legitimacy, the book reveals how brokerage reshapes state- market relations, governance structures, and migrant labour processes for readers interested in migration, sociology of work, labour and migration policy.

This book addresses the issue of climate change in Latin America from an intersectional perspective, making women visible as agents of change. By placing gender at the heart of the ecological debate, the book denounces the multiple layers of vulnerability faced by women and proposes a model of resilience and social transformation led by women. In a time of climate emergency, growing inequality, and the need for systemic solutions, this book calls for rethinking our relationships with the environment, recognising the transformative power of historically marginalised voices, and building coalitions that transcend geographical, cultural, and gender boundaries. It will be of interest to researchers in gender studies, ecofeminism, environmental justice, and Latin American studies.

This book asks how democratic values and civic culture can take shape without equal rights, and even without a state. Focusing on the Kurdish experience across Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey, it draws on fieldwork, survey research, and historical analysis to explore how people respond to authoritarian rule and long-term statelessness. The first part offers a data-driven look at Kurdish attitudes toward democracy, autonomy, and authority. The second situates these patterns in a broader history of political resistance. Rather than turning to authoritarian or religious extremes, many Kurdish movements have embraced more egalitarian, inclusive models of resistance. The Kurdish Case for Democracy makes the case for bottom-up democratization in the Middle East and challenges the idea that universal values must follow Eurocentric templates. It contributes to wider debates on nationalism, resistance, and the political cultures shaping the region.

This book contains the latest cutting-edge research, compiling the most interesting contents of reports by researchers from 42 countries around the world at the International Studies Association Asia Pacific international conference held in Tokyo in 2023. Topics such as the Anthropocene, Covid-19, security, regional collaboration, democracy and autocracy, gender, and the Global South are included. Researchers from the United States, Europe, and Japan, along with emerging powers, China, India, and ASEAN nations, have conducted multifaceted analyses of topics involving climate change, Covid-19, the achievements and challenges of the growth of Asia, China and India, regional cooperation such as the Belt and Road Initiative, SAARC, BIMSTEC, ASEAN, RCEP, IPEF, and ASEAN, security issues, democracy and autocracy, and the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Gaza. The book also includes lectures by leading figures in international politics such as Joseph Nye, Amitav Acharya, and T.V. Paul; a panel of distinguished professors, with Mike Mochizuki, Mikel Swaine, Steven Rosefielde, Sang Chul Park, and Hundah Su among them; as well as papers by young, up-and-coming researchers, making it a collection of trailblazing research on the world order in the twenty-first century, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and changing democracy. It is a must-read book on raising issues and solving problems from Asia, a world leader.

This book analyzes the transformation of development aid and international political thinking from the 1990s to the present. It highlights how aid became increasingly politicized as democracy promotion, governance reform, conflict prevention, and security concerns moved to the center of donor agendas. Focusing on France and the OECD, the book traces how post-Cold War transitions reshaped development policy while donor states continued to navigate the constraints of sovereignty. It examines France's shift from paternalistic postcolonial ties to formal diplomatic relations and its support for African-led peacekeeping initiatives. The book also explores globalization, fragile states, and post-9/11 debates on intervention, human rights, and the evolving meaning of sovereignty, including the emergence of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). Sovereignty remains crucial in balancing globalization, intervention, and national self-determination, while development aid continues to bridge disparities between developed and developing nations. A new preface addresses the end of the liberal international order, the rise of the Global South, and the 2025 dissolution of USAID, offering a timely assessment of development aid's role in a changing world.

This book provides a concise and easily-digested overview of the field of research ethics, highlighting the key issues and everyday ethical dilemmas that researchers are likely to face in different contexts.

Covering a range of methods, the book provides clear guidance for researchers on how to identify an approach that fits with their moral and intellectual framework. It explores ethical issues relating to 'traditional' research methods as well as to new and emerging methods and approaches - particularly visual and online methods.

Chenhall builds on the success of the first edition by providing an international focus, including examples, resources and regulations from around the world and updating current and relevant regulations, guides and ethics statements from countries including Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US. In addition, the book includes updates to current issues in qualitative research ethics, covering key contemporary topics such as ethical issues raised by emerging approaches in qualitative research, qualitative research in online environments, Indigenous methodologies and data governance for Indigenous/First Nation populations, and institutional ethics requirements. The book also contains new sections on data sharing and big data, data sovereignty and artificial intelligence.

Home is a word brimming with emotion, expectation and contradiction. It is where love and comfort are sought, yet it can also feel oppressive or unreachable. Subversive Mothers, Disturbing Domesticity unpacks the many dimensions of what it means to inhabit this space - physically, emotionally, and socially. Is home a sanctuary, a workplace, or a battleground for equality?
Far from a simple haven, home carries the weight of invisible labor, tension, and even danger. It is shaped by routines and rhythms, often dismissed as mundane or unproductive, yet requiring vast effort. Through engaging with these complexities, this book challenges the simplistic binaries that reduce home to a private, insignificant space.
By turning towards the discomfort produced by our encounters there with dirt, disorder, and ambiguity - aspects most associated with mothers and domestic work - we uncover how home embodies power dynamics and acts of resistance. Subversive Mothers, Disturbing Domesticity invites readers to rethink this deeply familiar yet elusive space, recognizing the hidden histories, emotions, and struggles that exist within its walls. Thoughtful and compelling, it sheds light on why home is never just a place, but a profound experience that both shapes us and is shaped by us.

The American nation has traditionally treated the Lost Cause as a singular phenomenon, a reactionary ideology built from the American South's perceived victimhood following the Civil War. However, in the myth of the Lost Cause, generations of American far-right individuals and groups have found an ideological and practical model. This book makes two interconnected arguments. First, it argues that there is evidence of modern Confederate and Southern nationalist groups evolving and incorporating more targets into their grievance infrastructures-always in the language of victimhood. These targets progress as the status quo changes, keeping the perceived victimhood of the groups relevant as time passes and more traditionally marginalized communities contest for rights in the American experiment. The second argument is that through the politics and rhetoric of victimhood that find common cause with Trumpism, the Lost Cause remains relevant to conversations about the right's perceived victimhood focused on a lost status quo ante-up to and including the two mythologies riding into battle together in defense of an electorally defeated president on January 6, 2021.

This book explores how virtual reality (VR) can be used to examine perceptual differences in neurodivergent individuals, particularly those with autism and ADHD, by introducing a new methodological framework. Through a participatory, person-centric, and arts-based approach, it challenges the dominant deficit-focused research paradigms by centring nonverbal expression, creativity, and lived experience.

The author addresses power imbalances in experimental research and the value of non-verbal and experiential modes of expression, unveiling the role of immersive technologies in creating more inclusive research environments. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative approaches, this volume shows how VR can serve as both a research platform and a therapeutic tool while addressing ethical and accessibility considerations, hence offering strategies for designing VR experiences that are both engaging and safe. A must-read for researchers, educators, and practitioners interested in neurodiversity, human-computer interaction, and immersive technologies, this book bridges a critical gap in the existing literature and offers new pathways for inclusive and ethical research inquiry, disability studies, and STS.

This book delves into the dynamic interaction between Indonesia's rich cultural diversity and its growing entrepreneurial landscape. As an emerging country deeply rooted in cultural values, these traditions significantly influence social interactions, including within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This book offers insights into how traditional values, local wisdom, and community-based networks shape business practices in one of the world's most culturally rich countries and explores how Indonesian businesses, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as emerging startups, navigate both local and global markets. It delves into the cultural impact on business, showcasing local innovations with a global perspective. Through case studies, the book highlights the richness and distinctiveness of Indonesian culture in shaping entrepreneurial activities. It also addresses the sustainability of social and cultural enterprises, alongside the challenges and opportunities that arise from embracing cultural diversity in the business landscape. This book is an essential read for people interested in the intersection of culture, business and innovation in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

This book is Volume 1 of The Linguistic Landscape of Higher Education Internationalisation, a project examining the role of English as a Language of Globalisation and Internationalisation (ELGI), a term first introduced in this work, to describe the use of English as a key driver of internationalisation in higher education. The volume focuses on contexts in Kachru's outer and expanding circles, particularly in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, where English is neither a heritage nor an official language.

Adopting a critical perspective, the contributors explore how ELGI reshapes identities, local languages, and cultures, alongside institutional practices of Englishisation in HE. Attention is given to multilingualism, language hegemony, resistance to Englishisation, and stakeholder voices at the grassroots level. The volume also foregrounds language policy, ethical considerations, and the impact of digitalisation, including online education and linguistic landscapes.

This book will be a valuable resource for practitioners in international education, language policy, applied linguistics, and higher education studies.

This book explores the dynamic interplay between deep tech and digital entrepreneurship. Using Brazil as the setting, it shows how scientific discoveries and emerging digital opportunities translate into innovation to address societal grand challenges within Brazil's unique context. The authors examine the challenges, opportunities, and innovative strategies of deep-tech and digital startups operating across transformative industries and ecosystems. The first part of the book focuses on the microfoundations, frameworks, and models that shape the success of deep tech ventures, including their capacity to adapt to uncertainty, build innovation readiness, and achieve commercial viability. The second part turns to digital startups and emphasizes their scalability, internationalization, and the essential role of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The book offers practical insights and actionable solutions for entrepreneurs, managers, and policymakers. The book provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs to navigate and harness the disruptive potential of deep tech and digital entrepreneurship in emerging markets and beyond by combining three major concepts: deep tech, digital, and disruptive enterprises.

Despite the growing population and significant natural resources of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), economies in that region currently represent only 2% of global GDP. Finished goods are imported to Africa from the US, Europe, China and Japan, while commodities remain the primary export. Addressing this balance must be the primary focus of initiatives to foster economic growth and development across the region in the coming years. However, there is currently a lack of intellectual discourse that incorporates diverse firm-level and institutional-level theories, as well as the stakeholder perspective, to explain the transformation of Sub-Saharan Africa into a production economy. This two-volume edited work brings together scholars of business in Africa and economic transformation to discuss topics including the knowledge economy, inter-regional relations, supply chains, the informal economy, the service sector and more, creating a broad and probing analysis of Africa's potential for transformation and strategies to achieve it.

This second volume explores the relationship between institutions and sectoral productivity in SSA, emphasising the need for policies that integrate informal economy players into the formal structure to enhance socio-economic development. The volume suggest that strong governance, aligned policies, and the inclusion of informal sector innovations are crucial for improving productivity and achieving sustainable economic transformation in SSA. It will be of interest to scholars of business in Africa, international business, developing economies, business strategy and innovation.

This proceedings volume provides in-depth research in the fields of quality innovation, sustainability, and operations management. It features contributions from the 6th International Conference on Quality Innovation and Sustainability (ICQIS) that explore how institutions, industries, and communities are navigating the complex challenges of digital transformation, sustainable development, and organizational excellence. The volume offers a rich blend of theoretical perspectives, empirical studies, and practical applications that highlight how quality frameworks, innovative methodologies, and sustainability principles can drive meaningful transformation across sectors. Featuring?real business?cases on quality and sustainability, this book is useful for researchers, scholars,?students?and academics interested in quality management, supply chain management, circular?economy?and sustainability.?

This book explores the transformative impact of emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, and IoT on global startup ecosystems. It focuses on building, scaling, and sustaining tech ventures while addressing ethical and social considerations.

The book covers topics ranging from tech startups, building and scaling strategies, funding challenges, global case studies, and the future of technology entrepreneurship. It emphasizes ethical innovation and social impact of technology entrepreneurship, areas of growing interest among academics and practitioners.

Readers will gain a holistic understanding of the evolving trends in technology entrepreneurship. The book equips researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, and policymakers with the tools to harness emerging technologies for innovation, addressing both opportunities and challenges in tech-driven ventures.