Illuminating Scriptural Connections invites readers into a bold and revelatory dialogue between two of the world's foundational scriptures. For the first time, the Torah's fifty-four weekly portions are viewed through the lens of the Qur'an, uncovering both the variations between the two texts as well as the shared stories, prophets, principles, and visions that illuminate a deeper spiritual kinship between Judaism and Islam.

Rick Sopher and Abdulla Galadari show that the Qur'an has something meaningful to add to each weekly portion. The Qur'an designates the Torah as a source of "guidance and light" and responds to the Torah's central narratives, from creation and prophecy to law, covenant, and divine mercy. Many commentaries compare key biblical narratives, such as Abraham's intended sacrifice, Joseph's life story, and Moses's leadership, revealing the Qur'an's perspectives. Sometimes the Qur'an upholds the Torah's understandings; at other times it accentuates its own motifs and messages. Additionally, sometimes the Qur'an appears to engage with some early rabbinic traditions, and sometimes later Jewish literature seems to engage with the Qur'an too.

Along the way, the authors confront texts viewed as sources of tension between the two faiths. They argue that the belief that the Qur'an is hostile to all Jews is rooted in textual misunderstandings. The Qur'an both esteems certain Jews and sharply criticizes others. Muhammad's encounters with Jewish communities, especially in Madinah later in his life, shaped the Qur'an's portrayal.

Engaging both scripture and history, Illuminating Scriptural Connections underscores the shared linguistic heritage of Hebrew and Arabic, and challenges assumptions of opposition to demonstrate instead a profound reciprocity of ideas. It opens new spaces for interfaith understanding and connection, showing that the spiritual DNA of Judaism and Islam are intertwined far more closely than centuries of misunderstanding have allowed us to see.

The security landscape in Europe has changed dramatically in the 2020s. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as well as the shifting transatlantic relations during the second Trump presidency, have challenged long-standing assumptions about stability and cooperation. This book examines these changes through the perspectives of authors from 23 countries across Europe and Central Asia.

Organized by region, the volume employs Robert Jervis's theory of perception and misperception as a unifying framework to demonstrate how states perceive and react to emerging risks and uncertainties. It shows how national security outlooks are shaped by local concerns and broader geopolitical shifts.

Additionally, the book examines how countries are repositioning themselves in relation to the European Union, NATO, and the OSCE, offering a timely and nuanced account of an increasingly complex security order.

This book highlights the interdisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship in today's rapidly changing global landscape. Written by leading scholars and industry experts, it examines how ethnicity shapes entrepreneurial practices among indigenous communities in Namibia. Drawing on diverse theoretical frameworks and real-world insights from local leaders, it offers a unique cultural perspective on entrepreneurship.

The volume explores how indigenous entrepreneurs balance modern economic demands with deep-rooted cultural values, while addressing the challenges and opportunities they face. By foregrounding authentic voices, it contributes to a deeper understanding of indigenous entrepreneurship. This book is an essential resource for researchers, students, practitioners, and communities interested in indigenous business and development.

This Open Access book argues for a more prominent position on political and policy agendas for European population ageing. In the coming two decades, ageing populations will put significant pressure on pension systems, budgets, and economies in the European Union. Increasingly close integration between EU member states through political ties, trade and a common currency, means ageing in one country will have a direct impact on other member states. The book sketches four potential risks with cross-border implications: economic stagnation within the EU, high national debts and divergence, upward pressure on inflation, and socio-political tension within and between member states. In the report European Aging in Focus. Dealing with Pension and Budgetary Risks, the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) outlines three policy directions to anticipate and mitigate these risks: anticipate an ageing European Union and prepare society for it; steer at the EU level towards ageing-resilient socio-economic and pension policies; and protect at the national level against potential negative consequences of European ageing. While this book has a specific focus on the position of the Netherlands within an ageing Europe, it is of interest to policy makers and researchers across Europe interested in population ageing, associated pension and budgetary risks, and particularly in potential effects of these risks across national borders.

This open access book explores the relations between normative mathematical texts, which encode various forms of measurement, calculation and reasoning, and the practices of accountants, craftspeople, artisans and other social actors. Mathematics is often divided into a theoretical, intellectual, and normative component, on the one hand, and, on the other, a practical-applied component, implemented in various labour and other social contexts. However, this division usually assumes that practice reflects the text, whereas, in reality, their relations are much more diverse. This volume explores how text and practice shape each other, complement each other, contradict each other or even ignore each other. In doing so, it opens up the problem of mathematical text and practice as a varied, multi-dimensional, cross-cultural and global-historical problem, where different contexts called for different negotiations between text and practice.

Pain in Relation: On Causality, Chronicity, and (Crip) Evidence argues that the dominant stories circulating within contemporary US culture are marked by seemingly contradictory certainties: pain is at once subjective yet universal; that pain makes life unlivable and can be overcome with perseverance. These certainties graft onto pained people into impossible imperatives: the imperatives to live "despite" our pain and to defend the value of lives imagined to be compromised "because of" it. Alyson Patsavas outlines the harm these imperatives cause and draws on feminist, queer, and disability theory to offer alternative frameworks for making sense of and relating to pain.

The study fleshes out "crip autotheory" and experiments with evidencing practices, using anecdotes, journal entries, personal reflections, list-making, and photography to map "cripistemologies of pain," or critical, disability-informed experiential ways of knowing pain. Equal parts cultural critique, intimate portrait of pained life, and commentary, Pain in Relation invites readers to challenge what they think they know about pain and explore new ways of relating to pain, pained life, and the futures we imagine for pained people.

This book offers a critical realist analysis of police stop and search practices in England, examining the underlying mechanisms that drive both intended and unintended outcomes. Stop and search remain controversial: seen by many as necessary for preventing crime, yet criticised for perpetuating harm through racial discrimination and strained police-community relationships.

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews with police officers and stakeholders, and quantitative analysis of stop and search data, the book identifies the contextual factors and generative mechanisms that shape how stop and search is used and what outcomes it produces. It reveals how historical tensions between police and marginalised communities, inconsistent political messaging, and an emphasis on low-level drug enforcement contribute to disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged areas.

The research uncovers several significant mechanisms. Officer identity plays a central role: for 'proactive' officers, stop and search is embedded in their professional self-conception. Neighbourhood bias drives operational decisions, leading to over-policing of stigmatised areas. A disconnect exists between officers' protective justifications and the reality that most stops target young men for minor cannabis possession rather than serious offending.

By examining how contextual factors and generative mechanisms interact, the book provides a comprehensive framework for understanding stop and search in England and internationally. It demonstrates why procedural reforms consistently fail and that meaningful change requires addressing the deep-rooted structures that generate harmful outcomes.

European Union policy on rural development and EU research programmes aim to help rural areas of the EU meet the wide range of economic, environmental and social challenges of the 21st Century. However, the challenges facing rural areas of Europe, and their people, remain significant and highly affected by the crises of our current era. This contributed volume comprises 12 research studies, exploring the intersection of research, policy and innovation strategy across the diverse rural regions of the Europe Union.

Conducted in different countries, these studies point to the challenges that lie at the heart of strategic planning in public policy. The book ultimately supports an EU vision for future rural development, digitalisation, sustainability planning and innovation strategy. It is not only a source of data on the problems faced by local communities in different European countries, but offers suggestions for practical use of bottom-up and multiactor perspective for policy-making, business development and community engagement at local, regional and national level. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of rural development, innovation strategy, the agricultural sector and EU policy.

Why has multilateral peacebuilding in conflict-ridden states emerged as a depoliticized practice that rarely engages with local actors and agendas? And why has depoliticization persisted despite continued criticisms? Claiming Impartiality offers an innovative answer to the puzzling persistence of depoliticization in post-war peacebuilding that focuses on the institutional mandates, interests, and practices of those international and bilateral organizations that design and implement most peacebuilding interventions.

Drawing on and expanding a Bourdieusian field perspective, the book examines international organizations as actors in multiple fields of global governance. Using the case studies of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Timor-Leste, it traces the emergence and transformation of peacebuilding practices by leading international and bilateral organizations during the first two decades of the field's existence. The organizational lens highlights the tensions that exist between the objectives of simultaneously acting as a peacebuilding organization and as a peacekeeping, humanitarian, or development organization whose practices are to varying degrees committed to observing the twin principles of impartiality and neutrality. By thinking through these sometimes contradictory roles, the book offers new insights into how these organizations sideline questions of political agency in favor of expanding their influence into related fields of global governance. Claiming Impartiality discusses the future of peacebuilding and explores avenues for addressing political challenges to peace itself.

This book offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to risk management in financial institutions, with a strong focus on contemporary challenges such as market volatility, liquidity pressures, and financial technology. By integrating traditional banking risks with emerging challenges, the book supports both students and professionals seeking accessible insights into banking risk, regulation, and modern financial practice.

The book begins by outlining the structure and functioning of financial markets and institutions, before moving into key areas of risk measurement, including interest rate, market, and liquidity risk. It then explores emerging themes such as fintech and operational risk. The later chapters focus on practical risk management tools, including capital adequacy, derivatives, securitisation, and prudential regulation across major economies.

A Catalogue of Greek Manuscripts at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Volume 2 unveils the rich diversity and enduring legacy of the Greek manuscript tradition preserved in one of North America's largest collections. Building on the acclaimed first volume, this second and concluding volume offers comprehensive illustrated descriptions of eighty-four manuscripts and fragments housed in the University of Michigan Library's Special Collections Research Center. The discovery of twenty-three previously unknown manuscripts and fragments significantly expands our understanding of Byzantine and post-Byzantine book culture, illuminating the remarkable continuity of Greek scholarly, liturgical, and artistic traditions from the ninth through the nineteenth centuries.

Each entry integrates codicological features, handwriting analysis, textual content, decoration, binding, provenance, and references to earlier scholarship as well as high-quality color plates to illustrate representative pages, script types, and illuminations. Among the exceptional highlights are a fragment of The Great Calculation According to the Indians by Maximos Planoudes, preserving portions of this rare mathematical treatise otherwise lost; an illuminated 1371 copy of The Heavenly Ladder by John Klimax, created by the renowned scribe Joasaph II of the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople; and a newly identified manuscript containing rare patristic homilies linked to the sixteenth-century Choniates scriptorium in Venice.

This open access book presents a comprehensive exploration of resilient innovation and innovation for resilience within the context of the PR China Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). By integrating insights from diverse stakeholders, it offers a fresh perspective on enhancing resilience through innovation while promoting sustainable practices and advanced innovation solutions for enhancing resilience..
The innovative approach proposes collaborative frameworks that leverage existing initiatives in standardization, research, and international cooperation as foundational elements for building resilience. This book aims to create a network of innovation centers along the BRI, fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Covering a wide range of innovation and resilience related topics, the content includes assessments, regulations, risk management, and the role of critical infrastructures and the society in enhancing resilience. It is designed for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners interested in the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and international cooperation.
Key features of the book include:
1. Collaborative Insights: Contributions from a diverse array of experts and stakeholders, providing a multifaceted view of resilience in innovation.
2. Practical Frameworks: Actionable suggestions for implementing resilient innovation strategies, supported by case studies.
3. Strategic Relevance: Aligns with current global challenges, offering timely insights into the role of innovation in addressing systemic risks and enhancing sustainability.
This book is an essential resource for anyone looking to understand and contribute to the future of resilient innovation both along the Belt & Road Initiative and in a broader international context.

This book, the second volume of The Synergistic Effect of Sustainable Business Practices on Human Capital and Economic Performance, extends the research and insights of the first volume by focusing on the intersection of human capital development, economic performance, and sustainable business strategy. In an era of rapid technological advancement, shifting workforce expectations, and intensified ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) imperatives, organizations face the challenge of integrating sustainability not only into operational practices but also into the management and development of their human assets. This volume explores how strategic workforce management, employee engagement, and organizational learning contribute to sustainable economic outcomes at the firm, industry, and national levels. The book will covers theoretical frameworks linking sustainability, human capital, and economic performance, research Findings on the role of human resources in achieving sustainability-driven competitive advantage, case studies from diverse industries and geographies illustrating best practices in integrating HR strategy with sustainability objectives, policy implications for governments and international agencies in promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth and future-oriented discussions on the Future of Work, workforce digitalization, and the skills required in a sustainable economy.

By combining perspectives from economics, human resource management, and sustainability science, this volume will serves as a valuable reference for academics, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to understand and leverage the synergies between people and profit in driving sustainable corporate performance.

This book focuses on the innovative startup ecosystem within universities which combines research and practice from emerging and transitioning economies, offering a comprehensive look at how universities, governments, and communities co-create robust entrepreneurial ecosystems. With a special focus on Southeast Asia and Africa, the book explores how academic institutions can become launchpads for entrepreneurial ventures, especially in contexts where resources are limited but innovation is thriving. Spanning diverse themes such as regulatory challenges, incubation models, funding gaps, technology transfer, and regional development, this book includes empirical case studies and critical reflections that unpack the enabling and inhibiting factors shaping university-driven entrepreneurship. From Jakarta's slum-based MSME incubation models to encrypted funding platforms in the digital age and from policy governance in South Africa to market access frameworks in Cambodia, each chapter offers grounded insights with global relevance.

What distinguishes this work is its interdisciplinary and practice-oriented approach, combining policy analysis, grassroots documentation, institutional theory, and field-based strategies. It presents an accessible yet scholarly lens through which stakeholders such as academics, policymakers, ecosystem builders, and startup founders can explore how innovation ecosystems can be cultivated even in low-resource settings. The reader will benefit from a comparative perspective on what works in diverse institutional and cultural contexts and from actionable insights into designing inclusive and resilient innovation systems. The book aims to inspire universities and policymakers to reimagine their role as knowledge producers and strategic actors driving local development, youth empowerment, and sustainable entrepreneurship.

This proceedings volume offers the latest developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the tourism and hospitality industry. Feature papers presented at the International Federation of IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)'s 33rd Annual ENTER International e-Tourism Conference held in Breda, The Netherlands, this book demonstrates the breadth and maturity of contemporary eTourism research with strong focus on AI including large language models (LLMs), GenAI as a research instrument, AI-driven personalization, and the ethical implications of automation. The volume further emphasizes digital ecosystems and governance, with research on smart destinations, digital distribution, blockchain adoption, ICT lifecycles in tourism SMEs, and city metrics.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) continue to revolutionize travel, tourism, and hospitality. Over 30+ years, the ENTER eTourism conference has been at the forefront of providing insight on the use and impact of new technologies for travel, tourism and hospitality practitioners and researchers. However, the rapid development and deployment of new developments, including generative AI (GenAI), service robotics, IoT, and Extended Realities (XR) technologies, among others, call for a rapid and careful reassessment of ICT in tourism, particularly including ethical and societal considerations.

Bridging the gap between visionary research and practical implementation to foster resilient tourism systems that serve businesses, communities, and the planet, this book is valuable to scholars, researchers, students, and practitioners in tourism and hospitality.

Contrary to what German historians often claim, the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century did not peter out or even fail. Although the Nazi dictatorship destroyed the Bauhaus, Dada, and their legacy in Germany in the 1930s, it also triggered a wave of emigration. Many of those who were displaced went to the United States, where they contributed to the avant-gardization of the art world, and where subsequent generations were able to continue developing the project that had remained unfinished in Europe.

Walter Benjamin coined the term "politicization of art" to describe the efforts of avant-garde artists who opposed the "aestheticization of politics" by fascism. The cultural centers of the United States succeeded in picking up on the impetus of activist art practices. This study examines the characteristic differences between the art worlds on both sides of the Atlantic, which arose as a result of historical developments and continue to exist to this day.

This book asks what peace means when the state wages war against its own citizens in the name of security in the war on drugs. Set in Rio de Janeiro, a deeply unequal city where life chances are shaped by race, class, gender and neighbourhood, it questions whose peace is protected, and at whose expense. Tracing the historical racialisation, marginalisation and criminalisation of the favelas, the book shows how this has resulted in complex forms of hybrid governance involving criminal groups, police and the state. It conceptualizes urban violence in Rio as a form of performative, necropolitical state war-making, where a discourse of security sustains deadly and inefficient operations in the favelas. In this violent context, the book explores favela peace formation as a grassroots alternative, in which residents construct new forms of nonviolent politics and envision more just and peaceful futures, offering important insights for rethinking and decolonizing peace.

This edited volume offers a major reappraisal of contemporary hermeneutics through the lens of African philosophy. Moving beyond a text-centered model of interpretation, it shows how African hermeneutic traditions have reconfigured hermeneutics from within by engaging orality, myth, art, the lived body, memory, postcolonial history, and the search for a non-imperial universal. Across seventeen chapters, the book reconstructs the main currents of African hermeneutics from ancient interpretive traditions to ecological wisdom, narrative subjectivity, cultural restitution, and biblical interpretation. Its central claim is that meaning is never simply given: it is historically, symbolically, and practically mediated. This volume appeals to researchers and students; it brings African philosophy into dialogue with phenomenology, critical theory, theology, anthropology, and literary studies. It makes an original contribution to debates on interpretation, decolonization, and universality.

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.