Books published by Palgrave MacMillan

This book addresses the most suggestive themes of transhumanism and critical posthumanism by placing them in dialogue with classic problems of metaphysics, and with some great thinkers of the past (Bruno, Spinoza, and above all Leibniz). The main purpose of this comparison is to invite transhumanists and critical posthumanists to consider a highly complex problematic tradition rooted in the history of philosophy. This study also makes use of examples drawn from the history of mythology, angelology, and mysticism. At the same time, the book promotes dialogue between scholars of classical metaphysics and philosophy of religion, and the potential metaphysical/spiritual theories developed independently by transhumanist and posthumanist thinkers within an anti-dualist and naturalistic philosophical framework. The goal is to 'enhance' contemporary transhumanism and posthumanism by promoting the need to safeguard intelligence as a principle, without falling into the trap of a violent and egotistic metaphysics.

​This book demystifies the notion of living consciousness and aims to show that, far from being a mere accompaniment to brain functions, living consciousness defines the features of both physical objects and human artifacts. The distinction is between living consciousness, which includes subjective experiences 'here and now' (e.g., perceptions, feelings, imagination, and creative thinking) and conforms to the laws of magic, versus objectified consciousness that comprises physical (e.g., computers) and symbolic (e.g., languages and concepts) human artifacts and conforms to the laws of nature and formal logic.The magnificent success of science in the modern world has plunged many scientists into the illusion that magical events are ancient history and exist today only in art and night dreams. The illusion reached its pinnacle in the middle of the 20th century, when nuclear power stations, flights to the Moon, early computers, genetic engineering and other wonders of science made some scientists believe that there is nothing in the world that cannot be explained by science. But there was a price to pay for this scientific optimism - the scientists became blind to their living consciousness. They began looking at the world as if nature and objectified consciousness were the only things that mattered, with living consciousness being viewed as a mundane thing that accompanies brain processes but has no causal powers.This book examines how our living consciousness works, and how our understanding of this work helps in solving key problems of modern life, such as facilitating creativity, protecting from magical manipulation with minds, fighting certain kinds of crime, managing fake reality, preventing misuses in psychotherapy and other psychological practices, comprehending controversial issues in science, and tracing origins of totalitarian media narratives that trigger hatred and wars.

This book details how British Catholic communities view abortion, highlighting the diversity of positions which often contrast with the official line of Catholic Church doctrine. The authors' extensive qualitative investigation involving various Catholic constituents demonstrates the complex ways attitudes are formed. Based on interviews with priests, Catholic parishioners, anti-abortion activists and Catholics living in close proximity to activism, this book takes a lived religion approach to argue that attitudes and approaches to abortion are nuanced and contextual, with the Catholic concept of individual conscience playing a fundamental role in navigating abortion issues. Ultimately, this investigation helps to explore in much greater depth the increased liberalisation in attitudes among Catholics towards abortion, at a time when Catholic activism opposing abortion is growing, and therefore shines a light on the conflicts that are apparent at the heart of Catholic parishes. Thisbook will be of interest to scholars in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Sociology, Theology and Religious Studies.

This book is a comprehensive guide to the application of Python in accounting, finance, and other business disciplines. This book is more than a Python tutorial; it is an integrative approach to using Python for practical research in these fields. The book begins with an introduction to Python and its key libraries. It then covers real-world applications of Python, covering data acquisition, cleaning, exploratory data analysis, visualization, and advanced topics like natural language processing, machine learning, predictive analytics, and deep learning. What sets this book apart is its unique blend of theoretical knowledge and real-world examples, supplemented with ready-to-use code. It doesn't stop at the syntax; it shows how to apply Python to tackle actual analytical problems. The book uses case studies to illustrate how Python can enhance traditional research methods in accounting and finance, not only allowing the reader to gain a firm understanding of Python programming but also equipping them with the skills to apply Python to accounting, finance, and broader business research. Whether you are a PhD student, a professor, an industry professional, or a financial researcher, this book provides the key to unlocking the full potential of Python in research.

This book delves into Trinidad and Tobago's development with a fresh lens. It stands as the inaugural empirical exploration of the country's unique attributes, including its diversity, ex-British colony status, small-state categorization by population size, and its dependence on hydrocarbons.Through meticulous empirical analysis, this book scrutinizes the nation's economic, social, and political outcomes within the context of these four distinctive parameters, offering fresh insights into the country's development trajectory.What sets this book apart is its unwavering commitment to a data-driven approach. Drawing upon a vast array of databases from both international and national sources, it provides a thorough examination of development indicators, household welfare metrics, firm-level performance, and individual perspectives on a wide range of political, economic, and social issues.For scholars, policymakers, and anyone with an interest in understanding how unique contextual factors shape a Trinidad and Tobago's development, this book offers an enlightening and data-rich perspective on the nation's journey towards progress and prosperity.

This book provides a practical, detailed, and well-documented guide that takes students and market researchers through all phases of developing and conducting global marketing research. This book not only accounts for the recent developments in the scope and extent of global marketing research, but also examines advances in both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, and the impact of the Internet on research in the global environment.It includes coverage of all phases involved in designing and executing global marketing research -- from analyzing the nature and scope of the research to the preliminary stages, gathering data, designing the questionnaires, sampling, and presenting the data. Numerous country-specific examples and case studies will add to the understanding of the concepts laid out in the book. This edition features updates related to leveraging the power of AI, Internet of Things, machine learning, blockchain, robotics, the metaverse, and otheremerging technologies that are impacting the way in which marketing research is performed. With an instructor's manual as well as PPT slides covering major topics within the chapters, in addition to numerous cases, this text provides the most current and relevant information about the global marketing research industry and outlines the necessary techniques that can guide researchers in their work.

This book investigates the contemporary practices surrounding the international prosecution of sitting heads of states by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Through a specific focus on five contemporary case studies, the author reflects on the following: firstly, how the ICC itself has shaped the contemporary practices surrounding the prosecution of sitting heads of states; and secondly, the domestic and international "problematics" that have ensued from these practices. In doing so, Cacciatori argues that the international prosecution of sitting heads of states before the ICC constitutes "an imprudent exercise of Western humanitarianism". This, in turn, has not only worsened the domestic conditions of the countries subject to the ICC's investigations but in addition, it has also served to undermine the "very idea of cosmopolitan justice" in international politics.

This volume explores the family formation and life course of Polish people in Ireland, who make up the largest immigrant group in Ireland. Chapters address key dimensions of the life course in three parts focusing on childhood and youth, adulthood and parenting, and mid-life and futures. Contributions investigate the experiences of children and youth attending school and understanding their identities, the changing nature of families and family support, how families might engage with welfare institutions, and more. Through the life course approach, the book moves beyond the paradigm of studying the Polish population as economic migrants and instead analyzes and illustrates the lives of Polish families living in Ireland since EU enlargement.

This book outlines the main technological, legal, and operational options that liberal democratic nations have when confronting challenges in cyberspace. It offers a range of policy ideas they can adopt to make their defense stronger and deter future cyber-attacks. The author explores how liberal societies, especially those in the Western world, have so far confronted a variety of cybersecurity challenges by hackers in nondemocratic regimes like Russia and China. and zooms in on the main challenges that democratic states face in adopting strategies of cyber deterrence, and how those challenges shape their ability to actually deter hackers.

This accessibly-written textbook uses the intrinsic appeal of a story to engage students with language, and provides teachers with the background knowledge and the skills to use literature to construct lessons for their classes which integrate all four skills plus language awareness in an enjoyable way. Although a number of books and studies have examined the value of using literature to learn language, literature remains under-represented as a language learning resource. The author argues that the accumulated body of literature represents a bottomless pit of potential material, just waiting to be recognised and enjoyed. From a teacher's point of view, a lesson based on a literary work can provide an integrated approach to language development which few other approaches can match. A piece of literature can be used to develop all four skills, both receptive and productive (reading, writing, listening speaking) as well as production skills and language awareness. This book willbe an essential resource for pre-service and in-service teachers, teacher trainers, students and scholars of Applied Linguistics, Language Education, TESOL and related subjects.

This handbook provides a frame of reference for the global challenges facing higher education leadership today. Focusing on recommendations and directions for the future rather than simply a recap of measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the contributors also delve into contexts such as the climate crisis, issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, digitalisation, funding and marketisation, the war in Ukraine and China-Taiwan and Hong Kong tensions. They collate a systematic, global view of higher education systems during the pandemic and beyond, and explore possibilities for the future, providing recommendations for 'the new normal'. With contributions from across six continents, the book will be of interest to students and scholars of higher education and governance, university leaders, government and accreditation bodies, and anyone else interested in reflecting on the past few years in higher education and the road ahead.

This book presents a decolonial and Afrocentric critique of prolonged encampment of refugees, centred on the case study of refugee camps in Kenya, introduced through the author's decades-long experience of forced displacement. His positionality as a former refugee contributes to a wider discussion on representation, voice, and power within the refugee studies literature. Likewise, the revisiting of the refugee camp as site and tool of power from a colonial perspective, is an important and timely contribution to the literature. This book examines the camp as a colonial innovation and the enduring colonial logics of supposedly 'humanitarian' extended encampment. Drawing on the anti-colonial theorists such as Fanon, Mbembe, and Nyerere, etc, it argues for an Africa without borders or encampment. The study is interdisciplinary, encompassing forced migration/refugee studies, camp studies, decolonial studies, and African studies. More broadly, it seeks to contribute to the literature on the politics of asylum in Africa through a critical examination of the colonial origins and the practice of encampment in Kenya.

This book depicts the Early Modern book markets in Europe and colonial Latin America. The nature of book production and distribution in this period resulted in the development of a truly international market. The integration of the book market was facilitated by networks of printers and booksellers, who were responsible for the connection of distant places, as well as local producers and merchants. At the same time, due to the particular nature of books, political and religious institutions intervened in book markets. Printers and booksellers lived in a politically fragmented world where religious boundaries often shifted. This book explores both the development of commercial networks as well as how the changing institutional settings shaped relationships in the book market.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the latest research on the nonverbal cues that signal our biological sex, gender, and sexual orientation to others, as well as our sexual/romantic interest in others. Crucially, it is a volume which incorporates critical perspectives which help to tackle the short-comings associated with the predominant focus on cis-gender, heterosexual individuals . It underscores how specific cues work in conjunction with other cues during the communication of our gendered and sexual selves, and how various factors (cultural, contextual, social, personality variables) impact that process. It also addresses common misconceptions including the notion that the romantic landscape has become more sexualized and predominantly technology driven. This book highlights that we still tend to communicate a romantic interest in each other in quite traditional places, such as school, home, and social events, using tried-and-true nonverbal cues, like gazing and smiling. Across six chapters readers will learn about the cues to our gendered and sexual selves, which exist in our facial and bodily movements, dress, personal artifacts, gestures, body odor, vocal characteristics, touch, and posture, amongst others. This engaging work presents historical and contemporary research findings that will appeal to students and scholars of nonverbal communication, communication studies, the psychology of gender, and sexuality studies.

People in prison are usually (and often exclusively) seen and approached as persons who have committed one or more crimes and who have to pay their debt to society. However, while in prison, they often get victimised themselves. Research has demonstrated that prisons tend to be unsafe environments where various forms of victimisation take place. These forms of victimisation often go unnoticed and usually do not attract much interest from policymakers or society at large: prisoners are, indeed, far from 'ideal victims'. This book is devoted to understanding prisoner victimisation, in particular from a European perspective. Chapters in this volume focus on recent empirical work in a number of European countries (Belgium, England and Wales and the Netherlands). These chapters are complemented with a series of reflections from a conceptual, methodological and human rights perspective.

This book seeks to further the understanding of the human experience of coerced and forced ignorance on social, human rights and criminal justice related topics, drawing together scholars from multiple, disciplinary fronts. It argues that people in our social world are forced or coerced through either implicatory or interpretive denial that is normalized through specific cultural and social mechanisms by which we refer to this as non-knowledge or agnosis. There has also been a lack of scholarship which examines how human victimization and power intersects by and through the systematic orchestration of forced ignorance and doubt upon daily human life. This book's focus is an examination of the ways in which people find themselves in social spaces without empirical clarity and understand that absence as satisfaction, stability, or perhaps even pleasure. It discusses a range of topics, including for example people's sense of relative safety, despite empirical realities suggesting otherwise. This book seeks to make visible the role of ignorance in governing society, highlighting how the late modern human experience in a post-World War II human rights era subsumes, subverts, and sublimates the complex relationship between knowledge and denial; the empirical gulf between knowledge and resistance may indeed breed complicit bliss.

The Grotesque Modernist Body explores how and why modernist authors drew on the traditions of the grotesque body in order to represent modern reality accurately. The author employs the concept of the grotesque body as a theoretical framework with which to examine rigorously a range of modernist novels, poems and visual media by Conrad, Lewis, Eliot and Barnes, alongside their historical contexts and theories of humour and horror. This monograph challenges the prevailing narrative of modernism's abstract, psychological and impersonal 'inward turn' by tracing its mechanical-animal hybrid bodies back tothe medieval carnival satire of Rabelais, the gothic horror of the long nineteenth century, from Hoffmann, Shelley and Poe, to H.G. Wells and Henry James, and the uncanny, dreamlike art of Goya and Rousseau.

In recent years, attacks on the rise of 'gender ideology' and 'genderism' as a political force, on gender studies as an academic field, and on feminist, queer and trans individuals seen to be their embodied representatives, have grown in scope and intensity. This edited volume understands such attacks as a global force in need of urgent analytical and political attention. Drawing on contributions from and about a varied range of geographical locations including Argentina, Chile, China, Germany, the Persian Gulf, Hungary, India, Pakistan, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Uganda, the UK and the US, this book explores how anti-gender mobilisations work as a transnational formation shaped by the legacies of colonialism, racial capitalism, and resurgent nationalisms and how these can be resisted. By transnationalising our inquiries into the epistemic, affective and political nature of the anti-gender phenomenon, this volume troubles the 'origin stories' we tell about where anti-genderpolitics come from, and helps to better locate the various sources, actors, and networks behind these attacks, contesting the notion that anti-gender politics derive solely from right-wing nationalist or conservative religious actors, to show how they also derive from more centrist, liberal, leftist and even presumably feminist positions. The book thus invites us to sharpen and rethink the conceptual vocabularies and strategies we use to understand and resist anti-gender attacks, opening up space for envisioning new political imaginaries and transnational feminist solidarities.Chapter 1 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

The South African economy has largely performed below its potential. Although the size of the South African economy has significantly increased since 1994, its performance has lagged behind other comparable economies, and has even been overtaken by Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa. Unemployment, income inequality, and poverty have remained high since 1994. In the past decade, South African economic performance has been so poor that is has resulted in declining per capita incomes. In this study, Vusi Gumede and his co-authors offer a comprehensive analysis of the South African economy since 1994, dealing with many important issues, ranging from its history to its political travails in an effort to provide better understanding and find possible solutions to ensuring inclusive growth.

This book assesses the quality of self-government in four northern European regions with strong autonomy rights. Examining the experiences of Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands, it considers how these regions have developed their own political and administrative systems within the larger states they form part of. The book looks to understand the key democratic and administrative qualities of a functioning self-government, and how geographic size and economic and human resources can impact the ways in which partially independent territories govern. It also assesses the emotional dimensions of regional nationalism, and how this impacts the concept and public perception of partially independent nation-territories. By focusing on the quality of self-government within these nation-territories, the book considers whether strong autonomy contributes to peaceful co-existence within established national borders, or provides new munition for secessionist movements. It will appeal to students and scholars of sub-national governance, European politics, territorial politics and conflict management.

This volume explores current methodological developments in the interpretation of the Bible from an African perspective. Previous scholarship has explored the relevance of Eurocentric biblical interpretive methods to African experiences and contexts. This book furthers the discussion by examining the continuing importance of contextual Bible interpretation. Authors provide an evaluation of the work done by the precursors and predecessors interpreting the Bible from an African point of view, and then analyse the emerging challenges to interpreting the Bible in an ever-changing context. The volume is a comprehensive resource, providing new interpretations of the Bible in Africa, and addressing the contemporary questions of people in Africa and beyond.

The Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Money surveys the role of money in the history of ideas. Volume 1: Ancient and Medieval Thought explores the worldviews of societies in the process of monetization. The volume is divided into sections on early Civilizations, classical Greece, the Roman era, and Medieval and Renaissance thought.

This book brings together a group of British and Italian scholars who have made significant contributions to the historiography of modern Italy over the last three decades, dedicated to the influence of Paul Ginsborg. Reflecting Ginsborg's interest in the encounter of social and political history in modern Italy, contributions explore the varied forms taken by activism in civil society. Rather than just treating activism and engagement as limited, circumscribed phenomena within a political system, the essays consider these as interventions in the social. Taken together, the contributions gathered here highlight Ginsborg's contributions to scholarship and activism, as well as advancing our understanding of cultural change, institutional reform and the renewal of community in modern Italian history.

SME credit ratings are one of the most underutilised and misunderstood concepts, though they have the potential to proliferate the ability of SMEs to access funding opportunities via both traditional and non-traditional channels. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the industry and sets out innovative solutions for improving the effectiveness, viability, and coverage of SME credit rating services. It focuses on how private and public sector SME credit rating industries can be established and how the unique "ecosystem approach" can be incorporated. It reintroduces the public sector credit rating model and highlights how it can be an effective solution within the SME space. The book will also include feedback from direct interviews with SME credit rating agencies (private and public), ministries linked to the SME credit rating industry, regulators, and related multilateral organisations. Furthermore, the book incorporates the author's knowledge from recently completed credit rating projects from the World Bank Group, The United Nations, and The African Union. This, together with innovative ideas around how SME credit rating industries can be created/initiated, establishes vital policy tools that can be utilised by governments, credit rating agencies, regulators, and related stakeholders.

This book is the first full-length study of apes and monkeys on the early modern stage. It broadens the scope of existing scholarship by situating the apes glimpsed in Shakespeare's plays in the wider context of the many uncelebrated uses by other playwrights, c. 1603-1659. The book investigates the theatrical appearances of real monkeys, actors dressed up as apes, and characters mistaken for them, arguing that the ape trope is so insistent in early modern drama that it becomes a structural metaphor. It addresses both plays and masques across the period, arguing that the ways of seeing in these different kinds of theatre make apes mean differently in their generic contexts. Grounded in historicist readings, this book also draws significantly on the field of ritual studies and the new intersectional discipline of animal performance studies.

This book identifies the turning points in Habermas's work and his transition from one stage to another in the development of his theoretical oeuvre. Habermas began his academic career as part of the Frankfurt School, but the two key points at which his career changes trajectory are moving from historical materialism to normative idealism and playing with some of the ideas of liberalism. Normative idealism is an ahistorical theory that insists on the independence of the normative from material reality, severing the connection between base and superstructure that Marx wrote about. The break with the basic concepts of Marxism enabled Habermas to build his own discursive (critical) theory, which, especially since the end of the 1980s, takes the ideas of liberalism seriously. This book makes a systematic, multidimensional and detailed analysis of Habermas's theoretical oeuvre in two dimensions, chronological (in the order in which Habermas worked on certain topics) and thematic (enclosingcertain thematic units).

The book explores Islamic perspectives on conflict resolution and peacemaking. It delves into key topics such as the principles of Islamic conflict resolution, historical examples of peaceful resolutions, and contemporary challenges faced by Muslim societies. By addressing these topics, the book aims to provide insight into Islamic teachings and practices that can contribute to building bridges and fostering peace in diverse contexts. The book is important and relevant due to the increasing need for understanding and promoting peaceful resolutions in today's world, particularly in regions influenced by Islam. It offers a comprehensive examination of the principles and methods of conflict resolution within an Islamic framework, shedding light on the rich history of peacemaking within Muslim societies. By highlighting Islamic perspectives on peace, the book aims to bridge cultural divides and foster dialogue, promoting a greater understanding and appreciation of the contributions Islam can make to conflict resolution. The book seeks to address the prevalent misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding Islam's approach to conflict resolution. It aims to challenge the notion that Islam is inherently associated with violence or lack of peaceful solutions. By presenting authentic Islamic teachings and historical examples of peaceful resolutions, the book endeavours to contribute to a more nuanced and accurate understanding of Islam's role in promoting conflict resolution and peacemaking. It offers readers an opportunity to explore Islamic perspectives on resolving conflicts, encouraging dialogue, and cultivating a more peaceful world.

Derivative trading? That's something for Wall Street types, right? Maybe, but it also affects everyone else in ways that are still little appreciated. Futures traders have paralysed the global trade of nickel, a key component in the battery of your neighbour's Tesla. For a few minutes one trading day during the pandemic, sellers of crude oil were paying buyers to take the stuff, defying the very notion of trading, in an episode straight out of "Alice in Wonderland".Understanding how this obscure corner of finance works (and what happens when it doesn't) is a key pillar of financial literacy today. If you are a financial markets practitioner, everyday investor, academic, regulator, policy maker or kitchen-table economist, you need to know how financial derivatives really work and be aware of the emerging digital innovations that makes this market the highest stake metaverse.

This book takes a historical approach to explore data, algorithms, their use in practice through applications of AI in various settings, and all of the surrounding ethical and DEI implications. Summarizing our current knowledge and highlighting gaps, it offers original examples from empirical research in various settings, such as healthcare, social media, and the GIG economy.The author investigates how systems relying on a binary structure (machines) work in systems that are instead analogic (societies). Further, he examines how underrepresented populations, who have been historically penalized by technologies, can play an active role in the design of automated systems, with a specific focus on the US legal and social system.One issue is that main tasks of machines concern classification, which, while efficient for speeding up decision-making processes, are inherently biased. Ultimately, this work advocates for ethical design and responsible implementation and deployment of technology in organizations and society through through government-sponsored social justice, in contrast with free market policies.This interdisciplinary text contributes to the timely and relevant debate on algorithmic fairness, biases, and potential discriminations. It will appeal to researchers in business ethics and information systems while building on theories from anthropology, psychology, sociology, management, marketing, and economics.

This book presents empirical and anecdotal evidence on the persistence of the variety of Majorcan Catalan that has been spoken since the 1850s in San Pedro, Argentina. Drawing on a series of 60-minute interviews (N=49) conducted with speakers recruited from the community, this study demonstrates how most participants appear to have preserved their heritage language to some extent, according to their observed Performative Language Competency levels (PLCs). Building on participants' firsthand accounts, additional historical, anthropological, and sociolinguistic details are provided to convey a vivid picture of the community, its traditions, speakers' attitudes to their heritage language, and the current status of San Pedro Majorcan Catalan in terms of endangerment. Within the field of understudied minority languages in the Americas, the reader of this volume will find an innovative, distinct approach to bilingualism in 'heritage vs. majority language' settings, which will beof interest to scholars and students with a background in sociolinguistics, bi- and multilingualism, and language policy and revitalization.