Books published by Palgrave MacMillan

This open access book sheds light on collective practices of remembering, imagining and anticipating in relation to recent acts of urban terrorism in Europe. Analysing a range of personal and collective responses to urban terrorism in contemporary Europe, this book shows that current debates on this issue are shaped by multiple co-existing and intersecting memories of political violence in the past. Moreover, despite public declarations of unity and solidarity, collective memories of urban terror in contemporary Europe are far from consensual - memory can be both a catalyst for and an impediment to social and political change. The analyses in this book reveal that memory can be both at the same time. Drawing on case studies from a range of European countries and art representations from survivors, artists, and poets, this interdisciplinary volume introduces readers to key methods (e.g. discourse analysis and (auto-)ethnography) and concepts (e.g. Lieux de Mémoire and 'grassroots memorials') for the study of the memoralization of terror attacks.

This book reconstructs and compares the social theories of modernity of Georg Simmel and Walter Benjamin, two classic thinkers in German social thought. The author focuses on five main topics: the historical-sociological method through which they investigate modernity; how are the concepts of history and society possible; the consequences of modern metropolis on the construction of individual subjectivity; the aestheticization of everyday life caused by the expansion of commodity culture; and the female culture as a counter-power to the domination of masculine objective culture. In the decades since Simmel and Benjamin, urban reality has undergone profound changes and we may even question the very existence of the subject of analysis: what is the city, the metropolis in today's context of globalization and capital flows? Simmel's and Benjamin's metropolis has thus become an "endless city," beyond the physical and geographical confines of urban reality.

This open access book challenges the contemporary relevance of the current model of knowledge production. It argues that the full digitisation of society sharply accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic has added extreme complexity to the world, conclusively exposing the inadequacy of our current model of knowledge creation. Addressing many of the different ways in which reality has been transformed by technology - the pervasive adoption of big data, the fetishisation of algorithms and automation, and the digitalisation of education and research - Viola examines how the rigid conceptualisation in disciplines' division and competition is complicit of promoting a narrative which has paired computational methods with exactness and neutrality whilst stigmatising consciousness and criticality as carriers of biases and inequality. Taking the humanities as a focal point, the author retraces schisms in the field between the humanities, the digital humanities and critical digital humanities; these are embedded, she argues, within old dichotomies: sciences vs humanities, digital vs non-digital and authentic vs non-authentic. Through the analysis of personal use cases and exploring a variety of applied contexts such as digital heritage practices, digital linguistic injustice, critical digital literacy and critical digital visualisation, the book shows a third way: knowledge creation in the digital.

This open access book is based on a multi-country collaborative research project focussing on Canada, China, India, and Indonesia.It responds directly and concretely to concerns about the generational sustainability of smallholder farming worldwide- reflected in the current UN Decade of Family Farming. Drawing on research that asks how (some) young people continue to pursue a (future) livelihood in farming, the book uses the life-course perspective and privileges voices of young farmers to show that movement away from farming such as time spent in education, migration and non-farm work does not exclude eventual farming futures.The book will be of interest to scholars and students of agrarian studies, anthropology, development studies, gender studies, human geography, rural sociology, and youth studies.

Food Economics provides a unified introduction to the economics of agricultural production, business decisions, consumer behavior, and the government policies that shape our food system.This open-access textbook begins with economic principles derived using graphical techniques to explain and predict observed prices, quantities, and other outcomes as a result of individual choices influenced by market structure and public policies. The second half of the book explores available data globally and for the US, covering a wide range of questions in agriculture and economic development, food marketing, and consumption.Food Economics and its accompanying online resources are designed for advanced undergraduate or introductory graduate courses in agriculture, food, and nutrition policy. The book covers the standard diagrams taught in principles-level courses, with concrete examples and practical insights regarding food production, consumption, and trade. Online resources include data sources, and course materials, including slides, exercises, exams, and answer keys.

In this volume, contributors explore the deep ideological polarization in US society as portrayed in horror narratives and tropes. By navigating this polarized society in their representation of social values, twenty[1]first-century horror films critically frame and engage conflicting and divisive ideological issues. Culture Wars and Horror Movies: Social Fears and Ideology in Post-2010 Horror Cinema analyses the ways in which these "culture wars" make their way into and through contemporary horror films, focusing on the post-2010 US context and its fundamental political divisions.

This open access edited book connects two strands of federal studies, fiscal federalism, and diversity accommodation, to answer two closely interrelated questions. The first of these is to what extent has the need to accommodate diversities determined financial relations and their evolution? The authors answer this question by conducting a thorough investigation of the types of diversity that drive such evolution. The second question is does fiscal federalism have a broadly positive or negative impact on the accommodation of diversities, by producing institutional solutions that either integrate a federal system or pull it apart? Through contributions from experts in law, economics, and political science, the book uses a series of case studies to establish a theoretical framework for exploring the relationship between fiscal federalism and diversity accommodation. The authors lay the groundwork for a comparative study of this relationship in multilevel states.

This second edition brings together the views of expert academics and practitioners on the latest regulatory developments in sustainable finance in Europe and includes 5 new chapters on sustainable remuneration, reporting, lending, green monetary policy and ESG. The volume includes a wide range of cutting-edge issues, which relate to three main themes along which the volume is structured: (1) corporate governance; (2) monetary policy and financial stability; and (3) financial markets. With individual contributions deploying different methods of analysis, including theoretical contributions on the status quo of macro-financial research as well as law and economics approaches, the collection encourages interdisciplinary readership and will appeal to those researching capital markets law, European financial law, and sustainable finance, as well as practitioners within the finance industry.

Budgeting is arguably the single most important function in government. Every year governments spend considerable sums on expenditure programs and activities, as well as time preparing and executing the budget. It is therefore crucial that anyone interested in a career in public administration has a fundamental grasp of these basics. This second edition textbook integrates theory and practice of public budgeting into a single volume. The first part introduces the background to budgeting, focusing especially on taxation, government expenditure and revenue. The second part focuses on budgeting basics, in particular operating and capital budget. The final part deals with budgeting tools, especially those related to capital rationing, budget forecasting, and analyzing government revenue and expenditure. Written in a concise and easy to understand manner, this book captures the multidimensional nature of public budgeting that both students and practitioners will find useful. This second edition has been fully revised and updated, as well as expanded to include new material and exercises. It will appeal to all those studying public administration, financial management and public budgeting.

The book discusses the main valuation methodologies of artificial intelligence (AI). Company valuation goes hand in hand with estimating intangible assets like AI, which are linked to higher risk and lower collateral value. Their accounting is controversial, and the most widely used valuation approaches are based on market, income, or cost-related metrics.The volume discusses in detail the valuation approaches such as the discounted cash flows (remembering that "cash is king") or the empirical market multipliers and comparables. The approaches are complemented by several models, including advanced business planning that incorporates machine learning, digital scalability networks, or validating blockchains. The book, with a tailor-made theoretical background backed by empirical cases, shows how to evaluate AI products, such as chatbots or virtual assistants, for AI established producers, startups, or traditional "brick-and-mortar" AI users. The comprehensive set of techniques and methodologies will interest researchers, students, and practitioners in corporate finance, intellectual property valuation, and financial technology.

This book is both a conceptualization and detailed analysis of the current crisis in which modern utopian categories of political institutions find themselves, as well as a reflection and clarification of the new dangers and opportunities facing post-utopian politics in-the-making. Met with those who believe that no more utopian political projects are possible, the post-utopian movement maintains a non-fantastic or illusory character of being able to apply new great discourses and radically democratic historical narratives, while respecting both the autonomy and emancipation of individuals as plurality and the socio-cultural differences of communities. With this purpose in mind, the book is divided into five thematically differentiated sections: the new utopian categories beyond modern epistemes; the possibility of liberal utopian democracies without neoliberalism; the opportunities of socialist empowerments and insurgencies; the necessity of thinking in the space between two ages; andthe urgency to create eco-political post-utopias.

This book explores the end of the era of low inflation and stable price increases, known as "The Great Moderation", and the impact this will have on monetary policy. The macroeconomic trends and economic policy issues observed within developed countries over the last 70 years are linked with the economic theory debates of the time to highlight how the current economic challenges came about. The limitations of past economic policies are highlighted to help create a new policy framework for an era defined by high inflation, low economic growth, large budget deficits, and increased private sector debt.This book presents a new understanding of monetary policy that engages with the changing behaviour of economic agents. It will be relevant to researchers and policymakers interested in monetary policy and the political economy.

This book draws on transpersonal anthropology and psychology in order to explore mild altered states of consciousness (ASCs) experienced in everyday life. While research into consciousness and particularly ASCs is growing, this book focuses on a neglected area: 'everyday' experiences of ASCs. Opening with an up-to-date overview of the development of the study of ASCs, the author presents an in-depth empirical exploration and mapping of mild ASCs. Dr Sheppard examines original research conducted in a range of religious and secular contexts with participants who were engaged in activities including prayer, sport, nature conservation, music and musical instrument making, and TV viewing. The author takes a novel phenomenological approach to the analysis of ASCs, emphasising the subjective experience. The book explores the healing potential of such mild ASCs; the everyday fantasy reality of the interior landscape; and discusses the problem of validity, and belief in the study of ASCs. It will appeal to students and scholars of transpersonal psychology, consciousness studies, social anthropology, and the philosophy of mind.

This book investigates the mixed economy of welfare that took care of the assistance of socially marginalised people in interwar Europe: namely, the state; local authorities; and a combination of voluntary and informal actors. While literature has traditionally emphasised the key role of the state, the cooperation between public authorities and private actors has always been a staple of social policy in Europe over the long run. The interwar years prominently featured these entanglements between the increased public sphere of action and the voluntary sector. Focusing on three thematic areas: warfare and its effects; boundaries of aid and institutional segregation; and gender and religion, the authors present case studies from various European countries between 1919 and 1939. All contributions explore the variegated world that composed the so-called mixed economy of welfare. By shifting the emphasis to the collaborations, frictions, and interactions among social marginals, non-stateactors, and public authorities on a local, national, and transnational level, the book challenges too simplistic distinctions between public and private initiatives and reveals the cultural, political, and practical common traits that featured in European care for marginals across a variety of geographical variations and socio-political contexts.

This book offers an analytical model for the interpretation of theory-informed novels - American, English, French, German, and Italian - from the past 50 years. Works discussed include Laurent Binet's The 7th Function of Language, Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, Patricia Duncker's Hallucinating Foucault, Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, David Lodge's Small World, and Juli Zeh's Dark Matter. Erik Schilling shows how these works not only incorporate elements of theory in playful, intertextual ways, but productively work with theory - for instance, by elaborating the complexities of the roles of author and reader or by confronting the quest for meaning with an infinite network of signs. Schilling argues that the novels do not merely adopt theory; they create theory - and this theorizing literature requires new forms of interpretation.

This interdisciplinary edited collection addresses issues at the intersection of indigenous psychology, market ideology, values, and technology. The aims of this book arise from the recognition that whereas the unfolding of the agricultural revolution over thousands of years allowed for the gradual co-evolution of values and technology to blossom, the post-industrial technological revolution is so accelerated that there has been little time for the co-evolution of values. To address this, the chapters collected here seek to initiate a conversation that will provide the conceptual space for the evolution of values that can keep pace with contemporary developments in the machine and the market. In this conversation, they argue, indigenous psychologies will necessarily play a central role for two reasons: firstly, as alternative systems of thought they enable a productive interrogation of the rationality of machine and the market; and second, examples of the impact of technology and the market on traditional societies hold lessons for potential future impacts on the society as a whole. This timely work offers fresh insights that will appeal to students and scholars of psychology, cultural and religious studies, anthropology, business and economics, and science and technology studies.

The Violence of Reading: Literature and Philosophy at the Threshold of Pain expounds the scene of reading as one that produces an overwhelmed body exposed to uncontainable forms of violence. The book argues that the act of reading induces a representational instability that causes the referential function of language to collapse. This breakdown releases a type of "linguistic pain" (Scarry; Butler; Hamacher) that indicates a constitutive wounding of the reading body. The wound of language marks a rupture between linguistic reality and the phenomenal world. Exploring this rupture in various ways, the book brings together texts and genres from diverse traditions and offers close examinations of the rhetoric of masochism (Sacher-Masoch; Deleuze), the relation between reading and abuse (Nietzsche; Proust; Jelinek), the sublime experience of reading (Kant; Kafka; de Man), the "novel of the institution" (Musil; Campe), and literary suicide (Bachmann; Berryman; Okkervil River).

This accessible textbook introduces the foundations of applied econometrics and statistics for undergraduate students. It covers key topics in econometrics by using step-by-step examples in Gretl and R, providing a guide to using statistical software and the tools for econometric analysis in one self-contained resource. Taking a concise, non-technical approach, the book covers topics including simple regression and hypothesis testing, multiple regression with control variables and isolating effects, instrumental variables, dummy variables, non-linear effects, probability models, heteroskedasticity, time series analysis, and other applied statistical tools such as t-tests and chi squared tests. The book uses small data sets to easily facilitate students' transition from manual statistical calculations to using and understanding statistical software, including step-by-step examples of regression analysis, as well as additional chapters to aid with econometric notation and mathematical prerequisites, and accompanying online exercises and data sets. This book will be a valuable resource for upper undergraduate students taking courses in introductory econometrics and statistics, as well as students in business administration and other fields of study in social sciences utilising quantitative methods. Graduate students may also benefit from the book.

This book analyses the impact of economic informality on the novel form across the modern world-system, looking specifically at works by Antonio de Almeida, Machado de Assis, Dany Laferrière, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Nadine Gordimer, and Masande Ntshanga. It sees the representation of informal economies as a structural homology of world-literature. In chapters on the figure of the agregado in the nineteenth-century Brazilian novel; sex work in Haitian fiction; the politics of the informal economy in the post-apartheid South African novel; and Ngugi's representation African occult economies, Josh Jewell explores the relationship between the rise of improvised economic activity--and its consolidation under neoliberalism in postcolonial nations--and literary form. He shows how informal economies can be grasped as locations of strategy and improvisation whose subjects must shift constantly between officialdom and underground networks; between the realms of the licit and illicit. This produces highly heterogenous narratives oscillating between different tones and registers (unserious and tragic), social spaces (working-class and elite), and conceptions of reality. By comparing the various situated aesthetics of informality, this book instrumentalises the Warwick Research Collective's compelling but nebulous idea of a world-literature that "variously registers" a "singular modernity".

This open access book aims to show how creative ruptions - disturbances or commotions - can lead to the emergence of ethical, care-ful educational futures. Grounded in empirical and theoretical research undertaken from posthuman, decolonial, new materialist and feminist perspectives, this edited volume questions historical and current assumptions as to how education is structured and enacted, and provides examples and tools illustrating how to create and work with creative ruptions. Under the guidance of an experienced editorial team, the authors demonstrate how creative ruptions can respond to various wicked problems through the design and enactment of transformative pedagogies and accompanying research. Including consideration of how we can grow our emotional repertoires from anxiety to include hope and courage, the book explores how creativity might expand the horizons of personal, social and political possibility that take shape within - and ultimately determine - education and its futures.Offering theoretically driven and practically grounded transdisciplinary examples of alternative educational futures, this volume is an ideal reading for those interested in the intersecting fields of Possibilities Studies in Education, Creativity in Education, Educational Futures, Pedagogy, and related disciplines.

This edited volume delves into Sierra Leone's complex post-conflict landscape. It posits that the nation's path to peace and stability hinges on robust anticorruption measures. The chapters explore Sierra Leoneans' unique perception of corruption, reflecting its political, economic, legal and socio-cultural dimensions. Moving away from mere theoretical abstraction, the book pulls together fascinating practical discussions on the success and challenges of anti-corruption tools used in Sierra Leone. Approaches used to explain corruption in this postwar fragile democratic country include issues like non-conviction-based asset recovery and how it works; unexplained wealth exposes lifestyle offences, accountability of the judiciary and how judicial institutions can become a predator; the role of the media in the fight against corruption; the part of culture and history in engraining corruption; patrimonialism as an explanation of corruption; ad social norms and sociological exposition to explain corruption.

This textbook analyses the work of classical and contemporary sociological theorists. The first part is dedicated to Comte, Spencer, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Pareto, and Simmel. The second part covers the major contemporary sociological perspectives: Functionalism, Marxism, Conflict theory, Symbolic interactionism, Phenomenological sociology, and Rational choice theory. The third part is devoted to Postmodern theory, Feminist theory, Postcolonial theory, and Race theory. The author combines academic rigor with clear and accessible language, offering students an in-depth and extensive overview of the main, recurring problems that have plagued sociological theory from its origins to the present day. The textbook uses contemporary examples, analysing how sociological theory can explain the most tragic phenomena of our time, including the war in Ukraine, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, US-China competition over Taiwan, nuclear proliferation, radicalization, neofascism, white suprematism, jihadism, and terrorism. Containing pedagogic features to aid learning, the reader will be able to navigate the multiplicity of approaches, methods, and research that divide sociologists into separate and sometimes hostile schools. This textbook is therefore an invaluable tool to any sociology student looking to gain a comprehensive understanding of the foundational thinkers that have shaped the discipline.

This book is an inquiry into whether what Blake called his 'visions' can be attributed to recognizable perceptual phenomena. The conditions identified include visual hallucinations (some derived from migraine aura), and auditory and visual hallucinations derived from several types of synaesthesia. Over a long period of time, Blake has been celebrated as a 'visionary, ' yet his 'visions' have not been discussed. Worrall draws on an understanding of neuroscience to examine both Blake's visual art and writings, and discusses the lack of evidence pointing towards psychosis or pathological ill-health, thus questioning the rumours pertaining to Blake's insanity.

Ideas influence people. In particular, extremely well-developed sets of ideas shape individuals, groups, and societies in far-reaching ways. This book establishes these "idea systems" as an academic concept. Through three intense episodes of manipulation and mayhem connected to idea systems-Europe's witch hunts, the Mao Zedong-era "revolutions," and the early campaign of the U.S. War on Terror-this book charts the cognitive and informational matrices that seize control of people's mentalities and behaviors across societies. Through these, the author reaches two conclusions. The first, that we are all vulnerable to the dominating influence of our own matrices of ideas and to those woven by others in the social system. The second, that even the most masterful manipulators of idea programs may lose control of the outcomes of programmatic manipulation. Amongst this analysis, sixty-plus central conceptual terminologies are provided for readers to analyze multiform idea systems that exist across space, time, and cultural contexts.This is an open access book.

Reflecting the growing interest of historians in memory studies, this edited collection examines the relationship between memory and global social movements from 1848 to the present. For a long time, there has been little attempt by historians to consider memory and social activism in an integrated, systematic, and comparative way. However, in recent years, scholars have demonstrated that social movements rely on collective memories to assert claims, mobilize supporters, and legitimize their political visions, while also helping to further shape collective memories. This book delves into the synergies between memory studies and social movements, exploring how social movements have been constructing and creating memories of their own activity, how specific landscapes of memory have influenced social movements, and how activists have used memory as a cultural resource to further their own goals and ambitions. The case studies presented cover a range of different types of political activism, including the fights for workers', gay, feminist, and pacifist rights, as well as ecological, urban, and far-right movements across the globe, portraying the diverse interrelations that exist between social movements and collective memory.

This accessible and insightful textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the economics of prehistory. By presenting a chronological account of the beginnings of economics and human society, it charts the key developments in early human history, from the evolution of social norms and colonizing of unknown continents, to the development of early technology and the transition to agricultural food production. Particular attention is given to how human capital, the natural environment, social capital, and the spread of knowledge and technical skills propelled economic development during prehistory. The origin of modern concerns, including wealth inequality, stratified societies, and environmental change, are thoughtfully presented through the examining of the birth of the first states and human civilization.This book provides a thrilling account of human evolution and economic development from its African origins and hunter gather days, through to the invention of agriculture and the rise of early states. Bringing together ideas from across economic history, the political economy, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, it will be relevant to students and general readers interested in these topics.

At a time of change in the international system, this book examines how non-traditional leading nations from the Global South have fared to date and what the chances are of their rise to continue. In the second decade of the twenty-first century, the enthusiasm of observers of the international scene about the "rise of the rest" is waning as many countries that were expected to lead the evolving multipolar order are experiencing economic contraction and governance problems. In order to predict further developments, the contributors to this volume focus on the types and sources of the diplomatic strategies that must be executed by rising states if they are to preserve domestic advances as well as gain influence regionally and internationally. Through a comprehensive examination of case studies from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, they show that while there are commonalities among these rising states, unique domestic conditions, values, and traditions impact and predictdiplomatic strategizing and the ability for sustained projection on the international scene.

This book covers several related topics anchored in the idea of how meaning is created. The central focus in the book is, however, on how language awareness may help us communicate smoothly and solve social problems. The book takes up language misconceptions and their social significance, and promotes the view that regarding meaning (and language in general) as open and flexible, rather than closed and rigid, may lead to critical thinking, innovation, and creativity. The book covers topics such as words and things, words and emotions, fake news and hate speech, and it has been written in the form of short informal dialogues to engage readers and make linguistic concepts accessible.

Where do your instincts come from and how can you improve them? Stretched by heavy workloads and facing ever more complex environments, leaders increasingly find themselves running on automatic and relying on their instincts. But depending on instincts is a bit like gambling, and as a result, stress levels, mistakes and failure rates are all on the up. In this ground-breaking book, leadership experts Nik Kinley and Shlomo Ben-Hur reveal how our instincts are the products of childhood experience - lessons learnt that have become written into the structure of our brains. Like the source code at the centre of a computer, they underpin almost every aspect of our functioning as leaders. They affect how we interpret and experience things, how we react to events, the environments we choose, the impact we have on people, and even the responses we trigger in others. Often these instincts and tendencies are hidden beneath professional poise. But under pressure, when we are deprived of time, they come to the fore. This is why leading under pressure can bring out the best and the worst in us. And it is why - ultimately - leadership is a test of the character of our instinctual code. Based on decades of research, this book shows how we get to be the leaders we are today. It explains the tendencies and inclinations that past experiences can leave us with and the hidden ways in which they can affect who we are as leaders and how we behave. And crucially, it shows how we can make better use of our instincts and even improve them to become better leaders.

This handbook explores crime, deviance and punishment in the Caribbean with a focus on marginalized perspectives from scholars in the Caribbean. It explores the region's unique cultural context and challenges, particularly the ongoing influence of colonialism. It also covers types of criminal activities and punishment, including contemporary and emerging areas such as cybercrime and white collar crime, as well as discussing victims and victimization, and crime and justice policies. This handbook builds on the growing field of interest in this region to establish a Caribbean Criminology. It speaks to both students and practitioners.