When James Boswell famously lamented the irrationality of war in 1777, he noted the universality of conflict across history and across space – even reaching what he described as the gentle and benign southern ocean nations. This volume discusses archaeological evidence of conflict from those southern oceans, from Palau and Guam, to Australia, Vanuatu and Tonga, the Marquesas, Easter Island an…
In this monograph, Jennifer Craik undertakes a critical and historical analysis of the main imperatives of arts and cultural policy in Australia. With forensic skill she examines the financial and policy instruments commonly relied upon in this much contested and diverse area of public policy. Craik uses her analysis of past and current policy responses as a platform for articulating future opt…
Woman Between Two Kingdoms explores the story of Dara Rasami, one of 153 wives of King Chulalongkorn of Siam in Thailand during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in a kingdom near Siam called Lan Na, Dara served as both hostage and diplomat for her family and nation. Thought of as a ""harem"" by the West, Siam's Inner Palace actually formed a nexus between the domestic and…
Based on a case study on the former Austrian Federal Asylum Agency, the book provides sociological insights on state action in the administration of asylum in a European context. It offers a novel perspective on public administration by complementing the approaches of street-level bureaucracy and organizational sociology with theories of social practice and structuration. The study deals with t…
This book is devoted to scholarship in the field of self-directed learning in the 21st century, with specific reference to higher education. The target audience of the book includes scholars in the field of self-directed learning and higher education. The book contributes to the discourse on the quality of education in the 21st century and adds to the body of scholarship in terms of self-direct…
This open access book is based on the research outputs of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) in 2020. It covers major topics of Chinese and international attention regarding green development, such as climate, biodiversity, ocean, BRI, urbanization, sustainable production and consumption, technology, finance, value chain, and so on. It also looks…
This open access book honors the work of Michael Cernea, who was the World Bank’s first professional sociologist, by taking on and extending his arguments for "putting people first.” Cernea led a community of social scientists in formulating and promoting a comprehensive set of innovative and original social policies on development issues, which the World Bank adopted and implemented. This …
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to develop a better and sustainable future for the world, and the goals are part of an action plan to address poverty, hunger, health, gender equity and various pressing world issues. One of these goals looks at health and wellness. Ageing populations have become a crucial issue worldwide, and this short monograph explores ageing and how the consequences…
This open access book brings science and practice together and inspires a global movement towards co-creating regenerative civilizations that work for 100% of humanity and the Earth as a whole. With its conceptual foundation of the concept of transformation literacy it enhances the knowledge and capacity of decision-makers, change agents and institutional actors to steward transformations effec…
This book asks how governments in Africa can use evidence to improve their policies and programmes, and ultimately, to achieve positive change for their citizens. Looking at different evidence sources across a range of contexts, the book brings policy makers and researchers together to uncover what does and doesn’t work and why. Case studies are drawn from five countries and the ECOWAS (west …