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Numerous reports of "cancer villages" have appeared in the past decade in both Chinese and Western media, highlighting the downside of China's economic development. Less generally known is how people experience and understand cancer in areas where there is no agreement on its cause. Who or what do they blame? How do they cope with its onset? This ethnography offers a bottom-up account of how rural families strive to make sense of cancer and care for sufferers. It addresses crucial areas of concern such as health, development, morality, and social change in an effort to understand what is at stake in the contemporary Chinese countryside. Encounters with cancer are instances in which social and moral fault lines may become visible. The author combines powerful narratives and critical engagement with an array of scholarly debates in sociocultural and medical anthropology and in the anthropology of China. The result is a moving exploration of the social inequities endemic to post-1949 China and the enduring rural-urban divide that continues to challenge social justice in the People's Republic. In-depth case studies present villagers' "fight for breath" as both a physical and social struggle to reclaim a moral life, ensure family and neighborly support, and critique the state for its uneven welfare provision. The author depicts their suffering as lived experience, but also as embedded in domestic economies and in the commodification of care that has placed the burden on families and individuals. This book is aimed at students, teachers, and researchers in Chinese studies, sociocultural and medical anthropology, human geography, development studies, and the social study of medicine.

In Indonesia, light skin color has been desirable throughout recorded history. This book explores Indonesia's changing beauty ideals and traces them to a number of influences: first to ninth-century India and some of the oldest surviving Indonesian literary works; then, a thousand years later, to the impact of Dutch colonialism and the wartime occupation of Japan; and finally, in the post-colonial period, to the popularity of American culture. The book shows how the transnational circulation of people, images, and ideas have shaped and shifted discourses and hierarchies of race, gender, skin color, and beauty in Indonesia. The author employs "affect" theories and feminist cultural studies as a lens through which to analyze a vast range of materials, including the Old Javanese epic poem Ramayana, archival materials, magazine advertisements, commercial products, and numerous interviews with Indonesian women. The book offers a rich repertoire of analytical and theoretical tools that allow readers to rethink issues of race and gender in a global context and understand how feelings and emotions - Western constructs as well as Indian, Javanese, and Indonesian notions such as rasa and malu - contribute to and are constitutive of transnational and gendered processes of racialization. The author argues that it is how emotions come to be attached to certain objects and how they circulate that shape the "emotionscape" of white beauty in Indonesia. This work is a nuanced theoretical exploration of the ways in which representations of beauty and the emotions they embody travel geographically and help shape attitudes and beliefs toward race and gender in a transnational world.

Selecting new product or service ideas that are worthwhile to be exploited has always been a major challenge to firms of all kinds. Recent developments, however, add a new facet to the evaluation challenge. Initiatives such as innovation contests, in which interested users may submit their ideas or solutions to firm relevant problems, frequently lead to several tens of thousands of submissions. Consequently, solutions are needed that help identifying the most promising ideas. Jörg Haller proposes a potential solution: open evaluation. Based on both qualitative and quantitative research, the author examines design options, strategies, and the capacity of open evaluation to efficiently and effectively support decision-making for innovation. Contents: The Context of Open Evaluation: Innovation Contests The Design Elements and Objectives of Open Evaluation Key Factors affecting the Output of Open Evaluation The Capacity of Open Evaluation for Idea Selection How to Make the Crowd Your Jury Target Groups: Researchers and students interested in the latest advances in research on open and user innovation Managers dealing with new product development, innovation management, and/or the design of information systems. The Author: Dr. Jörg Haller received his PhD in economic sciences from the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, where he worked as Research Associate for Prof. Dr. Kathrin M. Möslein at the Chair of Information Systems I. The Editiors The series Markt- und Unternehmensentwicklung / Markets and Organisations is edited by Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. Arnold Picot, Prof. Dr. Prof. h.c. Dr. h.c. Ralf Reichwald, Prof. Dr. Egon Franck and Prof. Dr. Kathrin M. Möslein.

Family offices manage and coordinate a family's combined wealth whilst preserving the family legacy and protecting family interests. The families behind these family offices control a significant percentage of the GDP of developed economies, with consequences for financial markets. Despite its practical and academic relevance, the literature has hardly explored the concept of family offices. This book is a first step to introduce the domain of family offices. To this end, the author conducted case studies with managers and family members of 21 single and multi-family offices. By exploring goals, control and conflicts of these family office structures, Stephan Wessel contributes to consider this family-influenced organization an essential constituent of management research and an ever more prominent actor in today's global financial markets. Contents · Typology of Family Offices · Financial and Non-Financial Goals of Families · Formal and Informal Control Mechanisms · Interdependencies between Family Business and Family Office · Antecedents and Consequences of Conflict in Family Offices Target Groups · Researchers and students in the field of business management with a focus on strategic management, business governance and family business research · Families, managers and consultants in the market for family office services The Author Dr. Stephan Wessel wrote his dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Andreas Hack and Jun.-Prof. Dr. Carolin Decker at the Institute for Family Businesses at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar. The Editors The series Familienunternehmen und KMU is edited by Prof. Dr. Andreas Hack, Prof. Dr. Andrea Calabrò, Prof. Dr. Hermann Frank, Prof. Franz W. Kellermanns Ph. D. and Prof. Dr. Thomas Zellweger.

Hilarious advice on what NOT to do with money, from financial funny man Ben Stein Everyone's searching for the secrets to financial success, but what about the best ways to lose money. fast?! In How To Really Ruin Your Financial Life and Portfolio, bestselling author, economist, financial commentator, and media personality Ben Stein explains exactly what to do. to go bust! The ultimate "how-NOT-to" guide, the book gives readers invaluable tips that should be avoided at all costs. Written in Stein's own inimitable style, this hilarious guide provides essential financial advice on what not to do when it comes to managing money.From reading and acting upon investing newsletters to trading on a margin, from investing in bonds to breathlessly following CNBC, and from buying stock in firms you do not understand to believing in your own genius at stock picking to keeping as little cash on hand as possible, Stein presents the rules that every would-be investor needs to know, so they can do the exact opposite and actually make money. Fully revised and updated, this new edition presents all-new missteps that can destroy any portfolio. Fully revised and updated edition of the tongue-in-cheek bestseller that shows investors what not to do with their money Written by acclaimed author economist, financial commentator, and media personality Ben Stein Loaded with indispensable pieces of bad advice that readers should avoid at all costs A laugh-out-loud approach to personal finance, How To Really Ruin Your Financial Life and Portfolio is an accessible guide to money from the funniest man in finance.

The Devil in History is a provocative analysis of the relationship between communism and fascism. Reflecting the author's personal experiences within communist totalitarianism, this is a book about political passions, radicalism, utopian ideals, and their catastrophic consequences in the twentieth century's experiments in social engineering. Vladimir Tismaneanu brilliantly compares communism and fascism as competing, sometimes overlapping, and occasionally strikingly similar systems of political totalitarianism. He examines the inherent ideological appeal of these radical, revolutionary political movements, the visions of salvation and revolution they pursued, the value and types of charisma of leaders within these political movements, the place of violence within these systems, and their legacies in contemporary politics. The author discusses thinkers who have shaped contemporary understanding of totalitarian movements--people such as Hannah Arendt, Raymond Aron, Isaiah Berlin, Albert Camus, François Furet, Tony Judt, Ian Kershaw, Leszek Kolakowski, Richard Pipes, and Robert C. Tucker. As much a theoretical analysis of the practical philosophies of Marxism-Leninism and Fascism as it is a political biography of particular figures, this book deals with the incarnation of diabolically nihilistic principles of human subjugation and conditioning in the name of presumably pure and purifying goals. Ultimately, the author claims that no ideological commitment, no matter how absorbing, should ever prevail over the sanctity of human life. He comes to the conclusion that no party, movement, or leader holds the right to dictate to the followers to renounce their critical faculties and to embrace a pseudo-miraculous, a mystically self-centered, delusional vision of mandatory happiness.

Practical Approaches to Reliability Theory in Cutting-Edge ApplicationsProbabilistic Reliability Models helps readers understand and properly use statistical methodsand optimal resource allocation to solve engineering problems.The author supplies engineers with a deeper understanding of mathematical models while alsoequipping mathematically oriented readers with a fundamental knowledge of the engineeringrelatedapplications at the center of model building. The book showcases the use of probabilitytheory and mathematical statistics to solve common, real-world reliability problems. Followingan introduction to the topic, subsequent chapters explore key systems and models including: Unrecoverable objects and recoverable systems Methods of direct enumeration Markov models and heuristic models Performance effectiveness Time redundancy System survivability Aging units and their related systems Multistate systemsDetailed case studies illustrate the relevance of the discussed methods to real-world technicalprojects including software failure avalanches, gas pipelines with underground storage, andintercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) control systems. Numerical examples and detailedexplanations accompany each topic, and exercises throughout allow readers to test theircomprehension of the presented material.Probabilistic Reliability Models is an excellent book for statistics, engineering, and operationsresearch courses on applied probability at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. Thebook is also a valuable reference for professionals and researchers working in industry whowould like a mathematical review of reliability models and the relevant applications. IGOR USHAKOV, PhD, is Senior Consultant at Advanced Logistics Developments in Tel Aviv, Israel. He has published extensively in his areas of research interest, which include operations research, applied statistics, and probabilistic modeling. Dr. Ushakov is the author of Handbook of Reliability Engineeringas well as the coauthor of Probabilistic Reliability Engineeringand Statistical Reliability Engineering,all published by Wiley.

Possessing a positive self-attitude, being self-confident, and having high self-esteem are worthwhile attributes in both work and personal life; some take these positive attributes to the extreme and become self-absorbed, self-adoring, self-centered, and show little empathy for the problems and concerns of others. In brief, they are narcissists and they can be especially problematic in business settings. This book presents information about narcissism in the workplace that is based both on empirical research and on opinion derived from systematic observation. The author uses case studies and real life examples to shed new light on workplace narcissism. -- The author describes both the positive and negative features of narcissism and presents strategies and tactics for dealing constructively with narcissistic traits and behaviors in oneself and in others. Self-tests and questionnaires found throughout the volume enable readers to reflect on their standing on a variety of behaviors and attitudes associated with narcissism. Each chapter includes a section labeled 'Guidelines for Application and Practice' that provides practical advice for applying the research and theories presented within. Further, each chapter concludes with a case history of narcissism, accompanied by a brief analysis of the narcissistic aspects of the case's subject. -- Narcissism in the Workplace serves as a manual for capitalizing on the positive aspects of narcissism and minimizing its potential negative effects. Intended for human resource professionals, researchers, and students and scholars of organizational behavior, organizational psychology, human relations and leadership, this book will also appeal to a broad range of serious minded readers who wish to learn more about, combat the difficulties of, or employ the benefits of narcissism.

Why have food crises been more frequent in recent years, compared to the last few decades? This book examines an array of different distortions that are causing food supply chain dysfunction in many countries, particularly for staple non-perishable foods such as grains and pulses. It outlines the underlying changes that are currently occurring, which will have an influence on the direction of future food supply chains, and provides some solutions to the current food security problem. Based on an analysis from total regulation in the 1950s-60s through to deregulation during the 1980-90s, as well as post-deregulation, it focuses on liberal trade and deregulation as a more successful solution to stabilising food supply chains and distribution of storable food commodities. The author highlights a common thread of either farmers using government for vested-interest intervention, or autocratic governments seeking market and supply-chain power. The book examines the role of government as expounded or perceived by government themselves after 50 years of food supply chain intervention. It discusses the role of 'trade' markets and cluster industries and how these can quickly disintegrate when price distortions occur. The author studies both food importing and exporting countries and concludes that commingled commoditization of food has lead to increasing hoarding, corruption, and dependence on food aid. He argues that a competitive food supply chain that has minimum intervention is more likely to provide future food security. In conclusion the book emphasises that adequate rewards and competition in the supply chain are the essences of sustainable food security.

This book provides an innovative and thought-provoking analysis of the policy of integrazione scolastica from an inclusive perspective. Drawing on historical and empirical research methods the book arises out of an ethnographic study, which investigates the extent to which the policy of integrazione scolastica can be considered an inclusive policy. The author poses two fundamental questions: why are there episodes of micro-exclusion and discrimination against disabled pupils still taking place in regular schools after more than 30 years have passed since the enactment of such a progressive policy? Can the policy of integration lead to the development of inclusion in Italy? The research findings presented in the book indicate that exclusion and discrimination towards disabled pupils in education do not result from a lack of implementation of the policy at a school level, rather from the perpetuation of dominant discourses, which construct disability as an individual deficit. The book does not deny the progress made in the country following the application of this anti-discriminatory policy; rather it challenges the hegemonic abilist culture and the traditional perspectives of disability and schooling that undermine the development of inclusive education. After having investigated the theoretical premises of the policy of integration, the author argues that this progressive policy is still rooted in a special needs education paradigm and that what was once a liberating policy has been transformed into a hegemonic tool which still manages, controls and normalizes disability leaving school settings and teaching and learning routines unchanged. She finally argues for a human rights approach for the development of an inclusive school for the 21st century

This book draws together many previously published articles and book chapters produced by the author over the past 20 years of work in the field of indigenous education. However, rather than just being a compilation of a series of papers, this book is a record of the development of an indigenous approach towards large-scale, theory-based education reform that is now being implemented, in two different forms, in almost half of the secondary schools in New Zealand. Fundamental to this theorising is the understanding, identified by Paulo Freire over forty years ago, that answers to the conditions oppressed peoples find themselves in is not to be found in the language or understandings of the oppressors. Rather, it is to be found in those of the oppressed. This realisation has been confirmed by the examples in this book. The first is seen where it is identified how researching in Maori contexts needs to be conducted dialogically within the world view and understandings of Maori people. Secondly, dialogue in its widest sense is crucial for developing a means whereby Maori students are able to participate successfully in education. The book details how researching the impact of colonization on his mother{u2019}s Maori family enabled the author to develop a means of researching within indigenous, Maori contexts. It then details how the lessons learnt here appealed as being a means by which the marginalization of Maori students in mainstream, public school classrooms could be re-theorised, and how schools and education systems could be reorganised so as to support indigenous students to be successful learners

This monograph is meant to provide an unbiased examination of: the scarcity of natural gas in the contemporary security environment; the salience of natural gas in Russia's national security strategies; and, the natural gas pipeline politics in Eastern and Central Europe. While the tendency of most energy security scholars has been to collectively analyze Europe's dependency on oil and gas, this author analyzes the two energy markets separately, and demonstrates that natural gas is a more potent instrument of coercion in the contemporary security environment than oil was in the traditional security environment. Sufficient evidence is also provided that Russia continues to perceive NATO as a hostile alliance, and that future natural gas disruption by Russia -- which holds a monopoly on the supply of natural gas via pipeline to Eastern and Central Europe -- will prove deadly to the economies of many NATO member states. The salience of natural gas as an instrument of state power is emphasized in Russia's negotiations with Ukraine; this monograph credits the 2006 and 2009 gas wars between the two nations as the main causes for the failure of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. Ultimately. today, Russia uses the same tools it used in Ukraine -- in the context of natural gas negotiations -- to bribe Western European nations; to divide the NATO Alliance; and to rule over its traditional sphere of influence in Eastern and Central Europe. Finally, the author emphasizes that with the Russian construction of Nord Stream and South Stream natural gas pipelines, and unless alternatives to Russian natural gas are found, it is only a matter of time until Russia will use natural gas as an instrument of coercion against NATO member states

Olusegun Obasanjo was Nigeria's military head of state (1976-9) and President (1999-2007). His career is made the focus for a history of Nigeria's first fifty years of independence (1960-2010) and of African continental affairs during the same period (Obasanjo having been an active opponent of apartheid and an architect of the African Union). The most important African leader of his generation, Obasanjo has had an extraordinarily diverse career as soldier, politician, statesman, farmer, author, political prisoner, Baptist preacher, and family patriarch. As a soldier, he secured the victory in Nigeria's civil war. As military head of state, he returned the country to civilian rule. For the next 20 years he was ceaselessly active, before spending three years as a political prisoner. Released from prison, Obasanjo served Nigeria as elected President from 1999 to 2007, until his growing authoritarianism and his manipulation of his successor's election ruined his reputation among many Nigerians. This book argues that the controversial end to his presidency must be understood in the light of his earlier career. The author has used mainly published sources, especially Nigerian newspapers and political memoirs, as well as recently released FCO documents in Britain. John Iliffe is a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. He retired as Professor of African History at Cambridge in 2006 and has published widely on African history including: 'A Modern History of Tanganyika'; 'The Emergence of African Capitalism'; 'The African Poor: A History'; 'Africans: the History of a Continent'; 'Honour in African History' and 'The African Aids Epidemic: A History'. Nigeria: HEBN [PB]

Learning from Foreign Wars examines how the Russian army interpreted, and what lessons it learned from the wars in Europe between 1859 and 1871, and the American Civil War. This was a time marked by rapid change - political, social, economic and technological. By raising the question of learning from foreign wars the author attempts to fill a gap in the historiography of the Russian army.The army was one of the pillars on which the Russian regime built its power, and it was crucial for the survival of the regime both in domestic and foreign affairs. The reactions and thinking of the military at a time of rapid social, political, economic, and technological change, therefore, tell a lot about the regime's ability to adjust, develop, and ultimately survive. Furthermore, the influence of foreign wars on Russian strategic war planning is analyzed with the use of the first Russian war plan of 1873 and the proceedings from the strategic conference, chaired by Alexander II, in 1873. The influence of foreign wars on the General Staff officer education is also investigated.This book is largely based on extensive research in Russian archives. Special attention is given to the military attachés and, thus, the author fills a gap in the historiography of the Russian army. It uncovers the development of the military attaché institution with the use of new archival material. The Russian military attaché reports from the European Great Powers 1859-71 and the observer reports from the different theaters of war are also examined. In addition, extensive use has been made of the military press and contemporary military literature with regard to the wars.

Africare is a US-based non-profit organization specializing in development aid for Africa. It is also the oldest and largest African-American led organization in the development field. Since its founding in 1970, Africare has delivered more than $710 million in assistance through over 2,500 projects to thirty-six African countries. The organization employs over 1,000 people, largely indigenous to the countries affected. This is a study in leadership and competing African and American black interests. Africare has sought to become the leading voice speaking on Africa within the US, a goal more difficult to attain than becoming the premier NGO in Africa. Sources of opinion and channels of expression about American policy in Africa are fragmented. They do not have name recognition or influential sponsors. There is poor coverage of African affairs in the US, except for key, often tragic, events. Africare has a heritage and has filled a niche in American society. Penelope Campbell argues that unless the organization reclaims these unique assets, it may lose the distinctiveness enabling its survival. The challenge for Africare is spreading its story and message. The author raises disturbing fundamental issues. Has foreign aid become such an industry that the patient is not allowed to get well? As the military cannot afford peace, it seems the world cannot afford the cessation of poverty. Campbell argues that success in Africa has been elusive not because of the failures of development organizations, but the magnitude of the issues involved. The author presents a convincing case for aid to Africa, the pitfalls involved, and for Africare's potential as a leader in meeting the continent's needs.--Book jacket.