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The Power of Ritual in Prehistory: Secret Societies and Origins of Social Complexity
Par Brian Hayden. 2018
The Power of Ritual in Prehistory is the first book in nearly a century to deal with traditional secret societies…
from a comparative perspective and the first from an archaeological viewpoint Providing a clear definition as well as the material signatures of ethnographic secret societies Brian Hayden demonstrates how they worked what motivated their organizers and what tactics they used to obtain what they wanted He shows that far from working for the welfare of their communities traditional secret societies emerged as predatory organizations operated for the benefit of their own members Moreover and contrary to the prevailing ideas that prehistoric rituals were used to integrate communities Hayden demonstrates how traditional secret societies created divisiveness and inequalities They were one of the key tools for increasing political control leading to chiefdoms states and world religions Hayden s conclusions will be eye-opening not only for archaeologists but also for anthropologists political scientists and scholars of religionPublic Budgeting Reform in China: Theory and Practice
Par Xiaonan Liu. 2015
This book introduces the theory and practice of Chinese public budget reform, including the manner and implications of public budget…
reform, the role and status of central government and local governments in budget reform, as well as the latest achievements of China's local government public budget reform. The authors of this book are all researchers who have witnessed Chinese public budget reform.Building Business-Government Relations: A Skills Approach
Par Montgomery Van Wart, Anna Ni. 2016
This book introduces business-government relations in the institutional context of the United States from a practitioner’s perspective. It provides the…
historical, descriptive, and comparative accounts of the public and private sectors, the different roles government plays with business, including several conceptual models to understand the social interactions between the two sectors, and various economic policies associated with business. Business-government relations are framed into three different social economic contexts: The sociopolitical arena, in which government’s role as agent of business, interest groups, and government’s limited role as social architect, are introduced. The local economic development, in which government acts as a promoter of, partner with, and buyer from, business. The global market, where government mainly plays a role as promoter of domestic business. In the course of discussion, a set of skills, such as searching government jobs, starting a business, analyzing stakeholders, ethical reasoning, advancing a business agenda, leveraging public resources, contracting with government, interpreting global trends, doing business abroad, and leveraging international resources, are introduced and exercised.Water Histories and Spatial Archaeology
Par Michael J. Harrower. 2016
This book offers a new interpretation of the spatial-political-environmental dynamics of water and irrigation in long-term histories of arid regions.…
It compares ancient Southwest Arabia (3500 BC–AD 600) with the American West (2000 BC–AD 1950) in global context to illustrate similarities and differences among environmental, cultural, political, and religious dynamics of water. It combines archaeological exploration and field studies of farming in Yemen with social theory and spatial technologies, including satellite imagery, Global Positioning System (GPS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping. In both ancient Yemen and the American West, agricultural production focused not where rain-fed agriculture was possible, but in hyper-arid areas where massive state-constructed irrigation schemes politically and ideologically validated state sovereignty. While shaped by profound differences and contingencies, ancient Yemen and the American West are mutually informative in clarifying human geographies of water that are important to understandings of America, Arabia, and contemporary conflicts between civilizations deemed East and West.The Digital Galactic Complex
Par Trevor Brown. 2016
This Brief discusses the current policy environment in which the United States space program operates and proposes an industry-government partnership…
as a long-term policy solution. Since the Reagan administration, American space policy has increasingly sought to involve private sector operators for space. The culmination of this trend has been the Obama administration's policy of private sector transportation of crew and cargo to the International Space Station on behalf of NASA. This book proposes that future administrations extend this policy to other areas of space, including energy, in orbit manufacturing, asteroid mining, and the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The book further demonstrates how these activities can stabilize the global political system and lead to a dramatic increase in global economic growth. Finally, the book addresses one of the most important and critical issues currently facing humanity--the need for a viable, baseload, and unlimited supply of totally clean energy. An extremely cogent analysis of the interrelationship between space activity and the terrestrial economy, this book showcases the political and economic potential of the medium of space and adds greatly to the existing literature in the field. This book will be of interest to students of political science and strategic studies as well as members of the military, government space agencies, and the international aerospace industry.Ayodhya: Archaeology After Demolition (Revised edition)
Par D. Mandal. 2003
The Power of Paradox: The Protean Leader and Leading in Uncertain Times
Par Nina Rosoff. 2011
Leaders’ actions can have consequences opposite to those they intend. These unintentional results are difficult to detect, understand, and change.…
Consequently, leaders’ actions tend to persist resulting in further unexpected outcomes. This can create a vicious cycle of leadership failure. With all their best efforts, strategic, financial, scenario, human capital and operational plans in place, they fail. Unaware, they self-sabotage and sabotage others; again, the result is unintended consequences, no matter how hard they try. This book gives a glimpse into why and how this happens, and what to do about it. Understanding the Power of Paradox can empower leaders in uncertain times. Paradox reveals uncertainty giving leaders room to breathe and time to think, better able to deal with ambiguity and manage complexity, no longer stymied. Learning to think differently and behave with capabilities, you already have, more resilient, adaptive and flexible leaders execute conscious actions effectively, inspire and empower others, creating the consequences they intend, successful Protean Leaders.Archaeological Research: A Brief Introduction
Par Peter N. Peregrine. 2017
This updated edition of Archaeological Research introduces the basic methods of archaeological research, including data collection, analysis, interpretation, as well…
as a consideration of the state of archaeology today. New to the Second Edition is updated information on geographic information systems and remote sensing strategies, and a greatly expanded discussion of practices in cultural resource management archaeology. This popular, concise textbook explores various research methods, analytical techniques, legal and ethical issues facing archaeologists; includes discussions of the archaeological process and record, sampling and research design, survey and excavation methods and strategies, recordkeeping, analysis, archaeological dating, presenting results, and research opportunities; is an excellent text for undergraduate students in basic archaeology courses, field methods courses, and field schoolsDespite the enormous diversity and complexity of financial instruments, the current taxation of hybrid financial instruments and the remuneration derived…
therefrom are characterized by a neat division into dividend-generating equity and interest-generating debt as well as by a coexistence of source- and residence-based taxation. This book provides a comparative analysis of the classification of hybrid financial instruments in the national tax rules currently applied by Australia, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands as well as in the relevant tax treaties and EU Directives. Moreover, based on selected hybrid financial instruments, mismatches in these tax classifications, which lead to tax planning opportunities and risks and thus are in conflict with the single tax principle, are identified. To address these issues, the author provides reform options that are in line with the dichotomous debt-equity framework, as he/she suggests the coordination of either tax classifications or tax treatments.Defining Democracy: Voting Procedures in Decision-Making, Elections and Governance
Par Peter Emerson. 2012
Defining Democracy looks both at the theory of why and the history of how different voting procedures have come to…
be used - or not, as the case may be - in the three fields of democratic structures: firstly, in decision-making, both in society at large and in the elected chamber; secondly, in elections to and within those chambers; and thirdly, in the various forms of governance, from no-party to multi-party and all-party, which have emerged as a result.Private Placement of Public Equity in China
Par Pengcheng Song. 2014
By retrieving entries from the financial-data vendor Wind and collecting relevant data from private placement statements, the author builds a…
proprietary database and studies five aspects of private placement in China. He examines which listed firms are more likely to choose private placement over SEO in refinancing; he looks into the controlling shareholder's decision on whether or not to purchase privately placed shares; he investigates how the offer discount is determined; he calculates announcement periods for abnormal returns on private placements. Where the abnormal return is significantly positive, he documents positive long-run abnormal return on private offerings and evidence supporting the under-reaction hypothesis. Finally, he concludes that the largest shareholders tunnel by means of excess discounts from which they benefit but which is harmful to other shareholders.Remote Sensing Technology in Forensic Investigations provides a basic understanding of concepts involved in the use of basic geophysical surveying,…
metal detectors, magnetics, electromagnetics and ground penetrating radar in police and forensic investigations. Such technology can be vital in locating clandestine, buried evidence which is often concealed in the subsurface underground. Crime scene investigation and evidence collection entails locating, identifying, collecting, and cataloging. Such physical evidence searches are time consuming and can often lead to searches that require excavations, which in itself that can destroy evidence. The noninvasive, nondestructive methods outlined in this book can both reduce the time spent on searches and excavations, thereby increasing the probability of locating vital physical evidence. As such, the application of remote sensing methods has gained increased acceptance, and seen increased usage, by investigators. Remote sensing methods are based on making indirect measurements of the surface of and within the earth. The resulting measurement information can be presented in either an imaging format— such as in aerial photography—or a non-imaging format, such as in a profile or contour map. These measurements can be interpreted to identify and characterize contrasts due to differences in physical and natural properties of the materials being studied. This can include physical evidence, remains, and clandestine graves. This book will serve as a handy introductory primer to the technology, techniques, and application of such techniques. Throughout, numerous references and additional resources are provided for those investigators, forensic anthropology, and police professionals who want further information on the technology’s usage for investigative purposes.Ancient Antioch
Par De Giorgi, Andrea U.. 2016
From late fourth century BC Seleucid enclave to capital of the Roman east, Antioch on the Orontes was one of…
the greatest cities of antiquity and served as a hinge between east and west. This book draws on a century of archaeological fieldwork to offer a new narrative of Antioch's origins and growth, as well as its resilience, civic pride, and economic opportunism. Situating the urban nucleus in the context of the rural landscape, this book integrates hitherto divorced cultural basins, including the Amuq Valley and the Massif Calcaire. It also brings into focus the archaeological data, thus proposing a concrete interpretative framework that, grounded in the monuments of Antioch, enables the reader to move beyond text-based reconstructions of the city's history. Finally, it considers the interaction between the environment and the people of the city who shaped this region and forged a distinct identity within the broader Greco-Roman world.This book provides unique insights into the politics of finance and the socio-political relations which drive financial policymaking in Hong…
kong Singapore and Shanghai While the existing literature in the field focuses mainly on economic explanations for financial centre development this book fills a gap by focusing on the socio-political relations which underpin the financial policy-making process Drawing on extensive interviews with senior policy-makers and financial sector professionals the book describes how state-industry relations drive financial policy-making in three major financial hubs Insights and policy recommendations drawn from these interviews will be particularly useful for policy-makers and financial sector professionals hoping to draw lessons from the successful development of the three leading Asian financial centres Business and Politics in Asia s Key Financial Centres draws on public policy theoretical frameworks for its analytical basis The three chapters focusing on the historical development of Hong Kong Singapore and Shanghai also provide a consolidated narrative with regard to the development of these three cities as leading financial centres while also serving as independent case studies Scholars focusing on policy processes and political factors that underpin financial sector development as well as instructors and students of public policy international political economy and financial sector policy will find this book useful for their researchPrivate Communities and Urban Governance
Par Amnon Lehavi. 2016
This book offers an interdisciplinary and comparative study of the complex interplay between private versus public forms of organization and…
governance in urban residential developments. Bringing together top experts from numerous disciplines, including law, economics, geography, political science, sociology, and planning, this book identifies the current trends in constructing the physical, economic, and social infrastructure of residential communities across the world. It challenges much of the conventional wisdom about the division of labor between market-driven private action and public policy in regulating residential developments and the urban space, and offers a new research agenda for dealing with the future of cities in the twenty-first century. It represents a unique ongoing academic dialogue between the members of an exceptional group of scholars, underscoring the essentially of an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to the study of private communities and urban governance. As such, the book will appeal to a broad audience consisting of policy-makers, practitioners, scholars, and students across the world, especially in developing countries and transitional and emerging economies.The Ethics of Tax Evasion
Par Robert W. Mcgee. 1997
Why do people evade paying taxes? This is the central question addressed in this volume by Robert McGee and a…
multidisciplinary group of contributors from around the world. Applying insights from economics, public finance, political science, law, philosophy, theology and sociology, the authors consider the complex motivations for not paying taxes and the conditions under which this behavior might be rationalized. Applying theoretical approaches as well as empirical research, The Ethics of Tax Evasion considers three general arguments for tax evasion: (1) in cases where the government is corrupt or engaged in human rights abuses; (2) where citizens claim inability to pay, unfairness in the tax system, paying for things that do not benefit the taxpayer, excessively high tax rates, or where taxes are used to support an unpopular war; and (3) through philosophical, moral, or religious opposition. The authors further explore these issues by asking whether attitudes toward tax evasion differ by country or other demographic variables such as gender, age, ethnicity, income level, marital status, education or religion. The result is a multi-faceted analysis of tax evasion in cultural and institutional context, and, more generally, a study in ethical dilemmas and rational decision making.Population Ageing - A Threat to the Welfare State?: The Case of Sweden
Par Tommy Bengtsson. 2010
This book is the first to take a comprehensive view of the challenges that population ageing present in the near…
future taking Sweden as the case. Can the increasing number of retirees per worker be stopped by immigration or increasing fertility or will we need to increase pension age instead? Cost for the social-care system is readily increasing; even more is the costs for health care. Can the galloping costs be funded by an increase in taxes or do we need to make reforms, similar to the ones already made in the pension system, which has been used as a model for many other countries. The fact that it is difficult to make health care dependent on personal contributions, as is the case of the pension system, funding of health care is a true test of solidarity across generations. The book ends with a discussion on whether the demographic challenge to the welfare system is also a threat to the welfare state as such.Transforming Government and Building the Information Society
Par Nagy K. Hanna. 2011
Information and communication technology (ICT) is central to reforming governance, innovating public services, and building inclusive information societies. Countries are…
learning to weave ICT into their strategies for transforming government as enterprises have learned to use ICT to innovate and transform their processes and competitive strategies. ICT-enabled transformation offers a new path to digital-era government that is responsive to the challenges of our time. It facilitates innovation, partnering, knowledge sharing, community organizing, local monitoring, accelerated learning, and participatory development. In Transforming Government and Building the Information Society, Nagy Hanna draws on multi-disciplinary research on ICT in the public sector, and on his rich experience of over 35 years at the World Bank and other aid agencies, to identify the key ingredients for the strategic integration of ICT into governance and poverty reduction strategies. The author showcases promising practices from around the world to outline the strategic options involved in using ICT to maximize developmental impact--transforming government institutions and public services, and empowering communities for inclusion and grassroots innovation. Despite the ICT promise, Hanna acknowledges that reforming governance and empowering poor communities are difficult long-term undertakings. Hanna moves beyond the imperatives and visions of e-transformation to strategic design and implementation options, and draws practical lessons for policymakers, reformers, innovators, community leaders, ICT specialists and development experts.The Economics of the Monetary Union and the Eurozone Crisis
Par Manuel Sanchis i Marco. 2014
A regulatory idea conducted this work: the need to connect the economic rationale of the theory of currency areas with…
the current EU institutional frame of the European monetary unification process. The latter includes the recent revamping of fiscal rules of the Stability and Growth Pact, and calls for enhancing 'flexicurity' in EU labour markets. The lack of EU political leadership is a dead-weight loss to build a genuine economic and monetary union, and risks to blow-up the whole project. Further, it undermines the internal macroeconomic logic of a single currency like the euro, and gives a prominent non-democratic role to financial markets. As it happened in the past with the gold-standard, the euro condemns today the peripheral countries to a deflationary process which might last for a decade. A more pro-European approach is needed with both sides of the system (core and periphery) making the required adjustment efforts, though in the opposite way, to save the eurozone and Europe.Price Regulation and Risk
Par Michael Hierzenberger. 2009
Natural monopolies are not subject to the market-based principle of competition. Consequently, it is necessary to control companies in such…
monopoly positions with regard to their pricing. In the future, it will become more and more important to consider a possible change in the regulation regime when the future-oriented costs of equity - both in terms of price regulation and for conducting capital market-oriented business valuations - are to be determined. Based on the principal-agent problem, the book explains this topic. The effect of a change in the regulation regime is presented in the form of two studies: an international secondary analysis of the effects on cost of equity based on event studies of the Anglo-Saxon area and a primary analysis based on the Austrian regulation policy for electricity and gas supply systems. The two studies arrive at similar results: The change from a rate-of-return regulation to incentive regulation systems leads to a significant increase in systematic risk.