Critical Connections examines how trade, investment, migration, and other linkages among countries drive economic growth in the Europe and Central Asia region. The study breaks new ground by using a multidimensional approach that recognizes how each connectivity channel for growth is likely to be affected by the strength of other channels. This multidimensional view makes it easier to see that diversity in country connections and balance in all channels of connectivity are critical for ach...

During the 1990s, Emerging Europe and Central Asia (ECA) opted for a model of rapid financial development focused on bank credit expansion often funded by foreign capital. This model helped boost the financial inclusion of firms and households, but was also accompanied by lower financial efficiency and increased vulnerability to banking crises. The need for financial sector reforms has become more urgent as stagnating income growth, particularly of middle- to lower-income earners, is leadi...

This collection presents twenty-seven new essays in Japanese aesthetics by leading experts in the field. Beginning with an extended foreword by the renowned scholar and artist Stephen Addiss and a comprehensive introduction that surveys the history of Japanese aesthetics and the ways in which it is similar to and different from Western aesthetics, this groundbreaking work brings together a large variety of disciplinary perspectives—including philosophy, literature, and cultural politics—to...

Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism explores a new mode of philosophizing through a comparative study of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology and philosophies of major Buddhist thinkers such as Nagarjuna, Chinul, Dogen, Shinran, and Nishida Kitaro. Challenging the dualistic paradigm of existing philosophical traditions, Merleau-Ponty proposes a philosophy in which the traditional opposites are encountered through mutual penetration. Likewise, a Buddhist worldview is articulated in the the...

The evidence is irrefutable: global warming is real. While the debate continues about just how much damage spiking temperatures will wreak, we know the threat to our homes, health, and even way of life is dire. So why isn’t America doing anything? Where is the national campaign to stop this catastrophe?It may lie between the covers of this book. Ignition brings together some of the world’s finest thinkers and advocates to jump start the ultimate green revolution. Including...

This definitive textbook provides accessible information on best practice for assessing the needs and strengths of vulnerable children and their families. It explores the challenges that practitioners face routinely - with suggestions as to how to address them - as well as the established areas for assessment, of children's developmental needs, parenting ability and motivation, and socio-economic factors.This new edition has been extended substantially to include recent practice, p...

Kiwifruit is one of the few fruit crops that has been successfully introduced to the marketplace and for which commercial production in several countries has expanded rapidly over the last 50 years. Kiwifruit science and production has advanced significantly during this time, with multiple new green-, yellow- and red-fleshed cultivars being commercialized while moving into the era of genomics, sustainability, digital technology and automation. This book reviews the scientific and technical...

Today more than ever, series finales have become cultural touchstones that feed watercooler fodder and Twitter storms among a committed community of viewers. While the final episodes of The Fugitive and M*A*S*H continue to rank among the highest rated broadcasts, more recent shows draw legions of binge-watching fans. Given the importance of finales to viewers and critics alike, Howard and Bianculli along with the other contributors explore these endings and what they mean to the audience, ...

Invasive arthropods cause significant damage in agricultural crops and natural environments across the globe. Potentially threatened regions need to be prepared to prevent new pests from becoming established. Therefore, information on pest identity, host range, geographical distribution, biology, tools for detection and identification are all essential to researchers and regulatory personnel. This book focuses on the most recent invasive pests of agricultural crops in temperate subtropical...

A story about a single mother about to turn 40 who falls in love with someone unexpected. She just wanted to escape her abusive past and start over back in her hometown in Indiana. All she hoped for was to give her and her kids a better life. She never imagined it would end up the way it did, a drama-filled romance for the ages, packed with secrets, lies, and devastation.

A story about a single mother about to turn 40 who falls in love with someone unexpected. She just wanted to escape her abusive past and start over back in her hometown of Indiana. All she hoped for was to give her and her kids a better life. She never imagined it would end up the way it did, a drama filled romance of the ages, packed with secrets, lies and devastation.

A collection of classic love poetryComposed by many of the world’s best known and most celebrated poets—including William Blake, Emily Dickinson, John Donne, Robert Frost, James Joyce, Christina Rossetti, William Butler Yeats, and others—Valentines spans not only the ages, but the full range of passionate expression of love in all its forms and stages.