This volume contains an Open Access chapter.This edited collection showcases the usefulness of symbolic interactionism in examining concurrent social issues which demand researchers’ attention - symbolic interactionists demonstrate their roots in pragmatism by examining contemporary social issues, mental health, gun control and the homeless. Although these issues have been around for quite some time, recent changes in social, political, and economic landscapes have...

In a world where believers face increasing opposition, how do we pray for—and relate to—human rulers? This timely and engaging book takes us back to the pages of Luke–Acts to explore what Scripture says about government authorities and their role in the gospel story.Through careful biblical and historical analysis, it uncovers one possible reason why Luke emphasized centurions and other officials in his two-volume work to Theophilus. Tracing this theme from the Old Testament throug...

Southwestern Journal of Theology Book of the Year—Biblical StudiesSOLA Network's Asian American Book Awards Honorable MentionFinding internal coherence within the Old Testament is a challenging task. Numerous scholars over the centuries have provided various, divergent frameworksto organize the content of the Hebrew Bible. Navigating both the Old Testament itself and the history of its interpretation can feel like a maze of...

Did Moses write about Jesus? Jesus himself made this bold claim (recorded in John 5:46). Yet while most readers of the Bible today recognize a few Messianic prophecies in the Pentateuch, they don't often see them as part of its central message. In The Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch, Kevin Chen challenges the common view of the Pentateuch as focused primarily on the Mosaic Law, arguing instead that it sets forth a coherent, sweeping vision of the Messiah as the...

A perennial challenge for theological education is the integration of what is learned in the classroom with students’ church life and ministry. Is there a connection? How can greater connection be fostered? Many seminaries earnestly wrestle with these questions. Whereas some of the underlying issues are common to all seminaries, others are influenced by the cultural context in which theological education, church life, and ministry take place. In additional to cultural factors, the history,...

The book of Daniel tells the true story and casts a vision of the only kingdom that will never be destroyed. This kingdom thread runs throughout both its beloved stories in the first half of the book and the often-baffling visions in the second half. The book of Daniel also takes seriously the reality that God’s people suffer. Even so, believers may take heart that the King of heaven rules over the kingdoms of earth and will ensure that his kingdom triumphs in the last days. The son of man...

Over the past two decades, the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) has attracted great attention and has been used extensively for the solution of scientific and engineering problems. The MFS is a boundary meshless collocation method which has evolved from the boundary element method. In it, the approximate solution is expressed as a linear combination of fundamental solutions of the operator in the governing partial differential equation.One of the main attractions of the MFS is...

Nature Tourism augments the current literature on the benefits and pitfalls in recent developments of nature tourism, tracing the history of development, highlighting the ecological impacts, and showcasing the current practices in nature tourism.Along with discussions on specific tourist markets from holistic viewpoints, this book examines lessons learned from various destination nations and continents across the globe. This new second edition has been updated to include:

Artificial Intelligence (AI), an umbrella term that includes any device capable of emulating or even exceeding human capabilities, emerged as computer technologies became more sophisticated and complex. Recent rapid developments in AI have utilized the pattern-matching capacity to create words, images, and sounds, often referred to as Generative AI. In 2022, Open-AI unveiled ChatGPT, a computer program designed to simulate conversation with users. After receiving input from users, ChatGPT ...

Over the course of more than seventy years, symbolic interactionism as a resourceful and conceptually rich perspective has generated variegated lines of research.In Essential Methods in Symbolic Interaction, symbolic interactionists who adopt different methods in their research articulate the methodological issues critical to their research. Methods discussed include Grounded Theory method, qualitative laboratory method, qualitative media analysis, music research, as well ...

Over the course of more than 70 years, students of symbolic interactionism have demonstrated how a resourceful and conceptually rich perspective can generate variegated lines of research. However, many have expressed concerns over the sheer wealth and quantity of "lines of research" and the promotion of a "chaos" that lacks a cohesive focus on the fundamental issues, processes, and concepts that define the essence of symbolic interactionism.Answering David Maines’ call for a forum ...

Advances in Hospitality and Leisure (AHL), a double-blind, peer-reviewed journal published annually since 2004, aims to promote seminal and innovative research outputs related to hospitality, leisure, tourism, and lifestyle. Specifically, this journal encourages researchers to investigate new research issues and problems that are critical but have been largely overlooked, while providing a forum to disseminate singular thoughts that advance empirical undertakings both theoreticall...