Humanities & Social Sciences

This open access book studies labour institutions from an economic perspective to justify their existence and the advantages that they bring to innovation, efficiency, productivity, and economic growth. The philosophical foundations of labour law rely on the protection of the weaker party of the employment contract. However, after 40 years of political neoliberalism, these justifications seem insufficient for achieving progress in the area of labour and employment rights. This book changes the narrative of why we need labour standards. It begins with a study of the reasons that gave rise to labour law in the context of the Industrial Revolution and its evolution, and moves on to analyse the current context dominated by globalisation and economic digitisation. It then proceeds to study the main justifications for intervention in the labour market in the current business-economic context on a global scale: economic growth; pre-distribution of wealth; a meritocratic allocation of working conditions and equality among workers. Using case studies and examples from across the EU, the UK, and the US, the book shows how the deregulation of labour markets harms innovation and the economy, especially when considering the challenges of platform work, algorithms, and AI. It demonstrates that labour standards such as the minimum wage, sectoral collective bargaining and collective rights, protection against dismissal and discrimination, occupational risk prevention, and social security are necessary for the economy to function properly. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Universitat de València .

Labour markets are undergoing structural transformation due to globalisation, demographic trends, advancing digital technologies and automation and changes in labour market institutions. Against this background, businesses increasingly report that the limited availability of skills poses an impediment to corporate investment. Genuine skill constraints can negatively affect labour productivity and hamper the ability to innovate and adopt technological developments. For individual Europeans, not having “the right skills” limits employability prospects and access to quality jobs. For Europe at large, persistent skill gaps and mismatches come at economic and social costs. This paper reviews the recent economic literature on skill mismatch and skill shortages, with a focus on Europe. It questions: how the job requirements of individuals can be measured; whether skill shortages stated by employers reflect the lack of suitable candidates or are due instead to the wage and working conditions being offered; what economic costs are posed by skill mismatch and shortages; and how policy can address the issue of skills, including the role of EU policies.

Why have so many approaches to farming and food policy failed in Sub-Saharan Africa? Because, argues William Moseley in this compelling analysis, of the shortcomings of a prevailing western, colonial agricultural science that is infused with power and politics. To tackle food security successfully, the book argues, we need a non-colonial, indigenous agronomy that creates the social innovation needed to support the livelihoods of small-scale farmers.The book is organized in four sections: Part 1 provides a broad conceptual introduction emphasizing political agronomy, political ecology and agroecology. Part 2 evaluates past food security and agricultural development experiences in four countries where Moseley has undertaken extensive field research over several decades: Mali, Burkina Faso, South Africa and Botswana. Part 3 examines successful efforts in each of these countries and outlines future directions that emphasize the application of ecological principles to agricultural systems. In Part 4, Moseley advocates building more resilient food systems and a different kind of development that supports agroecology, vibrant rurality and networks of smaller cities. Achieving this transformation will require institutional reform at the global level, of those multilateral and bilateral agencies involved with farming and food policy.Written for an academic and policy readership, as well those interested in international food security, the book is suitable for courses on food politics, agroecology and sustainable development.

This volume explores the meaning of republicanism in contemporary Ireland. While this has often been identified simply with nationalism, the book examines the connections, comparisons and contrasts between Irish republicanism and other strands of republican politics: the ideology and practice of official French republicanism, the broader European and American civic republican tradition and the contemporary revival of this tradition of citizenship. Academics from different disciplines, along with statesmen and politicians from different political perspectives, are brought together to examine the relationship of historical and contemporary Irish republicanism to the wider republican theoretical tradition. The book analyses political positions among those parties describing themselves as republican in Ireland in the twenty-first century and examines the possible relevance of the ideas of the broader republican tradition for future politics in Ireland.

The exhibition: “La Fisica ad Arcetri. Dalla nascita della Regia Università alle leggi raziali” was organized by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence and by the Florence Section of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics, in collaboration with the Historical Archive of the Municipality of Florence, the Physical Science and Natural Mathematics Library of the University of Florence, the Science and Technology Foundation, and the “Galileo” Museum of Florence. It was held from May to September 2016 in the Exhibition Hall of the Municipal Historical Archive in via dell'Oriuolo, Florence. The time covered by the exhibition ranges from the birth of the Royal University of Florence (1924) to the enactment of racial laws in Italy by Benito Mussolini’s government (1938). The exhibited material comes from the Municipality's Historical Archive, the Garbasso Archive, the Della Corte Fund, the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the Science and Technology Foundation and from private collections. The catalogue is published as the third volume of the series of publications associated with the magazine «Il Colle di Galileo».

This open access book provides ten in-depth case studies of state-sponsored internet shutdowns across all regions of Africa. In so doing, it offers the first-ever comparative analysis of how African states use internet shutdowns as tools to close civic space, suppress opposition, and maintain power . Authored entirely by African researchers, Internet Shutdowns in Africa shows how shutdowns are used as a tactic of war, to blackout news of state violence, or to disrupt opposition protests. At the same time, the findings gathered here demonstrate the wide variety of forms these shutdowns take: they can be nationwide or localised; they can target a specific social media platform or website; or they can avoid the appearance of a complete shutdown by throttling connection speeds; and all of these types of shutdowns can last weeks, months, or even years. Ultimately, the book provides a unique comparative assessment of the dramatic economic, social, and political consequences of shutdowns – some intentional and some unintended - as well as on how different demographic groups are affected in very different ways, all of which produces actionable recommendations. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.

In a society shaped by deep inequalities, where healthcare and legal systems often reinforce class, caste, religion, and gender hierarchies, this book offers a powerful examination of patienthood in India. Through its critical approach, it seeks to disrupt binaries—such as universalistic and particularistic values and data versus theory—while decentering normative discourses by foregrounding lived experiences within the context. It offers philosophical and conceptual insights that extend far beyond local variations and contexts, challenging dominant narratives in global discourses on medical decision-making and concepts such as informed consent, autonomy, and respect. This book critiques the archetype of the “passive patient” entrenched in both medicine and law in India — an image that undermines agency, diminishes self-respect, and sustains a culture of disrespect. Chapters of the book unpacks the intersections of power, social categories, and patienthood, exposing how marginalized communities face everyday indignities in healthcare and law. It explores law and medicine’s role in maintaining presumed 'passive patient' archetype, especially through legal judgements and healthcare encounters. This book advocates for reimagining patienthood as centered on self-respect, recognition, and agency, arguing that the “passive patient” is not an isolated phenomenon but an outcome of broader, oppressive structures. Contributing to robust debates in medical sociology, bioethics, and social justice, this book is essential reading for those interested in the intersections of these fields, along with applied ethics, health services research, and law. This book is freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

In den lukianischen Göttergesprächen wird die traditionelle griechische Götterwelt einer dezidiert ironisch-satirischen Beleuchtung ausgesetzt, die im 2. Jh. n. Chr. nicht zuletzt dem jungen Christentum wichtige Argumente zur Bekämpfung des alten Götterglaubens liefern konnte. Die insgesamt fünfundzwanzig lebendigen dialogischen Szenen haben sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten nur begrenzter Aufmerksamkeit erfreut; nicht zuletzt deshalb werden sie hier neu präsentiert. Der hier vorgelegte Band bietet eine Einleitung in das Werk, einen erheblich revidierten griechischen Text, eine neue Übersetzung mit Anmerkungen sowie sechs Beiträge aus verschiedenen Disziplinen (Klassische Philologie, Alte Geschichte und Patristik), die die Bedeutung dieser Göttergespräche nicht nur im Kontext ihrer Zeit, sondern auch darüber hinaus umfassend erschließen wollen.

Die Unterstützung der Innovationstätigkeit von Unternehmen durch staatliche Förderung stellt ein populäres Instrument der Politik dar. Diese Arbeit untersucht unter Anwendung von Ansätzen der Neuen Institutionenökonomik und Entrepreneurship-Theorie die Ausgestaltung von Innovationsförderung am Beispiel des Niedersächsischen Innovationsförderprogramms und die von diesem Programm ausgehende Wirkung auf die beteiligten Akteure. Daran schließt sich die Darstellung der Ergebnisse einer Unternehmensbefragung an, in welcher die theoretischen und empirischen Erkenntnisse verknüpft werden. Im Mittelpunkt steht dabei die Fragestellung, inwiefern sich Unternehmen, die Innovationsfördermittel erhalten haben, von nicht geförderten Unternehmen unterscheiden.

This open access short reader investigates how migration has become an increasingly important issue in international relations since the turn of the 21st century. It investigates specific aspects of this migration diplomacy such as double citizenship or bilateral agreements on border controls which can become important tools for bargain or pressure. This short reader also discusses the intersections between migration and international relations concerning issues of global governance such as conflicts and refugees, development and mobility, or environmental migration. The book thereby shows the extent of bargaining involved in migration and international relations, the so called “soft diplomacy of migrations” as seen in the EU/Turkish agreement on borders in 2016, or the EU negotiations with Maghreb or Sub-Saharan countries on read missions against development programs and visas. As such this reader provides a must read to students, academics, researchers and policy makers and everyone who wants to learn more about the international relations aspects of migration governance.

Having Too Much is the first academic volume devoted to limitarianism: the idea that the use of economic or ecosystem resources should not exceed certain limits. This concept has deep roots in economic and political thought. One can find similar statements of such limits in thinkers such as Plato, Aquinas, and Spinoza. But Having Too Much is the first time in contemporary political philosophy that limitarianism is explored at length and in detail. Bringing together in one place the best writing from key theorists of limitarianism, this book is an essential contribution to political philosophy in general, and theories of distributive justice in particular. Including some of the key published articles as well as new chapters, Having Too Much is necessary reading for scholars and students of political theory and philosophy, as well as anyone interested in questions of distributive justice.

When Leigh Harline and Ned Washington penned “When You Wish Upon a Star” for Walt Disney’s 1940 film Pinocchio, the song came like a bolt out of the blue. Like Judy Garland’s rendition of “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz one year earlier, vaudeville veteran Cliff Edwards’s recording “When You Wish Upon a Star” comes on the heels of the Great Depression and just shy of America’s sudden jolt into a second global conflict. But fate stepped in and “When You Wish Upon a Star” has since taken a peculiar and dynamic life of its own. It is a corporate logo. It is a jazz standard. John Williams even put it at the center of his score to Spielberg’s 1977 sci-fi film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The tune seems to be everywhere. Yet despite its popularity, “When You Wish Upon a Star” has largely kept its story to itself. This book pulls focus to the song’s origins and original context in Pinocchio, the way it works, the work it’s been made to do in the world, and the lives of those who orbited it over the last eight decades. The biography of the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” helps us better understand how our ears attune to the possible and what Harline and Washington’s creation can teach us about the world to come.

The chapter analyzes the cycle of the anti-nuclear movement that followed the Fukushima accident in March 2011. Employing functional typology, the chapter categorizes the movement’s organizations into seven types (direct action, research and education, policy advocacy, aid, watchdog, legal, and other) and shows that the post-Fukushima wave of protests was much broader in scope and more diverse in terms of actors and organizational forms than often assumed. Tracing the origins of the post-Fukushima cycle, the analysis reveals three streams of protests that emerged soon after the Fukushima accident (Freeters, Old Guard, Ecologists), which later merged to form a coalition, Hangenren. The direct-action groups that constitute the most visible form of social protest, called by Oguma Eiji “the flower of the movement,” exhibit characteristics of new social movements, although the chapter underlines the fact that the post-Fukushima anti-nuclear ecosystem included both the new groups formed after March 2011 and the old ones established before and after the Chernobyl accident.

The Region of Tuscany, has developed a process/methodology to foster autonomy and accompany to work disadvantaged people and people with disability. The approach adopted consists of an integrated methodology that sees the recipients adhere to a customized project, prepared together with the Social Services, the local Employment Centers and public and private entities active in the field of interventions to combat poverty and social exclusion. Third Sector Entities play a key role in this framework.

Nowhere has there been a discussion of the confusion necessarily generated by the rapidity of the change or of the agony created in the lives of many whose attitudes, expectations, and even success depended on the continuance of now abolished institutions. Historians have ignored the settled conditions of most samurai and instead concentrated on the study of the minority of activist samurai leaders who, with the backing of only a few Han (feudal domains) sought to overthrow the old order and whose success in doing so has made the study of the modernization of Japan the prime concern of historians. The history of the Meiji period may have been an overall political and industrial success story, but for a fuller understanding of the conditions of that success it is also necessary to understand "what it was really like" for the members of the old elite to be estranged from the proponents of revolution and what many members did to assure their own social and psychological position in a world they had not expected.In this book the author attempts to show that the impact of the Meiji Restoration destroyed the meaningfulness of the Confucian doctrine for these declasse samurai. Through Christianity, the samurai attempted to revive their status in society by finding a doctrine that offered a meaningful path to power. But in doing so, they had to accept a new theory of social relations. Ultimately, as the convert's understanding of society became totally informed by the Christian doctrine, they accepted a transcendent authority that brought them into conflict with society about them. Therefore, to understand the development of a Christian opposition in Meiji society we must begin with the conversion experience itself.