46622 research outputs found
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Spirit(s) and Chinese Religiosity
This open access book offers a fresh perspective on the history of Chinese Christianity, retelling it through the lens of Pentecost (Acts 2) to illuminate the rise of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity in China from the 20th century onward.Parting from traditional academic studies of Chinese Pentecostalism, the author departs from beginning with the early 20th-century introduction of the Pentecostal movement to China, and instead examines the deeper historical and theological roots of Chinese Christianity. In identifying this gap, the author argues that China’s rich religious and cultural context—shaped by a pantheon of spirits and ghosts—provided a fertile ground for the acceptance and flourishing of modern Pentecostal thought and practice. Through this innovative analysis, the book connects Pentecostalism’s global emergence with the unique spiritual landscape of China, offering new insights into both Chinese and Pentecostal Christian history. It is an important read for scholars of religious history and theology
Online Misogyny in Brazil
This open access book tells the story of how Congress and courts have responded to online misogyny and online gender-based violence in Brazil. As thousands of women, young and old, famous and anonymous, are targeted with online violence violating their freedoms in Brazil, civil society has fought for the recognition of the problem of online misogyny in the law. In her exploration of this evolving landscape, Mariana Valente unpacks how the shifting political landscape of the last decade in Brazil has intersected with feminist movements and internet policy discussions, and the resulting legislative developments. Drawing from almost fifteen years of research, the book brings the key cases and political fights that moved the conversation forward and how Congress and courts responded to the issue. It also deals with how foreign digital platforms gave rise to conflicts between the local and the transnational. Problems such as nonconsensual dissemination of intimate images, hate speech and political violence against women on social media are interwoven with critical legal and social theory. The result is a picture of the centrality of online misogyny to the recent political developments in Brazil and the advances and failures of the law in responding to the problem from an intersectional perspective. By analysing the fight against online misogyny in one of the largest countries in the world, Online Misogyny in Brazil: Law, Internet Governance, and the Struggle for Gender Justice showcases strategies to achieve one of the main targets of SDG 5: “End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere”. This is a revised and expanded English edition of a book originally published in Portuguese. The translation of the original manuscript into English was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content
Threats to Our Ocean Heritage: Deep Sea Mining
This open access brief is a pioneering work that is one of the first book publications to cover underwater cultural heritage and deep seabed mining. Bringing together a variety of perspectives, the work is designed to serve several purposes and educate a few different types of readers. The work introduces and offers a history on deep seabed mining, the legal context, and how it fits into the new UN Convention on Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ treaty), the International Seabed Authority (DSM governing body), and the ecological impacts of deep seabed mining. The brief is also aimed at marine ecologists and other ocean scientists who may already be aware of the DSM and the ecological impacts, but not of the cultural heritage at risk. It introduces deep-water archaeology to them and a few case studies of heritage at risk, like in New Zealand or polluting wrecks. Finally, the book offers suggestions for steps forward and case studies of cultural heritage being included in environmental impact assessments. By the end of the book, all parties should feel educated enough to begin championing a ban on, or more regulations for, seabed mining. One additional strength of the book is that it gives voice to those without a traditional academic background. Intangible cultural heritage has been a hotbed issue in mining regulations and many indigenous voices, especially from the Pacific, have been loudly outspoken at the ISA. While writing thousand-word academic journal articles was not in their wheelhouse, they have given permission for their speeches to be transcribed and included in the book. This will bring a new set of voices into the scientific discourse on the issue. The book is also set up to have many images to de-mystify the deep and show readers the beauty that must be protected
Casual Democracy
This open access book asks how the retreat of local journalism and the advance of social media platforms reshapes democracy at the grassroots level. It presents a unique ethnographic exploration of two distinct communities—Frederiksberg in Denmark and Ringwood in England—and introduces the concept of "casual democracy" as a provocative new way to think about the fluid, informal, and often unpredictable nature of local public spheres increasingly dominated by platforms like Facebook. Through immersive fieldwork and insightful analysis, the book examines how these communities navigate the ethical, epistemic and democratic norms of deliberation. At its heart, this book grapples with the vital consequences for democratic participation and deliberation when platforms redefine the public realm. Blending rigorous scholarship with engaging narrative storytelling, Casual Democracy is essential reading not just for academics, but for anyone concerned with the future of local democracy and the health of public discourse in the digital age
Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming – Workshops
This open access book constitutes revised selected papers from the workshops and the poster track held at the 26th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2025, which took place in Brugg-Windisch, Switzerland, during June 2-5, 2025. XP is the premier agile software development conference combining research and practice. The main ambition of the co-located workshops was to foster collaboration, generate new insights, and advance the field of agile software development. The 2 full papers and 10 short papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 35 submissions to the workshops and the poster track. They were organized in topical sections as follows: AI and Agile Software Development: From Frustration to Success; The Third International Workshop on Global and Hybrid Work in Software Engineering (GoHyb); Towards a Closser Collaboration between Practice and Research in Agile Software Development - What we learnt and what not; Posters
Chapter 5 “Creative Technicians” and “Technical Creatives”
This book offers a genuinely interdisciplinary engagement with the future of paid and unpaid work in the context of the twin challenges of decarbonisation and the growing impacts of an unstable climate. It is innovative in its grounding of such discussions in the everyday realities of workers’ experiences with an empirical focus on skill, occupational shifts and technological change at the workplace level. Part I: Skills and Training delves into how workers gain crucial skills across their lifetimes. From survivalist “preppers” to local microgrid operators, the chapters reveal practical and often unrecognised but essential expertise. Case studies include air-conditioning technical educators and construction trades leveraging tacit knowledge of sustainable practices. Part II: Industrial Transformation draws on empirical studies from coal mining, manufacturing, defence and construction to highlight workers’ experiences of climate shifts, heat and industrial transition. Theoretical contributions explore novel legal strategies such as fossil fuel “cessation” and examine the role of health and safety frameworks in addressing worker democracy and climate-change mitigation. This collection will resonate with scholars, students, policymakers and trade unionists interested in environmental labour studies, just transitions and the future of work. It offers vital lessons for navigating complex industrial transformations. Key features: Detailed case studies in critical sectors such as energy, construction, defence and manufacturing; A dynamic interdisciplinary fusion of human geography, political economy, sociology, industrial relations and law; Emphasis on worker agency, practical skill and grassroots adaptability amid intensifying climate impacts