At the end of the 20th century, Japan is once again at a crossroads, undergoing fundamental transformation, as it did when it opened its doors to trade in the 19th century and renounced its feudal past, or when it rose from the ashes of World War II as a mighty economic machine. Today's recession and real estate and financial crises reflect, however, a confluence of trends that are proving that its current model for economic growth is unsustainable.
Rethinking Arab Democratization unpacks and historicizes the rise of Arab electoralism, narrating the story of stalled democratic transition in the Arab Middle East. It provides a balance sheet of the state of Arab democratization from the mid-1970s into the 21st century. In seeking to answer the question of how Arab countries democratize and whether they are democratizing at all, the book pays attention to specificity, highlighting the peculiarities of democratic transitions in the Arab Middle East. To this end, it situates the discussion of such transitions firmly within their local contexts, but without losing sight of the global picture, namely, the US drive to control and 'democratize' the Arab World. The book rejects 'exceptionalism', 'foundationalism', and 'Orientalism', by showing that the Arab World is not immured from the global trend towards political liberalization. But by identifying new trends in Arab democratic transitions, highlighting their peculiarities and drawing on Arab neglected discourses and voices, the book pinpoints the contingency of some of the arguments underlying Western theories of democratic transition when applied to the Arab setting. Oxford Studies in Democratization is a series for scholars and students of comparative politics and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on the comparative study of the democratization process that accompanied the decline and termination of the cold war. The geographical focus of the series is primarily Latin America, the Caribbean, Southern and Eastern Europe, and relevant experiences in Africa and Asia. The series editor is Laurence Whitehead, Official Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
This indispensable tool enables scientists and translators with only a basic knowledge of Japanese to quickly locate and evaluate pertinent information, tapping the large body of chemical literature that at present is mainly inaccessible to non-Japanese readers. The dictionary is unique in both its scope and concept, listing over 15,000 technical terms from all chemical disciplines in kanji/kana script, romaji transcription and English translation, ordered according to frequency of occurrence for quick access. The dictionary is supplemented by valuable background information on the Japanese language, chemical industry and chemical literature. A ready reference for all those chemical professionals dealing with the world's second largest economy.
Sidestone Press is currently working on the publication of facsimile-editions of the series De inlandsche kunstnijverheid in Nederlandsch Indie by J.E. Jasper and M. Pirngadie. This 5-book series describes the material culture of the former Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) and was first published between 1912 and 1930. Part IV is the second volume to be republished and deals with the objects of gold and silver. The different types of body ornaments are described, as well as the techniques and tools used in the production of these objects. The book is richly illustrated, partly in colour. Original copies of all five books, provided by the Dutch National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, are scanned and digitally edited. The drawings by Mas Pirngadi are reproduced in colour. Volume 1 will contain an elaborate introduction about the authors and the series De inlandsche kunstnijverheid in Nederlandsch Indie, written by dr. H.I.R. Hinzler. Entire series is Dutch text.
For 31 months between 1979 and 1995, James F. Weiner conducted anthropological research amongst the Foi people in Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. This book contains the transcriptions, translations, and descriptions of the songs he recorded. The texts of women’s sago songs (obedobora), men’s ceremonial songs (sorohabora), and women’s sorohabora are included. Men turn the prosaic content of womenís sago songs into their ownsorohabora songs, which are performed the night following large-scale inter-community pig kills, called dawa. While women sing sago songs by themselves, men sing their ceremonial songs in groups of paired men. Women also have their own ceremonial versions of such songs. The songs are memorial in intent; they are designed to commemorate the lives of men who are no longer living. Most commonly they do so by naming the places the deceased inhabited during his lifetime. These song texts and translations are introduced by Weiner. Ethnomusicologist Don Niles then brings together information about each type of song and considers these Foi genres in relation to those of neighbouring groups, highlighting aspects of regional performance styles. Consideration is also given to the poetic devices used in Papua New Guinea songs. Eighteen recordings illustrating the Foi genres discussed in this book are available for download. It remains uncertain how such songs may be affected by the major oil extraction project that has been undertaken in the region for more than two decades. This book will interest students of anthropology, ethnomusicology, linguistics, verbal art, aesthetics, and cultural heritage.
