Welcome to a universe where the exploration of unknown worlds intertwines with the complexity of the human soul. “Nexxus” invites you to embark on a journey through galaxies, where contact with alien civilizations challenges not only science, but also the limits of morality and power. At the center of this story are real characters — not superhumans, but beings whose weaknesses, doubts and ambitions resonate with us all. Amid intergalactic wars, political confrontations and scientific discoveries, “Nexxus” explores universal themes such as the desire for power, moral duality and the inevitable search for belonging. Get ready for an engaging narrative, where life on Earth is just a small part of something much larger. “Nexxus” is a science fiction that connects the familiar with the extraordinary, and puts the reader at the heart of a conflict that spans civilizations, time and space. If you are a fan of science fiction filled with mystery, action and emotional depth, “Nexxus” is the book that will challenge your perception of what lies beyond the stars.

The importance of cultural heritage - in both its tangible and intangible forms - to sustainable development and its economic, social and environmental components is increasingly evident in the recent practice of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations at the universal and regional level. Due consideration for the integration of the cultural dimension in the implementation of Agenda 2030 has begun to grow in various international fora, including initiatives to emphasize the role and contribution of tangible and intangible heritage as drivers and enablers of sustainable development. It has also been recognized that the inherent links between cultural heritage and sustainable development cannot be correctly addressed without taking into account their various implications for the effective enjoyment of all human rights, including cultural rights. This book offers a thorough academic investigation on the importance of cultural heritage to sustainable development and cultural rights from an international law perspective. Providing an in-depth review of the possible intersections between cultural heritage, sustainable development and cultural rights and the limits of the current legal and institutional framework, it will be of interest to researchers and scholars of international law, cultural heritage law, environmental law and human rights law.

This book examines the performance of Bauls, ‘folk’ performers from Bengal, in the context of a rapidly globalizing Indian economy and against the backdrop of extreme nationalistic discourses. Recognizing their scope beyond the musical and cultural realm, Sukanya Chakrabarti engages in discussing the subversive and transformational potency of Bauls and their performances. In-Between Worlds argues that the Bauls through their musical, spiritual, and cultural performances offer ‘joy’ and ‘spirituality,’ thus making space for what Dr. Ambedkar in his famous 1942 speech had identified as ‘reclamation of human personality’. Chakrabarti destabilizes the category of ‘folk’ as a fixed classification or an origin point, and fractures homogeneous historical representations of the Baul as a ‘folk’ performer and a wandering mendicant exposing the complex heterogeneity that characterizes this group. Establishing ‘folk-ness’ as a performance category, and ‘folk festivals’ as sites of performing ‘folk-ness,’ contributing to a heritage industry that thrives on imagined and recreated nostalgia, Chakrabarti examines different sites that produce varied performative identities of Bauls, probing the limits of such categories while simultaneously advocating for polyvocality and multifocality. While this project has grounded itself firmly in performance studies, it has borrowed extensively from fields of postcolonial studies and subaltern histories, literature, ethnography and ethnomusicology, and cosmopolitan studies.

“A fascinating, provocative case that the metaverse will not merely transform our virtual experience—it may actually enrich the quality of our lives” (Adam Grant)—from the visionary co-founder of one of today’s most innovative technology companies “This important book offers a highly persuasive argument that the metaverse, a new kind of virtual world, marks a profound next stage in this long human quest for fulfillment through creation.”—Chris Anderson, head of TED The concept of “the metaverse” has exploded in the public consciousness, but its contours remain elusive. Is it merely an immersive virtual reality playground, one that Facebook and other platforms will angle to control? Is it simply the next generation of massive multiplayer online games? Or is it something more revolutionary? As pioneering technologist Herman Narula shows, the metaverse is the latest manifestation of an ancient human tendency: the act of worldbuilding. From the Egyptians, whose conception of death inspired them to build the pyramids, to modern-day sports fans, whose passion for a game inspires extreme behavior, humans have long sought to supplement their day-to-day lives with a rich diversity of alternative experiences. Rooting his vision in history and psychology, Narula argues that humans’ intrinsic need for autonomy, accomplishment, and connection can best be met in virtual “worlds of ideas,” where users have the chance to create and exchange meaning and value. The metaverse is both the growing set of fulfilling digital experiences—ranging from advanced gaming to concerts and other entertainment events and even to virtual employment—and the empowering framework that allows these spaces to become “networks of useful meaning.” Bloomberg Intelligence recently predicted that the metaverse will become an $800 billon industry by 2024. But its implications, argues Narula, will lead to far more awe-inspiring possibilities than a spigot of cash. The arrival of the metaverse marks the beginning of a new age of exploration—not outward, but inward—with the potential to reshape society and open the door to a new understanding of the human species and its capabilities. Rigorously researched and passionately argued, Virtual Society is a provocative and essential guide for anyone who wants to go beyond superficial headlines to understand the true contours and potential of our virtual future.

In the enchanting town of Ravenswood, where cosmic energies intertwine with earthly existence, journalist Sarah Lancaster stumbles upon a cosmic revelation that shatters the boundaries between reality and the unseen. As shadows encroach upon the cosmic haven, Sarah becomes the cosmic custodian of a celestial artifact that holds the key to cosmic mysteries. Eternal Nightfall invites you on a cosmic odyssey where ancient prophecies and cosmic secrets unravel. In a cosmic dance between the cosmic and the mundane, Sarah and a fellowship of cosmic protectors must navigate the delicate balance between cosmic forces and unearth the celestial artifact's true cosmic purpose. As cosmic constellations align, Ravenswood stands at the cosmic crossroads of its destiny. Prepare for a cosmic journey where the celestial meets the earthly, where cosmic shadows whisper untold secrets, and where the legacy of Eternal Nightfall unfolds in cosmic hues beyond the cosmic veil.

This important book offers an ambitious and interdisciplinary vision of how private international law (or the conflict of laws) might serve as a heuristic for re-working our general understandings of legality in directions that respond to ever-deepening global ecological crises. Unusual in legal scholarship, the author borrows (in bricolage mode) from the work of Bruno Latour, alongside indigenous cosmologies, extinction theories and Levinassian phenomenology, to demonstrate why this field's specific frontier location at the outpost of the law – where it is viewed from the outside as obscure and from the inside as a self-contained normative world – generates its potential power to transform law generally and globally. Combining pragmatic and pluralist theory with an excavation of 'shadow' ecological dimensions of law, the author, a recognised authority within the field as conventionally understood, offers a truly global view. Put simply, it is a generational magnum opus. All international and transnational lawyers, be they in the private or public field, should read this book.

In Relational Iconography Georg Leube engages with the courtly culture of the Qaraquyunlu and Aqquyunlu dynasties (15th century C.E.) as a key episode in Persianate and Islamicate cultural history.

In an illuminating study that blends diplomatic, military, technology, and business history, Winkler shows how U.S. officials during World War I discovered the enormous value of global communications. In this absorbing history, Winkler sheds light on the early stages of the global infrastructure that helped launch the United States as the predominant power of the century.

Over the last few years, and with the collapse of the bipolar world order, new and complex conflicts have emerged which, in some cases, have ignited into larger and devastating regional wars. In the very midst of peacekeeping operations for such conflicts, experts claim, the requirements of peace-building should be considered a priority as well. It is for this reason that the United Nations, even as it deploys military and civilian forces in the four corners of the globe, seeks to set the foundations for sustainable peace. The task is daunting but the challenge impossible to ignore. Against such a background, and even as events were unfolding in East Timor and Kosovo, the fourth in a series of prestigious conferences organised on lessons learnt from peacekeeping operations was held under the auspices of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Singapore, and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA). Throughout two intense days in Singapore, in November of 1999, an eminent group of academics, government officials, representatives of international organisations, and military scholars gathered behind closed doors to reflect upon what has been coined the nexus between peacekeeping and peace-building. This volume contains all the papers commissioned for that event. It also includes a summary of the many animated debates that took place during the conference. The broad range of opinions and perspectives it contains provides insights into a difficult and important topic, and demonstrates how dangerous it would be for the international community to ignore it. Four past cases - Angola, Haiti, Mozambique, and Cambodia - and two ongoing operations - Kosovo and East Timor - were analysed. The findings should give policy makers, researchers and international affairs analysts a candid review and critique of past experiences that is essential for the comprehension of current peacekeeping missions and the requirement of peace-building strategies.

Drawing on anthropologist Ana Mariella Bacigalupo's fifteen years of field research, Shamans of the Foye Tree: Gender, Power, and Healing among Chilean Mapuche is the first study to follow shamans' gender identities and performance in a variety of ritual, social, sexual, and political contexts. To Mapuche shamans, or machi, the foye tree is of special importance, not only for its medicinal qualities but also because of its hermaphroditic flowers, which reflect the gender-shifting components of machi healing practices. Framed by the cultural constructions of gender and identity, Bacigalupo's fascinating findings span the ways in which the Chilean state stigmatizes the machi as witches and sexual deviants; how shamans use paradoxical discourses about gender to legitimatize themselves as healers and, at the same time, as modern men and women; the tree's political use as a symbol of resistance to national ideologies; and other components of these rich traditions. The first comprehensive study on Mapuche shamans' gendered practices, Shamans of the Foye Tree offers new perspectives on this crucial intersection of spiritual, social, and political power.