Why do some beliefs become extinct while others adapt and flourish? James shows us how genetic evolution and cultural evolution, though operating at different rates, are one and the same. Recent science has gone a long way toward explaining the origin of religious belief in evolutionary terms, but Craig James has cracked open the mystery of its tenacity. Religion does not exist for us, it exists for its own sake. Like a selfish gene or a parasite, the religion virus catches a free ride in the minds of our species, infecting our history and culture.

This book provides a concise introduction into twenty-one trends that are transforming the role of religion and spirituality in “re-globalizing” societies. In referring to processes of “re-globalization”, the book draws attention to profound ongoing changes in the patterns and mechanisms of contemporary globalization. Inter- and transdisciplinary in its approach, clearly structured, and easy to read, the book analyzes the impact of religious self-understanding, rhetoric, and practice on five core fields: economics, politics, culture, demography, and technology. In turn, it describes the effects of these five fields on religion and spirituality themselves. This book represents a broad, encompassing overview of the main transformations that religion is undergoing today. Roland Benedikter combines a “big picture” approach with a keen attention to the details of specific case studies. With its clear and accessible structure and timely examples, this book is ideally suited for students of international relations and religious studies, and will also appeal to researchers engaged in those fields and to interested general readers. The book is also apt to serve as an encompassing basis for contemporary debates in civil society, including both grassroots and expert discussions.

This is an open access book.According to Castells, power now rests in networks: “the logic of the network is more powerful than the powers of the network” (quoted in Weber, 2002, p. 104) – it is whether nation states or local communities are deeply affected, especially by inclusion in and exclusion from the global networks that structure a various sectors in society at any level. Thus it is also crucial look closely at exclusion from and inclusion in different kinds of social structures where connectivity and access to networks are essential, being aware that people at the bottom are those who, with nothing to offer the network, are excluded. Castells’ arguments shows us how the new forms of network society offer challenges in a way that despite the disappearance of conventional ties, exploitation, marginalization, exclusion and differentiation remain. In what follows, scholarships are invited to build an academic discussion on characterizing the structure and dynamics of societies in the world of the twenty-first century. Thus, scholar may come to look at the meaning of being in a network society by examining the role of network society within the complexity of socio-cultural, political and economic circumstances in strengthening the role of science in overcoming local, national, regional and global problems. But scientific research is also required to identify a wide variety of solutions to societal problems enhanced by the network society, which no longer relate solely to a particular discipline, but are multi- and trans-disciplinary. In addition, recent research has changed the traditional role of academia, demanding more collaboration in the production of science, not only among universities, but also among researchers, social practitioners and policymakers. Considering these issues, the fourth Asia-Pacific Research in Social Sciences and Humanities (APRiSH) will be hosted by the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia (FISIP UI) in 2019 under the theme The Network Society: Continuity and Change. Scientific inputs from all parts of the world are welcome, academically and practically. Various perspectives, based on mono-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary or trans-disciplinary research are expected to examine the problems and contribute to solutions.

Take your video marketing to the next level with this practical and insightful resource Like, Comment, Share, Buy: The Beginner's Guide to Marketing Your Business With Video Storytelling delivers powerful and actionable strategies to move your company's brand to the forefront of your customers' imaginations. Celebrated author, speaker, journalist, and consultant Jonathan Creek explains why video is the most impactful medium in which to market online and how you can leverage it for maximum benefit. Providing a fully interactive experience for readers through the book's video companion app, Like, Comment, Share, Buy contains an approachable and comprehensive method to unlock the power of online video and discusses topics like: How to make social media videos with just your smartphone The formula to creating contagious, compelling and viral content The scientific research underlying the author’s approaches to social media The tools and tips to marketing your small business on social media Perfect for social-media savvy entrepreneurs, small business owners, marketing managers, and advertising agents, Like, Comment, Share, Buy provides a compelling message that deserves to be heard by anyone hoping to increase their online and offline profile.

2020 was the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the most significant global pandemic since the ‘Spanish flu’ in 1918-1919. This book provides an analysis of the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in a range of Commonwealth countries during 2020, covering public health, political, economic and international aspects. The Commonwealth, within which about one quarter of the world’s population resides, provides a cross-section of the global experience of COVID-19. The Commonwealth ranges from highly populated countries such as India and Nigeria, to small island states and territories, encompassing also advanced industrialised countries and developing countries. The grouping also extends into many different regions of the world: Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania. In the first year of the pandemic, vaccines were still under development and national response strategies chosen by Commonwealth countries were diverse, spanning eradication, elimination, suppression and mitigation. The chapters in this book show the ways in which governments from a selection of Commonwealth countries responded to the multiple dimensions of the crisis, pointing to the factors that led to effective or less effective policies. This book originally appeared as a special issue of The Round Table.

THIS BOOK IS MADE UP OF A SERIES OF ESSAYS, categorized in 13 Sections some subjects of which may have been recently current but are still enlightening as well as subjects of age old interests with recent updates and modernized outlooks. TOPICS CENTER ON: Which fi rst became dominant in the lives of Early Man: His Religion or His Government ? • How does Man’s interactions between Religion and Government Conflict with Natural Law ? • How does Mankind’s increasing Knowledge impact his Religious and Ethical Concepts? • Evolution and Einsteinianism: the Third Theory of Creation • After Eons of Time Mankind still cannot leave the Shadows of his Family Tree. • When is War Avoidable and When is it Inevitable to the Survival of a Nation ? • Islam vs. The Rest of The World • The Origins of Natural Law -Law of Absolute Right vs. Mankind’s Religious Laws • How Do You Measure the Rights of the Individual vs. the Demands of Society? • Equalizing Social Democracy vs. Individual Liberty Obama Care & Graduated Tax Laws • Will a Living Constitutional be the Downfall of The American Republic? “When man looses his curiosity about life,he might as well be dead.”

This book considers a range of twentieth-century novelists who practise a creative mode of reading the Bible, exploring aspects of the Book of Genesis which more conventional biblical criticism sometimes ignores. Each chapter considers some of the interpretive challenges of the relevant story in Genesis, especially those noted by rabbinic midrash, which serves as a model for such creative rewriting of the biblical text. All the novelists considered, from Mark Twain, John Steinbeck and Thomas Mann to Jeanette Winterson, Anita Diamant and Jenny Diski, are shown to have been aware of the midrashic tradition and in some cases to have incorporated significant elements from it into their own writing. The questions these modern and postmodern writers ask of the Bible, however, go beyond those permitted by the rabbis and by other believing interpretive communities. Each chapter therefore attempts to chart intertextually where the writers are coming from, what principles govern their mode of reading and rewriting Genesis, and what conclusions can be drawn about the ways in which it remains possible to relate to the Bible.