The Digital Shift and the Social Research: Methods and Practices

Paolo Diana, University of Salerno, Italy

'The Digital Shift and the Social Research: Methods and Practices' offers a comprehensive exploration of how the digital era, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has transformed the field of social research. Drawing on both theoretical discussions and empirical studies, the book provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of digital...  tools on research methods, behaviour, and interactions, while addressing the ethical challenges that arise in online contexts. The first part of the book examines the expansion of traditional research methods through digital platforms, with a focus on how these innovations shape social norms and practices. The second part shifts attention to education, presenting strategies to improve student engagement and foster collaborative learning in the virtual classroom. The third part highlights groundbreaking case studies from the University of Salerno, illustrating innovative pedagogical approaches in teaching social research methodology. By integrating insights from across the fields of digital research, pedagogy, and ethics, this work challenges researchers and educators alike to rethink conventional approaches and adapt to the rapidly changing digital environment. Ideal for students, educators, and professionals, it serves as both a reference and a practical guide for navigating the evolving landscape of social research. Original and timely, this book will appeal to academics, practitioners, and researchers in social sciences, providing not only theoretical perspectives but also hands-on solutions for digital research and learning environments.   Show more

Cultivating Dialogue, Language, and Literacy for Social Justice in Teacher Education

Edited by Adam Devitt, California State University

Within sociocultural traditions, language, dialogue, and social literacies play an institutional role in learning and human development. Discourse practices, however, go far beyond the traditional focus of using speaking and listening to support the learning of content knowledge. Teacher discourse practices ought to promote critical literacies and...  linguistic practices, and promote anti-racism and social and environmental justice. Classroom discourse, however, is missing from teacher education programs on a large scale in these significant ways. Teacher educators need to understand the social and political policies, pedagogical role, and multitude of practices for helping pre-service teachers and teacher practitioners learn to acquire and facilitate quality discursive practices in K-12 schools and understand related pedagogy. This book, ‘Cultivating Dialogue, Language, and Literacy for Social Justice in Teacher Education’, offers a variety of models for integrating discourse practices and pedagogies into the field of teacher education, including pre-service teaching, professional development, and even critiques on policy and subsequent affordances and consequences that inhibit or promote the quality of teacher discourse and the purposes for which teachers utilize classroom discourse. I would recommend this book for teacher education programs as well as professional developers who work with pre- and in-service teachers. Additionally, I recommend this book for researchers committed not only to classroom discourse analysis, but to promote speaking and listening among teachers and students in ways that enhance learning and development.   Show more

Blue Crimes and International Criminal Law

Edited by Regina M. Paulose, International Criminal Law Attorney

'Blue Crimes and International Criminal Law' is a multi-author volume which explores the connection between criminal law and water (including our oceans and other bodies of water). The volume seeks to contribute to evolving discourse around water rights and water justice around the world. This novel volume surveys topics such as climate justice an... d blue crimes, water governance, illegal, unregulated, and underreported fishing, Rights of Nature, and examines the utility of ocean treaties and justice and accountability mechanisms within international criminal law, 'Blue Crimes and International Criminal Law' is a companion volume to 'Green Crimes and International Criminal Law.'   Show more

World Cup! History, Politics, and Art of the Beautiful Game

Edited by Daniel Noemi Voionmaa, Northeastern University

This collection of essays provides a multidimensional, interdisciplinary, creative, and colorful view on the meanings and possibilities of thinking football—'the beautiful game'—and its paramount event: the World Cup. It is intended to appeal to academics as well as to everyday experts, those for whom football is more than a sport. But it also wan... ts to be a source that stirs the interest of those who see football just as a curious experience; those who may have heard, in passing, that a new World Cup will be played in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in 2026. This book has, like a football team, eleven chapters. The approaches, styles, and perspectives differ considerably: From how football is a center piece in politics to its representations in poetry, from gender issues to nationalism, from fictitious wars to real ones provoked by a football match, and from exile to the neo-liberalization of the sport, the authors provide us a multicolor and global fresco of football and the World Cup. Likewise, the selection provides a global perspective on football and the World Cup: views from powerhouses such as England or Argentina, as well as from countries with a very incipient football tradition, such as India and Israel. 'World Cup! History, Politics, and Art of the Beautiful Game' is an invitation to continue to understand and think about one of the most important cultural manifestations of our times; a book that, particularly in the context of the next World Cup in 2026, will appeal to a broad readership, all around the world.   Show more

Archaeology as a Weapon: Long-lasting legacies of colonialism and nationalism in Israel, Palestine, Cyprus and Greece

Marie-Louise Winbladh

In Israel, Palestine, Cyprus and Greece, the reconstruction of the past through archaeology has been used to strengthen national identity. Narratives about the past and origin myths have been constructed for political purposes. Cyprus and Palestine have both suffered from British colonialism since the early twentieth century, which has had a profo... und influence on their cultural heritage. Through nationalism, archaeology has been exploited by far-right movements and political parties to claim ownership of heritage and has become an efficient political tool. In Israel, archaeology and religion have been exploited to construct the Israeli state and still play a crucial role. The country claims to be the conqueror of Palestine under the protection of God, who they believe gave them possession of the land. Western religious groups are convinced that it is the religious duty of Christians to support the modern nation-state of Israel. Biblical archaeology has become an ultra-religious American speciality, marked by fraud and pseudoresearch. Notorious smuggling scandals were staged by American Christian multibillionaires buying artefacts looted from the National Museum of Iraq and other countries. Looting, plundering and blacklisting are among the most serious problems in Cyprus, causing irreparable damage to artefacts, monuments and society. Palestine’s rich archaeological, historical, and religious heritage has been undermined by occupation and land confiscation. Hundreds of sites have been looted during the Israeli occupation, and an illegal trade of ancient artefacts has occurred on a large scale. Populism is frequently associated with extreme nationalism and racism. Over the past few years, white nationalists and supremacists have seized the history of Greece and Rome. White nationalists and neo-Nazis in the US have used the slogan “Classics Made Great Again” showing their obsession with ancient sculptures and their alleged whiteness. When visiting Jerusalem, the Trump administration promoted an evangelical program where the politics of moral superiority is associated with white Christian supremacy.   Show more

Queer Representation in Literature and Popular Culture

Edited by Dhishna Pannikot, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India and Tanupriya, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Delhi NCR

'Queer Representation in Literature and Culture' offers a timely and critical exploration of how queerness is depicted, negotiated, and resisted across diverse literary and cultural texts. Bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives, the volume examines queer identities, desires, and politics through the lenses of decoloniality, and intersect... ionality. With contributions that span literature, cinema, digital media, and popular culture, this book foregrounds voices and narratives that challenge heteronormative, and patriarchal frameworks. Accessible yet scholarly, it is an essential resource for those interested in the intersections of gender, sexuality, culture, and power in contemporary discourse.   Show more

Emerging from the Rubble: Asian/American Writings on Disasters

Edited by Yasuko Kase, University of the Ryukyus, Japan and Eliko Kosaka, Hosei University, Japan

With a focus on the transpacific and transnational relationship between North America and Asia, 'Emerging from the Rubble: Asian/American Writings on Disasters' explores Asian/Americans’ complex and nuanced involvement in disastrous events. Included in this purview of disaster are not only the damages and threats of current ongoing climate change ... but also the long-lasting ruining effects inflicted by imperialism, neo/colonialism, wars, and these historical components’ entanglement with global capitalism that have generated both spontaneous and slow and/or prolonged violent effects. Moreover, disasters can be acknowledged as manifestations of the Anthropocene — an epoch shaped by human activity — or what scholars like Jason W. Moore and Donna J. Harraway term the ‘Capitalocene,’ a paradigm where nature and capitalist society are deeply intertwined, co-creating an intricate web of life. Asian/American involvement in such a web has never been simple but convoluted: some of them have experienced tremendous losses, whereas others have perpetuated obfuscation of the truth and/or induced violence, often contingently with or without acknowledging the facts. When considering Asian migrants including refugees from Southeast Asia who had little option but to seek asylum in the U.S., and Asian Americans who have pursued their “happiness” under the U.S.’s capitalist premise of constant progress, protection of “human rights,” and freedom of “choice,” it is important to note that Asian migrants and Asian ‘Americans’ have become simultaneously active players and exploited individuals within the context of U.S. racial capitalism. Acknowledging the impossibility of clearly differentiating natural and human-made disasters, scholars who contribute to this volume note the reciprocal influences between nature and civilization. They examine how the entanglements of natural and human-made disasters lead to the acceleration and expansion of damage. This volume explores how Asian Americans’ connections with their ancestral origins along with their particular racial positions, social classes, and socio-historical backgrounds in North American societies force them to experience and witness disastrous events differently from the mainstream discourse on eco-crises.   Show more

Entangled and Empowered: Agency in Multispecies Communities

Edited by Keri Stevenson, University of New Mexico-Gallup

'Entangled and Empowered: Agency in Multispecies Communities' is a collection that approaches the inevitable reality of entanglement between humans and other beings from a perspective of action and wonder. It argues that actors as diverse as bacteria, snakes, butterflies, ducks, and cacao trees can help us enact joy in fields as different as art, ... cinema, literature, and anthropology. While acknowledging the imminent reality of climate change, the sixth extinction, and other overwhelming threats to the Earth, this book argues that humans continue to live, and so do the beings whose lives are entwined with ours, for whom we can acknowledge and work to improve their existence. The nine essays in this volume trace that acknowledgment and work through three sections centered on visual media, queer and feminist readings of empowerment, and movements beyond the boundaries enacted by anthropocentric Western society. Drawing on theories such as new materialism, posthumanism, and ecofeminism, and with an international perspective from authors working at American, South Asian, and East Asian universities, 'Entangled and Empowered' finds hope in the shadow of despair. It engages with work by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing on entanglement, Donna Haraway on kin-making and multispecies communities, and Karen Barad on intra-actions, among others, while also showing how critiques of these ideas can make the world both more promising and more endangered. This collection will be useful for scholars working in all subfields of environmental humanities, especially those intersecting with the theories described above and as an archive of examples analyzing practical aspects of agency in diverse multispecies communities. Scholars studying texts as well-known as 'The Handmaid’s Tale' and as obscure as the codices of the Mopan Maya will find value in having both under one cover.   Show more

God: A brief philosophical introduction V

K.H.A. Esmail, University of Oxford and University of Cambridge

This is a clear and concise and original investigation of God’s nature and existence. First of all, it considers (among other things) two of God’s traditional properties: being all-knowing and being all-powerful. It argues he cannot possess these properties. But, it argues this is in accord with him being worthy of worship. Secondly, it introdu... ces the notion of evil being “overridden”. It argues he has to bring about other free living things and it is plausible they have to be liable to experience evil due to their conditions. But, it argues the evil in this world is “overridden”. Thirdly, it considers the principal arguments for the claim he does not exist. (They refer to the evil in the world.) It argues they do not establish sufficient grounds for this claim. Finally, it considers some well-known arguments for the claim he exists. It argues they face difficulties. It sets out other arguments: eg, some arguments to increase any degree of belief one has that God can exist. It includes a number of Appendices: Some remarks on God’s sovereignty; Are there sufficient grounds for the claim that, very probably, God does not exist?; Theodicy and some theodicies; Some further remarks on God and time; Some further remarks on a living thing which possesses the power to do this or that freely; Some remarks on God being simple; Some remarks on God being present in a spatial realm and God being present in a non-spatial realm; ... . It covers as a whole the principal parts of the Philosophy of Religion. It unifies these parts to a significant degree. It proceeds regularly by way of formal and clear arguments. It will be of interest to advanced students and specialists in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Theology. Given its explanation of key terms, its jargon-free language, its clarity and brevity.... , it will be of interest to others, too.   Show more

Second Star to the Right: Essays on Leadership in Star Trek

Edited by Jason A. Kaufman, Minnesota State University, Mankato and Aaron M. Peterson, Converse University

'Star Trek' provides an opportunity to explore the final frontier of leadership through its nearly six decades of series and films. With its basis in Enlightenment thinking (reason coupled to compassion) and its encouragement of diversity in its myriad forms, 'Star Trek' offers guidance on how to improve the human condition that has application in...  leadership across academic and professional fields. Leaders are constantly called upon to solve problems, direct institutional growth, and, on occasion, even solve humanitarian crises. Leadership development need not be complicated or overly staid. It should be engaging. 'Star Trek' provides us a venue through which to make it so. This book explores the application of 'Star Trek' to the practice of leadership across a diverse array of professional and academic fields. 'Second Star to the Right: Essays on Leadership in Star Trek' provides a set of exceptional chapters from a diverse range of scientists, professionals, writers, and thinkers. It will help you to utilize the wealth of 'Star Trek' canon applied across a robust array of fields to broadly inform the practice of leadership for a better world.   Show more

Mysteries and Dreams: the French in Oceania

Edited by Sylvie Largeaud-Ortega, University of French Polynesia, Tahiti, French Polynesia and Lorenz Gonschor, University of the South Pacific, Fiji

Oceania has been the source of mysteries and dreams from the first contact with Europe onwards, both for Indigenous Oceanians and outsiders. 'Mysteries and Dreams: The French in Oceania' is a collection of cross-disciplinary essays that explore the mysteries, allures and questionings raised by Indigenous Oceanians and French people about their mut... ually different worldviews, as well as their dreams, aspirations or disillusions as they navigate their relationships. With a strong focus on reciprocity, this original project analyzes diverse forms of French association with Oceania and the responses engendered by Indigenous communities, authors and artists as they reshape French narratives. Organized along three lines – history, literature and arts – this innovative lens offers unprecedented examinations of hitherto unexplored Oceanian and French figures involved in Oceania, bringing to the fore Marist missionary Xavier Montrouzier, influential politicians Charles de Varigny and Auguste Marques, playwrights and artists Pierre Gope and Greg Semu, and filmmakers Sima Urale and Édouard Deluc. It also offers fresh postcolonial approaches to better-known figures such as Paris Communard convicts Louis Michel and Henri Rochefort, prominent authors like Titaua Peu, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Teresia Teaiwa, Vilsoni Hereniko and Édouard Glissant, and widely-discussed artists like Yuki Kihara. It also critically engages individuals representing the colonial gaze, such as Pierre Loti, Allan Hughan and Paul Gauguin. Spanning across Oceania, from the Solomon Islands to Rapa Nui, Hawai‘i to Aotearoa-New Zealand, Tahiti and Kanaky-New Caledonia, it shows the wide impacts of the French on this vast region. Bridging together Anglophone and Francophone Oceania, this volume is an authoritative and enlightening reference to scholars and students in postcolonial Pacific Island studies, to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Oceanians wishing to discover interactive processes of change in their region’s past and present, and, more generally, to all outsiders who might, some day, have felt inclined to fall under the spell of an imaginary Oceania.   Show more

Lawyers of the Old Left: Morris Hillquit, Seymour Stedman & Charles Recht

Eric B. Easton, University of Baltimore School of Law

'Lawyers of the Old Left' contains professional profiles of the three most important – if not the most famous – lawyers of the American Left in the first quarter of the twentieth Century. These men were involved in some of the most significant cases of the tumultuous era that surrounded World War I, and they all commanded the respect of both their...  contemporary colleagues and adversaries. Morris Hillquit was practically synonymous with the Socialist movement that flourished in New York City. Not only was he a prolific chronicler of the movement, but he also ran for political office several times under the Socialist banner. Hillquit took a leadership role in the defense of antiwar activists during wartime and the repression that followed. In time, he would become one of the nation’s pre-eminent labor lawyers. Seymour Stedman was a leader, with Eugene Debs and Victor Berger, of the home-grown Socialist movement that prevailed in Chicago, Milwaukee, and other midwestern cities. He rose to prominence at the national level, ultimately becoming the Party’s vice-presidential candidate in Debs’ campaign for the presidency in 1920. Charles Recht was unquestionably the most important American lawyer representing the Soviet Union, both before and after that country was recognized by the United States. He also participated in many important civil liberties cases, including the IWW and other anarchist-related cases. Recht also pursued a second career as a novelist, poet, and theatrical translator. Anyone interested in radical politics, the labor movement, and civil liberties law should be interested in reading this book. While these men played an outsized role in their time, they are largely forgotten today and appear only peripherally in the period literature. This book provides a perspective on the era that is otherwise largely unavailable.   Show more

Uncovering Possible: Pedagogies for Apocalyptic Times

Edited by Nastasia Lawton-Sticklor, Climate Disobedience Center and Cara Berg Powers, Clark University

'Uncovering Possible: Pedagogies for Apocalyptic Times' is an edited volume that holds our experiences as educators, activists, and community members navigating the global pandemic of the past several years. This pandemic is situated within the context of ongoing interconnected crises: oppressive systems, worsening climate, and economic urgency, a... ll at an unsustainable pace. The work in this volume confronts the grief, loss, and injustice that apocalypse brings, while also engaging with the possibility and intentional, resilient joy necessary to build a better world. This volume is an invitation to explore both the impacts of this and many other apocalyptic events in learning spaces, as well as (re)imagine what’s essential to learning in community. Through research, storytelling, reflections from the field, poetry, and interactive activities, this volume shares lessons from those on the front lines of apocalyptic learning, inviting the reader to find their place in building the more equitable communities we need and deserve. This apocalypse is situated within a social context that extends beyond this single event. For many, apocalypse has, and continues to happen, through colonial white-supremacist capitalism. What we carry forward must include the collective knowledges capable of carrying us not just through this apocalypse but the apocalypses ahead.   Show more

Women’s Empowerment for Gender Equality Vol 2.

Diverse Initiatives from Across the World

Edited by Anita Brandon, UNFPA, India

This volume brings together powerful voices and lived experiences from across the globe, spotlighting how women are transforming their realities through health initiatives, education, entrepreneurship, social activism, and legal reforms. From rural India to urban Kenya, from the classrooms of Bangladesh to the legislative halls of the U.S., these ... stories reveal the multiple layers of struggle and strength that define the global movement for gender equality. Drawing from regions as diverse as Iran, Nigeria, and Latin America, the case studies dive deep into the intersections of gender with caste, age, class, and migration, showing how empowerment is not one-size-fits-all, but built through cultural context, resilience, and community. At the heart of this collection is a bold call to action: to rethink how we measure progress and to center women’s realities in policymaking and advocacy. Whether addressing reproductive health, digital entrepreneurship, or the challenges of elderly and immigrant women, the book highlights strategies that are as practical as they are inspiring. Finally, it offers a rich, comparative lens on how far we’ve come—and how much further we must go—to achieve true gender equality.   Show more

Italian Comics in the New Millennium. Vol. 1. Continuity and Innovation

Edited by Alessio Aletta, University of Toronto

The first issue of a two-volume collection, this book explores the transformation of Italian comics in the new millennium, offering a comprehensive analysis of the evolving landscape of “fumetti” through both historical and contemporary lenses. The book examines iconic serials from Disney Italia and Sergio Bonelli Editore, alongside innovative aut... eur-driven works, providing readers with an in-depth look at how Italy’s most influential comics publishers have adapted to shifting cultural and industrial contexts. Contributions focus on the challenges of maintaining the essence of beloved series while integrating modern sensibilities, exploring shifts in audience, narrative strategies, and thematic explorations. The volumes also delve into the works of influential Italian comic artists, from the groundbreaking legacy of Andrea Pazienza to the contemporary innovations of Gipi and Zerocalcare, offering fresh insights into narrative styles, intermedial experimentation, and socio-political commentary. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, this collection highlights the vibrant, dynamic nature of Italian comics and their growing international recognition. This work provides a vital resource for anyone interested in the intersection of popular culture, artistic innovation, and the evolving nature of graphic storytelling. Drawing on a rich variety of methodological approaches, the book serves as both a reference tool and a thought-provoking exploration of the role of comics in contemporary society in the Italian context.   Show more

Italian Comics in the New Millennium. Vol. 2. New Scenarios, New Forms, New Themes

Edited by Alessio Aletta, University of Toronto

Volume II of 'Italian Comics in the New Millennium' offers an in-depth exploration of the dynamic transformations in the Italian comics industry, focusing on the intersections of innovation, tradition, and contemporary socio-political issues. This collection highlights the rapidly evolving production and consumption landscape, including the rise o... f self-publishing, digital comics, and the impact of online platforms. The book examines the role of digital comics in reshaping narrative and aesthetic possibilities, while also addressing the changing working conditions of comics creators in the digital age. Key themes explored in this volume include the integration of comics into journalism; the emergence of reality-based narratives; and the growing representation of gender, sexuality, and immigration in contemporary graphic novels. Special attention is given to new waves of Italian comics that explore regional identities, historical memory, and personal lineage, offering a diverse range of case studies from emerging authors and established figures. This collection is a vital resource for researchers, students, and professionals in comics studies, media, and cultural studies. It provides an extensive overview of the most recent developments in Italian comics, offering a blend of critical analysis and fresh perspectives on the medium’s cultural significance. With its focus on evolving narrative forms and innovative production models, this volume serves as both a reference tool and a thought-provoking exploration of the present – and future – of Italian comics.   Show more

Psychedelic Immortality: Nietzschean Perspectives on Reincarnation, Femtheogens, and Philosophy

Joseph I. Breidenstein Jr.

Recent research has revealed a psychedelic inspiration for Nietzsche’s philosophy and, far from being a novelty in the history of philosophy, there is significant evidence that several of the first western philosophers ingested psychedelics as well. In his first book, Joseph I. Breidenstein Jr, PhD, maintained that western philosophy began as what...  we today would call a feminist religious reformation in the sense that many prominent presocratic philosophers were reviving a paleo/neolithic goddess-centered religiosity of rebirth within the largely patriarchal and death-glorifying culture of archaic Greece. And, in this book, Dr. Breidenstein Jr proposes that the presocratics’ psychedelic-reincarnationist-feminine model of education and/or worldview is better suited for democracy in the twenty-first century than the economic model of education that takes the west’s mainstream materialistic-secular worldview for granted. For several decades now, researchers have acknowledged both that the empirical evidence for reincarnation is overwhelming and that psychedelics can evoke past-life recollections, but ‘explanations’ for either reincarnation or how psychedelics do this have yet to be offered. By combining Nietzsche’s philosophy with the work of other thinkers, ‘Psychedelic Immortality’ both provides explanations for each of these phenomena and explores how situating education and democracy within the context of reincarnation can incite a renaissance of American culture and politics. For Nietzscheans and philosophers in particular, this book illustrates the contemporary relevance of two neglected aspects of Nietzsche scholarship—i.e. psychedelics and reincarnation—and, for researchers in such fields as feminist philosophy of religion, ecotheology, philosophy of education, social-political philosophy, and eastern philosophy, it offers a more plausible and healthier worldview in which to explore possibilities in their respective fields that are diminished by the mainstream paradigm. For spiritual seekers of all paths, it offers a conception of philosophy as a practice of awakening goddess consciousness that unfolds over the course of successive lifetimes.   Show more

Pedagogical Reckoning: Decolonizing and Degendering the Art Historical Canon in the Classroom and Museum

Edited by Gillian Greenhill Hannum, Manhattanville University and Sooran Choi, University of Vermont

'Pedagogical Reckoning: Decolonizing and Degendering the Art Historical Canon in the Classroom and Museum' brings together leading voices in art history, museum studies, and pedagogy to confront the Eurocentric and patriarchal foundations of traditional art historical education. This timely anthology provides a range of actionable strategies for r... eshaping curricula, exhibitions, and research through the lenses of decoloniality, gender justice, and global inclusion. Edited by Sooran Choi and Gillian Greenhill Hannum, the volume includes contributions from scholars, artists, and educators across institutional contexts—from large research universities to community colleges and art schools. Its chapters span three key areas: inclusive classroom pedagogy, critical museum and curatorial practice, and decolonial research methodologies. Essays explore intersectional frameworks informed by postcolonial theory, feminist critique, queer studies, and ethnic studies, while also providing practical tools such as sample assignments, case studies, and curatorial models. Uniquely, this anthology integrates scholarly analysis with pedagogical reflection, offering readers both conceptual frameworks and concrete applications. It builds on recent literature such as 'Teaching South and Southeast Asian Art' and 'Expanding the Parameters of Feminist Artivism', while extending the conversation through its focus on classroom agency, community-responsive teaching, and institutional reckoning. Ideal for art history instructors; museum professionals; and students in anthropology, cultural studies, and education, 'Pedagogical Reckoning' serves as both a critical resource and a methodological guide. It is suitable for classroom adoption, professional development, and curriculum planning, and will appeal to anyone committed to transforming the way we teach, curate, and write about art.   Show more

Gender, Law, and Religion During the COVID-19 Health Crisis

Edited by Adelaide Madera, University of Messina, Italy and Montserrat Gas-Aixendri, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

Looking at COVID-19 infection through a gendered lens reveals its deep impact on individuals in vulnerable positions, especially women. It raised new concerns about gender equity and inclusion, particularly when gender intersects with other identity markers such as religious affiliation. This intersection creates a “double vulnerability,” heighten... ing the risk of discrimination, violence, hate speech, and harassment against women. In various legal contexts, women bear multiple roles and responsibilities. The interaction between gender, law, religion, and the pandemic has often resulted in disempowerment in shaping female identity. This is evident both in Western countries—where migrant women struggle for full integration—and in their countries of origin, where they often face the consequences of normative pluralism and insufficient state legal responses. The pandemic has generated not only a health crisis but also exacerbated social and economic issues, including increased gender-based violence in family settings and growing inequalities in access to fundamental rights such as healthcare, education, employment, and justice. In this complex framework, religious leaders face new challenges and must provide effective responses. Female leadership within religious contexts can play a crucial role in advocating for new paradigms that address evolving social, cultural, and legal needs. Religious actors are thus called upon to offer both guidance and support to vulnerable and marginalized members of their communities and to collaborate with governments in shaping a future where religious freedom, gender equality, gender justice, and freedom from discrimination are upheld. This volume aims to investigate the pandemic’s impact on women within faith communities, examine emerging balances between female religious/cultural claims and public welfare imperatives, and develop gendered, intersectional perspectives that promote women’s full integration, equality, and participation in civil society.   Show more

Total Marketing: The business of integrating consumers, employees and company networks

Francesco Pagano and Mara Cassinari

Exponential technologies are giving superpowers to humans and data, unlocking tremendous value, with major efficiencies to be gained while running the planet. In today’s digital age, to use the marketing jargon, creating connections that are seamless, efficient, and technology-driven is not just an advantage; it’s a necessity for businesses of all...  sizes, public and private. Welcome to the world of Total Marketing, namely a comprehensive and holistic approach that brings together all stakeholders into a cohesive and interconnected ecosystem, powered by tech. A new marketing needs experiences that are heavily imbued with technology. To use Gartner’s terminology, it needs a Total Experience as its foundation. Total Marketing is created by an ever-changing layer of exponential technologies, among which AI, of course, and blockchains, and by the need for a culture change across the whole web of consumers, employees and suppliers. The truth is, we are all linked, and our goal should be to increase social capital for everyone and reach service excellence, with minimum impact on the outer community, and zero noise and negative externalities. Total Marketing means that our input, whoever we are in the food chain, is captured via a hybrid net of phygital interfaces and devices, and processed instantly and intelligently, with the final output being the result of the perfect allocation and use of available resources, served to anyone in a fair and ultra-personalized fashion, measured exactly against their needs and desires, present and future. There will be no other way to do business in the future.   Show more