This volume represents the result of almost two decades of trans-Atlantic collaborative development of a policy research paradigm, the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies program. Over this period dozens of scientists from different disciplines but with a common interest in rural issues and policy have collaboratively studied the policies in North America, Europe, and other parts of the world.A core element of the book is the idea and practice of comparative res...

The Handbook of the Study of Play brings together in two volumes thinkers whose diverse interests at the leading edge of scholarship and practice define the current field. Because play is an activity that humans have shared across time, place, and culture and in their personal developmental timelines—and because this behavior stretches deep into the evolutionary past—no single discipline can lay claim to exclusive rights to study the subject. Thus this handbook features the thinking of evo...

We think love is somewhere out there and we have to go find it. Love has always been right beside us, just waiting for a welcome. We don't need to find love; we need to stand still long enough to let love find us. This world is a fearful place We can find refuge in a hope of a love that cast out all our fear, the hope and love only Jesus our Lord and Savior can offer.The one thing that we all hold dear is family. I know Why Young Men Rage is the journey of finding hope in community...

In a culture where knowledge is often prioritized over experience, How to Know God: By Waiting on Him in the Power and Presence of His Holy Spirit invites readers into something deeper than merely knowing about God. In this inspiring devotional, Thomas Johnson offers a heartfelt and practical invitation to cultivate a personal relationship with God through the practice of waiting on Him in the power and presence of His Holy Spirit.Through thirty-one thoughtfully crafted da...

Harry knows the hard alleys and rules of life on the docks. Still a stranger in town, his fists have carved a name that whispers of power and prowess. Bound by an ironclad indenture to the Boss, Harry's days are spent navigating the city's concrete veins in a roaring truck, his nights haunted by the promise of a sanctioned fight that could make him a free man.But the docks belong to the Thin Man's family, and his son has a chip on his shoulder for Harry. He craves a piece of Harry,...

Becoming the Leader You Needed is a powerful memoir and guide for anyone who has ever felt unseen, unheard, or unsure of their place in the world. Through deeply personal stories, reflection prompts, and affirmations, Mary Johnson shares how she transformed adversity into purpose and silence into strength. This book is a call to action for readers to embrace their own leadership journey, lift others as they climb, and become the guide they once needed.

Afghanistan is an extremely complex and nuanced country that has been one of the centers of imperial conflict at least for 150 years. From the Czarist Russia’s march south in the 19th Century threatening British India, three Anglo-Afghan Wars, the Soviet Invasion and occupation of Afghanistan starting in December 1979 and the resulting anti-Soviet Jihad by the Afghan Mujahideen to Kabul’s and their allies’ (U.S. and NATO) conflict with the Taliban, Afghanistan has been one of the centers o...

The author gained considerable experience of working in countries in the Soviet sphere in the 1980sYugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungarybut this did little to prepare him for a long-term stint in Kazakhstan, commencing at the outset of 1993. If his eyes were opened wide in Belgrade, Warsaw, Prague, and Budapest, they were bug-eyed in Almaty, Kazakhstan. There he keenly experienced the harshness and wonders of post-Soviet Kazakhstan. The good news is that Tom Johnson wrote a serie...

Waste has plagued almost every industrial-age firm for the past century. In this powerfully argued alternative to conventional cost management thinking, experts H. Thomas Johnson and Anders Bröms assert that any company can avoid the waste that is generated through excessive operating costs in the short run and excessive losses from market instability in the long run. To gain more secure levels of profitability, management must simply change how it thinks about work and how it organizes wo...

Cairns have decorated the landscapes of cultures throughout time. Piles of stone-one stone placed on top of another-are set in place all over the earth to recall battles, identify burial sites, mark trails, and spur hearts and minds to remember sacred, noble, and critical events. They are landmarks. They are sacramental presences in space and time. Our lives are littered with markers of meaning. They all reveal who we are, where we have been, and offer us a jumping off point for the future...

As the United States struggled to survive the recent recession, China quietly acquired a vast amount of U.S. Treasury bills and bonds. With China now holding so much of America‘s debt, currency valuation issues have already caused tensions between the two superpowers. Couple this with Iran‘s efforts to develop into a nuclear power in an area that l

The World Economic Forum regards the threat of cyber attack as one of the top five global risks confronting nations of the world today. Cyber attacks are increasingly targeting the core functions of the economies in nations throughout the world. The threat to attack critical infrastructures, disrupt critical services, and induce a wide range of dam