The main objectives of the series correspond to those of the journal Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research, also published by Mouton de Gruyter. The discipline of communication science is concerned with investigation of the structure and function of mass communication processes and their impact on society and social groups. How these processes have an impact on values, knowledge, opinions and behaviour of individuals similarly constitutes an important area of concern for the discipline. The Communications Monograph series emphasizes these concerns of the discipline through publication of books taking a European social science perspective. Inasmuch as mass communication cannot be studied distinct from other modes of communication, the purpose of the Series is to publish material covering other communication forms - intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational - in addition to mass communication. In other words, the Communications Monograph series encompasses the entire field of communication science as its domain of interest. Special attention is addressed to the publication of titles that serve as main texts for academic courses and focus on such topics as communication theory and methodology, mass media and production of mediated messages, media use, reception processes, and media impact, political and marketing communication, advertising, public relations and propaganda, media policy, new media technologies and electronic networks, media history and media development.

Joseph Schumpeter oscillated in his view about the type of economic system that was most conducive to growth. In his 1911 treatise, Schumpeter argued that a more decentralized and turbulent industry structure where the pro cess of creative destruction was triggered by vigorous entrepreneurial ac tivity was the engine of economic growth. But by 1942 Schumpeter had modified his theory, arguing instead that a more centralized and stable industry structure was more conducive to growth. According to Schum peter (1942, p. 132), under the managed economy there was little room for entrepreneurship because, "Innovation itself is being reduced to routine. Technological progress is increasingly becoming the business of teams of trained specialists who turn out what is required to make it work in pre dictable ways" (p. 132). Schumpeter (1942) reversed his earlier view by arguing that the integration of knowledge creation and appropriation be stowed an inherent innovative advantage upon giant corporations, "Since capitalist enterprise, by its very achievements, tends to automize progress, we conclude that it tends to make itself superfluous - to break to pieces under the pressure of its own success.

This title was first published in 2000: Designed to explore the emerging challenges for marketing executives and their organizations, as well as to survey the viable strategies for meeting these challenges. The book updates marketing concepts, terminologies and practices dictated by changes in social, economic, competitive and technological conditions. Additionally, the role governments need to play in order to create an enabling environment in which business institutions can provide goods and services at reasonable costs and prices is clearly spelt out.

Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century surveys American geographers' current research in their specialty areas and tracks trends and innovations in the many subfields of geography. As such, it is both a 'state of the discipline' assessment and a topical reference. It includes an introduction by the editors and 47 chapters, each on a specific specialty. The authors of each chapter were chosen by their specialty group of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). Based on a process of review and revision, the chapters in this volume have become truly representative of the recent scholarship of American geographers. While it focuses on work since 1990, it additionally includes related prior work and work by non-American geographers. The initial Geography in America was published in 1989 and has become a benchmark reference of American geographical research during the 1980s. This latest volume is completely new and features a preface written by the eminent geographer, Gilbert White.

Since the two Hague (Netherlands) multilateral peace conferences of 1899 and 1907, the fundamental issue of world peace and its long-term realization has engaged scholars, diplomats, statesmen, and students of international relations. This book presents a new endeavor in this direction through a collection of papers selected from the recent conferences of the Canadian Peace Research Association and independent scholars. Descriptive, analytical, constructive and balanced ideas and solutions in this text represent alternatives for the global community to be collectively secure and peaceful. This volume examines world peace in its foundational, descriptive, conceptual, and prescriptive aspects, and as a social and human concept in positive and negative contexts, including: the nonviolent perspective of peace; women theorists on peace and war; empowerment of women as peacemakers; and, peace research and education under siege. On violence and war, the topics included are the theory of violence, the new faces of war, including military robots, electromagnetic and information weapons, the cyber warfare and the militarization of neuroscience. In the area of case studies, Iran and nuclear deterrence, the Baha’i faith and Iran; the Western Sahara, Sudan and South Sudan, and the challenges of a Palestinian Nation are analysed. In addition, there is focus on the need to establish a Department of Peace in Canada and an attempt to seek establishment of world peace through direct democracy. This book will advance an understanding of the historic struggle and failures, as well as the accomplishments and shortcomings for peaceful change and a just world order. It will be of direct interest to students of political science, diplomacy, history, social science, international law, human rights, and other cognate disciplines.

Globalization, as the dominant force that it is, in the last decade of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st has shaped a new era in the interaction between nations, economies and peoples. But it has also fragmented production processes, labor markets, political entities and societies. At the supranational level, there is no political and regulatory counterweight to monitor this process and correct, in a fair and equitable way, the dangerous abuses that may derive from it. The logic of the global economy is deeply contradictory. It is based on the bases of speed, risk, creativity, but also on impunity in the international order, since there are no mechanisms to regulate and control the collective interests of humanity. But, above all, this logic is installed on the principle of the insecurity of people, particularly those in poor countries and sectors. Production is transferred from high-wage countries to those with low wages without entailing benefits for those countries, speculation is carried out in the financial market without considering the dangerous consequences, except for capital itself, cultural and consumption patterns are disrupted, and irreversible damage occurs to the ecological base of the planet, without concern for future generations.

The collapse of communism in Europe, the quest for economic security and the War on Terror have all affected China's view of security matters. Ong provides a comprehensive study of the new policy and security challenges China faces in the coming years. Covering all of China's current security interests and concerns, this remarkable book includes chapters on Chinese concepts of security, the role of the United States, and regional tensions including the Korean peninsula, Japan, Taiwan, and China’s quest for ‘great power’ status.

Wenshan Jia demonstrates that a true liberation of Chinese civic discourse can start with a focus on indigenous cultural practices, such as face practices--the understanding that every human face offers a distinct cultural grammar for acting, speaking, and feeling. Chinese character and identity, the author argues, are primarily functions of communication, and as such, these practices are of enormous consequence to the necessary reconstruction of Chinese identity in the changing socioeconomic context of the 21st century. In this way, Jia finds a middle ground between the advocacy of complete Westernization and radical Chinese nationalism: as a pragmatic alternative, communication is key. Never before has facework research been approached so systematically from the standpoint of its relationship to character and identity. Jia's work substantially advances the literature on Chinese communication and presents a unique perspective on its relationship to social transformation. This new paradigm of facework--including analytical methods such as Circular Questioning in addition to major case studies--challenges traditional views while pointing the way toward a new and valuable social-constructionist view.

This book examines Russia’s security policy under the eight years of Vladimir Putin’s presidency.