Search results for ""Kyoto University Press and Trans Pacific Press""

After a decade of deregulation and economic liberalisation, the high levels of unity and social harmony that had been achieved during Japan's decades of rapid economic growth are under threat. Social conflict is rapidly increasing as economic disparities continue to grow, as the economy remains stagnant, and as new generations of workers find it increasingly difficult to find positions in the lifetime employment system.Against this backdrop, this book reports on the latest social psychology research into social conflict in Japan and how it is managed. Recognising that social justice is an important factor in many forms of social conflict, each chapter of the book addresses the issue of conflict resolution from a social justice perspective. The first part of the book analyzes the growing disparities and perceptions of injustice in Japan today from the perspectives of social class, value, social principle, culture, and legitimisation. The second part includes empirical research on the mechanisms of conflict and cooperation in social relations.

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A joint publication of Trans Pacific Press and Kyoto University Press, this economic history of the early development of Thailand's railways details the rail policies of the royal government, from the end of 19th century to 1932, when the Constitutional Revolution overthrew it.It also assesses the role and impact of the railways on Thailand's economy in terms of the degree to which they reduced transport time and cost, as well as the extent to which they altered the flow of commodities and the transportation of passengers across the country.

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For a few decades, Yamagishi and his associates have studied the ecological and social behaviour of the rufous, a unique species of birds in Madagascar.In this volume, the team summarises the findings of their long-term research, with specific observations about cooperative breeding, sex ratio manipulation, foraging and helping behaviour. The authors demonstrate the implications of the study for theories of evolution, genetic inheritance and group formation.

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This is a study of a political and social movement instigated by older Korean women in Japan, beginning in the 1990s. Koreans in Japan have occupied an unique position among ethnic minority groups. Until recently they constituted the largest group of "foreign nationals". yet they have been marginalized politically, socially, economically, and culturally. Korean women are doubly-disadvantaged, treated as inferior to men by both Korean and Japanese society. Furthermore, the first generation of Korean women migrants were not educated as children, rendering them functionally illiterate and, thus, triply marginalized. Late in life, when family and work responsibilities became less onerous, local authorities created educational opportunities, which the women took up in unexpected numbers, overloading the facilities. The authorities' responses effectively re-marginalized them. The elderly Korean women took a stance and, in the process, reconstituted themselves as social and political actors. This book examines that self-transformation process.

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This book examines the interdependent relationships between the film industry and the state in East Asia, treating films as political economic products, mixtures of government policy and industrial motives, rather than mere works of art or media commodities.Chapters examine the East Asian film industries from the 1930s to the 2010s, which pursued their own economic and political goals by cooperating, negotiating, and conflicting with states. Through studies of national film policies, film industry strategies, and cultural-political influences on audience receptivity, this book reveals how films are formed by the interaction of the state, the film companies and audiences.

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Conceptualizing the Malay World explores the interrelations between the indigenization of ""colonial knowledge"" and the quest for pan-Malay identity in Malaya. In what way, to what extent, and for what purpose did the colonized accept, modify, and adapt the colonizer's worldview? To answer these questions, this study examines textbooks produced by British and Malay authors for teaching Malay history and geography to the local populace in teacher training colleges, then conducts a case study of one of these students who would go on to become a prominent nationalist activist. It shows that while the colonizers brought new concepts of Malayness to Malaya, the indigenization of colonial knowledge entailed significant reinterpretation, transformation, and appropriation.

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This book is a collection of essays on the critical subject of migration in a global context. The book offers insights into the broad range of experiences of migrants in diverse settings. It also examines multi-layered local community issues that have emerged in the light of the increasing flow of people across the globe. The key question informing the arguments in the book has to do with the relationship between nationality and citizenship.Part I of the book looks at the situation of emigrant workers, discussing the opportunities and problems they face in their experiences overseas. Part II focuses on the transformation of ethnic communities, painting a picture of various forms of migrants based on the constellation of such factors as safe and secure town planning, redevelopment, and kou (rotating savings and credit associations). Finally, Part III addresses migrant education and language, and also discusses identity formation and generational succession of minority children who live in a multicultural symbiotic society.

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As the sequel to Groups (2013) and Institutions (2017), Others is the third work produced by a collaborative research project involving primatologists and anthropologists on the evolutionary historical foundations of human sociality. This book presents cutting edge research into the meaning of "the other" and the dynamic process of "othering".Each of the eighteen chapters examines various aspects of "others" via the researchers' specialties, with subject matter ranging from the disappearance of the alpha male in a chimpanzees group to the way the other is produced amongst Canadian Inuit through their relationship with wild animals. What is generated is a unique collection of essays that is both grounded in empirical evidence and strengthened by its intricate engagement with the depth and breadth of theoretical work on the topic of "the other", as it furthers our understanding of the nature of human sociality.

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This book is a comprehensive account of the nativist movement in Japan today. Naoto Higuchi uses the life histories of activists to establish that the basis of their support for the movement is their conservativism rather than social or economic stress. He reveals the logic behind the emergence of the nativist movement by highlighting its links with developments in the existing right wing and Japan's conservative powers. A common interest in historical revisionism and conflict with neighbouring countries provides a further logic that underpins the nativist movement's particular focus on "special privileges" for permanent Koreans resident in Japan. The book examines the role of the internet in the recruitment of nativist activists and in lending a veil of historical "truth" to the falsehoods concerning these special privileges. Finally, Higuchi considers the issue of voting rights for foreign residents in the context of East Asian geopolitics and increasing securitization, and warns about the dangers of not resisting securitization.

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Japan is a rapidly ageing society with a declining birthrate and increasing lifespan. The nation's youth tend to marry late, and some never engage in this form of social contract. Further, the number of couples without children is on the rise, and the proportion of senior citizens in the age pyramid is growing at exceptional speed. Demographic change that reflects these transformations now impacts the country's system of social stratification and inequality.In this collective study, a group of leading Japanese sociologists scrutinises hidden disparities behind the demographic shifts, asking important questions: In what ways has educational inequality been enhanced? How has household composition changed and which household types are disadvantaged? What is the relationship between class and health? How do the middle-aged unemployed experience inequality? How does demographic change influence inheritance, pension acquisition, and social welfare?Using a variety of quantitative data, the contributors address these and other questions, elucidating Japan's unprecedented experience from sober sociological perspectives.

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Throughout twenty-seven years of military occupation, US public affairs activities aimed to persuade the local Okinawan public that the US administration of Okinawa should be maintained. The US maintains military bases around the globe while advocating democratic ideals, including freedom of the press. Yet, while declaring the occupation of Okinawa necessary for the defence of democracy, the US military administration vigorously repressed freedoms of speech, assembly, the media, and self-determination. This landmark study explores and uncovers the labyrinthine manipulations and mechanisms established to continue to defend the hard deployment of military forces through the soft power techniques of public relations.This research, first published in Japanese, received the 43rd Iha Fuyu Okinawa Study Award.

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Fluidity of Place presents an interdisciplinary conversation with theories of space-time, place, and globalisation at the cutting edge of social theory. Focusing on the construction of urban space in the context of hyper-mobility, it examines the social relations that form 'place' in a globalised world.The first half of the book discusses globalisation theory and looks at place in relation to the fluidity brought about by recent technological advances. The second half details the construction of understandings of Asian mega-cities, particularly Jakarta, and examines the realities behind narratives of over-urbanisation in light of globalisation and the concomitant fluidity of place.The book makes a compelling argument about the competing claims to place in a world where the nation-state has lost control of its borders.

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This study challenges the prevailing view that Thailand's democratisation process in the 1990s was led by the active middle class. It presents an alternative explanation, examining certain 'passive' forces. The author argues the need to break free from the spell of the assumption that the middle class is pro-democracy and turn attention toward anti-democratisation forces because the pace of political democratisation was slowed down by the presence of such forces.This book will emphasise the fresh point of view that democratisation was advanced by appeasement of the forces that were reluctant to democratisation.

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This study examines the role of Buddhist monks as development agents in rural Thailand. Through 20 years of field studies, and with a focus on Northeast Thailand (which is known as Isan and long classified as the poorest region of Thailand), author Pinit Lapthananon investigates development in contemporary Thailand. Although development monks form a small percentage of the monks in Isan, or in Thailand as a whole, their actions have been highly visible in Thai society for more than five decades, and they have helped to maintain a balance between modernisation and traditional culture.The book examines the role of Buddhism, investigates religious and socioeconomic activities, and probes the changing approach to development - with an emphasis on economic growth to support both social and human development, self-sufficiency, community participation and empowerment, and the revitalisation of traditional knowledge and folk wisdom. It will help in understanding the process of development and social change in Isan society.

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Preoperative therapy is used increasingly in the treatment of patients with Stages II and III breast cancer. Randomised trials have demonstrated the equivalence of preoperative therapy to standard adjuvant therapy with respect to disease-free and overall survival, with a higher proportion of women undergoing conservative surgery instead of a mastectomy. There are multiple questions about the optimal integration of preoperative system therapy into breast cancer management.This comprehensive handbook on preoperative therapy provides guidance to the clinician for patient management, and it outlines important areas of controversy that require further research.

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This book presents a wide-ranging study of widows in Japan, filtered through the dramatic and complex intersection of women with death. These experiences are portrayed as intensely personal and yet foreshadow momentous societal ramifications.The work represents years of research, numerous personal interviews conducted throughout Japan, and reflects not only historical and current perspectives, but also the diverse voices of the widows who participated in the research. These widows provide a point of focus for a multi-level analysis through the exploration of the inner-workings of the state, the family, and the social relations of gender.The lives of widows are examined as they are shaped by kinship and gender ideologies, class, transformations in language, and, most dramatically, war.

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Stratification in Cultural Contexts is a collection drawn from research results of the East Asian Division of the Center for the Study of Social Stratification and Inequality at Tohoku University.In this book, scholars who specialise in areas of East and Southeast Asia examine how the problem of stratification manifests itself in different cultural and historical contexts, discussing when and in what circumstances the problem of stratification has become more serious, and suggesting how the tension could be eased. The topics dealt with are diversified, from religion to economic concerns.The local wisdom of traditional societies is used to analyse inequality and stratification in cases such as the phenomenon of 'religious revival' following democratisation in Mongolian society, the lives of 'slaves' under the Choson dynasty in Korea, and the role of warrior-class women in early-modern Japan.This volume provides a strong step on the way to further studies of stratification and inequality in cultural contexts.

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As the plight of refugees around the world looms large as one of the central problems facing the international political community at the beginning of the 21st century, the situations facing displaced persons in Africa are both acute manifestations of this global trend, and unique in their particularities.As the powerful nations of the world are mobilised to tackle domestic conflicts and their ensuing refugee problems in the Balkans, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and elsewhere, African societies have typically been abandoned by the international community to resolving their own conflicts through their own means. The authors of this volume examine both causes and effects of displacement in terms of both local and global politics, environmental risks, socio-economic costs, and policy and identity issues. Combined, these papers provide a powerful if not comprehensive overview of the variety and complexity of circumstances concerning displaced persons.

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The rise of the new middle classes in Southeast Asia has brought about important transformations in various countries - politically, socially, economically, and culturally - while producing new 'East Asian lifestyles' that transcend national boundaries and causing the reorganisation of urban space.Based on the framework of comparative politics, this study examines the regional significance of the growth of the middle classes after the economic crisis in 1997-1998. It pays special attention to the conditions which led to the fall of Thailand's Thaksin government as a consequence of a military coup.From the international relations point of view, this collective work by Southeast Asian specialists also uses abundant data to unravel the regionalisation of the cultural industry across East Asia.

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After the Crisis looks at Southeast Asia - especially Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines - after the Asian financial crisis. This eleventh volume of the Kyoto Area Studies on Asia takes up the complex interactions and tensions among Southeast Asian states, markets and societies within the context of a regional order under American hegemony, with emphasis on individuals and collectives whose thoughts and actions actively intervene in the shaping of relations between, and among, the three realms.The book discusses the formation of the regional order, the shift in US policy from condoning to dismantling authoritarian developmentalist regimes in light of challenges posed by Asian global competitiveness, and US deployment of a multilateral, neoliberal economism mediated by the IMF as a way of imposing ""structural reforms"" on now ""democratizing"" states. The book also examines social responses which took the form of elite and popular nationalist ""backlash"" against globalization and Americanization.

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Uniquely interdisciplinary in orientation, the book joins experts in ecology, agriculture, medicine and development studies to produce this large-scale study. The authors argue that a number of qualitatively different regional types exist in the world, each comprising its own homeostasis.The book presents a fresh perspective on environmental area studies and demonstrates that the process of globalisation leads to the destruction of the coexistence of human beings and their environments.

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This book is a fascinating exploration into how European attitudes that measure human achievements by their extent of control over nature is a cultural and historical product of the ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean world. The subject matter is the emergence of domestication, the history and role of shepherds, and the Bible. Drawing on fieldwork spanning more than four decades, Part I looks at the domestication process of sheep and goats, and the emergence of the profession of shepherd. Part II focuses on how God's pronouncements concerning animals in the Old Testament came to take unique forms in the ancient Middle East, reflecting the relationships between city-states' ruling chiefs as large herd owners, and local pastoralists as entrusted shepherds pivoting around domesticated animal life. This book is published jointly with Kyoto University Press.

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Do places influence human behavior?In everyday thinking, spaces and places are generally seen as empty vessels where human activity occurs. Digging a bit deeper, we can distinguish spaces from places: places are spaces that have meanings attached – an empty room becomes a classroom or a bedroom depending on what people do in it. Focusing on the Japanese concept ba – usually translated as 'place' – this study recognizes that places imbued with social meaning influence human behavior. Ba takes into account the social context, the norms that dictate behavior, the mood of a place, and the individual's feelings about it. Conceptualized as ba, places limit and direct what we can do, and in the process, shape who we are. Drawing from a wide array of ethnographic studies, this collection illustrates various ways in which place and human agency co-emerge.

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Tibetan monkeys (Macaca thibetana) live at Mount Huangshan in Anhui province, China. They are called 'Duanweihou' in Chinese ('Duan' means short, 'wei' means tail, and 'hou' means monkey). They belong to the genus Macaca, in which Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) are also included.Like Japanese monkeys, Tibetan monkeys live in multi-male multi-female groups. Compared to Japanese monkeys, however, Tibetan monkeys are peculiar in that they engage in some interesting social behaviors that we cannot observe in other monkeys.Originally written and published in Japanese, this translated book introduces the social relationships and behaviors of the Tibetan monkeys.

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Based on comparative and collaborative studies of Japanese and Norwegian specialists, this book focuses upon the critical analysis of 'rationality of care' with an empirical examination of care services in the two countries.The book argues that elder care is not simply the act of labor, but that of love, and it looks at such aspects of care as home help, new public management, and social enterprise. Predicated on the historical experience and contemporary reality of elder care in both countries, the study confronts the commercial rationalisation of care practices and explores their desirable forms.

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Japan faces multiple challenges in an era of population decline. Problems such as ageing and a decreasing working-age population are expected to increase in severity, so tackling these challenges and examining the contributions that immigrants can make to society are vital for Japan's future. What contributions do foreign residents make to Japan, especially in the labour market? How do national and local government policies effect the settlement and permanent residence of foreign nationals? Are issues - such as social mobility and quality of life of foreigners, the fertility of foreign women, and long-term trends in naturalisation - important? What support does Japan offer to immigrants? As a 'new' country of immigration, the need to examine such questions is growing.This book takes a geographical perspective in examining the necessity of immigration and how foreign residents are helping to alleviate the problem of population decline in contemporary Japan.

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Diversity' is a crucial concept describing the recent shift in minority studies away from its focus on social stratification and inequality. In recent times, new theories and concepts that suggest 'positive' meanings are emerging.Minorities and Diversity is a collaborative work emerging from the Division of the Study of Minorities at Tohoku University in Japan. The book's focus is on empirically analysing the mechanisms that produce alienation and discrimination, as well as normatively exploring the social conditions that connect minority groups and social diversity to creativity and dynamism.Chapters in this volume delve into: The status of women in Japan in relation to marriage and single motherhood. Gendered roles and norms in the early modern period. The Japanese American reparation movement. Korean and Muslim ethnic minorities in Japan and the UK. Mutual aid in Okinawa. The role of non-governmental organisations and non-profit organisations in fostering social diversity. This insightful work suggests that, in order to broaden our understanding of minorities, we should examine the ways in which these groups promote the enrichment of society.

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Orang Asli is a generic name given to the indigenous people living on the Malay Peninsula. Using extensive ethnographic data, Living on the Periphery reveals the way in which state-initiated development projects and the process of Islamisation influence the life world of the Orang Asli in the name of national unity. The Malaysian government stands behind the Muslim Orang Asli and regards anyone resisting Islamisation as a rebel against the nation state.The Islamisation program that aims at state-based integration brought about large-scale socioeconomic changes and created class divides, splits, and disharmonies in the community. Conflicts escalated notably between the Muslims supported by the government and the non-Muslims that are subjected to repressive forces of the state.

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This book is a collection of essays on the critical subject of migration in a global context. The book offers insights into the broad range of experiences of migrants in diverse settings. It also examines multi-layered local community issues that have emerged in the light of the increasing flow of people across the globe. The key question informing the arguments in the book has to do with the relationship between nationality and citizenship.Part I of the book looks at the situation of emigrant workers, discussing the opportunities and problems they face in their experiences overseas. Part II focuses on the transformation of ethnic communities, painting a picture of various forms of migrants based on the constellation of such factors as safe and secure town planning, redevelopment, and kou (rotating savings and credit associations). Finally, Part III addresses migrant education and language, and also discusses identity formation and generational succession of minority children who live in a multicultural symbiotic society.

Read more less

Fluidity of Place presents an interdisciplinary conversation with theories of space-time, place, and globalisation at the cutting edge of social theory. Focusing on the construction of urban space in the context of hyper-mobility, it examines the social relations that form 'place' in a globalised world.The first half of the book discusses globalisation theory and looks at place in relation to the fluidity brought about by recent technological advances. The second half details the construction of understandings of Asian mega-cities, particularly Jakarta, and examines the realities behind narratives of over-urbanisation in light of globalisation and the concomitant fluidity of place.The book makes a compelling argument about the competing claims to place in a world where the nation-state has lost control of its borders.

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In this study, eight young Japanese sociologists analyse quantitative social survey data to understand the new phase of Japanese nationalism. They asked ordinary Japanese people to share their views on foreign residents, using their responses to shed light on Japanese political behaviour. Do patriotic statements reflect hostile attitudes to foreign residents? To what extent do Japanese nationals support the extension of their rights to foreigners? How can we understand political and social exclusion? In examining these issues, the book reveals the links between voter behaviour and personal orientations towards nationalism, neo-liberalism, populism, and the rights of foreigners, among other attitudes.

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Written in the immediate aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of March 2011, Koichi Hasegawa's Beyond Fukushima presents a compelling account of the events of 3/11 against the backdrop of the history and geopolitics of the nuclear industry worldwide.The book begins with the accident and its immediate impact on Japan and then expands to form a critical analysis of the global nuclear power industry, providing a framework through which to explain Japan's continued reliance on nuclear power despite widespread public concern. Hasegawa's analysis is convincing. He argues passionately for denuclearisation and is highly critical of the Japanese Government for failing to phase out nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima accident. In the final chapter, Hasegawa outlines steps toward a post-nuclear society, arguing strongly that this transformation must be made to avoid further catastrophe.

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In this English translation of a semi-classic study, readers have the opportunity to explore the manner in which both credentialism and the various levels of the modern education system have developed in Japan.Professor Ikuo Amano, the author of extensive works on Japanese education and examination systems, takes the reader through a detailed analysis of the process by which education and academic qualifications have become the crucial factors in determining social position. Using Japan as a concrete example of an industrial society thoroughly permeated by credentialism, Amano's book makes explicit the relationship between social selection and education, and, in so doing, points the way to why credentialism has come to dominate industrial societies.The book also includes a comparative consideration of the development of education, qualification, and selection mechanisms in both Japan and Europe.

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With a focus on Brazilian migrant workers in Japan, this study produces a comprehensive picture of the forces driving transnational labour migration, both in the countries of origin of foreign workers and within Japan. How are Japan's labour institutions changing under globalisation? What are the implications of these changes for the lives of people in Japan?Asking these and other questions, the book demonstrates how Japan's labour shortage has established a 'trans-national employment system' and shows that globalisation is 'the very cause of the breaking up of Japan as a middle class society'. It also discusses the impact of concepts of nationality and family registration on the lives of foreign-born workers of Japanese descent within Japan.

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This is a study of Japan's home-grown concept of seikatsusha that resembles 'citizen', 'people', 'consumer', 'common man', and 'the public', though not exactly identical with any of them. The idea has occupied an important place in Japanese everyday life, academia, and progressive movements.This book presents an extensive genealogy of the concept of seikatsusha, from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. While examining the philosophy of such thinkers as Kiyoshi Miki, Nobuyuki Onuma, and Shunsuke Tsurumi, the book scrutinises the debate over seikatsusha, which has been undertaken by a variety of political and intellectual movements, including Shiso no kagaku (Science of thought), Beheiren (Citizens for Peace in Vietnam), and the Seikatsu Club.The book points to the viability of the idea of seikatsusha in a sustainable welfare society in the 21st century and is the first in English to fully investigate the concept within Japan's historical and structural context.

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The global environment is ubiquitously contaminated by a myriad of toxic chemicals, having teratogenic, carcinogenic, immunosuppressive, and endocrine disruptive actions. Twelve of these persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been categorised as requiring immediate attention by a treaty adopted at a multi-national meeting in Stockholm in 2001 and became legally binding in May 2004 after its ratification by 50 states.While the developed nations are making efforts to monitor and control the levels of pollution by all the twelve POP chemicals in their environment, the poor developing nations remain extremely hesitant to adopt planned monitoring. The prime reasons are the economy and the lack of man-power and facilities for such evaluations. The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) has recently included POPs into one of its operational programs. Bioindicators of POPs examines this environmental concern.The book will be essential for all those who are involved in the monitoring of POPs-the policy makers, scientists, research students, laboratory technicians, university students, and nongovernmental institutions.

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