This chapter discusses the Epipaleolithic–Neolithic transition in the North Caucasus; charts the appearance of Neolithic sites and geographic-cultural divisions during the Middle Neolithic of the Caucasus; and evaluates the Shulaveri-Shomu Culture and Sioni Culture.

This chapter engages with social sciences theories about ‘institutions’. It illuminates not only the resilience but also the intensification of overland caravan trade thanks to an efficient organised system involving traders, Bedouin and Ottoman officials. The chapter tries to rely as much as possible on the viewpoint of caravan traders. It offers insights on historiographical debates about the changing roles of state institutions in the Late Ottoman Empire, the State’s legitimisation and its echoes among urban and nonurban caravan practitioners, and the economic and political competition by political entities that are built on the monopolisation of trading routes. The aim is to introduce a new panorama of the political economy of the Middle East that does not focus on the coastal and urban societies but on the hinterlands and steppes and considers theses spaces as elements of a region, that is, the intermediary space connecting the local and the world, on the one hand and connecting cultural affiliation with economic exchange on the other.

While Marius Victorinus was not on the lists of physicalists given by the German liberal Protestants of the nineteenth century, his physicalism is the closest match to Harnack’s definition of physicalism: Victorinus provides a “textbook example” of physicalist soteriology. Victorinus is the only physicalist who teaches that Christ assumes and transforms a platonic-type form of humanity, which then, through its paradigmatic power, transforms all individuals patterned on that form. Victorinus’ physicalism is both a participation in and development of Neoplatonic chain of being logic. Scholarly emphasis on Victorinus’ famous insistence on salvation by faith has obscured the physicalist foundation of Victorinus’ soteriology.

In this chapter, I examine Moses Maimonides’ conception of worship, concentrating on two questions: (1) On what grounds is a being worthy of worship? and (2) How is worship enacted? Concerning (1), I begin with Maimonides’ objects of false worship, aka idolatry, which are not only material but paradigmatically the intellects that were taken to be the ultimate causes of change in the world. Indeed thinking of God Himself as an intellect is the height of anthropomorphism and idolatry for Maimonides. Instead, the deity is worship-worthy as the unknowable necessarily existent being in virtue of itself on which the existence of everything else is causally dependent. Our attitude of radical contingency on this being is the ultimate grounds for His worship. Addressing (2), I argue that what enacts Maimonidean worship are not bodily acts but totally devoted, constant intellectual activities to achieve the humanly possible understanding of God and the natural world. Worship is not distinct from intellectual activity but a manner of engaging in it – worshippingly – and a way of life that embraces everything the worshipper does. Finally, I argue that idolatrous or false worship really consists in activities of the mind directed toward the wrong beings on which we are not contingent – and specifically ourselves and our own intellects.

This chapter explores the enforcement and impact of laws governing violence in relationships involving minors, particularly sexual offences, in Sierra Leone. It reveals the challenges arising from the disconnect between legal regulations and real-life experiences. Sierra Leone’s criminal justice system abstracts complex social and emotional factors, reducing individuals to victim and perpetrator roles. Age, a critical element, differs in interpretation – numerical in the law, social in society. Critics contend that these laws excessively criminalise consensual relationships, resulting in the incarceration of young men and stigmatisation of young women. The laws can also be used to dissolve relationships between affluent young women and economically disadvantaged young men. Moreover, they discourage the reporting of sexual violence cases, fearing retaliation or social stigma. This study advocates a nuanced approach to tackling intricate societal problems, emphasising the need to grasp the practical consequences of laws and policies, and thereby bridge the divide between legal intentions and societal outcomes.

The focus in this chapter is on addressing the evolving power dynamics in brand–consumer relationships within the cultural landscape, underscoring the role of brands as both landmarks and co-creators of cultural narratives with consumers. It challenges the effectiveness of top-down approaches in altering behavioural norms, suggesting instead that brands must adapt to the consumer’s role in co-authoring brand identity. It emphasises that brands symbolise aspects of self that consumers constantly negotiate, seeking alignment between their self-identity and self-projection.

This negotiation occurs within a complex cultural landscape where brands must be both visible and adaptable to maintain their relevance and position. The narrative structures that brands establish are pivotal, serving as paths that guide consumers towards or away from brands, thus shaping the brand’s role and visibility in the cultural landscape. This chapter encourages brands to understand and leverage their symbolic capital, develop clear narrative structures, and foster consumer co-ownership to become and remain landmarks within the cultural landscape amidst constant shifts in consumer power and cultural contexts.

Arnold Schrier’s study, Ireland and the American Emigration, 1850–1900 (1958) set out to analyse the impact of mass emigration to America on the country of origin. Schrier collaborated with the Irish Folklore Commission to devise a questionnaire to gather data on the cultural and folkloristic reaction to emigration. While conducted in 1955, most of those interviewed were in their seventies and eighties and could provide memories and reflections on emigration and returned migration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The questionnaire is a significant source for those desiring to learn more about Ireland and America and possible Americanising influences. This chapter provides a detailed analysis of the questionnaire and the data which emerged from it. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh notes the nuanced attitudes towards the returned migrant evident in the survey responses, beyond the stereotype of the ‘show off’ returned Yank. Mac Cárthaigh concludes that the disruptive figure of the returned Yank highlighted the gap between the opportunity and novel experiences represented by emigration and the conservatism of the society left behind.

This chapter describes the effect of erosion and deposition on the thermal regimes of strike-slip and pull-apart terrains, and transform margins. It defines the significant deposition rate, which is faster than 0.1 mmyr–1, as exerting a noticeable cooling effect on the surface heat flow while a significant erosional rate has the opposite effect, resulting in advection of hotter material toward the surface. It support this discussion with examples from the East Slovakian and Vienna pull-apart basins in the Western Carpathians, Wasatch normal fault example from Utah, and offshore North Gabon and East Indian examples.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) laid down a general obligation for all States to protect objects of an archaeological and historical nature found at sea, including in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and to cooperate for this purpose, leaving States to determine the means of implementation. This chapter analyses and discusses the jurisdiction over activities that are pertinent to the archaeological and historical objects found in the EEZ. The development of the legal framework to protect these objects under UNCLOS and the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (CPUCH) is reviewed, together with an interpretation of how these objects are defined under each treaty. The jurisdictional arrangements over activities that may affect the protection of these objects found in the EEZ are then analysed. Special attention is given to the relevant provisions of the CPUCH, which somewhat clarifies the role of the coastal State in protecting underwater cultural heritage in the EEZ. This is followed by a discussion of the legal procedures that could be invoked to settle disputes relating to these objects.