This chapter summarizes Neurath’s manifold achievements before 1934, when he was forced to leave Vienna. Neurath managed to fit several careers into one, relatively short lifetime, being active in education, urbanism, economic planning, museology, graphic design, and philosophy. After an account of his student years, we document his participation in the proto-Vienna Circle, his theories of war economy, and his attempt at socialization in revolutionary Bavaria. Back in Vienna, Neurath became director of the Austrian settlers’ organization, involved in architectural planning, and founded the Social and Economic Museum, where a team of collaborators developed the Vienna Method of Pictorial Statistics (later known as Isotype). Neurath was also a founding member of the Vienna Circle, alongside Moritz Schlick, Rudolf Carnap, and Hans Hahn. Neurath was a dissenting voice from the Circle’s prevalent adulation for Wittgenstein.

‘It Is a Different World’

Through the narrow, dusty pathways of the camps, various NGO initiatives in the form of training centres and women-friendly spaces have emerged to teach women, according to one NGO worker, ‘vocational pathways to sustainable livelihoods’, by providing knowledge on topics such as self-empowerment, confidence-building, and gender equality. Many of my interlocutors alluded to the fact that the presence of humanitarian aid organizations provided opportunities that they were not afforded before in Myanmar, such as special assistance and training on domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence, for example. These had a profound effect on the way gender relations and roles were changing in the camps, particularly the way gender divisions of labour and ideas were reshaped. Khatun Khalamma found that the presence of a large number of humanitarian agencies and increased NGO initiatives introduced Rohingyas to ‘things we are not used to’. She tells me:

The UN Inter-Agency Response Team, in cooperation with the Bangladeshi government, led the coordination of the humanitarian response, including other development initiatives and programming. Strolling through the camps in the mornings among the bustle of activity in the markets, one can see men gathered around tables in makeshift teahouses watching news on television sets and women indoors tending to the housework. One notices Rohingyas, young and old, holding mobile phone sets and watching the news and connecting to loved ones across borders and oceans. (Note that a mobile phone blackout by the Bangladeshi government took place starting in the fall of 2019 – when I conducted my fieldwork in 2017–2018, they were still readily available and in use.) The arrival of NGOs brought access to technology, television sets in the bazaars, and the presence of the international community through NGO workers, fieldworkers, researchers, and other regular foreign involvement.

Introduction

One bright, warm afternoon, I sat across the desk from Akrithi, a trans woman in her thirties who has a guru1 and is also an NGO staff member. As sunlight streamed in through her office window behind her, she excitedly related her experience of a recent advocacy project for transgender people. What struck me was how her perception of her abilities and potential shifted as a result of her participation in this kind of activist work:

From Akrithi's perspective, the skills she developed through her employment at an NGO caused a dramatic shift in how she perceived and understood herself and her place in the world.

Akrithi's employment history also includes sex work. With a note of pride in her voice, she relays how she “got out” of sex work and into office employment at an NGO:

Akrithi frames her employment history as a linear progression, moving “up” from engaging in sex work at a public park to a career as an office worker in an NGO. Her pride is evident in how, upon becoming an office worker, she steadily climbed the NGO employment ladder to her current position. Tellingly, Akrithi does not simply think of her career trajectory as an alternate source of employment and income compared to sex work; rather, it symbolizes the transformation her life has undergone. According to Akrithi, the changes in her employment have “proved” that she has accomplished something truly remarkable.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah recount the turbulent years of rebuilding Jerusalem after the exile, but there are different layers in the texts. The Ezra layers present a feminized hero, the Nehemiah layers a masculinized hero.

This chapter introduces the elements of Flavius Agricola’s funerary ensemble (sculpture, epitaph, tomb), positions them within the Vatican necropolis, and contends that they combined to form a cohesive, carefully conceived whole.

Engaging in acts of kindness, such as volunteering and donating, has profound benefits for mental and emotional wellbeing. These actions foster a sense of purpose and fulfilment, enriching both personal lives and communities. Volunteering promotes social responsibility and community cohesion, fostering empathy and personal growth. Research shows that volunteering is associated with greater life satisfaction, reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improved cognitive function, particularly in older adults. The act of giving activates brain regions involved in reward and social attachment, releasing neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin that enhance mood and promote pro-social behaviour. Serotonin levels influence empathy and cooperation, while dopamine reinforces altruistic behaviour. Pro-social actions contribute to a harmonious society, fostering connection, understanding, and mutual support. Despite global challenges, people continue to donate and volunteer, driven by a sense of global responsibility and empathy. Embracing kindness not only benefits others, but also enhances personal wellbeing and satisfaction, regardless of age.

The five main terms, generally misunterstood, of the theory. The state makes the difference between the Bedouin and the sedentary. Born in violence and ideology, it favours peaceful activities against its own origins.

The navigational freedoms are unavoidably curtailed to some degree in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as compared with the traditional high seas freedoms. One of the main reasons for this compromise was to accommodate coastal States’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the newly established maritime zone. Nevertheless, the limitation of the navigational freedoms by the coastal State can only be justified if they are made in accordance with the formula of the attribution of rights and freedoms in the EEZ and must be exercised in good faith and by giving due regard to the exercise of these freedoms and rights. It is noteworthy that coastal States have been able to utilise mechanisms developed by competent international organisations to adopt and implement some of these limitations through the rules of reference, particularly regarding the protection and preservation of the marine environment from international shipping. This chapter first identifies the scope of the preserved freedoms of navigation and overflight in the EEZ, then examines how they may have been affected by the exercise of a coastal State’s rights and jurisdiction, before discusses the remedies to address these impacts.

In 1626, workers took aim at four spots marked on the floor of the largest church in Christendom, Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The structure’s immense dome hovered more than four hundred feet above them, for they stood at the intersection of the church’s nave and transept. They began to dig. These shafts, when eventually filled with masonry, would support a towering bronze tent (called a baldacchino) over the high altar. As shovels and picks hacked deep, the excavation took laborers back through layers of history. After breaking through the floor of the Renaissance church, they burrowed through the fill separating it from its fourth-century predecessor. They then cracked through that building’s pavement and struck an ancient cemetery (Fig. I.1). If authorities expected to find anyone’s remains, they were those of Peter himself or one of his papal successors, for they believed the key apostle and later popes were buried here.