Empowering Interactions

The emergence of the state in Europe is a topic that has engaged historians since the establishment of the discipline of history. Yet the primary focus of has nearly always been to take a top-down approach, whereby the formation and consolidation of public institutions is viewed as the outcome of activities by princes and other social elites. Yet, as the essays in this collection show, such an approach does not provide a complete picture. By investigating the importance of local and individual initiatives that contributed to state building from the late middle ages through to the nineteenth century, this volume shows how popular pressure could influence those in power to develop new institutional structures. By not privileging the role of warfare and of elite coercion for state building, it is possible to question the traditional top-down model and explore the degree to which central agencies might have been more important for state representation than for state practice. The studies included in this collection treat many parts of Europe and deal with different phases in the period between the late middle ages and the nineteenth century. Beginning with a critical review of state historiography, the introduction then sets out the concept of 'empowering interactions' which is then explored in the subsequent case studies and a number of historiographical, methodological and theoretical essays. Taken as a whole this collection provides a fascinating platform to reconsider the relationships between top-down and bottom-up processes in the history of the European state.

Science is confirming what ancient wisdom has always asserted—that reality is far more complex than we have imagined, and that our individual potential is far greater than we have believed. In this time of expanding consciousness, the new frontier—the gateway to spiritual growth and self-empowerment—is through the astral realm. Astral Projection for Psychic Empowerment introduces you to the real-world benefits that come from exploring the astral plane. Learn controlled, self-induced astral projection and reach beyond physical limitations to new sources of knowledge. Live and love more fully than you have ever thought possible by tapping your immense unconscious powers and integrating them into your conscious experience. Delve into the pages of this fascinating book and learn to: Induce an out-of-body experience Safely visit astral realms Explore past lives Communicate with guides and entities Interpret the aura for health and healing Create powerful thought forms Practice astral sex Expand your psychic awareness Achieve your goals Understand psychokinesis and the power of your mind This comprehensive guide includes true case studies of astral projection, scientific test results from laboratory studies, and a seven-day developmental program designed to unleash your highest potential.

An unparalleled overview of current design considerations for your digital library! Digital Libraries: Philosophies, Technical Design Considerations, and Example Scenarios is a balanced overview of public services, collection development, administration, and systems support, for digital libraries, with advice on adopting the latest technologies that appear on the scene. As a professional in the library and information science field, you will benefit from this special issue that serves as an overview of selected directions, trends, possibilities, limitations, enhancements, design principals, and ongoing projects for integrated library and information systems. In Digital Libraries, you will discover the latest ideas and research on digitizing and distributing online library material, including information on: organization and administration of new digital library facilities collection development in digital libraries technological infrastructures for seamlessly integrated computer databases over the Internet XML and other new standards for displaying data on the web interface design issues in the search environment object oriented interfaces and improved searching possibilities a brief history of patents on the internet Digital Libraries is a working reference for your digital library-specific problems. Split into three related sections: Philosophies, Technical Design Considerations, and Example Scenarios, Digital Libraries addresses the many complexities and new issues that have evolved with the development of digital libraries and their future technologies. You will gain a thorough understanding of the public service and design considerations that are necessary to take your digital library into the 21st century.

An Introduction to Young Children with Special Needs: Birth Through Age Eight is a comprehensive introduction to educational policies, programs, practices, and services for future practitioners serving young children with delays or disabilities in early intervention-early childhood special education (EI-ECSE). Thoughtfully addressing the needs of children at risk for learning or development delays or disabilities, revered authors Richard M. Gargiulo and Jennifer L. Kilgo offer evidence-based interventions and instructional techniques that provide students with a broad understanding of important theoretical and philosophical foundations, including evidence-based decision making, developmentally appropriate practices, cultural responsiveness, and activity-based intervention.

First published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

How was Spain able to govern its enormous colonial territories? In 1573 the king decreed that his councilors should acquire "complete knowledge" about the empire they were running from out of Madrid, and he initiated an impressive program for the systematic collection of empirical knowledge. Brendecke shows why this knowledge was created in the first place – but then hardly used. And he looks into the question of what political effects such a policy of knowledge had for Spain’s colonial rule.

Viceroy Güemes’s Mexico: Rituals, Religion, and Revenue examines the career of Juan Francisco Güemes y Horcasitas, viceroy of New Spain from 1746 to 1755. It provides the best account yet of how the colonial reform process most commonly known as the Bourbon Reforms did not commence with the arrival of José de Gálvez, the visitador general to New Spain appointed in 1765. Rather, Güemes, ennobled as the conde de Revillagigedo in 1749, pushed through substantial reforms in the late 1740s and early 1750s, most notably the secularization of the doctrinas (turning parishes administering to Natives over to diocesan priests) and the state takeover of the administration of the alcabala tax in Mexico City. Both measures served to strengthen royal authority and increase fiscal revenues, the twin goals historians have long identified as central to the Bourbon reform project. Güemes also managed to implement these reforms without stirring up the storm of protest that attended the Gálvez visita. The book thus recasts how historians view eighteenth-century colonial reform in New Spain and the Spanish empire generally. Christoph Rosenmüller’s study of Güemes is the first in English-language scholarship that draws on significant research in a family archive. Using these rarely consulted sources allows for a deeper understanding of daily life and politics. Whereas most scholars have relied on the official communications in the great archives to emphasize tightly choreographed rituals, for instance, Rosenmüller’s work shows that much interaction in the viceregal palace was rather informal—a fact that scholars have overlooked. The sources throw light on meeting and greeting people, ongoing squabbles over hierarchy and ceremony, walks on the Alameda square, the role of the vicereine and their children, and working hours in the offices. Such insights are drawn from a rare family archive harboring a trove of personal communications. The resulting book paints a vivid portrait of a society undergoing change earlier than many historians have believed.