This article examines the contemporary reception of Karl Polanyi’s thought, particularly his seminal work The Great Transformation (1944), proposing that renewed interest in his ideas tends to intensify during periods of structural crisis, when the dominant economic order is in tension and conventional explanatory frameworks become insufficient. Through a bibliographic and contextual analysis, the article identifies two major waves of reception: the first (1970–1990), articulated as a critique of emerging neoliberalism and the limitations of Keynesianism; and the second (2008–present), linked to the global financial crisis and new forms of commodification, with contributions from critical theory, solidarity economy, and economic sociology. Finally, the article offers a philosophical and epistemological reflection on the conditions that make this renewed attention possible. Overall, it argues that Polanyi’s relevance lies not merely in thematic updates, but in his ability to conceptualize the economy as a socially, institutionally, and morally embedded phenomenon in times of historical transformation.

What Is the Role of Plant-Based Alternatives to Animal Foods in the Great Food Transformation: A Narrative Review.

In this paper, we argue that one reason for the insufficient materialisation of sustainability objectives is a manifest gap between the prescriptive system knowledge of transition studies and the variegated local lifeworlds where transformations ultimately happen. Spatial planning offers valuable expertise to operationalise this system knowledge and move from abstract calls for one great transformation to concrete local transformations. We begin by reviewing debates that have already alluded to a polymorphism in sustainability transitions. Then we look at the discourse on planning for sustainability transitions, noting how it is nourished by transition knowledge, while adding significant perspectives on spatiality, implementation and politics. Subsequently, we point to three spatial planning literacies that can add value to sustainability transitions research and the implementation of transitions on the ground: (1) A nuanced view on space that adds a material, functional, legal and cultural dimension to the scalar and institutional geographies of transitions, (2) an understanding of local (state) instruments, formal procedures, property and law, planning systems and cultures, and (3) future literacy through scenario-thinking, co-creation and experimentation as modes of democratic, sustainable future-making. We hence invite planning scholars to use their specific spatial, instrumental and future literacy to become more involved in sustainability transition debates to aid the local operationalisation of transition knowledge.

The current study aimed to identify the level of empowerment and examine its importance in the work environment in order to achieve quality and effective performance according to certain personal and organizational variables. We used the descriptive method appropriate to the nature of the research, and our study included 145 workers at the National Railway Transport Company (SNTF), selected randomly. After processing the data using version 22 of the SPSS statistical program, the results of the analysis were as follows: -Employees of the institution under study have a high level of empowerment at work. -Empowerment significantly contributes to improving quality at work. -There are no statistically significant differences in quality attributed to the variable of seniority. The subject of empowerment is one of the modern issues addressed in the field of social sciences, as it attaches great importance to human resources and maintaining their sustainability in a sound condition, enabling them to adapt to the fluctuating developments of the environment and thus achieve continuity and survival. The term empowerment was not a coincidence, but rather a result of the great transformations and developments the world has witnessed- and continues to witness- in all fields, which has driven institutions to seek new ways.

ABSTRACT Refugees are a controversial and politicised aspect of Australia’s immigration policy. Adopting Karl Polanyi’s social economics approach (Castles, S. 2015. “International Human Mobility: New Issues and Challenges to Social Theory.” In Social Transformation and Migration: National and Local Experiences in South Korea, Turkey, Mexico and Australia, edited by S. Castles, 3–14. London: Palgrave Macmillan; Polanyi, K. 2001. The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. 2nd ed. Boston: Beacon Press) that focuses on transformation, the article explores how the lives of 233 recent Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan refugee families have been transformed by settlement in metropolitan and regional Australia. Utilising quantitative and qualitative data from a 2018–2021 longitudinal study, the article explores how refugee families experience and respond to settlement challenges. The key focus is on refugee agency and the sometimes-contradictory outcomes that accompany the transformation in their lives. Despite their constraints – lacking financial, human, social and linguistic capital – the key focus is on the constrained decisions of refugee families and the ways that their family life is transformed in Australia.

Objectives This article examines NATO's approach to strategic forecasting within an increasingly complex security environment characterized by great power competition, technological transformation, and multidimensional threats. The research aims to assess NATO's methodological frameworks, institutional architecture, and temporal dimensions of strategic foresight capabilities. Methods The analysis employs an examination of NATO's distributed institutional architecture for strategic foresight, mapping the roles and responsibilities of key entities from the North Atlantic Council to specialized commands and research institutions. The study evaluates three methodological frameworks: the Strategic Foresight Analysis (SFA) covering 20-year horizons using PMESII domain scanning, the Framework for Future Alliance Operations (FFAO) translating geopolitical trends into military implications, and the Multiple Futures Project (MFP). Results The analysis reveals a multi-layered institutional architecture spanning from NATO Headquarters' specialized units to Allied Command Operations (ACO) and Allied Command Transformation (ACT), each contributing distinct analytical capabilities. The 2023 Strategic Foresight Analysis identified seven key drivers and developed four generic scenarios ranging from "Fragmenting World" to "Pervasive Competition," utilizing input from eight hundred participants and AI-assisted horizon scanning tools. Conclusions NATO's contemporary approach to strategic foresight represents a system that emphasizes organizational adaptability over predictive precision. The Alliance has successfully developed a distributed institutional framework that leverages diverse analytical perspectives while mitigating organizational blind spots through temporal differentiation and capability-based planning methodologies. Rather than pursuing perfect prediction, NATO's strategic foresight focuses on building adaptive capacity to accommodate multiple potential futures across an increasingly complex security environment where military and civilian spheres are increasingly blurred.

After the Liberation War, the founders of the Republic of Türkiye, whose main concern was to consolidate its power at home and to be recognized as modern by others, had to demonstrate that their new state would continue as a nation-state based on republican ideals. There had been a great transformation of law, social life, culture, and education within Turkish society in the 1920s and 1930s. This transformation was accompanied by a new state identity at the international level. After the foundation of the Republic, Turkish policymakers primarily engaged with their neighbors in order to eliminate mutual suspicions and build reciprocal relations with other states. Türkiye also preferred to become an active member of the international society with its contributions to the ideal of collective security. In this way, it avoided isolation and distanced itself from revisionism by not playing the role of a victim country despite long wars. The main research question addressed by this paper is how the Turkish politicians coped with new international circumstances while achieving their political objectives, keeping up with the ideal of collective security and maintaining a status-quoist stance. The answer given to this question draws on the argument that the Republican elite during the 1930s upheld an ontologically secured self-identity by crafting a narrative of survival and success for the new Republic, by forming a web of relations with other countries based on trust, and by preserving its self-integrity while tackling threats emanating from the new international circumstances.

This study analyzes the formation process of the North Korean labor market based on actor-centered institutionalism. In North Korea, residents' labor force was subordinated to the state, resulting in the absence of a labor market. Around the 1990s, however, great transformation in world history marked by the end of the Cold War and domestic natural disasters served as significant turning points for North Korea. Such an economic crisis, a situational hardship, has led to changes in the belief system of North Korean residents and served as a starting point for the formation of a labor market. North Korea’s labor market has been shaped through the practical influence of North Korean residents who took proactive and independent actions, as well as through the ractification of various economic policy attempts by the North Korean authorities. The main actors in the formation process of the North Korean labor market are the 'North Korean residents' and the 'North Korean authorities.' North Korean residents had a substantial influence on the formation of the labor market through their active trade of their labor force. The North Korean authorities tolerated marketization since they were unable to meet the residents' needs for food and daily necessities while simultaneously establishing new policies as a way to overcome the economic crisis. However, as time passed, the authorities recognized the seriousness of the influx of capitalist elements and consequently implemented repressive polices. Nevertheless, North Korean residents justified trading their labor force and devised sustainable commercial strategies. Therefore, this study aims to analyze policies shaped through the strategic interactions of actors within the institutional conditions surrounding policy-making from the perspective of actor-centered institutionalism. From this perspective, North Korea’s labor market is, on a macro level, a historical product, and on a micro level, the outcome of policies formed through the strategic actions and interactions of North Korean residents and authorities.

The evolution of costal aspiration breathing has lacked a complete, plausible scenario for the intermediate steps and selective pressures that led to the transformation from buccal pump breathing in anamniotes to the use of ribs and intercostal muscles for aspiration breathing in amniotes. Problems have included the selective pressure that would have produced such a profound change from a head pump to a body pump, the adoption of costal aspiration despite some kind of diaphragmatic solution arguably being more plausible, and the possibility that the transition may have been abrupt, without a prolonged period of buccal pumping and costal aspiration being used together. Here I propose a plausible, but as yet untested, set of intermediate steps and selective pressures that could have produced this great transformation. The key points are that increasingly terrestrial feeding may have selected against effective inspiration by buccal pumping, costal aspiration may have been the path of least resistance for evolving an accessory mechanism to assist the diminishing role of buccal pumping, and buccal pumping may have been retained as an accessory lung inflation mechanism in stem amniote lineages, providing time for costal aspiration to become an effective lung inflation mechanism.

Abstract High‐performance zirconia ceramics were prepared by dynamic sinter forging (DSF). The effects of sintering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the samples are investigated. The results show that the flexural strength and toughness of the samples prepared at 1550°C reached 1950 MPa and 7.1 MPa∙m1/2, respectively, with the flexural strength representing an exceptionally high value. The microstructural analysis shows that the DSF‐made samples exhibited the following unique features: very thin grain boundaries, high‐density dislocations, and great phase transformation capability upon external loading. These features are likely due to the reciprocating grain‐boundary sliding during sinter forging. The excellent mechanical properties of the DSF‐made samples are mainly due to the grain boundary strengthening, strain hardening, and phase transformation toughening. The development of DSF opens up a new path for the preparation of high‐performance ceramics.

Resurgence of inequality as a major concern for economists after Thomas Piketty has not yet had its repercussions in the works that investigate the international picture from a political-economy perspective. While inequality is a “measurable” concept, analyzed usually by quantitative methods, we approach it through a complementary framework that pertains to “historical political economy.” The bases of what we consider the “international inequality thesis” (after the ever insightful Adam Smith) are the Marxian theory of value, the Prebisch-Singer thesis, and the concept of “uneven development” within the Structuralist and Dependency schools. These otherwise diverse foundations join forces in ascribing the source of international inequality to economic factors. After elaborating these foundations, Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation is re-read in this article to provide a basis for the study of inequality at the international level. Polanyi had three specific critiques of: i) the economistic treatment of “social costs” as exploitation, ii) the labor theory of value, and iii) the standard theory of international trade. Polanyi’s critiques are spelled out by mapping his “global institutionalism” with an emphasis on their implications for the study of global inequality, as distinct from and beyond international inequality. Polanyi’s vision is then associated with Piketty’s contribution.

ABSTRACT This article examines how international planning experts have addressed urbanization processes in central China. Over the last twenty-five years, this region has been subjected to great socio-economic transformations driven by a succession of urban policies: the municipal entrepreneurialism of the first decades of the twenty-first century, the agglomeration strategies of the 2010s, and the ‘new normal’ of the mid-2010s. These initiatives have transformed this site into a testbed where international experts have interpreted trends in Chinese urbanization. Among the many projects undertaken, those by Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates, Arup, and Isozaki & HuQian Partners for the expansion of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, are emblematic of the interplay between architectural and planning cultures and the changing demands of China’s economy and society. Tracing this planning history is thus helpful to the investigation of the imaginaries promoted, and the solutions adopted, in order to guide the development of Chinese cities, as well as the limits of these proposals and the challenges in their implementation. On this basis, it is possible to reflect upon the recent experiences in planning new cities and to envision new approaches to the design of new towns.

:<i>The Great Transformation: China’s Road from Revolution to Reform</i>

It is a common practice for politicians to avoid controversy or anything sensitive enough to lose popular support and followership. This, therefore, means moderating speech within the boundaries of political correctness, making appointments that wouldn’t assault the sensibilities of the support base, and setting to mend differences with naysayers, hecklers, and opponents, especially if they are within one's political party. The elections in Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023 broke away from the traditional politics of the past. The paper attempts to analyse “Divided we stand: Disconnect from the traditional Party Politics of the past in Kaduna State, 2015-2023.” El-Rufai stood out as one politician who steered the affairs of Kaduna State with unprecedented milestones and great transformation within the period under review. The paper identified the Politics of El-Rufai in transforming Kaduna State since 2015-2023, thus, appointing people from outside Kaduna State, Infrastructural development, and provision of Social amenities, as well as Political correctness. In analyzing our findings, a descriptive approach supported by verifiable evidence is used. In light of the above, the paper gives an account of the infrastructural development of El-Rufai’s tenure, implications, and lessons for Nigeria. The Findings reveal that the 2015 and 2023 elections in Kaduna State witnessed a Muslim-Muslin Ticket, a Female Deputy, appointing people from outside Kaduna, and ditching Political correctness, thereby transforming the state to the next level. The 2015 and 2023 elections in Kaduna State underscored the progress and persistent challenges in the power struggle between strong and weak political parties, the APC and others. Nasir Ahmed El Rufai has demonstrated and recorded what good leadership and governance imply, making great milestones in different sectors.

Recent appraisals of Karl Polanyi’s account of the gold standard in The Great Transformation (The GT) have questioned the influence and contemporary relevance of his monetary thought for international political economy (IPE), charging that it obscures the critical political and governance functions of modern money. In this article, I argue that by ignoring his fundamentally social, rather than economistic, ontology of money, these critiques overlook much that is potentially useful for IPE in Polanyi’s thinking about money. Why, for instance, does Polanyi include money, commonly viewed as synonymous with commodity exchange, among the ‘fictitious’ commodities? Why is central banking at the heart of the double movement? Exploring these questions through a sympathetic rereading of The GT shows that beyond conventional interpretations that center the influence of liberal ideas or market mentalities in the drive to commodify money, Polanyi presents compelling material, political, and institutional factors motivating gold standard adoption and its interwar restoration. Instead of reflecting the conventional story of a self-equilibrating, market-based international monetary system, Polanyi highlights how the disruptions imposed on society by attempting to make money act as a commodity paradoxically propelled the emergence of modern monetary governance.

Abstract Cyclic carbonates, in particular ethylene carbonate (EC), are pivotal compounds across chemical sciences because of their unique properties. Although, their transformation into valuable products has attracted great attention, efficient and selective transformations remain challenging. In this work, we report a catalytic system composed of Ru nanoparticles (RuNPs) stabilized by poly(ionic liquids) (Ru@PIL), that enables the selective chemo‐divergent hydrogenation of EC into either EtOH and CO2 or EG and CH4, under solvent‐free conditions. Those transformations relied on the multi‐task ability of poly(ionic liquids) (PILs), which provides efficient electro‐steric protection of the NPs, good solubility in neat carbonates, and organocatalytic activity depending on the nature of the PIL counter‐anions. Hence, PIL incorporating nucleophilic anions, such as I−, triggers the cascade transformation of EC into EtOH via a sequential decarboxylation‐hydrogenation process. Conversely, in the presence of non‐nucleophilic anions, the PIL is catalytically a spectator, yielding to the “direct hydrogenation” of EC by the RuNPs.

Cyclic carbonates, in particular ethylene carbonate (EC), are pivotal compounds across chemical sciences because of their unique properties. Although, their transformation into valuable products has attracted great attention, efficient and selective transformations remain challenging. In this work, we report a catalytic system composed of Ru nanoparticles (RuNPs) stabilized by poly(ionic liquids) (Ru@PIL), that enables the selective chemo‐divergent hydrogenation of EC into either EtOH and CO2 or EG and CH4, under solvent‐free conditions. Those transformations relied on the multi‐task ability of poly(ionic liquids) (PILs), which provides efficient electro‐steric protection of the NPs, good solubility in neat carbonates, and organocatalytic activity depending on the nature of the PIL counter‐anions. Hence, PIL incorporating nucleophilic anions, such as I−, triggers the cascade transformation of EC into EtOH via a sequential decarboxylation‐hydrogenation process. Conversely, in the presence of non‐nucleophilic anions, the PIL is catalytically a spectator, yielding to the “direct hydrogenation” of EC by the RuNPs.

Image in the field of image processing we have seen great growth with the addition of machine learning which in turn presents more efficient, accurate, and automated solutions for many fields. In past we saw that traditional image processing had issues with noise, low contrast, and manual feature extraction which machine learning has been very successful in solving. This work we present an overview of today’s image processing which we see improved by machine learning algorithms especially in the case of Convolutional Neural Networks for feature extraction, image segmentation, classification and object detection. We report on our studies which used VOC2007, ImageNet, and CIFAR100 datasets to prove that machine learning based methods we see perform very well with an accuracy of 98.4% for image segmentation, 98.7% for classification, and 98.6% for target detection. TI mage processing has seen great transformation with the introduction of machine learning which also brings to the table better, more accurate.

The work of Karl Polanyi and, in particular, his signature concepts of disembeddedness and the double movement frequently inform the assessment of complex socio-economic dynamics in modern societies. Notwithstanding the unquestionable value of accounts that, inspired by the double movement, investigate the back-and-forth between market expansion and social protection, the potential of what has been called ‘offensive countermovements’, aspiring to novel institutionalizations beyond mere defence, remains underexplored. In this paper, I attempt to counteract the prevalence of Polanyian analyses that tend to overemphasize society’s inclination for preservation of the status quo and neglect the more transformational changes sought by offensive countermovements. Addressing this imbalance, I propose an expanded conception of offensive countermovements and argue that we may beneficially readjust the analytical lens by combining insights from Polanyian substantivism with the dynamics of the double movement. As a result, redistribution and reciprocity may come to the fore as equally salient forces of change alongside the market mechanism. I demonstrate the framework’s potential by analyzing instances of urban change and conflict that are driven by climate change. In this regard, I point to the profound institutional changes pursued by offensive countermovements that promote car-free cities, city empowerment, and an enhanced role for cities in international climate governance.

This article presents evidence of a dramatic decrease in the importance of differences in team fielding quality in major league baseball. Over the course of the last three decades, the share of variance in runs allowed that is explained by fielding has steadily declined as the share accounted for by fielding-independent pitching has steadily risen. The paper uses a variety of non-digital and digital fielding metrics, including MLB's Statcast, to chart this trend. It also illustrates the practical effect of it on season-long outcomes and on the evaluation of individual player WAR.