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This chapter discusses inspiration and innovation through social transformation taking place in Asia through leadership utilizing concepts of Buddhism. In India, values of the Buddhist dhamma are grounded in a permeating esthetic system dating back to early historical times. It was lost there and revitalized in 1956. For Taiwan, inspiration came in the name of humanistic Buddhism that developed in late 19th century China. It offered a moral and practical value system for society at large.

Buddhism became socially engaged as part of a cultural ethos for over a generation with underlying integrated roots in local beliefs, esthetics, and practices. The broader question to discuss is how Buddhist values influence policy leadership. Here, we feature engaged Buddhism that emphasizes awareness, compassion, and non-violence, while embracing modern ways of organizing and communication.

Cases are provided where Buddhism has shaped leaders’ roles and aims, as well as those of followers guiding reforms for best governance. In India Dr. Ambedkar (1891–1956) embraced Buddhism as a platform for deliverance and championed social equality. His life’s struggle concerned issues of caste, as he was born “untouchable.” The second example is about Dhamma Master Cheng Yen (b. 1937) who established Tzu Chi in eastern Taiwan as a relief agency that became international. Both leaders helped life’s embetterment through Buddhism based on modernity, science, advanced technology, leadership, and democracy. These examples of engaged Buddhism have made tremendous impact pertaining to the people of their nation and serve a model for world development.

In this chapter, we delve into our journey of establishing and nurturing a global network comprising early- and mid-career women researchers in the realm of doctoral education. Formed and sustained amid the backdrop of the pandemic since 2020, our endeavours of community building have acquired unique attributes, rewards and trials. We begin by tracing the evolution of our collective journey and the collaborative process that has shaped this network. This, in turn, will spotlight the driving forces and expectations that underpinned the birth of this international alliance tailored for aspiring mid-career women researchers. We also delve into the fundamental characteristics of the network and consider the benefits it offers to its members. Lastly, we will address the challenges the network faces, particularly regarding its sustainable development in the context of competitive, academic work environments.

While China is currently moving toward the full development of its own financial derivatives markets, to date, China's experience with these has been a negative one. This paper examines the importance to China of developing a fully integrated financial derivatives market from both the economic and financial market perspectives. It examines the best way forward for derivative trading, both market based and over-the-counter, and the types of products best suited to both, given the current state of the Chinese financial markets. Consideration is given to market structure, regulation, trading and settlement systems and international cooperation.

Financial derivatives markets are a relatively new development globally. In the USA, the first commodity derivatives trading began in Chicago at the Chicago Board of Trade in 1849. However, the first financial derivatives trading did not begin until 1972, when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange began trading futures contracts on seven foreign currencies. These were the world's first official financial futures contracts. In Europe, the oldest financial derivatives market was the London International Financial Futures Exchange, or LIFFE, which began trading financial futures in 1982.

Zaleha Abdul Shukor is a Senior lecturer in Accounting at the School of Accounting, Universiti kebangsaan Malaysia. She obtained Masters of Commerce from Macquarie Uni, Australia and BSc (Acctg) from Syracuse Univ, NY. She is pursuing her PhD at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. Her research interests include, financial reporting and capital market-based research.

Yusaf Akbar is Associate Professor of International Business at the Southern New Hampshire University, United States. His teaching and research interests are in foreign direct investment, public policy and strategy, and his geographical area interests are in East and Central Europe. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of World Business, Thunderbird International Business Review and World Competition. Yusaf has been Visiting Professor at various schools around the world, including the American University in Bulgaria, ESSCA, the KMBS, the MIB School of Management-Trieste, and Thunderbird.

The history and prospects of European integration are both fascinating and exciting. Analysts of every aspect of this process, including its cultural, economic, financial, historical, political, and social dimensions, should recall that its main rationale remains as it has always been, to permanently end conflict and to secure peace and prosperity for all Europeans. As the European Union's (EU's) own website (see http://europa.eu.int) points out Europe has been the scene of many and frequent bloody wars throughout the centuries. In the 75-year period between 1870 and 1945, for example, France and Germany fought each other three times with huge loss of life. The history of modern European integration commenced in earnest with the realization in the early 1950s that the best way to prevent future conflict is to secure more economic and political integration. This led to the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, followed shortly by the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957. Since then, the process of integration and enlargement has progressed at varying speeds, but always moving forwards. In 1967, the founding institutions of the EEC were merged to form today's European Commission (EC), the Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. The members of the European Parliament were initially chosen by the member governments of the EEC, but direct elections commenced in 1979, and have continued every 5 years since then. The Treaty of Maastricht created the EU in 1992 and established the process of economic and monetary union (EMU) that culminated in the introduction of the euro in 12 of the 15 Member States in 2002.