Invariants of Varieties and Singularities inspired by Kahler-Einstein problems

We extend the framework of K-stability (Tian, Donaldson) to more general algebro-geometric setting, such as partial desingularisations of (fixed) singularities, (not necessarily flat) families over higher dimensional base and the classical birational geometry of surfaces. We also observe that "concavity" of the volume function implies decrease of the (generalised) Donaldson-Futaki invariants along the Minimal Model Program, in our generalised settings. Several related results on the connection with the MMP theory, some of which are new even in the original setting of families over curves, are also proved.