Search results for ""Various""

The boxed-set collection of the stunning comic adaptations of the classic Elric of Melnibone novels by Michael Moorcock! Including art cards featuring the cover art from the individual books. Elric of Melnibone is the tortured hero of Michael Moorcock's classics fantasy novels. His stories are brought to life in these exquisite graphic novel adaptations, collected together in this glorious boxed-set for the first time! Fans of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and high fantasy fiction will reap the thrills and spills of this epic quadrilogy! THE RUBY THRONE Elric, the albino emperor, has ruled Melnibone for millennia - a feat made possible through magic and various herbs that serve to strengthen and prolong his life. However, Elric's empire is crumbling before him and now his envious cousin and prince of Melnibone, Yyrkoon, plots to claim the Ruby Throne for himself. Yet when Elric's people come under the threat of a pirate attack, Elric believes that he can once again restore his authority and regain their faith by defeating the pirates. However, the true cost of this task will force him to reveal his allegiance to the dark Arioch, the most dominant of the Lords of Chaos... STORMBRINGER When his people are mercilessly massacred, Elric, the albino former Emperor of the ancient island of Melnibone is cast out into the world. However, fate brings him into the possession of Stormbringer - the fabled, bloodthirsty demon-sword that will sustain him and dominate his destiny. THE WHITE WOLF A year has passed since Elric left Imrryr, his palace and his throne, leaving behind a heartbroken Cymoril. For a year he has walked the Young Kingdoms, under the distant gaze of his protector, Arioch. A year since he traded his skills as a wizard and fighter to the highest bidder, forging, in each battle, the legend of the albino warrior whose Black Sword terrifies the bravest of warriors. Today he is no longer Elric de Melnibone, the four hundred and twenty-eighth Emperor of the people of R'lin K'ren A'a. Today, the Young Kingdoms know him as the White Wolf. THE DREAMING CITY The albino emperor, Elric of Melnibone, is exiled from his home and cursed to walk the land under the influence of the god of chaos, Arioch. With his sword Stormbringer, Elric must find his way through the unknown, unaware he is being sought by his long-lost love. But is she looking to re-kindle their love, or something far more sinister?

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International Energy Governance: Selected Legal Issues covers some of the most interesting and pressing areas of international energy law and policy. Eastern-Mediterranean, WTO and energy, external EU energy policy and the promotion of renewable energy and its various effects on market institutions are just examples of legal issues selected for this book. The authors provide a comprehensive account of these areas under a common theme of energy, trade and environment. This is recommended reading for international lawyers dealing with these topics.'- Kim Talus, University of Eastern Finland, FinlandIn a world that is hungry for energy security, the legal components at the junction of interstate energy cooperation have become increasingly important. International law as it stands today is not equipped to handle international energy governance issues fully, negatively affecting our aim to meet energy security.Selected legal deficiencies relating to international energy governance are identified in this salient book. The currently fragmented and multi-layered international energy governance regime is exposed and reviewed. If governance were streamlined for legal cohesiveness and international political and economic cooperation, it would promote energy security. The book offers a broad perspective on interstate energy cooperation in areas such as energy transit, energy market liberalization and energy investment. A more specific approach is presented in areas of cooperation such as trade and energy; trade, environment and energy; and energy exploration and maritime delimitation disputes. Finally, International Energy Governance considers energy as a special sector within the World Trade Organization and presents an analysis of European Union energy governance and renewable energy systems.This book would primarily be of interest to students, scholars, lawyers, policymakers, and think tanks dealing with the legal aspects of energy, as well as those communities relating to other energy-related disciplines.Contents: Introduction Part I. Interstate Energy Governance: Selected Legal Issues from Trade, Environment and Law of the Sea 1. A fragmented Global Energy Governance 2. Energy as a Special Sector in the World Trade Organization 3. Trade, Environment and Energy: Implications for the Conservation of Oil Resources 4. Energy and Law of the Sea: Eastern Mediterranean Basin Scenarios Part II. EU Energy Governance: Selected Legal Aspects 5. EU Energy Security 6. The EU and its Systemic Relationship to the Energy Community and the Energy Charter Treaty Part III. Renewable Energy in the WTO and EU: Selected Legal Aspects 7. Renewable Energy in the World Trade Organization 8. Renewable Energy in the European Union Part IV. Looking Forward: Bridging the Policy Objectives of Energy, Trade and Environment 9. Sustainable Development and Mega-regionals: The TTIP and TPP Index

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Whatever happened to the Swedish model? Once the prime example of a Nordic welfare state, Sweden's labour market is now a highly individualized competitive arena. With attention to detail as well as global trends, this important book describes the dismantling of the Swedish welfare state across various arenas where being employable is increasingly framed as an individual responsibility. This book offers unique insight into current shifts from state to market, from institutional loyalty to marketing of self.'- Marianne Lien, University of Oslo, Norway'What remains of the emblematic Swedish model of the welfare state? Taking the example of labor market policy, Makeshift Work brings to light a major shift: from the commodification of work to the commodification of workers. In depth empirical investigations into the institutional and individual consequences of this shift make this book a reference for understanding the current transformations in Swedish society and more generally brings into focus the challenges facing Europe as a whole.'- Bénédicte Zimmermann, EHESS, France'The rise and development of the Swedish model of labour market policy has been thoroughly dealt with in many important social science and economic analyses, but the present dismantling of the model and its consequences have only started to be understood. This book is therefore an extremely important contribution in that it combines concrete analyses of changes in the infrastructure of employment services and of the implications thereof from a human perspective.'- Jan Ch. Karlsson, Karlstad University, SwedenIn the aftermath of the global financial crisis, people who had never before had cause to worry about losing their jobs entered the ranks of the unemployed for the first time. In Sweden, the welfare state has been radically challenged and mass unemployment has become a reality in what used to be viewed as a model case for a full employment society.With an emphasis on Sweden in the context of transnational regulatory change, Makeshift Work in a Changing Labour Market discusses how the market mediates employment and moves on to explore the ways in which employees adjust to a new labor market. Focusing on the legibility, measurability and responsibility of jobseekers, the expert contributors to this book bring together an analysis of activation policy and new ways of organizing the mediation of work, with implications for the individual jobseeker.Students and researchers of labor market policy, the organization of markets and work and society both in Sweden and abroad will find this book to be of interest. Policy makers will find the empirical examples of policy processes among employees an extremely useful and insightful tool.

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This volume is innovative in terms of its subject matter, approach, theoretical development and policy prescription. It should be read by economists and policymakers who want to understand and address significant contemporary changes in society: the growing importance of status markets for goods and their relationship with superstar markets for labour. Theodore Koutsobinas employs a pluralist approach, drawing on psychology, anthropology, sociology and philosophy in order to develop a political economy theory of culture change with respect to status.'- Sheila Dow, University of Stirling, UK'Global inequality represents the challenge of our age. The Political Economy of Status demonstrates that rising inequality involves profound cultural, psychological, and philosophical changes because it is interlinked with the meteoric growth of superstar markets - that is, markets for positional goods, which now permeate most economies. Consequently, taking on inequality will require not just smart economic policies, but moral leadership.- Gary Dymski, University of Leeds, UK'Consumption is a theme that many economists avoid and, after reading this important work by Koutsobinas, it should be clear why: it is a highly complex topic that can only be understood if insights from a number of different perspectives are seamlessly combined. Through a comprehensive examination of these perspectives, Koutsobinas achieves this in his book, offering a fundamental contribution to how the social sciences understand consumption.'- Wilfred Dolfsma, University of Groningen, the NetherlandsIn this timely book, Theodore Koutsobinas explores the system of status markets and their social effects including inequality. He explains how media fascination with superstars and luxury consumption goods amplify positional concerns for all, distort the aspirations of the middle class and cause relative deprivation.Building on themes first identified by Veblen and Galbraith, the author analyses extensively the behavioral evidence from modern interdisciplinary research and contributes constructively to a new genre of economic analysis. The Political Economy of Status compels us to seriously consider redistributive culture change policies targeted to assist the underprivileged.This book will be a valuable and lively reading resource for academics in various fields including economic theory, political economy, sociology, social psychology and cultural studies.Contents: 1. Introduction : Status, Superstars and Markets 2. The Economics of Status and Superstar Markets 3. The Fundamental Forces: Technology, Tastes and Values 4. Psychology and Behavioural Forces 5. The Anthropology of Popular Culture and Identity Formation 6. The Sociology of Distinction, Superiority and Deprivation 7. Contentment, Politics and the Philosophy of Superiority 8. Alternative Policies for Positional Activities 9. The Political Economy of Status and Culture Change Policy Index

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Dramatically improve your decisions with data and AI In Decision Intelligence: Transform Your Team and Organization with AI-Driven Decision-Making, a team of pioneering decision and AI strategists delivers a digestible and hands-on resource for professionals at every part of the decision-making journey. The book discusses the latest technology and approaches that bridge the gap between behavioral science, data science, and technological innovation. Discover how leaders from various industries and environments are using data and AI to make better future decisions, taking both human as well as business factors into account. This book covers: A demystifying behind-the-scenes peek inside how AI models, forecasts, and optimization for business challenges really work, and why they open up entirely new possibilities. A business-ready introduction to decision intelligence, exploring why traditional decision-making strategies are outdated and how to transition to decision-intelligence. The evolution of Decision Intelligence, coming from analytics and modern techniques like process mining and robotic process automation An examination of decision intelligence at the organizational level, including discussions of agile transformation, transparent organizational culture, and why psychological safety is a crucial enabler for new ways of decision-making in modern companies An overview of why (and where exactly) AI still needs human expertise and how to incorporate this topic in daily planning and decision making Decision Intelligence is essential reading for managers, executives, board members, other business leaders and soon-to-be leaders looking to improve the quality, adaptability, and speed of their decision-making.Praise for Decision Intelligence "In Decision Intelligence, Thorsten Heilig and Ilhan Scheer build a compelling case for the world of tomorrow’s version of decision-making.”―Martin Lindstrom, New York Times best-selling author"Decision Intelligence will be one of the big topics for this decade and completely change the way organizations manage, plan, and operate. This book provides a comprehensive guide from the basics to the applications."―Niklas Jansen, Entrepreneur and Tech Investor, Founding Partner Interface Capital and Co-Founder Blinkist "The book impressively demonstrates the potential and entry points into the world of AI-powered decision making. A very valuable reading for managers and their organizations".―Michael Kleinemeier, Member of the Merck KG Board of Partners, former Member of the SAP SE Executive Board“The AI hype perfectly captured, easy to understand, de-mystified and mapped to clear use cases - a must-read for today's managers.”―Dr. Daniela Gerd tom Markotten, Member of the Management Board for Digitalization and Technology, Deutsche Bahn AG

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Polarization Measurement and Control in Optical Fiber Communication and Sensor Systems A practical handbook covering polarization measurement and control in optical communication and sensor systems In Polarization Measurement and Control in Optical Fiber Communication and Sensor Systems, the authors deliver a comprehensive exploration of polarization related phenomena, as well as the methodologies, techniques, and devices used to eliminate, mitigate, or compensate for polarization related problems and impairments. The book also discusses polarization-related parameter measurement and characterization technologies in optical fibers and fiber optic devices and the utilization of polarization to solve problems or enable new capabilities in communications, sensing, and measurement systems. The authors provide a practical and hands-on treatment of the information that engineers, scientists, and graduate students must grasp to be successful in their everyday work. In addition to coverage of topics ranging from the use of polarization analysis to obtain instantaneous spectral information on light sources to the design of novel fiber optic gyroscopes for rotation sensing, Polarization Measurement and Control in Optical Fiber Communication and Sensor Systems offers: A thorough introduction to polarization in optical fiber studies, including a history of polarization in optical fiber communication and sensor systems Comprehensive discussions of the fundamentals of polarization, including the effects unique to optical fiber systems, as well as extensive coverage Jones and Mueller matrix calculus for polarization analysis In-depth treatments of active polarization controlling devices for optical fiber systems, including polarization controllers, scramblers, emulators, switches, and binary polarization state generators Fulsome explorations of passive polarization management devices, including polarizers, polarization beam splitters/displacers, wave-plates, Faraday rotators, and depolarizers Extensive review of polarization measurement techniques and devices, including time-division, amplitude-division, and wave-front division Stokes polarimeters, as well as various Mueller matrix polarimeters for PMD, PDL, and birefringence measurements Premiere of binary polarization state analyzers and binary Mueller matrix polarimeters pioneered by the authors, including their applications for highly sensitive PMD, PDL, and birefringence measurements Comprehensive discussion on distributed polarization analysis techniques developed by the authors, including their applications in solving real world problems Detailed descriptions of high accuracy polarimetric fiber optic electric current and magnetic field sensors Perfect for professional engineers, scientists, and graduate students studying fiber optics, Polarization Measurement and Control in Optical Fiber Communication and Sensor Systems enables one to quickly grasp extensive knowledge and latest development of polarization in optical fibers and will earn a place in the libraries of professors and teachers of photonics and related disciplines.

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AVERAGE CURRENT-MODE CONTROL OF DC-DC POWER CONVERTERS An authoritative one-stop guide to the analysis, design, development, and control of a variety of power converter systems Average Current-Mode Control of DC-DC Power Converters provides comprehensive and up-to-date information about average current-mode control (ACMC) of pulse-width modulated (PWM) dc-dc converters. This invaluable one-stop resource covers both fundamental and state-of-the-art techniques in average current-mode control of power electronic converters???featuring novel small-signal models of non-isolated and isolated converter topologies with joint and disjoint switching elements and coverage of frequency and time domain analysis of controlled circuits. The authors employ a systematic theoretical framework supported by step-by-step derivations, design procedures for measuring transfer functions, challenging end-of-chapter problems, easy-to-follow diagrams and illustrations, numerous examples for different power supply specifications, and practical tips for developing power-stage small-signal models using circuit-averaging techniques. The text addresses all essential aspects of modeling, design, analysis, and simulation of average current-mode control of power converter topologies, such as buck, boost, buck-boost, and flyback converters in operating continuous-conduction mode (CCM). Bridging the gap between fundamental modeling methods and their application in a variety of switched-mode power supplies, this book: Discusses the development of small-signal models and transfer functions related to the inner current and outer voltage loops Analyzes inner current loops with average current-mode control and describes their dynamic characteristics Presents dynamic properties of the poles and zeros, time-domain responses of the control circuits, and comparison of relevant modeling techniques Contains a detailed chapter on the analysis and design of control circuits in time-domain and frequency-domain Provides techniques required to produce professional MATLAB plots and schematics for circuit simulations, including example MATLAB codes for the complete design of PWM buck, boost, buck-boost, and flyback DC-DC converters Includes appendices with design equations for steady-state operation in CCM for power converters, parameters of commonly used power MOSFETs and diodes, SPICE models of selected MOSFETs and diodes, simulation tools including introductions to SPICE, MATLAB, and SABER, and MATLAB codes for transfer functions and transient responses Average Current-Mode Control of DC-DC Power Converters is a must-have reference and guide for researchers, advanced graduate students, and instructors in the area of power electronics, and for practicing engineers and scientists specializing in advanced circuit modeling methods for various converters at different operating conditions.

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Public budgeting structure, process, legal framework and policy with examples from industrialized and developing countries Public Budgeting in Context examines budgeting at all levels of U.S. government—federal, state, and local—and in a sample of governments around the world. The book assesses the context of public budgeting in these governments, especially the legal foundations for its practice and how the process and final budgets are impacted by governance structures, laws, various budget actors and different branches of government. The author presents focused attention on the influences on government budgets of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, the bureaucracy, the public and the media. In light of worldwide fiscal malaise, especially during and since the Great Recession, this book illustrates the heightened complexity of the budgeting environment that pervades all governments today—industrialized or developing, large or small. For those who like to dive into the details, the book presents numerous examples of public budgeting as practiced and points to the wealth of data available for analyses of the budgetary context and process, budget shares and results regarding virtually any government of interest. Chapters cover the constitutional and statutory provisions for budgeting in selected governments. Budget and policy agenda setting and executive leadership, legislative budget powers and the influence of the judiciary on modern government budgets are exposed. Budget execution requirements of the bureaucracy, the input of customers, clients and citizens to government budgets, and media influences on public budgets and agencies are highlighted. Budget mechanics—budget types, formats, timelines and reforms—are introduced and compared. Taxes and intergovernmental revenues are considered, with predominant tax choices at every level of government in the United States and those in a select, developing country represented. The book introduces an emerging method for investigating the outcomes of government spending—human rights budget analysis—and includes as an example the assessment of budget reform and results of public health spending in one selected government. Highlights of Public Budgeting in Context Offers a comprehensive text for understanding public budgeting in governments of a variety of contexts and capacities and across different levels Written by a noted expert in the field of public budgeting and financial management Contains illustrative examples from industrialized and developing countries Guides to innumerable datasets with information about governments and their budgets Includes a companion website filled with templates for budget and fiscal analysis Unravel the complex issues of modern public budgeting using this unique presentation of its practice in a variety of governments in the U.S. and a select sample from around the world.

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An estimated 2 billion people around the world watched the catastrophic destruction of the World Trade Center. The enormity of the moment was immediately understood and quickly took on global proportions. What has been less obvious is the effect on the locus of the attacks, New York City, not as a seat of political or economic power, but as a community; not in the days and weeks afterward, but over months and years. New York after 9/11 offers insightful and critical observations about the processes set in motion by September 11, 2001 in New York, and holds important lessons for the future. This interdisciplinary collection brings together experts from diverse fields to discuss the long-term recovery of New York City after 9/11. Susan Opotow and Zachary Baron Shemtob invited experts in architecture and design, medicine, health, community advocacy, psychology, public safety, human rights, law, and mental health to look back on the aftereffects of that tragic day in key spheres of life in New York City. With a focus on the themes of space and memory, public health and public safety, trauma and conflict, and politics and social change, this comprehensive account of how 9/11 changed New York sets out to answer three questions: What were the key conflicts that erupted in New York City in 9/11’s wake? What clashing interests were involved and how did they change over time? And what was the role of these conflicts in the transition from trauma to recovery for New York City as a whole? Contributors discuss a variety of issues that emerged in this tragedy’s wake, some immediately and others in the years that followed, including: PTSD among first responders; conflicts and design challenges of rebuilding the World Trade Center site, the memorial, and the museum; surveillance of Muslim communities; power struggles among public safety agencies; the development of technologies for faster building evacuations; and the emergence of chronic illnesses and fatalities among first responders and people who lived, worked, and attended school in the vicinity of the 9/11 site. A chapter on two Ground Zeros –in Hiroshima and New York – compares and historicizes the challenges of memorialization and recovery. Each chapter offers a nuanced, vivid, and behind-the-scenes account of issues as they unfolded over time and across various contexts, dispelling simplistic narratives of this extended and complicated period. Illuminating a city’s multifaceted response in the wake of a catastrophic and traumatic attack, New York after 9/11 illustrates recovery as a process that is complex, multivalent, and ongoing.

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This volume, first in the Yale Research Series of Boswell's journals, covers his emotionally eventful youthful travels through the German and Swiss territories, from mid-June 1764 (after his law studies in Utrecht) to New Year's Day, 1765, when he crossed the Alps for the next stages of his European tour, in Italy, Corsica and France. The volume is the Research Series parallel to Boswell on the Grand Tour: Germany and Switzerland, 1764, ed. F. A. Pottle (1953), whose annotation the editor, Marlies K. Danziger, has greatly deepened, expanded, supplemented and in many cases corrected. In keeping with the editorial policies of the Research Series, it restores Boswell's original spelling, punctuation and paragraphing (and his generally less than perfect French). The editor's detailed notes illuminate the contemporary political and historical context as well as a vast array of contemporary issues, concepts and personalities no longer familiar to modern readers (especially English-speaking ones). As well as the text of the fully-written journal, the volume includes Boswell's personal daily memoranda and his frequently revealing 'Ten Lines a Day' poems; the autobiographical 'Ebauche de ma vie' written for Rousseau, along with its various drafts, outlines, and attendant correspondence; his detailed expense accounts (a window on the fluctuating currencies and erratic economy of a Europe not yet formed into our modern nation-states); and four maps, adapted from contemporary cartographic records, illustrating Boswell's complicated and often arduous itinerary. Boswell's European travels followed his exhilarating stay in London of 1762-1763 and his mostly bleak winter in the United Provinces in 1763-64. Though forever to be best known for his later accounts of his principal biographical subject, Samuel Johnson, Boswell has emerged since the recovery of his private papers as a compelling autobiographer, and here shows his fascination with, and abilities to record with typical liveliness and percipience, men and women across a strikingly diverse social range. The European journal, which Boswell had unfulfilled hopes later in life of revising and publishing in the manner of his Corsican and Hebridean diaries, records the young Scot's quest for experience in hopes of a cosmopolitan broadening, cultural enrichment, and religious and spiritual security, and conversations culminating in his deeply gratifying meetings with Rousseau and Voltaire. At the same time, it documents in close personal detail an unstable Europe rebuilding and restoring itself a little more than a year after the end of the Seven Years' War, a Europe whose quest for stability amid ominous political and religious fluctuation mirrors and parallels the diarist's own.

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With More Teaching Games for Understanding: Moving Globally, you can learn and apply an innovative approach to teaching games that has been used around the world for 30 years in school and sport settings. Editors Joy Butler and Linda Griffin bring the teaching games for understanding (TGfU) approach to life for you in this practical book. More Teaching Games for Understanding follows Griffin and Butler’s highly successful 2005 book, Teaching Games for Understanding. This new book is based on the Fourth International TGfU Conference held in 2008 and includes all-new chapters written by 27 world-renowned contributors representing 6 countries. The preface and foreword are written by the founders of TGfU, Rod Thorpe, David Bunker, and Len Almond. This book is not a rehash or a revision of the 2005 book; it presents all-new material on TGfU. More Teaching Games for Understanding offers a comprehensive description of the TGfU model (sometimes referred to as the tactical games model or the games sense model). The text grounds you in the model’s latest theory, research, and practice, and it helps you understand • various models of practice for sport and games education, • worldwide perspectives on the TGfU model, • how to facilitate flow motion in games and sports, and • how to modify games to enhance learning and achieve learning objectives. The authors use chapter-opening scenarios to draw readers in and introduce important concepts, and they provide chapter-ending summaries that help readers test their understanding of those concepts. They also offer discussion questions that function as starting points for discussion and review. This is the most complete, current, and authoritative book on the TGfU model that you can find. The breadth, depth, and quality of the chapters afford you an insider’s look at this highly successful model, and its practical approach will help you readily put to use the knowledge gained from the highly regarded contributors. A small sample of what you’ll learn includes how to involve students both in creating games and in assessing games to shape future performances, how to employ TGfU as a coaching methodology, how to use complexity thinking as a theory to frame the learning processes involved in TGfU, how to best use TGfU in elementary school physical education settings, and TGfU’s role in developing physical literacy in children. More Teaching Games for Understanding supplies you with a teaching model that will empower kids, deepen their knowledge of game tactics and strategies, help them improve their skills, and bring greater joy to them as they play games.

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Chicken and Noodle Games: 141 Fun Activities With Innovative Equipment will help you offer a variety of games that will keep everyone participating, provide inclusive and nontraditional games in which no player starts with an advantage, adapt games to various settings and occasions, and increase players' physical activity. Take this book, add rubber chickens, pool noodles, tennis balls, sponges, and bolts, sprinkle in kids, and what do you get? A recipe for pure, unadulterated—and wacky—fun!Written by game masters John Byl, Herwig Baldauf, Pat Doyle, and Andy Raithby; Chicken and Noodle Games: 141 Fun Activities With Innovative Equipment is your ticket to promoting fun and active participation for all involved. The games use easy-to-find equipment in nontraditional ways—which means no player will start with an advantage. In addition, the equipment is inexpensive and allows you to provide a diverse selection of innovative games for very little money. The unusual equipment will capture participants' interests, and the fun games in this book will keep them coming back for more. And some games call for no equipment at all.The games require little organization and provide great opportunities to include children of all ages and abilities. The activities present fun motivators for increasing physical activity, and they help release tension and excessive energy, assist with personal self-control, and encourage social growth. They also enhance perceptual motor development; assist with focus, attention span, concentration, and perseverance; develop the thinking process; and enhance physical fitness and physical abilities. The games are divided into seven categories: games using rubber chickens, foam pool noodles, and tennis balls; games of tag and rock, paper, scissors; games with equipment bought at dollar stores; and games with equipment bought at hardware stores. Games are laid out for you to quickly grasp the game play and facilitate the game with a minimum of preparation time. Each game includes an objective, the number of players and type of equipment needed, setup, and rules. Many games come with variations to make them more suitable for your group—and the authors encourage adults and children to come up with their own variations as well.Chicken and Noodle Games will satisfy your appetite for new, different, and definitely fun games using ordinary and unusual equipment in extraordinary ways. In doing so, it offers oodles of choices for kids of all abilities to have fun while increasing their physical activity. When they take part in these games, kids are actively engaged and developing both physically and mentally. But if you ask them about it, they'll just say they're having fun.

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In Suburbs under Siege Charles Haar argues passionately that all people--rich or poor, black or white--have a constitutional right to live in the suburbs and that a socially responsible judiciary should vigorously uphold that right. For various reasons, American courts have generally failed to question local zoning regulations that trap the urban poor in the squalor of inner cities, away from decent housing and jobs in the suburbs. No U.S. Supreme Court case, for instance, has confronted exclusionary zoning rules, as Brown v. Board of Education once attacked school segregation. Instead, judges at all levels have most often reinforced the residential segregation that may well destroy American society. In this provocative book on the landmark Mount Laurel cases, Haar shows how the N.J. state judiciary broke out of this pattern of judicial behavior. These courageous, innovative judges attracted nationwide attention by challenging the forces of affluence that ruled the suburbs (and the legislature) of their state. Furthermore, they based their reasoning on the N.J. state constitution in order to protect their rulings from invalidation by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the early 1970s, when the cases began, the plaintiffs, Ethel Lawrence and her daughter Thomasene, were barely making ends meet in the Philadelphia suburb of Mount Laurel, a town where their African-American ancestors had lived for seven generations. The Lawrences' dream was to live in a Mount Laurel garden apartment planned by a grassroots reform group as affordable housing: in their way stood a typical minimum acreage zoning ordinance. The eventual court victory of the Lawrences and their young public interest attorneys inspired other N.J. suits and a process of remediation that continues to this day, as judges, experts (special masters), the state legislature, and other citizens work to carry out the Mount Laurel principles. Haar's book is a bold attack on conventional doctrines of the separation of powers limitations on the judicial branch and a plea that judges across the country assume their proper responsibilities for fair housing before it is too late. Originally published in 1996. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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Buying this book could be the smartest investment you make thisseason. If that sounds like a bold claim, just take a look at thelist of contributors. In it you'll find the names of twenty-nine ofthe world's foremost experts in asset allocation. Over the courseof twenty chapters, these accomplished institutional investors,academics, analysts, and traders school you in all of the hottestnew portfolio management techniques now in use around theglobe. Not another abstruse discourse on the theoretical pros and cons ofasset allocation, Global Asset Allocation is a working,nuts-and-bolts guide for institutional investors. It outfits youwith a set of versatile new tools and techniques designed to solvereal-world problems and guide your portfolio managementdecision-making. While broad theoretical considerations are given their due, thelion's share of this book's coverage is commanded by cutting-edgetechnical issues such as mean variance optimization, allocatingbetween styles of equity management, optimal fixed incomeportfolios, asset/liability forecasting, the critical time horizon,target asset allocation, and chaos theory. In addition to all of the traditional classes of asset allocations,Global Asset Allocation explores a number of new and emerginginvestment horizons. Foremost among these is "the ultimateinvestment frontier," international markets, to which a sizeableportion of the book (all of Part Two) is devoted. You'll findin-depth discussions of the qualitative and quantitative aspects ofglobal asset allocation, in which various experts describe thelatest global asset allocation models, optimization methods,forecasting techniques, global bond and currency managementstrategies, risk and return analysis in country-to-countryallocation strategies, active and passive management portfoliostrategies, and much more. Offering world-class strategies for managing global portfolios,Global Asset Allocation is an essential resource for corporatefinance professionals, pension plan sponsors, analysts, andportfolio managers looking to expand their repertoire of financialmanagement skills. From asset liability forecasting and target asset allocation, tocritical time horizon and implementing overlay strategies, thisgroundbreaking new guide educates institutional investors instate-of-the-art portfolio management strategies guaranteed tominimize risk while maximizing returns. Bringing you the combinedinsights and expertise of twenty-nine prominent investment expertsfrom around the world, Global Asset Allocation is a workinghandbook, designed to guide your portfolio managementdecision-making and help you to solve real-world problems. * The latest asset allocation models, optimization methods, andforecasting techniques, including passive and active portfoliostrategies * Includes six major chapters on global asset allocation, includingcurrency management and emerging market investing Traders, portfolio managers...investment professionals of everyilk: read this book, and use the versatile new strategies, tools,and techniques it describes to give your investment skills arazor-sharp, winning edge.

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Praise for The Online Advertising Playbook "Finally, someone has documented all we know about online advertising and how to do it right. As much as this confirms that online advertising really works, we know that marketers don't always get it right. The ARF's The Online Advertising Playbook provides critical insight on what sticks and what doesn't in online advertising and marketing." —Greg Stuart, CEO and President, Interactive Advertising Bureau and coauthor of What Sticks "The Online Advertising Playbook's principles, case studies, and strategic insights equip marketers with the best knowledge available. It will help your online advertising achieve the full range of marketing objectives, from lead generation and customer acquisition to driving trial and loyalty." —Tim Kopp, Vice President, Global Interactive Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company "To grow interactive marketing from here we need to institutionalize our wisdom and experience about what works. This book explains, in a disciplined way, what marketers have learned from a decade of massive change." —Ted McConnell, Interactive Innovation Director, Procter & Gamble "The Online Advertising Playbook is a milestone in the maturation of interactive advertising, but also an invaluable go-to guide for managers trying to make smart decisions with their advertising budgets." —Van Riley, Vice President of Research, AOL "The best marketing communication is spawned from what I call 'informed intuition.' After reading The Online Advertising Playbook, I am far better informed on how to optimize the online channel in our advertising and promotional programs. It's a perfect blend of case studies and research-backed learning." —Rod DeVar, Manager, Advertising and Promotion, United States Postal Service "Savvy marketers should take advantage of The Online Advertising Playbook's findings and principles to get real results." —Chris Theodoros, Director of Industry Relations, Google "A work of wisdom and rigor in the digital space that is as relevant for the newbie as it is for the digerati." —Mike Donahue, Executive Vice President, American Association of Advertising Agencies "This is a must-read for any marketing executive involved in online advertising. It's high time that a book looks at online advertising in the context of an integrative promotional strategy, one meant to set objectives, establish creative strategies, and measure results. The book nicely ties the various components of online advertising to relevant case studies, and the emphasis on measurement and results is refreshing. Not only is it relevant for marketing executives, it would also be a good basic text for any Internet advertising course and a good adjunct to any Internet marketing course." —Henry Assael, Professor of Marketing, Stern School of Business, New York University

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Creative Dance for All Ages, Second Edition, has had a long history of providing a dance curriculum to teachers and students preparing to teach creative dance. Author Anne Gilbert demystifies expectations when teaching creative dance and provides the theory, methods, and lesson ideas for success in a variety of settings and with students of all ages. This one-stop resource offers dance teachers everything they need, including a sequential curriculum, lesson plans, instructional strategies, assessment, and other forms. It’s like having a seasoned dance teacher at your side offering inspiration and guidance all year long. Internationally recognized master teacher and author Anne Gilbert Green presents creative dance for everyone and tips on meeting the challenges of teaching it. She offers a complete package for teaching creative dance that includes the theory, methodology, and lesson plans for various age groups that can be used in a variety of settings. Gilbert also offers an entire dance curriculum for sequential teaching and learning. The second edition of her classic text has been revised, reorganized, and updated to meet all the needs of dance teachers. The second edition of Creative Dance for All Ages includes these new features: • An easy-to-navigate format helps you quickly access the material and find lesson planning and assessment tools. • Content reflects changes in the field of dance education to put you on the cutting edge. • Forty age-appropriate and brain-compatible lesson plans are accessible through the web resource, which save prep time and help ensure compliance with the latest standards. • Five downloadable video clips demonstrate the lesson plans and teaching strategies and how to put them to work in the classroom. • Suggestions for modifying lessons help you include students of all abilities. • Eight assessment forms and curriculum planning templates are adaptable to your needs. If you’re a novice teacher, the book also contains these features to ensure effective instruction: • The same conceptual approach to teaching dance was used in the first edition. • A sequential dance curriculum helps you systematically cover a 10-week quarter or 16-week semester. • Class management tips put you in control from the first day. Creative Dance for All Ages, Second Edition, is an unparalleled resource for dance educators who are looking for a conceptual creative dance curriculum that will support teaching to learners of all ages. Whether in a studio, company, recreational, or educational setting, you will discover a comprehensive and well-rounded approach to teaching dance, emphasizing the how as much as the why.

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In Greek mythology the muses preside over the arts and inspire writers and artists to produce works of genius. In 'Frenzy', Catherine Owen pays homage to the muses in a six-part compilation of muse-quests, some the author's, some those of others. In "Flood-Ghazals," she takes the leaping form of the Persian ghazal and makes it fluid, out of entirely, loosened from its couplet bounds and set free as an unravelled block of threads. "Cobalt Moments" are paeans to a place and its temporalinhabitants-a punk-metal bar in Vancouver and some of its crazy denizens, an attempt to capture the rhythms of this hypnotizing zone of intense music and liminal people. "Opposite Angel's" is a satirical fable of the muse-seeker. How the artist, perhaps unwittingly, ends up placing their muses, especially when they are human, alive, and of the desired gender, on a pedestal. "One Week in Her Life" covers eight random days, in which the poet rambles through the urban world, facing various incongruities, griefs, absurdities, while reveling in little glimpses of peace. "agitate" is a long poem about a photographer's sojourn along a Vancouver Island beach on a trek to chronicle sea surfaces. Environmental, gendered, and artistic critique collide in her mental and physical reality as she dreams of emerging from the frenzy to establish one pure moment of beauty in the world. "Catherine Owen is a neo-romantic bard whose idiosyncratic poetry is barbed with aspects of Tough Love wed to the groom of nihilism. This poet wears a black mood for a wedding dress as she casts invective against bourgeois normalcy. Mistress of neologism and its conflicted ally-ambiguity?-this musifier is unabashedly shameless in making herself "lovesick". A poet taster's head spins, which may not be a bad thing. In an era of political correctness and its self-righteous terrorisms, Owen's muse skateboards over society's niceties as her love junkie heart leaps like an adolescent butterfly. Revel in the nuancesof light and darkness doing a tango in the ineffable quest for the muse's many forms." - Joe Rosenblatt (poet, artist, editor, and recipient of the Governor General's Literary Award) "Catherine Owen is an extraordinarily gifted poet. It's not just the sheer sonic pleasure of her language or the largesse of her endlessly inventive imagery but that she is unsettled and unsettling, deeply disobedient and yet almost selfless in her surrender to form. These poems, and especially the Flood-Ghazals, take you down and then drag you up again, gasping for air." -Robert Priest (poet, songwriter, playwright, winner of the Milton Acorn Memorial People's Poetry Award)

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This timely 2 volume edited collection looks at the extent and nature of global jihad, focusing on the often-exoticised hinterlands of jihad beyond the traditionally viewed Middle Eastern ‘centre’. As ISIS loses its footing in Syria and Iraq and al-Qaeda regroups this comprehensive account will be a key work in the on-going battle to better understand the dynamics of the jihads global reality. Critically examining the global reach of the jihad in these peripheries has the potential to tell us much about patterns of both local mobilisation, and local rejection of a grander centrally themed and administered jihad. Has the periphery been receptive to an exported jihad from the centre or does the local rooted cosmopolitanism of the jihad in the periphery suggest a more complex glocal relationship? These questions and challenges are more pertinent than ever as the likes of ISIS and many commentators, attempt to globally rebrand the jihad and as the centre reasserts its claims to the exotic periphery. Edited by Tom Smith (Portsmouth), Kirsten E. Schulze (LSE) and Hussein Solomon (UFS) the two volumes critically examine the various claims of connections between jihadist terrorism in the ‘periphery’, remote Islamist insurgencies of the ‘periphery’ and the global jihad. Each volume draws on experts in each of the geographies in question. The global nature of the jihad is too often taken for granted; yet the extent of the glocal connections deserve focused investigation. Without such inquiry we risk a reductive understanding of the global jihad, further fostering Orientalist and Eurocentric attitudes towards local conflicts and remote violence in the periphery. This book will therefore draw attention to those who overlook and undermine the distinct and rich particularities of the often-contradictory and cosmopolitan global jihad. In many of the peripheries, particularly those with intensive large-scale insurgencies, there is extensive international military alliance. The Bush doctrine to ‘fight them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here’ certainly looks to be alive and well in places like Somalia, the Philippines and Niger amongst many others. Crucially we must ask - is such reasoning sound – is the threat global and if so in what way? Furthermore - is action in the peripheries under the guise of combating the global jihad overlooking the local issues and threatening to make a wider threat where it was otherwise contained? Diagnosing nations or regions as ‘breeding grounds’ or ‘sanctuaries’ of global jihad carries the spectre of having to chose sides in a battle of civilisations, which looms over a number of developing nations reliant on good western relations.

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The inevitable convergence of the Blockchain, AI and IoT (Veuger 2019) will be an impactful combination of security, interconnectivity and autonomy to revolutionize the way processes run. A combination of Blockchain, AI and IoT technologies that affect the potential of how businesses, industries and even economies operate will redefine them more than they do now. Some applications and concepts have already seen an overlap between these technologies with promising results. One example is the combination of AI and Blockchain to manage Unmanned Aerial/Air/Airborne Vehicle traffic, making mass autonomous flying safer. This application alone will redefine the business of aviation and logistics. The convergence of Blockchain, Ai and IoT can enable organizations to maximize the benefits of each of these technologies while minimizing the risks and constraints associated with them. Since IoT networks include a large number of connected devices, there are numerous vulnerabilities in the network that make the network vulnerable to hacker attacks, fraud, and theft. To prevent security problems, AI powered by machine learning can proactively defend against malware and hacker attacks. Network and data security can be further enhanced through a blockchain that can minimize illegal access to and alteration of data on the network. AI can also improve the functional capacity of the IoT network by making it more autonomous and smarter. For example, a proven convergence of Blockchain, AI and IoT is Fujitsu's algorithm to measure employee heat stress levels. The algorithm continuously monitors workers' physiological data (temperature, humidity, activity levels, pulse rate, etc.) using portable In Vitro Diagnostic Devices (IDA) and sensors to track the correlation between various factors and workers' health. The analysis can help the organization to improve working conditions and prevent health problems of workers. Applying Blockchain to this system can help maintain more personalized data by ensuring privacy or help pay health insurance amounts through smart contracts. The expected impact of the convergence of Blockchain, AI and IoT is not (yet) foreseeable and existing applications are not (yet) perfect. Many organizations, and especially early adopters, are high opinionated about the value of cognitive technologies and therefore invest in them. Findings of applications are now (still) at an early stage and are not yet as advanced as is necessary to achieve real transformation, as well as that business models also determine this. The same can be said of the IoT and Blockchain. With increased interest, investment and innovation, the convergence of Blockchain, AI and IoT will become a reality.

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Terms such as shyness, logophobia and mutism overlap, and boundaries between them are unfixed and blurred. Until now they have, for the most part, been described separately; in our book, we point out the relationship among them. There are many individuals who are shy, and some of them experience communication anxiety, which is present with individuals diagnosed with mutism. It is easier to understand mutism when shyness and logophobia have been explained first. Such an approach has influenced the structure of our monograph. We begin this treatise with the definition of shyness and an attempt to distinguish it from similar phenomena, which is not an easy task. The task resembles forcing one's way through a densely tangled underbrush of terminology. We focus on the development of shyness, especially in children, and on the social and communicative functioning of shy individuals. We also wonder if, and to what extent, shyness can constitute a criterion for diagnosis of mental disorders. In our monograph, we recall the old definition of logophobia because of its relevance and high usability. We describe it in the context of similar emotions, such as social anxiety, communication anxiety and stage fright and make an attempt to systematize these definitions. We also present our own concept of logophobia being an important element of voice and speech disorders (aphasia, psychogenic aphonia, stuttering). The fundamental part of our monograph concerns mutism. We start from an analysis of the nature and role of its basic symptom, which is muteness. We draw on the opinions of representatives of different fields, who have still not decided which is gold and which is silver: silence or speech. Both phenomena occur in different combinations in selective mutism, about which is decidedly more written than about total mutism. It is to be kept in mind that the latter type of disorder does also occur. We are nonetheless focusing on selective mutism, which comes in distinctive types (situational, anxiety-based, traumatic, oppositional). We provide an overview of various treatment strategies (behavioral approach, behavioral-cognitive approach, family approach, pharmacological approach, mixed approach) and we present our own therapeutic method. It is adjusted to the type of selective mutism and implemented in different conditions (office, therapeutic facility, a child's family home, kindergarten, school). We also present a model for evaluating therapy effectiveness of mutism and summarize the results of research conducted in this field up to the present time. The monograph closes with a presentation of case studies of selective mutism prepared by Polish therapists.

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‘A HUGELY IMPORTANT BOOK … ELEGANTLY WRITTEN AND PERSUASIVELY ARGUED’ DAILY TELEGRAPH, FIVE-STAR REVIEW ‘AN INTELLIGENT, AUTHORITATIVE, COMPELLING AND, ABOVE ALL, TIMELY' TLS Shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award Two leading authorities – a bestselling historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time – collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past, and anticipate in the future, in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world. In this deep and incisive study, General David Petraeus, the former CIA director who commanded the US-led coalitions in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the prize-winning historian Andrew Roberts, explore over seventy years of conflict, drawing significant lessons and insights from their fresh analysis of the past. Petraeus and Roberts show how often critical mistakes have been repeated time and again, and explore the challenge, for statesmen and generals alike, of learning to adapt to various new weapon systems, theories and strategies. Among the conflicts examined are the Arab – Israeli wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the two Gulf wars, the Balkan wars in the former Yugoslavia, and both the Soviet and Coalition wars in Afghanistan, as well as guerrilla conflicts in Africa and South America. Conflict culminates with a bracing look at Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine, yet another case study in the tragic results that occur when leaders refuse to learn from history, and an assessment of the nature of future warfare. Filled with sharp insight and the wisdom of experience, Conflict is not only a critical assessment of our recent past, but also an essential primer of modern warfare that provides crucial knowledge for waging battle today as well as for understanding what the decades ahead will bring. ‘This collaboration between a famous general and a distinguished author is a marriage made in heaven. The book’s narrative is seamless, sustained by comparative judgements, and calculated to challenge the professional and enlighten the generalist’ PROFESSOR SIR HEW STRACHAN, Chichele Professor of History of War ‘Not since Clausewitz’ On War has a book provided so much insight into the nature of warfare. Deeply researched, brilliantly constructed and thoroughly entertaining, Conflict gets to the heart of why some nations win and others lose during war. It is a book that will shape the thinking of policy makers and military strategists for generations to come’ ADMIRAL WILLIAM H. MCRAVEN, US Navy ( Ret .); former Commander of US Special Operations Command

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This pioneering text provides a comprehensive introduction to systems structure, function, and modeling as applied in all fields of science and engineering. Systems understanding is increasingly recognized as a key to a more holistic education and greater problem solving skills, and is also reflected in the trend toward interdisciplinary approaches to research on complex phenomena. While the concepts and components of systems science will continue to be distributed throughout the various disciplines, undergraduate degree programs in systems science are also being developed, including at the authors’ own institutions. However, the subject is approached, systems science as a basis for understanding the components and drivers of phenomena at all scales should be viewed with the same importance as a traditional liberal arts education.Principles of Systems Science contains many graphs, illustrations, side bars, examples, and problems to enhance understanding. From basic principles of organization, complexity, abstract representations, and behavior (dynamics) to deeper aspects such as the relations between information, knowledge, computation, and system control, to higher order aspects such as auto-organization, emergence and evolution, the book provides an integrated perspective on the comprehensive nature of systems. It ends with practical aspects such as systems analysis, computer modeling, and systems engineering that demonstrate how the knowledge of systems can be used to solve problems in the real world. Each chapter is broken into parts beginning with qualitative descriptions that stand alone for students who have taken intermediate algebra. The second part presents quantitative descriptions that are based on pre-calculus and advanced algebra, providing a more formal treatment for students who have the necessary mathematical background. Numerous examples of systems from every realm of life, including the physical and biological sciences, humanities, social sciences, engineering, pre-med and pre-law, are based on the fundamental systems concepts of boundaries, components as subsystems, processes as flows of materials, energy, and messages, work accomplished, functions performed, hierarchical structures, and more. Understanding these basics enables further understanding both of how systems endure and how they may become increasingly complex and exhibit new properties or characteristics. Serves as a textbook for teaching systems fundamentals in any discipline or for use in an introductory course in systems science degree programs Addresses a wide range of audiences with different levels of mathematical sophistication Includes open-ended questions in special boxes intended to stimulate integrated thinking and class discussion Describes numerous examples of systems in science and society Captures the trend towards interdisciplinary research and problem solving

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“Walden. Yesterday I came here to live.” That entry from the journal of Henry David Thoreau, and the intellectual journey it began, would by themselves be enough to place Thoreau in the American pantheon. His attempt to “live deliberately” in a small woods at the edge of his hometown of Concord has been a touchstone for individualists and seekers since the publication of Walden in 1854. But there was much more to Thoreau than his brief experiment in living at Walden Pond. A member of the vibrant intellectual circle centered on his neighbor Ralph Waldo Emerson, he was also an ardent naturalist, a manual laborer and inventor, a radical political activist, and more. Many books have taken up various aspects of Thoreau’s character and achievements, but, as Laura Dassow Walls writes, “Thoreau has never been captured between covers; he was too quixotic, mischievous, many-sided.” Two hundred years after his birth, and two generations after the last full-scale biography, Walls restores Henry David Thoreau to us in all his profound, inspiring complexity. Walls traces the full arc of Thoreau’s life, from his early days in the intellectual hothouse of Concord, when the American experiment still felt fresh and precarious, and “America was a family affair, earned by one generation and about to pass to the next.” By the time he died in 1862, at only forty-four years of age, Thoreau had witnessed the transformation of his world from a community of farmers and artisans into a bustling, interconnected commercial nation. What did that portend for the contemplative individual and abundant, wild nature that Thoreau celebrated? Drawing on Thoreau’s copious writings, published and unpublished, Walls presents a Thoreau vigorously alive in all his quirks and contradictions: the young man shattered by the sudden death of his brother; the ambitious Harvard College student; the ecstatic visionary who closed Walden with an account of the regenerative power of the Cosmos. We meet the man whose belief in human freedom and the value of labor made him an uncompromising abolitionist; the solitary walker who found society in nature, but also found his own nature in the society of which he was a deeply interwoven part. And, running through it all, Thoreau the passionate naturalist, who, long before the age of environmentalism, saw tragedy for future generations in the human heedlessness around him. “The Thoreau I sought was not in any book, so I wrote this one,” says Walls. The result is a Thoreau unlike any seen since he walked the streets of Concord, a Thoreau for our time and all time.

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Over the last three decades, wine economics has emerged as a growing field within agricultural economics, but also in other fields such as finance, trade, growth, environmental economics and industrial organization. Wine has a few characteristics that differentiate it from other agricultural commodities, rendering it an interesting topic for economists in general. Fine wine can regularly fetch bottle prices that exceed several thousand dollars. It can be stored a long time and may increase in value with age. Fine wine quality and prices are extraordinarily sensitive to fluctuations in the weather of the year in which the grapes were grown. And wine is an experience good, i.e., its quality cannot be ascertained before consumption. As a result, consumers often rely on 'expert opinion' regarding quality and maturation prospects.This handbook takes a broad approach and familiarizes the reader with the main research strands in wine economics.After a general introduction to wine economics by Karl Storchmann, Volume 1 focuses on the core areas of wine economics. The first papers shed light on the relevance of the vineyard's natural environment for wine quality and prices. 'Predicting the Quality and Prices of Bordeaux Wine' by Orley Ashenfelter is a classic paper and may be the first wine economics publication ever. Ashenfelter shows how weather influences the quality and the price of Bordeaux Grands Crus wine. Since the weather condition of the year when the grapes were grown is known, an econometric analysis may be constructed. It turns out this model outperforms expert opinion, i.e., critical vintage scores. At best, expert opinion reflects public information. The subsequent papers, by Ashenfelter and Storchmann, Gergaud and Ginsburgh, and Cross, Plantinga and Stavins, tackle the terroir question. That is, they examine the relevance of a vineyard's physical characteristics for wine quality and prices, but from various dimensions and with different results. Next, Alston et al. analyze a question of great concern in the California wine industry: the causes and consequences of the rising alcohol content in California wine. Is climate change the culprit?The next chapter presents three papers that apply hedonic price analyses to fine wine. Combris, Lecocq and Visser show that Bordeaux wine market prices are essentially determined by the wines' objective characteristics. Costanigro, McCluskey and Mittelhammer differentiate their hedonic analysis for various market segments. Ali and Nauges incorporate reputational variables into their pricing model and distinguish between short- and long-run price effects.The next section of this volume deals with one of the unique characteristics of wine — its long storage life, which makes it potentially an investment asset. Studying wine's increasing role as an alternative asset class, Sanning et al., Burton and Jacobsen, Masset and Weisskopf, Masset and Henderson, and Fogarty all examine the rate of return to holding wine as well as the related risks. Since these papers analyze different wines and different time periods there is no 'one message.' However, all point out that, while wine may diversify an investor's portfolio, wine's returns do not beat common stock in the long run.The last two chapters examine the role of wine experts. First, Ashenfelter and Quandt revisit the 1976 'Judgment of Paris' and show that aggregating the assessments of several judges should go beyond 'adding points.' Depending on the method employed, the results may vary, and some measure of statistical precision is essential for interpreting the reliability of the results. In two different papers, Cicchetti and Quandt respond to the necessity to provide statistical tools for the assessment of wine tastings.In a seminal paper, Hodgson reports a remarkable field experiment in which similar wines were placed before judges at a major competition. The results have the shocking implication that how medals are awarded at a major California wine fair is not far from being random. Ashton analyzes the performance of professional wine judges and finds little support for the idea that experienced wine judges should be regarded as experts.Do experts scores influence the price of wine? The answer to this question is less obvious then commonly thought since expert opinion oftentimes only repeats public information such as wine quality that results from the weather that produced the wine grapes. Hadj Ali, Lecocq, and Visser as well as Dubois and Nauges find that high critical scores exert only small effects on wine prices. However, Roberts and Reagans show that a high critical exposure reduces the price-quality dispersion of wineries.Lecocq and Visser analyze wine prices and find that 'characteristics that are directly revealed to the consumer upon inspection of the bottle and its label explain the major part of price differences.' Expert opinion and sensory variables appear to play only a minor role. In an experimental setting using two Vickrey auctions, Combris, Lange and Issanchou confirm the leading role of public information, i.e., the label remains a key determinant for champagne prices. In a provocative and widely discussed study drawing on blind tasting results of some 5,000 wines, Goldstein and collaborators find that most consumers prefer less expensive over expensive wine.Finally, Weil examines the value of expert wine descriptions and lets several hundred subjects match the wines and their descriptors. His results suggest that the ability to assign a certain description to the matching wine is more or less random.Volume 2 covers the topics reputation, regulation, auctions, and market organizational. Landon and Smith, Anderson and Schamel, and Schamel analyze the impact of current quality and reputation (i.e., past quality) on wine prices from different regions. Their results suggest that prices are more influenced by reputation than by current quality. Costanigro, McCluskey and Goemans develop a nested framework for jointly examining the effects of product, firm and collective reputation on market prices.The following four papers deal with regulatory issues in the US as well as in Europe. While Riekoff and Sykuta shed light on the politics and economics of the three-tier system of alcohol distribution and the prohibition of direct wine shipments in the US, Deconinck and Swinnen analyze the European planting rights system. The political economy of European wine regulation is then covered by Melonie and Swinnen, before Anderson and Jensen shed light on Europe's complex system of wine industry subsidies.The next chapter is devoted to wine auctions. In three different papers, Fevrier, Roos and Visser, Ashenfelter, and Ginsburgh analyze the effects of specific auction designs on the resulting hammer prices. The papers focus on multi-unit ascending auctions, absentee bidders, and declining price anomalies.The last chapter, supply and organization, is devoted to a wide range of issues. First, Heien illuminates the price formation process in the California winegrape industry. Then, Frick analyzes if and how the separation of ownership and control affects the performance of German wineries.Vink, Kleynhans and Willem Hoffmann introduce us to various models of wine barrel financing, particularly to the Vincorp model employed in South Africa. Galbreath analyzes the role of women in the wine industry. He finds that (1) women are underrepresented and (2) that the presence of a female CEO increases the likelihood of women in winemaker, viticulturist, and marketing roles in that firm. Gokcekus, Hewstone, and Cakal draw on crowdsourced wine evaluations, i.e., Wine Tracker data, and show that private wine assessments are largely influenced by peer scores lending support to the assumption of the presence of a strong herding effect.Mahenc refers to the classic model of information asymmetries and develops a theoretical model highlighting the role of informed buyers in markets that are susceptible to the lemons problem. Lastly, in their paper 'Love or Money?' Scott, Morton and Podolny analyze how the presence of hobby winemakers may distort market outcomes. Hobby winemakers produce higher quality wines, charge higher prices, and enjoy lower financial returns than professional for-profit winemakers. As a result, profit-oriented winemakers are discouraged from locating at the high-quality end of the market.

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The objective of this book is to provide those interested in the field of flexible robotics with an overview of several scientific and technological advances in the practical field of robotic manipulation. The different chapters examine various stages that involve a number of robotic devices, particularly those designed for manipulation tasks characterized by mechanical flexibility. Chapter 1 deals with the general context surrounding the design of functionally integrated microgripping systems. Chapter 2 focuses on the dual notations of modal commandability and observability, which play a significant role in the control authority of vibratory modes that are significant for control issues. Chapter 3 presents different modeling tools that allow the simultaneous use of energy and system structuring notations. Chapter 4 discusses two sensorless methods that could be used for manipulation in confined or congested environments. Chapter 5 analyzes several appropriate approaches for responding to the specific needs required by versatile prehension tasks and dexterous manipulation. After a classification of compliant tactile sensors focusing on dexterous manipulation, Chapter 6 discusses the development of a complying triaxial force sensor based on piezoresistive technology. Chapter 7 deals with the constraints imposed by submicrometric precision in robotic manipulation. Chapter 8 presents the essential stages of the modeling, identification and analysis of control laws in the context of serial manipulator robots with flexible articulations. Chapter 9 provides an overview of models for deformable body manipulators. Finally, Chapter 10 presents a set of contributions that have been made with regard to the development of methodologies for identification and control of flexible manipulators based on experimental data. Contents 1. Design of Integrated Flexible Structures for Micromanipulation, Mathieu Grossard, Mehdi Boukallel, Stéphane Régnier and Nicolas Chaillet. 2. Flexible Structures’ Representation and Notable Properties in Control, Mathieu Grossard, Arnaud Hubert, Stéphane Régnier and Nicolas Chaillet. 3. Structured Energy Approach for the Modeling of Flexible Structures, Nandish R. Calchand, Arnaud Hubert, Yann Le Gorrec and Hector Ramirez Estay. 4. Open-Loop Control Approaches to Compliant Micromanipulators, Yassine Haddab, Vincent Chalvet and Micky Rakotondrabe. 5. Mechanical Flexibility and the Design of Versatile and Dexterous Grippers, Javier Martin Amezaga and Mathieu Grossard. 6. Flexible Tactile Sensors for Multidigital Dexterous In-hand Manipulation, Mehdi Boukallel, Hanna Yousef, Christelle Godin and Caroline Coutier. 7. Flexures for High-Precision Manipulation Robots, Reymond Clavel, Simon Henein and Murielle Richard. 8. Modeling and Motion Control of Serial Robots with Flexible Joints, Maria Makarov and Mathieu Grossard. 9. Dynamic Modeling of Deformable Manipulators, Frédéric Boyer and Ayman Belkhiri. 10. Robust Control of Robotic Manipulators with Structural Flexibilities, Houssem Halalchi, Loïc Cuvillon, Guillaume Mercère and Edouard Laroche. About the Authors Mathieu Grossard, CEA LIST, Gif-sur-Yvette, France. Nicolas Chaillet, FEMTO-ST, Besançon, France. Stéphane Régnier, ISIR, UPMC, Paris, France.

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The Ancient Art of Transformation: Case Studies from Mediterranean Contexts examines instances of human transformation in the ancient and early Christian Mediterranean world by exploring the ways in which art impacts, aids, or provides evidence for physical, spiritual, personal, and social transitions. Building on Arnold van Gennep’s notion of universal rites of passage, papers in this volume expand the definition of “transformation” to include widespread transitions such as shifts in political establishments and changes in cultural identity. In considering these broadly defined “passages,” authors have observed particular changes in the visual record, whether they be manifest, enigmatic, or symbolic.While several papers address transitions that are incomplete, resulting in intermediary, hybrid states, others suggest that the medium itself can be integral to interpreting a transition, and in some cases, be itself transformed. Together, the volume covers not only a broad chronological span (c. 5th century BC to 4th century AD), but also an expansive geographical range (Egypt, Greece, and Italy). Reflecting upon issues central to a variety of Mediterranean cultures (Egyptians, Etruscans, Greeks, Romans, and early Christians), The Ancient Art of Transformation documents how personal, societal, and historical changes become permanently fixed in the material record.The Ancient Art of Transformation examines the visual manifestation of human transformation in the ancient and early medieval Mediterranean world, exploring the role of art and visual culture in enabling, hindering, or documenting physical, spiritual, personal, and social transitions such as pregnancy and birth, initiations, marriage, death and funerals. The definition of “transformation” is also expanded to address instances of less personal and more widespread transitions such as shifts in political establishments and changes in cultural identity in geographic locations. Additionally, although the ancient material record documents certain rites of passage such as marriage and death extensively, artifacts and their accompanying images are often studied simply to reconstruct these social processes. Authors here suggest that material evidence itself can be integral to interpreting a transition, and in some cases, be itself transformed. Further, several papers address transitions that are incomplete, resulting in intermediary, hybrid states that are very often reflected in the visual record such as Athenian vase-painting imagery forecasting the bride as a mother, displays of nudity that reflect intermediate life stages in Etruscan art and Octavian’s visual transformation into Pharaoh and Augustus in Egyptian architecture and material culture. At its core the volume establishes current methods for understanding how ancient visual culture shaped, informed, and was affected by processes of transformation. Together, these papers offer a close examination of various types of visual evidence from several cultures and periods (e.g., Etruscan, Greek, Roman, early Christian), and document how personal, societal, historical changes become permanently fixed in the material record.

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This study traces and analyses the evolution of domestic space in Maltese vernacular and ‘polite’ houses from medieval to contemporary times. The houses under review range from humble buildings of modest size, materials and design, like farmhouses or those for the less affluent towndwellers, to buildings of grand design, like townhouses and palazzi. Owing to the complex nature of the Maltese houses a combination of enquires and a variety of sources was necessary to achieve a holistic picture. This included fieldwork in different parts of the islands, extensive research work in local archives, libraries and museums, an analysis of a sample of literary sources, national censuses and works-of-art, as well as methods of spatial analysis (Space Syntax). One of the major achievements obtained in this research concerns the development of the native dwelling. The field surveys and archival research have demonstrated that the evolution of the native dwelling was very much influenced by the political, social and economic changes that occurred locally during the period under review. In particular, it was observed that architectural and stylistic changes in the elite houses occurred at a faster rate to suit fashion, in line with what occurred in other European countries, while changes in peasant houses were slower and more sporadic as these adhered to their vernacular idiom for a longer time. Houses often served as a symbol of class and social status. The dwelling’s size and architectural style, the configuration of domestic space as well as the house furniture and contents were among the main indicators which, between the late Medieval Period and the first half of the 20th century, distinguished a wealthy from a poor dwelling. Class distinction did not occur only between houses, but also within the same building, especially in the elite dwellings. Gender was also another important aspect which directly affected the upper middle and elite Maltese houses, particularly at a time when men and women had fixed roles in society. However, the restricted space by which the lower class houses were normally characterized permitted instead the mixing of genders in work and leisure. A major shift in the relationship between the family and the house occurred in the second half of the 20th century, when the social and demographic changes of this period brought more balance between the social classes. Through the available evidence, particularly the national censuses, works-of-art, literary sources and travelogues, it was also possible to acquire knowledge about various aspects related to dining fashions, dress code, health and education in the Maltese houses. The results obtained from our Space Syntax investigations have been instrumental to acquire new knowledge and to understand better the social logic of space underpinning Maltese dwellings and settlements.

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Tropical island species and ecosystems are threatened worldwide as a result of increasing human pressure. Yet some of these islands also lend themselves to restoration, as they are physically defined units that can be given focused attention, as long as resources are available and clear conservation targets are set. Cousine Island, Seychelles, is a tropical island that has received such intensive restoration. From a highly degraded island in the 1960s, the island has now been restored to what is believed to be a semblance of the natural state. All alien vertebrates have been eradicated, as have 25 invasive alien plants. Cultivated plants are now confined to one small section of the island. Poaching of nesting marine turtles has been stopped, leading to an increase in turtle breeding numbers. The shearwater population has increased in size with poaching activities under control. The Sooty tern has also returned to the island to breed. The coastal plateau has been restored with over 2500 indigenous shrubs and trees, which have now grown into a forest carpet. There are strict quarantine procedures on the island, keeping it free of rats, mice, various alien invertebrates and potentially invasive alien plants. Three threatened Seychelles endemic land birds (Seychelles warbler, Seychelles magpie robin and Seychelles white-eye) have been introduced and are thriving, with these introductions contributing to both the magpie robin and the white-eye being downgraded from CR to EN (the warbler remains at VU). Ecotourism, and nature conservation for the local inhabitants, have been introduced in a way that does not reduce the improved compositional, structural and functional biodiversity of the island. The result of the restoration effort appears to be sustainable in the long term, although challenges still remain, especially with regards to adequate clean water and a non-polluting power supply on the island. Cousine is thus paving the way in the art and science of tropical island restoration as a legacy for future generations. There is no other book available on this case study. The need for the book arises from the fact that here is a positive note for conservation in these times of so much negative news on the state of our environment. More importantly, the book shows how such restoration should be done, and is therefore a model for many other islands around the world. The book has many illustrations so as to give the book wide appeal and literally to show what can done in terms of restoration. All this is based on much scientific detail, including many new data. The aim is, by way of example, to demonstrate how practical restoration, based on sound scientific research, can be carried out for the betterment of ecological integrity and ecosystem health.

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The federal government is today facing the largest fiscal challenge since World War II. The fundamental question before the nation is whether the fiscal course the government is on can continue. In Entitlement Spending: Our Coming Fiscal Tsunami, David Koitz argues that it is not a Democratic or Republican problem; it is an American problem. As it comes ever closer, he contends, the need for political convergence becomes ever more pressing. Written so as to make the issues understandable to nonexperts, the book is designed to raise public awareness of the urgency to act by clarifying misconceptions and presenting the facts on the impending economic crisis driven by the federal government's enormous spending on entitlement programs. Although Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are idolised as pillars of the nation's safety net, he shows why those programs are in fact the largest drivers of our looming fiscal problem. He explains how, if an effective remedy is to emerge, those programs must contribute heavily to the changes lawmakers consider and offers various policy directions for reining in their spending. Koitz suggests, for instance, that increasing out-of-pocket spending by health care consumers may be the only effective way to sensitise both medical providers and patients to the costs of care, contending that, regardless of how this may affect utilisation or medical practices, major limits are needed in Medicare and Medicaid expenditures because they have become unaffordable. Whether by raising the Medicare eligibility age above sixty-five, imposing higher deductibles and co-payments, or converting Medicare to a program supporting the purchase of health insurance in the private market, the program's expenditures must be reined in and the expectations of future Medicare recipients balanced against the risks of a governmental debt calamity. For Social Security, he says, the public must understand that much of the system's financial problems are due to the large gains in longevity since the system's inception in the 1930s and the much larger lifetime benefits now being paid to current retirees and projected to be paid to future generations. Social Security too, he contends, needs major constraints, many of which have long lingered and are well understood on Capitol Hill; what is lacking is political courage. He emphasises that the nation's long-term economic outlook is now predicated on issuing an unsustainable amount of debt and that for policy makers to ignore that condition and the things creating it, or to pass the buck to future generations to make the hard choices, is simply irresponsible. He concludes "it's not courage to make clear what for decades was opaque. It's not courage to act responsibly and do what's seemingly hard. It's statesmanship. It's about the real job of legislating.

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For over a century, the Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55) has been at the center of a number of important discussions, concerning not only philosophy and theology, but also, more recently, fields such as social thought, psychology, and contemporary aesthetics, especially literary theory. Despite his relatively short life, Kierkegaard was an extraordinarily prolific writer, as attested to by the 26-volume Princeton University Press edition of all of his published writings. But Kierkegaard left behind nearly as much unpublished writing, most of which consists of what are called his "journals and notebooks." Kierkegaard has long been recognized as one of history's great journal keepers, but only rather small portions of his journals and notebooks are what we usually understand by the term "diaries." By far the greater part of Kierkegaard's journals and notebooks consists of reflections on a myriad of subjects--philosophical, religious, political, personal. Studying his journals and notebooks takes us into his workshop, where we can see his entire universe of thought. We can witness the genesis of his published works, to be sure--but we can also see whole galaxies of concepts, new insights, and fragments, large and small, of partially (or almost entirely) completed but unpublished works. Kierkegaard's Journals and Notebooks enables us to see the thinker in dialogue with his times and with himself. Volume 7 of this 11-volume series includes six of Kierkegaard's important "NB" journals (Journals NB15 through NB20), covering the months from early January 1850 to mid-September of that year. By this time it had become clear that popular sovereignty, ushered in by the revolution of 1848 and ratified by the Danish constitution of 1849, had come to stay, and Kierkegaard now intensified his criticism of the notion that everything, even matters involving the human soul, could be decided by "balloting." He also continued to direct his barbs at the established Danish Church and its clergy (particularly Bishop J. P. Mynster and Professor H. L. Martensen), at the press, and at the attempt by modern philosophy to comprehend the incomprehensibility of faith. Kierkegaard's reading notes include entries on Augustine, the Stoics, German mystics, Luther, pietist authors, and Rousseau, while his autobiographical reflections circle around the question of which, if any, of several essays explaining his life and works he ought to publish. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kierkegaard's more personal reflections return once again to his public feud with M. A. Goldschmidt and his broken engagement to Regine Olsen. Kierkegaard wrote his journals in a two-column format, one for his initial entries and the second for the extensive marginal comments that he added later. This edition of the journals reproduces this format, includes several photographs of original manuscript pages, and contains extensive scholarly commentary on the various entries and on the history of the manuscripts being reproduced.

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This comprehensive book explains the provision, both law and practice, of equipment and home adaptations to assist older or disabled people in daily living. Characterised by ill-defined statutory responsibilities and terminology, and an under-developed consumer retail market, the system of provision has long been recognised as chaotic and confusing for professionals and public alike. This is despite the fact that equipment and adaptations are meant to be a central plank of community care.Necessarily wide-ranging but maintaining its focus, the book aims critically to describe the system and thereby promote better practice. By exploring boundaries and breaking points of the system, it will also assist people to understand the law when things go wrong - from negligence to judicial review, and from contract to product safety legislation. Providing both overviews and extensive details, and so capable of use on various levels, the book will be indispensable to managers and practitioners in statutory services (social services, the NHS, housing, education and employment), advice agencies, voluntary organisations, manufacturers and suppliers, educational institutions, and lawyers.The range of items covered is great, from alarms to artificial limbs, baths to bedrooms, chopping boards to crutches, electronic toothbrushes to environmental controls, hearing aids to hoists, incontinence pads to ironing equipment, rails to ramps, speech aids to stairlifts, and walking frames to wheelchairs.Part I summarises provision and picks out main themes - including conflicts, contradictions and anxieties - emerging from a complex web of legislation, common law, guidance, everyday practices, complaints procedures, ombudsmen, formal legal remedies, broader welfare and consumer issues, and interaction of the public, private and voluntary sectors. It is pointed out that the rationing and fragmentation of welfare services, proliferation of community care legislation and guidance, and implementation of European Community Directives have merely added to the complexity.Part II explains systematically and in detail how, and on what legal basis, equipment and adaptations are provided by statutory services for people's social care, health care, housing, education and employment needs. Also covered is provision for people in residential and nursing homes.Spanning disparate areas of law, Part III illustrates what happens when things go wrong - outlining the law of negligence, and contractual issues arising about price, quality and `fitness of purpose' when people buy their own equipment. It discusses increasingly prominent European Community Directives and UK Regulations which impose legal liability in relation to defective products, lifting and handling, medical devices and general product safety. Both judicial review by the law courts and investigations by the ombudsmen are described, crucial remedies when people challenge - or statutory services defend - assessments, service delivery and rationing.Finally, Part IV lists, A-Z, equipment types from Air beds to Writing equipment, detailing what they are, how they are provided and by whom.

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Recent U.S. elections have defied nationwide majority preference at the White House, Senate, and House levels. This work of interdisciplinary scholarship explains how ''winner-take-all'' and single-member district elections make this happen, and what can be done to repair the system. Proposed reforms include the National Popular Vote interstate compact (presidential elections); eliminating the Senate filibuster; and proportional representation using Ranked Choice Voting for House, state, and local elections. This timely analysis of election law and politics outlining key structural election reforms combines distinct analysis of presidential, Senate, and U.S. House elections reforms, while also addressing reforms at the state and local government level. The author argues for fundamental structural changes to U.S. elections like Proportional Representation and Ranked Choice Voting, without requiring any constitutional amendments. Analysis of recent political developments such as progress on the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, the adoption of Ranked Choice Voting state-wide in Maine, and the 2018 Supreme Court gerrymandering cases add real-world relevance and applicability. This sharp examination of a flawed system is vital reading for students and scholars involved in election law and political science, and is approachable enough for lay readers interested in politics and reform as well. 'Rethinking US Election Law is a timely, well-written argument in favour of electoral reform in the United States. It advances achievable solutions that could go a long way towards solving the country's current democratic breakdown, and is an excellent read for anyone interested in ''unskewing the system''.' - Erica Frazier, LSE Review 'Steven Mulroy's Rethinking US Election Law is a concise and refreshing book on US election law. The book takes the reader on a tour through the various and profound shortcomings of the country's reliance on single-member districts (SMDs) and demonstrates that, so long as these SMDs remain the principal building block of US elections, little can be done to resolve the many ailments that afflict the process. It is a powerful, thoughtfully-reasoned and clearly-written argument in favor of electoral reform.. . . Mulroy offers a compelling argument for electoral reform that should be required reading for the next redistricting cycle or for any undergraduate class on voting rights and redistricting. Even the most skeptical critic would have difficulty refuting his analysis.' - American Political Science Association 'Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, Rethinking US Election Law is a seminal work of outstanding scholarship that is as thoughtful as it is thought-provoking. . . (it) is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community, academic, governmental Contemporary Political Science collections and supplemental studies reading lists for students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.' - John Taylor, Midwest Book Review

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A timely and immensely scholarly work to explain how present doctrines of secularism could be infused, enriched by the notion of objective constitutionalism. The author's wide-ranging comparative research and his understanding of religious systems, as well as constitutions, judicial precedent and international law instruments, are most impressive. This is a work that deserves serious worldwide study and attention by academics, students, religious leaders and governments.'- Marinus Wiechers, Former Principal, University of South Africa'Constitutional arrangements relating to the relationship between religion and the law have over the years reflected a rich variety, ranging from the separation of religion and the law to the identity of religion and the law. Constitutionalism and Religion records the rich varieties of constitutional arrangements of religion in many countries of the world and in respect of a great variety of pragmatic features of our day-to-day lives, such as education, labour relations and the display of religious symbols.'- Johan D. van der Vyver, Emory University School of Law, US'Francois Venter's study of Constitutionalism and Religion is a major contribution to the understanding of church-state relations in the modern age. This global comparative exploration of how governments need to engage with twenty-first century religious pluralism is refracted through the prism of the author's informed critique of the challenges faced in post-apartheid South Africa. This book is a handy road map when travelling through potentially hostile territory.'- Mark Hill QC, University of Pretoria, South AfricaThis topical book examines how the goals of constitutionalism - good and fair government - are addressed at a time when the multi-religious composition of countries' populations has never before been so pronounced. How should governments, courts and officials deal with this diversity? The widely accepted principle of treating others as you wish them to treat you and the universal recognition of human dignity speak against preferential treatment of any religion. Faced with severe challenges, this leads many authorities to seek refuge in secular neutrality. Set against the backdrop of globalized constitutionalism in a post-secular era, Francois Venter proposes engaged objectivity as an alternative to unachievable neutrality.Bringing together the history of church and state, the emergence of contemporary constitutionalism, constitutional comparison and the realities of globalization, this book offers a fresh perspective on the direction in which solutions to difficulties brought about by religious pluralism might be sought. Its wide-ranging comparative analyses and perspectives based on materials published in various languages provide a clear exposition of the range of religious issues with which the contemporary state is increasingly being confronted.Providing a compact but thorough historical and theoretical exposition, this book is an invaluable resource for students, constitutional scholars, judges and legal practitioners.

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The search for ways of doing business that are the best for the world is the issue of our time. Add-on CSR is a last-Generation logic that has no value for the now-Generation let alone the next-Generation. This book is a clarion call to the kind of action that both matters and is the landscape of business success in our time.'- Mark Drewell, CEO, The Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative and co-author of Management Education for the World'Latin America has received too little world attention for the contributions its companies and governments are making for creating a sustainable world. This wonderful book will correct this problem. The book also makes a major conceptual contribution through its platform idea of the sustainability frontier.'- Robert G. Eccles, Harvard Business School, co-author of One Report, and Founding Chairman, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board'Corporations in Latin America are facing, more than ever, the demands to put civil society and the natural environment into their business models. This book provides solid frameworks and plenty of real-world examples to help them deal with the challenge.'- Alfredo Enrione, The PwC Endowed Chair of Corporate Governance at ESE Business School, Universidad de los Andes, Chile'In the shadow of the Asian economic miracle, the social change in and economic growth of Latin America have often been overlooked, or even ignored. This book takes the Latin American perspective and provides us with deep and rich insights on how sustainability can be integrated into business strategy.'- Günter Müller-Stewens, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland'This book is very timely, since corporations require a deeper understanding and new approaches to the challenges and opportunities posed by the concept of sustainability.'- Roberto L. Artavia, Chairman, INCAE Business School and Chairman of Viva TrustUsing a combination of thorough research and practical examples, Strategy and Competitiveness in Latin American Markets explains how the concept of the sustainability frontier that the book develops resolves the long-running debate on whether sustainability requires trade-offs or not. Through its exploration of a variety of sustainability challenges and opportunities, along with various sustainability models, the authors show how the sustainability frontier can be expanded through disruptive innovation, the building of new skills and by other means to secure 'no trade-off' solutions.Experts in the field of sustainability in Latin America, researchers in the field of management, students of business administration and managers of companies operating in emerging countries will all find this book to be both useful and engaging.Contributors: F. Angele, E.R. Brenes, A.R. Camacho, F.C. Cañeque, L. Ciravegna, S.L. Hart, J. Ickis, U. Jäger, M. Kramer, C. Laszlo, M. Löffler, A.M. Majano, C. Martinez, F. Pérez-Pineda, A.M. Prado, V. Sathe, D. Smith, R.P. Sroufe, Jr., M. Tuil, V. Umaña, P. Veling, K.L. Whittingham, D.R. Young

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The authors take a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to examine key issues of the cross border movement of patients. State-of-the-art analysis is underpinned by extensive country studies. An essential read for policy makers, regulators, practitioners and students who want to understand, influence and shape this key dimension of the globalisation of health.'- Nick Drager, Honorary Professor LSHTM, Professor of Practice McGill University, Canada'Lunt, Horsfall and Hanefield have brought together the world's leading scholars in the field for this Handbook. Collectively, they chart the course for medical tourism research in covering an exhaustive range of topics. This book is rich in both the breadth and depth of information offered in a time where medical tourism is of increasing importance to the global and domestic health policy and service provision landscape. The editors have done a superb job of steering the contributors and piecing together the various sections of the book to produce a coherent and, what is likely to become, definitive work. It will be essential reading for anyone with interests in the subject.'- Robin Gauld, University of Otago, New ZealandThe growth of international travel for purposes of medical treatment has been accompanied by increased academic research and analysis. This Handbook explores the emergence of medical travel and patient mobility and the implications for patients and health systems.Bringing together leading scholars and analysts from across the globe, this unprecedented Handbook examines the regional and national experiences of medical tourism, including coverage of the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The chapters explore topics on issues of risk, law and ethics; and include treatment-focused discussions which highlight patient decision-making, patient experience and treatment outcomes for cosmetic, transplantation, dental, fertility and bariatric treatment.Students, practitioners and researchers of global health policy, health and globalization, international business, travel medicine and health ethics will find the subjects discussed to be of considerable interest.Contributors: P.P. Barros, D. Bell, A. Bochaton, A.V. Bustamante, M. Calnan, V. Calovski, V. Casey, R. Chanda, A. Chandu, O.N.Y. Cheung, A. Chikanda, I.G. Cohen, J. Connell, V.A. Crooks, J. Crush, L. Culley, H. Endo, M. Exworthy, J.R. Frederick, W. Friesen, L.L. Gan, A.N. Garman, M.W. Hadler, C.M. Hall, C. Hamlyn-Williams, L.N. Handlos, J. Hanefeld, A.J. He, R. Holliday, D. Horsfall, N. Hudson, S.S. Jervelund, K.N. Jin, T.J. Johnson, R. Johnston, S. Karsavuran, S. Kaya, R.A. Kearns, N.M. Kronfol, M. Lakhanpaul, J. Yeonjae Lee, H. Legido-Quigley, N. Lunt, T. Mainil, L. Manikam, B. Maswikwa, M. Mckee, D. Morgan, T. Noree, S. Okamura, M. Ormond, S. Peckham, G. Pennings, L. Puczkó, D. Reisman, D. Sanders, C.D. Shaw, M. Smith, R. Smith, J. Snyder, E.J. Sobo, I. Sziva, M. Toya, M. Walton-Roberts, R. Whitmore, A. Whittaker, A. Y ld z

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This enlightening volume provides an invaluable guide for those perplexed by the seemingly intractable problems of financial crises, sovereign distress, and government guarantees. Contributors include an all-star cast of leading figures in the field. Highly recommended'- Geoffrey Miller, New York University, US'The history of the 2007-09 and possibly beyond near-global financial crisis needs to be examined carefully in order to identify and understand the causes, the transmission across countries, the harm to macroeconomies, the public policies adopted, the effectiveness of such policies, and the lessons to be learned to prevent or at least mitigate future such crises. This volume contributes to this task. It brings together under one cover the analyses of the various aspects of the crisis by experts in each area. It should be priority reading for serious students of the crisis.'- George G. Kaufman, Loyola University Chicago, US'The combination of the skills of the lawyer and of the economist has proved increasingly fruitful, developing both understanding and policy in many areas of life, such as accident prevention, crime prevention, and healthcare. This book follows the precedent of these areas and assembles a group of lawyers and economists who by their contributions, consider how best to deal with financial crises, and how to make their future occurrence less likely. It is both intellectually stimulating and practically important. The authors and editors are to be congratulated.'- Geoffrey Wood, Cass Business School and University of Buckingham, UKFinancial Crisis Containment and Government Guarantees analyzes the international community's commitment to forging enhanced, well thought-out, mechanisms for containing systemic risks in the context of a highly interconnected global financial framework which incorporates ongoing financial innovation.While use of government guarantees is a central theme, the book also analyses the roles played by prudential regulators, central banks, deposit insurers and treasuries in dealing with the crisis. The book examines how governments, central banks, regulators and deposit insurance agencies have worked together to contain the global financial crisis. Additionally, it focuses on efforts to overcome ongoing obstacles, as well as the most important proposals to improve safety nets, both at the national level and internationally.This concise and detailed book will strongly appeal to students in law, economics and finance, law practitioners, policymakers in central banks and ministries of finance, as well as deposit protection agencies and regulatory agencies.Contributors: L.C. Buchheit, G. Calice, J. Chen, C.M. Cumming, C. Enoch, A. Estrella, M. Faure, G.G. Garcia, C.A.E. Goodhart, G. Grande, M. Gulati, M. Guðmundsson, K. Heine, E. Hüpkes, J.R. LaBrosse, R.M. Lastra, A. Levy, J. Manns, D.G. Mayes, J.F. McCollum, M.J. Nieto, J.J. Norton, R. Olivares-Caminal, F. Panetta, C. Pleister, S. Schich, D. Singh, J. Williams, A.E. Wilmarth, Jr., A. Zaghini

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'This superb analysis of water governance in the Rhine and Mekong river basins should be read by everyone interested in the challenges of international water management.'- Thomas Bernauer, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland 'This is a must read for scholars and water governance practitioners as it addresses the underexploited role of non-state actors and local citizens in the field of international water governance. The book fills in this knowledge gap by offering an inspiring refinement of the theory of polycentricity. Evidence is found by well-written and attractive in-depth case studies dealing with the international clean up of the Rhine and the construction of the Pak Mun Dam in the Mekong basin.' - Carel Dieperink, Utrecht University, The Netherlands 'Employing a sophisticated understanding of the interplay between states and nonstate actors, Tun Myint develops a convincing account of the evolution of governance systems for the Rhine and Mekong river basins. In the process, he not only adds to our knowledge of water management at the international level but also deepens our appreciation of the various roles that nonstate actors play in international environmental governance.' - Oran Young, University of California, Santa Barbara, US 'Comparative studies of great river systems and the politics of their regulation are rare. Far rarer still, are comparisons of this historical depth, analytical sophistication, attention to local detail and to the contingencies that make breakthroughs possible. Tun Myint's study of the Rhine and Mekong will inspire and inform future studies of both river and environmental politics.' - James C. Scott, Yale University, US This important book employs the theory of polycentricity, a system with several centers as an analytical concept to explain the multilayered international environmental governance of river basins. It introduces a new methodological framework to deconstruct and investigate the dynamics of citizens, states and non-state actors in world politics via the context of river basin governance. The methodology is tested through in-depth field-based case studies, illustrating how local citizens and industries in the Mekong and Rhine river basins participate in transnational environmental governance at both local and international levels. Tun Myint expertly presents both a methodology and theory to conceive polycentricity of world politics as a major intellectual milestone in theorizing world politics. Providing nuanced details of cases showing the challenges and feasibilities of incorporating multiple actors into a governance framework, the book provides careful analysis into the power of non-state actors.Contents: 1. Governance and International Rivers 2. Polycentricity of World Politics 3. Institutional Evolution in the Mekong and the Rhine 4. Multilayer Environmental Governance in the Rhine 5. Influence of Non-state Actors in Governance of the Rhine 6. Issues, Interests and Actors in the Pak Mun Dam Project 7. Influence of Non-state Actors on Pak Mun Dam 8. Polycentric Environmental Governance References Index

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'This superb analysis of water governance in the Rhine and Mekong river basins should be read by everyone interested in the challenges of international water management.'- Thomas Bernauer, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland 'This is a must read for scholars and water governance practitioners as it addresses the underexploited role of non-state actors and local citizens in the field of international water governance. The book fills in this knowledge gap by offering an inspiring refinement of the theory of polycentricity. Evidence is found by well-written and attractive in-depth case studies dealing with the international clean up of the Rhine and the construction of the Pak Mun Dam in the Mekong basin.' - Carel Dieperink, Utrecht University, The Netherlands 'Employing a sophisticated understanding of the interplay between states and nonstate actors, Tun Myint develops a convincing account of the evolution of governance systems for the Rhine and Mekong river basins. In the process, he not only adds to our knowledge of water management at the international level but also deepens our appreciation of the various roles that nonstate actors play in international environmental governance.' - Oran Young, University of California, Santa Barbara, US 'Comparative studies of great river systems and the politics of their regulation are rare. Far rarer still, are comparisons of this historical depth, analytical sophistication, attention to local detail and to the contingencies that make breakthroughs possible. Tun Myint's study of the Rhine and Mekong will inspire and inform future studies of both river and environmental politics.' - James C. Scott, Yale University, US This important book employs the theory of polycentricity, a system with several centers as an analytical concept to explain the multilayered international environmental governance of river basins. It introduces a new methodological framework to deconstruct and investigate the dynamics of citizens, states and non-state actors in world politics via the context of river basin governance. The methodology is tested through in-depth field-based case studies, illustrating how local citizens and industries in the Mekong and Rhine river basins participate in transnational environmental governance at both local and international levels. Tun Myint expertly presents both a methodology and theory to conceive polycentricity of world politics as a major intellectual milestone in theorizing world politics. Providing nuanced details of cases showing the challenges and feasibilities of incorporating multiple actors into a governance framework, the book provides careful analysis into the power of non-state actors.Contents: 1. Governance and International Rivers 2. Polycentricity of World Politics 3. Institutional Evolution in the Mekong and the Rhine 4. Multilayer Environmental Governance in the Rhine 5. Influence of Non-state Actors in Governance of the Rhine 6. Issues, Interests and Actors in the Pak Mun Dam Project 7. Influence of Non-state Actors on Pak Mun Dam 8. Polycentric Environmental Governance References Index

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This is the loose-leaf version of Applied Sport Management Skills, Fourth Edition With HKPropel Access, which offers students a less expensive, printed version of the text.Applied Sport Management Skills, Fourth Edition With HKPropel Access, takes a practical approach for teaching students how to become strong leaders and managers in the world of sport. Organized around the central management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, and addressing the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) Common Professional Component topics and North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) guidelines, the fourth edition has been extensively updated with hundreds of new references and sport examples.The text employs a three-pronged approach for teaching management theory, putting theories into practice, and developing students’ management skills. Timely discussions and case studies address the impacts of COVID-19; Black Lives Matter initiatives; name, image, and likeness rules; women in executive positions; corporate social responsibility; data analytics; and more.While other texts focus on learning about sport management, Applied Sport Management Skills enables students to apply the principles while developing the skills to become effective sport managers. Interactive online learning tools available through HKPropel complement activities found in each chapter: Flash-card activities help students learn key terms. Self-assessments, which ask students to identify their strengths and weaknesses and plan to improve shortcomings, are now assignable, trackable, and automatically scored. Applying the Concepts quizzes, which challenge students to identify management concepts illustrated in various situations, are now trackable and automatically scored. Time-Out features, in which students apply management concepts to their personal sport and work experiences, are now assignable instructor-scored assessments. Case studies are now supplemented by 10-question automatically scored quizzes and include three open-ended discussion questions. Additional assignments available in downloadable documents for students to complete and submit to the instructor further facilitate the application of the concepts presented in the text: Sport Management Professionals @ Work activities provide a cohesive thread to keep students focused on how sport managers use the concepts on the job. Skill-Builder Exercises present real-world scenarios designed to help future managers handle day-to-day situations such as setting priorities, conducting job interviews, handling conflict, and coaching employees. Sports and Social Media Exercises introduce students to the role of social media in managing sport organizations. Students review popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and visit sport websites. Game Plan for Starting a Sport Business features ask students to perform managerial tasks such as developing an organization structure and brainstorming ideas for leading employees. With Applied Sport Management Skills, students will be primed for an exciting career in sport management by gaining a thorough understanding of management theories and developing the acumen to apply them.Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all new print books.

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If you are looking for the definitive resource to help you measure your students’ achievement, your search is over. PE Metrics: Assessing Student Performance Using the National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education, Third Edition, aligns with SHAPE America’s National Standards and Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education, was created by SHAPE America and its writing team, and was reviewed by researchers and teachers with expertise in assessment. The result is a text that you can use with confidence as you help develop physical literacy in your students. Written for physical educators, administrators, and curriculum writers (and for physical education majors and minors), this latest edition offers the following: • 130 ready-to-use assessments for kindergarten through grade 12 (65 elementary, 43 middle school, and 22 high school) • Worksheets, checklists, and rubrics that support the assessments • Guidance on creating your own assessments for any lesson or unit These assessments are aligned with the three SHAPE America lesson planning books for elementary, middle, and secondary school and dovetail with SHAPE America’s The Essentials of Teaching Physical Education. The assessments can be used as they are, or you can modify them or use them as samples in creating assessments that are best suited to your needs. PE Metrics, now in a four-color design, is organized into four main parts: Part I introduces the purpose and uses of assessment, how to develop an assessment plan, and the various types of assessments and tools you can use. Part II contains sample assessments for students in grades K-5, focusing on fundamental motor skills; as such, the elementary-level assessments center heavily on Standard 1. In part III, the emphasis shifts to middle school assessments, with a concentration on Standard 2 and on the categories of dance and rhythms, invasion games, net/wall games, fielding/striking games, outdoor pursuits, aquatics, and individual-performance activities. Part IV offers sample assessments for high school students, with a priority on providing evidence of the knowledge and skills students will need to remain active and fit after they leave high school. This resource provides a comprehensive, performance-based assessment system that enables you to incorporate assessment into every facet of your teaching, create assessments that are unique to your program, and measure your students’ performance against the grade-level outcomes. The assessments are process focused and are designed to measure multiple constructs as well as provide meaningful feedback to students—ultimately helping them to develop holistically across all three learning domains (psychomotor, cognitive, and affective). PE Metrics will help you instill in students the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity.

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Accepting that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to controlling drinking, the latest edition of this bestselling book will help you assess your drinking and determine whether moderation or abstinence is the best path for you.For decades, the standard treatment for people struggling with alcohol consumption has focused on convincing them to admit that they are an alcoholic, to stop drinking entirely, and to enter into a program, most commonly Alcoholics Anonymous. But in his more than thirty-five-year career as an addiction specialist working with people who want to change their drinking habits, Michael S. Levy has found that the routes to behavioral change actually vary. And although abstinence is the successful route for many people, others can moderate their drinking on their own or with professional help. In this practical, effective, and compassionate book, Levy helps people take control of their alcohol problem by teaching them how to think about and address their drinking habits. Beginning with a set of self-assessments that reveal whether the reader's use of alcohol is creating problems, Levy explains the causes of problem drinking, discusses the growing recognition of the various ways an alcohol use disorder can show itself, and talks about why it is so difficult to change. Offering advice for choosing between moderating your drinking or abstaining altogether, he also touches on coping with slipups, fighting helplessness and the fear of failure, and knowing when moderation is not achievable. The book is unique in that instead of telling people what they need to do, it meets people at their stage of change and level of readiness to change and helps them decide for themselves what they need to do. Drawing on the latest scientific evidence, this new edition includes• a chapter on the concept of self-medication—a useful but at times overused idea;• a chapter on the concurrent use of drugs (particularly cannabis) during recovery;• an exploration of modern strategies for dealing with drinking, including technology (apps that count drinks, for example) and medications that curb alcohol consumption; • reflections on the use of stigma;• communication strategies for individuals seeking to share their struggle with others;• an exploration of common triggers;• additional worksheets and tips to achieve success; • further material about self-help programs; and • insights about the dark side of addiction treatment.Ultimately, Take Control of Your Drinking empowers people to tackle their drinking problem and gives them the freedom to do so in a way that fits with their own lifestyle and values. This book is useful for anyone who may find that they are drinking too much, for the loved ones of such people, and for clinicians who want to broaden their skills when working with people who struggle with alcohol.

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Navigate M&A accounting arbitrations with insider perspective M&A Disputes takes you inside the dispute resolution process to help you put together the many "moving parts" necessary to obtain a successful outcome. With deep insight from experts in the field—including valuable advice from the arbitrator's perspective—this book guides you through the entire process to explore the variables at work. The high volume of M&A transactions makes post-closing price adjustment provisions and accounting arbitrations a critical part of doing business. Yet, the field is opaque to non-practitioners and important issues can be easily misunderstood without specific knowledge and experience. A resulting award can make or break a transaction; an intimate understanding of the process's inner working can help you plan your position to the greatest advantage. This book explores the many factors that that contribute to a successful resolution across the entire transaction life cycle from contract negotiation through the dispute phase including due diligence, determination of the target net working capital, conception and closing of the purchase agreement, post-closing negotiation and dispute resolution, the impact of accounting practices, guidance, and documentation as well as relevant auditing concepts, and various facts and circumstances surrounding the target business and the transaction that need to be considered. M&A volume remains high and continues to result in large numbers of current and future post-closing M&A disputes. Clients rely on their attorneys and advisers to guide them through the process and counsel them toward a positive outcome. Those professionals will find that M&A accounting arbitrations carry a range of distinctions that require a specialized knowledge base to navigate correctly. This book provides real-world guidance from experts in the field, with invaluable insight for every stage of the process. Walk through the entire dispute resolution process from arbitrator selection through final award Understand how M&A agreement provisions impact the awarded amount as well as the options available to limit the scope of potential disputes and the "gaming" of the post-closing process by the counterparty Understand the nature of accounting estimates and guidance, their interaction with accounting arbitrations, and how to synthesize facts, circumstances, and GAAP into a persuasive argument to present to the accounting arbitrator Get situation-specific advice for different types of transactions Learn practitioner "dos" and "don'ts" from the arbitrator's perspective M&A Disputes provides transaction parties and their representatives an inside view at the transaction and commonly disputed items through the eyes of the arbitrator to provide them with uniquely valuable insight. In addition to being an invaluable tool for practitioners appearing before an accounting arbitrator, M&A Disputes also provides advice to would-be and experienced arbitrators alike to successfully resolve disputes that can be significant and complex.

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Features an integrated approach of statistical scenarios and simulations to aid readers in developing key intuitions needed to understand the wide ranging concepts and methods of statistics and inference Illuminating Statistical Analysis Using Scenarios and Simulations presents the basic concepts of statistics and statistical inference using the dual mechanisms of scenarios and simulations. This approach helps readers develop key intuitions and deep understandings of statistical analysis. Scenario-specific sampling simulations depict the results that would be obtained by a very large number of individuals investigating the same scenario, each with their own evidence, while graphical depictions of the simulation results present clear and direct pathways to intuitive methods for statistical inference. These intuitive methods can then be easily linked to traditional formulaic methods, and the author does not simply explain the linkages, but rather provides demonstrations throughout for a broad range of statistical phenomena. In addition, induction and deduction are repeatedly interwoven, which fosters a natural "need to know basis" for ordering the topic coverage. Examining computer simulation results is central to the discussion and provides an illustrative way to (re)discover the properties of sample statistics, the role of chance, and to (re)invent corresponding principles of statistical inference. In addition, the simulation results foreshadow the various mathematical formulas that underlie statistical analysis. In addition, this book: • Features both an intuitive and analytical perspective and includes a broad introduction to the use of Monte Carlo simulation and formulaic methods for statistical analysis • Presents straight-forward coverage of the essentials of basic statistics and ensures proper understanding of key concepts such as sampling distributions, the effects of sample size and variance on uncertainty, analysis of proportion, mean and rank differences, covariance, correlation, and regression • Introduces advanced topics such as Bayesian statistics, data mining, model cross-validation, robust regression, and resampling • Contains numerous example problems in each chapter with detailed solutions as well as an appendix that serves as a manual for constructing simulations quickly and easily using Microsoft® Office Excel® Illuminating Statistical Analysis Using Scenarios and Simulations is an ideal textbook for courses, seminars, and workshops in statistics and statistical inference and is appropriate for self-study as well. The book also serves as a thought-provoking treatise for researchers, scientists, managers, technicians, and others with a keen interest in statistical analysis. Jeffrey E. Kottemann, Ph.D., is Professor in the Perdue School at Salisbury University. Dr. Kottemann has published articles in a wide variety of academic research journals in the fields of business administration, computer science, decision sciences, economics, engineering, information systems, psychology, and public administration. He received his Ph.D. in Systems and Quantitative Methods from the University of Arizona.

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A Solutions Manual to accompany Geometry of Convex Sets Geometry of Convex Sets begins with basic definitions of the concepts of vector addition and scalar multiplication and then defines the notion of convexity for subsets of n-dimensional space. Many properties of convex sets can be discovered using just the linear structure. However, for more interesting results, it is necessary to introduce the notion of distance in order to discuss open sets, closed sets, bounded sets, and compact sets. The book illustrates the interplay between these linear and topological concepts, which makes the notion of convexity so interesting.Thoroughly class-tested, the book discusses topology and convexity in the context of normed linear spaces, specifically with a norm topology on an n-dimensional space.Geometry of Convex Sets also features: An introduction to n-dimensional geometry including points; lines; vectors; distance; norms; inner products; orthogonality; convexity; hyperplanes; and linear functionals Coverage of n-dimensional norm topology including interior points and open sets; accumulation points and closed sets; boundary points and closed sets; compact subsets of n-dimensional space; completeness of n-dimensional space; sequences; equivalent norms; distance between sets; and support hyperplanes · Basic properties of convex sets; convex hulls; interior and closure of convex sets; closed convex hulls; accessibility lemma; regularity of convex sets; affine hulls; flats or affine subspaces; affine basis theorem; separation theorems; extreme points of convex sets; supporting hyperplanes and extreme points; existence of extreme points; Krein–Milman theorem; polyhedral sets and polytopes; and Birkhoff’s theorem on doubly stochastic matrices Discussions of Helly’s theorem; the Art Gallery theorem; Vincensini’s problem; Hadwiger’s theorems; theorems of Radon and Caratheodory; Kirchberger’s theorem; Helly-type theorems for circles; covering problems; piercing problems; sets of constant width; Reuleaux triangles; Barbier’s theorem; and Borsuk’s problem Geometry of Convex Sets is a useful textbook for upper-undergraduate level courses in geometry of convex sets and is essential for graduate-level courses in convex analysis. An excellent reference for academics and readers interested in learning the various applications of convex geometry, the book is also appropriate for teachers who would like to convey a better understanding and appreciation of the field to students.I. E. Leonard, PhD, was a contract lecturer in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Alberta. The author of over 15 peer-reviewed journal articles, he is a technical editor for the Canadian Applied Mathematical Quarterly journal.J. E. Lewis, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Alberta. He was the recipient of the Faculty of Science Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2004 as well as the PIMS Education Prize in 2002.

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A gentle introduction to the geometry of convex sets in n-dimensional spaceGeometry of Convex Sets begins with basic definitions of the concepts of vector addition and scalar multiplication and then defines the notion of convexity for subsets of n-dimensional space. Many properties of convex sets can be discovered using just the linear structure. However, for more interesting results, it is necessary to introduce the notion of distance in order to discuss open sets, closed sets, bounded sets, and compact sets. The book illustrates the interplay between these linear and topological concepts, which makes the notion of convexity so interesting.Thoroughly class-tested, the book discusses topology and convexity in the context of normed linear spaces, specifically with a norm topology on an n-dimensional space.Geometry of Convex Sets also features: An introduction to n-dimensional geometry including points; lines; vectors; distance; norms; inner products; orthogonality; convexity; hyperplanes; and linear functionals Coverage of n-dimensional norm topology including interior points and open sets; accumulation points and closed sets; boundary points and closed sets; compact subsets of n-dimensional space; completeness of n-dimensional space; sequences; equivalent norms; distance between sets; and support hyperplanes · Basic properties of convex sets; convex hulls; interior and closure of convex sets; closed convex hulls; accessibility lemma; regularity of convex sets; affine hulls; flats or affine subspaces; affine basis theorem; separation theorems; extreme points of convex sets; supporting hyperplanes and extreme points; existence of extreme points; Krein–Milman theorem; polyhedral sets and polytopes; and Birkhoff’s theorem on doubly stochastic matrices Discussions of Helly’s theorem; the Art Gallery theorem; Vincensini’s problem; Hadwiger’s theorems; theorems of Radon and Caratheodory; Kirchberger’s theorem; Helly-type theorems for circles; covering problems; piercing problems; sets of constant width; Reuleaux triangles; Barbier’s theorem; and Borsuk’s problem Geometry of Convex Sets is a useful textbook for upper-undergraduate level courses in geometry of convex sets and is essential for graduate-level courses in convex analysis. An excellent reference for academics and readers interested in learning the various applications of convex geometry, the book is also appropriate for teachers who would like to convey a better understanding and appreciation of the field to students.I. E. Leonard, PhD, was a contract lecturer in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Alberta. The author of over 15 peer-reviewed journal articles, he is a technical editor for the Canadian Applied Mathematical Quarterly journal.J. E. Lewis, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Alberta. He was the recipient of the Faculty of Science Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2004 as well as the PIMS Education Prize in 2002.

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Presents an introduction to differential equations, probability, and stochastic processes with real-world applications of queues with delay and delayed network queues Featuring recent advances in queueing theory and modeling, Delayed and Network Queues provides the most up-to-date theories in queueing model applications. Balancing both theoretical and practical applications of queueing theory, the book introduces queueing network models as tools to assist in the answering of questions on cost and performance that arise throughout the life of a computer system and signal processing. Written by well-known researchers in the field, the book presents key information for understanding the essential aspects of queues with delay and networks of queues with unreliable nodes and vacationing servers. Beginning with simple analytical fundamentals, the book contains a selection of realistic and advanced queueing models that address current deficiencies. In addition, the book presents the treatment of queues with delay and networks of queues, including possible breakdowns and disruptions that may cause delay. Delayed and Network Queues also features: Numerous examples and exercises with applications in various fields of study such as mathematical sciences, biomathematics, engineering, physics, business, health industry, and economics A wide array of practical applications of network queues and queueing systems, all of which are related to the appropriate stochastic processes Up-to-date topical coverage such as single- and multiserver queues with and without delays, along with the necessary fundamental coverage of probability and difference equations Discussions on queueing models such as single- and multiserver Markovian queues with balking, reneging, delay, feedback, splitting, and blocking, as well as their role in the treatment of networks of queues with and without delay and network reliability Delayed and Network Queues is an excellent textbook for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level courses in applied mathematics, queueing theory, queueing systems, probability, and stochastic processes. The book is also an ideal reference for academics and practitioners in mathematical sciences, biomathematics, operations research, management, engineering, physics, business, economics, health industry, and industrial engineering. Aliakbar Montazer Haghighi, PhD, is Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics at Prairie View A&M University, USA, as well as founding Editor-in-Chief of Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM). His research interests include probability, statistics, stochastic processes, and queueing theory. Among his research publications and books, Dr. Haghighi is the coauthor of Difference and Differential Equations with Applications in Queueing Theory (Wiley, 2013). Dimitar P. Mishev, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Prairie View A&M University, USA. His research interests include differential and difference equations and queueing theory. The author of numerous research papers and three books, Dr. Mishev is the coauthor of Difference and Differential Equations with Applications in Queueing Theory (Wiley, 2013).

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Bacteria in various habitats are subject to continuously changing environmental conditions, such as nutrient deprivation, heat and cold stress, UV radiation, oxidative stress, dessication, acid stress, nitrosative stress, cell envelope stress, heavy metal exposure, osmotic stress, and others. In order to survive, they have to respond to these conditions by adapting their physiology through sometimes drastic changes in gene expression. In addition they may adapt by changing their morphology, forming biofilms, fruiting bodies or spores, filaments, Viable But Not Culturable (VBNC) cells or moving away from stress compounds via chemotaxis. Changes in gene expression constitute the main component of the bacterial response to stress and environmental changes, and involve a myriad of different mechanisms, including (alternative) sigma factors, bi- or tri-component regulatory systems, small non-coding RNA’s, chaperones, CHRIS-Cas systems, DNA repair, toxin-antitoxin systems, the stringent response, efflux pumps, alarmones, and modulation of the cell envelope or membranes, to name a few. Many regulatory elements are conserved in different bacteria; however there are endless variations on the theme and novel elements of gene regulation in bacteria inhabiting particular environments are constantly being discovered. Especially in (pathogenic) bacteria colonizing the human body a plethora of bacterial responses to innate stresses such as pH, reactive nitrogen and oxygen species and antibiotic stress are being described. An attempt is made to not only cover model systems but give a broad overview of the stress-responsive regulatory systems in a variety of bacteria, including medically important bacteria, where elucidation of certain aspects of these systems could lead to treatment strategies of the pathogens. Many of the regulatory systems being uncovered are specific, but there is also considerable “cross-talk” between different circuits. Stress and Environmental Regulation of Gene Expression and Adaptation in Bacteria is a comprehensive two-volume work bringing together both review and original research articles on key topics in stress and environmental control of gene expression in bacteria. Volume One contains key overview chapters, as well as content on one/two/three component regulatory systems and stress responses, sigma factors and stress responses, small non-coding RNAs and stress responses, toxin-antitoxin systems and stress responses, stringent response to stress, responses to UV irradiation, SOS and double stranded systems repair systems and stress, adaptation to both oxidative and osmotic stress, and desiccation tolerance and drought stress. Volume Two covers heat shock responses, chaperonins and stress, cold shock responses, adaptation to acid stress, nitrosative stress, and envelope stress, as well as iron homeostasis, metal resistance, quorum sensing, chemotaxis and biofilm formation, and viable but not culturable (VBNC) cells.Covering the full breadth of current stress and environmental control of gene expression studies and expanding it towards future advances in the field, these two volumes are a one-stop reference for (non) medical molecular geneticists interested in gene regulation under stress.

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With more than 200,000 athletes each year suffering noncontact injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee, there is finally an up-to-date reference for professionals whose work involves developing and implementing programs to prevent such injuries. Understanding and Preventing Noncontact ACL Injuries provides an authoritative description of the biomechanical, clinical, and injury factors pertinent to the athletes—primarily girls and young women—who experience this problem. To help readers understand how to incorporate targeted interventions, the book uses a preventive rather than strictly clinical approach to ACL injuries. It provides a thorough description of the current problem on an international scale, the rationale for developing prevention programs, the discrete risk factors for noncontact ACL injuries, and an analysis of current research data on the effects of interventions designed to prevent these injuries. Understanding and Preventing Noncontact ACL Injuries will help readers -clearly understand the incidence, cost, and need to quantify risk factors related to the onset of noncontact ACL injuries;-compare various prevention programs and learn why prevention programs should be implemented—especially among young women—to reduce the potential for injury; and-understand the interplay between biomechanical and neuromuscular risk factors and become aware of the role hormones, bracing, and biofeedback play.Understanding and Preventing Noncontact ACL Injuries is based on proceedings from a conference conducted by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and draws on the work of renowned experts in the field. The book logically progresses through four parts to help physicians, professionals, coaches, and other readers better understand the problem and how they may play a part in its prevention. Part I addresses the problem of ACL injuries, including the incidence of injury, risk factors, and costs associated with injuries. Part II examines injury prevention programs, their similarities and differences, and their relative effectiveness. Part III presents the latest information on biomechanical and neuromuscular mechanisms of ACL injuries. Part IV explores hormonal and anatomic risk factors and preventive bracing for ACL injuries. To illustrate the preventive approaches that may be used, the book contains photographs of individuals actually performing the progressions involved in the programs. Other helpful resources include take-home messages and clinical notes that relate scientific findings to successful preventive efforts. By providing these tools, the authors hope to provide an easy-to-understand reference that appeals to a broad range of individuals, including athletic directors, coaches, parents, and athletes who would like to learn more about how to implement prevention programs in their schools or other organizations.Understanding and Preventing Noncontact ACL Injuries is a current and unique resource that will be useful for all people affected by this global issue. By combining scientific factors with injury mechanisms, the book will provide readers with valuable knowledge of ACL injuries and help readers implement programs to prevent them.

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