Search results for ""Author Highlights""

Emperor Taizong (r. 626–49) of the Tang is remembered as an exemplary ruler. This study addresses that aura of virtuous sovereignty and Taizong’s construction of a reputation for moral rulership through his own literary writings—with particular attention to his poetry. The author highlights the relationship between historiography and the literary and rhetorical strategies of sovereignty, contending that, for Taizong, and for the concept of sovereignty in general, politics is inextricable from cultural production.The work focuses on Taizong’s literary writings that speak directly to the relationship between cultural form and sovereign power, as well as on the question of how the Tang negotiated dynastic identity through literary stylistics. The author maintains that Taizong’s writings may have been self-serving at times, representing strategic attempts to control his self-image in the eyes of his court and empire, but that they also become the ideal image to which his self was normatively bound. This is the paradox at the heart of imperial authorship: Taizong was simultaneously the author of his representation and was authored by his representation; he was both subject and object of his writings.

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This engaging and easy-to-use natural history guidebook provides a thorough overview of native and honey bee biology and offers tools for identifying the most common bees of California and the Western United States. Full-color illustrations introduce readers to more than 30 genera of native bees, noting each one's needs and habits and placing them in their wider context. The author highlights bees' ties to our own lives, the food we eat, and the habitat we provide, and suggests ways to support bees in our own backyards. In addition to helping readers understand and distinguish among major groups of bees, this guide reveals how bees are an essential part of healthy ecosystem and how many plants, including important crop plants, depend on the pollination they provide. As growing evidence points to declining bee populations, this book offers critical information about the bond between plants and pollinators, and between humans and nature. Thoroughly researched and full of new insights into the ancient process of pollination, Field Guide to the Common Bees of California; Including Bees of the Western United States is invaluable for the window it opens onto the biodiversity, adaptive range, and complexity of invertebrate communities.

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Everything To Play For asks if videogames can achieve egalitarian goals instead of fuelling hyper-materialist, reactionary agendas. Combining cultural theory and materialist critiques with accessible language and personal anecdotes, industry insider Marijam Did engages both novices and seasoned connoisseurs. From the innovations of Pong and Doom to the intricate multiplayer or narrative-driven games, the author highlights the multifaceted stories of the gaming communities and the political actors who organise among them. Crucially, the focus also includes the people who make the games, shedding light on the brutal processes necessary to bring titles to the public.The videogame industry, now larger than the film and music industries combined, has a proven ability to challenge the status quo. With a rich array of examples, Did argues for a nuanced understanding of gaming’s influence so that this extraordinary power can be harnessed for good.

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This timely book explores the neglected risk in the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, illustrating the ways in which four decades of neoliberal economic and public policy has eroded the functional capacity of states to handle catastrophic events. Challenging the very heart of modern nation-states, Imad Moosa comprehensively demonstrates how the pandemic has shed light on existing structural problems that have been ignored by neoliberal governments and policy-makers. The author highlights the implications of the pandemic for democracy, militarism and international relations, as well as its impact on healthcare, inequality, human rights, poverty and homelessness. Drawing on theoretical insights and empirical evidence, Moosa emphasises the importance of sustained government intervention in economic activity at a time in which the free market doctrine has failed to restore equilibrium and deliver prosperity after an international financial shock. A radical and decisive intervention in contemporary economic thought, this book is crucial reading for scholars and researchers in economics and political science, particularly those focusing on the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic recovery. The book’s empirical insights and key policy recommendations will also benefit policy-makers in public health and economics.

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Allah is the most common and contested name in the Islamic tradition - but who is he? Engaging with the age old question of who is the God of Islam, Bruce B. Lawrence stakes out the historical nuance of Allah throughout the past 1500 years, from the earliest mention of his name to his appropriation by cyberspace. It introduces a broad range of perspectives, practices and problems linked to Allah, including debates that are intra religious as well as inter religious, concerning differences among Muslims as well as between Muslims and non Muslim others. Chapters cover the range of Muslim perspectives on Allah and tackle such topics as war in the name of Allah and controversies about the use of the name Allah/ God. Throughout the author highlights the need to look at Islam with fresh eyes and to understand Allah/ God with dispassionate insight. It mixes historical overview with contemporary analysis. It includes a guide to further reading and a glossary of technical terms. It considers the future of Allah in cyberspace. It also includes sidebars to illustrate key terms and a glossary of Arabic/ Islamic words, persons and practices.

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After the Omaha Nation was officially granted its reservation land in northeastern Nebraska in 1854, Omaha culture appeared to succumb to a Euro-American standard of living under the combined onslaught of federal Indian policies, governmental officials, and missionary zealots. At the same time, however, new circular wooden structures appeared on some Omaha homesteads. Blending into the architectural environment of the mainstream culture, these lodges provided the ritual space in which dances and ceremonies could be conducted at a time when such practices were coercively suppressed. Drawing on the oral histories of forty Omaha elders collected in 1992, Dance Lodges of the Omaha People provides insights into how these lodges shaped Omaha cultural identity and illustrates the adaptive abilities of the modern Omaha tribe. The lodges replaced the diminished pre-reservation tribal institutions as maintainers of tribal cohesion and unity and at the same time provided an arena for selective acculturation of outside ideas and behaviors. A new afterword by the author highlights advances in research on these unique structures since 1992 and speculates on the connection between these lodges and the spread of the Omaha Hethushka dance across the Great Plains.

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In Songs of the Factory, Marek Korczynski examines the role that popular music plays in workers’ culture on the factory floor. Reporting on his ethnographic fieldwork in a British factory that manufactures window blinds, Korczynski shows how workers make often-grueling assembly-line work tolerable by permeating their workday with pop music on the radio. The first ethnographic study of musical culture in an industrial workplace, Songs of the Factory draws on socio-musicology, cultural studies, and sociology of work, combining theoretical development, methodological innovation, and a vitality that brings the musical culture of the factory workers to life. Music, Korczynski argues, allows workers both to fulfill their social roles in a regimented industrial environment and to express a sense of resistance to this social order. The author highlights the extensive forms of informal collective resistance within this factory, and argues that the musically informed culture played a key role in sustaining these collective acts of resistance. As well as providing a rich picture of the musical culture and associated forms of resistance in the factory, Korczynski also puts forward new theoretical concepts that have currency in other workplaces and in other rationalized spheres of society.

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This accessible text provides guidance on the inclusion of young children with special educational needs or disabilities in a variety of early education settings. The author highlights the complexity of early identification and assessment of children described as having special educational needs. Practitioners are encouraged to consider make exclusion visible and consider important questions relating to the language and values underpinning the early years policy and practice. The emphasis is on inclusion as a process aimed at supporting young children and their families in order to enable all children with SEN or disabilities the opportunity to participate in activities available to all children in an inclusive learning environment. The author promotes the development of inclusive early years cultures where inclusion of all children is regarded as a right rather than an option. The text has implications for the teaching and learning of all young children not only those perceived as having special educational needs. The theoretical perspectives are supported by examples based on concerns and experiences of parents, children and practitioners. It is essential reading for those working or intending to work with young children.

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This open access book will examine the implications of digitalization for the understanding of humanity, conceived as a community of intelligent agency. It addresses important topics across a range of social and behavioral theories and identifies a range of novel mechanisms and their social behavioral effects. Across the book, the author highlights the expansion of intelligent processing capability brought about by digitalization and the challenges this exposes for integrating artificial and human capabilities. It includes the altered effects of bounded rationality in problem solving and decision making; related changes in the perception of rationality, plus novel myopias and biases. It also seeks to address cognitive intersubjectivity, learning from performance and agentic self-generation; and the novel methods and patterns of reasoned thought which emerge in a digitalized world; and how these mechanisms will combine in making and remaking the world of human experience and understanding. This book examines the problematics and prospects for digitally augmented humanity. In doing so, it maps the terrain for a future science of augmented agency. It will have cross-disciplinary appeal to students and scholars of applied psychology, cognitive and behavioral science, organizational psychology and management, business, finance, and digital cultures and humanities.

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The desert war in Libya and Egypt between 1940 and 1942 has deservedly attracted the attention of many historians. Fought in an unforgiving yet strategically important landscape, the fortunes of the implacable opponents swung wildly. While best remembered for the duel between Montgomery's Eighth Army and Rommel's Afrika Korps and the iconic battle of El Alamein, this fine account describes that there was much more to the story than that. In addition to the role of Imperial and Italian troops, the cast of characters included the controversial Auchinleck, the long-suffering Alexander and many other gifted commanders. Gazala, Bir Hakeim, Alam Halfa and Tobruk battles were among the many fiercely fought battles. The two sides employed weapons that have passed into immortality; Germany's Tiger and Panther tanks and lethal 88mm anti-tank gun. The Messerschmitt BF109 fighter locked horns with desert-modified Spitfires and Hurricanes. The author highlights the vital roles of the Royal Navy, disrupting enemy supplies, and the Royal Air Force, which eventually gained command of the air. For a concise account of this decisive campaign, David Braddock's authoritative yet highly readable history is unlikely to be surpassed.

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Membranes for Low Temperature Fuel Cells provides a comprehensive review of novel and state-of-the-art polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) membranes. The author highlights requirements and considerations for a membrane as an integral part of PEMFC and its interactions with other components. It is an indispensible resource for anyone interested in new PEMFC membrane materials and concerned with the development, optimisation and testing of such membranes. Various composite membranes (polymer and non-polymer) are discussed along with analyses of the latest fi ller materials like graphene, ionic liquids, polymeric ionic liquids, nanostructured metal oxides and membrane concepts unfolding in the field of PEMFC. This book provides the latest academic and technical developments in PEMFC membranes with thorough insights into various preparation, characterisation, and testing methods utilised. Factors affecting proton conduction, water adsorption, and transportation behaviour of membranes are also deliberated upon. Provides the latest academic and technical developments in PEMFC membranes. Reviews recent literature on ex situ studies and in situ single-cell and stack tests investigating the durability (chemical, thermomechanical) and degradation of membranes. Surbhi Sharma, MSc, PhD Working on graphene oxide and fuel cells since 2007, she has published about 50 research articles/book chapters and holds a patent. She has also been awarded various research grants.

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Analyses the involvement of the agro-pastoral al-Hakkamat Baggara women of Darfur in Sudan's recent civil wars and the implications of this for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. WINNER OF THE 2019 AIDOO-SNYDER BOOK PRIZE Al-Hakkamat Baggara women hold an instrumental position in rural Sudan, wielding agency, social and political power. This book uncovers their significant, but widely overlooked, role during the war in Darfur from the 1970s to today's continuing conflict. The author examines the influence they exercised through composing and reciting poems and songs, informal speech and other symbolic acts, and analysestheir impact in the social and political domains. Challenging the pervasive portrayal of women as natural peacebuilders and their roles as passive and submissive, the author highlights how Sudan's state government co-opted al-Hakkamat Baggara women to lobby on its behalf, to rally for war and to advocate for peace. Understanding how they can contribute to the resolution and resettlement processes is vital to sustainable reconciliation and post-conflict transformation of the unstable state. Suad M.E. Musa (PhD) is a Freelance Consultant on gender and women's issues. She worked with the government of Sudan and with CSOs and INGOs in the Horn of Africa and Britain. She alsoworked as Assistant Professor of Sociology at Qatar University.

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Neurodiversity in the workplace can be a gift. Yet only 15% of adults with an autism spectrum condition (ASC) are in full-time employment. This book examines how the working environment can embrace autistic people in a positive way.The author highlights common challenges in the workplace for people with ASC, such as discrimination and lack of communication or the right kind of support from managers and colleagues, and provides strategies for changing them. Setting out practical, reasonable adjustments such as a quiet room or avoiding disruption to work schedules, this book demonstrates how day to day changes in the workplace can make it more inclusive and productive for all employees.Autism in the Workplace is intended for any person with an interest in changing working culture to ensure equality for autistic people. It is an essential resource for employers, managers, trade unionists, people with ASCs and their workmates and supporters.

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Paul Davidson investigates why the 1990s was a decade of financial crises that almost precipitated a global market crash. He explores the reasons why the global economy still struggles with the aftermath of these crises and discusses the possibility that volatile financial markets in the future will have real impacts on whole industries and national economic systems.The author highlights the central role that domestic and international financial markets play in determining the economic growth rate, unemployment rate and international payments position of capitalist economies. He explains why the primary function of financial markets is to create liquidity and demonstrates that a liquid market cannot be efficient, and an efficient market cannot be liquid. He also proves that preventing liquidity problems from developing in national and international financial markets is the key element in fostering prosperity. Statistical evidence and theoretical analysis are combined to demonstrate why orthodox prescriptions for 'liberalizing' labor, product, and capital markets are the wrong policies for promoting a civilized society in the 21st century.Professional economists, financial reporters, government policy makers, those working in international economic organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO, and concerned citizens will all benefit greatly from reading this highly acclaimed book.

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Featuring Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin! A NASA insider tells the exciting story of the people, both well-known and unrecognized, who were responsible for so many daring space missions. Award-winning science writer Rod Pyle profiles the remarkable pilots, scientists, and engineers whose work was instrumental in space missions to every corner of our solar system and beyond. Besides heralded names like Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and Gene Kranz, the author highlights some of the "hidden figures" who played crucial roles in the success of NASA, Soviet, and international space exploration. For example, Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to travel into space, aboard Soviet spacecraft Vostok 6. American Margaret Hamilton was an accomplished mathematician and one of the first female software engineers to design programs for spaceflight, software that proved critical to the success of the moon landing. And Pete Conrad, "salty sailor of the skies," flew twice in the Gemini programs, landed on the moon in Apollo 12, and was the commander of the first crew to visit America's new Skylab space station--its first ever--in 1973. Complemented by many rarely-seen photos and illustrations, these stories of the highly talented and dedicated people, many of whom worked tirelessly behind the scenes, will fascinate and inspire.

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The actions of the German armoured forces during the Second World War is well known. What has not yet been so well told are the actions of the armoured forces from Germany's allies. While it is true that their performance was generally quite secondary in comparison to the Reich,the actions of the Hungarian armoured forces should be highlighted. Hungary not only managed to organize its armoured forces, but developed its own military industry that was able to supply weapons and equipment to its troops. The Hungarian military was able to produce all kinds of weapons, vehicles and armoured vehicles, although they were generally under-gunned and under-armoured. This book rescues Hungary's participation during the Second World War from oblivion through the use of superb photographs, which take the reader from the beginning of the USRR campaign and the conquest of Soviet lands, before ending with the bloody battles to avoid the Soviet and Romanian advance into Hungary (the Siege of Budapest) and the last clashes in Austrian and Slovenian territory before the army's unconditional surrender. The author highlights the bravery and courage of these men, as well as the terrible fate of the Hungarian armoured forces when the Soviet Army invaded Hungary.

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The best brands evoke the emotions of their customers by tapping into their hearts and minds. Individuals connect with brands the same way they connect with people. As a marketer, it's your responsibility to cultivate that relationship with your consumers. In this book, marketing and brand strategist Lydia Michael breaks down the process of building culturally inclusive, long-lasting consumer-brand relationships. Brand Love describes how brands appeal to the emotions of their consumers and why everybody benefits when brands earn the love of their customers. The author explains what marketers need to do to make consumers fall for their brands. The book builds on in-depth brand interviews and insights from companies such as Huda Beauty, LEGO and Toyota. She also shares what she has learned through client work and her observations in multicultural settings. Offering insight into the use of emotional and rational drivers, she introduces a "brand love" model designed to inspire brand loyalty and advocacy. With emotional elements such as humanization, personalization and trust alongside rational elements like relevance, differentiation and innovation, the author highlights the best ways to create or reinforce brand love to help your organization remain profitable and a source of inspiration, even during challenging times. Whether you're a marketer for a big or small brand, Brand Love will show you how to capture the hearts of your customers.

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In this unprecedentedly wide-ranging account of art, design, and architecture in the complex Central Europe of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during its momentous last decades, Elizabeth Clegg achieves a forceful integration of political and cultural developments. Comparing the situation in eight cities—among them Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Cracow, and Zagreb—the author highlights contrasts, rivalries, parallels, and interconnections across this colorful and important region. The book deals with all the chief ethnic/national categories of Austria-Hungary and embraces all the visual arts. Focusing on their public display, appraisal, and consumption, Clegg shows how the harmonious/antagonistic coexistence of institutions, publications, and events gave rise to the dynamic art life of a period that would end in a turning point for Central Europe. As vividly revealed, this was a time and place marked by a simultaneous fear and celebration of ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity that has enormous international resonance a century later.

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Following the demise of the Washington Consensus, developing countries are looking for new ideas to guide their development. This innovative book suggests taking seriously some of the findings of evolutionary economics and paying specific attention to the institutions that matter for economic development, particularly those related to science, technology and innovation. The author highlights how the institutional framework that will allow countries to grow should include universities, government laboratories and policy incentives for human capital and business research and development. He argues that there are no simple policies and no 'one-size-fits-all' solutions, and that the majority of developing countries have not yet found the right combinations of institutions. The book suggests that building successful national and regional innovation systems requires at least one generation of continuous effort, significant trial and error, and a thorough knowledge of the experiences of the OECD countries that built those institutions in the past. It moves on to demonstrate how certain countries such as Canada, Finland and Singapore have succeeded in catching-up and how several others, for example Argentina, Egypt, Mexico and the Philippines, have failed. It then pinpoints the main industrial, science, technology and innovation policies required by developing countries to achieve their goals. This unique and timely book will appeal to postgraduate students of international economics, international business and development economics, as well as students of science, technology and society.

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Offers a unique comparative exploration of the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity. The idea of 'tradition' has enjoyed a variety of senses and definitions in Islam and Christianity, but both have cleaved at certain times to a supposedly 'golden age' of tradition from the past. In comparing the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity, key themes are explored: * The roles of authority * Fundamentalism * The use of reason * Ijtihad (independent thinking) * Original comparisons between Islamic Salafism and Christian Lefebvrism The author suggests there has been a chain of thinkers from classical Islam to the twentieth century who share a common interest in ijtihad (or independent thinking). Drawing on past and present evidence, and using Christian tradition as a focus for contrast and comparison, the author highlights the seemingly paradoxical harmony between tradition and itjihad in Islam. The author draws on a variety of primary and secondary sources including contemporary newspaper and journal articles, documents and letters, adding an immediacy to a lucid and stimulating text. Key Features * Proposes a new vocabulary for the articulation of Islam * Offers original comparisons between Salafism and Lefebvrism * Highlights the paradoxical harmony between tradition and itjihad in Islam * Articulates the yearning amongst today's Muslim and Christian traditionalists for a revival of a 'golden age' from whence, they believe, all good traditions derive

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Despite being recognised by victim-survivors as a tactic used by abusers, economic abuse has received little attention in research, policy, or practice. Written by an internationally recognised expert on economic abuse, this powerful book provides a crucial validation of the lived experience of victim-survivors, and highlights the urgent need to develop effective responses to the issue. Breaking fresh ground, Understanding and Responding to Economic Abuse exposes the many ways in which abusers seek to control their intimate partners through economic resources and reinforces the importance of holding abusers accountable for their behaviour. Whilst the focus of this book is on Westminster policy in the UK, the author highlights how the case for ‘naming’ and defining economic abuse in statute has wider resonance. Making a trailblazing case for recognising this form of abuse, Sharp-Jeffs argues the case to expand the coordinated community response model to domestic abuse to address economic control through involving ‘non-traditional’ stakeholders such as money/debt advice organisations and the financial services sector, alongside specialist domestic abuse services and statutory agencies. Coming in the wake of the Domestic Abuse Act (2021), which broadened discourse from financial to economic abuse, Sharp-Jeffs turns our attention to this critical momentum for change and makes an important step towards shining a light on a form of coercive and controlling behaviour which has been invisible for too long.

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Derivatives Models on Models takes a theoretical and practical look at some of the latest and most important ideas behind derivatives pricing models. In each chapter the author highlights the latest thinking and trends in the area. A wide range of topics are covered, including valuation methods on stocks paying discrete dividend, Asian options, American barrier options, Complex barrier options, reset options, and electricity derivatives. The book also discusses the latest ideas surrounding finance like the robustness of dynamic delta hedging, option hedging, negative probabilities and space-time finance. The accompanying CD-ROM with additional Excel sheets includes the mathematical models covered in the book. The book also includes interviews with some of the world’s top names in the industry, and an insight into the history behind some of the greatest discoveries in quantitative finance. Interviewees include: Clive Granger, Nobel Prize winner in Economics 2003, on Cointegration Nassim Taleb on Black Swans Stephen Ross on Arbitrage Pricing Theory Emanuel Derman the Wall Street Quant Edward Thorp on Gambling and Trading Peter Carr the Wall Street Wizard of Option Symmetry and Volatility Aaron Brown on Gambling, Poker and Trading David Bates on Crash and Jumps Andrei Khrennikov on Negative Probabilities Elie Ayache on Option Trading and Modeling Peter Jaeckel on Monte Carlo Simulation Alan Lewis on Stochastic Volatility and Jumps Paul Wilmott on Paul Wilmott Knut Aase on Catastrophes and Financial Economics Eduardo Schwartz the Yoga Master of Quantitative Finance Bruno Dupire on Local and Stochastic Volatility Models

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Drug problems have a profound impact on families. Mothers and fathers, brothers, sisters and children are frequently caught in the maelstrom that drug problems almost inevitably create. Within the UK there is a serious lack of information on the experiences of families attempting to live and cope with a family members' drug problem. Drug Addiction and Families is an exploration of the impact of drug use on families, and of the extent to which current practice meets the needs of families as well as problem drug users.Drawing on a substantial research study comprising interviews with problem drug users and their extended family, Marina Barnard examines the effects of drug use not only on drug users themselves, but also the feelings of anger, sadness, anxiety, shame and loss that are commonly experienced by their extended family. She records the effects of drug use on family dynamics and relationships, including possible social and emotional costs. Its impact on the physical and mental health of family members is also discussed. The author highlights the often overlooked role of grandparents in protecting the children of drug users and considers the perspectives of practitioners such as teachers, social workers and health professionals. The conclusions drawn point to the fact that current service provision, in treating the problem drug user in isolation, fails to address the needs of drug-affected families, and misses the opportunity to develop family-oriented support and treatment.This accessible and insightful book is invaluable reading for drug workers, social workers, health professionals and all practitioners working with families affected by drug use.

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This book charts new waters in the study of European naval power. It explores the evolution of Europe’s navies from the final days of the Cold War to a period of hybrid wars and renewed strategic competition, manifest in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly aggressive behavior in the Asia-Pacific Region. The study compares and contrasts the development of maritime forces across the continent during a period of fundamental change within the global security environment. By applying a novel methodology that links strategies, force structures, and operations, the book determines when, why, and to what degree each navy either continued to focus on competitive and state-centric missions, aimed at the defense of national territory and interests, or rather embraced an entirely new naval paradigm, based on collaborative and system-centric understanding of shared maritime security. The author highlights how inconsistencies and shortsighted naval policies have led to dangerous capability shortfalls and offers several recommendations for navies to navigate successfully the future maritime environment. This book provides an invaluable resource for policymakers, practitioners, scholars, and students interested in European security, transatlantic defense cooperation, and global maritime security issues.

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State-by-state listings and explanations of municipal landscape ordinances In U.S. Landscape Ordinances, Buck Abbey furnishes landscape architects, planners, land-use attorneys, and students with a much-needed resource. This state-by-state presentation demystifies the complex planning laws and ordinances that determine landscape design parameters for more than 300 American cities. The author highlights sections of each ordinance that pertain to landscape architecture, boils the legalese down to plain English, explains the law's main purpose and regulatory function, and spells out the practical implications from a design perspective. With the help of more than fifty diagrams and drawings that clarify complex spatial concepts, U.S. Landscape Ordinances reviews the entire spectrum of green laws currently on the books, including ordinances that cover: * Parking lots and vehicular use areas * Landscape buffers and screens * Street tree plantings * Open space design * Irrigation * Land clearing and building sites The product of ten years of painstaking research and analysis, U.S. Landscape Ordinances is a unique and invaluable tool for professionals in landscape design and municipal planning. It also offers a deep reservoir of information for students, municipal legislators, community activists, and anyone interested in understanding or developing a community's landscape ordinances.

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Introducing nuanced and rich data around the growing interest in desistance and what leads someone to move away from crime, this book explores the ongoing and individual desistance journeys of ex-offenders during re-integration into society. Through in-depth interviews and his own lived experiences as a prisoner, the author highlights the importance of Higher Education in the desistance process as a conduit for change and rehabilitation. He explores the complex life process of the ex-offender, investigating the introspective and existential experiences that lead individuals towards an ongoing desistance journey in which they re-evaluate their sense of selves and develop new identities. Arguing that in the current criminal justice system the focus on crime overshadows the more complex and unending process of desistance, the author showcases how the system provides no formal rite of passage for ex-offenders attempting to re-integrate into society. In response to this, this book synthesises and critically reviews desistance theory as it has emerged within contemporary criminology, and offers an opportunity for readers to engage with the complexities of the lives analysed in this research.

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This engaging and easy-to-use natural history guidebook provides a thorough overview of native and honey bee biology and offers tools for identifying the most common bees of California and the Western United States. Full-color illustrations introduce readers to more than 30 genera of native bees, noting each one's needs and habits and placing them in their wider context. The author highlights bees' ties to our own lives, the food we eat, and the habitat we provide, and suggests ways to support bees in our own backyards. In addition to helping readers understand and distinguish among major groups of bees, this guide reveals how bees are an essential part of healthy ecosystem and how many plants, including important crop plants, depend on the pollination they provide. As growing evidence points to declining bee populations, this book offers critical information about the bond between plants and pollinators, and between humans and nature. Thoroughly researched and full of new insights into the ancient process of pollination, Field Guide to the Common Bees of California; Including Bees of the Western United States is invaluable for the window it opens onto the biodiversity, adaptive range, and complexity of invertebrate communities.

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The Learning Self This new book from the award-winning author of Psychology and Adult Learning puts the spotlight on the kind of learning that brings about significant personal change. Tennant explores the techniques, processes, and practices educators can use to promote learning that leads to change and examines assumptions about self and identity, how we are formed, and our capacity for change. The Learning Self addresses the different concepts of self and how they frame our understanding of personal transformation. The book opens with an exploration of the key concepts of self, identity, and subjectivity. The remaining chapters fall into two distinct groups. The first comprises chapters dealing with different versions of the self: The Authentic or Real Self, The Autonomous Self, The Repressed Self, The Socially Constructed Self, and The Storied Self. Tennant's aim in each case is to analyze the issues that each conception of the self presents and to comment on the implications for learning for personal change. The second group of chapters—Knowing Oneself, Controlling Oneself, Caring for Oneself, and (Re)creating Oneself—analyze general interventions to change the self. Although the focus in these chapters is on techniques and methods, the author highlights the versions of the self being promoted in their use. Throughout the book, Tennant posits that individuals can be agents in their own self-formation and change by understanding and acting on the circumstances and forces that surround and shape them.Educators, he argues, must be open to different theoretical ideas and practices while simultaneously valuing these practices and viewing them with a critical eye.

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This is an important first book on the major pivotal role Hampshire played in World War II. You will find principal details of the genesis for D-Day and how the Battle for Britain happened on a day by day basis. The author highlights the people s experience of total war from the blitz in Portsmouth, Gosport and Southampton and raids throughout Hampshire. Whilst, at sea and in the dockyards you will find details of the Royal Navy s role. As well as saluting the role of civilians creating and building Spitfires and Hurricanes, _Hampshire at War 1939 - 1945_ places a rightful spotlight on the role Hampshire's women played in the final victory. Hampshire s major effort towards final victory arose from the towns and hamlets of the County set out in this unique book. Training for the secret war and espionage took place in Beaulieu and the training for the Cockleshell Heroes took place around Southsea. Hampshire s War involved the arrival of men and women from all over the world but in particular from Canada and America with important cultural changes for everyone living there. In 1940, when invasion was threatened, a defence of Britain had to be oganised and Hampshire's coast was particularly vulnerable. Details of how German troops would be resisted after landings in the Solent and along Hampshire s coast are also explored. _Hampshire at war 1939 - 1945_ traces the progress of evacuating its children from vulnerable cities such as Southampton and Portsmouth and records the experience of children themselves. But most importantly, Murray Rowlands provides the experience of living through WWII, as it happened.

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A comprehensive review of the impact of dietary nutraceuticals on platelet function and its relationship to cardiovascular disease Nutraceuticals and Human Blood Platelet Function offers a summary of the most current evidence on the effects of anti-platelet factors isolated mainly from food and natural sources, their structure function relationship, bioavailability, mechanisms of actions, and also information on human trials data. The author—a noted expert in the field— explores platelet function and their roles in development of CVD, functional foods and bioactive compounds in CVD risk factors. The author highlights platelets, their mechanisms of actions, data from epidemiological studies, structure-function relationship clinical trial data, ex vivo and in vitro data. This important resource will focus primarily on human studies and emphasize functional and physiological implications of the nutritional impact on platelet function and CVD that could be an important approach to highlight the concept of preventive CVD nutrition. An authoritative text, Nutraceuticals and Human Blood Platelet Function: Offers a unique resource that connects nutrition with platelet function and its impact on cardiovascular disease Contains an evidenced-based approach, including data from human and animal clinical studies Reveals the impact of bioactive compounds and their effect on platelets Presents a text that is authored by an expert with vast experience in the field of nutrition and platelet function Written for professionals, academics, researchers, and students associated in the area of nutrition, Nutraceuticals and Human Blood Platelet Function offers a review of the most current research on the effects of platelet function and their roles in development of CVD, functional foods and bioactive compounds in CVD risk factors.

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Translates technical jargon into practical business communications solutions This book takes readers from traditional voice, fax, video, and data services delivered via separate platforms to a single, unified platform delivering all of these services seamlessly via the Internet. With its clear, jargon-free explanations, the author enables all readers to better understand and assess the growing number of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and unified communications (UC) products and services that are available for businesses. VoIP and Unified Communications is based on the author's careful review and synthesis of more than 7,000 pages of published standards as well as a broad range of datasheets, websites, white papers, and webinars. It begins with an introduction to IP technology and then covers such topics as: Packet transmission and switching VoIP signaling and call processing How VoIP and UC are defining the future Interconnections with global services Network management for VoIP and UC This book features a complete chapter dedicated to cost analyses and payback calculations, enabling readers to accurately determine the short- and long-term financial impact of migrating to various VoIP and UC products and services. There's also a chapter detailing major IP systems hardware and software. Throughout the book, diagrams illustrate how various VoIP and UC components and systems work. In addition, the author highlights potential problems and threats to UC services, steering readers away from common pitfalls. Concise and to the point, this text enables readers—from novices to experienced engineers and technical managers—to understand how VoIP and UC really work so that everyone can confidently deal with network engineers, data center gurus, and top management.

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The two-hundredth anniversary of the U.S. Constitution and the intense debates surrounding the recent nominees to the Supreme Court have refocused attention on one of the most fundamental documents in U.S. history -- and on the judges who settle disputes over its interpretation. Liberty under Law is a concise and readable history of the U.S. Supreme Court, from its antecedents in colonial and British legal tradition to the present. William M. Wiecek surveys the impact of the Court's power of judicial review on important aspects of the nation's political, economic, and social life. The author highlights important decisions on issues that range from the scope and legitimacy of judicial review itself to civil rights, censorship, the rights of privacy, separation of church and state, and the powers of the President and Congress to conduct foreign affairs. Wiecek's own beliefs about the Court and the Constitution are unabashed and clearly stated. He expresses admiration for John Marshall while critically reviewing the mixed achievements of Marshall's successor, Roger Taney, author of the infamous Dred Scott opinion, which upheld the legitimacy of slavery. And he offers sharp criticism of the Court's "formalist" era in the early twentieth century, when judicial obstructionists "sought to shield a minority of wealth from the effects of democratic politics." Throughout, Wiecek underscores the importance of disagreements over just what law is, and over the Court's role in interpreting that law. In so doing, he broadens the context for current debates about the Constitution and efforts to establish what some have called a "jurisprudence of original intention." The mirror of history, heshows, reveals the limitations of such a narrow scope of interpretation.

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This book starts with an explanation of the phenomenon of pressure transients and how they may arise. It then gives an analysis of the constraints on the magnitude of transient pressures and the need for surge alleviation measures. Equations describing transient motion in pipelines are shown in a straight-forward manner and these are used to introduce the reader to some practical methods of computer analysis in use today. Case studies and assessments of systems and equipment. The author examines a range of case studies involving different types of systems and the types of surge suppression equipment which may be suited to each. Chapters are devoted to various aspects of pipelines which can have a bearing upon pressure transient behaviour. These include flexible pipeline systems and more complicated networks that involve branching and looped pipelines. The presence of air or gas within a system is also dealt with along with considerations for the development of persistent oscillations. Practical, descriptive and enlightening. This practical book provides an indepth analysis of actual systems, with emphasis on the type of hydraulic transient behaviour to be expected in each kind of configuration. Mathematical treatment is covered in a straightforward manner without the need to rely on advanced mathematical skills. Thus, the descriptive nature of this book allows the reader to understand behaviour without constant reference to equations. Due to his extensive experience and insight, the author highlights various pitfalls and provides ideas on when the physical extent of a study can be truncated. Where possible simplified equations are presented to enable rapid assessment of surge equipment capacities – such as those used for pressure vessels, feeder tanks and buffer tanks.

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Analyses the involvement of the agro-pastoral al-Hakkamat Baggara women of Darfur in Sudan's recent civil wars and the implications of this for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. WINNER OF THE 2019 AIDOO-SNYDER BOOK PRIZE Al-Hakkamat Baggara women hold an instrumental position in rural Sudan, wielding agency, social and political power. This book uncovers their significant, but widely overlooked, role during the war in Darfur from the 1970s to today's continuing conflict. The author examines the influence they exercised through composing and reciting poems and songs, informal speech and other symbolic acts, and analysestheir impact in the social and political domains. Challenging the pervasive portrayal of women as natural peacebuilders and their roles as passive and submissive, the author highlights how Sudan's state government co-opted al-Hakkamat Baggara women to lobby on its behalf, to rally for war and to advocate for peace. Understanding how they can contribute to the resolution and resettlement processes is vital to sustainable reconciliation and post-conflict transformation of the unstable state. Suad M.E. Musa (PhD) is a Freelance Consultant on gender and women's issues. She worked with the government of Sudan and with CSOs and INGOs in the Horn of Africa and Britain. She alsoworked as Assistant Professor of Sociology at Qatar University.

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The provision of food is undergoing radical transformations throughout the global community. Peter Oosterveer argues that, as a consequence, conventional national governmental regulations can no longer adequately respond to existing and emerging food risks and to environmental concerns. This book examines these challenges. Translating recent innovative thinking in the social sciences - as seen in the work of Manuel Castells and John Urry amongst others - to the world of food, this book reviews the challenges facing global food governance and the innovative regulatory arrangements that are being introduced by different governments, NGOs and private companies. The analysis includes case-studies on the European BSE crisis, GM-food regulation, salmon and shrimp farming and food labelling. The author highlights how contemporary governance arrangements also have to acknowledge increasing consumer demand for food produced with care for the environment, animal welfare and social justice. Developing and implementing adequate global food governance arrangements therefore demands the active involvement of private firms, consumers, and civil society organisations with national governments.Peter Oosterveer's book will appeal to scholars - postgraduate and above - involved in industrial organization, agricultural studies and environmental sciences as well as those with an interest in the globalisation and governance of this important and topical area.

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Paul Davidson investigates why the 1990s was a decade of financial crises that almost precipitated a global market crash. He explores the reasons why the global economy still struggles with the aftermath of these crises and discusses the possibility that volatile financial markets in the future will have real impacts on whole industries and national economic systems.The author highlights the central role that domestic and international financial markets play in determining the economic growth rate, unemployment rate and international payments position of capitalist economies. He explains why the primary function of financial markets is to create liquidity and demonstrates that a liquid market cannot be efficient, and an efficient market cannot be liquid. He also proves that preventing liquidity problems from developing in national and international financial markets is the key element in fostering prosperity. Statistical evidence and theoretical analysis are combined to demonstrate why orthodox prescriptions for 'liberalizing' labor, product, and capital markets are the wrong policies for promoting a civilized society in the 21st century.Professional economists, financial reporters, government policy makers, those working in international economic organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO, and concerned citizens will all benefit greatly from reading this highly acclaimed book.

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A comprehensive text on financial market operations management Financial Market Operations Management offers anyone involved with administering, maintaining, and improving the IT systems within financial institutions a comprehensive text that covers all the essential information for managing operations. Written by Keith Dickinson—an expert on the topic—the book is comprehensive, practical, and covers the five essential areas of operations and management including participation and infrastructure, trade life cycle, asset servicing, technology, and the regulatory environment. This comprehensive guide also covers the limitations and boundaries of operational systems and focuses on their interaction with external parties including clients, counterparties, exchanges, and more. This essential resource reviews the key aspects of operations management in detail, including an examination of the entire trade life cycle, new issue distribution of bonds and equities, securities financing, as well as corporate actions, accounting, and reconciliations. The author highlights specific operational processes and challenges and includes vital formulae, spreadsheet applications, and exhibits. Offers a comprehensive resource for operational staff in financial services Covers the key aspects of operations management Highlights operational processes and challenges Includes an instructors manual, a test bank, and a solution manual This vital resource contains the information, processes, and illustrative examples needed for a clear understanding of financial market operations.

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Written by Chitram Lutchman, a project management professional with more than 20 years of field and business experience, Project Execution: A Practical Approach to Industrial and Commercial Project Management gives you a more optimistic view of this exciting and challenging area. The book focuses on the essential requirements for successful execution of commercial and industrial projects. It differs from other project management books by focusing exclusively on the Execution Stage of the project, leveraging this opportunity for value maximization for the organization.Lutchman identifies people, process, and systems readiness as key components of an overall Milestone Readiness Process. When managed properly, this readiness approach to project management greatly increases the ability of project leaders to deliver on budget and on schedule. The author highlights practical measures and tools that can be used by Project Leaders to promote smooth and controlled execution of a project, rewarding all stakeholders through a collective value maximization effort. He also pinpoints safety as a priority, strong leadership behaviors and stakeholder relations and management as key requirements for success. Lutchman draws on his in-the-trenches know-how and frontline experiences to provide practical recommendations for project execution requirements that, while intuitive, are very likely to be forgotten given the many competing priorities of project leaders.Whether you are a seasoned professional with years of experience or a novice just getting your feet wet, this book enhances your preparedness, skills, and capabilities in project execution or project support roles. This easy-to-follow road map is well equipped with practical tools, ideas, and concepts that enhances your ability to keep projects on budget and on schedule.

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Following the demise of the Washington Consensus, developing countries are looking for new ideas to guide their development. This innovative book suggests taking seriously some of the findings of evolutionary economics and paying specific attention to the institutions that matter for economic development, particularly those related to science, technology and innovation. The author highlights how the institutional framework that will allow countries to grow should include universities, government laboratories and policy incentives for human capital and business research and development. He argues that there are no simple policies and no 'one-size-fits-all' solutions, and that the majority of developing countries have not yet found the right combinations of institutions. The book suggests that building successful national and regional innovation systems requires at least one generation of continuous effort, significant trial and error, and a thorough knowledge of the experiences of the OECD countries that built those institutions in the past. It moves on to demonstrate how certain countries such as Canada, Finland and Singapore have succeeded in catching-up and how several others, for example Argentina, Egypt, Mexico and the Philippines, have failed. It then pinpoints the main industrial, science, technology and innovation policies required by developing countries to achieve their goals. This unique and timely book will appeal to postgraduate students of international economics, international business and development economics, as well as students of science, technology and society.

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This unique work of evidence scholarship details the development of marketised forensic science provision in the UK. Exploring the impact that public policy developments have had upon the sector, it delves into the re-structuring of both the governance and delivery of expert scientific evidence. Using first-hand accounts drawn from empirical research, this study analyses the practices and perspectives of forensic experts and criminal justice personnel, with a particular focus on the influence of standardisation, expertise, and regulation on scientific method. Expanding our understanding of the ways in which forensic scientists have responded to policy-driven structural changes, the author highlights the effects of resulting adaptations. Challenging subsisting accounts of law’s deference to expert knowledge, this work uncovers the normative and conceptual underpinnings of law and science, to provide an innovative account of the practice of case construction. Using comparative case-study methods, the study highlights the need for a genuine theoretical engagement between the two domains and supports this endeavour with a range of empirically informed discussions, and detailed theoretical analyses. Revisiting the landmark cases, relevant legislative provisions, and government reports, the study offers a trenchant analysis of law’s mutable understandings of expertise and scientific method. Marketisation and Forensic Science Provision in England and Wales thus lays the foundations for a more rational and systematic approach to the consumption of expert evidence.

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Public Sculpture of Lancashire and Cumbria is a fascinating book that provides much needed attention to the best public sculpture and monuments in these north-west counties. With an invaluable introduction and notes, the author highlights in particular works of art that are in need of restoration or protection by local authorities and other owners.The art works included are mostly in urban areas however some are tucked away on moors and hilltops, and can be reached by a modest walk, and are thus less familiar. Many entries are accompanied by original photographs, often showing details of the craftsmanship. This book highlights the brilliant work of local sculptors, including several women, who have been neglected over the years and were suppressed by the usual dominance of craftsmen from London and the south east. Their biographies appear at the end of the book.Locations of the public sculpture are given and each dedicated entry provides a description and the measurements of the sculpture; records its inscriptions and its condition; the reason for its commemoration; the chief advocate and process of the commission; its sources of funding and cost; the choice of artist and source of the materials; the relationship between the artist and the architect; the name of the bronze founder or builder; the historical and political context; and the date and details of the unveiling ceremony.

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Offers a unique comparative exploration of the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity. The idea of 'tradition' has enjoyed a variety of senses and definitions in Islam and Christianity, but both have cleaved at certain times to a supposedly 'golden age' of tradition from the past. In comparing the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity, key themes are explored: * The roles of authority * Fundamentalism * The use of reason * Ijtihad (independent thinking) * Original comparisons between Islamic Salafism and Christian Lefebvrism The author suggests there has been a chain of thinkers from classical Islam to the twentieth century who share a common interest in ijtihad (or independent thinking). Drawing on past and present evidence, and using Christian tradition as a focus for contrast and comparison, the author highlights the seemingly paradoxical harmony between tradition and itjihad in Islam. The author draws on a variety of primary and secondary sources including contemporary newspaper and journal articles, documents and letters, adding an immediacy to a lucid and stimulating text. Key Features * Proposes a new vocabulary for the articulation of Islam * Offers original comparisons between Salafism and Lefebvrism * Highlights the paradoxical harmony between tradition and itjihad in Islam * Articulates the yearning amongst today's Muslim and Christian traditionalists for a revival of a 'golden age' from whence, they believe, all good traditions derive

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This book is unique in providing a comprehensive, up-to-date synthesis of what is known about soil biodiversity and the factors that regulate its distribution, as well as the functional significance of below-ground biodiversity for ecosystem form and function. It describes the vast diversity of biota that live in the soil environment - the most complex habitat on Earth - and discusses the factors that act as determinants of this diversity across different spatial and temporal scales. The Biology of Soil also considers how biotic interactions in soil influence the important soil processes of decomposition and nutrient cycling . It demonstrates how interactions and feedbacks between diverse plant and soil communities act as important drivers of ecosystem form and function. The importance of these relationships for understanding how ecosystems respond to global change phenomena, including climate change, is discussed in depth. Much is still to be learned about the soil biota and their roles in ecosystems, and the author highlights some of the many challenges that face ecologists in the exploration of soil. Richard Bardgett has wide experience in soil and terrestrial ecology, and his background of research in many ecosystems is reflected in this book which is the most comprehensive, up-to-date volume currently available in soil ecology. It provides an introduction to the biology of soil, and it also discusses the most recent developments in this progressive field of ecology. The importance of soil biotic interactions for community and ecosystem ecology is illustrated through the use of numerous examples and case studies. The Biology of Soil provides an excellent, easy to read introduction for anyone working in the field of soil ecology and related disciplines, and will be ideal for students taking undergraduate and postgraduate courses in soil ecology, plant-soil relationships, ecosystem ecology, and land management.

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From vehicles to music, power generation to retail, every aspect of our daily routine has experienced drastic changes in the recent past, driven by secular forces such as digitization, a growing focus on sustainability, regulatory changes and evolving consumer behavior. Financial services are no exception. A paradigm change is at play in the financial sector, with a surge in competition from non-traditional actors, a revolution in customer experience evidenced by rising transparency and customer-centric strategies. FinTech is disrupting financial services, providing a historic opportunity for formally underserved customers, a formidable threat to existing banks and a critical challenge to regulators. Through the lens of FinTech (financial technology) — including payments, lending platforms, insurtech, superapps and market infrastructure — the author highlights the practical policy opportunities and risks of financial inclusion with a wealth of data.This book tells the story of entrepreneurs, companies, investors, researchers and regulators who are building the financial services of tomorrow and the mechanisms that will allow us as a society to fulfill the promise of inclusion. There are still challenges to overcome, particularly high levels of informality, subpar quality in financial services, and low levels of financial education. Regulators play a crucial role to foster inclusion, proposing sandboxes and stepping up their efforts against risks triggered by technology such as monopolistic behavior, consumer protection and cybercrime.Finance with a Purpose combines the theory in the fields of economics, finance and law with the practice of financial institutions, corporates, households and investors. By combining the latest academic research with ample professional experience in emerging markets, this book is essential for policymakers, scholars, and any reader who wants to understand the recent progress in financial inclusion and how it can be used to alleviate inequality and foster economic development.

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The first comprehensive study of medieval changelings and associated attitudes to the health and care of children in the period. The changeling - a monstrous creature swapped for a human child by malevolent powers - is an enduring image in the popular imagination; dubbing a child a changeling is traditionally understood as a way to justify the often-violent rejection of a disabled or ailing infant. Belief in the reality of changelings is famously attested in Stephen of Bourbon's disapproving thirteenth-century account of rites at the shrine of Saint Guinefort the Holy Greyhound, where sick children were brought to be cured. However, the focus on the St. Guinefort rituals has meant some scholarly neglect of the wealth of other sources of knowledge (including mystery plays and medical texts) and the nuances with which the changeling motif was used in this period. This interdisciplinary study considers the idea of the changeling as a cultural construct through an examination of a broad range of medical, miracle, and imaginative texts, as well as the lives of three more conventional Saints, Stephen, Bartholomew and Lawrence, who, in their infancy, were said to have been replaced by a demonic changeling. The author highlights how people from all walks of life were invested in both creating and experiencing the images, texts and artefacts depicting these changelings, and examines societal tensions regarding infants and children: their health, their care, and their position within the familial unit.

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Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within the Solar System and of exoplanets far beyond it come together to help us understand the habitability of Earth, and how these findings guide the search for exoplanets that could support life. The author highlights how, within two decades of the discovery of the first planets outside the Solar System in the 1990s, scientists concluded that planets are so common that most stars are orbited by them. The lives of exoplanets and their stars, as of our Solar System and its Sun, are inextricably interwoven. Stars are the seeds around which planets form, and they provide light and warmth for as long as they shine. At the end of their lives, stars expel massive amounts of newly forged elements into deep space, and that ejected material is incorporated into subsequent generations of planets. How do we learn about these distant worlds? What does the exploration of other planets tell us about Earth? Can we find out what the distant future may have in store for us? What do we know about exoworlds and starbirth, and where do migrating hot Jupiters, polluted white dwarfs, and free-roaming nomad planets fit in? And what does all that have to do with the habitability of Earth, the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, and the operation of the globe-spanning network of the sciences?

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A reference for those working at the interface of operations planning and optimization modeling, Operations Planning: Mixed Integer Optimization Models blends essential theory and powerful approaches to practical operations planning problems. It presents a set of classical optimization models with widespread application in operations planning. The discussion of each of these classical models begins with the motivation for studying the problem as well as examples of the problem’s application in operations planning contexts. The book explores special structural results and properties of optimal solutions that have led to effective algorithmic solution approaches for each problem class.Each of the models and solution methods presented is the result of high-impact research that has been published in the scholarly literature, with appropriate references cited throughout the book. The author highlights the close relationships among the models, examining those situations in which a particular model results as a special case of other related models or how one model generalizes another. Understanding these relationships allows you to more easily characterize new models being developed through their relationships to classical models. The models and methods presented in the book have widespread application in operations planning. It enables you to recognize the structural similarities between models and to recognize these structural elements within other contexts. It also gives you an understanding of various critical operations research techniques and classical operations planning models, without the need to consult numerous sources.

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Will there be war with China? This book provides the most complete and accurate assessment of the probability of conflict between the United States and the rising Asian superpower. Equally important, it lays out an in-depth analysis of the possible pathways to peace. Written like a geopolitical detective story, the narrative encourages reader interaction by starting each chapter with an intriguing question that often challenges conventional wisdom. Based on interviews with more than thirty top experts, the author highlights a number of disturbing facts about China's recent military buildup and the shifting balance of power in Asia: the Chinese are deploying game-changing "carrier killer" ballistic missiles; some of America's supposed allies in Europe and Asia are selling highly lethal weapons systems to China in a perverse twist on globalization; and, on the U.S. side, debilitating cutbacks in the military budget send a message to the world that America is not serious about its "pivot to Asia." In the face of these threatening developments, the book stresses the importance of maintaining US military strength and preparedness and strengthening alliances, while warning against a complacent optimism that relies on economic engagement, negotiations, and nuclear deterrence to ensure peace. Accessible to readers from all walks of life, this multidisciplinary work blends geopolitics, economics, history, international relations, military doctrine, and political science to provide a better understanding of one of the most vexing problems facing the world.

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