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In light of the resurgence of inflation in developed industrialised countries following a period of inordinately low inflation, this book analyses the causes and devastating effects of inflation by drawing lessons from the past. Focusing on the German hyperinflation of the 1920s and the inflationary waves of the 1970s, it examines the resulting economic crises and their influence on the subsequent periods of social and political turmoil, namely the fascism of the 1930s and the neoliberal revolution of the 1980s. Featuring five detailed case studies on inflationary waves in various countries in the 1970s, the book identifies economic policy errors of the past, seeking to prevent their recurrence. Offering empirical and theoretical insights alike, the authors present strategies for effectively combating inflation and deflation. In turn, the book assesses the complex ties between wage increases, income distribution, and price changes, ultimately providing valuable recommendations on how wage policy can be used to stabilise price level increases at a low level in a world characterised by diverse and extreme economic shocks.¿The Resurgence of Inflation¿ fosters a vital discourse on wage and price dynamics, economic development and the role of trade unions, making it an essential read for policymakers, economists, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of today¿s economic challenges.

This book presents the results of an ethno-psychological study of Mexican siblings which aims to contribute to the study of the relationships between brothers and sisters from the perspective of social psychology. Building upon the Mexican school of ethnopsychology, the study presented in this volume shows how psychosocial processes shape the relationships between siblings and how these relationships affect the development of boys and girls in emerging adulthood (between 18 and 25 years). The relationship between siblings is the first laboratory through which anyone who has a brother or sister learns to establish social relationships. Taking this into account, the study presented in this book analyzed 1240 emerging Mexican adults to identify the most important psychosocial variables that contribute to the establishment and development of sibling relationships. The results of the study show the central role played by attachment styles in the establishment of this relationship and how both positive aspects ¿ such as closeness, similarity-complementarity and complicity ¿ and negative aspects ¿ such as favoritism, jealousy, conflict and aggression ¿ of the relationships between siblings are essential parts of the developmental processes though which boys and girls learn how to establish social relationships.Brothers and Sister in Emerging Adulthood: An Ethno-Psychological Study of Mexican Siblings will be of interest to social, developmental and family psychologists interested in understanding the psychosocial mechanisms behind the most durable relationship in the life of anyone who has a brother or sister.

Time, space and entanglement are the main characters in this book. Their nature is still a great mystery in physics and we study here the possibility that these three phenomena are closely connected, showing how entanglement can be at the basis of the emergence of time and space within closed quantum systems. We revisit and extend the Page and Wootters theory that was originally introduced in order to describe the emergence of time through entanglement between subsystems in a globally static, quantum Universe. In the book, after providing a complete review of the salient aspects of the theory, we establish a connection with recent research on the foundations of statistical mechanics and we provide a new understanding of the thermalization process. Furthermore, we generalize the framework in order describe the spatial degree of freedom and we provide a model of 3+1 dimensional, quantum spacetime emerging from entanglement among different subsystems in a globally "timeless" and "positionless" Universe. Finally, via the Page and Wootters theory, the evolution of quantum clocks within a gravitational field is treated and a time dilation effect is obtained in agreement with the Schwarzschild solution.

This book presents extensive research on the quality of 360° video perceived by users with HMDs. The book aims to develop a set of standard guidelines for the systematic visual quality assessment of 360° videos. Firstly, conventional subjective test methods such as Absolute Category Rating (ACR) and Double Stimulus Impairment Scale (DSIS) are applied to evaluate video quality, alongside the Modified ACR (M-ACR) method newly proposed. Building on the reliability and general applicability of the procedure across different tests, a methodological framework for 360° video quality assessment is then presented. The author also analyzes simulator sickness to investigate the impact of different influencing factors. The insights gained on simulator sickness related to 360° video contribute to a better understanding of this particular use case of VR and can help to improve comfort among users by suggesting improvements in the technical specifications of 360° video and HMD technology and thusimproving QoE.

The book offers a multi-scale, epistemically diverse, and sense-making perspectives on the food system. The book argues that sustainable food system transformation is a complex proposition that can better thrive upon the inclusion of consumer perspectives. The book brings together scholarly works of critical scholars and practitioners who bring to bear the uniqueness of places, cultures, histories and interactions in the milieu of food.

This book explores the challenges of the governance and public policy in the midst and after conflicts, revolutions, and civil wars in the Middle East and Africa. As anywhere else, the task of rebuilding peace and institutionalizing stability in countries experiencing a conflict or just emerging from it is daunting, uncertain and context specific. Yet, focusing on the Middle East and Africa is of particular relevance, as these two regions feature the highest numbers of inter- and intra-state conflicts on the one hand, and the central states are more often contested than in the rest of world regions. The first half of the book proposes different cases addressing the fundamental challenge of inclusion and cohesion as well as the recurring issue of exclusion in conflict-affected situations, with four different cultural and institutional settings. The second half of the book offers more theoretical insights and proposed pathways to develop more inclusive and peaceful governance settingsin Africa, the Middle East and beyond. This edited book has been designed to be a helpful contribution to the analysis of conflict and post-conflict governance and peacebuilding. To do so, it deploys different lenses of social sciences, especially public policy and international relations, but also benefits from social psychology, political anthropology, and other disciplines that enable a more comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted, complex and dynamic issues at play.

¿This book follows a Goffmanian approach to self-presentation to focus on the different strategies Spanish users employ to construct their digital identity in profiles, biographies, pictures, and statuses on platforms such WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The author presents a functioning taxonomy of self-presentation strategies along the front-stage/back-stage continuum, including common strategies such as eudaimonic (or inspirational) messages and the use of humour. Special attention is paid to the effects of social variables such as the users' gender and age, and the perceived purposes of the different platforms (e.g. LinkedIn is often intended as a professional market for job hunting, whereas Facebook is rarely used in this context). The book will be of interest to students and scholars of Technologically Mediated Communication (traditionally known as Computer-Mediated Communication or CMC), media communication, internet pragmatics, digital discourse analysis, and related fields.

This book constitutes the First Segmentation of the Aorta Challenge, SEG.A. 2023, which was held in conjunction with the 26th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2023, on October 8, 2023. The 8 full and 3 short papers presented have been carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. They focus specifically on robustness, visual quality and meshing of automatically generated segmentations of aortic vessel trees from CT imaging. The challenge was organized as a ¿container submission¿ challenge, where participants had to upload their algorithms to Grand Challenge in the form of Docker containers. Three tasks were created for SEG.A. 2023.

This book encapsulates the innovative discussions held during the International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems for Sustainable Development (AI2SD'2023), which took place at Mohammed 6 University of Sciences and Health Casablanca, Morocco. This book delves into the multifaceted realm of advanced intelligent systems, specifically focusing on digital health technology. The book offers a comprehensive exploration of cutting-edge research and breakthroughs in this dynamic field, providing a holistic perspective on the latest advancements. Within these pages, you will find papers covering an array of captivating topics, including AI-driven diagnostics, wearable health devices, predictive analytics in health care, and much more. Each contribution delves into the synergy of intelligent systems and digital health, showcasing how these technologies intertwine to shape the future of healthcare. Designed for researchers, practitioners, and enthusiasts alike, this book serves as an invaluable resource for staying updated on the latest trends and developments in the intersection of advanced intelligent systems and digital health technology. Whether you are seeking to broaden your knowledge or seeking practical insights, this book caters to a diverse readership eager to harness the potential of these innovative domains.

Over time, philosophers and historians of science have introduced different notions of 'ways of thinking'. This book presents, compares, and contrasts these different notions. It focuses primarily on Ian Hacking¿s idea of 'style of reasoning' in order to assess and develop it into a more systematic theory of scientific thought, arguing that Hacking¿s theory implies epistemic relativism. Luca Sciortino also discusses the implications of Hacking¿s ideas for the study of the problem of contingency and inevitability in the development of scientific knowledge

This open access book offers comprehensive, self-contained knowledge on Digital Twin (DT), which is a very promising technology for achieving digital intelligence in the next-generation wireless communications and computing networks. DT is a key technology to connect physical systems and digital spaces in Metaverse.The objectives of this book are to provide the basic concepts of DT, to explore the promising applications of DT integrated with emerging technologies, and to give insights into the possible future directions of DT. For easy understanding, this book also presents several use cases for DT models and applications in different scenarios.The book starts with the basic concepts, models, and network architectures of DT. Then, we present the new opportunities when DT meets edge computing, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, anddistributed machine learning (e.g., federated learning, multi-agent deep reinforcement learning). We also present a wide application of DT as an enabling technology for 6G networks, Aerial-Ground Networks, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).The book allows an easy cross-reference owing to the broad coverage on both the principle and applications of DT. The book is written for people interested in communications and computer networks at all levels. The primary audience includes senior undergraduates, postgraduates, educators, scientists, researchers, developers, engineers, innovators and research strategists.

This book publishes the work presented at the 1st Olympiad in Engineering Science (OES 2023), an international congress and contest aiming to disseminate and evaluate the recent advances in Engineering Science. The book covers diverse domains of engineering. From Machine Learning applications in Thrust Bearings' behavior to Optimization Techniques for space applications, each chapter presents innovative solutions to complex challenges. The Automatic Control section explores distributed intelligence in watercraft and supervisory control for manufacturing systems. In Data-Driven Engineering, simulations assess pedestrian comfort and model reconstruction. The Diagnostic-Prognostic Methods section delves into unbalance identification and steel truss bridge validation. Finally, Numerical and Analytical Methods in Engineering Mathematics cover everything from boundary integral methods to analytical solutions for fluid flows.

The book systematically accounts for the scientific and technological problems of nanostructured silicon in the form of porous and black silicon. Nanostructured silicon is currently a pioneer research topic worldwide due to its enormous potential applications for modern electronic devices, such as sensitive photodetectors, solar cells, biochemical sensors, hydrogen generators, and display devices. The main structural modifications of this nanomaterial are porous and black silicon. Porous silicon addresses crystalline silicon with nanopores and black silicon with nanoneedles. Historically, porous silicon is thought to be a kind of precursor to black silicon. The formation, research, and application of nanostructured silicon remains the main cornerstone of nanotechnologies, and this book is useful for a wide range of researchers in the fields of semiconductor physics, micro-, and nanoelectronics. The author outlines the prospect of black silicon fabrication and its various applications. As for porous silicon, the book contains a detailed analysis of this material as a precursor of black silicon. This allows it to be possible to carry out correlations between two structural modifications of nanostructured silicon to clearly and reasonably show their advantages and disadvantages. With many references to a vast resource of recently published literature, this book serves as an important and insightful source of valuable information and provides scientists and engineers with new ideas to better understand the formation processes of nanostructured silicon as well as improve and expand their properties.

This book explores the dissemination of knowledge around Chinese medicinal substances from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries in a global context. The author presents a microhistory of the caterpillar fungus, a natural, medicinal substance initially used by Tibetans no later than the fifteenth century and later assimilated into Chinese materia medica from the eighteenth century onwards. Tracing the transmission of the caterpillar fungus from China to France, Britain, Russia and Japan, the book investigates the tensions that existed between prevailing Chinese knowledge and new European ideas about the caterpillar fungus. Emerging in eighteenth and nineteenth-century Europe, these ideas eventually reached communities of scientists, physicians and other intellectuals in Japan and China. Seeking to examine why the caterpillar fungus engaged the attention of so many scientific communities across the globe, the author offers a transnational perspective on the making of modern Europeannatural history and Chinese materia medica.

This book explores the relationship between federalism, social divides and conflict in African countries. It details the origins, design and performance of major federal and quasi-federal states to assess their performance and propose new methods for managing these divides. Drawing on evidence from countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, the book examines the nature and causes of ethnonationalism, mobilisation and confrontation with the nation state. The book is a comprehensive treatment of the five major federal and devolved systems in Africa. It explains their origin, design and operation, and assesses their performance. More importantly, the book explains the distinct nature of federal and devolved systems in the Global South. Federal and devolved systems in Africa cannot be understood in isolation from the nature of state power on the continent. The book explains the impact of unregulated state power on the dynamics of federal and devolved systemsin Africa. Federalism and devolution have not failed but have been betrayed ¿ both in the past and the present ¿ in serving as a venue for accommodation, intergovernmental bargaining and negotiated reform.

This collection presents papers from the 152nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.

This is an instructor's manual for the popular textbook 'H2H Marketing: Case Studies on Human-to-Human Marketing' (Springer, 2023). The authors have provided a perfect companion that enables teachers to adopt a case-by-case approach when using the material in the classroom.'H2H Marketing' focuses on redefining the role of marketing by reshaping the mindset of decision-makers and integrating concepts such as Design Thinking, Service-Dominant Logic, and Digitalization. By following this carefully designed manual, teachers can assist their students in gaining a deeper understanding of the case studies that illustrate various aspects of the concept, its fundamental elements, and its implementation.

Advancing Medical Posthumanism Through Twenty-First Century American Poetry places contemporary poetics in dialogue with posthumanism and biomedicine in order to create a framework for advancing a posthuman-affirmative ethics within the culture of medical practice. This book makes a case for a posthumanist understanding of the body¿one that sees health and illness not as properties possessed by individual bodies, but as processes that connect bodies to their social and natural environment, shaping their capacity to act, think, and feel. Tana Jean Welch demonstrates how contemporary American poetry is specifically poised to develop a pathway toward a posthuman intervention in biomedicine, the field of medical humanities, medical discourse, and the value systems that guide U.S. healthcare in general.

The book offers a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities associated with the transition to sustainable energy, circular economy, and sustainable financing for ESG practices. The publication is needed at this time because the world is facing urgent environmental and social challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, and social inequality, which require a fundamental transformation of our economic and social systems. The transition to sustainable energy, circular economy, and sustainable financing for ESG practices offers a promising pathway to address these challenges and achieve sustainable development goals.The purpose of the publication is to provide a holistic and practical guide for policymakers, business leaders, investors, and other stakeholders who are interested in advancing sustainable energy, circular economy, and ESG practices. The book covers a range of topics, including the drivers of the transition, policy frameworks and regulations, technology and innovation, business models and financial instruments, and the role of stakeholders in facilitating the transition. It also emphasizes the importance of integrated approaches that balance economic, social, and environmental objectives, and provides practical examples and case studies of successful sustainable energy, circular economy, and ESG practices from around the world.The new contribution of this publication is its interdisciplinary and practical approach to sustainable energy, circular economy, and ESG practices. The book draws on the latest research from various fields, including economics, engineering, environmental science, and social science, and provides a synthesis of best practices and lessons learned from a diverse range of stakeholders, such as governments, businesses, and civil society organizations. The publication also provides a roadmap for how stakeholders can work together overcome the challenges of the transition and create a more sustainable and equitable future.The book is a timely and essential guide for anyone who is interested in advancing sustainable development goals. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities associated with the transition to sustainable energy, circular economy, and sustainable financing for ESG practices and offers practical solutions and case studies from around the world. Its interdisciplinary and practical approach makes it a valuable resource for policymakers, business leaders, investors, and other stakeholders who are committed to creating a more sustainable and equitable future.

This volume explains how scientometrics can be used in understanding the research studies in applied linguistics and will assist applied linguists to examine different aspects of the research performed in their field. The book covers a diachronic and synchronic empirical analysis of research practices, concepts, and phenomena in applied linguistics. It builds upon the ideas and experience of international researchers and provides the reader with creative methods to apply the scientometric principles in their applied research. Aimed at emerging applied linguistics researchers, researcher-practitioners, and MA and PhD students, this book provides a wealth of research ideas for further analysis, to strengthen the knowledge of the field, and to help digest research practices, research publications, research trends, research policies, and research methods. The book will also be useful for the well-established applied linguistics researchers who are interested in a reconceptualization of the field.

Previously dependent on Europe for scientific knowledge, the United States came into its own during the nineteenth century. A prime example of this is evident in the establishment of the Cincinnati Observatory, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Funded by the citizenry of that city, it was initiated, with ceremony, by the oration by former President John Quincy Adams, at the laying of the cornerstone in 1843.In this book, you will read about the Cincinnati Observatory's most notable contributions, big and small, that were made over the course of its years in existence. You will learn about the Observatory's role in primitive weather forecasting, star cataloging, and even advancements it helped to create during World War II. Now known as the Cincinnati Observatory Center, it is a functional observatory and a dedicated center of astronomy education for all ages. It continues to contribute a rich cultural and scientific history to its community and nation.

This book focuses on OLAF, the European Union¿s anti-fraud office, and examines the role of and challenges concerning fundamental rights in OLAF¿s composite enforcement procedure. The mission of OLAF (Office Européen de Lutte Antifraude) is to fight fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities that affect the financial interests of the European Union. To this end, OLAF carries out administrative investigations, in which it gathers evidence itself, and coordination cases, in which it coordinates the Member States¿ investigations. OLAF¿s investigation and coordination efforts are conceived of as mere derivatives of other more traditional forms of law enforcement cooperation in which authorities enter into obligations to cooperate with one another, but in which each acts to fulfill these obligations within its own separately identifiable legal order and on the basis of its own law. This system, in its most conventional form, is founded on the notion of territorial sovereignty.If we extend the logic of this approach from enforcement (the ¿sword¿) to fundamental rights (the ¿shield¿), issues in relation to the latter ¿ and the accompanying responsibility to prevent and/or remedy them ¿ can arise only in individual (sovereign) legal orders. The way in which we view OLAF, as an evolved cognate of traditional forms of law enforcement cooperation, therefore directly dictates which fundamental rights issues enter into the equation, and in which manner.This book proposes an innovative way of looking at OLAF, which we refer to as ¿composite enforcement procedures.¿ In this type of procedure, responsibilities for the entirety of enforcement are attributed to inextricably interlinked European Union and Member State legal orders. If we observe OLAF through this new lens, fundamental rights issues that would otherwise go unnoticed come to the forefront. These are issues that arise not in individual legal orders, but rather between or among theEuropean Union and the Member States. This book addresses these fundamental rights challenges and makes concrete recommendations on how they can be addressed and resolved.

This collection presents papers from the 153rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.

This collection covers innovations in the field of composite materials with a specific focus on eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable systems. All composite fields are explored, including polymer, metal, and ceramic matrix composites with an emphasis on sourcing raw materials in a sustainable way as well as the development of composite materials for environmental sustainability. Topics will include the development of new materials for structural applications, reduction in energy consumption, and increased component life along with discussions of novel methods to reuse existing materials. Additional topics include, but are not limited to:· Naturally Sourced Materials feedstock· Recycled Material feedstock, · Application of composite for reduced carbon footprint · Development of novel materials to repurpose waste from other areas

The book covers in particular state-of-the-art scientific research about product quality control and related health and environmental safety topics, including human, animal and plant safety assurance issues. These conference proceedings provide contemporary information on the general theoretical, metrological and practical issues of the production and application of reference materials.Reference materials play an integral role in physical, chemical and related type of measurements, ensuring their uniformity, comparability and the validity of quantitative analysis as well as, as a result, the objectivity of decisions concerning the elimination of technical barriers in commercial and economic, scientific and technical and other spheres of cooperation. The book is intended for researchers and practitioners in the field of chemistry, metrologists, technical physics, as well as for specialists in analytical laboratories, or working for companies and organizations involved in the production, distribution and use of reference materials.

This book covers thermal stresses in plates and shells, offering a cutting-edge exploration of this critical field. Tailored for a diverse audience, including graduate and postgraduate students, dedicated researchers, and scientists in both industrial and government sectors, as well as engineers specializing in mechanical, aerospace, and civil engineering. The book unfolds over eight meticulously crafted chapters, providing a detailed examination of thermal stresses in rectangular and circular plates, along with an array of shell geometries. Circular cylindrical, spherical, conical, and shells of revolution undergo rigorous analysis under various load conditions. A focal point of the text lies in the exhaustive treatment of tensor analysis within a curvilinear coordinate system. This framework lays the foundation for the derivation of precise strain-displacement relations for an array of shell configurations. The book further elucidates the transformation of Codazzi and Gauss conditions from surface continuity to compatibility conditions within elasticity theory. Chapter 5 introduces analytical solutions for diverse thermal loads affecting cylindrical, spherical, and conical shells. Chapters 6 and 7 delve into the intricate domain of coupled thermoelasticity, particularly in plates and shells subjected to shock loads. The book culminates in Chapter 8, where the intriguing phenomenon of thermal-induced vibrations in plates and shells takes center stage. With a commitment to accessibility, this self-contained volume presents mathematical concepts and numerical methods in an approachable manner, ensuring ease of comprehension for the reader. However, a foundational understanding of classical mathematics, mechanics, and elasticity theory is recommended for optimal engagement.

This book discusses the applications of nanotechnology in clinical microbiology, food microbiology, and green solutions of nanoparticles using microorganisms for a range of benefits. It describes nanotechnology¿s rapid progress in the development of materials used in industry, medicine, drug delivery, and dentistry. The authors further explore how microbiology and nanotechnology separately have proven to be effective for human health solutions keeping an ecological and environmental balance. Domains covered include environmental microbiology, medical microbiology, food microbiology (to control food spoilage), biosynthesis of nanomaterials using microorganisms, water microbiology, nanofluidic devices for isolation and analysis of individual biomolecules such as DNA that can lead to a new detection scheme for cancer, and various fields such as pharmacy, clinical research, agriculture etc. This book will be essential reading to a wide range of scholars and researchers interestedin microbiology along with nanotechnology applications for efficient solutions to cancer detection, biosensors, vaccines research, agriculture, wastewater management etc.

This book showcases Nigerian and South African experiences on space politics, policy and strategy vis-à-vis their development and security aspirations, while contributing to the broader African and the Global-South perspectives on the subject. Space policy in developing countries such as Nigeria and South Africa is motivated by utilitarian promises that space and the attendant technologies have the potential to advance development and security interests of the affected nations. However, several decades into the orbital journey of these countries, little is known of their space politics, policies, strategies, capacities and capabilities, and realisation of desired objectives. Beyond pure and applied sciences reductionism, this book offers social science perspectives on space studies in Africa, as it examines the intricate relationships of historical, geographical, social, demographic, economic, political, administrative, and strategic factors, nationally, regionally and globally thathave shaped research and development of space science and technologies, and their benefits, in Nigeria and South Africa.

This book constitutes the revised selected papers of the First International Conference, ICCSST 2023, held in Bangalore, India, during May 8¿9, 2023.The 39 full papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 200 submissions. They focus on artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, cloud computing, cyber security, data science, e-commerce, computer architecture, image and video processing, pandemic preparedness and digital technology, pattern recognition and classification.