Books published by Springer International Publishing

This book advances social scientific interest in a field long dominated by the humanities: stories, and storytelling. Stories are a whole lot more than entertainment; oral narratives, novels, films and immersive video games all form part of the sociocultural discourses which we are enmeshed in, and use to co-construct our beliefs about the world around us. Young children use them to learn about the world beyond their immediate sensory experience and, even in an era of interactive electronic media, the bedtime story remains a cherished part of most children¿s daily routine. Storytelling is thus the first abstract formal learning method we encounter as human beings. It is also probably transcultural; perhaps even an immanent part of the human condition. Narratives are, at heart, sequences of events and presuppose and reinforce particular cause-and-effect relationships. Inevitably, they also construct unconscious biases, prejudices, and discriminatory attitudes. Storying (a term we usein this book to encompass stories, storytellers and storytelling) is complex, and this book seeks to make sense of it.

This volume addresses the current boom in biographical fictions across the globe, examining the ways in which gendered lives of the past become re-imagined as gendered narratives in fiction. Building on this research, this book is the first to address questions of gender in a sustained and systematic manner that is also sensitive to cultural and historical differences in both raw material and fictional reworking. It develops a critical lens through which to approach biofictions as ¿fictions of gender¿, drawing on theories of biofiction and historical fiction, life-writing studies, feminist criticism, queer feminist readings, postcolonial studies, feminist art history, and trans studies. Attentive to various approaches to fictionalisation that reclaim, appropriate or re-invent their ¿raw material¿, the volume assesses the critical, revisionist and deconstructive potential of biographical fictions while acknowledging the effects of cliché, gender norms and established narratives in manyof the texts under investigation. The introduction of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.comChapter 1 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book examines a range of subjects with a specific focus on architectural and technological advancements. Architecture is the constant innovation in designing for high efficiency in the performance of buildings, in terms of planning, construction and energy, while maintaining creativity in its form. Moreover, the field of architecture goes hand in hand with that of technology. Nowadays, engineering technology has to cope with the rapid industrialization and urbanization seen in most countries. Furthermore, creative design and construction practices are challenging tasks to the architects and engineers to meet the ever-growing demands of society. Therefore, this book on "e;Advances in Engineering Science and Architectural Design"e; is provided to cover a wide range of topics in architecture, engineering, and technology.

This is a unique book that adopts a global approach to studying international business. It stimulates research and rethinking among scholars and practitioners to understand how businesses operate internationally into lucrative markets, and their role in sustainable business growth, glocal value creation, and economic development. It provides insights into how international firms, entrepreneurs, family businesses, and other stakeholders balance the act of value creation and conducting sustainable and ethical business. The book covers economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability such as poverty alleviation through FDI and remittances, diversity and inclusion in management, and ethical governance to value creation for stakeholders and profit maximization through sustainable firm growth, entrepreneurial initiatives, and sustainable business models. It addresses capacity building and the grand challenges that international business needs to develop solutions for. Thechapters offer multiple types of contributions including conceptual and theoretical works, literature reviews, and empirical (qualitative and quantitative) studies. The authors, and the topics included, provide a wide international representation and illustrate multi-layered sustainable business perspectives that cover developing, emerging, and developed country contexts as well as multiple directions of international business flows.

The Anthropocene presents theology, and especially theological anthropology, with unprecedented challenges. There are no immediately available resources in the theological tradition that reflect directly on such experiences. Accordingly, the situation calls for contextually based theological reflection of what it means to be human under such circumstances.This book discusses the main elements in theological anthropology in light of the fundamental points: a) that theological anthropology needs to be articulated with reference to, and informed by, the concrete historical circumstances in which humanity presently finds itself, and b) that the notion of the Anthropocene can be used as a heuristic tool to describe important traits and conditions that call for a response by humanity, and which entail the need for a renewal of what a Christian self-understanding means. Jan-Olav Henriksen explores what such a response entails from the point of view of contemporary theological anthropology and discusses selected topics that can contribute to a contextually based position.

This book presents pedagogical strategies for today¿s diverse Israel Studies classrooms. It offers Israel-specific innovations for online teaching, tested methods for organizing global virtual exchanges that uplift marginalized voices in Israel, including Palestinian voices, and an intellectual and political overview of the field. Informed by the author¿s experiences in the classroom and principles shared with her by fellow instructors, the book provides a guide to developing an Israel Studies syllabus or integrating Israel Studies units into an existing curriculum

This volume brings together research on the forms, genres, media and histories of refugee migration. Chapters come from a range of disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches, including literature, film studies, performance studies and postcolonial studies. The goal is to bring together chapters that use the perspectives of the arts and humanities to study representations of refugee migration. The chapters of the anthology are organized around specific forms and genres: life-writing and memoir, the graphic novel, theater and music, film and documentary, coming-of-age stories, street literature, and the literary novel. Chapter(s) ¿Chapter 1.¿ is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book finds that Al-Jazeeräs coverage of Bahrain and Syria has conformed with Qatar¿s foreign policy, throughout the last decade (2011-2021). Al-Jazeera Arabic adopted Qatar¿s ¿double standards¿ policy in both countries in the beginning of the Arab Spring, framing Bahrain¿s protests as a ¿sectarian movement,¿ while depicting the Syrian armed conflict as a legitimate ¿revolution¿ (2011-2013). The book observes that when ties between Qatar and Bahrain worsened during the 2017 Gulf crisis, Al-Jazeera Arabic has shifted its coverage from being ¿pro-Bahraini regime¿ to ¿pro-protesters,¿ focusing on violations and giving voice to activists (2014-2021). The book concludes that the lack of ¿Peace Journalism¿ framing in Al-Jazeeräs coverage of Bahrain¿s uprising and Syriäs chemical weapons attacks has represented ¿claims¿ as ¿facts,¿ and justified military action against Syria. It also reveals distinctive differences between Al-Jazeera Arabic and English, with theformer lacking ¿objective reporting standards,¿ and using more sectarian language than the latter.

This volume discusses different aspects of immune homeostasis regulation and its dysregulation during various diseases, including infections, cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, autoinflammation, autoimmune diseases, and immunodeficiency, along with immunological, genetic, cell biology, and molecular biology techniques designed to understand immune homeostasis at different stages. The chapters in this book cover topics such as T cell subsets; monocyte-myofibroblast immunomodulation in a 3D co-culture system; human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with neurodegenerative diseases; and CRISPR-Cas9 induced gene-editing in primary human monocytes. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.Cutting-edge and comprehensive, Immune Homeostasis: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for both novice and experts researchers interested in learning more about this important and developing field.

This volume details a wide range of basic and advanced techniques associated with research on isolation of important soil protozoa, and identification. Chapters guide readers through calculations of soil protists, basic techniques for isolation, enumeration, enrichment, molecular techniques, and staining techniques. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Practical Handbook on Soil Protists aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

This volume details critical and valuable experimental protocols to facilitate researchers in this fascinating field. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Maternal Placental Interface: Methods and Protocols aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

This multidisciplinary book provides insights into the applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) to combined sewer overflows (CSO) and stormwater management (SWM) systems. It explores technical challenges and presents recent results to improve sewer and drainage system management using wireless underground communications and sensing in IoT. The book addresses both existing sensing network technologies and those currently in development in three major areas of CSO: combined sewer overflow management, subsurface sensing, and antennas in the layered medium. It explores new applications of IoT in sewer systems to improve public health, foster economic growth, and enhance environmental quality and responsibility for the community.Internet of Things in Smart Sewer and Drainage Systems: Theory and Applications will be a valuable reference for graduate students and academic researchers, as well as a hands-on guide for wastewater technicians, sanitary engineers, environmental specialists, and related industry practitioners.

This book grapples with what it means when education and democracy are at an end: when these two foundational aspects of our society seem to have reached a culminating point, no longer appearing to produce and make sense amid the crises of our time. Engaging topical political events and mobilizing a variety of cultural resources, Di Paolantonio shows that today the possibility of the future and the significance of an expansive transgenerational sensibility are radically in question as trends toward destruction, cruelty, and banality are steering world-defying calamities, and sparking ¿chronopathologies¿ of doom and despair among the planet¿s occupants. Unfolding his argument through a series of accessible chapters that draw on contemporary philosophy, educational thinking, and cultural-artistic works, Di Paolantonio explores how the transgenerational sensibility retains a possibility we might tap for overcoming the impasses of our time.

This contributed volume explores innovative research in the modeling, simulation, and control of crowd dynamics. Chapter authors approach the topic from the perspectives of mathematics, physics, engineering, and psychology, providing a comprehensive overview of the work carried out in this challenging interdisciplinary research field. The volume begins with an overview of analytical problems related to crowd modeling. Attention is then given to the importance of considering the social and psychological factors that influence crowd behavior ¿ such as emotions, communication, and decision-making processes ¿ in order to create reliable models. Finally, specific features of crowd behavior are explored, including single-file traffic, passenger movement, modeling multiple groups in crowds, and the interplay between crowd dynamics and the spread of disease.Crowd Dynamics, Volume 4 is ideal for mathematicians, engineers, physicists, and other researchers working in the rapidly growing field of modeling and simulation of human crowds.

This book examines the development of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) in China through the angle of Chinese Theatre, xiqu. It focuses on the political and socio-economic transition period at the turn of the 21st century, as China evolves from ¿Made in Chinä to ¿Created in Chinä, highlighting associated class reconstruction and cultural production and consumption. There are many forms of Chinese Theatre, the most popular one throughout Chinese history to date is the sing-song drama, collectively refers to as xiqu, which currently has over 300 regional styles across China. In 2014, President Xi Jinping¿s Beijing Talk on Arts and Literature, which serves as Chinäs latest Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideological direction and cultural policy, stressed that ¿the future of Chinese cultural and creative industries is to be anchored on traditional art forms, such as xiqu¿. Such Chinese cultural and creative industry distinction will be addressed in this book.

This open access book sheds light on 21st-Century multilingualism in the Far North of Europe ¿ Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Estonia ¿ an area with multifaceted contacts between many Uralic and Indo-European languages. These contacts are taking new forms as migration and English as the lingua franca are changing the linguistic situation remarkably. The national languages dominate the life of most inhabitants, while the use of indigenous Saami languages, old minority languages, and the languages of new immigrants is limited to certain areas or domains. This volume takes a close look at multilingual individuals and discusses how their lives are affected by different languages.

This open access book explores an approach that connects individual and societal processes throughout history and shifting trends in sociological perspectives, influenced by C. Wright Mills¿ theories of time and temporality. It traces its origins from American pragmatist thought and Chicago qualitative sociology in the early 20th century to the revival of biographical research in European and American sociology during the 1970s. The book shows empirical studies from this vibrant research approach can bridge methodological gaps between qualitative and quantitative biographical studies, applicable to various topics like class, gender, ethnicity, and intergenerational dimensions.