Books published by Springer International Publishing

This book investigates the connection between tightening mobilization constraints and the use of PMSCs in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Drawing on neoclassical realism and institutionalist theory, it conceptualizes democracies' use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) as an attempt to circumvent the tightening constraints on the mobilization of military power. The use of private military contractors is less subjected to parliamentary restrictions and less visible to public opinion than the deployment of soldiers. Rather than cheaper in financial terms, PMSCs are therefore politically cost-effective, as they enable decision-makers to minimize the institutional obstacles on conducting military operations and the electoral costs attached thereto. The need to reduce the ex ante hurdles and the ex post costs of military deployments fills the blind spots of alternative explanations for the use of PMSCs based on effectiveness, ideology, and organizational interests.

This edited collection addresses the need of evaluating innovative or non-traditional academic schemes for understanding their feasibility in extraordinary educational environments. The individual chapters are enriched with robust appraisals of policies and practices linked to academic innovations in higher education during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The case studies report wide-ranging teaching, learning and academic support practices within online, open, blended and distance learning models. The findings supply two domains of scholarship: evidence-based scenarios through real-world case studies, and a critical evaluation of educational quality through research-informed argument. The evidence gathered from countries, such as Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the UK show empowering and deterring elements of academic innovation amid disruptions. Although this book highlights academic innovations in disruptive situations, they emerge as powerful tools and approaches to be considered in traditional face to face learning.

This book provides and sheds light on insights, challenges, and opportunities to support the development and economic growth of the fashion industries within emerging markets. The fashion industry is growing rapidly in emerging markets; fashion marketers and retailers are increasingly becoming aware of the benefits of this market and are forced to seek their future growth potentials in this part of the world; in addition, marketing strategies, tools and technologies have also evolved. With a growing demand for additional research, information, recommendations and insight from practitioners, entrepreneurs, students, and academics, contributing authors use multiple methods and theories to uncover, analyse, demonstrate, and present the facts in their chapters and provide integrated guideposts for future research. This book is intended to satisfy the needs of stakeholders in the quest for practical insights into fashion marketing in emerging economies, especially in South America, Asia and Africa.It offers timely information on growing areas such as sustainability, digital platforms, supply chain and logistics and provides a good insight for anyone seeking to explore opportunities in emerging market economies. The book offers a much needed resource for students, scholars and practitioners.

This Handbook of Numerical Simulation of In-Flight Icing covers an array of methodologies and technologies on numerical simulation of in-flight icing and its applications. Comprised of contributions from internationally recognized experts from the Americas, Asia, and the EU, this authoritative, self-contained reference includes best practices and specification data spanning the gamut of simulation tools available internationally that can be used to speed up the certification of aircraft and make them safer to fly into known icing. The collection features nine sections concentrating on aircraft, rotorcraft, jet engines, UAVs; ice protection systems, including hot-air, electrothermal, and others; sensors and probes, CFD in the aid of testing, flight simulators, and certification process acceleration methods. Incorporating perspectives from academia, commercial, government R&D, the book is ideal for a range of engineers and scientists concerned with in-flight icing applications.

This book examines in great detail the D-B and IPD methods, while touching on D-B-B and CM project deliveries. In this vein, the discussion regarding IPD is a variation from ASHRAE Technical Committee TC 7.1, Integrated Building Design (IBD), with the focus herein on HVAC-Led IPD Opportunities by consulting engineers and mechanical contractors. This IPD variation is also described later in the book as a 21st-century version of what was 20th-century D-B project delivery although D-B project delivery is still widely used.

This book offers a careful selection of studies in optimization techniques based on artificial intelligence, applied to inverse problems in radiative transfer. In this book, the reader will find an in-depth exploration of heuristic optimization methods, each meticulously described and accompanied by historical context and natural process analogies.From simulated annealing and genetic algorithms to artificial neural networks, ant colony optimization, and particle swarms, this volume presents a wide range of heuristic methods. Additional approaches such as generalized extreme optimization, particle collision, differential evolution, Luus-Jaakola, and firefly algorithms are also discussed, providing a rich repertoire of tools for tackling challenging problems.While the applications showcased primarily focus on radiative transfer, their potential extends to various domains, particularly nonlinear and large-scale problems where traditional deterministic methods fall short. With clear and comprehensive presentations, this book empowers readers to adapt each method to their specific needs. Furthermore, practical examples of classical optimization problems and application suggestions are included to enhance your understanding.This book is suitable to any researcher or practitioner whose interests lie on optimization techniques based in artificial intelligence and bio-inspired algorithms, in fields like Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Computing, and cross-disciplinary areas.

The rapid growth and reliance on cyber systems have permeated our society, government, and military which is demonstrated in this book. The authors discuss how AI-powered cyber systems are designed to protect against cyber threats and ensure the security and reliability of digital systems using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. As AI becomes more integrated into various aspects of our lives, the need for reliable and trustworthy AI systems becomes increasingly important. This book is an introduction to all of the above-mentioned areas in the context of AI Embedded Assurance for Cyber Systems.This book has three themes. First, the AI/ML for digital forensics theme focuses on developing AI and ML powered forensic tools, techniques, software, and hardware. Second, the AI/ML for cyber physical system theme describes that AI/ML plays an enabling role to boost the development of cyber physical systems (CPS), especially in strengthening the security and privacy ofCPS. Third, the AI/ML for cyber analysis theme focuses on using AI/ML to analyze tons of data in a timely manner and identify many complex threat patterns.This book is designed for undergraduates, graduate students in computer science and researchers in an interdisciplinary area of cyber forensics and AI embedded security applications. It is also useful for practitioners who would like to adopt AIs to solve cyber security problems.

This book is about solar ponds for energy storage from various perspectives, including fundamentals, efficiencies, system designs, local applications and details about what have been done in the world in the field of solar ponds for generating energy and storage it for useful purposes.

This volume contains for the first time in English, Jan Patökäs seminal essay ¿The Phenomenology of Afterlife¿, as well as contributions surrounding and analyzing this text. In his essay, Patöka reflects on our relation to the dead and on how the departure of a loved one affects our continued existence. The premise of Patökäs investigation is that our existence always takes place by and through an originary and reciprocal ¿being for others¿.The contributors in the volume extend the field of inquiry into the wider phenomenological and post-phenomenological discussion of death by being cognizant of how works of literature can broaden our understanding of the care of death, grief, forgiveness and non-reciprocal love. Also included are reflections on issues of philosophical anthropology, community, collective memory, and the ecstatic nature of life ¿ issues that can all be related back to Patökäs initial reflections, but which nonetheless radiate intoa myriad of directions. This volume appeals to students and researchers in the field.

This textbook provides a first introduction to category theory, a powerful framework and tool for understanding mathematical structures. Designed for students with no previous knowledge of the subject, this book offers a gentle approach to mastering its fundamental principles.Unlike traditional category theory books, which can often be overwhelming for beginners, this book has been carefully crafted to offer a clear and concise introduction to the subject. It covers all the essential topics, including categories, functors, natural transformations, duality, equivalence, (co)limits, and adjunctions. Abundant fully-worked examples guide readers in understanding the core concepts, while complete proofs and instructive exercises reinforce comprehension and promote self-study. The author also provides background material and references, making the book suitable for those with a basic understanding of groups, rings, modules, topological spaces, and set theory.Based on the author's course at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the book is perfectly suited for classroom use in a first introductory course in category theory. Its clear and concise style, coupled with its detailed coverage of key concepts, makes it equally suited for self-study.

This volume celebrates the 100th birthday of Professor Chen-Ning Frank Yang (Nobel 1957), one of the giants of modern science and a living legend. Starting with reminiscences of Yang's time at the research centre for theoretical physics at Stonybrook (now named C. N. Yang Institute) by his successor Peter van Nieuwenhuizen, the book is a collection of articles by world-renowned mathematicians and theoretical physicists. This emphasizes the Dialogue Between Physics and Mathematics that has been a central theme of Professor Yang's contributions to contemporary science. Fittingly, the contributions to this volume range from experimental physics to pure mathematics, via mathematical physics. On the physics side, the contributions are from Sir Anthony Leggett (Nobel 2003), Jian-Wei Pan (Willis E. Lamb Award 2018), Alexander Polyakov (Breakthrough Prize 2013), Gerard 't Hooft (Nobel 1999), Frank Wilczek (Nobel 2004), Qikun Xue (Fritz London Prize 2020), and Zhongxian Zhao (Bernd T. Matthias Prize 2015), covering an array of topics from superconductivity to the foundations of quantum mechanics. In mathematical physics there are contributions by Sir Roger Penrose (Nobel 2022) and Edward Witten (Fields Medal 1990) on quantum twistors and quantum field theory, respectively. On the mathematics side, the contributions by Vladimir Drinfeld (Fields Medal 1990), Louis Kauffman (Wiener Gold Medal 2014), and Yuri Manin (Cantor Medal 2002) offer novel ideas from knot theory to arithmetic geometry.Inspired by the original ideas of C. N. Yang, this unique collection of papers b masters of physics and mathematics provides, at the highest level, contemporary research directions for graduate students and experts alike.

This book sheds light on young New Zealander¿s social realities and lived experiences of their digital and sexual lives through an understanding of how they think about and engage with porn. Drawing on qualitative empirical data from interviews with 106 young New Zealanders, each chapter examines young people¿s creation of informal norms through an investigation of the broader issues associated with their engagement with porn, namely consent, gender, pleasure and ¿empowerment.¿ Following this, the book gives voice to young New Zealander¿s perceptions of the value of the sexuality education they receive. Finally, this text argues toward a co-constructed intersectional sexuality education.

This volume presents the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of Geography and Geoinformatics for Sustainable Development (ICGGS), held in Phuket, Thailand, April 7-8, 2022. The collection focuses on the importance of spatial thinking and planning by applying geography concepts and geospatial technology innovations in solving global problems such as environmental degradation, urban pollution, and climate change. The proceedings consist of case studies on wide-ranging spatial issues in developing countries, addressing challenges in mainstreaming sustainable development paradigms into their economies to improve natural resource and environmental management.   One of the main goals of the volume is to share and exchange different points of view regarding global, regional, and local spatial issues and how to use geography and geoinformatics for building resilience in multiple sectors, e.g., water, ecosystems, agriculture, and health. It offers the opportunity to learn about how geospatial concepts and technologies can contribute to environmental sustainability, while advancing education and research related to geography and geoinformatics. It will be a useful resource for students and researchers to initiate research ideas related to geospatial topics in regional and local scales.

This volume analyses democratic governance, the rule of law and development in Africa. It is unique and timely. First, the theme and sub-themes were carefully selected to solicit quality chapters from academics, practitioners and graduate students on topical and contemporary issues in constitutional law, human rights, and democratic governance in Africa. The chapters were subjected to a single-blind peer review by experts and scholars in the relevant fields to ensure that high quality submissions are included. Due to the dearth of knowledge and studies on the chosen thematic areas, the publication will remain relevant after several years due to the timeless themes it covers. In this regard, this edited volume audits the progress of democratic consolidation, rule of law and development in Ghana with selected case studies from other African countries. This book is intended for higher education institutions (universities, institutes and centres), public libraries, general academics, practitioners and students of law, democracy, human rights and political science, especially those interested in African affairs. 

This book reinterprets C. P. Cavafy¿s historical and archaeological poetics by correlating his work to major cultural, political and sexualized receptions of antiquity that marked the turn of the 20th century. Focusing on selected poems which stage readings of Hellenistic and late ancient texts and material objects, this study probes the poet's personal library and archive to trace his scholarly sources and scrutinize their contribution to his creative practice. A new understanding of Cavafy's historicism emerges by comparing his poetics to a broad array of discourses and intellectual pursuits of his time; these range from antiquarianism, physiognomy and Egyptomania to cultural appropriations of the classics which sought to legitimate British colonial rule as well as homoerotic desire. As this volume demonstrates, Cavafy embraced antiquarianism as an empathetic and passionate way of relating to the past and shaped it into a method that allowed his poetry to render modern meanings to Hellenistic antiquities.

Microbial bioremediation and biodegradation in environmental monitoring offers an environmentally friendly approach for the monitoring and effective removal of contaminants. Various aspects of microbial-mediated bioremediation take advantage of the microorganisms' ability to transform noxious compounds into utilizable intermediates and value-added products. Different microbial metabolites such as enzymes, biosurfactants, emulsifiers, organic acids, and solvents play significant roles in the decontamination of radioactive and heavy metals, chemical pesticides, and organic contaminants such as dyes and hydrocarbons in environmentally safe manners. Recent advancements in biochemical engineering, OMICS and genetic modification, and synthetic-biology pave ways for identifying indicator microbial strains, mechanisms of remediation, and the development of tailor-made microbe-metabolites for future applications. Microbial biotechnology in environmental monitoring and bioremediation thus represent a new way to rehabilitate and reconstruct "e;damaged"e; ecosystems.This work summarizes the latest research in the field of environmental bioremediation and offers fascinating insights on the behaviours of these unique microorganisms. It also presents exciting, new perspectives for the application of microbes in environmental protection. It is suitable for students, scholars, researchers and organizations involved in environmental protection.

This innovative book focuses on potential, limitations, and recommendations for the digital mental health landscape. Authors synthesize existing literature on the validity of digital health technologies, including smartphones apps, sensors, chatbots and telepsychiatry for mental health disorders. They also note that collecting real-time biological information is usually better than just collect filled-in forms, and that will also mitigate problems related to recall bias in clinical appointments. Limitations such as confidentiality, engagement and retention rates are moreover discussed. Presented in fifteen chapters, the work addresses the following questions: may smartphones and sensors provide more accurate information about patients¿ symptoms between clinical appointments, which in turn avoid recall bias? Is there evidence that digital phenotyping could help in clinical decisions in mental health? Is there scientific evidence to support the use of mobile interventions in mental health? Digital Mental Health will help clinicians and researchers, especially psychiatrists and psychologists, to define measures and to determine how to test apps or usefulness, feasibility and efficacy in order to develop a consensus about reliability. These professionals will be armed with the latest evidence as well as prepared to a new age of mental health.

This practical, insightful title is a must read for anyone interested in or recently appointed to a leadership role in an academic medical center. Taking the Lead: A Guide for Emerging Leaders in Academic Medical Centers represents the highly accomplished authors¿ more than 60 years of collective insights about leadership and leading effectively in an academic medical center environment. The authors present creative and highly applicable themes synthesized from their knowledge, career experiences, unique reflections, practice, mistakes, and observations of successful (and not so successful) leaders. The result is a book of leadership wisdom ¿ a wealth of ideas, concepts, and insights to inform the reader¿s career journey and to become the best leader they can be. Organized in five parts, this work examines the successful leadership transition in the unique (and sometimes perplexing) academic medical center environment. Informal, conversational in tone, and often engagingly humorous, Taking the Lead: A Guide for Emerging Leaders in Academic Medical Centers represents a concise and invaluable introductory read for the next generation of leaders, as well as a helpful resource for experienced healthcare leaders.

This book provides readers with a comprehensive, state-of-the-art reference to the design automation aspects of quantum computers.  Given roadmaps calling for quantum computers with 2000 qubits in a few years, readers will benefit from the practical implementation aspects covered in this book. The authors discuss real hardware to the extent possible.Provides an up-to-date, single-source reference to design automation aspects of quantum computers;Presentation is not just theoretical, but substantiated with real quantum hardware;Covers multi-faceted aspects of quantum computers, providing readers with valuable information, no matter the direction in which technology moves.