Download or read book Piracy and the Privatisation of Maritime Security written by Eugenio Cusumano and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-07-27 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In response to pirate attacks in the Western Indian Ocean, countries worldwide have increasingly authorized the deployment of armed guards from private military and security companies (PMSCs) on merchant ships. This widespread trend contradicts states’ commitment to retain a monopoly on violence and discourage the presence of arms on civilian vessels. This book conceptualizes the extensive use of PMSCs as a form of institutional isomorphism, combining the functionalist, ideational, political and organizational arguments used to account for the privatization of security on land into a synthetic explanation of the commercialization of vessel protection.

Download or read book The Migration Conference 2020 Proceedings Migration and Politics written by Ibrahim Sirkeci and published by Transnational Press London. This book was released on 2020-11-13 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the second volume of the Proceedings of The Migration Conference 2020. The Migration Conference 2020 was held online due to COVID-19 Pandemic and yet, in over 80 parallel sessions and plenaries key migration debates saw nearly 500 experts from around the world engaging. This collection contains contributions mainly dealing with migration and integration debates. These are only a subset of all presentations from authors who chose to submit full short papers for publication after the conference. Most of the contributions are work in progress and unedited versions. The next migration conference is going to be hosted by Ming-Ai Institute in London, UK. Looking forward to continuing the debates on human mobility after the Pandemic. | www.migrationconference.net | @migrationevent | fb.me/MigrationConference | Email: [email protected]

Download or read book Towards Interoperable Research Infrastructures for Environmental and Earth Sciences written by Zhiming Zhao and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-07-24 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book summarises the latest developments on data management in the EU H2020 ENVRIplus project, which brought together more than 20 environmental and Earth science research infrastructures into a single community. It provides readers with a systematic overview of the common challenges faced by research infrastructures and how a ‘reference model guided’ engineering approach can be used to achieve greater interoperability among such infrastructures in the environmental and earth sciences. The 20 contributions in this book are structured in 5 parts on the design, development, deployment, operation and use of research infrastructures. Part one provides an overview of the state of the art of research infrastructure and relevant e-Infrastructure technologies, part two discusses the reference model guided engineering approach, the third part presents the software and tools developed for common data management challenges, the fourth part demonstrates the software via several use cases, and the last part discusses the sustainability and future directions.

Download or read book The Role of Productivity Transportation Costs and Barriers to Intersectoral Mobility in Structural Transformation written by Cem Karayalcin and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2015-04-30 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The process of economic development is characterized by substantial reallocations of resources across sectors. In this paper, we construct a multi-sector model in which there are barriers to the movement of labor from low-productivity traditional agriculture to modern sectors. With the barrier in place, we show that improvements in productivity in modern sectors (including agriculture) or reductions in transportation costs may lead to a rise in agricultural employment and through terms-oftrade effects may harm subsistence farmers if the traditional subsistence sector is larger than a critical level. This suggests that policy advice based on the earlier literature needs to be revised. Reducing barriers to mobility (through reductions in the cost of skill acquisition and institutional changes) and improving the productivity of subsistence farmers needs to precede policies designed to increase the productivity of modern sectors or decrease transportation costs.

Download or read book Culture and Tourism in a Smart Globalized and Sustainable World written by Vicky Katsoni and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-06-21 with total page 771 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gathers the proceedings of the 7th International Conference, with the theme “Culture and Tourism in a Smart, Globalized and Sustainable World,” held on Hydra Island, Greece, on June 17–19, 2020, published with the support of the International Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism. Highlighting the contributions made by numerous writers to the advancement of tourism research, this book presents a critical academic discourse on sustainable practices in the smart tourism context, improving readers’ understanding of, and stimulating future debates in, this critical area. In addition to the knowledge economy and the concept of smart destinations, the book addresses new modes of tourism management and development, as well as emerging technologies, including location-based services, the Internet of things, smart cities, mobile services, gamification, digital collections and the virtual visitor, social media, social networking, and augmented reality.

Download or read book Ideology and International Institutions written by Erik Voeten and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-12 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new theoretical framework for understanding how social, economic, and political conflicts influence international institutions and their place in the global order Today’s liberal international institutional order is being challenged by the rising power of illiberal states and by domestic political changes inside liberal states. Against this backdrop, Ideology and International Institutions offers a broader understanding of international institutions by arguing that the politics of multilateralism has always been based on ideology and ideological divisions. Erik Voeten develops new theories and measures to make sense of past and current challenges to multilateral institutions. Voeten presents a straightforward theoretical framework that analyzes multilateral institutions as attempts by states to shift the policies of others toward their preferred ideological positions. He then measures how states have positioned themselves in global ideological conflicts during the past seventy-five years. Empirical chapters illustrate how ideological struggles shape the design of international institutions, membership in international institutions, and the critical role of multilateral institutions in militarized conflicts. Voeten also examines populism’s rise and other ideological threats to the liberal international order. Ideology and International Institutions explores the essential ways in which ideological contestation has influenced world politics.

Download or read book Capital Fundamentalism Economic Development and Economic Growth written by Robert Graham King and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1994 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Should our research and policy advice be guided by a modern version of capital fundamentalism, in which capital and investment are viewed as the primary determinants of economic development and long- run growth? No. Capital accumulation seems to be part of the process of economic development, not its igniting source.

Download or read book The Ways of Federalism in Western Countries and the Horizons of Territorial Autonomy in Spain written by Alberto López - Basaguren and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-13 with total page 893 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Territorial autonomy in Spain has reached a crossroads. After over thirty years of development, the consensus regarding its appropriateness has started to crumble. The transformation project embodied by the reform of Statute of Catalonia (2006) has failed to achieve its most significant demands. Although the concept of Spain as a Federation is disputed -more within the country than beyond-, the evolution of the Spanish system needs to follow a markedly federalist path. In this perspective, reference models assume critical importance. This edition gathers the works of a broad group of European, American and Spanish experts who analyse the present-day challenges of their respective systems. The objective, thus, is to contribute ideas which might help to address the evolution of the Spanish system in the light of the experience of more established Federations. This second volume focuses its attention on the difficulties and challenges faced in two particular fields. On the one hand, the field of intergovernmental relations and, on the other, questions related to the integration and acknowledgement of diversity and of Fundamental Rights, with special reference to the cases of Canada and Spain. Finally, there is analysis of other specific aspects of the system of territorial autonomy in Spain.

Download or read book Judge Bias in Labor Courts and Firm Performance written by Mr.Pierre Cahuc and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-02-12 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does labor court uncertainty and judge subjectivity influence firms’ performance? We study the economic consequences of judge decisions by collecting information on more than 145,000 Appeal court rulings, combined with administrative firm-level records covering the whole universe of French firms. The quasi-random assignment of judges to cases reveals that judge bias has statistically significant effects on the survival, employment, and sales of small low-performing firms. However, we find that the uncertainty associated with the actual dispersion of judge bias is small and has a non-significant impact on their average outcomes.

Download or read book Salmagundi written by and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Life Engineering written by Hubert Osterle and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-10-25 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Machine Intelligence is changing every aspect of our lives. Internet traffic and sensors in households, cars, and wearables provide data that oligopolistic companies collect and use to extract patterns of human behavior. Further, active digital assistants are taking over more and more of our everyday decisions. Humanity is on the verge of an evolutionary leap and it is time to determine if this development will benefit people’s wellbeing or will just mean the accumulation of capital and power with no regard for quality of life. This book integrates the perspectives of various disciplines that are striving to establish resilient foundations – computer science, economics and social sciences, political science, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, ethics and religion – in order to clarify a number of positions and, as a result, objectify the discussions. Written by Hubert Osterle, a researcher working at the interface of these disciplines, the book promotes debate on the future of man and machine, on happiness and evolution and on the major changes brought about by digital technology. Last but not least, it is a manifesto calling for a new – integrated – discipline to be founded: life engineering. „If you want to think more deeply about what machine intelligence (aka AI) really means for humanity, you should read this book. Hubert Oesterle takes an amazingly broad and multi-disciplinary look at all relevant aspects, from the roots of human behavior to the impact advanced digital assistants might have on our daily lives (and who will control these assistants). Highly recommended!” Andreas Goeldi, Partner at btov Partners

Download or read book Information Retrieval written by William Hersh and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-05-04 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coupled with the growth of the World Wide Web, the topic of health information retrieval has had a tremendous impact on consumer health information. With the aid of newly added questions and discussions at the end of each chapter, this Second Edition covers theory practical applications, evaluation, and research directions of all aspects of medical information retireval systems.

Download or read book China s International Projection in the Xi Jinping Era written by Lorenzo Bencivelli and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-10-21 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book illustrates the current state of China’s economic and trade relations from the perspective from different countries in the Xi Jinping era. The content is divided into five parts, the first of which traces the development of the Chinese economy starting with the reforms of the 1980s. The second part notes some distinctive elements of China’s positioning in the global economy, while the third describes the state of relations between the United States and China under the Trump presidency. The fourth part focuses on diplomatic and economic equilibria in East Asia, Central and Southern Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. In turn, the last part addresses relations between China and various European countries. Given its scope, the book is a must-read for economists, policymakers and professionals from around the globe, interested in a better understanding of China’s economic prospects in the Xi Jinping era.

Download or read book Circular Economy written by Tao Zhang and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2021-02-10 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nowadays, the restriction of resources and the environment is very severe. A circular economy is the only way to sustainable development, but how this works still needs more exploration. The series of studies carried out by the author are described in detail in this book.

Download or read book Cases on Research Support Services in Academic Libraries written by Viviana Fernández-Marcial and published by Information Science Reference. This book was released on 2020-08 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book explores cases on research support services in academic libraries"--

Download or read book Lecture Notes In Water Policy written by David L Feldman and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2022-01-28 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Freshwater is our planet's most precious resource — essential for life itself. Despite this fact, many people across our planet face difficulties finding safe, clean, potable water. A U.S. State Department report contends that the world's thirst for water may become a human security crisis by 2040. The World Bank reports many developing nations face catastrophe from intensive irrigation, urbanization, and deteriorating infrastructure. Also, numerous reports contend that in many places un-treated wastewater is still released directly into the environment. This is particularly true in low-income countries, which on average treat less than 10% of their wastewater discharges.In short, we face three imminent challenges regarding freshwater: (1) demands by agriculture, cities, industry, and energy production are increasing; (2) severe pollution from various contaminants and growing withdrawals are limiting the capacity of waterways to dilute contaminants — threatening human and aquatic life; and, (3) climate change will cause periods of frequent and severe droughts — punctuated by acute periods of flooding.The goal of this book is to illuminate how the governance of freshwater is a political, social, economic, cultural, and ecological challenge. The management and provision of water are not merely technical problems whose resolution hinges on hydrological principle, cost, or engineering feasibility. They are products of decisions made by governments, businesses, and interest groups that exercise control over who has access to water, how they use it, and in what condition they receive it. It discusses basic knowledge about water supply and quality; the evolution of water policy in different societies; the importance of water to human and environmental health; the role of law, politics, and markets in its allocation, use, and protection; and, the importance of ethics in its equitable provision.

Download or read book Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy written by Matthew J. Kotchen and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2022-01-24 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents six new papers on environmental and energy economics and policy in the United States. Rebecca Davis, J. Scott Holladay, and Charles Sims analyze recent trends in and forecasts of coal-fired power plant retirements with and without new climate policy. Severin Borenstein and James Bushnell examine the efficiency of pricing for electricity, natural gas, and gasoline. James Archsmith, Erich Muehlegger, and David Rapson provide a prospective analysis of future pathways for electric vehicle adoption. Kenneth Gillingham considers the consequences of such pathways for the design of fuel vehicle economy standards. Frank Wolak investigates the long-term resource adequacy in wholesale electricity markets with significant intermittent renewables. Finally, Barbara Annicchiarico, Stefano Carattini, Carolyn Fischer, and Garth Heutel review the state of research on the interactions between business cycles and environmental policy.