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The book discusses smart governments and innovation in the public sector. In hopes of arriving at a clear definition of innovation in the field of public administration, the volume provides a wide survey of global policies and practices, especially those aimed at reducing bureaucracy and using information-communication technologies in public service delivery. Chapters look at current applications across countries and multiple levels of government, from public innovation labs in the UK to AI in South Korea. Providing concrete examples of innovation culture at work in public institutions, this volume will be of use to researchers and students studying new public management, public service delivery, and innovation as well as practitioners and professionals working in various public agencies.

This volume gathers the latest advances, innovations and applications in the field of condition monitoring, plant maintenance and reliability, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the 6th International Conference on Maintenance Engineering and the 2021 conference of the Efficiency and Performance Engineering Network (IncoME-VI  TEPEN 2021), held in Tianjin, China on October 20-23, 2021. Topics include vibro-acoustics monitoring, condition-based maintenance, sensing and instrumentation, machine health monitoring, maintenance auditing and organization, non-destructive testing, reliability, asset management, condition monitoring, life-cycle cost optimisation, prognostics and health management, maintenance performance measurement, manufacturing process monitoring, and robot-based monitoring and diagnostics. The contributions, which were selected through a rigorous international peer-review process, share exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster new multidisciplinary collaborations.

Modern Optimization Techniques for Smart Grids presents current research and methods for monitoring transmission systems and enhancing distribution system performance using optimization techniques considering the role of different single and multi-objective functions. The authors present in-depth information on integrated systems for smart transmission and distribution, including using smart meters such as phasor measurement units (PMUs), enhancing distribution system performance using the optimal placement of distributed generations (DGs) and/or capacitor banks, and optimal capacitor placement for power loss reduction and voltage profile improvement. The book will be a valuable reference for researchers, students, and engineers working in electrical power engineering and renewable energy systems.Predicts future development of hybrid power systems;Introduces enhanced optimization strategies;Includes MATLAB M-file codes.

The book sets out to examine the concept of 'chav', providing a review of its origins, its characterological figures, the process of enregisterment whereby it has come to be recognized in public discourse, and the traits associated with it in traditional media representations. The author then discusses the 'chav' label in light of recent re-appropriations in social network activity (particularly through the video-sharing app TikTok) and subsequent commentary in the public sphere. She traces the evolution of the term from its use during the first decade of the twenty-first century to make sense of class, status and cultural capital, to its resurgence and the ways in which it is still associated with appearance in gendered and classed ways. She then draws on recent developments in linguistic anthropology and embodied sociocultural linguistics to argue that social media users draw on communicative resources to perform identities that are both situated in specific contexts of discourse and dynamically changing, challenging the idea that geo-sociocultural varieties and mannerisms are the sole way of indexing membership of a community. This volume contends that equating 'chav' with 'underclass' in the most recent uses of the concept on social networks may not be the whole story, and the book will be of interest to sociocultural linguistics and identity researchers, as well as readers in anthropology, sociology, British studies, cultural studies, identity studies, digital humanities, and sociolinguistics.

This book explores innovative and context-driven political and legal policy measures designed to expand the powers of the African Union (AU) in order to meaningfully drive the continental integration process. In this regard, the book addresses issues of context, political will, and innovative and inclusive approaches as essential elements that must be considered. Africa is currently experiencing one of the most critical phases of its integrative development. Since 2015, there have been increasing efforts to develop policies and practices that grant the AU broader powers to coordinate and create binding rules regarding the regional integration process. In other words, these processes seek to endow the AU with supranational powers like those exercised by the European Union, which, despite its internal problems, remains the most successful experiment in supranationalism in the world.This has included the decision to finance the AU through a 0.2% tax on eligible imports into member states; the decision to reduce the number of AU Commission portfolios from eight to six; the adoption and entry into force of the much touted Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area; the adoption of the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right to Residence and Right of Establishment; and the adoption of the AU Agenda 2063 policy framework in 2015. How these processes will change the direction of regional integration in Africa, the book argues, largely depends on the existence of quality-driven institutions.

Companies and policy makers are prioritizing environmental, social, and governance goals as part of their strategies. Academic research has started to focus on these issues, but many important matters require deeper investigation and reflection, especially in specific sectors. This book focuses on the sustainability issues within the retailing and services sectors. Starting the discussion around research-knowledge on CSR, the authors discuss the strategic aspects of managing sustainability in retailing and service companies and offer recommendations to effectively manage the marketing levers for sustainability.  Readers will benefit from an in-depth analysis of the social responsibility practices of major retailers and their strategies. The authors also take an inside view of CSR by studying the angles of employee perception and job satisfaction, financial performance, and the more recent impact of COVID-19. Using this approach, they highlight the system of relationships existing between stakeholder-related concepts and organizational factors and how they affect sustainability strategy.   

eRisk stands for Early Risk Prediction on the Internet. It is concerned with the exploration of techniques for the early detection of mental health disorders which manifest in the way people write and communicate on the internet, in particular in user generated content (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, or other social media).Early detection technologies can be employed in several different areas but particularly in those related to health and safety. For instance, early alerts could be sent when the writing of a teenager starts showing increasing signs of depression, or when a social media user starts showing suicidal inclinations, or again when a potential offender starts publishing antisocial threats on a blog, forum or social network. eRisk has been the pioneer of a new interdisciplinary area of research that is potentially applicable to a wide variety of situations, problems and personal profiles.This book presents the best results of the first five years of the eRisk project which started in 2017 and developed into one of the most successful track of CLEF, the Conference and Lab of the Evaluation Forum.

Fluorescence Molecular Tomography: Principles and Applications is the first book to cover the underlying principles and practical applications of fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) in a systematic manner. Using a tutorial approach, the text begins with an overview of the fundamentals of FMT and goes on to detail image reconstruction approaches (including linear and nonlinear reconstruction algorithms), FMT instrumentations (including time-domain, frequency-domain, and continuous-wave domain systems), and implementation of image-enhancing schemes (including both software and hardware approaches). Further chapters examine multimodal approaches combining photoacoustic tomography (PAT), computed tomography (CT), single-photon emission tomography (SPECT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and discuss bioluminescence tomography and miniaturized FMT from hand-held to endoscopic FMT. A final chapter looks at clinical applications and animal studies. This authoritative and practical guide will serve as a valuable reference for researchers, scientists, clinicians, and industry professionals.The first book dedicated to fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT); Covers underlying principles and practical applications; Written by a leading FMT research pioneer and expert.

This book gives a step-by-step introduction to designing and building your own robots.  As with other books in the Arduino series, the book begins with a quick overview of the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) used to write sketches, and the hardware systems aboard the Arduino UNO R3 and the Mega 2560 Rev 3.  The level of the text makes it accessible for students, hobbyist and professionals' first introduction to both Arduino and Robotics.  This book will be accessible by all levels of students, advanced hobbyists and engineering professionals, whether using as a self-reference or within a structure design laboratory. The text then examines the many concepts and characteristics common to all robots.  In addition, throughout the book , reasonably priced, easily accessible and available off-the-shelf robots are examined. Examples include wheeled robots, tracked robots and also a robotic arm.  After a thorough and easy to follow  Arduino IDE and hardware introduction, the book launches into "e;do it yourself"e; or DIY concepts.  A unique feature of the book is to start with a hands-on introduction to low cost 3D printing.  These concepts will allow you to design and print your own custom robot parts and chassis.  We then explore concepts to sense a robot's environment, move the robot about and provide a portable power source.  We conclude with a several DIY robot projects.

This book is the first to apply systematic palaeopathological, archaeological and historical investigations (using bones as a focus as well as other supporting lines of information) to Chinese osteological materials in order to answer the question about the origins of cattle labour. Structurally, this monograph flows from an introduction and review of previous scholarship and questions, through employed theory and developed methods, to analyses of archaeological materials, and finally finishes by overall discussion and closing remarks.Topics covered in this monograph include the significance of the study of cattle traction in North China, understanding and research into cattle traction within history, art and archaeology, and identifying traction in cattle bones. The author also uses the Pathological Index-refined (PIr) and morphometrics to test the reliability of both methods in identifying traction in cattle bones. The author applies both methods to archaeological sites in the Yellow River region. This book is of interest to researchers studying the Late Bronze Age and zooarchaeology.

In the present economic, political, societal and environmental landscape, which is dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergence of challenges and issues that demand immediate and urgent responses is more intense than ever. Policymakers, international organizations, governmental and non-governmental institutions around the globe are seeking effective and sustainable policies, as they try to tackle far-reaching issues that affect all aspects of the economy and agriculture, including the food sector. In this context, this book presents new modelling approaches and their application to complex problems in the agro-food chain in order to address today's pressing food policy issues. The respective chapters showcase national and regional studies on sustainable communities, rural environments and ecosystems. Taken together, they offer a valuable reference guide for scholars and practitioners alike."e;

This thesis makes significant advances towards an understanding of superconductivity in the cuprate family of unconventional, high-temperature superconductors. Even though the high-temperature superconductors were discovered over 35 years ago, there is not yet a general consensus on an acceptable theory of superconductivity in these materials. One of the early proposals suggested that collective magnetic excitations of the conduction electrons could lead them to form pairs, which in turn condense to form the superconducting state at a critical temperature Tc. Quantitative calculations of Tc using experimental data were, however, not available to verify the applicability of this magnetic mechanism. In this thesis, the author constructed an angle-resolved photoemission apparatus that could provide sufficiently accurate data of the electronic excitation spectra of samples in the normal state, data which was furthermore unusually devoid of any surface contamination. The author also applied the Bethe-Salpeter method to his uncommonly pristine and precise normal state data, and was able to predict the approximate superconducting transition temperatures of different samples. This rare combination of experiment with sophisticated theoretical calculations leads to the conclusion that antiferromagnetic correlations are a viable candidate for the pairing interaction in the cuprate superconductors.

This book aids the practitioner in understanding the difference between spasticity and muscle stiffness, weighing old and new treatment options, and developing an appropriate treatment algorithm for a given patient. Spasticity is a common and disabling condition after neurologic injury such as stroke, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy. Current treatments for spasticity may exacerbate other problems. Hence, there is a great need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiology of spasticity and muscle stiffness, its assessment, and the various treatment options available to obtain the best results to restore joint alignment, movement, and function. This book is organized into two sections: Part I of the book deals with the pathophysiology and assessment of spasticity and muscle stiffness, and Part II of the book explains the rationale, framework, considerations, and evidence for various treatments for both spasticity and muscle stiffness. This comprehensive approach will enable physiatrists, neurologists, internists, and physical and occupational therapists to achieve the best possible outcomes for their patients.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the most important neurochemicals and approaches everything from the neurochemical's perspective. It attempts to integrate the biochemical pathways of synthesis and metabolism of these neurochemicals with the disease states and point out the avenues of diagnostic testing and therapeutic intervention. Each chapter focuses on a specific neurochemical and provides a brief history, the biochemical profile, metabolism, physiological functions, and the clinical aspects. The clinical part of each chapter includes a discussion on disease states with either increased or reduced activity of the neurochemical and either activation or inhibition of the relevant receptors. This book is targeted toward practitioners and students of neuroscience and is written to emphasize the importance of these neurochemicals in the brain. With this emphasis on background neurochemical processes, the readers will be pointed towards logical diagnostic studies, laboratory investigations, and therapies based on the neurochemical dysfunction that underlies various disease states.

IBM (international business machines) has published in its SPSS statistical software 2022 update a very important novel regression method entitled Kernel Ridge Regression (KRR). It is an extension of the currently available regression methods, and is suitable for pattern recognition in high dimensional data, particularly, when alternative methods fail. Its theoretical advantages are plenty and include thekernel trick for reduced arithmetic complexity,estimation of uncertainty by Gaussians unlike histograms,corrected data-overfit by ridge regularization,availability of 8 alternative kernel density models for datafit.A very exciting and wide array of preliminary KRR research has already been published by major disciplines (like studies in quantum mechanics and nuclear physics, studies of molecular affinity / dynamics, atomisation energy studies, but also forecasting economics studies, IoT (internet of things) studies for e-networks, plant stress response studies, big data streaming studies, etc). In contrast, it is virtually unused in clinical research. This edition is the first textbook and tutorial of kernel ridge regressions for medical and healthcare students as well as recollection / update bench, and help desk for professionals. Each chapter can be studied as a standalone, and, using, real as well as hypothesized data, it tests the performance of the novel methodology against traditional regression analyses. Step by step analyses of over 20 data files stored at Supplementary Files at Springer Interlink are included for self-assessment. We should add that the authors are well qualified in their field. Professor Zwinderman is past-president of the International Society of Biostatistics (2012-2015) and Professor Cleophas is past-president of the American College of Angiology (2000-2002). From their expertise they should be able to make adequate selections of modern KRR methods for the benefit of physicians, students, and investigators. The authors have been working and publishing together for 24 years and their research can be characterized as a continued effort to demonstrate that clinical data analysis is not mathematics but rather a discipline at the interface of biology and mathematics.

Mining was one of the primary elements of colonial enterprise in Australia and a factor in movement on colonial frontiers. In the second half of the 19th and early 20th century, mining-particularly of gold-saw transformations of the land itself, as well as in the way that people working in mining engaged with the landscape around them. Landscape archaeology provides a theoretical perspective that allows an articulation of how people created and understood the place in which they lived and worked.The impact of and narrative surrounding gold mining has meant that it has long been a focus of study, both historical and archaeological. The archaeology of mining has traditionally fallen under the umbrella of industrial archaeology, with analyses based on historical, economic and technological evidence.  However this is changing.  From an industrial focus, examining the remnants of mines and associated processing equipment, archaeology has progressed towards understandings of the social aspects of mining, recognising that people, not just equipment, occupied these landscapes. Nevertheless, there remains a separation between industrial/technology-based studies and purely social/ household-based archaeological studies-a division that overlooks the integration of home and livelihood.This work addresses these very challenges, using a landscape-based approach that articulates a nuanced, meaning-ladened and experienced mining landscape. Integrating the social and the industrial, the case study of Mount Shamrock, a gold-mining town in Queensland, Australia, demonstrates how this methodology can enhance our understanding of the past. The work presents an integration of social and industrial perspectives in a mining settlement, and provides an exemplar in the application of landscape theory to Australian historical archaeology. These concepts and approaches, developed in an Australian context, are of universal interest.

This book develops survey data analysis tools in Python, to create and analyze cross-tab tables and data visuals, weight data, perform hypothesis tests, and handle special survey questions such as Check-all-that-Apply. In addition, the basics of Bayesian data analysis and its Python implementation are presented. Since surveys are widely used as the primary method to collect data, and ultimately information, on attitudes, interests, and opinions of customers and constituents, these tools are vital for private or public sector policy decisions.As a compact volume, this book uses case studies to illustrate methods of analysis essential for those who work with survey data in either sector. It focuses on two overarching objectives:Demonstrate how to extract actionable, insightful, and useful information from survey data; andIntroduce Python and Pandas for analyzing survey data.

This book offers the reader a journey through the counterintuitive nature of Brownian motion under confinement. Diffusion is a universal phenomenon that controls a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological processes. The transport of spatially-constrained molecules and small particles is ubiquitous in nature and technology and plays an essential role in different processes. Understanding the physics of diffusion under conditions of confinement is essential for a number of biological phenomena and potential technological applications in micro- and nanofluidics, among others. Studies on diffusion under confinement are typically difficult to understand for young scientists and students because of the extensive background on diffusion processes, physics, and mathematics that is required. All of this information is provided in this book, which is essentially self-contained as a result of the authors¿ efforts to make it accessible to an audience of students from avariety of different backgrounds. The book also provides the necessary mathematical details so students can follow the technical process required to solve each problem. Readers will also find detailed explanations of the main results based on the last 30 years of research devoted to studying diffusion under confinement. The authors approach the physical problem from various angles and discuss the role of geometries and boundary conditions in diffusion. This textbook serves as a comprehensive and modern overview of Brownian motion under confinement and is intended for young scientists, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates in physics, physical chemistry, biology, chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, bioengineering, and polymer and material sciences.

Dieses Buch untersucht den endogenen institutionellen Wandel und die globalen, zyklischen und machtbasierten Triebkräfte, die ihm zugrunde liegen. Es wird ein metatheoretischer Rahmen vorgestellt, der den Einfluss von Pfadabhängigkeit, systemischen zyklusbedingten Machtbeziehungen und institutionellem Design auf die Entwicklung von Arbeitsinstitutionen aufzeigt. Der Rahmen wird auf die USA, Deutschland und China angewandt, um eine vergleichende wirtschaftliche Perspektive zu bieten. Systemischer Zyklus und institutioneller Wandel: Arbeitsmärkte in den USA, Deutschland und China zielt darauf ab, endogenen institutionellen Wandel durch die Analyse des systemischen Zyklus zu untersuchen und globale und nationale Konzepte des Kapitalismus zusammenzubringen. Das Buch richtet sich an Studenten und Forscher, die an vergleichender Wirtschaftswissenschaft, politischer Ökonomie und Arbeitsökonomie interessiert sind.

This monograph is devoted to Eulerian models for fluid-structure interaction by applying the original point of view of level set methods.In the last 15 years, Eulerian models have become popular tools for studying fluid-structure interaction problems. One major advantage compared to more conventional methods such as ALE methods is that they allow the use of a single grid and a single discretization method for the different media. Level set methods in addition provide a general framework to follow the fluid-solid interfaces, to represent the elastic stresses of solids, and to model the contact forces between solids.This book offers a combination of mathematical modeling, aspects of numerical analysis, elementary codes and numerical illustrations, providing the reader with insights into the applications and performance of these models.Assuming background at the level of a Master's degree, Level Set Methods for Fluid-Structure Interaction provides researchers in the fields of numerical analysis of PDEs, theoretical and computational mechanics with a basic reference on the topic. Its pedagogical style and organization make it particularly suitable for graduate students and young researchers.

This book presents a comparative perspective on different government communication strategies to COVID-19 around the globe. Scholars from twenty parts of the world specialized in political and government communication analyze initiatives and methods of various governments' communicative responses to the pandemic. In their contributions to this volume, they examine a wide range of distinct attitudes and reactions facing the crisis. Today's omnidirectional contact allowed by social media, with its load of contradictory rumors and fake news, often obliterates the citizens' ability to comprehend reality. The book frames a broad canvas on how government communication may deal with that and manage similar crises - bound to happen as climate changes and war menaces are generating more and more worries about the future of humanity. This makes this volume a must-read for scholars and students of political communication, health policies and communication, crisis marketing and communication. It will also be of utmost interest for practitioners and policy-makers from these fields willing to better understand government communication and its answer to global crises.