![]() |
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
||
|
Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > Embargos & sanctions
Design for Health: Applications of Human Factors delves into critical and emergent issues in healthcare and patient safety and how the field of human factors and ergonomics play a role in this domain. The book uses the Design for X (DfX) methodology to discuss a wide range of contexts, technologies, and population dependent criteria (X's) that must be considered in the design of a safe and usable healthcare ecosystem. Each chapter discusses a specific topic (e.g., mHealth, medical devices, emergency response, global health, etc.), reviews the concept, and presents a case study that demonstrates how human factors techniques and principles are utilized for the design, evaluation or improvements to specific tools, devices, and technologies (Section 1), healthcare systems and environments (Section 2), and applications to special populations (Section 3). The book represents an essential resource for researchers in academia as well as practitioners in medical device industries, consumer IT, and hospital settings. It covers a range of topics from medication reconciliation to self-care to the artificial heart.
The polar regions (the Arctic and Antarctic) have enjoyed widespread public attention in recent years, as issues of conservation, sustainability, resource speculation and geopolitical manoeuvring have all garnered considerable international media interest. This critical collection of new and original papers - the first of its kind - offers a comprehensive exploration of these and other topics, consolidating the emergent field of polar geopolitics. The expert international contributors to this volume offer a range of insightful comparative, interdisciplinary and global perspectives on polar issues. Key topics discussed include resource extraction, regime formation, knowledge construction, border issues, governance and treaties, and indigenous livelihoods. Contributions from scholars of history, geography, political science, anthropology and international law make this a truly comprehensive take on the current state and future prospects of both the polar regions and polar geopolitics as a distinct discipline. Students and professors of geopolitics, political science and geography - especially those with an interest in the polar regions - will find much of value in this book s concrete expression of a new and fascinating field.
Emerging Cyber Threats and Cognitive Vulnerabilities identifies the critical role human behavior plays in cybersecurity and provides insights into how human decision-making can help address rising volumes of cyberthreats. The book examines the role of psychology in cybersecurity by addressing each actor involved in the process: hackers, targets, cybersecurity practitioners and the wider social context in which these groups operate. It applies psychological factors such as motivations, group processes and decision-making heuristics that may lead individuals to underestimate risk. The goal of this understanding is to more quickly identify threat and create early education and prevention strategies. This book covers a variety of topics and addresses different challenges in response to changes in the ways in to study various areas of decision-making, behavior, artificial intelligence, and human interaction in relation to cybersecurity.
In 2011, the diplomatic and expert consensus was that Bashar al-Asads regime would fail, causing Syria to disintegrate into several ethnic enclaves or mini-states. A decade later and Bashar is still in control, having defeated the rebels and gained the support of Russia. The years of internal warfare have brought about changes in the spectrum of parties involved in the Syrian state, and the final outcome is inevitably going to be shaped by geo-politics. The Alawi minority still in large measure controls the Sunni-Muslim (Arab) majority. The other players are a gallery of ever changing allegiances: ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, and many other radical Islamic groups; the Muslim Kurdish and Christian Arab communities; as well as Shii Lebanese Hizballah. External horizon players are Iran; Sunni Turkey and Saudi Arabia; Jewish Israel; the United States and Russia. This study aims to analyze the agendas, actions, and interrelations of these various actors from 2011 until the present. It will discuss their ongoing politics and assess forthcoming developments. Both Iran and Russia continue to support Bashar, but compete for political, military, and economic influence. The US has greatly reduced involvement, keeping only 900 troops in northeastern Syria, to protect its Kurdish allies and fight against ISIS. Turkey still occupies parts of northern Syria, with the aim of eliminating the Kurdish forces. Syrian and Russian military attempts to conquer this area continue sporadically. The Israeli air force has attacked Iranian and Hizballah positions with the tacit approval of Russia. However, Russias war on Ukraine in February 2022 may result in restricting Israeli interdictions and instead enhance cooperation with Tehran in order to counter the US and NATO. Both Russia and Iran have been incapable of reconstructing the massively destroyed Syrian infrastructure; the US and Europe are reluctant to contribute due to Bashars continued Alawi minority-based autocratic and corrupt rule.
This book examines the history of the Cyprus Tribute, and takes a longer and broader view of the issue than previous studies. It analyses the regional context of the decision to use revenue surpluses for the repayment of debt within the framework of the Eastern Question and Ottoman bankruptcy. We see that the island was always strategically and financially overshadowed by Egypt. Scrutinising political developments in Cyprus through the prism of the tribute issue facilitates a better understanding of its considerable effect on them. The absence of any imperial role for Cyprus as a 'place d'armes' meant that there was no imperial interest in funding the infrastructural development of the island. British policy was treasury-driven. Diana Markides analyses why it failed, and how its failure resulted in the local colonial government having to impose a deeply unpopular fiscal policy, for which there was no adequate explanation. She examines the extent to which local resistance to this policy affected not only constitutional development on the island and Anglo-Cypriot relations, but the nature of the relations between the two major communities.
China has forty major transboundary watercourses with neighbouring countries, and has frequently been accused of harming its downstream neighbours through its domestic water management policies, such as the construction of dams for hydropower. This book provides an understanding of water security in Asia by investigating how shared water resources affect China's relationships with neighbouring countries in South, East, Southeast and Central Asia. Since China is an upstream state on most of its shared transboundary rivers, the country's international water policy is at the core of Asia's water security. These water disputes have had strong implications for China's interstate relations, and also influenced its international water policy alongside domestic concerns over water resource management. This book investigates China's policy responses to domestic water crises and examines China's international water policy as well as its strategy in dealing with international cooperation. The authors describe the key elements of water diplomacy in Asia which demonstrate varying degrees of effectiveness of environmental agreements. It shows how China has established various institutional arrangements with neighbouring countries, primarily in the form of bilateral agreements over hydrological data exchange. Detailed case studies are included of the Mekong, Brahmaputra, Ili and Amur rivers.
This book examines the politics and international relations of Central Europe (the Visegrad Four) three decades after the fall of communism. Once bound together by a common geopolitical vision of "returning to the West," the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia now find themselves in a more ambiguous position. The 2015 European migration crisis exposed serious normative differences with Western Europe, leading to a collective V4 rebellion against the European Union's migration policies. At the same time, as this book demonstrates-despite this normative rift with Western Europe and despite the democratic backsliding in some of the V4 states-they remain deeply dependent on the West in both symbolic and material terms. Furthermore, ways in which individual Central European states position themselves vis-a-vis the West exhibit notable differences, informed by their specific political and cultural legacies. The author examines these in separate country chapters. This book also contains a chapter that analyzes the effect of the COVID-19 crisis on political discourses in the V4.
The book provides a comprehensive understanding of the unfolding geopolitical changes in the South Caucasus in the age of increased great power competition across Eurasia. Recent research on the geopolitics of the South Caucasus focuses either on interstate relations among Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia or on each of regional actor's (Russia, Turkey and Iran) ties with the region's one or all three states. Little attempt has been made to see the region's shifting geopolitical importance from a global perspective: growing US-China rivalry and shifting balance of power in Eurasia; recalibration of the US' military and diplomatic vision in western Eurasia to adjust to the Chinese challenge. The book argues, from a theoretical point of view, that the increased competition in the region fits into the global pattern of unfolding great power competition, when military and economic calculations drive regional powers to increase their influence on immediate neighborhoods sidelining the collective West from the negotiating table and the emerging new security architecture.
The Gulf States and the Horn of Africa takes a deep dive into the complexities of power projection, political rivalry and conflict across the Red Sea and beyond. Focusing on the nature of interregional connections between the Gulf and the Horn, it explores the multifaceted nature of relations between states and the two increasingly important subregions. Bringing together scholars working on and in both regions, the book considers strategic competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and between the UAE and both Qatar and Turkey, along with other international engagement such as joint anti-piracy operations, counterterrorism cooperation, security assistance, base agreements and economic development. Drawing on a range of subject expertise and field research across case study countries, the volume adds to the sparse literature on the regional and international politics of the Horn of Africa and Red Sea, gleaning specific insights from contemporary reflections across the book. This is essential reading for students and researchers interested in the Horn of Africa and the evolving regional geopolitics of the Gulf. -- .
A timely, provocative expose of America's political and business leadership's deep ties to China: a network of people who believe they are doing the right thing - at a profound and often hidden cost to American and Western interests. The past few years have seen a shift in the relations between China and the United States, from enthusiastic economic partners, to wary frenemies, to open rivals. Americans have been slow to wake up to the challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party. Why did this happen? And what can be done about it? In America Second, Isaac Stone Fish traces the evolution of the Chinese Communist Party's influence in America. He shows how America's leaders initially welcomed China's entry into the US economy, believing that trade and engagement would lead to a more democratic China. And he explains how - despite the fact that this belief has proved misguided - many of the country's businesspeople and politicians have become too dependent on China to challenge it. America Second exposes a deep web of Chinese influence in America, built quietly over the years through prominent figures such as former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright, Disney chairman Bob Iger, and members of the Bush political dynasty. And it shows how to fight that influence - without being paranoid, xenophobic, or racist. This is an authoritative and important story, not only of corruption but of misplaced intentions, with serious implications for the future of the United States, as well as for the world at large.
Drawing on a wide range of sources and historiographical material, Between East and West provides a comprehensive analysis of the efforts of the Moscow princes to form a centralized Russian state. According to the author, the unification of Russia around Moscow was not historically inevitable. Tver, Novgorod, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also claimed this role, and if they had been victorious, a less authoritarian, less autocratic and less despotic Russian state could have emerged. Professor Shaikhutdinov rejects the concept of the "Mongol-Tatar yoke" and claims that relations between Moscow and Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde) were more complicated and interdependent. The influence of Ulus Jochi on Moscow was especially strong in the political, economic and military spheres, while the religious field was dominated by the influence from Byzantium. The volume discusses in detail the geopolitical aspirations of Russia and the "Moscow-Third Rome" theory. In sum, the formation of the Moscow state was directly influenced by both internal and external factors, countries of the East and the West.
This book examines the development of bilateral energy relations between China and the two oil-rich countries, Kazakhstan and Russia. Challenging conventional assumptions about energy politics and China's global quest for oil, this book examines the interplay of politics and sociocultural contexts. It shows how energy resources become ideas and how these ideas are mobilized in the realm of international relations. China's relations with Kazakhstan and Russia are simultaneously enabled and constrained by the discursive politics of oil. It is argued that to build collaborative and constructive energy relations with China, its partners in Kazakhstan, Russia, and elsewhere must consider not only the material realities of China's energy industry and the institutional settings of China's energy policy but also the multiple symbolic meanings that energy resources and, particularly, oil acquire in China. China's Energy Security and Relations with Petrostates offers a nuanced understanding of China's bilateral energy relations with Kazakhstan and Russia, raising essential questions about the social logic of international energy politics. It will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, energy security, Chinese and post-Soviet studies, along with researchers working in the fields of energy policy and environmental sustainability.
The idea of civilization recurs frequently in reflections on international politics. However, International Relations academic writings on civilization have failed to acknowledge the major 20th-century analysis that examined the processes through which Europeans came to regard themselves as uniquely civilized - Norbert Elias's On the Process of Civilization. This book provides a comprehensive exploration of the significance of Elias's reflections on civilization for International Relations. It explains the working principles of an Eliasian, or process-sociological, approach to civilization and the global order and demonstrates how the interdependencies between state-formation, colonialism and an emergent international society shaped the European 'civilizing process'.
Creativity and Humor provides an overview of the intersection of how humor influences creativity and how creativity can affect humor. The book's chapters speak to the wide reach of creativity and humor with different topics, such as play, culture, work, education, therapy, and social justice covered. As creativity and humor are individual traits and abilities that have each been studied in psychology, this book presents the latest information.
Pursuing an original perspective on the shifting extent & geopolitical standing of Europe, this book looks at how marginal countries & spaces impact upon Europe as a centre. It offers a theoretical discussion of borders & margins, set against nine studies of countries, regions & identities seen as marginal to Europe.
'one of the year's most exciting releases' - The Herald China is building the world's first digital totalitarian state, a system of hitherto unimaginable social and political control. Internet freedom has been eliminated and ubiquitous surveillance cameras employ the latest facial recognition technology. Through flagrant cyber espionage, it has plundered Western technology on a massive scale, bullied Western tech companies and academics (though many have been willing accomplices) and intimidated critics worldwide. In doing so, it has become a model for aspiring dictators everywhere. Ian Williams examines the extraordinary rise of the Chinese surveillance state, showing how it has been driven by the enigmatic Xi Jinping, now effectively president for life, and how it impacts the daily lives of Chinese citizens, particularly dissidents and those from ethnic minorities. Supporting interviews and first-hand accounts from those whose lives have been turned upside down or worse highlight the chilling and ruthless efficiency with which the government can now act. The book also considers the wider implications for the rest of the world. How to deal with an increasingly strident, aggressive Beijing is one of the biggest challenges facing the West in what has become a technological Cold War.
The Dalai Lama is both the living conscience of the Tibetan people and an internationally respected human rights symbol. His high-profile appearances and books have fueled the surging popularity of Buddhism in the United States and throughout the West. This new, up-to-date biography provides insight into the curious and winning personality of the Dalai Lama as a boy and his wisdom as a man. The Buddhist spiritual worlds and the Dalai Lama's rarified role are engagingly and evenly presented. The Dalai Lama's story is revealed from his early family life to his experiences in the world, his education as the 14th incarnation of the Lama, his exile in India, and his current struggles to help Tibet regain its independence from China. Especially helpful is the clear historical overview of the Tibetan crisis after the Chinese invasion. A timeline and glossary also supplement the text. Though the book is written especially for high school students doing reports, it will also be of immense interest to general readers.
This book questions whether the institutions and practices of the emerging EU diplomatic system conform to established standards of the state-centric diplomatic order; or whether practice is paving the way for innovative, even revolutionary, forms of diplomatic organisation.
Moving beyond state-centric and elitist perspectives, this volume examines everyday security in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and written by scholars from Central Asia and beyond, it shows how insecurity is experienced, what people consider existential threats, and how they go about securing themselves. It concentrates on individuals who feel threatened because of their ethnic belonging, gender or sexual orientation. It develops the concept of 'securityscapes', which draws attention to the more subtle means that people take to secure themselves - practices bent on invisibility and avoidance, on disguise and trickery, and on continually adapting to shifting circumstances. By broadening the concept of security practice, this book is an important contribution to debates in Critical Security Studies as well as to Central Asian and Area Studies.
Psychology and Climate Change: Human Perceptions, Impacts, and Responses organizes and summarizes recent psychological research that relates to the issue of climate change. The book covers topics such as how people perceive and respond to climate change, how people understand and communicate about the issue, how it impacts individuals and communities, particularly vulnerable communities, and how individuals and communities can best prepare for and mitigate negative climate change impacts. It addresses the topic at multiple scales, from individuals to close social networks and communities. Further, it considers the role of social diversity in shaping vulnerability and reactions to climate change. Psychology and Climate Change describes the implications of psychological processes such as perceptions and motivations (e.g., risk perception, motivated cognition, denial), emotional responses, group identities, mental health and well-being, sense of place, and behavior (mitigation and adaptation). The book strives to engage diverse stakeholders, from multiple disciplines in addition to psychology, and at every level of decision making - individual, community, national, and international, to understand the ways in which human capabilities and tendencies can and should shape policy and action to address the urgent and very real issue of climate change. |
You may like...
Transnational Cooperation - An…
Clint Peinhardt, Todd Sandler
Hardcover
R3,579
Discovery Miles 35 790
Introduction to Clinical Aspects of the…
Otto Appenzeller, Guillaume J. Lamotte, …
Hardcover
R3,471
Discovery Miles 34 710
Handbook on the Changing Geographies of…
Sami Moisio, Natalie Koch, …
Hardcover
R7,655
Discovery Miles 76 550
Rethinking American Grand Strategy
Elizabeth Borgwardt, Christopher McKnight Nichols, …
Hardcover
R2,460
Discovery Miles 24 600
|