This book, based on the lectures and contributions of the NATO ASIon Functional Properties of Nanostructured Materials, gives a broadoverview on this topic, as it combines basic theoretical articles, papersdealing with experimental techniques, and contributions on advancedand up-to-date applications in fields such as microelectronics, optoelectronics, electrochemistry, sensorics, and biotechnology. Inaddition, it presents an interdisciplinary approach since the authorscame from such different fields as physics, chemistry, engineering, materials science and biology. Some emphasis is given to the field ofnanostructured/nanoscaled thin films, again stretching from basictheoretical over experimental (including both fabrication andcharacterization) to application oriented topic

This book identifies and describes five megatrends that will define the landscape of the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality industry, with a particular focus on the European context. Humans began travelling on the same day that Homo Sapiens first realized he could walk upright. No boundaries, mountains or cliffs have managed to stop or diminish our insatiable desire to find out what lies beyond the visible horizon. Tourism has enjoyed virtually uninterrupted growth for the past several decades, and the sector has now become the third-largest source of export revenue, after chemicals and fuel, and ahead of the automotive and food sectors. And yet, in its current globalised format, it is exposed to sudden shocks that can swiftly shake up the status quo accelerating the deployment of some megatrends here described. We have all witnessed the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating consequences for the industry. While the number of international tourism arrivals to Europe has soared to over 700 million a year, at the same time we are experiencing a period of deep transformation. Bauman couldn't have been more accurate or insightful when he coined the word 'liquid' in this regard. As an exquisite expression of a civilized, rich and discerning first-world society, travel and tourism are now changing shape and meaning, requiring our business models to adapt. What are the megatrends that will dictate the future shape of our industry's landscape? Who is the new tourist, if there is one, and what is she looking for? Is the new post-technological era transforming the depth and the very essence of travelling? This book offers a number of visionary insights, as well as operational takeaways.

Based on the 2005 publication The Financial Appraisal Profile Model , this book discusses how the FAP model can present an integrated process for the appraisal of financial and strategic benefits and the assessment of risk in ICT (Information Communication Technology) project proposals.

This unique volume brings together original essays by well-known mass communication experts--master teachers--who provide practical information on teaching the communication and journalism courses in which they specialize. The authors make recommendations for practical/applied, theoretical, and advanced courses, representing every area of the mass communications curriculum. Its contributors include eminent specialists such as Maurine H. Beasley, who offers advice to teachers of media history; Dan Nimmo (political communication); Roy L. Moore (media law); Jay Black (media ethics); and John De Mott (media management). Chapter authors suggest course outlines, teaching strategies, and methods of testing, and provide reviews of current texts and supplementary materials such as films and other audio-visual aids.

Chapter topics in part I, The Introductory Course, include The Beginning Course in Mass Communication, and introductory courses to broadcasting, public relations, the film course, and internship programs. Part II, Applied Coursework, includes chapters on writing news for print and broadcast, reporting, advertising campaigns, audio and video production, and teaching research methods. Part III, which deals with advanced coursework, includes chapters on courses in mass communication law, mass media management, and history, mass media and politics, media criticism, and media ethics. Teaching Mass Communication will prove vitally important to faculty with new preparations for mass communication courses (including senior faculty keeping up with changes), media professionals, and new faculty preparing their teaching assignments.

Of all the Caribbean countries, Cuba possesses the most voluminous body of literature on mass communications. Following an informative introduction to the history of Cuban mass communications, this book is organized into three parts: resources, contemporary perspectives and historical perspectives. The resources section covers anthologies, bibliographies, catalogues, collections and other research materials. The contemporary perspectives of Cuban mass communications includes broadcasting, comic and graphic arts, film, freedom of the press, news agencies, popular culture, print media, Radio and Television Marti, training and education, and women and the media. The third section pulls together items of historical significance. To highlight the work of individual journalists, magazines and newspapers, 45 journalists and specific magazines and newspaper titles are singled out. This bibliography is representative in covering books, periodicals, dissertations, theses, and conference papers. Most of the more than 4,000 citations are in English or Spanish. The compiling editor completes this reference with author and general subject indices.

The varied cultural functions of dress, textiles and clothwork provide an especially cogent lens through which to reexamine our assumptions about the Middle Ages because of the topic's conceptual breadth. Its implications range from the highly theoretical to the very concrete. At one end of the spectrum, questions of dress call up feminist theoretical investigations into the body and subjectivity, while broadening those inquiries to include theories of masculinity as well. At the other extreme, the production and distribution of textiles carries us into the domain of economic history and the study of material commodities, trade and cultural patterns of exchange within western Europe and between east and west. Contributors to this volume represent a broad array of disciplines currently involved in rethinking medieval culture in terms of the material world.

We are facing an unprecedented environmental crisis. How can we communicate and act more effectively to make the political and economic changes required to survive and even thrive within the life-support capacities of our planet? This is the question at the heart of W. Lance Bennett's much-anticipated book. Bennett challenges readers to consider how best to approach the environmental crisis by changing how we think about the relationships between environment, economy, and democracy. He introduces a framework that citizens, practitioners, and scholars can use to evaluate common but unproductive communication that blocks thinking about change; develop more effective ways to define and approach problems; and design communication processes to engage diverse publics and organizations in developing understandings, goals, and political strategies. Until advocates develop economic programs with built-in environmental solutions, they will continue to lose policy fights. Putting "intersectional" communication into action requires acknowledging that communication is not only an exchange of messages, but an organizational process. Communicating the Future is important reading for students and scholars of media and communication, as well as general readers concerned about the environmental crisis.

Leading scientists discuss the most recent physical and experimental results in the physics of Bose-Einstein condensate theory, the theory of nonlinear lattices (including quantum and nonlinear lattices), and nonlinear optics and photonics. Classical and quantum aspects of the dynamics of nonlinear waves are considered. The contributions focus on the Gross-Pitaevskii equation and on the quantum nonlinear Schr dinger equation. Recent experimental results on atomic condensates and hydrogen bonded systems are reviewed. Particular attention is given to nonlinear matter waves in periodic potential.

Frankfurt/M., Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien. Kulturwissenschaftliche Werbeforschung. Bd. 3 Herausgegeben von Hartmut Schroder

All science proceeds by progressively building on the work of others while remaining open to new discoveries and challenging existing conceptual frameworks. The same is true of culturo-behavior science. This textbook presents the scientifically rigorous work of the last several decades that has taken a behavior-analytic view of social and cultural processes, with an eye for contributions that address social and cultural issues. The chapters herein explore and elaborate on the history, theories, and methodologies of culturo-behavior science and those of its researchers and practitioners. Throughout this volume, the authors intentionally prompt students to both learn from and question the current theory and methods while shaping their own research and practice. This book presents multiple intersecting perspectives intended for graduate-level students of behavior analysis. Contributors to this volume include many of the major scholars and practitioners conducting research and/or practicing in communities and larger cultural systems. Their work is scientifically guided, systemic, and ecologically valid; it includes basic research as well as efforts having applications in community health, sustainability, environmental issues, and social justice, among other matters. There is material here to support specialists preparing to do research or practice within community and cultural-level systems. As well, students who intend to do direct and clinical work will find the background they need to make contributions to the field as engaged, informed citizens.

Food and agricultural standards have recently risen to the top of both national and international agendas. Popular concerns about the power of the World Trade Organization focus on the intertwined relationships between environmental protection, labor and human rights, and the standards used to produce and supply our food and fiber globally. In the developing world, agricultural grades and standards are an important part of the reconfiguration of roles and responsibilities between various public and private actors in market reform. This original and informative collection of studies of agri-food standards in the modern economy addresses these and helps to define the scope of the emerging study of the politics of standards setting. Following an overview essay dealing with the multiple ways of thinking about, approaching and defining food and agricultural standards, eleven case studies offer a rich body of evidence that assesses the processes, dynamics and potential consequences of global agri-food standards. For all interested in the strategic use of food and agricultural standards - from those in national and international governmental agencies, researchers and others in the academic and private sector to those in the private business sector - this volume offers a broader perspective on and will serve as an important resource.

A trustworthy record is one that is both an accurate statement of facts and a genuine manifestation of those facts. Record trustworthiness thus has two qualitative dimensions: reliability and authenticity. Reliability means that the record is capable of standing for the facts to which it attests, while authenticity means that the record is what it claims to be. This study explores the evolution of the principles and methods for determining record trustworthiness from antiquity to the digital age, and from the perspectives of law and history. It also examines recent efforts undertaken by researchers in the field of archival science to develop methods for ensuring the trustworthiness of records created and maintained in electronic systems. Audience: The target audience for this study is legal scholars working in the field of evidence law, historians working in the field of historical methodology, and recordkeeping professionals (records managers, information technology specialists, archivists) working on the design and implementation of contemporary organizational recordkeeping systems.

Focusing primarily on visual forms of representation, but also including material on literary representation, this volume brings together studies as apparently disparate as the iconography of power in Mediterranean prehistory and clothing and cultural meaning in the First and Second World Wars. What draws these papers together is the common focus on how the scholar of the twenty-first century can pursue the interpretation of past representational cultural production from a gendered perspective. The fruit of research by academics from the fields of archaeology, classics and ancient history, art history and social history, and from both sides of the Atlantic, make this volume a fascinating introduction to a developing field.

One of the most challenging issues facing our current information society is the accelerating accumulation of data trails in transactional and communication systems, which may be used not only to profile the behaviour of individuals for commercial, marketing and law enforcement purposes, but also to locate and follow things and actions. Data mining, convergence, interoperability, ever- increasing computer capacities and the extreme miniaturisation of the hardware are all elements which contribute to a major contemporary challenge: the profiled world. This interdisciplinary volume offers twenty contributions that delve deeper into some of the complex but urgent questions that this profiled world addresses to data protection and privacy. The chapters of this volume were all presented at the second Conference on Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP2009) held in Brussels in January 2009 (www.cpdpconferences.org). The yearly CPDP conferences aim to become Europe's most important meeting where academics, practitioners, policy-makers and activists come together to exchange ideas and discuss emerging issues in information technology, privacy and data protection and law. This volume reflects the richness of the conference, containing chapters by leading lawyers, policymakers, computer, technology assessment and social scientists. The chapters cover generic themes such as the evolution of a new generation of data protection laws and the constitutionalisation of data protection and more specific issues like security breaches, unsolicited adjustments, social networks, surveillance and electronic voting. This book not only offers a very close and timely look on the state of data protection and privacy in our profiled world, but it also explores and invents ways to make sure this world remains a world we want to live in.

Technology Assessment processes can be taken as a paradigm for interdisciplinary research. It is expected that interdisciplinary Technology Assessment is able to find solutions for actual sociopolitical problems that go beyond those expected from one individual scientific discipline alone. The common notion, that for tasks like this different disciplinary perspectives should be brought together, confronts the fact that there is no common notion on how interdisciplinary research should be done. In the present volume European experts of Technology Assessment present their perspectives on interdisciplinary research. Many focus on methodology, policy consulting, and participation of stakeholders, non-experts and citizens. Others present concrete case studies concerning climate change and health care. Each contribution is commented by an other scientist. The result is a discussion-like examination of the connection between interdisciplinarity and the main subjects of Technology Assesment.

Does exposure to media violence make us more violent? Do stereotypes in the media affect the way we see different social groups? Do media institutions play any role in social change? Media Effects is a concise introduction which studies the ways in which media use affects society. James Shanahan explores how researchers and society became interested in media effects, outlines the important developments in the field, and looks at how research on narrative is playing a progressively important role in revealing what we know. The book also provides a timely interweaving of different perspectives, ranging from concerned and critical voices within media studies to quantitative psychological approaches which tend to be more sceptical about powerful media effects. Concise and authoritative, Media Effects is the go-to text for students and scholars getting to grips with this fascinating and important topic.

This book shows that the problem of climate adaptation, which is described in social planning terms as 'wicked,' is at odds with the contemporary practice of spatial planning. The author proposes a new adjusted framework which is more adaptable to unpredictable, wicked, dynamic and non-linear processes. The inspiration for this new method is the behaviour of swarms: bees, ants, birds and fish are capable of self-organization, which enables the system to become less vulnerable to sudden environmental changes. The framework proposed in Swarm Planning consists of these four elements: Two levels of complexity, the first being the whole system and the second its individual components. Each of these has different attributes for adapting to change. Five layers, consisting of networks, focal points, unplanned space, natural resources and emerging occupation patterns. Each layer has its own spatial dynamic, and each is connected to a spatial scale. Non-linear processes, which emerge in different parts of the framework and include emerging patterns, connectedness and tipping points among others. Two planning processes; the first, 'from small to large' works upward from the slowest changing elements to more rapidly-changing ones. The second, 'on the list of partners' addresses each layer from networks through emerging occupation patterns. Swarm Planning applies this framework to a series of pilot studies, and appraises its performance using criteria for an adaptive landscape. The results show that the use of the Swarm Planning Framework reduces the vulnerability of landscapes as well as the impact of climate hazards and disasters, improves response to unexpected hazards and contains adaptation strategies. "This book is a must for planners in government and the private sector as it outlines the concept, strategies and techniques for swarm planning. It is also an important guide for policymakers looking to engage communities in a dialogue about the adaptation planning process." Professor John Martin, La Trobe University "The ultimate value of the book lies in encouraging the planning community to consider options that go far beyond those offered by business-as-usual planning methodologies developed for a set of operating conditions that are fast becoming obsolete. As such it makes an important and much needed contribution to the field." Assistant Professor Dr. Chrisna du Plessis, University of Pretoria

Known as either 'soft' or 'hard' 'managerialism', 'new managerialism' or 'new public management', this new narrative has, irrespective of moniker, permeated the institutions of higher education almost everywhere. Taking this as its context, this volume is founded on a comprehensive international comparative analysis of the evolving role of middle-level academic managers-deans, heads of department and their equivalents. The chapters address key questions that will determine the future of academe: have the imperatives of management theory caused a realignment of the values and expectations of middle-level academic managers? In what way do the new expectations placed on this group shape the academic profession as a whole? And, whose interests do middle-level academic managers represent? Based on material presented at one of the high-level Douro Seminars on research into tertiary education, this volume systematically combines theoretical views with empirical analysis. It argues that 'managerialist' pressure has resulted in changes in the way academic performance is measured. There has been a shift in criteria away from research reputation, teaching and scholarship to the measurement of performance based upon management capacities. This has given middle-level academic managers a pivotal role halfway between the predilections of high-level decision makers and the maintenance of academic values and control. The enhanced expectations and more defined functions of middle-level academic managers are in clear contrast to earlier times, when the position was considered a public-spirited rite of passage for career-minded academics. Despite this, the contributors to this book believe that the middle-level managers in the ten countries examined are neither corporate lackeys nor champions of academe. It is becoming increasingly clear that the ability of organisations to achieve their aims is largely dependent on the skill and dedication of middle managers. Past studies of organisational dynamics have been preoccupied with the executive level of management. This text, which will be of great interest to researchers and policy makers alike, attempts to redress the balance.

Small islands often enjoy a distinct juridical personality. Many, whether fully sovereign or not, successfully deploy this "gift of jurisdiction" to economic advantage, offsetting the potentially adverse effects of smallness, isolation and peripherality. These legal powers, reflected in supportive policy and culture, are themselves key economic resources in a development strategy. Globalization can be richly asymmetrical, offering lucrative opportunities for differentiation and nice strategies for small island jurisdictions. This book documents such lessons from a most unlikely group of North Atlantic Islands.

The Chinese market is appealing, but its legal environment is very complicated and full of nooses that await investors. This book intends to provide an in-depth analysis of the legal environment and its hidden risks for foreign investment. It covers two basic investment modes which are green-field and M and A, and almost all concrete legal issues including political risk, tax, land use rights, labor etc. Among them, three chapters focus on the legal system and its risks for the foreign investment in three special industries as private education, water market and insurance. The detailed analysis is based on the newest laws and regulations.

The aim of the book is to present the state of the art of the theory of symmetric (Hermitian) matrix Riccati equations and to contribute to the development of the theory of non-symmetric Riccati equations as well as to certain classes of coupled and generalized Riccati equations occurring in differential games and stochastic control. The volume offers a complete treatment of generalized and coupled Riccati equations. It deals with differential, discrete-time, algebraic or periodic symmetric and non-symmetric equations, with special emphasis on those equations appearing in control and systems theory. Extensions to Riccati theory allow to tackle robust control problems in a unified approach.

The book is intended to make available classical and recent results to engineers and mathematicians alike. It is accessible to graduate students in mathematics, applied mathematics, control engineering, physics or economics. Researchers working in any of the fields where Riccati equations are used can find the main results with the proper mathematical background.

This book is a collection of multidisciplinary papers presented at the Department of Physics of Milan University's congress on 28 and 29 June 2017, which was also intended as a kick-off meeting for the design of a novel science campus at the Expo site in Milan. The congress presented a snapshot of the department's research to the academic community, the media, policymakers and authorities as well as the public at large, and also provided an opportunity to strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations between the members of the department and other communities. This book is a valuable resource for scientists looking for synergetic projects, policymakers wanting to grasp scientists' points of view and for prospective graduate students seeking expanding areas of research.