Plain language, clear explanations, and a focus on practical business applications.

A recent A. T. Kearny study found that information technology is the number-one item on the agendas of a majority of CEOs and boards of directors. However, while senior managers are spending more time keeping abreast of developments in IT, many remain uncomfortable making decisions concerning technology issues that they don't entirely grasp.

Executive's Guide to Information Technology presents a comprehensive, nontechnical model for understanding the IT environment. Focused on the issues that are most important to upper-level managers, this book supplies the big-picture perspective needed to understand IT as a whole, while explaining how various components work together to support business functions. Without getting bogged down in details, it provides clear, comprehensible overviews of:
* Networking and platform technologies
* Software infrastructurE
* Information management systems
* Enabling technologies
* Applications
* Middleware, application servers, and system management technologies

The future belongs to organizations with the knowledge and confidence to exploit their IT resources wisely and use them aggressively. Executive's Guide to Information Technology gives business leaders the tools they need to do both.

In a business environment increasingly driven by information technology, it is essential for top-level executives to keep abreast of the latest developments in IT. They must understand how information systems can help achieve business goals and be able to use this understanding to make critical business decisions. Unfortunately, many senior-level executives find themselves at the mercy of technicians who have little grasp of business issues, focus on details rather than broader functions, and speak an arcane and mystifying language. There is a clear need for an intermediary to help executives decipher technological language, seek and get the answers that are most important from a business perspective, and develop better working relationships with IT personnel.

Executive's Guide to Information Technology provides a "Rosetta stone" that makes sense of a seemingly chaotic cluster of components-a coherent, trustworthy frame of reference that lays the foundation for more effective working relationships among business executives and technology managers. This book helps executives ask better questions about IT issues and better understand the answers they receive. Using integrated models that illustrate how information technologies form an infrastructure that supports practical business uses of information, it keeps the discussion focused on matters of direct concern to executives. Understanding these models develops a stronger grasp of the evolving role IT plays within organizations and establishes a comfort zone within which managers can develop a keener comprehension of component technologies and the strategic and tactical business decisions that surround them.

Whether it is read from cover to cover or consulted as a quick reference, Executive's Guide to Information Technology is an indispensable tool for CEOs, board members, COOs, CFOs, controllers, treasurers, and other business professionals who need to establish firm control of the governance, direction, and management of two of their most valuable assets: information and the technologies that support it.

This book identifies ways in which Africa can realize its potential to secure a supply of food for affordable and healthy diets through the sustainable use of its own resources. The focus is on investment, cooperation, and policy action. The agenda proposed here is intended to be a long-term one, but one that should be initiated in the short term with concrete actions.

Takes a novel view of urban security and articulates this through rescaled approaches to IR and global politics. Few direct competitors: this book is a multidisciplinary work grounded in contemporary policy dynamics of global scope. Utilises a range of accessible internationsal case studies and written in a clear, accessible style.

* Provides an overview of the Supreme Court-its establishment and history, how it functions, how judges are selected, and its importance in setting precedents. * Teaches readers how to read and interpret the actual text of Supreme Court decisions. * Includes useful pedagogy such as learning objectives, key terms and definitions, critical thinking questions, websites for further research, and multimedia resources.

* Provides an overview of the Supreme Court-its establishment and history, how it functions, how judges are selected, and its importance in setting precedents. * Teaches readers how to read and interpret the actual text of Supreme Court decisions. * Includes useful pedagogy such as learning objectives, key terms and definitions, critical thinking questions, websites for further research, and multimedia resources.

This book explores the effect of the judiciary on the incidence of post-election violence by political actors across Africa and within African countries. It examines how variation in judicial independence can constrain or incentivize election violence among democratizing states. Using case studies and cross-national analysis, the book shows that variation in levels of judicial independence from a non-independent judiciary to a quasi-independent judiciary or from a fully independent judiciary to quasi-independent judiciary increases the likelihood of strategic use of post-election violence by non-state actors. However, the likelihood of post-election violence is significantly reduced in non-independent judiciaries or once countries' judiciaries become fully independent. The author makes the theoretical argument that, within unconsolidated states, non-state actors that view the judiciary as semi-independent are more likely to engage in post-election violence with the purpose of creating political and professional uncertainty in order to influence assertive behaviour from judges in disputed elections. Consequently, the book argues that semi-independent judiciaries or judiciaries that are neither fully controlled by the incumbent nor fully independent from the incumbent can help explain post-election violence among unconsolidated states, all else being equal. This book will be of interest to scholars of election violence, democratic politics, law and politics and African politics.

This comprehensive and innovative volume focuses on the usefulness and relevance of extending the scope of protections already in place for national minorities ('old minorities') to migrant populations ('new minorities') in Europe. Delving into a highly relevant but under-researched issue, the book examines the feasibility of expanding the system of protection for national minorities to migrant groups, as well as considering issues of diversity, security, socio-economic concerns and identity. Taking a multidisciplinary perspective, and combining insights from political science, law, sociology and anthropology, it asks the central question of how far the extension of policies and rights currently specific to national minorities is conceptually meaningful and beneficial to the integration of 'new' minorities. In doing so, it questions the feasibility and appropriateness of extending the scope of the protections already in place for national minorities to other categories of population. This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners of European Union politics, migration studies, minority studies and more broadly of sociology, international law and human rights.

The book studies multilateral population security issues and relevant governance strategies caused by international migration in the countries impacted by China's Belt and Road initiative and their border areas. Buttressed by solid data mining and policy analysis, the title looks into the demographic trends of international migration in China and some Asian Belt and Road countries and stresses the urgency for more effective governance practices. Seeking to address the population security crisis triggered by the Initiative, the authors propose the idea of "multilateral population security governance", grounded in the real-world challenges facing Belt and Road countries while also drawing on experiences of migration governance in western countries. As a new governance model, it calls for cross-border joint action and takes into consideration pertinent factors including economy, politics, culture, religion and commerce. Several case studies and comparative studies are offered in the chapters to illuminate the significance and effect of this cooperative mechanism. The book will be of interest to researchers and government officials interested in non-traditional security, international migration and formal demography as well as topics on population, resources and environment.

State intervention in economic activities to drive development requires specific institutional prerequisites that maintain strategic collaboration between the state and businesses. Arguing that the design of institutions of state business relations is critical for successful state intervention in economic activities, this book seeks to understand the nature of the institutions of the state-agribusiness relations in Georgia and its functional compatibilities to the institutions of strategic SBRs. It analyses the nature of SBRs in Georgia through the lens of the New Institutional Economics (NIE). It employs a qualitative research strategy for the systematic collection, organization, and interpretation of the data. Data from 39 interviews, documents on relevant regulations and laws, and the reports from the international organizations are triangulated to address the research question.

After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, victims, perpetrators, and the country as a whole struggled to deal with the legacy of the mass violence. The government responded by creating a new version of a traditional grassroots justice system called gacaca. Bert Ingelaere, based on his observation of two thousand gacaca trials, offers a comprehensive assessment of what these courts set out to do, how they worked, what they achieved, what they did not achieve, and how they affected Rwandan society. Weaving together vivid firsthand recollections, interviews, and trial testimony with systematic analysis, Ingelaere documents how the gacaca shifted over time from confession to accusation, from restoration to retribution. He precisely articulates the importance of popular conceptions of what is true and just. Marked by methodological sophistication, extraordinary evidence, and deep knowledge of Rwanda, this is an authoritative, nuanced, and bittersweet account of one of the most important experiments in transitional justice after mass violence.

This book examines how Europe-wide issues - such as immigration, cross-national redistribution and further European integration - have reshaped electoral democracy and party competition across Europe. After decades of scholars and commentators bemoaning the limited politicization of the EU nationally, European issues have come to dominate domestic electoral politics. From the Eurozone crisis to the struggle of dealing with growing numbers of migrants and refugees entering Europe, EU-wide issues now occupy a salient part of the domestic political debate. This book examines what drives public opinion towards some of the key Europe-wide issues of the day and how these EU issues shapes electoral behaviour and party competition. It brings together leading scholars from different fields to explore what shapes preferences towards Europe-wide policy issues, how they influence electoral behaviour and party fortunes and what the implications are for the quality of European democracy. Overall, this book deepens our understanding of the state of European democracy domestically in an era in which national and Europe-wide problems and policy solutions are inextricably linked. The chapters in this book were originally published in the Journal of European Public Policy.

Impoverishment and Asylum argues that a shift has taken place in recent decades towards construing asylum as primarily a political and/or humanitarian phenomenon, to construing it as primarily an economic phenomenon, and that this shift has had led to the purposeful impoverishment, by the state, of people seeking asylum in the UK. This shift has far-reaching consequences for people seeking asylum, who have been systematically impoverished as part of the effort to strip out any possibility of an economic pull factor leading to more arrivals, but also for those administering their support system, and for civil society organisations and groups who seek to ameliorate the worst effects of the resulting asylum regimes. This book argues that within this context asylum support policies in the UK which are meant to help and protect, in fact do serious harm to their recipients. It argues that the shift from construing asylum seekers as economically, rather than politically, motivated migrants across the West, is part of a much broader set of historical and philosophical worldviews than has previously been articulated. The book offers a rigorously researched and richly theorised analysis drawing on postcolonial and decolonial perspectives in making sense of the purposeful impoverishment by the state of a particular group of people, and why this continues to be tolerated in the fourth richest country in the world.

The Concise Industrial Flow Measurement Handbook: A Definitive Practical Guide covers the complete range of modern flow measuring technologies and represents 40 years of experiential knowledge within a wide variety of industries, and from more than 5000 technicians and engineers who have attended the author's workshops. This book covers all the current technologies in flow measurement, including high accuracy Coriolis, ultrasonic custody transfer, and high accuracy magnetic flowmeters. The book also discusses flow proving and limitations of different proving methods. This volume contains over 300 explanatory drawings and graphs and is presented in a form suitable for both the beginner, with no prior knowledge of the subject, as well as the more advanced specialist. This book is aimed at professionals in the field, including chemical engineers, process engineers, instrumentation and control engineers, and mechanical engineers.

In this book one of the longest-standing members of The Venice Commission reflects on the work of the institution to show how constitutional law in Europe (and beyond) has become increasingly borderless. Over nine chapters, the book tracks the work of the Commission, illustrating the law both in action and in its broader political and historical context. It looks at its treatment of the judiciary and judicial conflicts, including the present crisis of the rule of law in Central Eastern Europe Member States of the European Union. Finally it suggests how all this can only be sensibly understood as a feature of the broader trend towards the internationalisation of constitutional law.

"Parenting Coordination" is a child-centered process for conflicted divorced and divorcing parents. The Parenting Coordinator (PC) makes decisions to help high-conflict parents who cannot agree to parenting decisions on their own. This professional text serves as a training manual for use in all states and provinces which utilize "Parenting Coordination," addressing the intervention process and the science that supports it.

The text offers up-to-date research, a practical guide for training, service provision, and references to relevant research for quality parenting coordination practice. Specifically, this book describes the integrated model of "Parenting Coordination," including the Parent Coordinator's professional role, responsibilities, protocol for service, and ethical guidelines.

What does it mean to be a citizen of a democracy today? This book challenges us to re- evaluate and ultimately reorient our state- based conception of democratic citizenship in order to meaningfully account for the context in which it is lived: a globalised, deeply interconnected, and deeply unjust world. Hobden argues for a new conception of citizenship that is state- based, but globally oriented. The book presents a new account of collective responsibility that includes responsibility for a wider range of collective outcomes. Drawing upon this account, Hobden argues that citizens can be held collectively morally responsible for the acts of their state, both domestically and internationally. The book explores how this conception of citizenship, with its attendant collective responsibility, can speak to citizens of today: those experiencing the costs of inequality and oppression; those living under semi- and newly democratic regimes; and those living as non- citizen residents. It encourages an active citizenship and presents innovative channels of participation, with discussions on civic education in the media and political consumerism. Offering a new lens on citizenship in a global context, this book will be of great interest to scholars and students of political theory, global justice, citizenship, democratic theory, and collective responsibility.

What does it mean to be a citizen of a democracy today? This book challenges us to re- evaluate and ultimately reorient our state- based conception of democratic citizenship in order to meaningfully account for the context in which it is lived: a globalised, deeply interconnected, and deeply unjust world. Hobden argues for a new conception of citizenship that is state- based, but globally oriented. The book presents a new account of collective responsibility that includes responsibility for a wider range of collective outcomes. Drawing upon this account, Hobden argues that citizens can be held collectively morally responsible for the acts of their state, both domestically and internationally. The book explores how this conception of citizenship, with its attendant collective responsibility, can speak to citizens of today: those experiencing the costs of inequality and oppression; those living under semi- and newly democratic regimes; and those living as non- citizen residents. It encourages an active citizenship and presents innovative channels of participation, with discussions on civic education in the media and political consumerism. Offering a new lens on citizenship in a global context, this book will be of great interest to scholars and students of political theory, global justice, citizenship, democratic theory, and collective responsibility.

Since at least the time of Justinian—under statutes, codes of judicial ethics, and the common law—judges have been expected to recuse themselves from cases in which they might have a stake. Thesame holds true for the justices of the US Supreme Court. For instance, there were calls for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and ElenaKagan, both of whom had officiated at gay weddings, to recuse themselves from the recent marriage equality case, Obergefell v.Hodges. Even a case like this, where no justice bowed out, reveals what a tricky ethical issue recusal can be. But as Louis J.Virelli demonstrates in this provocative work, recusal at the Supreme Court also presents questions of constitutional power. Disqualifying the High Court shows that our current understanding of how and when justices should recuse themselves is at odds with our constitutional design. Viewing recusal through a constitutional lens, Virelli reveals new and compelling information about how justices should decide recusal questions and, in turn, how our government should function morebroadly. Along the way he traces the roots and development of federal recusal law in America from as early as the Roman Empire up to the present day. The Supreme Court’s unique place at the top of the judicial branch protects the justices from some forms of congressional interference. Virelli argues that constitutional law, in particular the separation of powers, prohibits Congress from regulating the recusal practices of the Supreme Court. Instead thosedecisions must be left to the justices themselves, grounded in principles of due process—assuring parties fair treatment bythe judicial system—and balanced against the justices’ rights to free speech. Along with the clarity it brings to this highly controversial issue, Virelli’s work also offers insight into constitutional problems presented by separation of powers. It will inform our evolving understanding of theory and practice in the American judicialsystem.

A survey and analysis of the historical context, key figures, and lasting legacy of the Warren Court. Earl Warren served as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1953 until the end of the tumultuous 1960s. This book shows why conservative critics still view this court as out of control and leftist, while its liberal fans still cheer what they view as the court's progressive activism. Among this court's contributions to American life are the rights accorded to the accused in Miranda v. Arizona, the limits it placed on school prayer, and the abolition of school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education. To understand such basic American principles as equal protection, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, the rights of the accused, and the right to privacy, every citizen should understand the Warren Court.

The aim of this book is to explain Aquilian liability in the South African law of delict to students encountering it for the first time. Aquilian liability is complicated. The rules determining it are to be found in the judgments of our courts, but exactly what rule a judgment created often is a difficult and controversial question. Even when the rule is easily established, it frequently is hard to figure out precisely what it means or how to apply it to a concrete set of facts.

Rather than shy away from these complexities, this book offers students a step-by-step guide through them. The book never presents students with a bald statement about what a rule is, what it means, or how to apply it. Instead, it backs up all its claims about the rules with detailed analysis of the cases. To help students come to grips with the meaning and application of the rules, the book works its way through a large number of examples, often using diagrams to facilitate better comprehension. When conflicting views about a rule exist or are possible, the book explains what they are and why one view is to be preferred.

Students who use this book will not only acquire an in-depth understanding of the rules of Aquilian liability. They will also acquire the ability to find out for themselves, and to engage in disagreement with others about, what those rules are, what they mean, and how they are to be applied.

Even though aimed primarily at students, this book will be of interest also to academics and practitioners. Not only does it provide a clear and accessible exposition of the leading cases on Aquilian liability and the rules which those cases have established, it also overturns a number of long-cherished but mistaken orthodoxies about Aquilian liability.

Anton Fagan has taught and written about the South African law of delict for more than twenty years. A collection of his essays on the subject, Undoing Delict: The South African Law of Delict under the Constitution, was published in 2018.