This book discusses postpositivist theories foregrounding postpositivism against the reigning realist and positivist-pluralist orthodoxies. The book explicates seven theories, not as disparate endeavours, but as developments linked by a common thread that seeks to enunciate globalist emancipatory goals for the theoretical field and the world that these theories seek to change. It focuses on the following themes: feminism, environmentalism or green theory, the English school, critical theory, constructivism, postmodernism and postcolonialism. Additionally, a separate chapter on globalization shows that while mainstream (neo)realist international relations theories respond hostilely to globalization and liberal-pluralist theories react benignly to it, postpositivist theories positively welcome it. The book offers a competent meta-theoretical gridwork, showing on which side of the opposing disciplinary positions in the fourth debate each of the seven theories are located. It is a comprehensive guide to the postpositivist restructuring of the discipline of international relations. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of political science, international relations, history, humanities and literature.

This book provides an introduction to positivist-pluralist theories of international relations (IR) which emerged during the early-and mid-1950’s along with Marxist political economics and non-Marxist economic theories of IR. This book is an in-depth critical study texts and literature which highlight IR’s methodological pluralism even after it gained maturity. It examines how pluralist political status-quo and radical economic criticism coexist in discrete areas of the discipline. The book provides insights into key positivist liberal-pluralist theories, namely decision-making approaches, and theories of integration, regionalism, interdependence, and regime. It discusses the four political economic-economist and critical theories of Marxism, dependency, world systems, and international political economy. The book, as an advanced supplementary reader, will be of great interest to researchers and students of international relations, history, law and the multidisciplinary social scientific field of political economy.

This book explores realist theories—also called power politics approaches, formulations of systems theories, and game theory in International Relations (IR). The first section of the book focuses on theories of Early Classical Realism—Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, and two Asian exponents—Kautilya and Han Fei Tzu. It covers the rise and fall of different schools of imperial geopolitics including those developed during the Cold-War and postmodern periods. It also discusses theories proposed by three stalwarts of Neoclassical Realism— Niebuhr, Carr, and Morgenthau; the Neorealism of Waltz; Strategic Realism of Schelling; and Offensive Realism of Mearsheimer. The book also examines theoretic formulations of Kaplan, Modelski, Rosecrance, McClelland, Holsti, and Singer, as well as game theory and its relevance and application in international relations. It explores diverse variants of theories of power in international relations through a critical readings of texts and IR literature. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of political science, international relations, history and law.

This book provides contemporary knowledge on school effectiveness and proposes strategic interventions for enhancing it. It focuses on improving academic leadership for enhancing the effectiveness of schools and discusses how national education policies are helpful in providing a vision towards improving school effectiveness. It highlights the role of teachers as academic leaders in the implementation of policy recommendations at school and classroom levels. It offers methods and mechanisms for academic leaders to measure the learning of students for school assessment. The author also discusses how academic leadership involves creating a vision and mission based on science and research data for the organisation, inspiring innovation and creative ideas, developing teamwork, and a safe environment for staff to express their views. While providing an understanding of school as an organization, the volume outlines its management functions such as processes and quality of planning, management of curriculum, learner evaluation, institutional networks, and human resource management, among others. The volume is a guidebook for training and capacity building for school-level practitioners and leaders in education management. Embedded with real-life cases and episodes, this volume will be of interest to teachers, students, and practitioners of education, management, and education management. It will also be useful for academicians, educationalists, practitioners, management professionals, educational leaders, and policymakers.

When a revolutionary uprising erupted in Syria during the spring of 2011, pockets of local resistance and the nascent institutions therein transformed into clusters of rudimentary participatory politics and service delivery. Despite the collective fatigue induced by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States and its allies embarked on an effort to encourage liberal, democratic politics amid the Syrian conflict. As a result, the project of 'good rebel governance' became the latest attempt at Western democracy promotion. This book moves the scholarship on insurgent rule forward by considering how governing authority arises and evolves during violent conflict, and whether particular institutions of insurgent rule can be cultivated through foreign intervention. In so doing, the book theorizes not only about the nature of authoritative rebel governance but also tests the long-standing precepts that have undergirded Western promotion of democracy abroad.

Social media and crowdsourcing are important tools for solving complex problems. The benefit of crowdsourcing is that it leverages the power of human intelligence cost effectively and with less time. Social Media and Crowdsourcing: Application and Analytics examines the concepts of social media and crowdsourcing as well as their analytical aspects. It explores how these technologies contribute to the real world and examines such applications as promoting social good, agriculture, healthcare, tourism, disaster management, education, crime control, and cultural heritage. The book also looks at ethical issues in crowdsourcing and future scenarios and challenges for policy. Highlights of the book include: A crowdsourcing application in agriculture Crowdsourcing outline for a contemporary aided medicinal backup system Crowdsourcing-based recommendation in the tourism industry Crowdsourcing mechanisms for reviving cultural heritage Expanding the overarching concept of utilizing social media and crowdsourcing to solve various real-life problems, the book discusses how to bring together the wisdom of crowd for various decision-making problems in agricultural, disaster management, and healthcare. It addresses the various ethical issues arising out of various crowdsourcing-based applications. It puts forward diverse methodologies to involve crowdsourcing in education to implement new strategies to enhance learning outcomes. The book also addresses various problem-solving techniques for recommender applications in the travel and tourism industry. Providing a systematic discussion of the many sectors using crowdsourcing as an essential part of social innovation, the book is a theoretical and methodological look at the application of social media.

Blockchain for IoT provides the basic concepts of Blockchain technology and its applications to varied domains catering to socio-technical fields. It also introduces intelligent Blockchain platforms by way of infusing elements of computational intelligence into Blockchain technology. With the help of an interdisciplinary approach, it includes insights into real-life IoT applications to enable the readers to assimilate the concepts with ease. This book provides a balanced approach between theoretical understanding and practical applications. Features: A self-contained approach to integrating the principles of Blockchain with elements of computational intelligence A rich and novel foundation of Blockchain technology with reference to the internet of things conjoined with the tenets of artificial intelligence in yielding intelligent Blockchain platforms Elucidates essential background, concepts, definitions, and theories thereby putting forward a complete treatment on the subject Information presented in an accessible way for research students of computer science and information technology, as well as software professionals who can inherit the much-needed developmental ideas to boost up their computing knowledge on distributed platforms This book is aimed primarily at undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers studying Blockchain.

This book provides an introduction to positivist-pluralist theories of international relations (IR) which emerged during the early-and mid-1950’s along with Marxist political economics and non-Marxist economic theories of IR. This book is an in-depth critical study texts and literature which highlight IR’s methodological pluralism even after it gained maturity. It examines how pluralist political status-quo and radical economic criticism coexist in discrete areas of the discipline. The book provides insights into key positivist liberal-pluralist theories, namely decision-making approaches, and theories of integration, regionalism, interdependence, and regime. It discusses the four political economic-economist and critical theories of Marxism, dependency, world systems, and international political economy. The book, as an advanced supplementary reader, will be of great interest to researchers and students of international relations, history, law and the multidisciplinary social scientific field of political economy.

This book explores realist theories—also called power politics approaches, formulations of systems theories, and game theory in International Relations (IR). The first section of the book focuses on theories of Early Classical Realism—Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, and two Asian exponents—Kautilya and Han Fei Tzu. It covers the rise and fall of different schools of imperial geopolitics including those developed during the Cold-War and postmodern periods. It also discusses theories proposed by three stalwarts of Neoclassical Realism— Niebuhr, Carr, and Morgenthau; the Neorealism of Waltz; Strategic Realism of Schelling; and Offensive Realism of Mearsheimer. The book also examines theoretic formulations of Kaplan, Modelski, Rosecrance, McClelland, Holsti, and Singer, as well as game theory and its relevance and application in international relations. It explores diverse variants of theories of power in international relations through a critical readings of texts and IR literature. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of political science, international relations, history and law.

This book discusses postpositivist theories foregrounding postpositivism against the reigning realist and positivist-pluralist orthodoxies. The book explicates seven theories, not as disparate endeavours, but as developments linked by a common thread that seeks to enunciate globalist emancipatory goals for the theoretical field and the world that these theories seek to change. It focuses on the following themes: feminism, environmentalism or green theory, the English school, critical theory, constructivism, postmodernism and postcolonialism. Additionally, a separate chapter on globalization shows that while mainstream (neo)realist international relations theories respond hostilely to globalization and liberal-pluralist theories react benignly to it, postpositivist theories positively welcome it. The book offers a competent meta-theoretical gridwork, showing on which side of the opposing disciplinary positions in the fourth debate each of the seven theories are located. It is a comprehensive guide to the postpositivist restructuring of the discipline of international relations. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of political science, international relations, history, humanities and literature.

Sundarbans, a UNESCO heritage site, is the world’s largest single chunk of mangroves distributed on the Indian and Bangladesh coasts. The mangroves and associated ecosystems are one of the most fertile ecosystems of the earth. Sundarbans Mangrove Systems: A Geo-Informatics Approach portrays different perspectives of studying Sundarbans and mangroves using geospatial analysis. This book highlights the major issues with the Sundarbans mangrove forest, its future conservation strategies and its ecological importance using geo-informatics technology. It explains the usage of remote sensing data for providing information about the present state of mangroves and their tropic status, including assessment in terms of extent, density of community, condition, diversity, identifying potential habitats and heterogeneity. Furthermore, it discusses the use of hyperspectral remote sensing data for species level classification of mangroves, community zonation for biodiversity assessment and for preparing management plans for conservation. KEY FEATURES Exclusively covers the ecological state of Sundarbans (mangrove systems) through geo-informatic studies Describes the application of a combination of geomorphological, biogeochemical and remote sensing methods to the analysis of temporal changes Includes environmental factors affecting the health and decline of mangroves Covers biodiversity and ecological controls in mangroves ecosystems Discusses a remote sensing approach for tropical forested island and mangroves mapping This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in environmental sciences, ecology, marine sciences, biology, geosciences and GIS/remote sensing areas.

This book provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of the diverse aspects of climate change in South Asia. The region, home to almost 4% of the world’s population, is under serious threat from climatic disasters. The volume underscores the urgency of addressing cataclysmic events related to climate change and their ramifications on the economy, agriculture and livelihoods of the region. The book discusses the reasons causing climate change as well as highlights normative and ethical considerations involved in the battle against climate change. With case studies from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, it explores issues such as extreme climatic events; energy use, fossil fuels, non-renewable resources and carbon dioxide emission in South Asia; internal migration and climate refugees; the ethical dilemma of sustainable development; technological advancements for extreme weather forecast; and responses to climate change in South Asia. Highlighting the need for striking a balance between developmental imperatives and environmental sustainability, the chapters also show the North-South divide in the research agenda and policies on climate change and the global politics that underlie climate policies. The volume juxtaposes a scientific analysis of factors responsible for climate change with an analysis of the human cost of climate change from the perspective of social sciences. It discusses the challenges faced by developing countries while also offering recommendations and solutions. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of climate studies, geography, public policy and governance, sustainable development, development studies, environmental studies, political studies, international relations, political economy, economics and sociology. It will also be useful to practitioners, thinktanks, policymakers and civil society organisations working on environmental management.

This book provides contemporary knowledge on school effectiveness and proposes strategic interventions for enhancing it. It focuses on improving academic leadership for enhancing the effectiveness of schools and discusses how national education policies are helpful in providing a vision towards improving school effectiveness. It highlights the role of teachers as academic leaders in the implementation of policy recommendations at school and classroom levels. It offers methods and mechanisms for academic leaders to measure the learning of students for school assessment. The author also discusses how academic leadership involves creating a vision and mission based on science and research data for the organisation, inspiring innovation and creative ideas, developing teamwork, and a safe environment for staff to express their views. While providing an understanding of school as an organization, the volume outlines its management functions such as processes and quality of planning, management of curriculum, learner evaluation, institutional networks, and human resource management, among others. The volume is a guidebook for training and capacity building for school-level practitioners and leaders in education management. Embedded with real-life cases and episodes, this volume will be of interest to teachers, students, and practitioners of education, management, and education management. It will also be useful for academicians, educationalists, practitioners, management professionals, educational leaders, and policymakers.

This book provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of the diverse aspects of climate change in South Asia. The region, home to almost 4% of the world's population, is under serious threat from climatic disasters. The volume underscores the urgency of addressing cataclysmic events related to climate change and their ramifications on the economy, agriculture and livelihoods of the region. The book discusses the reasons causing climate change as well as highlights normative and ethical considerations involved in the battle against climate change. With case studies from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, it explores issues such as extreme climatic events; energy use, fossil fuels, non-renewable resources and carbon dioxide emission in South Asia; internal migration and climate refugees; the ethical dilemma of sustainable development; technological advancements for extreme weather forecast; and responses to climate change in South Asia. Highlighting the need for striking a balance between developmental imperatives and environmental sustainability, the chapters also show the North-South divide in the research agenda and policies on climate change and the global politics that underlie climate policies. The volume juxtaposes a scientific analysis of factors responsible for climate change with an analysis of the human cost of climate change from the perspective of social sciences. It discusses the challenges faced by developing countries while also offering recommendations and solutions. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of climate studies, geography, public policy and governance, sustainable development, development studies, environmental studies, political studies, international relations, political economy, economics and sociology. It will also be useful to practitioners, thinktanks, policymakers and civil society organisations working on environmental management.

Applies the principles of ergonomics in different facets of communication design such as pictograms, icons and logo design, product labelling, information system in space and visual ergonomics in simple map design. Chapter end with "key points", practice sections and exercises designed to help the reader to revise what they have learnt. Every concept is illustrated with examples from real life. No technical background or prior knowledge of ergonomics needed to understand this book. Anyone (even those from arts and humanities back ground) can read and understand this book with ease and apply them in real life.

This book explores the impact of railways on colonial Indian society from the commencement of railway operations in the mid-nineteenth to the early decades of the twentieth century. The book represents a historiographical departure. Using new archival evidence as well as travelogues written by Indian railway travellers in Bengali and Hindi, this book suggests that the impact of railways on colonial Indian society were more heterogeneous and complex than anticipated either by India's colonial railway builders or currently assumed by post-colonial scholars. At a related level, the book argues that this complex outcome of the impact of railways on colonial Indian society was a product of the interaction between the colonial context of technology transfer and the Indian railway passengers who mediated this process at an everyday level. In other words, this book claims that the colonised 'natives' were not bystanders in this process of imposition of an imperial technology from above. On the contrary, Indians, both as railway passengers and otherwise influenced the nature and the direction of the impact of an oft-celebrated 'tool of Empire'. The historiographical departures suggested in the book are based on examining railway spaces as social spaces - a methodological index influenced by Henri Lefebvre's idea of social spaces as means of control, domination and power.

This book examines the social and legal regulation of domestic violence (DV) within the Kesarwani business community following the enactment of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. It analyses the existence of the formal law in Kolkata and the relevance of the law in the familial lives of the Kesarwani community. The book offers a new conceptualisation of examining the relationship between formal law and social life. It provides a deep insight into how living with violence becomes a way of living and how the disposition to familial violence exists with social advantage and privilege. Explaining the functioning of the formal DV framework in non-legal terms as it exists on the paper, the book shows the ways in which this one law sought to democratise the family unit and overhaul the legal process in favour of DV victims in India. Most of all it hopes to show through the Kolkata study that caste and class, social structures that regulate and define social life globally, must remain critical to discussions of the social and legal regulation of DV in Kolkata, India or anywhere in the world. The book uses ethnography as a research methodology and traverses different locations in the Kesarwani community, and outside the community in Kolkata, to examine the relevance of the formal law in the lives of Kesarwani women. While the study is in India (and in a non-western context), the theme of the study - the social and legal regulation - remains relevant to contemporary debates on the efficacy of formal law in addressing coercive control in the western world. Notably, the book makes the formal domestic violence law legible for non-legal professionals by explaining the formal legal framework of domestic violence envisaged in the PWDVA. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of law, criminal justice, sociology, anthropology, women's studies, and political science. It will also appeal to social service providers and practitioners working in the area of domestic violence, legal regulation, social control of women, gender, caste, class and family business.

Five decades of independence have produced dramatic increases in womens' educational achievements in India; but education for girls beyond a certain level is still perceived as socially risky. Based on ethnographic data and historical documents, this book explores the origins of that paradox. Contributors probe the complex relationships between traditional Indian social institutions the joint family, arranged marriage, dowry, and purdah, or sexual segregation and girls schooling. They find that a patrifocal family structure and ideology are often at the root of different family approaches to educating sons and daughters, and that concern for marriageability still plays a central role in womens' educational choices and outcomes.

Exclusive title discussing interdisciplinary research aspects in a coherent manner for materials science researchers Presents key concepts of engineering sciences as relevant for materials science in terms of fundamentals and applications Discusses engineering mechanics, biological and physical sciences Includes case studies on biomedical materials and renewable energy

Information technology (IT) is an essential core of the economy today. Corporations and governments worldwide rely on it to drive their core strategy and develop and execute business models. Amounting to over 3.7 trillion US dollars of worldwide spending, the growing significance of the IT industry in the global economy is now well established. Hence, it is crucial to understand the marketplace within which it exists, and this book presents a systematic analysis of the processes, techniques, and methods involved in IT sales and marketing. In Selling IT, the book: Integrates a large IT provider's selling process with the enterprise user's IT buying process to highlight the nuances of selling, marketing, and developing IT solutions that create value for customers Discusses various key concepts such as value-based IT selling, business case for IT acquisition, vendor evaluation and management, account and customer relationship management, customer segmentation, and techniques for customer acquisition and retention Analyses the challenges and opportunities involved in selling digital IT and examines the evolution of jobs and careers based on the changed IT landscape Includes lesson plans, case studies, and chapter-wise practice questions to support teaching and learning The book boasts a robust theoretical foundation supported by a clear exposition of concepts and management theories. It will be of benefit to professionals using organisation-mandated selling processes. Young executives with a technology background looking for a sales and marketing career in the IT industry can also effectively use this book. It will also be an essential read for scholars and researchers in B2B marketing, IT consulting, technology sales, and digital transformation.

Information technology (IT) is an essential core of the economy today. Corporations and governments worldwide rely on it to drive their core strategy and develop and execute business models. Amounting to over 3.7 trillion US dollars of worldwide spending, the growing significance of the IT industry in the global economy is now well established. Hence, it is crucial to understand the marketplace within which it exists, and this book presents a systematic analysis of the processes, techniques, and methods involved in IT sales and marketing. In Selling IT, the book: Integrates a large IT provider's selling process with the enterprise user's IT buying process to highlight the nuances of selling, marketing, and developing IT solutions that create value for customers Discusses various key concepts such as value-based IT selling, business case for IT acquisition, vendor evaluation and management, account and customer relationship management, customer segmentation, and techniques for customer acquisition and retention Analyses the challenges and opportunities involved in selling digital IT and examines the evolution of jobs and careers based on the changed IT landscape Includes lesson plans, case studies, and chapter-wise practice questions to support teaching and learning The book boasts a robust theoretical foundation supported by a clear exposition of concepts and management theories. It will be of benefit to professionals using organisation-mandated selling processes. Young executives with a technology background looking for a sales and marketing career in the IT industry can also effectively use this book. It will also be an essential read for scholars and researchers in B2B marketing, IT consulting, technology sales, and digital transformation.

Sundarbans, a UNESCO heritage site, is the world's largest single chunk of mangroves distributed on the Indian and Bangladesh coasts. The mangroves and associated ecosystems are one of the most fertile ecosystems of the earth. Sundarbans Mangrove Systems: A Geo-Informatics Approach portrays different perspectives of studying Sundarbans and mangroves using geospatial analysis. This book highlights the major issues with the Sundarbans mangrove forest, its future conservation strategies and its ecological importance using geo-informatics technology. It explains the usage of remote sensing data for providing information about the present state of mangroves and their tropic status, including assessment in terms of extent, density of community, condition, diversity, identifying potential habitats and heterogeneity. Furthermore, it discusses the use of hyperspectral remote sensing data for species level classification of mangroves, community zonation for biodiversity assessment and for preparing management plans for conservation. KEY FEATURES Exclusively covers the ecological state of Sundarbans (mangrove systems) through geo-informatic studies Describes the application of a combination of geomorphological, biogeochemical and remote sensing methods to the analysis of temporal changes Includes environmental factors affecting the health and decline of mangroves Covers biodiversity and ecological controls in mangroves ecosystems Discusses a remote sensing approach for tropical forested island and mangroves mapping This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in environmental sciences, ecology, marine sciences, biology, geosciences and GIS/remote sensing areas.

"Prof. Nitis Mukhopadhyay and Prof. Partha Pratim Sengupta, who edited this volume with great attention and rigor, have certainly carried out noteworthy activities." - Giovanni Maria Giorgi, University of Rome (Sapienza) "This book is an important contribution to the development of indices of disparity and dissatisfaction in the age of globalization and social strife." - Shelemyahu Zacks, SUNY-Binghamton "It will not be an overstatement when I say that the famous income inequality index or wealth inequality index, which is most widely accepted across the globe is named after Corrado Gini (1984-1965). ... I take this opportunity to heartily applaud the two co-editors for spending their valuable time and energy in putting together a wonderful collection of papers written by the acclaimed researchers on selected topics of interest today. I am very impressed, and I believe so will be its readers." - K.V. Mardia, University of Leeds Gini coefficient or Gini index was originally defined as a standardized measure of statistical dispersion intended to understand an income distribution. It has evolved into quantifying inequity in all kinds of distributions of wealth, gender parity, access to education and health services, environmental policies, and numerous other attributes of importance. Gini Inequality Index: Methods and Applications features original high-quality peer-reviewed chapters prepared by internationally acclaimed researchers. They provide innovative methodologies whether quantitative or qualitative, covering welfare economics, development economics, optimization/non-optimization, econometrics, air quality, statistical learning, inference, sample size determination, big data science, and some heuristics. Never before has such a wide dimension of leading research inspired by Gini's works and their applicability been collected in one edited volume. The volume also showcases modern approaches to the research of a number of very talented and upcoming younger contributors and collaborators. This feature will give readers a window with a distinct view of what emerging research in this field may entail in the near future.

Fabrication of Graphene from Camphor: Emerging Energy Applications provides a short review of recent discoveries in the field of graphene. Its specific focus is on the synthesis of graphene sheets by naturally available sources of carbon as solid precursors. It delves into three major issues in the field: * The low-cost fabrication process for the development of large-scale graphene using natural camphor as a solid source of carbon. * The fabrication of graphene-silicon and graphene-silicon nanowire arrays (SiNWAs) Schottky junction near-infrared photodetectors (NIRPDs). * The applications of graphene thin film for lithium-ion batteries.

This volume examines how the public and private domains in school education in India are informed and mediated by current market realities. It moves beyond the simplistic dichotomy of pro-state versus promarket factors that define most current debates in the formulations of educational reform agendas to underline how they need to be interpreted in the larger context. The chapters in the volume present a series of conceptual and empirical investigations to understand the growth of private schools in India; investigate the largely uncontested claims made by the private sector regarding provision of superior quality of education; and their ability to address the educational needs of the poor. Further, the book looks at how the private-public dichotomy has been extended to professional identity of teachers and teaching practices as well. Rich in primary data and supported by detailed case studies, this volume will be of interest to teachers, scholars and researchers dealing with education, educational policy, school education and public policy. It will also interest policy makers, think tanks and civil society organisations.