Modelling: The Oculomotor Systems, Volume 269 in the Progress in Brain Research serial highlights new advances in the field with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on topics including The function and phylogeny of eye movements, The behavior of motoneurons, Statics of plant mechanics, Dynamics of plant mechanics, The functional operation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, Basic framework of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, Oculomotor signals, Signal processing in the vestibulo-ocular reflex, Plasticity and repair of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, The behavior of the optokinetic system, Models of the optokinetic system, Neurophysiology of the optokinetic system, and much more.

3D image reconstruction is used in many fields, such as medicine, entertainment, and computer science. This highly demanded process comes with many challenges, such as images becoming blurry by atmospheric turbulence, getting snowed with noise, or becoming damaged within foreign regions. It is imperative to remain well-informed with the latest research in this field. Recent Advances in 3D Imaging, Modeling, and Reconstruction is a collection of innovative research on the methods and common techniques of image reconstruction as well as the accuracy of these methods. Featuring coverage on a wide range of topics such as ray casting, holographic techniques, and machine learning, this publication is ideally designed for graphic designers, computer engineers, medical professionals, robotics engineers, city planners, game developers, researchers, academicians, and students.

This book offers new insights and perspectives on the financial and banking sector in Europe with a special focus on Central and Southeastern European countries. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of primary sources and datasets, the book examines both the financial development and performance of the real sector of the economy and the impact and involvement of the banking sector. The contributions offer new insights into current financial innovations and discuss best practices in innovative financial solutions. They also highlight new perspectives in finance and analyze characteristic problems in the real and banking sectors in various European countries. The insights and financial solutions presented in this book will be of interest to scholars of finance and financial economics as well as practitioners in the financial industry and policy makers.

Emissions taxes, tradeable emission permits and voluntary compliance policies are becoming the instruments of choice in controlling environmental problems at the national and international level. Careful design of these policies in second-best environments is a very important factor for their success. This book uses cutting-edge research in order to appraise their efficiency in varying market conditions. This book evaluates the impact that market power could have on the implementation of market-based environmental policies within static, dynamic and open economy frameworks. It explores the potential negative impacts that market-based instruments could have on competitiveness and examines the effects that time inconsistency in the implementation of emission taxes and emission permits could have on environmental innovation. Utilizing open economy frameworks, the contributors also analyse the impact of market imperfections on the structure of environmental polices across countries. They advocate co-operation across countries as a means to maximise the benefits from these policies. Environmental Regulation and Market Power will prove invaluable to scholars and policymakers in the area of environmental studies.

This book provides insights into the state of the art of digital cultural heritage using computer graphics, image processing, computer vision, visualization and reconstruction, virtual and augmented reality and serious games. It aims at covering the emergent approaches for digitization and preservation of Cultural Heritage, both in its tangible and intangible facets. Advancements in Digital Cultural Heritage research have been abundant in recent years covering a wide assortment of topics, ranging from visual data acquisition, pre-processing, classification, analysis and synthesis, 3D modelling and reconstruction, semantics and symbolic representation, metadata description, repository and archiving, to new forms of interactive and personalized presentation, visualization and immersive experience provision via advanced computer graphics, interactive virtual and augmented environments, serious games and digital storytelling. Different aspects pertaining to visual computing with regard to tangible (books, images, paintings, manuscripts, uniforms, maps, artefacts, archaeological sites, monuments) and intangible (e.g. dance and performing arts, folklore, theatrical performances) cultural heritage preservation, documentation, protection and promotion are covered, including rendering and procedural modelling of cultural heritage assets, keyword spotting in old documents, drone mapping and airborne photogrammetry, underwater recording and reconstruction, gamification, visitor engagement, animated storytelling, analysis of choreographic patterns, and many more. The book brings together and targets researchers from the domains of computing, engineering, archaeology and the arts, and aims at underscoring the potential for cross-fertilization and collaboration among these communities.

This volume includes contributions based on selected full papers presented at the 11th Pan-Hellenic and International Conference "ICT in Education", held in Greece in 2018. The volume includes papers covering technical, pedagogical, organizational, instructional, as well as policy aspects of ICT in Education and e-Learning. Special emphasis is given to applied research relevant to the educational practice guided by the educational realities in schools, colleges, universities and informal learning organizations. This volume encompasses current trends, perspectives, and approaches determining e-Learning and ICT integration in practice, including learning and teaching, curriculum and instructional design, learning media and environments, teacher education and professional development. It is based on research work originally presented at the conference, but the call for chapters was open and disseminated to the international community attracting also international contributions.

Advances in Nonlinear Geosciences is a set of contributions from the participants of "30 Years of Nonlinear Dynamics" held July 3-8, 2016 in Rhodes, Greece as part of the Aegean Conferences, as well as from several other experts in the field who could not attend the meeting. The volume brings together up-to-date research from the atmospheric sciences, hydrology, geology, and other areas of geosciences and presents the new advances made in the last 10 years. Topics include chaos synchronization, topological data analysis, new insights on fractals, multifractals and stochasticity, climate dynamics, extreme events, complexity, and causality, among other topics.

This book includes papers presented at the 11th International Conference "Economies of the Balkan and Eastern European Countries" (EBEEC), held in Bucharest, Romania, in May 2019. It sheds new light on the micro- and macroeconomic developments in the Eastern European and Balkan countries, while at the same time taking into account the broader regional and global factors influencing these developments. By examining how the decisions and the performance of economic, social and political actors in the region are intertwined with wider regional and global events, the contributions highlight the dynamic development in Eastern Europe and the Balkans region. Further, the book demonstrates how the region has overcome numerous challenges in the past and is evolving within the framework of European economic integration and the global effervescent economy.

Bringing together normative and instrumental CSR conceptualizations, practice based examples and international case studies, this edited volume brings together important contributions on the conceptualizations of CSR post financial crisis. Including coverage of a variety of practices in developing and developed contexts, industry-specific activities, business ethics and sustainable development issues, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Post-Financial Crisis brings together a variety of perspectives to provide knowledge and understanding across contexts.

This volume comprises papers presented at the 8th international conference "The Economies of the Balkan and Eastern European Countries in the Changing World" (EBEEC) held in Split, Croatia in 2016. The papers cover a wide range of current issues relevant for the whole of Eastern Europe, such as European integration, economic growth, labour markets, education and tourism. Written by experienced researchers in the field of economic challenges for Eastern Europe, the papers not only analyse recent problems, but also offer policies to resolve them. Furthermore, they offer insights into the theoretical and empirical foundations of the economic processes described. The proceedings of the conference appeals to all those interested in the further economic development of the Balkan and Eastern European countries.

This book is an essential text for researchers and academics seeking the most comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of all aspects of e-learning and ICT in education, providing expanded peer-reviewed content from research presented at the 10th Panhellenic Conference on ICT in Education. The volume includes papers covering technical, pedagogical, organizational, instructional, as well as policy aspects of ICT in Education and e-Learning, and emphasizes applied research relevant to the educational realities in schools, colleges, universities and informal learning organizations. Research on e-Learning and ICT in Education is a valuable resource for education professionals interested in keeping up with current trends, perspectives, and approaches determining e-Learning and ICT integration in practice, including learning and teaching, curriculum and instructional design, learning media and environments, teacher education and professional development.

The economies of the European countries are still in recession, the development process is at a standstill, companies are facing financial difficulties, and the EU's monetary policy is tight and focused on lowering inflation. The fiscal problems and high debt levels of the northern European countries are of great importance, and they are the consequences of both the European economy's structural characteristics and the EU's policies. The economic area of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Black Sea countries is also vital, due to its special economic characteristics. The effects of the economic crisis on this particular area are catalytic, while the prospects for recovery are doubtful. The present book deals with the key aspects of the economic crisis in Europe, especially focusing on southeast Europe and the Balkans. The consequences of the crisis in these countries are analyzed and suggestions for how to address the crisis are outlined.

This book describes specific problems and proposes solutions for different areas of finance in Central and Southeastern European countries. Covering a broad spectrum of topics, from monetary economics and electronic money to capital markets, banking and insurance, it comprises theoretical and empirical contributions by authors from nine countries - Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia and Greece. Intended for academics as well as policy makers and practitioners it offers new perspectives on Central and Southeastern European finance research.

Afro-Cuban religiosity is likely to bring to mind beliefs and practices with a visibly 'African' flavour - music, dance, spirit possession, sacrifices and ritual language that have undergone a transformation, on Cuban soil, under a strong Spanish and Catholic influence. Much anthropological work has analysed Afro-Cuban religion's 'syncretic' character in the light of these European influences, taking as a given that each tradition is relatively independent, and focusing on well-documented origins in specific socio-historical environments. In this context, understandings of religious innovation based on charismatic leaders have resulted in a top down approach. However, this volume argues that there are alternatives to cult-centred accounts, by looking at the relationships between Afro-Cuban traditions, and indeed going beyond 'traditions' to place the focus on creativity as an embedded logic in everyday religious practice. From this forward-looking perspective, ritual engagement is no longer a means of recreating pre-existing universes but rather of generating, as well as participating in, an ever-emerging cosmos. Traditions are not perceived as given doctrines or mental constructs but as perceptual habits and potencies beyond questions of spirit or matter, mind or body. Offering a fresh, improvisatory ethnographic vision, this book recasts the Afro-Cuban religious complex in the terms of the experts and adepts who creatively sustain it and responds to the significant fact, often overlooked or ignored, that many Cubans engage with more than one tradition without any sense of conflict. Amidst the cacophony of calls to 'creativity' and 'innovation' as cultural commodities, here's a remarkable collection about the power of creation as a condition of human existence, rather than just its outcome. If you want to see what the world might be like without the very distinction between creator and creation - or, for that matter, between human beings and the worlds they inhabit - then look at Afro-Cuban religious traditions, the editors tell us. The sheer vivacity of the material is astounding, and suggests altogether new ways to think about not just the classic concerns of Caribbean anthropology with syncretism and cultural borrowings, but also basic categories of anthropological thinking such as ritual, technology, myth and cosmology. Martin Holbraad, Professor of Social Anthropology, University College London Beyond Tradition, Beyond Invention shows how far scholarship has transcended the verificationist searches for origins, reification of traditions as bounded entities, and sterile quests for typological coherence that, for too long, dominated the anthropology of Afro-Caribbean ritual praxis. The contributions not only vividly exemplify how mechanistic conceptions of tradition and cultural change, or pseudo-problems such as syncretism, can be overcome by ethnographic means. They also point towards novel theories of the ever emergent, hence thoroughly historical, nature of worlds shared by humans, deities, and spirits. This book ought to inspire all anthropologists working on complex and 'inventive' ritual traditions. Stephan Palmie, Professor of Anthropology, The University of Chicago"

An overview of all the available literature on the various aspects of the regulation of the cardiovascular system`s function and physiology by the adrenergic neurohormonal system, i.e. the catecholamines norepinephrine and epinephrine. Although there are several books describing the adrenergic system`s biology, physiology and pharmacology, and also several excellent books on cardiovascular physiology and pathology, this book focuses exclusively on the interface of these two areas: cardiovascular regulation by the adrenergic system and how it affects cardiovascular diseases and their treatments. Each chapter describe the roles of the adrenergic system first in each cardiovascular cell type (cell type-by-cell type) and then in specific areas of cardiovascular physiology, such as in exercise and in cardiovascular metabolism. Finally, the book concludes with a chapter on the adrenergic system`s role in the currently very "hot" (in terms of scientific investigations) area of cardiovascular stem cell biology. The book covers the adrenergic system-specifically and exclusively in the heart and vessels. It is formatted by cardiovascular cell type-by-cell type manner, rather than in an organ-by-organ or in a disease-by-disease manner, as usually discussed in standard, conventional biomedical textbooks. The book also discusses the adrenergic system in novel, cutting-edge cardiovascular research areas, in which it has not been covered well so far (e.g. stem cells, exercise). These three areas constitute the most important assets of the book, which sets it apart from others in the field.

This book investigates the various ties between tourism development and sustainability, revealing forces of change and current trends in tourism management performance in countries of Central and Southeast Europe. The contributions explore how the tourism industry is responding to numerous related challenges while managing risks with the aim of enhancing tourism management performance. In addition, it offers insights into the interconnections between tourism and other industries. In brief, the book offers an innovative, quantitative and qualitative scientific approach to the topic, along with conclusions and concrete policy recommendations.

This book offers important new insights into recent advances and perspectives in the field of political economy of development in Southeastern European countries. In addition, it provides theoretical and empirical contributions to political economy of development in an international context. Written by authors from Greece, Serbia and Turkey, the book covers a broad spectrum of topics - from macroeconomics and economic policy to international political economy and globalization. Presenting new and original ideas, this is a valuable resource for anyone wishing to gain a deeper understanding of political economy of development in Southeastern Europe: academicians, policymakers and business practitioners.

Assessing the extent to which armed conflict impacts the obligations that states have towards foreign investors and their investments under international investment treaties requires considering a wide range of issues, many of which are systemic in nature. These include substantive and procedural topics, not only with regard to international investment law, but also concerning the law on the use of force, international humanitarian law and human rights law, the law of treaties, the law of state responsibility and the law of state succession.This volume provides an in-depth assessment of the overlap between international investment law and the law of armed conflict by charting the terrain of the multifaceted and complex relationship between these two fields of public international law, fostering debate and offering novel perspectives on the matter.