For the public at large Shi'ism often implies a host of confused representations, suggesting more often than not obscurantism, intolerance, political violence and other ignominies running hot or cold in response to world events. In fact for many people, Shi'ism stands for "radical Islam", or - worse - "Islamic terrorism". In some respects, nothing is more familiar than Shi'ism, and yet nothing is more misunderstood. For some twenty years the media have increased their coverage of the phenomenon. Never, or only rarely, do they formulate the question we ask here: what is Shi'ism? What is this belief that inspires millions of people dispersed throughout the world? This book provides a broad based introduction to Shi'i Islam. It examines what the Shi'i believe, how they see themselves and how they view the world. It includes a thorough examination of doctrine, philosophy, the Shi'i approach to the Qur'an and the historical evolution of Shi'ism as a branch of Islam. Too often, and too quickly, the conclusion is drawn that Shi'ism is a marginal heretical sect, fundamentally alien to the deeper truth of the great religion of Islam, thrust by historical accident onto the political stage. Shi'ism either speaks the truth of Islam, meaning that it is a truth of terror, or it is entirely foreign to Islam and, therefore, merits outright rejection, as Islamic fundamentalists and some individuals repeatedly claim. This book intends to explain why such common misunderstandings of Shi'ism have taken root. Written in an accessible format and providing a thorough overview of Shi'ism, this book will be an essential text for students and scholars of Islamic Studies or Iranian Studies.

Rural development remains a major challenge for governments of developing countries such as Pakistan. While a broad range of state and donor interventions impact the lives of poor farmers -who provide a significant proportion of the labour force - comprehensive consideration of these combined interactions remains inadequate. Focussing on Pakistan, this book discusses the political economy of agrarian poverty and underdevelopment in the region. The book provides an in-depth exploration of the combined impact of state and donor interventions, as well as that of resistance attempts, to alter the status quo within Pakistan. It questions the relevance of state institutions and policies contending with the problems of farmers in Pakistan, and how donor-led policies and programmes also influence their lives. It draws on findings that have emerged from interviews of over 200 respondents including government officials, donor agency representatives and different categories of poor farmers, during eleven months of fieldwork in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. This research reveals some divergences between state and donor policies, but it finds more prominent convergences, which in turn enable the landed rural elite to benefit from market-based and capital-intensive processes of agricultural growth, without offering substantial opportunities for poor farmers. Reflecting the need to become less insular when discussing solutions to rural development, and demonstrating how state policies and institutions can interconnect with donor funded programmes, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of South Asian Politics and Development Studies.

Created by Lean practitioners with real-world, results-proven track records, this book is designed to help struggling managers and leaders, interested in the benefits of Lean but bereft of budgets to hire full-time consultants, start substantial change in their enterprises and begin to reap the benefits of Lean. At once a how-to manual and a strategic management guide, the book lays out, in simple English, all the steps for implementing Lean, from formulating a strategy and managing organizational change, to establishing a kanban-driven, level-loaded production system. Presenting strategies that will fit in most existing budgets, Lean for the Cash-Strapped Leader: The Path to Growth and Profitability uses easy-to-read language with flashes of humor to reveal proven methods that will help your organization initiate change and begin reaping the rewards of a Lean operations system in any industry. The book avoids acronyms, complex Lean terminology, and academic froth to convey the essential instructions, detail, and information you need. Identifying powerful methods for initiating a Lean value stream that require minimal investment, the book is designed to help owners of small businesses and senior managers of larger ones make their enterprises more efficient, more productive, and ultimately more profitable. Along the way, the book gives detailed attention to the need for the "soft message" that underwrites and supports the actions required for a business to achieve the transformation that Lean can bring. Lean for the Cash-Strapped Leader emphasizes the messaging and the degree of management involvement required to achieve a successful Lean result. Learn more about the book at: http://www.leanforthecashstrappedleader.com/

This book is the first major study of provincial history in the Qajar period. Drawing extensively on unpublished Iranian and British documents, it explores the history of Mazandaran, a province in the Caspian region, during 1848-1914, when the province as a part of Iran was exposed to the policies of rival great powers, particularly Tzarist Russia. While showing socio-economic characteristics of Mazandaran and its potential for development, the book examines in detail the transformation of the traditional provincial community and economy in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Rural development remains a major challenge for governments of developing countries such as Pakistan. While a broad range of state and donor interventions impact the lives of poor farmers -who provide a significant proportion of the labour force - comprehensive consideration of these combined interactions remains inadequate. Focussing on Pakistan, this book discusses the political economy of agrarian poverty and underdevelopment in the region. The book provides an in-depth exploration of the combined impact of state and donor interventions, as well as that of resistance attempts, to alter the status quo within Pakistan. It questions the relevance of state institutions and policies contending with the problems of farmers in Pakistan, and how donor-led policies and programmes also influence their lives. It draws on findings that have emerged from interviews of over 200 respondents including government officials, donor agency representatives and different categories of poor farmers, during eleven months of fieldwork in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. This research reveals some divergences between state and donor policies, but it finds more prominent convergences, which in turn enable the landed rural elite to benefit from market-based and capital-intensive processes of agricultural growth, without offering substantial opportunities for poor farmers. Reflecting the need to become less insular when discussing solutions to rural development, and demonstrating how state policies and institutions can interconnect with donor funded programmes, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of South Asian Politics and Development Studies.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Islamic reformism flourished in Iran. This book examines how Iranian Islamic groups came to rethink traditional accounts of religion and nurture a politicized version of Islam. The author shows how similar social and political circumstances, but different family and educational backgrounds gave rise to socialist, democratic/scientific and fundamentalist/militant reinterpretations of Islam. What was common among these groups was a tendency towards politicizing the religion. A significant contribution to discussions of contemporary political thought in Iran, this book will be of interest to researchers and academics of Islamic political though and Iranian politics and history.

Visible Light Communications, written by leading researchers, provides a comprehensive overview of theory, stimulation, design, implementation, and applications. The book is divided into two parts - the first devoted to the underlying theoretical concepts of the VLC and the second part covers VLC applications. Visible Light Communications is an emerging topic with multiple functionalities including data communication, indoor localization, 5G wireless communication networks, security, and small cell optimization. This concise book will be of valuable interest from beginners to researchers in the field.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Islamic reformism flourished in Iran. This book examines how Iranian Islamic groups came to rethink traditional accounts of religion and nurture a politicized version of Islam. The author shows how similar social and political circumstances, but different family and educational backgrounds gave rise to socialist, democratic/scientific and fundamentalist/militant reinterpretations of Islam. What was common among these groups was a tendency towards politicizing the religion. A significant contribution to discussions of contemporary political thought in Iran, this book will be of interest to researchers and academics of Islamic political though and Iranian politics and history.

This book is the first major study of provincial history in the Qajar period. Drawing extensively on unpublished Iranian and British documents, it explores the history of Mazandaran, a province in the Caspian region, during 1848-1914, when the province as a part of Iran was exposed to the policies of rival great powers, particularly Tzarist Russia. While showing socio-economic characteristics of Mazandaran and its potential for development, the book examines in detail the transformation of the traditional provincial community and economy in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

This book reports the results of an evidence-based case study for mental disorders which show that PTC has been very successful in bringing about deep and constant therapeutic changes. In response to the need of a more efficient approach for the treatment of psychological disorders, especially the broad spectrum of anxiety disorders, the PTC psychotherapeutic model was developed. Results of the follow-up studies reported in the present book show that the relapse rate in this model is in its lowest level compared to other psychotherapeutic approaches. Simple nature of the PTC protocol, described within the present book, allows psychotherapists and clinical practitioners to use this newly developed psychotherapy model for the treatment of mental disorders. This newly developed psychotherapy model can be applied to new developments in the field of psychotherapy theory, research, and practice. All psychotherapy associations, psychotherapy societies, psychological associations, psychotherapy societies, healthcare organizations, and academic libraries are likely to be part of the readership of this book.

The two-volume set LNICST 490 and 491 constitutes the proceedings of the First International Conference on Machine Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, MIET 2022, hosted by Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali, Bangladesh, during September 23–25, 2022.  The 104 papers presented in the proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 272 submissions. This book focuses on theoretical, practical, state-of-art applications, and research challenges in the field of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.  It will be helpful for active researchers and practitioners in this field. These papers are organized in the following topical sections: imaging for disease detection; pattern recognition and natural language processing; bio signals and recommendation systems for wellbeing; network, security and nanotechnology; and emerging technologies for society and industry.

Created by Lean practitioners with real-world, results-proven track records, this book is designed to help struggling managers and leaders, interested in the benefits of Lean but bereft of budgets to hire full-time consultants, start substantial change in their enterprises and begin to reap the benefits of Lean.At once a how-to manual and a strategic management guide, the book lays out, in simple English, all the steps for implementing Lean, from formulating a strategy and managing organizational change, to establishing a kanban-driven, level-loaded production system.Presenting strategies that will fit in most existing budgets, Lean for the Cash-Strapped Leader: The Path to Growth and Profitability uses easy-to-read language with flashes of humor to reveal proven methods that will help your organization initiate change and begin reaping the rewards of a Lean operations system in any industry.The book avoids acronyms, complex Lean terminology, and academic froth to convey the essential instructions, detail, and information you need. Identifying powerful methods for initiating a Lean value stream that require minimal investment, the book is designed to help owners of small businesses and senior managers of larger ones make their enterprises more efficient, more productive, and ultimately more profitable.Along the way, the book gives detailed attention to the need for the "soft message" that underwrites and supports the actions required for a business to achieve the transformation that Lean can bring. Lean for the Cash-Strapped Leader emphasizes the messaging and the degree of management involvement required to achieve a successful Lean result. Learn more about the book at: http://www.leanforthecashstrappedleader.com/

Visible Light Communications, written by leading researchers, provides a comprehensive overview of theory, stimulation, design, implementation, and applications. The book is divided into two parts - the first devoted to the underlying theoretical concepts of the VLC and the second part covers VLC applications. Visible Light Communications is an emerging topic with multiple functionalities including data communication, indoor localization, 5G wireless communication networks, security, and small cell optimization. This concise book will be of valuable interest from beginners to researchers in the field.

The two-volume set LNICST 490 and 491 constitutes the proceedings of the First International Conference on Machine Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, MIET 2022, hosted by Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali, Bangladesh, during September 23–25, 2022.  The 104 papers presented in the proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 272 submissions. This book focuses on theoretical, practical, state-of-art applications, and research challenges in the field of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.  It will be helpful for active researchers and practitioners in this field. These papers are organized in the following topical sections: imaging for disease detection; pattern recognition and natural language processing; bio signals and recommendation systems for wellbeing; network, security and nanotechnology; and emerging technologies for society and industry.

This book presents a comprehensive framework for IoT, including its architectures, security, privacy, network communications, and protocols. The book starts by providing an overview of the aforementioned research topics, future directions and open challenges that face the IoT development. The authors then discuss the main architectures in the field, which include Three- and Five-Layer Architectures, Cloud and Fog Based Architectures, a Social IoT Application Architecture. In the security chapter, the authors outline threats and attacks, privacy preservation, trust and authentication, IoT data security, and social awareness. The final chapter presents case studies including smart home, wearables, connected cars, industrial Internet, smart cities, IoT in agriculture, smart retail, energy engagement, IoT in healthcare, and IoT in poultry and farming. Discusses ongoing research into the connection of the physical and virtual worlds; Includes the architecture, security, privacy, communications, and protocols of IoT; Presents a variety of case studies in IoT including wearables, smart cities, and energy management.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is penetrating in all sciences as a multidisciplinary approach. However, adopting the theory of AI including computer vision and computer audition to urban intellectual space, is always difficult for architecture and urban planners. This book overcomes this challenge through a conceptual framework by merging computer vision and audition to urban studies based on a series of workshops called Remorph, conducted by Tehran Urban Innovation Center (TUIC).

This book presents the state-of-the-arts application of digital watermarking in audio, speech, image, video, 3D mesh graph, text, software, natural language, ontology, network stream, relational database, XML, and hardware IPs. It also presents new and recent algorithms in digital watermarking for copyright protection and discusses future trends in the field. Today, the illegal manipulation of genuine digital objects and products represents a considerable problem in the digital world. Offering an effective solution, digital watermarking can be applied to protect intellectual property, as well as fingerprinting, enhance the security and proof-of-authentication through unsecured channels.

This book presents the state-of-the-arts application of digital watermarking in audio, speech, image, video, 3D mesh graph, text, software, natural language, ontology, network stream, relational database, XML, and hardware IPs. It also presents new and recent algorithms in digital watermarking for copyright protection and discusses future trends in the field. Today, the illegal manipulation of genuine digital objects and products represents a considerable problem in the digital world. Offering an effective solution, digital watermarking can be applied to protect intellectual property, as well as fingerprinting, enhance the security and proof-of-authentication through unsecured channels.

This book offers a methodical explanation of our biomass-driven ecosystem, the undeniable uncertainties posed by the response of vegetation to changes in environmental conditions and the fact that humans everywhere have an interest, even an obligation, to cooperate in a global campaign to combat climate change.

Silicones have unique properties including thermal oxidative stability, low temperature flow, high compressibility, low surface tension, hydrophobicity and electric properties. These special properties have encouraged the exploration of alternative synthetic routes of well defined controlled microstructures of silicone copolymers, the subject of this Springer Brief. The authors explore the synthesis and characterization of notable block copolymers. Recent advances in controlled radical polymerization techniques leading to the facile synthesis of well-defined silicon based thermo reversible block copolymers are described along with atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), a technique utilized to develop well-defined functional thermo reversible block copolymers. The brief also focuses on Polyrotaxanes and their great potential as stimulus-responsive materials which produce poly (dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) based thermo reversible block copolymers.

This book offers a methodical explanation of our biomass-driven ecosystem, the undeniable uncertainties posed by the response of vegetation to changes in environmental conditions and the fact that humans everywhere have an interest, even an obligation, to cooperate in a global campaign to combat climate change.

For the public at large Shi'ism often implies a host of confused representations, suggesting more often than not obscurantism, intolerance, political violence and other ignominies running hot or cold in response to world events. In fact for many people, Shi'ism stands for "radical Islam", or - worse - "Islamic terrorism". In some respects, nothing is more familiar than Shi'ism, and yet nothing is more misunderstood. For some twenty years the media have increased their coverage of the phenomenon. Never, or only rarely, do they formulate the question we ask here: what is Shi'ism? What is this belief that inspires millions of people dispersed throughout the world? This book provides a broad based introduction to Shi'i Islam. It examines what the Shi'i believe, how they see themselves and how they view the world. It includes a thorough examination of doctrine, philosophy, the Shi'i approach to the Qur'an and the historical evolution of Shi'ism as a branch of Islam. Too often, and too quickly, the conclusion is drawn that Shi'ism is a marginal heretical sect, fundamentally alien to the deeper truth of the great religion of Islam, thrust by historical accident onto the political stage. Shi'ism either speaks the truth of Islam, meaning that it is a truth of terror, or it is entirely foreign to Islam and, therefore, merits outright rejection, as Islamic fundamentalists and some individuals repeatedly claim. This book intends to explain why such common misunderstandings of Shi'ism have taken root. Written in an accessible format and providing a thorough overview of Shi'ism, this book will be an essential text for students and scholars of Islamic Studies or Iranian Studies.

This collection of 64 papers by contributors throughout the world presents work from a variety of fields, primarily Indo-European linguistics and philology, and thus reflects the broad interests of Edgar C. Polome.

The language barrier is a familiar term, but what exactly is the humor barrier? Humor is a universal phenomenon, but the ways in which humor is used vary greatly from culture to culture. These differences can prove to be a major obstacle for English language learners hoping to communicate effectively in cross-cultural contexts. While a growing number of researchers have explored the importance of helping language learners better understand the humor of the target culture, in Bridging the Humor Barrier: Humor Competency Training in English Language Teaching, editors John Rucynski Jr. and Caleb Prichard bring together language teachers and researchers from a range of cultural and teaching contexts to tackle how to actually overcome the humor barrier. This book empirically examines humor competency training and presents related research that has implications for humor training. Contributors address a wide range of genres of humor, providing fresh insights into helping language learners deepen their understanding and appreciation of the humor of the English-speaking world, including jokes, sarcasm, and satire. This book is an excellent resource for English language teachers looking to help their learners avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits of humor in the target language.