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This book seeks to understand white conservative Christians¿ support for Donald Trump, using their own words. Drawing on the triangular relationship between the 45th president, and his voters, and religious organizations, this work investigates the creation of the tale of Trump as the protector and enhancer of Christian values. The first part of the book discusses in detail the white conservative Christian constituency in the United States, and the development of feelings of displacement and resentment fostered by intergroup threat and nationalism. The central part focuses on the actor known as the ¿Religious Right,¿ through the rhetoric of one of their most representative organizations in the twenty-first century. The final part focuses on the character of Donald Trump and his peculiar relationship with religious discourse. The book demonstrates that while such discourse is expected of Trump as a Republican candidate, his approach to it is characterized by detachment and sloganized exploitation of Christian symbols. Ultimately, the book highlights the cultural tools that are crucial in the reproduction of structures of inequality and the ways they have been used by conservative politicians and groups to accumulate power.

This proceedings volume gathers selected, peer-reviewed papers presented at the 2nd International Conference on Mathematics and its Applications in Science and Engineering ¿ ICMASE 2021, which was virtually held on July 1-2, 2021 by the University of Salamanca, Spain. Works included in this book cover applications of mathematics both in engineering research and in real-world problems, touching topics such as difference equations, number theory, optimization, and more. The list of applications includes the modeling of mechanical structures, the shape of machines, and the growth of a population, expanding to fields like information security and cryptography. Advances in teaching and learning mathematics in the context of engineering courses are also covered.This volume can be of special interest to researchers in applied mathematics and engineering fields, as well as practitioners seeking studies that address real-life problems in engineering.

Economic growth and development critically depends on the quality of infrastructure. Each aspect of the economy and its infrastructure are linked systemically. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly being promoted as the solution to the shortfall in financing needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Public-private partnerships enable the public entity to utilize the expertise and efficiencies of the private sector to deliver services and facilities that traditionally have been delivered by the public sector, either through public sector employees or by traditional procurement methods. To be beneficial to all stakeholders, a PPP project requires careful planning, implementation, and strong governance. This book breaks down the steps involved and the traps to circumvent.Despite its globally growing importance, project finance has been somewhat underrepresented in research. This book analyzes project finance from an interdisciplinary perspective¿finance, management, and international business¿and includes international laws of arbitrage and perspectives of international financial institutions as never endeavored by any previous research projects. The book also includes case studies assessing the relevance of private-public partnerships by comparing the country expectations and the real outcomes. The gap between expectations and results does not necessarily mean that significant progress has not been made. To the contrary, the book suggests that some of the original targets set may have been unrealistic, and that the requisite financial resources¿or the financial sector policies that could have generated those resources¿may have been lacking.

This book is a collection of research results in a wide range of topics related to human¿robot interaction, both physical and cognitive, including theories, methodologies, technologies, and empirical and experimental studies. The works contained in the book have been presented at the 14th International Workshop on Human-Friendly Robotics (HFR 2021), organized by the University of Bologna (Bologna, Italy, October 28¿29, 2021), and they describe the most original achievements in the field of human¿robot interaction coming from the ideas of young researchers. The intended readership of the book is any researcher in the field of robotics interested to research problems related to human¿robot coexistence, like robot interaction control, robot learning, and human¿robot co-working.

This book covers the results of a study concerning systems for healthcare-oriented monitoring of elderly persons. It is focused on the methods for processing data from impulse-radar sensors and depth sensors, aimed at localisation of monitored persons and estimation of selected quantities informative from the healthcare point of view. It includes mathematical descriptions of the considered methods, as well as the corresponding algorithms and the results of their testing in a real-world context. Moreover, it explains the motivations for developing healthcare-oriented monitoring systems and specifies the real-world needs which may be addressed by such systems.The healthcare systems, all over the world, are confronted with challenges implied by the ageing of population and the lack of adequate recruitment of healthcare professionals. Those challenges can be met by developing new technologies aimed at improving the quality of life of elderly people and at increasing the efficiency of public health management. Monitoring systems may contribute to this strategy by providing information on the evolving health status of independently-living elderly persons, enabling healthcare personnel to quickly react to dangerous events. Although these facts are generally acknowledged, such systems are not yet being commonly used in healthcare facilities and households. This may be explained by the difficulties related to the development of technological solutions which can be both acceptable for monitored persons and capable of providing healthcare personnel with useful information. The impulse-radar sensors and depth sensors, considered in this book, have a potential for overcoming those difficulties since they are not cumbersome for the monitored persons ¿ if compared to wearable sensors ¿ and do not violate the monitored person's privacy ¿ if compared to video cameras. Since for safety reasons the level of power, emitted by the radar sensors, must be ultra-low, the task of detection and processing of signals is a research challenge which requires more sophisticated methods than those developed for other radar applications. This book contains descriptions of new Bayesian methods, applicable for the localisation of persons by means of impulse-radar sensors, and an exhaustive review of previously published ones. Furthermore, the methods for denoising, regularised numerical differentiation and fusion of data from impulse-radar sensors and depth sensors are systematically reviewed in this book. On top of that, the results of experiments aimed at comparing the performance of various data-processing methods, which may serve as guidelines for related future projects, are presented.

This book is about design. Everybody does design, from artists to engineers, from interior designers to industrial designers. We design our days and we design our lives. This book presents the three universal activities that everyone uses, no matter who they are or what they do. These three activities are 1.) clarify an ambiguous project, 2.) generate ideas, and 3.) select one idea for implementation. This book also presents how the psychology of design impacts our effectiveness with each of these three activities, from creativity through decision making, intuition through analysis, and cognitive enhancement through design biases. Although the examples provided in this book primarily target the diverse disciplines of art (painting) and engineering, they can be easily understood and adapted by designers in any discipline.This book helps advanced design students and working professionals in any discipline to understand why and when the basic design principles they were taught workor do not work and, as a result, improve their design effectiveness.

This book offers an introduction to the language of law from the perspective of logical semantics. As a logical tool, Boguslaw Wolniewicz¿s formal ontology of situations is adapted. The central issue addressed is the meaning of normative statements, primarily legal norms. The main outcome of the book consists in explications of several legal notions (including legal events, legal acts and legal rules) in terms of the formal ontology of situations. In addition, the book concludes that legal norms are sentences in a logical sense, so some are true, while others are false, and that their logical value does not depend on whether or not they were adopted in the law-making process. Lastly, the book contends that there are semantic relations between orders that are similar to entailment, contradiction, opposition, and sub-opposition, despite the fact that orders are not sentences in a logical sense, i.e., they are neither true nor false.The book alsopresents some original Wittgenstein-style deontic logics built on the first order logic. The formal results are applied to selected problems in the theory of law, including the problem of the possibility of algorithmic application of legal norms.

This book offers an in depth discussion of the Israeli ¿ Iranian conflict, and its implications for the United States and Arab states. The main topic is Israel¿s approach to handling Iran and its partners, given Iran¿s ambitions, including its plan to produce nuclear weapons. The author explains the complexity of the Iranian ¿ Israeli ¿ Arab triangle, while offering suggestions on how the United States can assist Israel in this matter. The volume also contributes a unique point of view on events and military factors.

This book explores the emerging economic reality of health data pools from the perspective of European Union policy and law. The contractual sharing of health data for research purposes is giving rise to a free movement of research data, which is strongly encouraged at European policy level within the Digital Single Market Strategy. However, it has also a strong impact on data subjects' fundamental right to data protection and smaller businesses and research entities ability to carry out research and compete in innovation markets. Accordingly the work questions under which conditions health data sharing is lawful under European data protection and competition law. For these purposes, the work addresses the following sub-questions: i) which is the emerging innovation paradigm in digital health research?; ii) how are health data pools addressed at European policy level?; iii) do European data protection and competition law promote health data-driven innovation objectives, and how?; iv) which are the limits posed by the two frameworks to the free pooling of health data? The underlying assumption of the work is that both branches of European Union law are key regulatory tools for the creation of a common European health data space as envisaged in the Commissions 2020 European strategy for data. It thus demonstrates that both European data protection law, as defined under the General Data Protection Regulation, and European competition law and policy set research enabling regimes regarding health data, provided specific normative conditions are met. From a further perspective, both regulatory frameworks place external limits to the freedom to share (or not share) research valuable data.

This book focuses on the displacement and convergence of transnational crimes in North Africa and in the area of the Mediterranean Sea, providing empirical analysis of human smuggling and of drug trafficking. It discusses the displacement of crime due to the exploitation of asymmetries in legislation, law enforcement, and other vulnerabilities.Using an innovative multimethodology, this volume describes the evolution of illicit flows related to human smuggling and trafficking of illicit goods. This approach helps to provide critical information such as traffickers¿ modi operandi, most exploited paths, and trafficked goods, that would not be achievable through more traditional methods.The Evolution of Illicit Flows will be a valuable resource for scholars and researchers of criminology and migration studies, as well as for policymakers and law enforcement working in transnational crimes and trafficking.

This book presents a collection of chapters on modern bioelectrochemistry, showing different aspects of electron transfer reactions in biological systems and techniques. The chapters cover computer simulation, biomolecules on surfaces, direct and mediated electron transfer, electron transfer kinetics, surface-confined biomolecules, field-effect transistor effects, supramolecular electrochemistry, in situ and operando techniques in bioelectrochemistry. They provide relevant bibliographic information for researchers and students interested in computer simulation involving biomolecules on surfaces, processes of direct and mediated electron transfer kinetics of cytochrome c, surface-confined biomolecules for application in bioelectronics, sensitive devices based on field-effect transistors, insights on supramolecular electrochemistry with recent trends and perspectives and technological innovation on instrumentation applied in operando techniquesfield.

For nearly a century, the energy industry had a profound impact on the Mississippi Delta, including both the natural and socio-economic systems. The purpose of this book is to describe the delta, how oil and gas (O&G) activities have impacted both natural and socio-economic systems and how much of the degradation could have been avoided. The Mississippi Delta formed over the past six thousand years but, in less than a century, lost 25 percent of coastal wetlands. O&G activities contributed significantly to this loss. O&G production began in the early 20th century and over 600 conventional fields were developed. Production ramped up rapidly, peaking around 1970, then declined. As O&G production declines, produced water dominates fluid production, and this high salinity brine is laced with a variety of toxins. Often, O&G was produced rapidly and much was left in the ground and is now technically and economically unavailable. With careful planning,this situation could have been avoided. The industry also affected the regulatory framework by weakening regulations, enforcement and impacts were not adequately addressed, and more profits flowed out of state. Thus, the state was economically and environmentally worse off. The industry should be compelled to contribute expertise and financial resources to restoration of the delta.

Now in its second edition, this book provides a state of the art overview on basic concepts of epigenetic epidemiology and a comprehensive review of the rapidly evolving field of human epigenetics.Epigenetics plays an important role in shaping who we are and contributes to our prospects of health and disease. Unlike our genetic inheritance, our epigenome is malleable throughout the lifecourse and is shaped by our environmental experiences. Population-based epidemiologic studies increasingly incorporate epigenetic components. These so called epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) contribute substantially to our understanding of the relevance of epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs for disease causation.Written by leading experts in the field, the book opens with a comprehensive introduction of the principles of epigenetic epidemiology and discusses challenges in study design, analysis, and interpretation. It summarizes the latest advances in epigenetic laboratory techniques, the influence of age and environmental factors on shaping the epigenome, the epigenetic clock, and the role of epigenetics in the developmental origins hypothesis. The final part focuses on epigenetic epidemiology of various health conditions such as imprinting disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, metabolic disorder and vascular disease, as well as neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Given its scope, Epigenetic Epidemiology is an indispensable resource for researchers working in the field of human epigenetics.

This book focuses on critical approaches to the state and state theory in the Global South. In light of the reemergence of the post-colonial and peripheral state as a crucial institution and actor in the 21st century¿s capitalist world-system, the book examines the nature, functions and development dynamics of the state in the periphery, as well as its constituting interests and struggles. Drawing on the works of Poulantzas and Gramsci, dependency and world-systems theory, as well as the regulation school and the German Ableitungsdebatte, stategraphy and critical realism, it analyzes the development of different theoretical perspectives on the state, elaborates on their theoretical, ontological and epistemological presuppositions, and illustrates their methodological, practical and ethical implications. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which provides an overview of recent global capitalist developments and challenges for state theory and lays the theoretical, ontological and hermeneutic foundation for studies of the state and statehood in the Global South. In turn, the second part introduces readers to different schools of state theory, including critical theory and materialism, as well as approaches derived from postcolonial, anthropological, and feminist thought. Lastly, the third part presents various empirical studies, highlighting concrete methodological and practical experiences of conducting critical state theory.

Cellular-molecular approach to evolution has led to radical changes in our understanding of biologic principles ranging from the Cell, to the Life Cycle, Development, Homeostasis, Senescence/Aging, Heterochrony, Pleiotropy, Phenotype, and perhaps the purpose of life itself. Much of this new way of thinking about biology and medicine emanates from experimental evidence for epigenetic inheritance. This leads one to question whether our unicellular state is the actual primary level of selection.One particular system that is now recognized as being under the auspices of epigenetic inheritance is the endocrine system, which is conventionally thought to regulate physiologic homeostasis. However, because the sex hormones play such a major role in behaviors related to the acquisition of epigenetic data, and the processing of such epigenetic data by the gonads during meiosis, their role in the evolution of the organism become tractable. The composite of the activities of the individual over the course of its lifetime can now be understood causally, resulting from the orchestration of its physiology by hormones, prenatally, postnatally and during the aging process, across the entire life span of the organism. Specific behaviors over the course of the life cycle during childhood, adolescence, puberty, adulthood and aging can now be understood mechanistically rather than merely as milestones in the various stages of life.With the above considerations in mind, this book presents the cellular-evolutionary perspective towards the relationship of the organism with its surroundings, human and non-human alike renders biology and medicine a continuum instead of fragmented, un-related anecdotes.

This book brings together essays analyzing the impact of sport and physical activity on psychophysical well-being and quality of life, through multidisciplinary and multi-country studies. It discusses how the commercial dimension of sport entertainment and recreational dimension of sport practice have been increasingly brought together in discussions on individual health and well-being, and social integration and participation. It therefore considers the relationship between sports practice, enjoyment of sporting events, sport participation and quality of life. The chapters examine various aspects of the practice of sport for professional and recreational purposes from the perspective of age, life course research, physical education in schools, government investment in sport activities across various stages of life, the rise of sports tourism as a global industry and how social networks and web apps are changing the perception of fitness. This innovative book is of interest to scholars and students of sport science, leisure studies, and well-being research.

This book commemorates Eric Goles¿s achievements in science and engineering. Eric Goles is one of the world leaders in the field of automata and complexity. His groundbreaking discoveries are in the theory and analysis of complex systems, particularly in the field of discrete systems dynamics such as neural networks, automata networks, majority networks, bootstrap percolation models, cellular automata, computational complexity theory, discrete mathematics, and theoretical computer science. Topics include cellular automata, complex networks, models of computation, expansive systems, sandpile automata, Penrose tilings, Boolean automata, models of infection, Fibonacci trees, dominos, reversible automata, and fungal automata. The chapters are authored by world leaders in computer science, physics, mathematics, and engineering. The book will be a pleasure to explore for readers from all walks of life, from undergraduate students to university professors, from mathematicians, computer scientists, and engineers to chemists and biologists.

Medicinal plants supply the ever-growing needs of humankind for natural chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, agrochemicals, and chemical additives. These plants contain bioactive secondary metabolites, which possess antimalarial, anthelminthic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial, antiarthritic, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anticancer, antifungal, antispasmodic, cardioprotective, antithyroid, and antihistaminic properties. Secondary metabolites play a major role in the adaptation of plants to the changing environment and stress condition as they are affected by both biotic and abiotic stress. Humans rely on medicinal plants for various needs since ancient time, and their population still seems enough for fulfilling our demands. However, in the foreseeable future, we will be forced to think about the accessibility of resources for future generations. For these reasons, we must look for alternative sustainable options of resources which can protect these immensely important medicinal plants from various stresses induced by challenging environment. Evolving eco-friendly methodologies and mechanisms to improve these plants¿ responses to unfavorable environmental circumstances is important in creating significant tools for better understanding of plant adaptations to various abiotic stresses and sustaining the supply of pharmaceuticals as global climate change intensifies.One of the great challenges in the near future will be the sustainable production of medicinal plants under increasing adverse effects of climate change. A combination of adverse demographic factors and climatological perturbations is expected to impact food and pharmaceutical production globally. Despite the induction of several tolerance mechanisms, medicinal plants often fail to survive under environmental extremes. To ensure their sustainable production under adverse conditions, multidisciplinary approaches are needed, and useful leads are likely to emerge. However, improving plants' performance under restrictive growth conditions requires a deep understanding of the molecular processes that underlie their extraordinary physiological plasticity. This edited volume emphasizes the recent updates about the current research on medicinal plants covering different aspects related to challenges and opportunities in the concerned field. This book is an attempt to bring together global researchers who have been engaged in the area of stress signaling, crosstalk, and mechanisms of medicinal plants. The book will provide a direction towards implementation of programs and practices that will enable sustainable production of medicinal plants resilient to challenging environmental conditions. Moreover, this book will instigate and commence readers to state-of-the-art developments and trends in this field.