Open Access Books

Biotechnology and Bioengineering presents the most up-to-date research on biobased technologies. It is designed to help scientists and researchers deepen their knowledge in this critical knowledge field. This solid resource brings together multidisciplinary research, development, and innovation for a wide study of Biotechnology and Bioengineering.

Industrial policy has become central in the public debate after several years of neglect. Relying on contributors with different backgrounds, from academia to the public and private sectors, the book emphasizes two topics that are crucial to inform and motivate industrial policies in current times, expecially at the European level. The first part of the book touches several points related to global value chains, and how these are undergoing reorganizations due to factors related to digital transition. The second part of the book, instead, is dedicated to the role of infrastructures to store data for business, with a particular focus on cloud computing.

This book investigates Euro-African cultural relations, considering their connected histories through material and immaterial forms of representation, commemoration, and memorialization. Recent waves of protest around the world have called for restitution of looted African art, and toppled statues and vandalized monuments which are connected to white suprematism, colonialism, and imperialism. These events have highlighted an urgent need to debate the management and preservation of Europe and Africa’s shared heritage. Drawing on a range of varied, trans-continental case studies, this book considers the key question of whether such monuments should be removed as forms of unacceptable celebration of an evil past, or preserved precisely because of what they recount about that past of oppression and domination. The book encourages readers to consider how diverse and pervasive the notions of shared heritage and common past are, encompassing discussions of statues, exhibitions, graffiti, tapestries, and commemorations. Providing a timely analysis of the developing cultural relations between Africa and Europe, this book will be an important resource for researchers across the fields of global history, heritage studies, memory studies, and international relations.

The Special Issue “Elastomers: From Theory to Applications” focuses on the current state of the art of elastomers, both in modern developments of rubber-like compositions and applications and from a theoretical perspective. The series of 13 publications offer the latest results in several specific sub-areas of elastomer research or review selected fields and concepts. Of particular interest are new structures and functionalities incorporated into elastomers, leading to the enhanced properties of crosslinked elastomeric materials for several applications, and/or to a better understanding of the structure‒property relationships and practical behaviour.

Esta obra proporciona los elementos fundamentales para un curso inicial sobre bases de datos relacionales. El contenido se aborda desde una perspectiva práctica y orientada a resultados de aprendizaje, desarrollando competencias relevantes y aplicables en contextos reales. Los temas se desarrollan utilizando como caso una base de datos de canciones y artistas de fácil comprensión para los estudiantes. Desde el inicio se introduce el lenguaje de consulta estructurado (SQL), partiendo de conceptos básicos hasta consultas complejas. A medida que se incorporan elementos del SQL, la base de datos de canciones y artistas evoluciona, añadiendo nuevas tablas y haciendo explícitos conceptos básicos sobre la forma en que fue diseñada. Esta aproximación simplifica aspectos que podrían considerarse complejos si se abordan solamente desde la teoría. Luego, se centra en el diseño de bases de datos a nivel conceptual y lógico, proporcionando herramientas para construir soluciones robustas. Finalmente, el libro aborda la implementación de diseños de bases de datos en un sistema de gestión de bases de datos (DBMS) utilizado ampliamente en la industria, preparando a los estudiantes para entornos profesionales. A lo largo del contenido se presentan ejemplos y ejercicios prácticos que facilitan la comprensión y aplicación de conceptos y técnicas, enfatizando en resultados de aprendizaje prácticos y preparación para enfrentar desafíos laborales reales.

Online Dispute Resolution – New Challenges is a book that concerns a very current subject with practical repercussions: the use of the Internet in dispute settlement mechanisms, including arbitration, court litigation, and mediation. The book is divided into three chapters, covering the following subjects: “Due process guarantees and Online dispute resolution”, “Online trial hearings – in particular, evidence” and “Confidentiality, privacy and security”. All essays are written by well-known arbitrators, academics, lawyers and judges. Each essay seeks to provide the perspective of a different group of stakeholders in respect of the areas in which online dispute resolution is currently resorted to. The editors of the book are Professors at the Law School of the University of Lisbon whose fields of research include, among other topics, international arbitration, litigation and mediation. With contributions by António Abrantes Geraldes, Paula Costa e Silva, Madalena Dinis Ayala, Diego Fernandez Arroyo, Marc Henry, Catarina Monteiro Pires, Pilar Perales Viscasillas, Luís Filipe Pires de Sousa, Sofia Ribeiro Mendes, Juan Serrada Hierro, Joana Soares Correia, Bruno Sousa Rodrigues and Riu Vouga.

This study focuses on exploring subjective theories of teacher educators about quality teaching in the context of their profession in Rwanda. It is based on determinant role of subjective theories in educational quality improvement. Additionally, teacher educators are the driving forces due to their role in the initial and continuous teacher education. However, empirical research on teacher educators’ subjective theories is very limited in the Global South including Rwanda. Due to the exploratory nature this study, a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews was used to collect data from 32 teacher educators theoretically sampled. Using content analysis, iterative deductive-inductive process as well as the generalisation of results through abduction, the results show that interviewed teacher educators have four ideal types of subjective theories. They include subjective theories focusing on: formalities by compliance (following pedagogical and administrative formalities); knowledge by transmission (transmission of immutably prescribed knowledge); behaviour by imitation (learning by imitation) and competences by co-construction (development of competences through active, interactive and reflective approaches). The generated typology enlightens research, policy and practice regarding quality teaching and teacher education in Rwanda and possibly similar contexts.

Detlef Brandes gehört zu den profiliertesten deutschen Osteuropa-Historikern seiner Generation. Zu seinem 75. Geburtstag haben Kollegen und Schüler für eine Festschrift Beiträge mit Bezug zu den von ihm behandelten Themen und Regionen verfasst. Ihre Texte beschäftigen sich mit den Beziehungen Deutschlands und der Deutschen zum östlichen Europa sowie mit der tschechischen, russischen, ukrainischen und polnischen Geschichte. Sie sind in Sektionen zu Themenfeldern wie "Historiker und das östliche Europa", "Kriegsfolgen und ihre Deutung", "Alltag, Lebenswelten, Verhaltensweisen" u.a. zusammengefasst. Mit Beiträgen von Christoph Cornelißen, Victor Dönninghaus, Severin Gawlitta, Peter Heumos, Ota Konrád, Stefan Lehr, Nina Lohmann, Dmytro Myeshkov, Volker Mohn, Dietmar Neutatz, Christoph Nonn, Thomas Oellermann, Jiří Pešek, Andrej Savin, Gerd Stricker, Andreas Wiedemann, Falk Wiesemann und Volker Zimmermann.

"The third long-term forecast by Economix estimates the implications of the recent influx of refugees on the German labour market as well as the qualification structure among the employees. At the same time, it forecasts the opportunities and risks of digitalisation. All analyses come to the conclusion that the integration of refugees into the labour market represents the primary task of the coming five to ten years. Indeed, the immigration of refugees rejuvenates the population. However, it also causes a decline in the qualification structure of labour supply. The authors emphasise both the necessity of extensive and systematic further education programs for all employees as well as the importance of developing educational services for refugees and encouraging them to participate in vocational education. The digitalisation scenario shows considerable increases in growth and employment as a consequence of the use of digital technologies. However, this positive development requires

Pourquoi parler d’art quand on est poète ? Pourquoi se réclamer de la « manière de Rembrandt et de Callot » quand on est soi-même en train d’inventer une forme de poésie inédite, le poème en prose, et un style pittoresque original, celui de Gaspard de la Nuit ? Aloysius Bertrand ne livre guère de réponse, théorise peu sa pratique et évite les grands discours – autant de silences à faire parler. Sa passion pour les arts graphiques, la peinture, mais aussi l’art de l’imprimerie et encore tous l...

The tenth volume of the Lage Landen Studies explores the road of an original Dutch-language book from its original version to the translation that arrives into the hands of a non-native reader. This collection of research articles features literary translations with Dutch as source language. The authors pay special attention to production-specific aspects of the literary transfer process: What are the conditions to make a translation? Who is involved in the process? What part do translators and institutions play? Which norms determine the production and distribution of translated texts? In their contributions on transfer to the German, English, French, Indonesian, Russian and Czech language, the authors mention different aspects that are mainly new to the cultural transfer of Dutch-language literature abroad and/or give new impulses to its research.

Written by international experts, this publication provides the reader with the present knowledge and future research directions of diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound and spectroscopy. Focused topics include Duplex ultrasound, transcranial color Duplex, MRA guided Doppler ultrasonography and near-infrared spectroscopy. New directions in the use and application of transcranial and color Duplex ultrasound are provided, as well as the use of ultrasound and arterial stiffness for measuring human vascular health and circulatory control. Novel use of ultrasound for the detection of intra-cardiac and intra-pulmonary shunts is also described along with its utility for the assessment of gastric regulation and emptying.

Photoactivity represents the ability of a material, generally speaking a semiconductor, to become active when interacting with light. It can be declined in many ways, and several functionalities arising from this behavior of materials can be exploited, all leading to positive repercussions on our environment. There are several classes of effects of photoactivity, all of which have been deeply investigated in the last few decades, allowing to develop more and more efficient materials and devices. All of them share a common point, that is, the interaction of a material with light, although many different materials are taken into account depending on the effect desired—from elemental semiconductors like silicon, to more complex compounds like CdTe or GaAs, to metal oxides like TiO2 and ZnO. Given the broadness of the field, a huge number of works fall within this topic, and new areas of discovery are constantly explored. The special issue “Novel Photoactive Materials” has been proposed as a means to present recent developments in the field, and for this reason the articles included touch different aspects of photoactivity, from photocatalysis to photovoltaics to light emitting materials.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This important book offers practical advice for using evidence and research in policymaking. The book has two aims. First, it builds a case for ethics and global values in research and knowledge exchange, and second, it examines specific policy areas and how evidence can guide practice. The book covers important policy areas including the GM debate, the environment, Black Lives Matter and COVID-19. Each chapter assesses the ethical challenges, the status of evidence in explaining or describing the issue and possible solutions to the problem. The book will enable policymakers and their advisors to seek evidence for their decisions from research that has been conducted ethically and with integrity.

In this volume, Lori Gruen and Justin Marceau invite experts to examine connections between mass incarceration of humans and captive control of animals. Chapters explore how carceral responses to animal crime and carceral thinking about animal captivity can impact the lives and legal status of both humans and non-humans.