Open Access Books

This open access book explores the key dimensions of a future education system designed to enable individuals, schools, and communities to achieve the twin twenty-first century challenges of sustainability and human well-being. For much of the twentieth century, Western education systems prepared students to enter the workforce, contribute to society and succeed in relatively predictable contexts. Today, people are at the controls of the planet—making decisions that are dramatically reshaping social, economic, and environmental systems at a global scale. What is education’s purpose in this new reality? What and how must we learn now? The volatility and uncertainty caused by digitalization, globalization, and climate change weave a common backdrop through each chapter. Using case studies drawn from Finland and the US, chapter authors explore various aspects of learning and education system design through the lenses of sustainability and human well-being to evaluate how our understanding and practice of education must transform. Using their scholarly research and experience as practitioners, the authors propose new approaches to preparing learners for a new frontier of the human experience fraught with risks but full of opportunity.

The paper studies the editorial practice of Boccaccio in his copies of Dante’s Vita Nuova, through a textual comparison between the two preserved transcriptions and the ones that are only hypothetically referable to his work, thanks to an examination of the varia lectio. What emerged for Vita Nuova from a new comprehensive collatio of the most important witnesses of Boccaccio’s manuscript tradition, put together with what is known about the other Dante’s works copied by Boccaccio himself (lyrics and Commedia), seem to converge in the hypothesis, already suggested by Michele Barbi, that around the interpositus b3 it is quite recognizable a third “authorial edition”, originally conceived like the other two, and perhaps currently surviving in the manuscript Riccardiano 1035.

Flood risks worldwide are being exacerbated due to urbanisation and the consequences of climate change. This poses a challenge to traditional managerial approaches to flood risk management that try to be ‘fail-safe’. This book presents innovative and practical lessons on how to make flood risk management strategies ‘safe-to-fail’ and therewith more resilient. The book focuses on governance – rather than technical/managerial – approaches. As the book shows, new governance strategies are needed that ensure that flood risk management is not left to water managers alone. Various actors, including spatial planners, contingency agencies, NGOs and individual citizens, have a role to play in flood risk governance. Ten chapters assess different case studies from around the globe. These highlight the challenges and good practices related to learning, inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation, and debating and meeting the normative end-goals of flood risk governance. This book is essential reading for grounded scholars, reflexive policymakers and practitioners, and everyone else who is interested in contributing to more resilient and future-proof flood risk governance.

Das österreichische Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG) beschränkt die Höhe der Altbaumieten, damit Wohnen «leistbar» bleibt. Vermieter dürfen jedoch Zuschläge für «gute Lagen» verlangen. Das Gesetz gibt in geradezu dogmatischer Weise vor, welche Straßenzüge zu welchen Zuschlägen berechtigen und greift damit stark in das regionale Preisgefüge und dessen Entwicklung ein. Diese Arbeit untersucht in einem Quasi-Experiment anhand von 32.000 Mietangebotsdaten die strukturellen Effekte dieses mietrechtlichen «Preisdiktats». In bestimmten Gegenden kommt es zu Umgehungsmechanismen, zu einer zweifelhaften Mieterselektion, und zur «Flucht aus dem Markt». Vermieter gehen dazu über, ihre Häuser als Eigentumswohnungen zu verkaufen. Das entzieht dem Mietmarkt das Angebot und spannt die Situation weiter an.

Vehicles have played a major role in the development of societies over generations. Their role will reach the next level of importance and innovation with the development of intelligent/smart or connected vehicles, which will take over some (assisted driving) or all (fully autonomous driving) of the driver’s responsibility in operating the vehicle. However, this (re)evolution cannot be achieved without a robust, secure, and highly reliable communications infrastructure. Indeed, vehicular communication technologies offer a wide range of benefits that address key challenges in transportation, including safety, efficiency, sustainability, and user experience. As these technologies continue to evolve and mature, they have the potential to transform the way people and goods move, shaping the future of mobility for generations to come. This book deals with modern aspects related to vehicular communications. The first section discusses modern applications for new vehicle applications, such as automated guided vehicles in smart maritime ports, logistics assets, and so on. The second section of the book explores the advantages of some modern approaches to optimizing the functioning of vehicular communications, such as machine learning as a part of artificial intelligence, and the different security concerns of connected vehicles and infrastructures.

This book presents a collection of papers revealing the impact of advanced computation and instrumentation on healthcare. It highlights the increasing global trend driving innovation for a new era of multifunctional technologies for personalized digital healthcare. Moreover, it highlights that contemporary research on healthcare is performed on a multidisciplinary basis comprising computational engineering, biomedicine, biomedical engineering, electronic engineering, and automation engineering, among other areas.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are among the most promising foundations of modern regenerative medicine. Endowed with a remarkable capacity for self-renewal, differentiation, and immune system modulation, these cells play an essential role in tissue repair processes, cell-based therapies, and the development of advanced biotechnological products. The growing scientific and clinical interest in MSCs reflects not only their therapeutic potential but also the diversity of fields in which they are applied, from cell and molecular biology to tissue engineering, gene therapy, oncology, and neurosciences. A deeper understanding of their mechanisms of action and interactions with the cellular microenvironment has driven the development of new translational medicine strategies aimed at regeneration and the treatment of complex diseases. The book Mesenchymal Stem Cells – Biology, Therapeutics, and Beyond brings together contributions from researchers across different specialties, exploring topics ranging from genetic engineering and genome editing to clinical and preclinical applications in regenerative medicine, neuroprotection, immunomodulation, and the use of extracellular vesicles. This diversity of perspectives highlights the multidisciplinary and constantly evolving nature of MSC research, as well as its increasing impact on contemporary biomedicine. With a comprehensive approach, this book provides an integrated view of the biology and therapeutic potential of MSCs, serving as an essential theoretical and practical resource for researchers, clinicians, and students interested in this rapidly expanding field.

A ideia de diversidade tornou-se, frente à crescente afirmação das identidades, um fenômeno significativo especialmente em sociedades oriundas do colonialismo europeu, onde grupos e indivíduos reafirmam seus particularismos locais, suas identidades étnicas, raciais, culturais ou religiosas, chamando a atenção de organismos internacionais a atributos da globalização que não são apenas econômicos ou tecnológicos, mostrando a inadequação das análises estritamente socioeconômicas.

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Il volume, nato dall’esigenza di rivalutare l’esperienza teatrale simbolista affrancandola dall’annoso pregiudizio sulla sua anti-teatralità, propone una ricostruzione storico-biografica della figura di Lugné-Poe – attore, regista, direttore, nonché principale animatore del teatro simbolista francese – e del suo teatro, l’Œuvre, per riconoscerne i tentativi di sperimentazione scenica. Ripercorrendo la prima parte della vita del protagonista di questa affascinante stagione, lo studio traccia –...

This work presents a flexible methodology for formally specifying and deductively verifying object-oriented components.It is based on a simple notion of program correctness. Correctness can be achieved with a novel system of proof obligations, which serve as input to a suitable theorem prover.

The main and diversity antennas of modern cellular user equipment are integrated into the chassis of the device. Due to the limited space inside the device and high complexity of front-end electronics, the integrated antennas have small form factor, which leads to low radiation efficiency and high mismatch losses. The performance of the antennas is optimized with aperture tuning techniques. Commercial aperture tuners in modern cellular user equipment are based on high-voltage RF switches in bulk- or SOI-CMOS technologies. The focus of this research is put on the analysis of the second and third order nonlinear products caused by the RF switch, the influence of the substrate capacitance and the hardware characterization of antenna tuning ICs. Additionally, the functionality of the RF switch is extended and novel RF switch-based tuning ICs in CMOS technologies are investigated. All theoretical findings are verified either with measurements of the designed ICs or on the application level using a hardware demonstrator.

This Special Issue (SI) on “Land Degradation Assessment with Earth Observation” comprises 17 original research papers with a focus on land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry-subhumid areas (i.e., desertification) in addition to temperate rangelands, grasslands, woodlands and the humid tropics. The studies cover different spatial, spectral and temporal scales and employ a wealth of different optical and radar sensors. Some studies incorporate time-series analysis techniques that assess the general trend of vegetation or the timing and duration of the reduction in biological productivity caused by land degradation. As anticipated from the latest trend in Earth Observation (EO) literature, some studies utilize the cloud-computing infrastructure of Google Earth Engine to cope with the unprecedented volume of data involved in current methodological approaches. This SI clearly demonstrates the ever-increasing relevance of EO technologies when it comes to assessing and monitoring land degradation. With the recently published IPCC Reports informing us of the severe impacts and risks to terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide, the EO scientific community has a clear obligation to increase its efforts to address any remaining gaps—some of which have been identified in this SI—and produce highly accurate and relevant land-degradation assessment and monitoring tools.

Combining structural analysis, historical enquiry, and intertextual reading, this book offers a fresh interpretation of one of antiquity’s most enduring myths, autochthony, and provides a model for studying myths as living processes of cultural imagination. Moving beyond approaches that treat myth as either a fixed symbolic system or a reflection of history, the book proposes a new framework for understanding myth as a dynamic cultural force. It argues that myths operate through the interplay of contextuality, structurality, and dialogicality, absorbing historical pressures, encoding symbolic tensions, and inviting reinterpretation across genres and generations. This framework is examined through the Athenian myths of autochthony—the claim that the Athenians originated from the soil of Attica. By tracing these narratives from early Greek poetry to classical civic ideology, tragedy, and philosophy, the author illustrates how autochthony influenced debates concerning gender, kinship, social order, and belonging. Through its analysis of the works of Hesiod, Aeschylus, Euripides, and Plato, the book demonstrates how myth became a site of cultural argument, enabling Athens to reconsider its origins and identity. This book will appeal to students and scholars of classical studies, as well as to anyone interested in myths, cultural memory, and the formation of political identity.

Memorias del BIM: biografías es un libro hecho de testimonios, de recuerdos, que intenta recuperar las vidas y las historias de las víctimas asesinadas y desaparecidas por la Fuerza de Tareas N.o 5, dependiente de la Armada, en nuestra región. Vidas e historias que se han podido recuperar parcialmente gracias a un arduo trabajo de memoria realizado por parte de los sobrevivientes, familiares, amigos y colectivos sociales, académicos y políticos comprometidos con la defensa de los derechos humanos y los reclamos de Memoria, Verdad y Justicia. Esta segunda edición integra sesenta y ocho nuevos casos a los ya trabajados en la primera (2015), lo que suma un total de ciento veinte biografías que, al ser leídas en una sucesión, cobran espesor colectivo y permiten conocer las múltiples dimensiones que nutrieron las tramas colectivas sobre las que se montó la participación de estos hombres y mujeres. En el espacio de estas páginas, esas luchas vuelven a cobrar la relevancia histórica y política que tuvieron; y a través de ellas nos acercamos al clima social y cultural de toda una época.