Global perspectives on recognising non-formal and Informal Learning : Why recognition matters
This book deals with the relevance of recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning in education and training, the workplace and society. In an increasing number of countries, it is at the top of the policy and research agenda ranking among the possible ways to redress the glaring lack of relevant academic and vocational qualifications and to promote the development of competences and certification procedures which recognise different types of learning, including formal, non-formal and informal learning. The aim of the book is therefore to present and share experience, expertise and lessons in such a way that enables its effective and immediate use across the full spectrum of country contexts, whether in the developing or developed world. It examines the importance of meeting institutional and political requirements that give genuine value to the recognition of non-formal and informal learning; it shows why recognition is important and clarifies its usefulness and the role it serves in education, working life and voluntary work; it emphasises the importance of the coordination, interests, motivations, trust and acceptance by all stakeholders.
Global Conflict Resolution Through Positioning Analysis
Positioning analysis penetrates beneath surface issues to their underlying psychological causes and social effects, with the intention of defusing conflict and preventing existing conflict from escalating. As the growing literature shows, positioning analysis methods are not only effective in interpersonal and intergroup problems, but have considerable potential for resolving disputes on the world stage. Global Conflict Resolution through Positioning Analysis starts with the daily disputes that result from our multiple social identities and evolving self-definitions, offers a new framework for understanding historical conflict, and brings vital new perspectives to current political and ideological battles. Twenty expert contributors examine scenarios as simple as a committee meeting of four people, as complicated as centuries-old social movements and the shifting tensions in the Middle East.
German Mergers & Acquisitions in the USA : Transaction management and success
Mergers and acquisitions in the United States of America are a major strategic means for German companies in their pursuit of becoming global players. The significant volume of such cross-border transactions reflects the firms’ expectations of creating value in the world’s most important consumer market.Bernd Wübben analyzes the success of 87 German mergers and acquisitions in the USA during the period from 1990 to 2004. He begins his assessment with a description of various aspects of the current institutional framework applicable to structuring a cross-border acquisition in the USA. Employing a study of the capital markets’ reaction and a survey of acquirers’ executives.
Geostatistics for environmental applications ; Proceedings of the Fifth European Conference on geostatistics for environmental applications
Once applied only to problems of mining-reserves assessment or petroleum-reservoir characterization, geostatistics is now being used in an increasingly large number of disciplines in environmental sciences. On the one hand, it enables the analysis and handling, in a rigorous probabilistic framework of the issues of spatial and temporal interpolation of continuous or categorical environmental variables. On the other hand, the methodology is also used to design and optimize sampling campaigns. "Geostatistics for Environmental Applications" contains forty selected contributions covering the latest progress in a broad spectrum of fields including air quality, climatology, ecology, groundwater hydrology, surface hydrology, oceanography, soil contamination, epidemiology and health, natural hazards, and remote sensing.
Geometry of Principal Sheaves
The book provides a detailed introduction to the theory of connections on principal sheaves in the framework of Abstract Differential Geometry (ADG). This is a new approach to differential geometry based on sheaf theoretic methods, without use of ordinary calculus. This point of view complies with the demand of contemporary physics to cope with non-smooth models of physical phenomena and spaces with singularities. Starting with a brief survey of the required sheaf theory and cohomology, the exposition then moves on to differential triads (the abstraction of smooth manifolds) and Lie sheaves of groups (the abstraction of Lie groups). Having laid the groundwork, the main part of the book is devoted to the theory of connections on principal sheaves, incorporating connections on vector
Geometry for Computer Graphics : Formulae, Examples and Proofs
Geometry is the cornerstone of computer graphics and computer animation, and provides the framework and tools for solving problems in two and three dimensions. This may be in the form of describing simple shapes such as a circle, ellipse, or parabola, or complex problems such as rotating 3D objects about an arbitrary axis. Geometry for Computer Graphics draws together a wide variety of geometric information that will provide a sourcebook of facts, examples, and proofs for students, academics, researchers, and professional practitioners.
General principles of law : the role of the judiciary
Examines the role played by domestic and international judges in the “flexibilization” of legal systems through general principles. It features revised papers that were presented at the Annual Conference of the European-American Consortium for Legal Education, held at the University of Parma.The second section contains studies on the role of general principles in selected legal systems, including International Law, European Union Law as well as Common Law systems.
Gender, Health and Ageing : European Perspectives on Life Course, Health Issues and Social Challenges
The objective of this book is to provide an overview of gender, health and ageing. Important theoretical concepts, such as life course and "Lebenslagen" in old age, or differences in men's health, are introduced. It is increasingly important to build a European basis of knowledge, to conduct discussions on European research findings, and to develop European research frameworks. In this volume, central theoretical debates on gender impacts on life course and old-age health, and vital issues of health research in the context of gender and old age are introduced. Specific aspects, such as the impact of gender and age on cardiovascular health, elder abuse and mental health, or care between gender relations, gender roles and gender constructs, are pointed out.
Gender and migration : IMISCOE short reader
This short reader offers a critical review of the debates on the transformation of migration and gendered mobilities primarily in Europe, though also engaging in wider theoretical insights. Building on empirical case studies and grounded in an analytical framework that incorporates both men and women, masculinities, sexualities and wider intersectional insights, this reader provides an accessible overview of conceptual developments and methodological shifts and their implications for a gendered understanding of migration in the past 30 years. It explores different and emerging approaches in major areas, such as: gendered labour markets across diverse sectors beyond domestic and care work to include skilled sectors of social reproduction; the significance of families in migration and transnational families.
GDPR and biobanking : Individual rights, Public interest and research regulation across Europe
This book focuses on the discrepancies in biobank research regulations that are among the most significant hurdles to effective research collaboration.
Fuzzy Quantifiers : A Computational Theory
Almost all", "many", "some": fuzzy quantifiers are vital for effective communication in natural language (NL). This monograph pursues an axiomatic method to achieve a reliable interpretation of these quantifiers in technical applications of fuzzy quantification. Unlike existing work in this area, it targets a much broader class of quantificational phenomena which includes all cases usually considered in linguistics. The topics addressed in the monograph run the gamut from the introduction of the theoretical framework for analysing fuzzy quantification, the formalization of semantical requirements on models of fuzzy quantification, the construction and detailed study of prototypical models which conform to the linguistic desiderata, the development of algorithms for implementing the main types of quantifiers in these models, and finally a preview to fuzzy branching quantifications which might be necessary for modelling NL sentences involving more than one quantifier.
Fuzzy portfolio optimization : Theory and methods
This is the first monograph on fuzzy portfolio optimization. By using fuzzy mathematical approaches, quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, the experts' knowledge and the investors' subjective opinions can be better integrated into portfolio selection models. The contents of this book mainly comprise of the authors' research results for fuzzy portfolio selection problems in recent years. In addition, in the book, the authors introduce some other important progress in the field of fuzzy portfolio optimization. Some fundamental issues and problems of portfolio selection have been studied systematically and extensively by the authors to apply fuzzy systems theory and optimization methods. A new framework for investment analysis is presented in this book. A series of portfolio selection models are given and some of them are more efficient for practical applications. Some application examples are given to illustrate those models.
Fuzzy Logic in Action : Applications in Epidemiology and Beyond
The volume addresses the most significant topics in the broad areas of epidemiology, mathematical modeling and uncertainty, embodying them within the framework of fuzzy set and dynamic systems theory.
Fuzzy Control and Filter Design for Uncertain Fuzzy Systems
ThisbookpresentsnewnovelmethodologiesfordesigningrobustH fuzzy ? controllers and robustH fuzzy ?lters for a class of uncertain fuzzy systems ? (UFSs), uncertain fuzzy Markovian jump systems (UFMJSs), uncertain fuzzy singularly perturbed systems (UFSPSs) and uncertain fuzzy singularly p- turbed systems with Markovian jumps (UFSPS–MJs). These new meth- ologies provide a framework for designing robustH fuzzy controllers and ? robustH fuzzy ?lters for these classes of systems based on a Tagaki-Sugeno ? (TS) fuzzy model. Solutions to the design problems are presented in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs).
Fuzzy Choice Functions : A Revealed Preference Approach
This book extends the theory of revealed preference to fuzzy choice functions and provides applications to multicriteria decision making problems. The main topics of revealed preference theory (rationality, revealed preference and congruence axioms, consistency conditions) are treated in the framework of fuzzy choice functions. New topics, such as the degree of dominance and similarity of vague choices, are developed. The results obtained are applied to economic problems where partial information and human subjectivity involve vague choices and vague preferences. The book contains a number of new results achieved by the author. Even though the text is reasonably self-contained, previous knowledge of revealed preference and fuzzy set theory is helpful for the reader.
Fundamentals of risk management : Understanding, evaluating and implementing effective enterprise risk management
This book covers the key principles of risk management and how to deal with the different types of risk organizations face. The frameworks of business continuity planning, enterprise risk management, and project risk management are covered alongside an overview of international risk management standards and frameworks, strategy and policy.
Fundamentals of operational risk management : Understanding and implementing effective tools, policies and frameworks
Threats to an organization's operations, such as fraud, IT disruption or poorly designed products, could result in serious losses. Understand the key components of effective operational risk management with this essential book for risk professionals and students. Outlines how to implement a sound operational risk management framework which is embedded in day-to-day business activities. It covers the main operational risk tools including categorisation, risk and control self-assessment and scenario analysis, and explores the importance of risk appetite and tolerance.
Fundamentals of durable reinforced concrete
The book presents a framework for specification through internationally adopted codes and standards and summarises the background to probabilistic approaches to durability design, providing a state-of-the-art review of mathematical modelling of deterioration mechanisms along with current directions in test methods for performance-based specifications.
Frontiers of Computational Science ; Proceedings of the International Symposium on Frontiers of Computational Science 2005
With the dramatic increase in speed and capacity of modern computers, computational approaches are becoming of crucial importance in various fields of science and engineering. Computational science is the interdisciplinary science, which promotes systematic development of methodologies and framework of computational approaches, basic studies of algorithms and soft-computation technologies and vast areas of applications. This volume is the proceedings of International Symposium on Frontiers of Computational Science 2005, containing papers from 7 plenary and keynote lecturers, 17 invited lecturers and 33 contributed papers. This book discusses the high-level use of computers in a wide variety of areas such as fluid mechanics, material and genome sciences.
Frontiers of Combining Systems ; 6th International Symposium, FroCoS 2007, Liverpool, UK, September 10-12, 2007. Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Frontiers of Combining Systems, FroCoS 2007, held in Liverpool, UK, September 2007. combination issues in rewriting and programming as well as in logical frameworks and theorem proving systems.



















