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This book highlights a collection of state-of-the-art research on Safe Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), highlighting the crucial role of cybersecurity, smart applications, and sustainable technologies in ensuring a secure AI future. It illustrates the latest trends in AI safety, exploring the potential risks and dangers associated with AGI development and ways to prevent unintended consequences. The book discusses the convergence of various fields, such as AI, cybersecurity, smart applications, and sustainable technologies, by providing an overview of theoretical, practical, and simulation concepts of AGI. It also displays solutions that will help mitigate the risks and ensure the responsible and ethical development of AGI. It provides insights and perspectives from experts in these fields and offers a comprehensive guide to understanding the challenges and opportunities associated with the development of safe and secure AGI. The book includes chapters on various topics related to AGI security, including the ethical and legal aspects of AGI development, the role of explainability in ensuring transparency and accountability, the use of machine learning for intrusion detection and prevention, and the application of smart technologies for securing AGI systems. Additionally, it explores the impact of sustainable technologies on AGI security, such as the use of renewable energy sources to power AGI systems and the development of eco-friendly hardware. This book is a valuable source for researchers, students, and practitioners interested in the fields of artificial general intelligence, cybersecurity, smart applications, and sustainable technologies.

The Microbiology of the Drop-in Biofuel Production is a comprehensive resource that provides basic and applied knowledge, technologies, and regulations of current drop-in biofuel production. This book focuses on liquid drop-in biofuel produced trough biochemical process and all the important aspect like renewable substrates, biochemical routes, genetic modifications, technology innovations, regulation, commercialization as well as the future perspectives to be implemented. Starting with an introductory chapter about the conventional methods to produce drop-in biofuels, the book will guide the reader into the specific biochemical processes for its production, covering aspect like renewable feedstocks, microorganism, classification, and the circular economy around all the production process. This book provides a detailed overview about the microbiology, regulation and commercialization aspects of drop-in biofuel production and is essential for researchers, students, and professors working in the bioenergy area.

This book offers an in-depth analysis of and multidisciplinary insights into the latest trends in biodiversity laws, policies and science in Europe, the United States, and China. The loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems continues at an alarming rate, harming people, the economy, and the climate. As biodiversity cannot be meaningfully addressed by any single field, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to attain a better understanding of its complexity and to identify prevention and protection systems. Each chapter addresses a specific aspect of biodiversity. Taken together, they provide an innovative exploration of the various facets of biodiversity from the perspectives of law, the social sciences and natural sciences. As such, the book offers an essential theoretical and practical guide for academics, experts, policymakers, and students alike.

Financial markets play a critical role in climate finance as they are a major source of funding for many of the projects and initiatives aimed at addressing climate change. For instance, banks and investors can provide loans and capital to companies that are developing renewable energy projects, building energy-efficient infrastructure, or implementing climate-smart agricultural practices. Moreover, the importance of climate finance in financial markets goes beyond just funding environmental initiatives. Investors and financial institutions are increasingly factoring in climate risks and opportunities into their decision-making processes, including assessing the financial risks posed by climate change and the potential impact of new regulations and policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.This book is a collection of recent developments in climate change and climate finance. As the global community seeks to address the impacts of climate change, financial institutions are being called upon to play a larger role in supporting the transition to a sustainable economy. This includes incorporating climate risks into investment decisions, developing new financial products that support climate-friendly investments, and promoting greater transparency and accountability in the financial sector. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of how climate change is impacting the global financial system and explores the potential solutions that can help address these challenges. The contributions aim to examine the complex interplay between climate change and finance, and the potential for innovative financial instruments and policies to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

This book illustrates effective decision-making in complex socio-economic systems utilising system dynamics and agent-based simulation modelling approaches. It provides practical guidance on the application of conceptual and numerical modelling and simulation for analysing economic, strategic, regulatory, sociological and ethical questions from a complex systems perspective. Its theoretical, methodological and practical illustrations will enhance readers'understanding of the application of simulation modelling for effective systems management. By virtually experimenting with alternative management scenarios, it will help them improve decision-making and control mechanisms. The book explores practical examples from the fields of pharmaceuticals, healthcare, finance, sociology, education and culture from a strategic, regulatory and ethics perspective. As such, it offers a valuable resource for managers, both at for-profit corporations and non-profit organisations, public policymakers and regulators alike.

This book features a collection of high-quality and peer-reviewed papers from the 2023 7th International Conference on Applied Economics and Business, which was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, during August 24-26, 2023. ICAEB is held annually as a platform for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of applied economics and business. Applied economics is a way of dealing with esoteric economic concepts in a practical and analytical way. It allows for decisions to be made that are underlined by theoretical economic principles but utilized in such a way that they transform into real work applications.The contributors cover topics such as environment, development, finance, forensics, information, institutions, international, labor, management, mathematics, currency, tourism and many more. Applied Economics affects all aspects of life and science and it is brought to the forefront in this collection of papers. The conference, with its aim to bring together economists from different fields, lends itself to a natural and rich collection of scientific papers all focused on the practical application of economic principles. The scope of this collection of papers will be useful to academics and practitioners who look to economics to help solve problems.

Sustainable (public and private) finance is closely interlinked with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The latter focus on enhancing the protection of both social and environmental assets at the local and global level, from the real economy and everyday life to financial markets and public policies, thereby laying the groundwork for a transition. Global sustainability challenges – including climate change, natural resource depletion, and rising inequality – are affecting the commercial environment and real economy in a way that presents both risks and opportunities for the private and public financial sectors. On the one hand, policymakers and investors (including banks and pensions funds) are increasingly recognizing the environment's implications for the financial sector through both physical and transitional risks, producing impacts on financial services and products, not to mention corporate governance. On the other hand, governments and European and international institutions are aware of their sustainability-related responsibilities and the consequences of their actions. Both regulate and supervise financial markets but also use their budgetary and tax policies (e.g. carbon tax) and their participation in financial markets (e.g. green bonds and development banks) to overcome sustainability challenges. Therefore, the objective of this book is to help readers understand how private and public financial systems can be modified to create better value for society through sustainable approaches and initiatives such as the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment, procurement, and budgeting.

This book aims to integrate multiple disciplinary such as management, economics, and geography from the perspective of resource science and also to strengthen research on resource management to promote sustainability in natural resources. It established clear definition of natural resources and in-depth exploration of main fields such as water resources, land resources, and agricultural resources. Classic methods of economics are applied to solve the problems of resource consumption, environmental pollution, and climate change in modern society. On the basis of classical economics, the disciplinary system of environmental and natural resources is further developed. It is a helpful reference for readers to further study natural resources and environmental economics.

This is an open access book. Europe faces significant challenges in the coming decades: geopolitical, demographic, technological, increased competition, climate-related, and health issues due to an aging population, to mention a few. Given these challenges, technological progress and new ways of handling complex issues will be key to continued prosperity and growth. To accomplish a growth process driven by innovation and entrepreneurship, the institutional environment must take into account a multitude of different policy areas that interact to either strengthen or weaken an economy's innovative potential. Innovation is not only about R&D and higher education but is also intimately related to entrepreneurship. Similarly, entrepreneurship is not only about low start-up costs and favorable tax rates. Hence, a consistent and coordinated policy environment conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship is required to translate innovation into high-growth firms and macro-level growth. This book presents the basic cornerstones required to provide a policy regime that can nurture such dynamics. The authors draw extensively on empirical analysis of the development of the Swedish economy, which has been transformed from a so-called'sclerosis'state in the 1980s until the early 1990s to an economy characterized by successful entrepreneurship and innovation. This transformation resulted from a reform agenda that has been gradually rolled out, beginning in the mid-1980s. The authors argue that the Swedish experience provides useful lessons for other nations as well.

This book reports on cutting-edge research and developments in manufacturing, giving a special emphasis to solutions fostering automation and sustainability. Topics cover manufacturing process optimization, remanufacturing, machines and mechanical design, CAD/CAM/CAE, materials characterization and processing, measurement and predictive maintenance techniques. Further topics include artificial intelligence and IoT in manufacturing, robotics, and cutting-edge issues in Industry 4.0/5.0. Based on proceedings of the 32nd edition of the International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing, FAIM 2023, held on June 18 – 22, 2023, in Porto, Portugal, this first volume of a 2-volume set provides academics and professionals with extensive, technical information on trends and technologies in manufacturing, yet it also discusses challenges and practice-oriented experience in all the above-mentioned areas.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the latest research, innovations, and practical applications in the field of sustainability, with a focus on construction materials and their use in building and civil engineering structures. As an outcome of the 2nd International Conference on Sustainability: Developments and Innovations (ICSDI 2024), the book presents a selection of peer-reviewed papers from prominent researchers and engineers around the world. The book covers a broad range of topics, including construction and resilient infrastructure, sustainable manufacturing, industrial ecology, renewable energy, future cities, sustainable built environment design, and policies, regulations, and economics for achieving sustainable development goals. This book will serve as an essential reference for graduate students, engineers, and scientists, as well as industry professionals working in the field of sustainability. The book aligns with the scope of book series scope which aims tocontribute to progress in the construction sciences, techniques, and industries through communication between research and practice. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners and policymakers who are interested in understanding the latest technological advancements and innovations in sustainability to solve real-world problems.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems, PRIMA 2024, held in Kyoto, Japan, during November 18–24, 2024. The 23 full papers and 10 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 76 submissions. They are organized in the following topical sections: coordination and cooperation; market approaches; logics; learning; agent-based modelling and simulation; computational social choice.

More and more investors have integrated ESG criteria into their investment criteria, and an increasing number of banks are supplementing their lending guidelines with ESG aspects. With a lived ESG strategy and ESG communication, companies consequently become more attractive to investors and banks. This book aims to show entrepreneurs and managers how to develop a convincing ESG strategy and how to communicate it professionally.

This book illustrates how central bank policies such as zero percent interest rates have brought about a $300 trillion global debt bubble. The authors, both academics and policy-makers, offer first-hand insights into the economic and financial market mechanisms that have caused the debt bubbles of the past few decades, as well as the political economy that drives such policy-making. Written in an accessible style, the book illustrates how central banks responded to recessions by creating successively larger debt bubbles with lower and lower interest rates, thereby distorting the pricing mechanisms of credit markets and bringing about a series of credit expansions beginning in the early 1980s. This book brings together senior policy-makers from the world of politics and central banking who describe the negative effects of central bank policies of the last generation. The policy-makers include the former manager of the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements (the central bank of central banks), the Vice President of the Austrian central bank, the former governor of the Spanish central bank and a former senior member of the European Parliament. The core part of the book is written by experienced economists with academic rigor, with other chapters written by senior policy-makers going through the intricacies of the problems of central banking, and how things might be reformed.

This book highlights clean energy transition via sustainable utilization of biomass resources, viz. forestry, agriculture, agroforestry, grassland, and seaweeds to climate change mitigation. Bioresources have tremendous potential to mitigate global warming. Also, biomass is expected to play a multifunctional role including food production, source of energy and fodder, biodiversity conservation, and yield of goods and services to the society. It brings together perspectives of various communities involved in the research and regulation of bioenergy deployment in the context of climate change mitigation. The book presents the way forward to policy makers and stakeholders involved with bioenergy development. This development may be directive challenges in the transport sector where options such as hydrogen and electric vehicles relying on hydro, wind, and solar PV will require decades to become established on a substantial scale. Furthermore, meeting ambitious climate change targets will also require environment-friendly fuels in air and marine transport where no alternative to biofuels is currently available. The process design-via-onion model for sustainable utilization of biomass resources is also one of the most important subjects of the book. This book includes state-of-the-art approaches on bottlenecks and circular economy analysis for biomass energy use to reduce climate change and sustainability frameworks to guide bioenergy development.

In an era defined by technological breakthroughs such as AI, blockchain, and IoT, this book offers a fresh and practical approach to Business Model Innovation (BMI). It delves into how technological advancements drive new business models and enhance operational efficiency, providing actionable insights and real-world examples for business leaders, strategists, operations managers, entrepreneurs, and students in business and technology disciplines. Encouraging diverse research methods, including theoretical, empirical, and multimethod studies, it welcomes manuscripts with clear managerial or policy implications. Aimed at students, scholars, researchers, professionals, executives, government agencies, and policymakers, this book equips readers with tools to succeed in today's dynamic business environment and supports multidisciplinary research to advance innovation management practices.

The book draws from regulation theory to explain urban planning policies and outcomes in Southeast Asia as a function of governance structures and processes. A considerable portion of the book is spent re-tracing the historical roots of planning dispositives, including the totality of institutional entities, which together constitute an apparatus of government in South-East Asian polities. Therefore, of essence in the book are the institutional structures and administrative principles, that were introduced by colonial authorities and inherited by their post-colonial successors in South-East Asia. The book seeks to demonstrate the role of the policies and commensurate implementation institutional frameworks in accounting for important dynamics in the contemporary urban domain in the region. In analyzing the institutional framework for urban planning and governance, the book is doing due diligence to a hitherto neglected subject, namely governmentality, in the discourse on the political economy of urban management in Southeast Asia. Thus, the book is intended to acknowledge the importance of institutions in determining the success of urban development policies. The notion of institutions or governmentality as will be used in the book includes, de facto governance structures, government and parastatal agencies and the formal rules and regulations they are charged with implementing. The book is based on the premise that knowledge of institutions and their functions is critical in explaining phenomena in economic geography. This is particularly true in Southeast Asian countries because of the dominant and overarching role of the state or government agencies in the economy.

The two-volume LNCS set 14813 and 14814 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, ICCSA 2024, held in Hanoi, Vietnam, during July 1–4, 2024. The 53 full papers, 6 short papers and 3 PHD showcase papers included in these volumes were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 207 submissions. The papers focus on the following six sub-areas within Computer Science and its Applications: Computational Methods, Algorithms and Scientific Applications; High Performance Computing and Networks; Geometric Modeling, Graphics and Visualization; Advanced and Emerging Applications; Information Systems and Technologies & Urban and Regional Planning.

This volume discusses the new trends in law and regulation in Islamic finance. Islamic finance is a particular component of the global financial system and is very different from secular finance. To understand the development of Islamic finance, it is important to place it in the context of financial globalization. Islamic finance is a new force in the contemporary world financial system and is present in more than a hundred countries. The current generation of Muslim economic power is crowding into the world's financial currents with trillions in liquidity and is growing at a high rate of 10-15% per year. Islamic finance is coming into focus and is not confined to Islamic countries but is present in every larger Muslim community, which means that it cannot be isolated from the effects of financial globalization. This edited volume discusses the effects of global financial transactions in Islamic finance and how it impacts its law and regulation.

This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of Islamic ethical issues within a wide spectrum of philosophy of science topics, examining the development of the model of moral inclusiveness in economics, science and society from ontological, epistemological and analytical perspectives. This paradigm takes the view that ethics is systemically endogenous, and can be studied by the most rigorous scientific analysis pertaining to diverse issues and problems of ethicality in socio-scientific inquiry. This handbook takes a sweeping transdisciplinary approach that is deeply phenomenological, to the nature and logic of scientific inquiry of, and in, the Qur'an. Such an approach invokes the episteme of the unity of knowledge in the socio-scientific systemic sense. The volumes'respective sections focus on the nature, logic, and role that ethics plays in formulating new vistas of alternative epistemic futures in Islamic economics, finance, and the social sciences. The ideas presented are situated within the broader context of the post-modernist, post-pandemic, and the post-Covid-19 epoch, while being aimed at conceptualising a distinctive new outlook of transdisciplinary intellection in Islamic philosophy. The content is rigorously conceptual, qualitative, quantitative, and applied. Covering a diversity of subject areas from philosophy of science, to economics and in socio-scientific context within the realm of Islamic philosophy, this forms a key text for scholars in these respective arenas, led by pioneering scholarship in Islamic studies.

This volume constitutes revised selected papers of several workshops, the EDOC Forum and the Demonstrations and Doctoral Consortium track, which were held in conjunction with the 27th International Conference on Enterprise Design, Operations, and Computing, EDOC 2023, in Groningen, The Netherlands, during October 30–November 3, 2023. The 18 revised full papers and 7 short papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 37 submissions. They stem from the following satellite events: - Workshop on Intelligent Digital Architecture, Methods, and Services for Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 (IDAMS)- Workshop on Empirical Methodologies for Research in Enterprise Architecture and Service-Oriented Computing (iRESEARCH)- Workshop on the Modelling and Implementation of Digital Twins for Complex Systems (MIDas4CS)- Workshop on Service-oriented Enterprise Architecture for Enterprise Engineering (SoEA4EE)- EDOC Forum- Demonstrations Track- Doctoral Consortium

This book is a comprehensive guide to understanding the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving business functions, as well as the limitations and challenges that come with its implementation. In this book, readers will learn about the various opportunities that AI presents in business, including how it can automate routine tasks, reduce errors, and increase efficiency. The book covers a range of topics, including how AI can be used in financial reporting, auditing, fraud detection, and tax preparation. However, the book also explores the limitations of AI in business, such as the need for skilled professionals, data quality, and the potential for bias. It examines the challenges that companies face when implementing AI in business functions, including the need for ethical considerations, transparency, and accountability. The book is written for business professionals, business leaders, and anyone interested in the potential of AI in business functions. It offers practical advice on how to implement AI effectively and provides insights into the latest developments in AI technology. Through case studies and real-world examples, readers will gain a deeper understanding of how AI can be used to enhance business functions, as well as the potential pitfalls and limitations to be aware of. Overall,'AI in Business: Opportunities and Limitations'is an essential guide for anyone looking to harness the power of AI to improve their business functions, and to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive business environment.

This book is a collection of research works by experienced academics focusing on the current issues of fintech and cryptocurrency in the context of Malaysia. The book aims to fill the gap in the extant literature on the topic in Southeast Asia. The book starts with a discussion on the role of monetary policies in the advent of the current trend where cryptocurrencies are being used more widely as a medium of exchange compared to conventional fiat money. It then goes on to provide a comparative analysis for beginners regarding the differences between cryptocurrencies and stocks, considering facets such as ownership, methods of exchange, volatility, regulation, and their interconnectedness. Also discussed are the factors influencing on-line investment options using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) review method, a comparison of Islamic banking products and conventional fintech. The book ends on an analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Malaysian stock market. This book is a valuable read for undergraduate students, postgraduate students, academicians, researchers, and professionals working in the economics, finance, and banking industries, particularly in Southeast Asia.

'Blockchain's Transformative Potential of Financial Technology for Sustainable Futures'delves into the groundbreaking impact of blockchain technology on the financial sector, highlighting its potential to foster sustainable development. This comprehensive volume brings together a diverse array of experts who explore how blockchain can revolutionize financial technology (FinTech) by enhancing transparency, efficiency, and inclusivity. The book examines blockchain's role in promoting financial inclusion, providing secure and accessible financial services to underserved populations. By bridging gaps in the current financial system, blockchain empowers individuals and communities, driving economic growth and resilience. Additionally, it addresses the environmental benefits of blockchain, showcasing innovative solutions like decentralized energy markets and transparent supply chains that contribute to sustainability. Readers will gain insights into real-world applications of blockchain, supported by case studies and in-depth analyses. The book also navigates the complex regulatory and ethical landscape, offering guidance on harnessing blockchain's potential responsibly.'Blockchain's Transformative Potential of Financial Technology for Sustainable Futures'is an essential resource for professionals, researchers, and policymakers interested in the future of FinTech and sustainable development. It serves as a catalyst for further research, dialogue, and collaboration, inspiring a new era of financial innovation and sustainability.

This book gathers selected papers presented at the 8th International Conference on Inventive Communication and Computational Technologies (ICICCT 2024), held on June 14–15, 2024, at Sree Sakthi Engineering College, Coimbatore, India. The book covers the topics such as Internet of things, social networks, mobile communications, big data analytics, bio-inspired computing, and cloud computing. The book is exclusively intended for academics and practitioners working to resolve practical issues in this area.

According to Serpa (in MDPI encyclopedia) [3], Society 5.0 can be realized as a concept and a guide for social development, with a profound impact on current societal structures in multiple levels. Society 5.0 achieves advanced convergence between cyberspace and physical space, enabling AI-based on big data and robots to perform or support as an agent the work and adjustments that humans have done up to now. Deguchi et al., [4] define Society 5.0 as a highly intelligent society based on generation, processing, exchange of data, and more specifically knowledge, through the connection of the physical environment with the cyberspace. Achieving Society 5.0 with these attributes would enable the world to realize economic development while solving key social problems. It would additionally contribute to achieving the SDGs established by the United Nations. Despite the differences in formulation of the names of these periods and societies, it is obvious that each of them became a basis for step like growth in developed society; at, specific time periods, scale, character and depth of these changes are different in different countries. Consequently, to address the aims of the book, it seeks exploratory, empirical, interpretive, and theoretical research built on either primary or secondary data. The approaches suggested are not exhaustive and can be extended upon by the researchers. In addition, the book will contribute towards the UN's sustainable development goals. In support of UN's efforts towards a more digital economy, this book aims to debate and discuss the history, genesis, future, opportunities, and challenges of transitioning to Society 5.0. and provides a holistic perspective on a variety of topics special topics which contribute towards the optimal attainment of the SDGs, particularly in terms of socialdimensions. Finally, this book provides a platform for researchers, academics, and professionals to the transition and technological enablers of industrial revolutions through empirical or exploratory studies that use a variety of innovative approaches. The target audience of the book includes researchers and scholars who will find in its comprehensive knowledge about industry 4, industry 5, society 5 and its contribution to economic growth and sustainable development goals (SDGs). Furthermore, the book's secondary target audience are teachers, managers, strategists, professionals, governments, and policymakers.

This book presents the best papers from the 5th International Conference on Mathematical Research for Blockchain Economy (MARBLE) 2024, held in Malaga, Spain. While most blockchain conferences and forums are dedicated to business applications, product development, or Initial Coin Offering (ICO) launches, this conference focused on the mathematics behind blockchain to bridge the gap between practice and theory. Blockchain technology has been considered as the most fundamental and revolutionizing invention since the Internet. Every year, thousands of blockchain projects are launched and circulated in the market, and there is a tremendous wealth of blockchain applications, from finance to healthcare, education, media, logistics, and more. However, due to theoretical and technical barriers, most of these applications are impractical for use in a real-world business context. The papers in this book reveal the challenges and limitations, such as scalability, latency, privacy, and security and showcase solutions and developments to overcome them.

This textbook provides an introduction to the socioeconomics of food. Aimed mostly at students of economics and related social sciences, it explains how food markets function and what social and cultural factors influence the processes of food production and consumption. It also discusses the role of food producers, intermediaries, and consumers and examines the dynamics of prices, trade, and externalities.The book also highlights cultural and demographic processes and moral behaviors that shape production and consumption practices. Furthermore, it discusses issues of food quality, ethics, and politics. Readers are also introduced to food databases and methods of data processing.

With Operations Research and System Dynamics as research tools, this book discusses the theme of emergency supplies in Major Public Health Emergency (MPHE) scenarios. The subject includes a series of new issues: critical criteria matching supply with demand for emergency supplies in MPHE, emergency medical materials reserve mode, dynamic optimization of emergency logistics, dynamic optimization of allocating multi-period and multi-category emergency supplies, etc. This book is suitable for university teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, and researchers in fields of logistics and supply chain management as well as emergency management. The most important features of this book include: Firstly, to achieve fairness and accuracy of material distribution during the epidemic, this book constructs a material shortage adjustment function. Secondly, from the comprehensive perspective of cross-regional coordination, multi-organization coordination and multiperiod coordination, the operation optimization models of emergency material supply in major epidemic situation are constructed. Additionally, the comparative analysis and empirical research of the practices in China and Germany also reflects the novelty and benefit of the book.

This book examines the balancing problems in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). AI is transforming the world at an unprecedented pace, which is revolutionary and presents significant challenges. Nevertheless, AI's complex balance dilemma necessitates careful governance as it transforms businesses, economies, and society. Fundamental issues discussed in this book include the complexities of AI's dual nature, the challenges of aligning memorizing with thinking, and the trade-offs between opportunity seeking and risk aversion. This book explores the complex interplay between AI security and transparency, the technical decision between CPUs and GPUs, and the expanding potential of quantum computing. Nevertheless, the challenge of maintaining balance is not resolved by technological advancements. It encompasses the global arena, where the forces of globalization and localization must be reconciled, and the governance sphere, where self-regulation must coexist with government control. Comprising cutting-edge research, real-world examples, and futuristic perspectives, this book guides researchers, practitioners, politicians, entrepreneurs, and leaders in navigating AI's future. The reader will learn how to capitalize on the potential of AI while avoiding its weaknesses, ensuring that this disruptive technology benefits society.

This book gathers the proceedings of the 11th International Conference of Ar.Tec. (Scientific Society of Architectural Engineering), Colloqui.AT.e, which was held in Palermo, Italy, on June 12–15, 2024, and brought together scholars in the fields of construction and conservation history, building construction and performance, building design, and technologies. Digital transition and design of 4.0 buildings, digital twins for the management of historical building heritage, building-human-environment relationships, and mitigation of vulnerabilities for the preservation of the built environment are also explored. The contributions demonstrate that architectural engineering enables the construction of sustainable, resilient, adaptive, and high-performance buildings, and as such is instrumental in fighting against climate change.

This book presents the latest breakthroughs and cutting-edge advancements within this rapidly evolving field. By providing computational finance and business analytics, organizations can secure a competitive advantage in today's data-driven and cutting-edge business landscape. This book explores the most recent innovations and significant developments in both the domains of computational finance and business analytics, offering a thorough overview of the current landscape. It encompasses various dimensions including: Business Analytics Financial Analytics HR & Marketing Analytics By integrating the latest theoretical insights with practical applications, this book equips researchers, practitioners, and students with the knowledge and tools necessary to explore and progress in the ever-changing realm of computational finance and business analytics. As the present organizations confront the challenges and adapt the opportunities presented by the data revolution, this book serves as an essential guide, illuminating the transformative frontiers where computational finance and business analytics are redefining the realm of possibilities.

This book brings together selected papers from the The Vietnam-EU Economic and Trade Forum 2023 jointly organized by the VNU University of Economics and Business (UEB, Vietnam) and Krakow University of Economics (Poland). The book deals with the economic and political relationship between Asian and EU countries in the context of globalization, sustainable development, and climate change responses. This book covers a wide range of topics, such as Asian-EU economic-politic relation promotion, policies for environmental protection, green growth and climate change responses in Asian and EU countries, and education, culture, science and technology, and innovation cooperation between Asian and EU countries.

This book gathers selected high-quality research papers presented at the Ninth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology, held in London, on February 19–22, 2024. It discusses emerging topics pertaining to information and communication technology (ICT) for managerial applications, e-governance, e-agriculture, e-education and computing technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT), and e-mining. Written by respected experts and researchers working on ICT, the book offers an asset for young researchers involved in advanced studies. The work is presented in ten volumes.

This compendium presents comprehensive information on more than 25 important spice crops commercially grown in India and traded globally, apart from over 40 spices that have the potential to be popularized. In 70 chapters the book covers the achievements in research and development made in India for the past 75 years in various organizations including research institutes, agricultural universities and private sector laboratories. Spices are natural products of plant origin, used primarily for flavouring and seasoning or for adding pungency and flavour to foods and beverages. The flavour and fragrance of Indian spices had a magic spell on human culture since very ancient days. The importance of spices in Indian life and its contribution to the economy are substantial. India, as the world's leading producer of spices is also a significant stakeholder in spices export trade globally. Indian spices being sources of many high value compounds, are also gaining muchimportance for other diversified uses especially for their pharmaceutical and nutraceutical properties. A wide variety of 52 spices are grown in India including black pepper, chillies, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, onion, cumin, coriander, saffron and vanilla. This book complies a comprehensive, holistic review on the subject, written by the best experts in the field in India representing diverse agencies. This book is a single point reference book for all those involved in the research, study, teaching and use of spices in India and abroad.

This comprehensive book explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in business innovation and research. It provides a solid foundation in AI technologies, such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, and examines how they reshape business models and revolutionize industries. The book highlights the strategic implications of AI in enhancing customer experience, optimizing operations, and enabling data-driven decision-making. It explores the integration of AI with emerging trends like IoT, blockchain, and cloud computing for innovation. The role of AI in advancing scientific discovery and academic research is also explored, addressing challenges and opportunities in AI-driven methodologies. Organizational and ethical dimensions of AI implementation are considered, including talent acquisition, skills development, and data governance. Real-world case studies showcase AI's transformative power across diverse industries. This forward-thinking guide equips academics, researchers, and business leaders with knowledge and insights to harness the potential of AI and contribute to innovation and research.

The Commentary on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (four volumes) is a major European project that aims to contribute to the development of ever closer conceptual and dogmatic standpoints with regard to the creation of “Europeanised research on Union law”. Following on from the Commentary on the Treaty on European Union, this book presents detailed explanations, article by article, of all the provisions of the TFEU, discussing the application of Union law in the national legal orders and its interpretation by the Court of Justice of the EU. The authors are academics and practitioners from all across Europe and different legal traditions, some from a constitutional law background, others experts in the field of international law and EU law. Reflecting the various approaches to European legal culture, this book promotes a system concept of European Union law toward more unity notwithstanding its rich diversity grounded in national traditions.

This book examines aspects of financial and investment processes, as well as the application of information technology mechanisms to business and industrial management, using the experience of the Ukrainian economy as an example. An effective tool for supporting business data processing is combining modern information technologies and the latest achievements in economic theory. The variety of industrial sectors studied supports the continuous acquisition and use of efficient business analysis in organizations. In addition, the book elaborates on multidisciplinary concepts, examples, and practices that can be useful for researching the evolution of developments in the field. Also, in this book, there is a description of analysis methods for making decisions in business, finance, and innovation management.

This book presents contributions related to new research results presented at the 27th International Conference on Difference Equations and Applications, ICDEA 2022, that was held at CentraleSupélec, Université Paris-Saclay, France, under the auspices of the International Society of Difference Equations (ISDE), July 18–22, 2022. The book aims not only to disseminate these results but to foster further advances in the fields of difference equations and discrete dynamical systems. Also included are applications to economic growth modeling, population dynamics, epidemic modeling, game theory, control systems, and network analysis. The target audience for the book includes Ph.D. students, researchers, educators, and practitioners in these fields.

The book is a unique collection of studies involving intelligent systems and applications of artificial intelligence in the real world to provide solutions to most vexing problems. IntelliSys received an overwhelming 605 papers which were put under strict double-blind peer-review for their novelty, originality and exhaustive research. Finally, 227 papers were sieved and chosen to be published in the proceedings.This book is a valuable collection of all the latest research in the field of artificial intelligence and smart systems. It provides a ready-made resource to all the readers keen on gaining information regarding the latest trends in intelligent systems. It also renders a sneak peek into the future world governed by artificial intelligence.

This open access book presents an interdisciplinary, multi-authored, edited collection of chapters on Artificial Intelligence (‘AI') and the Law. AI technology has come to play a central role in the modern data economy. Through a combination of increased computing power, the growing availability of data and the advancement of algorithms, AI has now become an umbrella term for some of the most transformational technological breakthroughs of this age. The importance of AI stems from both the opportunities that it offers and the challenges that it entails. While AI applications hold the promise of economic growth and efficiency gains, they also create significant risks and uncertainty. The potential and perils of AI have thus come to dominate modern discussions of technology and ethics – and although AI was initially allowed to largely develop without guidelines or rules, few would deny that the law is set to play a fundamental role in shaping the future of AI.As thedebate over AI is far from over, the need for rigorous analysis has never been greater. This book thus brings together contributors from different fields and backgrounds to explore how the law might provide answers to some of the most pressing questions raised by AI. An outcome of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law and its interdisciplinary working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence, it includes contributions by leading scholars in the fields of technology, ethics and the law.

This book presents an overview of the development of digital finance. It covers various aspects of digitalfinance, including its definition, evolution, and importance in modern economics. It explores the interdisciplinary perspective of digital finance and its relationship with capitalism, and discusses the key factors influencing the development of digital finance, as well as the challenges and opportunities it faces. It also offers practical insights into digital finance, such as the innovative digital financial models andplatforms and the strategies of digital transformation in commercial banks. What is new about this approach is that the book takes a holistic view of digital finance, covering not only its economic and financial aspects but also its social and environmental impacts. It also offers a critical evaluation of the challenges and opportunities in digital finance from a global perspective. In this book, authors look into the impact of digital finance in various fields, such as monetary theory, wealth management, central bank digital currency, international monetary system, and network security and data privacy.

This book addresses the most widespread forms of financial crime today, namely corporate fraud, corruption, tax fraud, the shadow economy, informal entrepreneurship, money laundering, international informal capital flows, cybercrimes, and cryptocurrency scams. Given the rapid rise of digitalization, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a huge surge in financial crime, especially in the form of cybercrime, which affects people's financial security. Hence, the aim of this book is to stress the connected nature of financial crime and good governance, in order to achieve the most positive, sustainable development of society. The book analyzes financial crime in the context of digitalization. On the one hand, digitalization offers clear advantages in terms of reducing classical types of fraud such as tax evasion, corruption, the shadow economy, etc. On the other hand, digitalization offers new channels for criminals to gain illegal benefits when operating indigital space, e.g. through cybercrime, bank fraud, FinTech fraud, e-commerce fraud, etc. In this context, the term “digital shadow economy” has recently emerged in the literature as an expression of the types of fraud committed in digital space. In addition, the book explores issues concerning changes in regulations for various financial crimes around the world, statistics, and ways to combat digital crimes including punitive, preventive and other measures. Special attention is paid to cybercrime and cybersecurity issues, the goal being to raise readers'awareness of these threats.

This book presents the contributions from the 2nd International Conference Engineering Innovations and Sustainable Development, held in Samara, Russia on April 20–21, 2023. By presenting international research on various sustainability issues, it includes topics such as current trends in industrial and agricultural development, innovations in the construction and transport sectors, problems concerning the financing of innovative activities and governmental support for innovations, and engineering competences and skills in the era of new technologies. It also covers the economic, environmental, and informational aspects of sustainable development in the context of innovations. Finally, the book addresses theoretical and practical aspects by studying the phenomenon of sustainability and engineering development in terms of comparing international experiences. It provides significant value for scientists, teachers, and students of higher educational institutions, and specialists, who are researching sustainable development issues in the era of engineering innovations.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health threat. The menace of antimicrobial resistance is present across health, animal, agriculture, food, and environment sectors. It, therefore, requires an inter-disciplinary combat approach- the one health approach, envisaged by the FAO-UNEP-WHO-WOAH Quadripartite (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). This comprehensive reference book provides a thorough understanding of antimicrobial resistance across different sectors. It presents deep insights and gives a global perspective on antimicrobial resistance for policymakers. The book offers essential and up-to-date information that enables researchers from multiple fields to design research on antimicrobial resistance. The book discusses molecular mechanisms and antibiotic resistance genesof significant antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, regulatory frameworks available worldwide, and mitigation strategies across the sectors, including probiotics, prebiotics, antimicrobial peptides, bacteriophages, phytochemical compounds, immunostimulants, vaccines, bacteriocins, etc. It compiles essays from leading experts in the field of antimicrobial resistance research. The book is meant for students and researchers in microbiology, medical microbiology, and public health. It is also helpful for clinicians and policymakers.

This book provides a historical review of the transformation of China's image around the world since the 1978 Reform and Opening Up. Based on a synthetic model that the author constructs for evaluating national images, together with a historical review and quantitative analysis, it discusses the issues and challenges confronting China's image around the world since the Opening Up. To help rectify the situation that most of the research on China's reform efforts focuses on hard power (esp. economic power), this book, which mainly focuses on China's soft power, reviews and assesses its global image from the three perspectives of politics, economy and culture. In the process, it sheds valuable new light on the presentation of China's image and the world's perceptions of China.

This edited book considers social systems as self-organizing structures that reproduce new structural elements endowed with certain functional connections. The authors analyze innovative processes in social systems, leading to the sustainable convergence of knowledge and the emergence of technologies that improve the level of material well-being in society. The book summarizes research results in the field of digitalization and reveals deep connections with social problems. In addition, the book presents a whole array of innovative research on social systems management and the application of knowledge and intelligence to the solution of social problems. The contributing scholars and practitioners reflect on various types of social systems and assess the influence of disruptive factors from natural and coupled human-natural environments, discussing possible mechanisms for their neutralization. Sustainable development of social systems is among the most important tasks facingthe contemporary world. The contributed book highlights challenges to the sustainability of social systems, draws sociotechnical images of the future world order generated by the rapid development of intellectual technologies, and critically analyzes promising concepts for more sustainable social future. Among the discussed topics in the book are social governance, digital economy, technological landscapes, social systems modeling and simulation, cyber-social systems, knowledge-based innovation systems, complex processes in social systems, institutional arrangements, and other advancing research areas. The high-quality and original studies presented in the book appeal to those interested in broadening their perspectives on complexity science, complex social systems research, complex systems management, advanced technological development in social systems, etc. Since the book is rich with well-thought theories, advanced research approaches, and interdisciplinary research results, it becomes a great source of new ideas and insights on complex social systems.

This book focuses on the administration streamlining aligned with the market-oriented reform process in China. The book is divided into two parts. The first part clarifies why administration is necessary and important, what it covers, and how to deal with the relation between the central and the local governments. The second part presents empirical analysis in specific areas, including agricultural reform, fiscal reform, government reform and education reform, and a series of decentralization reforms. This book is a collective wisdom from Peking University and is edited by Chinese economist Yining Li.

This book provides a detailed description of the flexibility of the power system with high share of variable renewable generation, including power system flexibility modeling, flexibility-based economic dispatch, demand side flexibility response, large-scale distributed flexible resources aggregation and market design for enhancing the flexibility of the power system, etc. The book provides an appropriate blend of theoretical background and practical applications of the power system flexibility, which are developed as working algorithms, coded in MATLAB and GAMS environments. This feature strengthens the usefulness of the book for graduate students and practitioners. Students will gain an insightful understanding of the flexibility of the power system with high share of renewables integration, including: (1) the formulation of flexibility modeling and flexibility-based economic dispatch models, (2) the familiarization with efficient solution algorithms for such models, (3) insights into these problems through the detailed analysis of numerous illustrative examples and (4) market design approach for enhancing the flexibility of the power system. Hopefully, this book greatly benefits readers in the fields of energy economics and engineering.

This book presents the best papers from the 3rd International Conference on Mathematical Research for Blockchain Economy (MARBLE) 2022, held in Vilamoura, Portugal. While most blockchain conferences and forums are dedicated to business applications, product development or Initial Coin Offering (ICO) launches, this conference focuses on the mathematics behind blockchain to bridge the gap between practice and theory.Blockchain Technology has been considered as the most fundamental and revolutionising invention since the Internet. Every year, thousands of blockchain projects are launched and circulated in the market, and there is a tremendous wealth of blockchain applications, from finance to healthcare, education, media, logistics and more. However, due to theoretical and technical barriers, most of these applications are impractical for use in a real-world business context. The papers in this book reveal the challenges and limitations, such as scalability, latency, privacy and security, and showcase solutions and developments to overcome them.