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Ambient Assisted Living: Italian Forum 2016 (Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering #426)
by Pietro Siciliano Andrea Monteriù Vincenzo Marletta Filippo CavalloThis book presents the refereed proceedings of the Fourth Italian Forum on Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), held in Ancona, Italy, in October 2013. A wide range of issues are covered and new technological developments are described which will support the autonomy and independence of individuals with special needs through an innovative and integrated approach, designed to respond to the socio-economic challenges of an aging population. Topics addressed include: health and well-being, prevention and rehabilitation and support for care providers; active aging and its social implications; services for the frail elderly with health problems and their families; nutrition; ICT platforms/technologies for the benefit of the elderly; home automation and control technologies (autonomy, safety and energy saving); smart cities and smart communities; telemedicine, telerehabilitation, and telecare; mobility, participation and social inclusion; games and fun for the elderly; building design; social housing; interface design and interaction (accessibility, acceptance); social policies to encourage and support active aging; business models, market analysis and development of sustainable financing and business and ethics, privacy and data protection. Many experimental validations based on user trials and usability testing are presented and discussed. The knowledge and insights provided in this book will help researchers and others involved in AAL to understand relevant societal trends, novel technological developments and pressing challenges.
Ambient Assisted Living: Italian Forum 2017 (Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering #540)
by Andrea Monteriù Filippo Cavallo Niccolò Casiddu Claudia PorfirioneThis book documents the state of the art in the field of ambient assisted living (AAL), highlighting the impressive potential of novel methodologies and technologies to enhance well-being and promote active ageing. It covers a broad range of topics, with sections on technological sensors and platforms, social robotics for assistance, assistance and care applications, health and medical support methodologies and technologies, as well as the analysis, modelling and design of AAL services. <P><P> The book comprises a selection of the best papers presented at the 8th Italian Forum on Ambient Assisted Living (ForitAAL 2017), which was held in Genoa, Italy, in June 2017 and brought together researchers, technology teams and professional associations, as well as representatives of the Italian regions and advisors to the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, with the goal of developing a consensus on how to improve provisions for the elderly and impaired. The respective contributions offer valuable insights into how the latest advances can help address the needs of the elderly and those with chronic health conditions. They also underscore the need for AAL to continue moving toward multidisciplinary integration, so as to embrace the various disciplines that place the user of services at the centre of the design process.
Ambiguities of Activism: Alter-Globalism and the Imperatives of Speed (Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies #43)
by Ingrid M. HoofdThis volume provides a critical and in-depth investigation of the relationship between alter-globalist thinking and practices and their popular discourses. It examines the ways in which several alter-globalist activist groups (like Indymedia, no-borders campaigns, and forms of climate change activism), as well as left-wing intellectuals and academics (like Michael Hardt, Al Gore, Antonio Negri, Hakim Bey, and Geert Lovink), mobilize problematic discourses, tools, and divisions in an attempt to overcome gendered, raced, and classed oppressions worldwide. The book draws out how these mobilizations and theorizations, despite (or possibly because of) their liberatory claims, are actually implicated in the intensification of global hierarchies by repeatedly invoking narratives of transcendence, connection, progress, and in particular of speed. Hoofd argues that the humanist ideals that underlie all these practices paradoxically trigger increasing disenfranchisements worldwide.
Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria
by Lisa WedeenIn Syria, the image of President Hafiz al-Asad is everywhere. In newspapers, on television, and during orchestrated spectacles Asad is praised as the "father," the "gallant knight," even the country's "premier pharmacist. " Yet most Syrians, including those who create the official rhetoric, do not believe its claims. Why would a regime spend scarce resources on a cult whose content is patently spurious? Wedeen concludes that Asad's cult acts as a disciplinary device, generating a politics of public dissimulation in which citizens act as if they revered their leader. By inundating daily life with tired symbolism, the regime exercises a subtle, yet effective form of power. The cult works to enforce obedience, induce complicity, isolate Syrians from one another, and set guidelines for public speech and behavior. Wedeen's ethnographic research demonstrates how Syrians recognize the disciplinary aspects of the cult and seek to undermine them. Provocative and original, Ambiguities of Domination is a significant contribution to comparative politics, political theory, and cultural studies.
Ambiguous Antidotes: Virtue as Vaccine for Vice in Early Modern Spain
by Hilaire KallendorfChastity and lust, charity and greed, humility and pride, are but some of the virtues and vices that have been in tension since Prudentius’ Psychomachia, written in the fifth century. While there has been widespread agreement within a given culture about what exactly constitutes a virtue or a vice, are these categories so consistent after all? In Ambiguous Antidotes, Hilaire Kallendorf explores the receptions of Virtues in the realm of moral philosophy and the artistic production it influenced during the Spanish Gold Age. Using the Derridian notion of pharmakon, a powerful substance that can serve as poison and cure, Kallendorf’s original and pioneering insight into five key Virtues (justice, fortitude, chastity, charity, and prudence) reveals an intriguing but messy relationship. Rather than being seen as unambiguously good antidotes, the Virtues are instead contested spaces where competing sets of values jostled for primacy and hegemony. Employing an arsenal of tools drawn from literary theory and cultural studies Ambiguous Antidotes confirms that you can in fact have too much of a good thing.
Ambition in America: Political Power and the Collapse of Citizenship
by Jeffrey A. BeckerMost Americans admire the determination and drive of artists, athletes, and CEOs, but they seem to despise similar ambition in their elected officials. The structure of political representation and the separation of powers detailed in the United States Co
Ambition, Competition, and Electoral Reform: The Politics of Congressional Elections Across Time
by Jamie L. Carson Jason Matthew RobertsIn Ambition, Competition, and Electoral Reform, Jamie L. Carson and Jason M. Roberts present an original study of U.S. congressional elections and electoral institutions for 1872-1944 from a contemporary political science perspective. Using data on late nineteenth and early twentieth century congressional elections, the authors test the applicability in a historical context of modern political science theories, assess the effects of institutional reforms, and identify the factors that shape the competitiveness of elections. They present several key findings: the strategic politicians theory is applicable in an era without candidate-centered campaigns; there was an incumbency advantage prior to the full development of candidate-centered campaigns; institutional reforms have had a significant effect on elections; and the degree of electoral competition frequently correlates with elected officials' responsiveness to citizens.
Ambivalences of Inclusion in Society and Social Work: Research-Based Reflections in Four European Countries (European Social Work Education and Practice)
by Stephan Bundschuh Maria José Freitas Càndid Palacín Bartrolí Nino ŽganecThis book represents the work of the European Research Network: Inclusive Society and the Role of Social Work, which comprises researchers from Barcelona, Spain; Koblenz, Germany; Maastricht, The Netherlands; and Zagreb, Croatia. The authors present research results and reflections from these four different European countries to provide a comprehensive introduction and discussion of the ambivalences of inclusive processes in society and social work. The development towards an inclusive society is a subject of ongoing discussion in Europe. How the subject is addressed, through an examination of political and social characteristics, differs significantly by country. Each country-specific chapter includes evidence-based reflections on inclusive society and the role of social work: In The Netherlands, there is evidence of a top-down process implementing inclusive social policy and social work principles through the self-proclaimed ‘participation society’. In Spain, the process to inclusion is accompanied by the third sector often replacing governmental responsibilities, namely through the bottom-up activities of non-governmental organizations in social work. In Croatia, inclusion is a state initiative in transitioning society and an academic approach to deinstitutionalising social work. In Germany, inclusion is discussed in social systems theory and the reform of school systems. In the migration discourse it was introduced as a less-loaded alternative to integration. Ambivalences of Inclusion in Society and Social Work: Research-Based Reflections in Four European Countries is a useful resource for learners, teachers, practitioners, and researchers in social work, as well as those who have an interest in social policy, social welfare, and sociology.
Ambivalent Humanitarianism and Migration Control: Colonial legacies and the Experiences of Migrants in Mexico (Routledge Studies in Criminal Justice, Borders and Citizenship)
by Erika Herrera RosalesAmbivalent Humanitarianism and Migration Control explores the complex relationship between migrants and local aid organisations. These organisations have become indisputably relevant and highly regarded as allies to Northern Central American migrants trying to reach the United States. Thus, this book examines the implications of humanitarian actors in migration governance and bordering practices, which have serious and long-lasting effects on the lives of migrants.Through an in-depth research in Mexico, this book suggests that humanitarian organisations are ambivalent institutions because they intend to help and support individuals while reinforcing social and power inequalities. It explores the narratives, roles, and practices of humanitarian workers, and, at the same time, addresses migrants’ resistance. From an interdisciplinary approach that employs critical humanitarian perspectives, post/decolonial theories, and criminological studies, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of migration governance and migrants’ agency.A highly informative, insightful, and engaging read, Ambivalent Humanitarianism and Migration Control will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers in migration studies, border studies, sociology, and critical criminology. Given its international scope, it also will be of interest to academics, practitioners, and people in Latin America, the United States, the UK, Europe, and beyond.
Ambivalent Miracles: Evangelicals and the Politics of Racial Healing (Race, Ethnicity, and Politics)
by Nancy D. WadsworthOver the past three decades, American evangelical Christians have undergone unexpected, progressive shifts in the area of race relations, culminating in a national movement that advocates racial integration and equality in evangelical communities. The movement, which seeks to build cross-racial relationships among evangelicals, has meant challenging well-established paradigms of church growth that built many megachurch empires. While evangelical racial change (ERC) efforts have never been easy and their reception has been mixed, they have produced meaningful transformation in religious communities. Although the movement as a whole encompasses a broad range of political views, many participants are interested in addressing race-related political issues that impact their members, such as immigration, law enforcement, and public education policy. Ambivalent Miracles traces the rise and ongoing evolution of evangelical racial change efforts within the historical, political, and cultural contexts that have shaped them. Nancy D. Wadsworth argues that the stunning breakthroughs this movement has achieved, its curious political ambivalence, and its internal tensions are products of a complex cultural politics constructed at the intersection of U.S. racial and religious history and the meaning-making practices of conservative evangelicalism. Employing methods from the emerging field of political ethnography, Wadsworth draws from a decade’s worth of interviews and participant observation in ERC settings, textual analysis, and survey research, as well as a three-year case study, to provide the first exhaustive treatment of ERC efforts in political science. A 2014 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title
Ambivalenzen der Ordnung: Der Staat im Denken Hannah Arendts (Staat – Souveränität – Nation)
by Samuel Salzborn Julia Schulze Wessel Christian VolkEs besteht kein Zweifel, dass Hannah Arendt den klassischen republikanischen Tugenden des bürgerschaftlichen Engagements, der Partizipation und des politischen Handelns in ihrem Werk eine gewichtige Bedeutung verliehen hat. Ihr politisches Denken lebt von öffnenden Begriffen wie der Natalität, dem Anfang, der Pluralität, der Spontaneität oder der Freiheit des Menschen, etwas beginnen zu können. Und dennoch ist dieses Denken nur ein Teil von ihr und steht in einer konzeptionellen Beziehung zu einem dezidierten Ordnungsdenken, das in der Forschung bislang vernachlässigt wurde. Dieses stärker in den Mittelpunkt der Auseinandersetzung zu rücken, ist das Anliegen dieses Bandes.
Ambivalenzen des Ökonomischen: Analysen zur „Neuen Steuerung“ im Bildungssystem (Educational Governance #29)
by Martin Heinrich Barbara KohlstockBildung und Ökonomie sind wechselseitig aufeinander verwiesen: Es wird keine Autonomie der Bildung ohne ressourcielle Absicherung geben, ebensowenig wie eine moderne industrialisierte Gesellschaft mit Blick auf ihre Reproduktionslogiken auf die Produktivkraft ,,Bildung" verzichten kann. Am Beispiel bildungstheoretisch fundierter und empirischer Studien zu den differenten pädagogischen und ökonomischen Logiken innerhalb der ,,Neuen Steuerung" des Bildungssystems wird im vorliegenden Band aufgezeigt, dass es sinnvoll erscheint, sich weder vereinseitigend dem Pol des ökonomischen oder dem des pädagogischen Ideals zuzuschlagen, noch die im Verhältnis von Ökonomie und Bildung angelegten Ambivalenzen zu leugnen. Demgegenüber wird versucht, sich in einem analytischen Zugriff aus der Perspektive der Governance-Forschung eben jenen Ambivalenzen systematisch zu widmen.
Amboina, 1623: Fear and Conspiracy on the Edge of Empire
by Adam ClulowIn 1623, a Japanese mercenary called Shichizō was arrested for asking suspicious questions about the defenses of a Dutch East India Company fort on Amboina, a remote set of islands in what is now eastern Indonesia. When he failed to provide an adequate explanation, he was tortured until he confessed that he had joined a plot orchestrated by a group of English merchants based nearby to seize control of the fortification and ultimately to rip the spice-rich islands from the Company’s grasp. Two weeks later, Dutch authorities executed twenty-one alleged conspirators, sparking immediate outrage and a controversy that would endure for centuries to come.In this landmark study, Adam Clulow presents a new perspective on the Amboina case that aims to move beyond the standard debate over the guilt or innocence of the supposed plotters. Instead, Amboina, 1623 argues that the case was driven forward by a potent combination of genuine crisis and overpowering fear that propelled the rapid escalation from suspicion to torture, that gave shape and form to an imagined plot, and that pushed events forward to their final bloody conclusion. Based on an exhaustive analysis of original trial documents, letters, and depositions, this book offers a masterful reinterpretation of a trial that has divided opinion for centuries while presenting new insight into global history and the nature of European expansion across the early modern world.
Ambushed!: A Cartoon History of the George W. Bush Administration
by Walter C. Clemens Jr Jim MorinA Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist teams up with a noted political commentator. For everyone who loves to hate the Bush administration and is ready to laugh about it! Ambushed! recounts the exploits of the Bush administration, at home and abroad, 2001 to 2008, through the lens of a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the Miami Herald and the analysis of a leading political scientist at Boston University and Harvard University. The book begins with the ways in which American voters were ambushed in two presidential elections and ranges widely among the ensuing disasters from Enron to Katrina to the budget deficit to the economy and finally to the "global war on terror" that lost America many friends and inspired enemies worldwide. Contrasting the Bush administration's lofty promises with its policy failures-from Baghdad to New Orleans-the book suggests that this has been not only the least effective but the most destructive presidency of the past century.
Ambushed!: The Assassination Plot Against President Garfield (Medical Fiascoes)
by Gail JarrowThis thrilling title for young readers blends science, history, and medical mysteries to tell the story of the assassination and ultimately horrible death of President James Garfield.James Abram Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, was assassinated when he was shot by Charles Guiteau in July 1881, less than four months after he was elected president. But Garfield didn't actually die until 80 days later. In this page-turner, award-winning author Gail Jarrow delves into the fascinating story of the relationship between Garfield and Guiteau, and relates the gruesome details of Garfield's slow and agonizing death. She reveals medical mistakes made in the aftermath of Garfield's assassination, including the faulty diagnoses and outdated treatments that led to the president's demise. This gripping blend of science, history, and mystery — the latest title in the Medical Fiascoes series — is nonfiction for kids at its best: exciting and relevant and packed with plenty of villains and horrifying facts.
Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor (I Can Read! #Level 2)
by Herman ParishAn I can read book. Amelia Bedelia always does what she's told. So when Mr. Rogers tells her she should run for Mayor Thyomas's office, she pics up her skirts and dshes off to City Hall. She knows just what she'd do in the mayor's shoes (polish them, of course). With Amelia Bedelia in the race, politics will never be the same.
Ameliorating Mental Disability: Questioning Retardation
by Alfred A. BaumeisterThis book grows out of the optimistic view that mental retardation can be treated. It views mental retardation primarily as a behavioral problem. A child is diagnosed as retarded primarily because he behaves in certain maladaptive ways, not simply because he may have a chromosomal anomaly. The contributors view any intervention intended to produce adaptive changes in the behavior of the retarded as "treatment." The authors come from the fields of medicine, special education, and speech and hearing, as well as from psychology.The book is intended to help students and workers in the field apply research findings and theoretical formulations in their appraisal and treatment of mental retardation. The primary emphasis of the book is empirical. While many of the author's suggestions have not been subjected to rigorous experimental scrutiny, almost all have been derived from close examination of the research literature.A wide diversity of topics are included in this volume. Criteria employed were the relevance of the topic to the understanding and modifi cation of defective behavior; and the subject's popularity or neglect in other sources. Ameliorating Mental Disability will be of interest to medical officers in institutions for the mentally challenged, lecturers giving courses for teachers of the educationally subnormal, and to psychologists, social workers, and teachers.
America 1844: Religious Fervor, Westward Expansion, and the Presidential Election That Transformed the Nation
by John BicknellThe year 1844 saw a momentous presidential election, religious turmoil, westward expansion, and numerous other interwoven events that profoundly affected the U.S. as a nation. Author and journalist John Bicknell details these compelling events in this unusual history book. He explains how the election of James K. Polk assured the expansion that brought Texas, California, and Oregon into the union. This took place amidst anti-Mormon and anti-Catholic violence, the belief in the imminent second coming of Christ, the murder of Joseph Smith, Charles Goodyear's patenting of vulcanized rubber, the near-death of President John Tyler in a freak naval explosion, and much more. All of these elements illustrate the competing visions of the American future and how Polk's victory cemented the vision of a continental nation.
America 3.0
by James C. Bennett Michael J. LotusAmerica's greatest days are yet to come. We are in a painful transition period. Our government is crushingly expensive, failing at its basic functions, and unable to keep its promises. It does not work and it cannot continue as it is. But the inevitable end of big government does not mean the end of America. It only means the end of one phase of American life. America is poised to enter a new era of freedom and prosperity. The cultural roots of the American people go back at least fifteen centuries, and make us individualistic, enterprising, and liberty-loving. The Founding generation of the United States lived in a world of family farms and small businesses, America 1.0. This world faded away and was replaced by an industrialized world of big cities, big business, big labor unions and big government, America 2.0. Now America 2.0 is outdated and crumbling, while America 3.0 is struggling to be born. This new world will bring immense productivity, rapid technological progress, greater scope for individual and family-scale autonomy, and a leaner and strictly limited government. America has made one major transition already, and industrial America became an economic colossus. We are now making a new transition, which will surprise many Americans, and astonish the world.
America Afire: Jefferson, Adams, and the First Contested Election
by Bernard A. WeisbergerAmerica Afire is the powerful story of the election of 1800, arguably the most important election in America's history and certainly one of the most hotly disputed. Former allies Adams and Jefferson, president versus vice president, Federalist versus Republican, squared off in a vicious contest that resulted in broken friendships, scandals, riots, slander, and jailings in the fourth presidential election under the Constitution.
America Alone: It's the End of the World as We Know It
by Mark SteynIt's the end of the world as we know it...Someday soon, you might wake up to the call to prayer from a muezzin. Europeans already are. And liberals will still tell you that "diversity is our strength"--while Talibanic enforcers cruise Greenwich Village burning books and barber shops, the Supreme Court decides sharia law doesn't violate the "separation of church and state," and the Hollywood Left decides to give up on gay rights in favor of the much safer charms of polygamy. If you think this can't happen, you haven't been paying attention, as the hilarious, provocative, and brilliant Mark Steyn--the most popular conservative columnist in the English-speaking world--shows to devastating effect. The future, as Steyn shows, belongs to the fecund and the confident. And the Islamists are both, while the West is looking ever more like the ruins of a civilization. But America can survive, prosper, and defend its freedom only if it continues to believe in itself, in the sturdier virtues of self-reliance (not government), in the centrality of family, and in the conviction that our country really is the world's last best hope. Mark Steyn's America Alone is laugh-out-loud funny--but it will also change the way you look at the world.
America Alone: The End Of The World As We Know It
by Mark SteynIt's the end of the world as we know it...Someday soon, you might wake up to the call to prayer from a muezzin. Europeans already are. And liberals will still tell you that "diversity is our strength"--while Talibanic enforcers cruise Greenwich Village burning books and barber shops, the Supreme Court decides sharia law doesn't violate the "separation of church and state," and the Hollywood Left decides to give up on gay rights in favor of the much safer charms of polygamy. If you think this can't happen, you haven't been paying attention, as the hilarious, provocative, and brilliant Mark Steyn--the most popular conservative columnist in the English-speaking world--shows to devastating effect. The future, as Steyn shows, belongs to the fecund and the confident. And the Islamists are both, while the West is looking ever more like the ruins of a civilization. But America can survive, prosper, and defend its freedom only if it continues to believe in itself, in the sturdier virtues of self-reliance (not government), in the centrality of family, and in the conviction that our country really is the world's last best hope. Mark Steyn's America Alone is laugh-out-loud funny--but it will also change the way you look at the world.
America And Europe In An Era Of Change
by Helga Haftendorn Christian TuschhoffWhat will the new world order look like-a tripole, a layer cake, a concert hall? Will Europe and the United States continue in their tradition of interdependence and admiration or emerge as economic rivals, political strangers, and cultural antipodes as the rest of the world-notably Japan-moves forward? These are just some of the questions explored
America And The Rogue States
by Thomas H. HenriksenAmerica and the Rogue States traces and examines the policies and interaction of the United States with the main adversarial nations in the post-Cold War era. The book concentrates on the three major rogue states-North Korea, Iran, and pre-invasion Iraq. What are termed as lesser rogue nations-Libya, Syria, Cuba, and the Sudan-receive summarized treatment in one chapter together with a brief discussion about why Afghanistan and Venezuela are not rogues. The author makes clear the distinctions among these confrontational regimes, noting that North Korea, Iran, and Saddam Hussein's Iraq aroused much more anxiety in Washington than lesser rogues and other troublesome states. After an opening chapter placing the rogue-nation phenomenon in historical and current context, the manuscript devotes one chapter each to the three major adversarial rogues. A final chapter deals with the less threatening rogue regimes. Each chapter follows a chronological format with description and analysis. The work is intended for a general reader interested in the topic; it also will have appeal as a supplemental text for university classes in international relations covering the period after the Cold War ended.
America Ascendant: From Theodore Roosevelt to FDR in the Century of American Power, 1901-1945
by Sean Dennis CashmanA lively tour of the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, America Ascendant traces the development of America's tremendous industrial power and its commercial deployment, at home and abroad. Emphasizing the contributions of those charismatic presidents who shaped the future of politics-- Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt--the book also covers pioneers such as Henry Ford and the Wright brothers, whose technological contributions transformed societies the world over. The book investigates the phenomena that threatened America's ascendance--the Great Red Scare of 1917- 20 and the rout of organized labor, the Great Crash of 1929 and the searing depression years, and the apartheid policies that undermined American democratic ideals. Moreover, Sean Dennis Cashman sets the American story within the dramatic context of the rise and fall of political empires in Europe and Asia and two devastating world wars. Enriching the volume is an integrated account of the American cultural scene, replete with such figures as Ernest Hemingway, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Gershwin, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith. Imaginatively conceived, America Ascendant once again reveals Sean Dennis Cashman's flair for bringing American history to life with all its triumphs, drama, and ambiguities.