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What Is Research? Have you ever examined something in detail because you wanted to understand it better? For instance, you might have been curious about your grandmother’s life when she was young, so you asked her to share stories from her childhood. Or perhaps you wanted to know more about a fertilizer you planned to use in your garden, so you read its ingredient list and searched for information online. By dictionary definition, these activities count as research. Think back to your high school days, when you were assigned to “research” a topic. Such assignments usually required you to consult various sources, possibly including some original materials. The final product was often called a “research paper.” But were you truly conducting research when you interviewed your grandmother or wrote a school paper summarizing information on a subject? From our perspective, you were engaging in just one small part of the research process. In this book, the term “research” is used in its scien...

 This book is the result of the System of Promoting Appropriate National Dynamism for Agriculture and Nutrition (SPANDAN) project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and hosted by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai. The SPANDAN initiative aims to explore and analyze the connections between agriculture, nutrition, and health in India, with the broader goal of supporting the country’s progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG-2). Specifically, the program focuses on: Building an Evidence Base to deepen understanding and enhance agriculture–nutrition linkages in India. Assessing the Impact of targeted agricultural programs and policies on nutritional outcomes. Advocacy , by presenting research findings to inform and influence existing as well as emerging policy platforms. A key feature of SPANDAN is its interdisciplinary collaboration, involving specialists in fields such as development economics, agricul...

Recent years have seen a tremendous increase in scientific literature on social networks. The term "network" is now widely used in several situations. The scholarly community is increasingly interested in the institutions that impact our social and economic life. Matthew Jackson's volume on social network analysis (SNA) emphasizes that networks facilitate human connection. They influence the spread of knowledge and people's decisions. Human networks follow stable and predictable norms, even as they become increasingly complicated over time. Adopting a network perspective is critical for understanding human behavior. The editors of this edition convened a workshop titled "Networks, Behavior, and Strategies in Early Financial Markets" at Stockholm University in October 2022, which resulted in enlightening conversations among the contributors. 5 This volume emphasizes the significance of networks and the usefulness of using a network approach to study his...

Human beings require privacy. We all require a private location where we can feel safe from scrutiny and judgment. In dystopic governments, complete transparency is seen as a violation of freedom. However, those in power prioritize personal privacy. Privacy is a primary priority for policymakers and has become a social concern in many countries, including Europe and China. However, it is unlikely that humans have ever had less privacy. Physical surveillance is pervasive, with cameras deployed by governments on streets, stations, and public transport, companies in shops, and individuals outside their homes. In recent decades, the rise of digital services has led to increased surveillance of personal information. As a result, the private of people's information and data (informational privacy) may not be fully lost, but it is not in excellent shape. Smartphones are mostly used to provide services to users, rather than for communication. Users often pay for services using their...

 According to Walter Mischel (2008), "Psychologists treat other peoples' theories like toothbrushes—no self-respecting person wants to use anyone else's". With the current work, which introduces the humanistic theory of welfare (HTW), I must plead guilty as charged. Given the abundance of existing theories and models in psychology and wellness studies, it's reasonable to question the need for new ones. I believe we do. While theories are important in science, it's important to note that Michael's warning was not intended to discourage the development of new theories. He criticized the publication of early theories aimed at furthering careers over knowledge. Mischel cautioned against narrow "turf" ideas focused on "sub-fields within sub-disciplines." Mischel warned against creating a "Terminological Tower of Babel" that separates sub-fields and disciplines, causing unnatural joints. Theories should not be limited by arti...

 This series of open-access books talks about the most important things that need to happen for a firm to change in a way that lasts. These include making good use of resources, thinking about all the necessary features and technologies of digitalisation in a methodical way, and getting all the right people involved. It also looks at the risks and opportunities that the climate crisis and digitalisation present for businesses and suggests ways to avoid or lessen the bad impacts. The series adopts a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary approach by combining economic, environmental, and technological points of view. It accepts monographs and contributed volumes from both established and up-and-coming researchers. Core Values and  Decision-Making for  Sustainable Business This chapter talks about the main idea of the second book in the "Sustainable Business Development" series. It has 11 chapters that give practical advice. As people throughout the world become more and mor...

 This open access book provides useful insights on experimenting with New European Bauhaus ideas and principles in urban development, with contributions from key stakeholders including local activists, action researchers, municipalities, developers, and artists. It draws on ideas acquired from the lighthouse project "Desire - Designing the Irresistible Circular Society" to weave a story of revolutionary change. The book stresses innovative tactics, civic engagement, and cross-disciplinary approaches to altering urban settings. The voyage begins with a thorough examination of the Desire project, which provides a nuanced knowledge of the larger backdrop for its trials and research operations. This foundation leads to a discussion of several approaches to attaining sustainable, inclusive, and aesthetically pleasing urban transformations. Readers are taken through the complexity of urban change, acquiring a comprehensive understanding of how urban transformation and an irres...

This open access book is the second version, which includes updates to Grey Systems' data, methodology, and models. It covers recent theoretical and applied achievements in grey systems from around the world, providing the reader with a clear picture of this emerging subject and its frontier research. Many of the concepts, models, and methods in the book are original by the author, including kernel, degree of greyness of grey number, simplified form of grey number, general grey number, and the operation system; the axiomatic system of buffer operators and a series of weakening and strengthening buffer operators; and a series of grey relational analysis models, including grey absolute, relative, synthetic, similarity, closeness, negative, three dimension, and grey relational. The revision includes: (1) Added new achievements made in recent years, such as the moving average operator, a series of negative grey relational models, a grey relational model for cross-sequences, standard...

  The European Commission coined the term "Industry 5.0" in 2020 to define the next generation of technology that will effect businesses and individuals, such as virtual simulation and automated robots. It acknowledges that these technologies are no longer simply 'future tech', but rather realities that will begin to have an impact on society at large. This open access book refers to this new reality as 'Society 5.0' and investigates the true impact of AI-enabled businesses on society. This book begins with a brief history of AI, contemporary terminologies, and its conceptual components, visualisation, data, and algorithms, followed by a collection of studies from renowned experts in AI and Digital Business. The first segment focusses on the immediate problems and strategic changes needed for firms to successfully adapt to this new reality. The second section focusses on the benefits of AI for businesses and society. The final segment contains chapters o...

 This open access book delves into the fascinating story of Nikola Corporation's startup journey in this informative case study, exploring its quick rise and subsequent decline from both a narrative and argumentative standpoint. Nikola, founded by Trevor Milton, initially piqued investors' interest by promising a greener, more sustainable alternative to diesel trucks. However, the company's valuation increase was short-lived, as accusations from a short seller sparked a trust crisis, exposing alleged deceit and casting doubt on the company's technological claims. This case study focuses specifically on the subtleties of startup communication, underlining the crucial importance of good and trustworthy strategic communication for developing technology enterprises. It delves deeply into the approaches and tools that startups need to handle initial skepticism and data restrictions without risking a crisis. Key takeaways include crafting compelling startup stories while ...

  Although cancer survival has improved markedly in developed countries in recent decades, not all groups have benefited equally. In particular, Indigenous and Tribal peoples continue to have poorer cancer outcomes than their non-Indigenous counterparts. The available evidence suggests these disparities are linked to a complex combination of factors, including higher incidence of cancers associated with a high case fatality, later stage of diagnosis, reduced access to cancer treatment, and poorer overall health. Much research is underway to explore approaches to improving health system responses for Indigenous and Tribal peoples. A developing evidence base is supporting effective translation of knowledge into practice. This book offers a global perspective on this evidence base, written from Indigenous perspectives. This book is the first comprehensive publication to report on cancer incidence, mortality, prevalence, survival, and inequities for Indigenous and Tribal peoples global...

Digitalization refers to the conversion of information and knowledge obtained in physical form, such as through sensors or printed documents, into a language that can be understood by computers. The phenomenon is central to the digital transformation, which depends on the combined and interconnected use of advanced technologies such as 3D printing, blockchain technology (distributed ledger), the Internet of Things, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. This leads to the generation of large volumes of data known as big data, which necessitates the use of big data analytics approaches (Ertz et al., 2022). The potential to utilize these massive data sets is mostly unexplored, but it has the potential to facilitate the shift towards "more sustainable and efficient smart integrated cities." Upon reviewing previous studies, it is evident that there are three fundamental components in academic research. The integration of digitalization into sustainability is represented by...

 This open access book comprises research workshop papers presented at XP 2022 and XP 2023, which are the 23rd and 24th International Conferences on Agile Software Development. The conferences took place on June 13-17, 2022, at the IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and on June 13-16, 2023, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. XP is a leading conference that brings together research and practice in agile software development. The forum is a distinct gathering where agile researchers, practitioners, thought leaders, coaches, and trainers convene to showcase and deliberate on their latest innovations, research findings, experiences, issues, difficulties, and trends. XP conferences offer a casual setting for acquiring knowledge and stimulating discussions, catering to both newcomers and experienced practitioners of agile methodologies. Download Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming – Workshops The workshops that occurred in 2022 were as follows: The next events in...

This freely available book is your passport to achieving entrepreneurial triumph! Acquire pragmatic strategies to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, identify potential prospects, establish crucial connections, craft captivating narratives, and expand your business endeavor. Uncover the strategies for conquering obstacles, effectively handling pressure, and navigating the process of decision-making in the ever-changing realm of entrepreneurship. Whether you possess extensive experience as an entrepreneur or are a novice in the field, these uncomplicated tools will direct you towards achieving success in the intricate entrepreneurial environment. Bid farewell to daunting choices and welcome a streamlined approach to realizing your entrepreneurial vision! This book also distinguishes itself from a textbook by abstaining from the use of intricate illustrations. Although examples might assist in making abstract concepts more tangible, we prefer to directly focus on the tangible aspects. Pre...