The book compiles nine research articles, each published as a chapter, and authored by leading academic researchers from Latin America, Europe and Asia. Addresses issues of international law, international relations, politics, and the global economy, providing in-depth analysis of the protection of human rights, migration policies, and trade and political relations between states in a changing global landscape. The work provides readers with a valuable opportunity for reflection and analys...

Advances in digital technology led to the development of digital x-ray detectors that are currently in wide use for projection radiography, including Computed Radiography (CR) and Digital Radiography (DR). Digital Imaging Systems for Plain Radiography addresses the current technological methods available to medical imaging professionals to ensure the optimization of the radiological process concerning image quality and reduction of patient exposure. Based on extensive research by the autho...

This book analyzes some of the most recent advances in the field of decision making and fuzzy systems applied to business and economics presented at the International Conference on Modeling and Simulation (MS'12 Rio de Janeiro), 10-13 December, 2012. In this conference, a special focus is given to the fundamental concept of sustainable development. Other key applications in business, economics and finance are also considered.In general, it is very useful for graduate students and researche...

In 1700, Latin America and British North America were roughly equal in economic terms. Yet over the next three centuries, the United States gradually pulled away from Latin America, and today the gap between the two is huge. Why did this happen? Was it culture? Geography? Economic policies? Natural resources? Differences in political development? The question has occupied scholars for decades, and the debate remains a hot one. In Falling Behind, Francis Fukuyama gathers together s...

Taking a fresh thematic approach to politics and society in Latin America, this introductory textbook analyzes the region's past and present in an accessible and engaging style well-suited to undergraduate students. The book provides historical insights into modern states and critical issues they are facing, with insightful analyses that are supported by empirical data, maps and timelines. Drawing upon cutting-edge research, the text considers critical topics relevant to all countries with...

Brazil is the world's sixth-largest economy, and for the first three-quarters of the twentieth century was one of the fastest-growing countries in the world. While the country underwent two decades of unrelenting decline from 1975 to 1994, the economy has rebounded dramatically. How did this nation become an emerging power? Brazil in Transition looks at the factors behind why this particular country has successfully progressed up the economic development ladder. The authors examin...

Why democracy is under assault across the globe by the leaders entrusted to preserve itDemocracies around the world are getting swept up in a wave of democratic erosion. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, two dozen presidents and prime ministers have attacked their countries’ democratic institutions, violating political norms, aggrandizing their own powers, and often trying to overstay their terms in office.The Backsliders offers the ...

Bolivia decentralized in an effort to deepen democracy, improve public services, and make government more accountable. Unlike many countries, Bolivia succeeded. Over the past generation, public investment shifted dramatically toward primary services and resource distribution became far more equitable, partly due to the creation of new local governments. Many municipalities responded to decentralization with transparent, accountable government, yet others suffered ineptitude, corruption, or...

This ambitious analysis is centered on the evolution of economic structures in colonized economies, showing the effects of these structures on today's global reality for all economies, whether they are considered 'developed or 'underdeveloped.'With a comprehensive scope encompassing economic structures and their influence on the growth of nations from past to present, Calixto Salomão Filho delves into issues of development, economic structures, social problems, monopolies, globaliz...

A complete guide for how small states can be strikingly successful and influential--if they assess their situations and adapt their strategies. Small states are crucial actors in world politics. Yet, they have been relegated to a second tier of International Relations scholarship. In A Small State's Guide to Influence in World Politics, Tom Long shows how small states can identify opportunities and shape effective strategies to achieve their foreign policy goals. ...

Challenging the common assumption that models of direct democracy and representative democracy are necessarily at odds, Direct Democracy Worldwide demonstrates how practices of direct and representative democracy interact under different institutional settings and uncovers the conditions that allow them to coexist in a mutually reinforcing manner. Whereas citizen-initiated mechanisms of direct democracy can spur productive relationships between citizens and political parties, other mechani...

Global Health Watch, now in its fourth edition, is widely perceived as the definitive voice for an alternative discourse on health and healthcare. It covers a range of issues that currently impact on health, including the present political and economic architecture in a fast-changing and globalized world; a political assessment of the drive towards Universal Health Coverage; broader determinants of health, such as gender-based violence and access to water; stories of struggles, actions and...