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The advantages of lasers over broad‐band light sources for spectroscopic measurements have long been recognized. Laser techniques offer the ability to measure the concentrations of trace species in a gas stream in “real time” with sensitivity and molecular selectivity not possible with broad band spectroscopic techniques. Until recently, the use of laser‐based instruments has been largely limited to laboratory or one‐of‐a‐kind devices. However, the increased availability of solid‐state tunable diode lasers, recent advancements in fiber optic coupling and advanced signal processing have made it possible to develop instruments that offer customers enabling technology at an affordable price. Spectrum Diagnostix has developed a family of tunable diode laser‐based instruments used in a variety of applications including: fugitive release detection of HF and H₂S in the refining and petrochemical industries, stack monitoring, and using extractive sample probe, in situ process control. SpectraScan instruments obtain their high sensitivity and chemical selectivity utilizing a technique known as wavelength modulated spectroscopy. Described simply, a near infra‐red diode laser’s wavelength is scanned rapidly and repeatedly through a molecular absorption line. A photodetector senses the instantaneous fraction of emitted laser power that is transmitted through the chemical bearing gas. Measurement of the relative amplitudes of offline to online transmission yields a precise value of the quantity of chemical along the laser beam’s path. The amplitude modulated signals are then detected using established radio receiver and signal processing techniques. The SpectraScan monitors are designed for permanent installation in harsh industrial and petrochemical environments and are approved for Class I, Division 2 hazardous area use. Describes the SpectraScan instruments, their field applications, and reviews operating data compiled from open path measurements of HF in refineries.

To provide a method for the corporate real estate director to gather information about the quality of life (QOL) desires of key employees at a new corporate location.

The paper presents a discussion of a personal survey technique that can be used to gather information about the QOL concerns and needs of key employees regarding new locations the firm might be considering as possible expansion or relocation sites.

The publicly disseminated QOL rankings in popular magazines about metropolitan areas provides only marginally important information for the corporate officer in charge of making a relocation decision, because the information is not directly linked to the employees who will be affected by the move.

The discussion of the contents of a personal survey will provide the means to discover the significant benefits perceived by the key employees about the new location and a means to discover any major concerns, issues and problems about moving to a new corporate location.

The paper brings the QOL concept from its position as a newsworthy curiosity about metropolitan areas into the corporate decision process as a way to involve the opinions and desires about QOL of key employees in a corporate relocation decision.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new technique for monitoring gas leakage in underground pipelines to prevent dangerous explosions.

A novel system for monitoring methane concentration in underground spaces was developed by integrating the multi-channeled air sampling method with an infrared gas sensor. A pipe installation methodology (without excavation) was established and verified accordingly.

The proposed approach was proven successful in reducing the quantity of sensors needed for real-time monitoring of underground pipeline leakage by about 80 per cent. Furthermore, this system lowers total operational cost by as much as 60 per cent.

The results presented here represent a possible solution to reducing the public safety risks associated with explosions and fires caused by pipeline leakage in underground spaces. Its total cost is low and its monitoring efficiency is high.

This study aims to explain and illustrate the character of Russian systems thinking and to show how it is different and similar to traditions in the West. This study’s second aim is to describe the contributions of some Russian scientists to developing systems thinking and the theory of evolution. This study introduces the predecessors of Charles Darwin in Russia, both supporters and critics of his ideas, as well as scientists who have made similar contributions to the development of systems thinking, particularly Vladimir Vernadsky and Alexander Bogdanov.

Philosophical and theoretical comparisons. In the Russian intellectual tradition, the terms “Russia” and the “West” are likely codes for signifying fundamental philosophical questions about the universality of thinking and culture. The term “West” means universal, rational truth without taking into consideration any differences in life and cultural practice. The term “Russia” means impossibility of such a universal truth and a necessity to look for solutions on the level of life, not only on the level of rational thinking.

Paying attention to differences in approaches to systems and cybernetics and the theory of evolution will enrich the further development of systems sciences in Russia and the West. The paper examines the philosophical underpinnings of science rather than just testing or extending an existing theory. The result is better mutual understanding among scientists with different backgrounds.

This study suggests new avenues for research and expands the range of conceptual possibilities. It improves mutual understanding among scholars and countries. Also, it adds to the topics discussed within the field of systems and cybernetics and the theory of evolution.

The Truncated Levy Flight (TLF) model has been successfully used to model the return distribution of stock markets in developed economies and a few developing economies such as India. Our primary purpose is to use the TLF to model the S&P 500 and the firms operating in the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

We assess the predictive efficacy of the TLF model by comparing a simulation of the Standard and Poor's 500 (S&P 500) index and that of firms in the stock market in Ghana, using data from the same time period (June 2007–September 2013).

We find that the Levy models relatively accurately models the return distributions of the S&P 500 but does not accurately model the return distributions of firms in the Ghana stock market.

A major limitation is that we examined stock market data only from Ghana, while there are over 29 other African stock markets. We suggest that doctoral students and faculty can compare these stock markets either on the basis of age or the number of firms listed. For example, the oldest stock market was set up in 1883 in Egypt, while the more recent ones were set up in 2012 in the Seychelles and in Somalia.

Scholarly inquiry about the stock markets in Africa represents a rich area of research that we will encourage doctoral students and faculty to go into.

There has been little research done regarding the TLF model and African stock markets and this research has much utility and high level of originality.

The chapter presents an analysis of the decision-making process of leaders on issues of nuclear armament and nuclear disarmament, through four case studies. The first, pertaining armament, is South Africa, with a focus on Pieter Willem Botha, former prime minister and president of South Africa. The second deals with former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi’s nuclear armament decision. The third case study investigates the decision of former president of South Africa, F. W. De Klerk, on nuclear disarmament. The fourth and final case study uncovers Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s nuclear disarmament decision.

Using the Applied Decision Analysis (ADA) method historical decisions have been analyzed in this chapter for the purpose of identifying each leader’s ‘decision code’. Specifically, were these decisions based on rational calculations or were they influenced more by cognitive decision processes?

By revealing a ‘decision code’ using a reverse engineering of the decision processes, I conclude that the three leaders placed high importance on security and geopolitics. By analyzing different dimensions and processes that impacted their decision processes, it is evident that while armament decision utilizes the poliheuristic decision rule, disarmament decisions abide by rational calculations.

“Companies, particularly those which sell goods or services direct to the public, regard their trade marks (whether brand names or pictorial symbols) as being among their most valuable assets. It is important therefore for a trading nation such as the United Kingdom to have a legal framework for the protection of trade marks which fully serves the needs of industry and commerce. The law governing registered trade marks is however fifty years old and has to some extent lost touch with the marketplace. Moreover it causes some of the procedures associated with registration to be more complicated than they need be.” This introductory paragraph to the Government's recent White Paper on “Reform of Trade Marks Law” indicates that reform is in the air. The primary pressure for reform has emanated from Brussels with the need to harmonise national trade mark laws before the advent of the Single European market on 1st January 1993. To this end the Council of Ministers adopted a harmonisation directive in December 1988 which must be translated into the national laws of member states by 28th December 1991.

The role of money and monetary policy of the central bank in pursuing macroeconomic stability has significantly changed over the period since the end of World War II. Globalization, liberalization, integration, and transition processes generally shaped the crucial milestones of the macroeconomic development and substantial features of economic policy and its framework in Europe. Policy-driven changes together with variety of exogenous shocks significantly affected the key features of macroeconomic environment on the European continent that fashioned the framework and design of monetary policies.

This chapter examines the key basis of the central bank’s monetary policy on its way to pursue and preserve the internal and external stability of the purchasing power of money. Substantial elements of the monetary policy like objectives and strategies are not only generally introduced but also critically discussed according to their accuracy, suitability, and reliability in the changing macroeconomic conditions. Brief overview of the Eurozone common monetary policy milestones and the past Eastern bloc countries’ experience with a variety of exchange rate regimes provides interesting empirical evidence on origins and implications of vital changes in the monetary policy conduction in Europe and the Eurozone.

Understanding how leaders make foreign policy and national security decisions is of paramount importance for the policy community and academia. It is our assertion that decisions in these domains can be explained best by tracing the cognitive process leaders go through in formulating and arriving at their decisions, using the Applied Decision Analysis (ADA) method (Mintz, 2005; Mintz & DeRouen, 2010).

Consequently, this chapter summarizes the Applied Decision Analysis method which is utilized throughout the chapters comprising this volume. We then discuss the findings presented in this volume, while demonstrating the merit of both ADA and the poliheuristic theory of decision (Mintz, 2004), in the robust analyses of decisions made by Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Winston Churchill, Mao Zedong, Barack Obama, Saddam Hussein, Khaled Mashal, Muammar Gaddafi, Pieter Botha, and Frederik de Klerk. We conclude by providing a brief summary of the case studies which are included in this volume.