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Environmental epidemiology is the science which analyses and measures adverse health effects of environmental factors and evaluates the effectiveness of their control strategies. With increased industrialisation and urban development in Europe, these problems and efforts to solve them are now very much at the forefront of world attention. The analysis of the consequences of Chernobyl is a prime example of a situation where environmental epidemiology can help. Other current examples include the so‐called ‘green’ issues of urban sewage disposal, the effects of agricultural pesticides and fertilisers on the food chain, air quality and motor vehicle emissions, environmental planning deficiencies leading to traffic accidents and urban crowding, pollutant exposure in the work place, and the consequences of individual behaviour such as AIDS, the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs. Environmental epidemiology thus brings several disciplines together. There is still much to learn though from the formulation and analysis of appropriate strategies to help maintain an optimal balance between desired technological, economic, health and lifestyle factors, and sustained environmental quality.

Motivated by the acoustics of motor vehicles, a coupled fluid–solid system is considered. The air pressure is modeled by the Helmholtz equation, and the structure displacement is described by elastodynamic equations. The acoustic–structure interaction is modeled by coupling conditions on the common interface. First, the existence and uniqueness of solutions are investigated, and then, after recalling fundamental notions of shape optimization, the tensor form of the distributed shape derivative is obtained for the coupled problem. It is then applied to the minimization of the sound pressure by variation of the structure shape through the positioning of beads.

The existence and uniqueness of solutions up to eigenfrequencies are shown by the Fredholm–Riesz–Schauder theory using a novel decomposition into an isomorphism and a compact operator. For the design optimization, the distributed shape derivative is obtained using the averaged adjoint method. It is then used in a closed 3D optimization process of the position of a bead for noise reduction. In this process, the C++ library concepts are used to solve the differential equations on hexahedral meshes with the finite element method of higher order.

The existence and uniqueness of solutions have been shown for the case without absorption, where the given proof allows for extension to the case with absorption in the domain or via boundary conditions. The theoretical results show that the averaged adjoint can be applied to compute distributed shape derivatives in the context of acoustic–structure interaction. The numerical results show that the distributed shape derivative can be used to reduce the sound pressure at a chosen frequency via rigid motions of a nonsmooth shape.

The proof of shape differentiability and the calculation of the distributed shape derivative in tensor form allows to consider nonsmooth shapes for the optimization, which is particularly relevant for the optimal placement of beads or stampings in a structural-acoustic system.

Anger responding to government-imposed COVID-19 pandemic mandates is examined in relation to 2021 international reports of street protests in cities, with a focus on Perth, Western Australia. Angry protestors displayed a variety of signs and symbols, united under banners demanding freedom. A multi-disciplinary analysis attends to distrust in public health mandates in the global context of an insecure biosphere. Mandates can signify symbolic death, and anger an ‘immune’ response to lifeworld constraints. Anger among nurses and vaccine-hesitant protestors signifies ethical rejection of super-imposed mandates, and fear of alleged vaccine harms. Official pandemic communications are held to be ill-timed, lacking information meaningful to diverse citizens' needs, and offset by poorly contextualised data and unreliable pre-packaged interpretations communicated via digital technologies. A novel hypothesis proposes semiotic misrecognition of the global nature of communications from intersecting ecosocial crises may underlie protestors' anger. Modelling of a management system to validate broad contextual knowledges may restore meaningful balance and public solidarity, to creatively respond to future human crises.

Low-status expatriates (LSEs), a highly vulnerable group, have been significantly affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the stressors that continue to impact LSEs in Germany and their access to support during the pandemic.

An interpretivist, qualitative research approach was employed. The authors utilised a multi-level data collection strategy that combined interview and questionnaire data from 16 expatriates and 16 social actors. The data were analysed using a directed content analysis method.

LSEs experienced high levels of stress that were further exacerbated by the introduction of COVID-19 control measures that were intended to slow the spread of the virus. LSEs are particularly vulnerable due to their overrepresentation in precarious professions and the associated job insecurity. Critically, external support from employers and social actors is generally lacking, leaving LSEs to rely on their own personal coping strategies in difficult times.

The earlier Expatriate crisis Framework highlights the importance of external support for expatriates. However, this framework does not sufficiently account for personal coping strategies that are particularly important for individuals that cannot access such external support (e.g. LSEs). Herein, the authors offer a revised framework that is more applicable to LSEs.

Current practices are problematic, necessitating policy changes at both governmental and organisational levels.

This study provides unique insights into the ways in which the pandemic has affected the already precarious position of LSEs and identifies the importance of personal coping strategies in the absence of external sources of support.

Purpose: This chapter aims to identify and evaluate the various components of business model disclosures in an Integrated Report and ascertain how the notion of business model is perceived among practitioners.

Need for the Study: According to previous research, the International Integrated Reporting Council’s (IIRC) objective of improving corporate reporting by encouraging organisations to disclose their business model has not found the desired recognition. Therefore, the study elaborates on the various components of business model reporting and their implications on corporate reporting in general.

Methodology: A review of literature was conducted to identify and analyse research based on business models and their disclosures in integrated reporting. A narrative review was undertaken for selected literature.

Findings: The findings suggest that most large-sized organisations use integrated reporting for impression management and are not inclined to disclose too much about their business models for fear of competition. There is still a lack of clear understanding of what a business model should entail.

Practical Implication: This study adds to the research on business model disclosures in integrated reporting. Voluntary disclosure and a better understanding of such disclosures will prepare organisations of all sizes and industries for an event when Integrated Reporting becomes statutory.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a strategic decision for achieving competitive advantage by multinational enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of institutional determinants of FDI using data from 24 emerging markets including China, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia and Pakistan.

In order to identify factors that attract FDI in emerging markets, this study has used data from sources such as the World Bank, Index of Economic Freedom and UNCTAD.

The findings of this research indicate that infrastructure quality, trade cost measured by tariff and non-tariff barriers, institutional quality measured by effective rule of law, political stability, regulatory quality and control on corruption are significant determinants of FDI in emerging markets.

This is the first study to analyze the sectoral institutional determinants of Inward FDI in the important emerging economies, to the best of authors’ knowledge.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.

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