National Power And International Geostructure

This book addresses three innovative aspects for the study of International Relations: first, proposes a novel theoretical-methodological framework for the study of national power, and based on this, a quantitative analysis technique is formulated that allows us to study the evolution of state power over almost five decades. Second, states play a fundamental role in the international system, which is why the study of their roles in the world cannot be limited to old, insufficient, and contradictory categorizations. Having new categories of states becomes an even more urgent task in the rapidly changing international order than it is today. This book proposes nine categories of powers and states that cover all the countries that currently exist. Third, the international geostructure of world power is proposed, which represents a new theoretical notion that helps to explain how the international insertion of states and their possibilities of action are conditioned by the unequal distribution of national power and by their structural positioning in the international system. This book is for all students of International Relations, academics, and people who want to understand national power as a fundamental factor in relations between countries.

What is the role of regional organizations in maintaining security across different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)? How did COVID-19 impact states in the region and what types of collective action have helped respond to public health emergencies? In what way is LAC environmental policy formulated and what broader lessons can be drawn for the Global South? This edited volume addresses these questions, revealing the reasons behind the successes and failures of LAC regional responses to collective challenges as well as their limitations and potential for future improvement. It contains 11 chapters, authored by 16 authoritative academics who employ methodologically-diverse perspectives. Each chapter provides insights that would be of interest to scholars, students and policy-makers working on the regional governance of LAC and the Global South. The contributions are thematically organised in three parts and produced with pragmatic considerations in mind, discussing existing and potential real solutions to pressing issues.

Power in the Global Information Age collects together many of Joseph S. Nye Jr's key writings for the first time as well as some important new material.

Energy geostructures are a tremendous innovation in the field of foundation engineering and are spreading rapidly throughout the world. They allow the procurement of a renewable and clean source of energy which can be used for heating and cooling buildings. This technology couples the structural role of geostructures with the energy supply, using the principle of shallow geothermal energy. This book provides a sound basis in the challenging area of energy geostructures. The objective of this book is to supply the reader with an exhaustive overview on the most up-to-date and available knowledge of these structures. It details the procedures that are currently being applied in the regions where geostructures are being implemented. The book is divided into three parts, each of which is divided into chapters, and is written by the brightest engineers and researchers in the field. After an introduction to the technology as well as to the main effects induced by temperature variation on the geostructures, Part 1 is devoted to the physical modeling of energy geostructures, including in situ investigations, centrifuge testing and small-scale experiments. The second part includes numerical simulation results of energy piles, tunnels and bridge foundations, while also considering the implementation of such structures in different climatic areas. The final part concerns practical engineering aspects, from the delivery of energy geostructures through the development of design tools for their geotechnical dimensioning. The book concludes with a real case study. Contents Part 1. Physical Modeling of Energy Piles at Different Scales 1. Soil Response under Thermomechanical Conditions Imposed by Energy Geostructures, Alice Di Donna and Lyesse Laloui. 2. Full-scale In Situ Testing of Energy Piles, Thomas Mimouni and Lyesse Laloui. 3. Observed Response of Energy Geostructures, Peter Bourne-Webb. 4. Behavior of Heat-Exchanger Piles from Physical Modeling, Anh Minh Tang, Jean-Michel Pereira, Ghazi Hassen and Neda Yavari. 5. Centrifuge Modeling of Energy Foundations, John S. McCartney. Part 2. Numerical Modeling of Energy Geostructures 6. Alternative Uses of Heat-Exchanger Geostructures, Fabrice Dupray, Thomas Mimouni and Lyesse Laloui. 7. Numerical Analysis of the Bearing Capacity of Thermoactive Piles Under Cyclic Axial Loading, Maria E. Suryatriyastuti, Hussein Mroueh , Sébastien Burlon and Julien Habert. 8. Energy Geostructures in Unsaturated Soils, John S. McCartney, Charles J.R. Coccia , Nahed Alsherif and Melissa A. Stewart. 9. Energy Geostructures in Cooling-Dominated Climates, Ghassan Anis Akrouch, Marcelo Sanchez and Jean-Louis Briaud. 10. Impact of Transient Heat Diffusion of a Thermoactive Pile on the Surrounding Soil, Maria E. Suryatriyastuti, Hussein Mroueh and Sébastien Burlon. 11. Ground-Source Bridge Deck De-icing Systems Using Energy Foundations, C. Guney Olgun and G. Allen Bowers. Part 3. Engineering Practice 12. Delivery of Energy Geostructures, Peter Bourne-Webb with contributions from Tony Amis, Jean-Baptiste Bernard, Wolf Friedemann, Nico Von Der Hude, Norbert Pralle, Veli Matti Uotinen and Bernhard Widerin. 13. Thermo-Pile: A Numerical Tool for the Design of Energy Piles, Thomas Mimouni and Lyesse Laloui. 14. A Case Study: The Dock Midfield of Zurich Airport, Daniel Pahud. About the Authors Lyesse Laloui is Chair Professor, Head of the Soil Mechanics, Geoengineering and CO2 storage Laboratory and Director of Civil Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Alice Di Donna is a researcher at the Laboratory of Soil Mechanics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The disciplines of science and engineering rely heavily on the forecasting of prospective constraints for concepts that have not yet been proven to exist, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence. Obtaining quality solutions to the problems presented becomes increasingly difficult due to the number of steps required to sift through the possible solutions, and the ability to solve such problems relies on the recognition of patterns and the categorization of data into specific sets. Predictive modeling and optimization methods allow unknown events to be categorized based on statistics and classifiers input by researchers. The Handbook of Research on Predictive Modeling and Optimization Methods in Science and Engineering is a critical reference source that provides comprehensive information on the use of optimization techniques and predictive models to solve real-life engineering and science problems. Through discussions on techniques such as robust design optimization, water level prediction, and the prediction of human actions, this publication identifies solutions to developing problems and new solutions for existing problems, making this publication a valuable resource for engineers, researchers, graduate students, and other professionals.

This book showcases the best new international relations research on hierarchy and moves the discipline forward in this new direction.