Böcker utgivna av Springer Nature Singapore

This book covers all the contents from theoretical basis to clinical practice comprehensively, which are under the guideline of classic inheritance and the essence of TCM. TCM is a comprehensive discipline. In this book, philosophical foundation, physiology and pathology, etiology, differentiation and diagnostics, and health-preservation of TCM, Chinese materia medica and prescription, acupuncture and moxibustion, characteristic therapies, and common clinical disease are systematically arranged.Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are about Chinese materia medica and prescription, presenting the tropism of natures, flavors and meridians, as well as commonly used prescription. Acupuncture and moxibustion therapy is the topic of Chapter 3, meridians and acupoints and acupuncture techniques are explained systematically and thoroughly. Chapter 4 is about some particular therapies such as massage, dietary therapy, qigong and Tai Chi. Chapter 5 mainly present clinical TCM therapies of common disease. And the last is appendix which provides supplementary materials as references.

This book examines the impact of population growth and urbanization on the household registration system in China. Drawing on experiences from other countries in population management, it proposes a general framework for reforming the household registration system in China. This framework is based on the principle of "equity of rights and obligations" and includes a points system to guide implementation. The book also analyzes the economic implications of optimizing restrictions on urban household registration and the fiscal reforms associated with the reform. The practicality of the points system program is further verified.

This book critically discusses the historical backgrounds and new developments of the theories of games, decisions, and markets, with many possible applications to social and economic problems. Consisting of three connected parts, the book sheds new light on the role of merchants in the market economy under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Part I begins with the question of why and how John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern did joint work in game theory, namely, the theoretical study of strategic interactions among several decision makers. The duel between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty in Conan Doyle's famous detective story is recalled as a great inducement to Neumann and Morgenstern to invent zero-sum, two-person games. More general non-zero-sum games and associated Nash solutions are then discussed in relation to the generation-gap problem between a young couple and an elderly couple. Part II explores a set of very fundamental problems of individual decision making. Thetwo famous axioms of revealed preference ¿ Samuelson's weak axiom and Houthakker's axiom ¿ are skillfully connected and empirically reevaluated by the introduction of certain regularity conditions. The revealed preference approach is then extended from the original commodity space to the dual price space. Such dual treatment in microeconomics is further applied to the theory of cost and production, with the decomposition of the total factor price effect into the substitution and scale effects. Part III turns the reader¿s attention to the interdependence of several markets. The almost forgotten Hicks¿Morishima approach is newly revived with graphical illustrations of traded goods. The well-known Jones¿Kemp approach to international trade is boldly expanded into the world of risk and uncertainty. Some striking results in comparative static analysis are derived, with favorable implications for the real world.

This book summarizes many of the recent advances in the design and application of thin-walled composite protective structures. The past few decades have seen outstanding advances in the use of composite materials in structural applications. Composites have revolutionized traditional design concepts and made possible an unparalleled range of new and exciting possibilities as viable materials for construction. This book presents an extensive survey on recent improvements in the research and development of composites and biocomposites that are used to make structures in various applications. This book deals with design, research and development studies, experimental investigations, theoretical analysis, and fabrication techniques relevant to the application of composites in load-bearing components for assemblies, ranging from individual components such as plates and shells to complete composite structures. This book also focuses the recent advances in biocomposite materials from renewableresources and introduces a potential application of this material. The content is this book benefits the academics, researchers, scientists, engineers, and students in the field of epoxy blends for application as lightweight advanced composite structures.

The book gives an insight into the theoretical background, conceptual understanding, latest developments, and applications in the field of pharmaceuticals in general and drug design, discovery, biosystems, and biomedical and drug delivery technologies in particular. Knowledge is drawn from various disciplines such as Chemistry, Biology, Material Science and Engineering, Statistics, Biomedicine, and Genetics . A host of applications like bio-imaging, novel biological agents, testing, characterization and validation of drugs, computer-based models in drug design, and application of statistical tools in data analysis, design, and development of drug delivery systems, and ecosystems are dealt with in detail. The said book undoubtedly confirms the requirements of the postgraduate students, research scholars, academicians, scientists, and researchers from the academia, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical engineering domain. The book covers a conceptual understanding of the exploration of drugs in tandem with intended uses, sound ecosystem development, and carriers for drug and supplement delivery.

This book focuses on port collaborative operation, an important emerging topic in the port and shipping industry, and deeply analyzes the high-quality collaborative mechanism of port groups from the perspectives of port groups¿ supply chain cooperative operation mechanism, port groups¿ logistics network optimization, port groups¿ collaborative scheduling optimization of resources, etc. Based on the combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis on Chinäs cases, this book makes comprehensive use of game theory, network optimization, multi-dimensional resource cooperative scheduling optimization, and other theories and methods, and promotes the update and innovation of current research methods in related research areas. The feasible policy insights for optimization of port groups¿ collaborative operation are suggested at the end of book, which will help with the improvement of economic, environmental, and social benefits of port groups, and promote the port industry¿s innovation, upgrading, and transformation.The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content. The present version has been revised technically and linguistically by the authors in collaboration with a professional translator.

This book examines how the early twentieth-century Irish Renaissance (Irish Literary Revival) inspired the Chinese Renaissance (the May Fourth generation) of writers to make agentic choices and translingual exchanges. It sheds a new light on ¿May Fourth¿ and on the Irish Renaissance by establishing that the Irish Literary Revival (1900-1922) provided an alternative decolonizing model of resistance for the Chinese Renaissance to that provided by the western imperial center. The book also argues that Chinese May Fourth intellectuals translated Irish Revivalist plays by W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, Seán O¿Casey and Synge and that Chinese peasants performed these plays throughout China during the 1920s and 1930s as a form of anti-imperial resistance. Yet this literary exchange was not simply going one way, since Yeats, Lady Gregory, Synge and O¿Casey were also influenced by Chinese developments in literature and politics. Therefore this was a reciprocal encounter based on the circulation ofAnti-colonial ideals and mutual transformation.

This book offers an introduction to the topic of anti-fraud in digital finance based on the behavioral modeling paradigm. It deals with the insufficiency and low-quality of behavior data and presents a unified perspective to combine technology, scenarios, and data for better anti-fraud performance. The goal of this book is to provide a non-intrusive second security line, rather than replaced with existing solutions, for anti-fraud in digital finance. By studying common weaknesses in typical fields, it can support the behavioral modeling paradigm across a wide array of applications. It covers the latest theoretical and experimental progress and offers important information that is just as relevant for researchers as for professionals.

This book focuses on the modern development of techniques for analysis of the hierarchical structure of polymers from both the experimental and theoretical points of view. Starting with molecular and crystal symmetry, the author explains fundamental and professional methods, such as wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering, neutron diffraction, electron diffraction, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, NMR, and synchrotron radiation. In addition, the author explains another indispensable method, computer simulation, which includes energy calculation, lattice dynamics, molecular dynamics, and quantum chemistry. These various methods are described in a systematic way so that the reader can utilize them for the purpose of 3D structure analysis of polymers. Not only such analytical knowledge but also the preparation techniques of samples necessary for these measurements and the methods of analyzing the experimental data collected in this way are given in a concrete manner. Examples are offered to help master the principles of how to clarify the static structures and dynamic structural changes in the phase transitions of various kinds of crystalline polymers that are revealed by these novel methods. The examples are quite useful for readers who want to apply these techniques in finding practical solutions to concrete problems that are encountered in their own research. The principal audience for this book is made up of young professional researchers including those working in industry, but it can also be used as an excellent reference for graduate-level students.This book is the first volume of a two-volume set with Structural Science of Crystalline Polymers: A Microscopically Viewed Structure-Property Relationship being the second volume by the same author.

¿This monograph aims to explore the mind-narrative nexus by conducting a cognitive narratological study on the mad minds in fictional narratives. Set on the interface of narrative and cognitive science (cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuropsychology), it adopts an indirect empirical approach to the fictional representation of madness. The American writer Ken Kesey¿s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoös Nest is chosen as the primary text of investigation, whereas due consideration is also given to other madness narratives when necessary. This book not only demonstrates the value of reading and rereading literary classics in the modern era, but also sheds light on the studies of cognitive narratology, cognitive poetics, madness narratives and literature in general.

This book collates a wide spectrum of topics relevant to contemporary research achievement in sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources and conservation of plant genetic diversity within the framework of different crop systems. It introduces the status of crop genetic diversity and provides prospects for conservation of crop genetic diversity for sustainable agriculture. Plant genetic diversity is crucial for food security and agro-ecosystem maintenance paving ways to achieve sustainable agriculture development. This necessitates, consciously and judiciously, the conservation of all existing plant genetic resources for sustainable use in a variety of applications for human welfare. The wild and traditional landraces have generated an increased interest as a repertoire of valuable traits for breeding and improvement of cultivated germplasm. Internationally, concerted actions and policies toward for the conservation and management of plant genetic diversity are mounting, fromthe organization levels to national policies as deemed appropriate for the sustainable development goals. This needs an understanding of genetic diversity of different crops, ecological drivers and the structural changes within genetic diversity due to climate change. It is also equally important to evolve knowledge on what, how and where to conserve the existing plant genetic resources for present and future use. Assessment of the genetic diversity presents in a wild and traditional agro-ecosystem is another step towards effective utilization. In the past few years, advanced breeding tools have been developed which have offered great promise for efficient modification of targeted traits. This book consolidates current knowledge in the above core areas of plant genetic diversity and conservation. It is an essential reference for professionals, researchers, policy makers and commercial entrepreneurs concerned with plant genetic diversity and breeding to achieve enhanced agricultural productivity and sustainability of food resources to ensure food security. The book is also invaluable for graduate students involved in agriculture research.

This book introduces characterizations of hyperordered structures using latest quantum beam technologies, the advanced theoretical methods for understanding the roles of the structures, and the state-of-the-arts materials containing the structures. In this book, the authors focus on the importance of defect complexes to improve functionality of crystals and that of orders of network structures to improve functionality of glass materials. These features can be regarded as interphases between perfect crystals and perfect amorphous, and they are the key factor for the evolution of materials science to a new dimension. The authors call such interphases "hyperordered structures" in this book. This is the first book that comprehensively summarizes glass science, defect science, and quantum beam science. It is valuable not only for active researchers in industry and academia but also graduate students.

The book discusses the commercial applications of biochar and its composites. Biochar prepared from pyrolysis of waste biomass is gaining widespread attention in environmental remediation due to its multifaceted benefits. This book explores these possible applications of biochar in water treatment and removal of pollutants from the contaminated sites. It also emphasizes the role of biochar engineering through different physical and chemical methods to enhance structural and physicochemical properties of biochar such as surface area, porosity and surface functional group. It also focuses on the diverse source of biomass that can be used for biochar production, different methodologies for biochar preparation and biochar engineering for improvement of its properties. Finally, it describes all the applications of biochar that can contribute to environmental remediation and sustainability. Given the contents, the book will be useful for students, researchers and professionals in the area ofenvironmental chemistry and material science.

This book shares cutting-edge evidence on Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) treatment, delivering facts on breast cancer, gynecologic oncology, and basic research to contribute to clinicians' practices. Each chapter presents the latest clinical techniques, basic experimental results, and the best-chosen research findings. The book is based on the works presented at the Japanese Organization of Hereditary Brest and Ovarian Cancer (JOHBOC) and a special chapter delivers a study based on the extensive data from the Japanese HBOC patients registered in the society's database, presenting novel evidence for further advancement in the field. The practice for HBOC has been rapidly increasing due to the clinical development of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors and the spread of companion diagnostics. In addition, the insurance coverage of a part of HBOC treatment raised social awareness in Japan, and the book illustrates not only clinical efforts but also issues related to the social system and the efforts of the association of related organizations. Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer ¿ Annual meeting of JOHBOC will be of interest to breast surgeons, obstetricians and gynecologists, pancreatic cancer surgeons, and urologists engaged in HBOC treatment through the implementation of companion diagnostics for PARP inhibitors administration. Also, physicians occupied in genetic medicine who perform genetic testing and medical staff practicing HBOC will find this book insightful. It is also for HBOC patients and their families, medical administrators in the social system of HBOC practice. Editors and authors hope to contribute to the equalization and widespread of HBOC practice and serve as a foundation for future advances in the disease's treatment and medical practice.

This book summarizes the new economic phenomenon and problems of rural families in China from the perspective of relative poverty. Based on the data of China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS), a nationwide on-site survey conducted door to door by Zhejiang University, this book focuses on the theme of relative poverty and provides a systematic analysis of the economic activities of rural households in three main aspects: agricultural production and management, land utility and transfer, and migration of rural households and citizenization of migrant workers. Besides, this book also explores focuses on the performance of relatively poor households in terms of agricultural production, land transfer, non-farm employment and social security, and provides a basic mapping of the situation of relatively poor households in rural China, so as to provide a scientific basis for improving the living standards of rural households, establishing a long-term mechanism for poverty alleviation.CRHPS not only includes individual-level and household-level data, but also corresponding community-level data, which makes it possible to conduct a comprehensive study of the rural households.Researchers of Chinese rural problems and government officials (especially the department of agriculture officials) will find this book especially interesting.

This is the first socio-legal multi-jurisdictional study on hazing (ragging). This book considers four countries: the USA, India, Sri Lanka, and Australia. It states the legal position, identifies lacunas in law, and proposes possible legal solutions. Unfortunately, laws, regulations, and policies have failed to stamp out hazing from university campuses and residential colleges.Hazing has spiralled out of control in a number of countries. It has descended into a cruel, barbaric, and inhuman practice. The number of students subjected to hazing and sexual abuse is alarming. According to a 2022 survey, more than half (53%) of American students who were part of a fraternity or sorority experienced hazing. Students are murdered, harmed, abused, and suffer long-term trauma. The prevention of hazing is one of the most important responsibilities of 21st century universities.The theme of the book is that universities are in the best position to protect students from hazingand must play a vital role. As a sociological study, the book also considers why hazing occurs and what can be done to prevent it. Without engaging with the underlying causes, legal punitive measures continue to address the symptom rather than the cause. The book, therefore, explores how a more innovative approach to regulation can help tackle the cause.The book will be of interest to policy makers, regulators at universities, education and legal academics, and personal injury lawyers.

This textbook covers all general areas of knowledge required for a trainee, generalist medical administrator, and doctor undergoing training to be a medical administrator specialist. Chapters cover all the key topics on medical administration and leadership. Some of the key topics included are: health systems and policy, health law, private health and insurance, health disaster planning, population and public health, health information and technology, and health economics and financial management.Medical practitioners of today are part of huge changes in medical practice as continuing developments are happening in biomedical sciences and clinical practice with new health priorities, rising expectations among patients and the public, and changing societal attitudes. Consequently, basic knowledge and skills, while fundamentally important are not enough today on their own and doctors thus need to demonstrate leadership combined with sound management skills to drive the necessary changes required to meet the challenges head. This book serve as an invaluable resource for a wide spectrum of physicians including specialists, clinician managers and other health professionals, as well as non-clinical managers working in health. This is a gateway text for trainees in medical administration, specialist medical administrators, aspiring medical managers, health service managers, and heads of service and departments in various medical specialties.

This book aims to answer the key question facing China in building an innovative country: What kind of indigenous innovation path with Chinese characteristics should be taken? This book conducts an in-depth analysis of the indigenous innovation path with Chinese characteristics from two dimensions: path evolution and level (enterprise, industry, region, and country). It puts forward the leading path of innovation with Chinese characteristics and also offers policy suggestions.

The book includes new research results of scholars from the Third International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Technologies (ICAIT 2022) organized by IRNet International Academic Communication Center, held during October 28¿30, 2022. The book covers research work from active researchers who are working on collaboration of industry and various intelligent technologies such as intelligent technologies applicable/applied to manufacturing and distribution of industrial products, factory automation, and business. The topics included are all computational intelligence techniques applicable/applied to industry, intelligent techniques in data science applicable/applied to business and management, intelligent network systems applicable/applied to industrial production, intelligent technologies applicable to smart agriculture, and intelligent information systems for agriculture.

This book brings together different intercultural philosophical points of view discussing the philosophical impact of what we call the ¿appropriated¿ religions of Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is home to most of the world religions. Buddhism is predominantly practiced in Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Laos, and Cambodia; Islam in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei; and Christianity in the Philippines and Timor-Leste. Historical data show, however, that these world religions are imported cultural products, and have been reimagined, assimilated, and appropriated by the culture that embraced them. In this collection, we see that these ¿appropriated¿ religions imply a culturally nuanced worldview, which, in turn, impacts how the traditional problems in the philosophy of religion are framed and answered¿in particular, questions about the existence and nature of the divine, the problem of evil, and the nature of life after death. Themes explored include: religious belief and digital transition, Therav¿da Buddhist philosophy, religious diversity, Buddhism and omniscience, indigenous belief systems, divine apology and unmerited human suffering, dialetheism and the problem of evil, Buddhist philosophy and Spinozäs views on death and immortality, belief and everyday realities in the Philippines, comparative religious philosophy, gendering the Hindu concept of dharma, Christian devotion and salvation during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines through the writings of Jose Rizal, indigenous Islamic practices in the Philippines, practiced traditions in contemporary Filipino celebrations of Christmas, role of place-aspects in the appropriation of religions in Southeast Asia, and fate and divine omniscience. This book is of interest to scholars and researchers of philosophy of religion, sociology of religion, anthropology of religion, cultural studies, comparative religion, religious studies, and Asian studies.

This book bridges the disciplines of micro-economics and social policy in general, and, in particular, behavioral/explanatory social policy and public choice theory, plus Leibenstein¿s X-efficiency theory. Being trained as an economist and social policy scientist, the author leaps out of the comfort zone of most social policy scientists and experts, right into the exciting world of micro-economic theory, and then extending and connecting those theories to explain major social, political and economic conundrums of our time. In doing so, the book offers a new set of theoretical¿and practical¿explanations derived from the general proposition of micro-economic theory, of how government officers, policymakers, administrators and the people themselves alike are, by and large, motivated in their daily as well as strategic (long-term) decision-making. Using a meta-analytical approach (based on a number of grand theories), this book also explains systemic factors behind human behavior and the thereof resulting shortcomings in lifetime outcomes (health, wealth and happiness of a person) and at the same time societal, policy-making, and economic outcomes on societal level, and in global comparison.The outcomes thereof can be measured exactly (and hence validated), especially through the method of empirical comparative social science/economic research. Here, the author also (but not only) introduces the new method of using Aspalter's Standardized Relative Performance (SRP) Index in measuring exactly complex, aggregate performances of multiple governments, and that at the same time also across the entire world.

This book gathers selected papers presented at the Inventive Communication and Computational Technologies conference (ICICCT 2021), held on 25-26 June 2021 at Gnanamani College of Technology, Tamil Nadu, India. The book covers the topics such as Internet of things, social networks, mobile communications, big data analytics, bio-inspired computing, and cloud computing. The book is exclusively intended for academics and practitioners working to resolve practical issues in this area. 

This book helps readers discover the forefront of personalized medicine on clinical metabolomics and its applications in genetic diseases. This comprehensive guide offers a functional relationship map between cell components and genetic variations in various diseases, providing insights that can be applied to personalized medicine. The book covers the latest developments in metabolomics for health, with practical guidance for clinical experts looking to advance their laboratory techniques and career. The metabolomics profile is a powerful tool that has revolutionized our understanding of the relationship between genetics, clinical readouts, and disease outcomes. By integrating metabolomics with genomics and clinical phenotypes, the authors have developed diagnostic and prediction models that have vastly improved patient outcomes and deepened the understanding of disease mechanisms. This model has been successfully applied in various conditions, including inborn errors of metabolism, primary immunodeficiency, and endocrine disorders. However, integrating metabolomics with other omics datasets and clinical phenotypes requires careful study design, analytical tools, and data analysis and interpretation. This groundbreaking new book provides essential guidance for researchers, students, and professionals looking to leverage metabolomics in their own work, including biochemical and clinical geneticists, pharmacogenomics and pharmacometabolomics experts, pharmaceutics and diagnostic researchers, medical scientists, clinical dietitians, metabolic engineers, clinical chemists, and personalized medicine specialists.

This book provides valuable knowledge, useful fuzzy Petri nets (FPN) models, and practical examples that can be considered by mangers in supporting knowledge management of organizations to increase and sustain their competitive advantages. In this book, the authors proposed various improved FPN models to enhance the modeling power and applicability of FPNs in knowledge representation and reasoning. This book is useful for practitioners and researchers working in the fields of knowledge management, operation management, information science, industrial engineering, and management science. It can also be used as a textbook for postgraduate and senior undergraduate students.

The book emphasizes the open innovation which mainly consists of innovation inside-out and outside-in needed by the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). This open innovation relates to the performance and survival of SMEs in a global competition. The SMEs must learn, have, and do innovative initiatives and actions. This book elaborates all related concepts and innovative practices toward better performances, which includes the impacts of globalization and dynamic markets with a special focus on sustainability. Every country has different perspectives considering open innovation as a solution to the businesses. Thus, readers can see the best practices to be adopted or adapted in their business environment.The book includes the solution for the SMEs in terms of creating values. Open innovation is known as a window for creating values. Open innovation can be seen by SMEs as a possible way to adapt and thrive in an increasingly competitive and volatile environment, including to overcome their limitations. By implementing open innovation, SMEs will compensate for their lack of internal resources and competencies through external resources to develop new technologies and take advantage of market opportunities.This book is dedicated to the entrepreneurs, businessmen, practitioners, policymakers, academician, and students in developing strategies and having future plan related to innovation which is crucial for creating values in business operations. A benchmarking through innovation is important to improve among businesses to achieve effectiveness and efficiency.

The book emphasizes the digitalization process in halal management of products and industries, which relate to the comparisons and cases in many countries viewed from an Islamic perspective. It needs a new view of using information technology to achieve wider coverage of promoting halal products as well as to develop the halal industries. A global perspective that consists of experiences from Muslim majority and minority countries will be presented in this book. This topic is also associated with the concepts on Islamic business and management. Islamic business not only focuses on finance/banking, but beyond that Islam teaches all people to do Shariah-compliant transactions or business. The book gives solutions to halal industry through digitalization. Islam has many solutions to be offered, and thus, it is important to reveal and discuss the Islamic way of managing business, including halal management. The book also discusses the halal products and its certifications. This book is intended for stakeholders of different industries, from environmental to food, in the need of digital tools and IT infrastructure.

This book presents a critical and reflective view of fundamental theoretical orientations, thematic domains, and current debates in Indian sociology. It covers the growth of sociology as an academic and pedagogical subject, with four main parts. Part I discusses important theoretical orientations in Indian sociology, including Indological and civilizational approaches, as well as the contributions of an eminent sociologist and pioneer in Indian sociology, Professor Yogendra Singh, concerning the sociology of knowledge, liberal democracy, and the relevance of his concept of Islamization in the study of Indian society. Part II examines substantive areas of study such as caste, class, and tribe. Part III reflects on specific topics of current concern in Indian sociology, such as emerging vistas and futures, globalization, and rethinking area studies for planetary conversations. This book is highly relevant for postgraduate students and researchers in sociology, social anthropology, andsocial sciences.

This book has unique features that set it apart from conventional books on the prevention of system failures in that it provides a method that views human activities from a meta-methodological perspective based upon an inter-disciplinary understanding of human activities. With these characteristics, the book also proposes a common methodological basis to apply to various problems surrounding society today such as an aging social infrastructure; the safety of food, medicine, and public transportation; and the creation of sustainable electricity and cybersecurity. Furthermore, since the failure of human activities is expressed in a three-dimensional space and the topological metrics are implemented, the failure trajectories can be quantitatively monitored in time series to take effective preventive measures. Considering the implementation of the topological metrics, the causes of each failure are classified into two dimensions of the degree of coupling between system elements and theinteraction between the target system and the external environment. Owing to the nature of the introduction of topological metrics, all individual and diverse systems can share general topological metrics. Consequently, understanding various failures over cross-industries is possible with the use of common meta-systemic language and mutual learning between different industries, and the solution of social problems can be effectively achieved. A system of system failures (SOSF) proposed and confirmed the effectiveness of this meta-methodology for information and communication technologies (ICT) systems and the SOSF is extended to human activity systems (SOHAS: system of human activity systems) as a whole. Therefore, the SOHAS becomes an academic foundation for theoretical research on meta-methodology, and it has an impact on practitioners to prevent system failures by accumulating knowledge of failures and learning from other industries.

Sustainability is part of every aspect of our life, with climate concerns shaping the future. Thus, it is important to understand how metaverse will affect sustainability, as it is opening both challenges and opportunities for environmental sustainability. On the one side, replacing real-world interactions with 3D virtual and exchanging physical goods with digital ones are significantly less resource-intensive and more carbon-efficient. Therefore, this holds the promise of reducing the environmental pollution. On the other side, metaverse increases e-waste and energy consumption. Given this controversial impact, it is crucial for businesses and researchers to understand how to ensure that the metaverse develops sustainably. This book is popping out several questions: Do businesses understand the metaverse concept and perceive the benefits and advantages of implementing such technologies? How will the metaverse change business? Will metaverse change ourworking place and skills needed? How can companies get ahead of the change and mold it to their advantage? Will businesses use metaverse? Can metaverse create a more sustainable word? How can we make the metaverse better than what we have now? Is it going to affect environmental sustainability? Will it cause more severe climate problems, or would it be the solution? How can metaverse impact the achievements of SDGs?