Old and New Perspectives on Mortality Forecasting

This open access book describes methods of mortality forecasting and discusses possible improvements. It contains a selection of previously unpublished and published papers, which together provide a state-of-the-art overview of statistical approaches as well as behavioural and biological perspectives. The different parts of the book provide discussions of current practice, probabilistic forecasting, the linearity in the increase of life expectancy, causes of death, and the role of cohort factors. The key question in the book is whether it is possible to project future mortality accurately, and if so, what is the best approach. This makes the book a valuable read to demographers, pension planners, actuaries, and all those interested and/or working in modelling and forecasting mortality

Study on open science: The general state of the play in Open Science principles and practices at European life sciences institutes

Nowadays, open science is a hot topic on all levels and also is one of the priorities of the European Research Area. Components that are commonly associated with open science are open access, open data, open methodology, open source, open peer review, open science policies and citizen science. Open science may a great potential to connect and influence the practices of researchers, funding institutions and the public. In this paper, we evaluate the level of openness based on public surveys at four European life sciences institute

Information knowledge and technology for Development in Africa

Information, knowledge, and technology occupy significant space in the information and knowledge society and ongoing debates on development such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda 2030 and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Disruptive technologies and cyber-physical systems, obscuring the lines between the physical, digital and biological, escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic, present a ‘new normal’ that profoundly affects the nature and magnitude of responses required to sustain and benefit from the new developments. Africa, known for late adoption of new technologies and innovations, is leapfrogging development stages in several enviable ways. This book, Information knowledge and technology for development in Africa’, written by eminent African scholars, comprises chapters that satisfactorily address information access, artificial intelligence, information ethics, e-learning, library and information science education (LISE) in the 4IR, data literacy and e-scholarship, and knowledge management, which are increasingly essential for information access, services, and LISE in Africa. We expect the book to support research, teaching and learning in African higher education and worldwide for comparative scholarship

Information knowledge and technology for Development in Africa

Information, knowledge, and technology occupy significant space in the information and knowledge society and ongoing debates on development such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda 2030 and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Disruptive technologies and cyber-physical systems, obscuring the lines between the physical, digital and biological, escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic, present a ‘new normal’ that profoundly affects the nature and magnitude of responses required to sustain and benefit from the new developments. Africa, known for late adoption of new technologies and innovations, is leapfrogging development stages in several enviable ways. This book, Information knowledge and technology for development in Africa’, written by eminent African scholars, comprises chapters that satisfactorily address information access, artificial intelligence, information ethics, e-learning, library and information science education (LISE) in the 4IR, data literacy and e-scholarship, and knowledge management, which are increasingly essential for information access, services, and LISE in Africa. We expect the book to support research, teaching and learning in African higher education and worldwide for comparative scholarship

Perspectives on Platform Regulation

Online social media platforms set the agenda and structure for public and private communication in our age. Their influence and power is beyond any traditional media empire. Their legal regulation is a pressing challenge, but currently, they are mainly governed by economic pressures. There are now diverse legislative attempts to regulate platforms in various parts of the world. The European Union and most of its Member States have historically relied on soft law, but are now looking to introduce regulation. Leading researchers of the field analyse the hard questions and the responses given by various states. The book offers legislative solutions from various parts of the world, compares regulatory concepts and assesses the use of algorithms. With contributions by Izumi Aizu, Enni Ala-Mikkula, Alexandre Alaphilippe, Natalie Alkiviadou, Alejandro Aréchiga Morales, Siwal Ashwini, Judit Bayer, Jörg Becker, Konrad Bleyer-Simon, Elda Brogi, Shun-Ling Chen, Poren Chiang, Michael Geist, Gerard Goggin, Giovanni De Gregorio, Sarah Hartmann, Maximilian Hemmert-Halswick, Maria Carolina Herrera Rubio, Bernd Holznagel, Peng Hwa Ang, Richard Janda, Jan Christopher Kalbhenn, Juliya Kharitonova, Kristiina Koivukari, Päivi Korpisaari, Jacob Mchangama, Trisha Meyer, Kilian Müller, Larissa Sannikova, Mårten Schultz, Nicole Stremlau, Maria L. Vazquez, Kuo-Wei Wu and Lorna Woods

On reconstructing Proto-Bantu grammar

This book is about reconstructing the grammar of Proto-Bantu, the ancestral language at the origin of current-day Bantu languages. While Bantu is a low-level branch of Niger-Congo, the world’s biggest phylum, it is still Africa’s biggest language family. This edited volume attempts to retrieve the phonology, morphology and syntax used by the earliest Bantu speakers to communicate with each other, discusses methods to do so, and looks at issues raised by these academic endeavours. It is a collective effort involving a fine mix of junior and senior scholars representing several generations of expert historical-comparative Bantu research. It is the first systematic approach to Proto-Bantu grammar since Meeussen’s Bantu Grammatical Reconstructions (1967). Based on new bodies of evidence from the last five decades, most notably from northwestern Bantu languages, this book considerably transforms our understanding of Proto-Bantu grammar and offers new methodological approaches to Bantu grammatical reconstruction

Perspectives on Platform Regulation

Online social media platforms set the agenda and structure for public and private communication in our age. Their influence and power is beyond any traditional media empire. Their legal regulation is a pressing challenge, but currently, they are mainly governed by economic pressures. There are now diverse legislative attempts to regulate platforms in various parts of the world. The European Union and most of its Member States have historically relied on soft law, but are now looking to introduce regulation. Leading researchers of the field analyse the hard questions and the responses given by various states. The book offers legislative solutions from various parts of the world, compares regulatory concepts and assesses the use of algorithms. With contributions by Izumi Aizu, Enni Ala-Mikkula, Alexandre Alaphilippe, Natalie Alkiviadou, Alejandro Aréchiga Morales, Siwal Ashwini, Judit Bayer, Jörg Becker, Konrad Bleyer-Simon, Elda Brogi, Shun-Ling Chen, Poren Chiang, Michael Geist, Gerard Goggin, Giovanni De Gregorio, Sarah Hartmann, Maximilian Hemmert-Halswick, Maria Carolina Herrera Rubio, Bernd Holznagel, Peng Hwa Ang, Richard Janda, Jan Christopher Kalbhenn, Juliya Kharitonova, Kristiina Koivukari, Päivi Korpisaari, Jacob Mchangama, Trisha Meyer, Kilian Müller, Larissa Sannikova, Mårten Schultz, Nicole Stremlau, Maria L. Vazquez, Kuo-Wei Wu and Lorna Woods

The New Politics of Numbers

This open access book offers unique insight into how and where ideas and instruments of quantification have been adopted, and how they have come to matter. Rather than asking what quantification is, New Politics of Numbers explores what quantification does, its manifold consequences in multiple domains. It scrutinizes the power of numbers in terms of the changing relations between numbers and democracy, the politics of evidence, and dreams and schemes of bettering society. The book engages Foucault inspired studies of quantification and the economics of convention in a critical dialogue. In so doing, it provides a rich account of the plurality of possible ways in which numbers have come to govern, highlighting not only their disciplinary effects, but also the collective mobilization capacities quantification can offer. This book will be invaluable reading for academics and graduate students in a wide variety of disciplines, as well as policymakers interested in the opportunities and pitfalls of governance by numbers