Australian Film Festivals

Australian Film Festivals
Author: Kirsten Stevens
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2016-11-10
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1137581301

This is the first book to offer an in-depth examination of the history, operation, and growth of film festivals as a cultural phenomenon within Australia. Tracing the birth of film festivals in Australia in the 1950s through to their present abundance, it asks why film festivals have prospered as audience-driven spectacles throughout Australia, while never developing the same industry and market foci of their international fellows. Drawing on over sixty-years of archival records, festival commentary, interviews with festival insiders and ephemera, this book opens up a largely uncharted history of film culture activity in Australia.

Petroleum Science and Technology

Petroleum Science and Technology
Author: Chang Samuel Hsu
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 505
Release: 2019-07-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030162753

Aimed at students and professionals, this book covers every major aspect of petroleum: the origin of fossil hydrocarbons and their chemical/physical properties; discovering hydrocarbon reserves; recovering oil, gas, and bitumen; purifying gas; the chemical and physical characterization of crude oil; refining crudes into fuels and lubricants; and converting simple chemicals into solvents, polymers, fibers, rubbers, coatings, and myriad other products, including pharmaceuticals. Readers will learn how the industry operates, from "upstream" exploration and production, "midstream" transportation to "downstream" refining, and manufacturing of finished products. The book also contains unique chapters on midstream operations, learnings from major accidents, and safety/environmental laws and regulations. It builds on the authors' previous books and teaching material from a highly rated course that is taught at the Florida A&M University/Florida State University (USA).

Virtual Currencies and Beyond

Virtual Currencies and Beyond
Author: Mr.Dong He
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2016-01-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 149836327X

New technologies are driving transformational changes in the global financial system. Virtual currencies (VCs) and the underlying distributed ledger systems are among these. VCs offer many potential benefits, but also considerable risks. VCs could raise efficiency and in the long run strengthen financial inclusion. At the same time, VCs could be potential vehicles for money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion and fraud. While risks to the conduct of monetary policy seem less likely to arise at this stage given the very small scale of VCs, risks to financial stability may eventually emerge as the new technologies become more widely used. National authorities have begun to address these challenges and will need to calibrate regulation in a manner that appropriately addresses the risks without stifling innovation. As experience is gained, international standards and best practices could be considered to provide guidance on the most appropriate regulatory responses in different fields, thereby promoting harmonization and cooperation across jurisdictions.

Springer Handbook of Petroleum Technology

Springer Handbook of Petroleum Technology
Author: Chang Samuel Hsu
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 1243
Release: 2017-12-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319493477

This handbook provides a comprehensive but concise reference resource for the vast field of petroleum technology. Built on the successful book "Practical Advances in Petroleum Processing" published in 2006, it has been extensively revised and expanded to include upstream technologies. The book is divided into four parts: The first part on petroleum characterization offers an in-depth review of the chemical composition and physical properties of petroleum, which determine the possible uses and the quality of the products. The second part provides a brief overview of petroleum geology and upstream practices. The third part exhaustively discusses established and emerging refining technologies from a practical perspective, while the final part describes the production of various refining products, including fuels and lubricants, as well as petrochemicals, such as olefins and polymers. It also covers process automation and real-time refinery-wide process optimization. Two key chapters provide an integrated view of petroleum technology, including environmental and safety issues.Written by international experts from academia, industry and research institutions, including integrated oil companies, catalyst suppliers, licensors, and consultants, it is an invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students as well as practitioners and professionals.

Bitcoin and Beyond

Bitcoin and Beyond
Author: Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2017-11-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351814079

Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009 several hundred different ‘cryptocurrencies’ have been developed and become accepted for a wide variety of transactions in leading online commercial marketplaces and the ‘sharing economy’, as well as by more traditional retailers, manufacturers, and even by charities and political parties. Bitcoin and its competitors have also garnered attention for their wildly fluctuating values as well as implication in international money laundering, Ponzi schemes and online trade in illicit goods and services across borders. These and other controversies surrounding cryptocurrencies have induced varying governance responses by central banks, government ministries, international organizations, and industry regulators worldwide. Besides formal attempts to ban Bitcoin, there have been multifaceted efforts to incorporate elements of blockchains, the peer-to-peer technology underlying cryptocurrencies, in the wider exchange, recording, and broadcasting of digital transactions. Blockchains are being mobilized to support and extend an array of governance activities. The novelty and breadth of growing blockchain-based activities have fuelled both utopian promises and dystopian fears regarding applications of the emergent technology to Bitcoin and beyond. This volume brings scholars of anthropology, economics, Science and Technology Studies, and sociology together with GPE scholars in assessing the actual implications posed by Bitcoin and blockchains for contemporary global governance. Its interdisciplinary contributions provide academics, policymakers, industry practitioners and the general public with more nuanced understandings of technological change in the changing character of governance within and across the borders of nation-states.

Understanding Bitcoin

Understanding Bitcoin
Author: Pedro Franco
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2014-10-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119019141

Discover Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has the finance world buzzing Bitcoin is arguably one of the biggest developments in finance since the advent of fiat currency. With Understanding Bitcoin, expert author Pedro Franco provides finance professionals with a complete technical guide and resource to the cryptography, engineering and economic development of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This comprehensive, yet accessible work fully explores the supporting economic realities and technological advances of Bitcoin, and presents positive and negative arguments from various economic schools regarding its continued viability. This authoritative text provides a step-by-step description of how Bitcoin works, starting with public key cryptography and moving on to explain transaction processing, the blockchain and mining technologies. This vital resource reviews Bitcoin from the broader perspective of digital currencies and explores historical attempts at cryptographic currencies. Bitcoin is, after all, not just a digital currency; it's a modern approach to the secure transfer of value using cryptography. This book is a detailed guide to what it is, how it works, and how it just may jumpstart a change in the way digital value changes hands. Understand how Bitcoin works, and the technology behind it Delve into the economics of Bitcoin, and its impact on the financial industry Discover alt-coins and other available cryptocurrencies Explore the ideas behind Bitcoin 2.0 technologies Learn transaction protocols, micropayment channels, atomic cross-chain trading, and more Bitcoin challenges the basic assumption under which the current financial system rests: that currencies are issued by central governments, and their supply is managed by central banks. To fully understand this revolutionary technology, Understanding Bitcoin is a uniquely complete, reader-friendly guide.

Haunting Paris

Haunting Paris
Author: Mamta Chaudhry
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2020-05-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0525565388

Paris, 1989: Alone in her luminous apartment on Île Saint-Louis, Sylvie discovers a mysterious letter among her late lover Julien’s possessions, launching her into a decades-old search for a child who vanished in the turbulence of the Second World War. She is unaware that she is watched over by Julien’s ghost, his love for her powerful enough to draw him back to this world, though doomed now to remain a silent observer. Sylvie’s quest leads her deep into the secrets of Julien’s past, shedding new light on the dark days of Nazi-occupied Paris. A timeless story of love and loss, Haunting Paris matches emotional intensity with lyrical storytelling to explore grief, family secrets, and the undeniable power of memory.