In Chapter 5 we introduced derivatives, which are financial instruments whose price is based on (i.e., derived from) the value of one or more other assets called underlying assets. These underlying assets may be equity securities, fixed-income securities, foreign currencies, or commodities such as gold and silver. The value of a derivative is reliant on the movement of the value of the underlying asset; for example, a derivative might promise to pay you a specified amount of money if the price of another asset, such as a stock, goes above a certain level.

This chapter examines early Christian (Patristic) literature to see the confluence of Graeco-Roman literature with its topoi and evocations of landscapes or plants as habitats and attributes of the gods, with scriptural allusions to the fruitfulness of the earth as a sign of divine bounty and pleasure. Central to early Christian allusions to plants is Eden, site of the Fall, the defining trauma of human exile from it, and the displacement of paradise to an afterlife. The first part of the chapter charts the development of accounts of creation and Eden, starting with Philo of Alexandria, with whom hexaemeral literature (referring to the six days of creation) originates, in synthesis with Plato’s Timaeus. If plants are elements in the universal ordering of species at creation, they are also topoi in rhetorical-inventive analogies for literary genres or organisation. The relations between scriptural-exegetical and classical-literary are therefore not merely a question of iconography or attribute, but of inventive figures. Related to the meadow is the figure of the garland, which will be so central to Christian symbolism, with its diverse significance as wreath, crown, or varied garland. If the rosary provides one case of the Christian development of classical poetic type, albeit beyond the timeframe of early Christianity, another case, little explored in its literary antecedents, is the crown of thorns, central instrument of Christ’s passion, which is in the Greek of the Gospels a wreath of acanthus.

Public administrations are increasingly deploying algorithmic systems to facilitate the application, execution, and enforcement of regulation, a practice that can be denoted as algorithmic regulation. While their reliance on digital technology is not new, both the scale at which they automate administrative acts and the importance of the decisions they delegate to algorithmic tools is on the rise. In this chapter, I contextualize this phenomenon and discuss the implementation of algorithmic regulation across several public sector domains. I then assess some of the ethical and legal conundrums that public administrations face when outsourcing their tasks to such systems and provide an overview of the legal framework that governs this practice, with a particular focus on the European Union. This framework encompasses not only constitutional and administrative law but also data protection law and AI-specific law. Finally, I offer some take-aways for public administrations to consider when seeking to deploy algorithmic regulation.

Firms use algorithms for important decisions in areas from pricing strategy to product design. Increased price transparency and availability of personal data, combined with ever more sophisticated machine learning algorithms, has turbocharged their use. Algorithms can be a procompetitive force, such as when used to undercut competitors or to improve recommendations. But algorithms can also distort competition, as when firms use them to collude or to exclude competitors. EU competition law, in particular its provisions on restrictive agreements and abuse of dominance (Articles 101–102 TFEU), prohibits such practices, but novel anticompetitive practices – when algorithms collude autonomously for example – may escape its grasp. This chapter assesses to what extent anticompetitive algorithmic practices are covered by EU competition law, examining horizontal agreements (collusion), vertical agreements (resale price maintenance), exclusionary conduct (ranking), and exploitative conduct (personalized pricing).

Biodiversity is vital to humanity, and its continued existence cuts across the rights and duties of states and their obligations pursuant to a plethora of international environmental agreements. There is a wide array of international and regional treaties focusing on biodiversity and conservation issues. Several Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries have signed, ratified, and, in some instances, domesticated some of these treaties into their national legal systems. However, notwithstanding the avalanche of national and international mechanisms on biodiversity, several barriers are militating against the successful implementation of the regime on biodiversity in many MENA countries. This chapter argues that reliance on environmental law education can be one of the strategies to improve the implementation of biodiversity treaties across the MENA region. Drawing salient lessons from emerging best practices on environmental law education across the region, this chapter examines the role of environmental law education in advancing biodiversity and nature conservation. It discusses legal and institutional gaps that hinder the profusion of environmental law education on biodiversity in the MENA region and key reforms necessary to address such gaps.

This chapter provides a conceptual overview of the nature and scope of biodiversity and nature conservation law and policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It explores the different sources of law that underpin biodiversity management in the region. It then discusses the character, status, and force of the different sources, including the interrelationships between them.

Throughout Part II we have focused on determining and understanding the value within firms on both sides of the balance sheet. Chapters 9 and 10 focus on valuing the assets of the firm—understanding how to value the entire firm (its total assets) as well as individual projects undertaken within the firm. Chapter 13 focuses on understanding the value of the liabilities and equity of the firm, and how this side of the balance sheet can be structured through a firm’s capital structure. Our workhorse tool set for analyzing these issues was discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis. In this chapter, we introduce a different valuation tool, option pricing analysis, as an improved valuation framework that allows us to explore these topics.

Conlusion: Summary of findings

This chapter tells Amethyst’s story. Amethyst is an Aboriginal and South Sea Islander young woman with cognitive disability. Amethyst is not her real name. Amethyst was abused many times as a child and a young adult. Her story can tell us a lot about what needs to change for young people with cognitive disability. We need to understand that abuse affects a person’s whole life, their family, and their world.

The chapter develops probabilistic methods for pricing and dynamic replication in an arbitrage-free market, including an introduction to continuous-time methodology.

Landscapes have a crucial role in bridging nature and culture and are therefore essential for biodiversity and ecosystem integrity preservation. As they are ingrained in regional customs and belief systems, they serve as a useful tool for biodiversity conservation. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) represents a vast region of many natural and cultural landscapes. This chapter presents the question “what are the causative factors of landscape alterations and potential threats to biodiversity in the MENA region?” An integrative review was conducted to provide actions to promote the development of effective policies and strategies for landscape and biodiversity conservation in the region. The chapter highlights natural/spatial, policy/institutional, socio-economic, technological, and cultural factors as the main influences on land changes in both regions. The chapter highlights priority actions in the areas of increased education and awareness, collaboration, and policy integration to effectively promote landscape and biodiversity conservation in the MENA region.

Burns are a common injury throughout the world and are mostly preventable. A moment of inattention by a guardian or an older child playing with fire can lead to a lifetime of burn care. Children have a higher incidence of burns than adults, although most burns are small. Burns over 10% require formal fluid resuscitation to mitigate the effects of systemic oedema and burn shock. Definitive treatment involves non-operative techniques, such as application of dressings, or for larger or deeper injuries, operations to debride the wound and apply skin grafts. Each burn generates background, breakthrough and procedural pain that must be managed effectively. Small burns may be complicated by infection, larger burns by multiple organ failure. The outcomes are generally good, and children can survive and thrive even after very large injuries. Anaesthetists are involved in all aspects of burn care once a child reaches hospital, and they are an essential part of the multidisciplinary burn care team. The aim of this team is to deliver faster healing and better pain control, and to prevent complications. This chapter describes current burns care for children in the United Kingdom.