Prints as Agents of Global Exchange

The significance of the media and communications revolution occasioned by printmaking was profound. Less a part of the standard narrative of printmaking’s significance is recognition of the frequency with which the widespread dissemination of printed works also occurred beyond the borders of Europe and consideration of the impact of this broader movement of printed objects. Within a decade of the invention of the printing press, European prints began to move globally. Over the course of the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, numerous prints produced in Europe traveled to areas as varied as Turkey, India, Persia, Ethiopia, China, Japan and the Americas, where they were taken by missionaries, artists, travelers, merchants and diplomats. This collection of essays explores the transmission of knowledge, both written and visual, between Europe and the rest of the world by means of prints in the early modern period.

Grapevine Shoot Tip Cryopreservation and Cryotherapy: Secure Storage of Disease-Free Plants

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is one of the most economically important temperate fruit crops. Grapevine breeding programs require access to high-quality Vitis cultivars and wild species, which may be maintained within genebanks. Shoot tip cryopreservation is a valuable technique for the safe, long-term conservation of Vitis genetic resources that complements traditional field and in vitro germplasm collections. Vitis is highly susceptible to virus infections. Virus-free plants are required as propagation material for clonally propagated germplasm, and also for the global exchange of grapevine genetic resources. Shoot tip cryotherapy, a method based on cryopreservation, has proven to be effective in eradicating viruses from infected plants, including grapevine. This comprehensive review outlines/documents the advances in Vitis shoot tip cryopreservation and cryotherapy that have resulted in healthy plants with high regrowth levels across diverse Vitis species.

Exchange Rate Forecasting Based on Deep Learning and NSGA-II Models

Today, the global exchange market has been the world’s largest trading market, whose volume could reach nearly 5.345 trillion US dollars, attracting a large number of investors. Based on the perspective of investors and investment institutions, this paper combines theory with practice and creatively puts forward an innovative model of double objective optimization measurement of exchange forecast analysis portfolio. To be more specific, this paper proposes two algorithms to predict the volatility of exchange, which are deep learning and NSGA-II-based dual-objective measurement optimization algorithms for the exchange investment portfolio. Compared with typical traditional exchange rate prediction algorithms, the deep learning model has more accurate results and the NSGA-II-based model further optimizes the selection of investment portfolios and finally gives investors a more reasonable investment portfolio plan. In summary, the proposal of this article can effectively help investors make better investments and decision-making in the exchange market.

Algorithmic Methods of Hidden Communication Through Buy Orders and Sales on International Stock Exchanges

This paper presents the results of the author’s research on the design of hidden communication algorithms employed in the context of global exchange services. The solutions proposed enable communication between trading participants without use of such traditional communication routes as email, telephone, instant messaging, discussion forums, etc. The solutions described are based on modification of entries in the exchange tables of orders and transactions. Through modification of the entries associated with share buy and sell orders, a secret channel can be constructed through which hidden messages can be sent. Such messages could, for example, be used to manipulate stock prices by an organized group of people. The proposed solutions can classified as steganographic methods where the message carrier is a stock transaction or stock order table, in which a message is embedded by means of algorithmic modification of buy and sell records. Also presented are specific proposals for static, dynamic, and mixed static-dynamic solutions based on the results of the author’s research. In the static methods group, an imperceptible communication channel is formed through a series of asynchronous modifications that create a complete, readable message that is present for a relatively long time. In dynamic methods, the embedded message is synchronized in time and creates a sequence of events that create statements. The third group of methods presented, mixed methods, use static and dynamic techniques to construct hidden messages. In particular, the method of extreme orders (MEO), mono-table method (MTM), multi-table method (MUTM), method of price-indexed vectors (MPIV), method of quantity-indexed vectors (MQIV), clustered order method (COM), distributed order method (DOM), position-encoded method (PEM), method with quantity coding (MQC), method with error correction (MEC), method limited to buy orders (MLBO), method limited to sell orders (MLSO), and self-synchronizing method (SSM) are presented. The solutions presented in this work can be applied practically in any publicly available stock trading system in which order tables are available. The algorithms presented in the paper were implemented and verified on a real trading service, and the research software used was implemented based on the API provided by the brokerage office.

The multi-disciplinary approach to an interdisciplinary virtual exchange

New communication technologies are changing the way we work and communicate with people around the world. Given this reality, students in Higher Education (HE) worldwide need to develop knowledge in their area of study as well as attitudes and values that will enable them to be responsible and ethical global citizens in the workforce they will soon enter, regardless of the degree. Different institutional and country-specific requirements are important factors when developing an international Virtual Exchange (VE) program. Digital learning environments such as ProGlobe – Promoting the Global Exchange of Ideas on Sustainable Goals, Practices, and Cultural Diversity – offer a platform for collaborating with diverse students around the world to share and reflect on ideas on sustainable practices. Students work together virtually on a joint interdisciplinary project that aims to create knowledge and foster cultural diversity. This project was successfully integrated into each country’s course syllabus through a common global theme; sustainability. The focus of this paper is to present multi-disciplinary perspectives on the opportunities and challenges in implementing a VE project in HE. Furthermore, it will present the challenges that country coordinators dealt with when planning and implementing their project. Given the disparity found in each course syllabus, project coordinators uniquely handled the project goal, approach, and assessment for their specific course and program. Not only did the students and faculty gain valuable insight into different aspects of collaboration when working in interdisciplinary HE projects, they also reflected on their own impact on the environment and learned to listen to how people in different countries deal with environmental issues. This approach provided students with meaningful intercultural experiences that helped them link ideas and concepts about a global issue through the lens of their own discipline as well as other disciplines worldwide.

Showcasing the Empire

The second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth were remarkable for large-scale international exhibitions of agricultural products, manufactured goods, technological inventions, and artworks that were staged in major cities in purpose-built buildings and visited by very large numbers of people. These events were demonstrations of national pride, functioned as engines of modernity, and promoted the global exchange of knowledge, global competition, and global trade. The chapter discusses how Napoleon III used the Paris exhibitions of 1855 and 1867 to promote himself and his Empire and how Franz Joseph engaged in international diplomacy during the Viennese world exhibition on 1873. Pedro II used his prestige to promote Brazilian exhibits in Paris in 1862 and 1857, in Vienna in 1873 and in Philadelphia in 1876.

Varieties of Digital Work

In this article I develop a typology of digital work forms. Moving beyond the numerous conceptualisations of digital work, too focused on virtual work and neglecting material and invisible forms of digital work, I argue that to understand the global, interconnected varieties of digital work, it is necessary to apply a relational perspective that situates different forms of work and their linkages at the centre of the analysis. I propose a typology based on the relation to the process of work digitalisation. Further, I explain the linkages between various forms of digital work through the global exchange of tasks, materials and expertise resources. The typology serves as a heuristic tool for considering the broader implications of digitalisation for work and employment in terms of control and coordination as well as regulation and classification between linked workspaces, which I show using the example of the varieties of digital work needed to enable the use of smartphones. KEYWORDS: Digital work; globalisation; virtual work; digitisation; Total Social Organisation of Labour