As with other diseases, vulnerability to addiction is not evenly distributed in the population. It is concentrated in people that bear higher concentrations of biologically active risk factors. Addiction vulnerability is associated with earlier age of substance use, multiple concurrent addictions, and mental illness. It is determined by complex interactions between many hundreds of genes, and a wide range of environmental–developmental experiences – all of which are biologically active in shaping motivational-behavioral repertoires and cortical–striatal–limbic networks anchored on the NAC. Understanding the developmental neurocircuitry of addiction and its linkage with mental illness informs our understanding of this disease vulnerability. All major forms of mental illness, spanning schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, trauma-spectrum disorders, personality disorders, impulse controls disorders, etc., involve anatomical–functional abnormalities that overlap and interlink with primary motivational circuits involved in addiction. The neurocircuitry of mental illness, involving disrupted inputs from PFC, AMY, HCF, into the NAC, involuntarily alters NAC network responsivity to addictive drugs, allowing their pathological neuroplastic effects to produce more robust and accelerated sensitization of drug-motivated behavior. Similarly, adolescent neurodevelopment is a biological context marked by profound change of motivational-behavioral repertoires – and neural network revision within cortical–striatal–limbic circuits – that increases brain susceptibility to addiction.

On the face of it, total war would seem to be fundamentally and entirely at odds with the very notion of individual freedom. Yet the relationship between the two was more complicated than that. From the beginning of World War I, much propagandistic effort went into stressing the voluntariness of military or quasi-military service. At the same time, imposing discipline on complex societies triggered major tensions, unintended effects, and subversive behaviors, allowing for some unexpected gains in personal independence. In general, military conflicts exacerbated disputes about the very meaning of freedom – both while they were being fought and when they were being anticipated or commemorated. This chapter discusses three issues: the extent to which military mobilization and enemy occupation created room for female independence, the ways in which contemporaries understood conscription and soldiers coped with it, and the various means by which Europeans endeavored to free themselves from military conflict, from muddling through to principled resistance under Nazi occupation or during the Cold War.

The preface introduces the reader to the enduring fascination with Moshe Dayan, a prominent figure in Israeli history. Dayan’s legacy has been the subject of much debate and controversy among historians, and the purpose of the book is to present both the debates and the author’s own interpretation of Dayan’s life and career. It also highlights the importance of studying Dayan’s legacy, both for understanding Israeli history and for gaining insights into leadership and strategy more broadly. Dayan was a complex figure, with both strengths and weaknesses as a leader and strategist. However, his singular mental abilities, wisdom, experience, and insights continue to make him a compelling figure for study. The chapter also touches on the challenges of studying history, particularly when it comes to interpreting historical events and figures: historical facts are one thing, but interpretation is another. The book attempts to present a comprehensive and accurate historical assessment of Dayan’s life and career.

The quest for individual freedom was defined and pursued in the twentieth century in an environment shaped by moral norms that were established in the nineteenth century, if not before, but continued to be staunchly defended before undergoing a process of adjustment. At the same time, the question arose of what life would be like once these norms had been shaken off or decisively weakened. Furthermore, the selfhood of those who pushed for liberation was contested between coherence and control, on the one hand, and various modes of transgression, on the other. While such issues were first debated and probed in countercultural circles, they had become a mainstream concern by the end of the century, leading to new uncertainties about how far individual freedom should go and whom it should benefit. This chapter explores how sexuality was restrained by a morality that came to be adjusted in the decades after World War II; how the prospect of a “liberated” life emerged, leading to new expectations, but also creating imbalances and bringing disappointments alongside gains; and how the transgressive urge to expand the ego questioned the norm of coherent selfhood before eventually revealing its darker side.

This chapter considers access to courts for victims of grand corruption, especially in Latin America. It explains the origins and meaning of victim compensation in the UNCAC, how “victim” is defined in human rights law, and uses the Honduran Gualcarque River case to introduce how courts are beginning to apply concepts from human rights law to cases involving victims of grand corruption. It divides these cases into “direct harm” suffered by individual or group victims, and cases involving broad or diffuse harm where victims as a class are represented by civil society organizations. It looks briefly at which civil society organizations should be able to represent victims in proceedings.

In this chapter we examine the difficult problem of trying to offer help and support to a friend or loved one who has Hoarding Disorder. Many people with Hoarding Disorder are reluctant to admit that they have a problem. This may be due to shame and the stigma surrounding the condition, or may be due to a lack of insight as the individual has become so accustomed to this way of living and denies there is a problem. Family members and friends need to be empathetic, patient, and tolerant. Constant nagging is likely to increase resistance and so it is a difficult path between urging them to get help but not causing them to feel persecuted and to cut ties with those trying to help them. If their own health and safety, or that of others is at risk, then we suggest ways in which you can ensure they receive the help they need. At the end of this chapter, we list some of the agencies that can offer help and advice for family, friends, and people living with hoarding problems. While helping a person with hoarding it is imperative you also consider your own health and safety as well as that of the person with hoarding.

In this chapter we will examine the evidence for the various treatments for Hoarding Disorder using medication. The action of the various chemicals in the brain as well as why it is thought they may be useful in Hoarding Disorder is then explored. Full lists of optimal dosage as well as side-effects are given. Finally, the possibility of other medications, which are largely unexplored, but which may be useful in the future, are examined.

This chapter explores how artificial intelligence has enabled the automation of customer service in private industry, such as through online tools that assist customers in purchasing airline tickets, troubleshoot internet outages, and provide personal banking services. Private industry has used machine learning, as well as other forms of artificial intelligence, to develop chatbots and virtual assistants, which can respond to conversational oral or text-based commands. These tools have rapidly become standard customer service vehicles. Recent developments suggest that automated customer service, such as large language models, will become even more sophisticated in the future.