In recent years 3D geo-information has become an important research area due to the increased complexity of tasks in many geo-scientific applications, such as sustainable urban planning and development, civil engineering, risk and disaster management and environmental monitoring. Moreover, a paradigm of cross-application merging and integrating of 3D data is observed. The problems and challenges facing today’s 3D software, generally application-oriented, focus almost exclusively on 3D data transportability issues – the ability to use data originally developed in one modelling/visualisation system in other and vice versa. Tools for elaborated 3D analysis, simulation and prediction are either missing or, when available, dedicated to specific tasks. In order to respond to this increased demand, a new type of system has to be developed. A fully developed 3D geo-information system should be able to manage 3D geometry and topology, to integrate 3D geometry and thematic information, to analyze both spatial and topological relationships, and to present the data in a suitable form. In addition to the simple geometry types like point line and polygon, a large variety of parametric representations, freeform curves and surfaces or sweep shapes have to be supported. Approaches for seamless conversion between 3D raster and 3D vector representations should be available, they should allow analysis of a representation most suitable for a specific application

This unique work examines the science of geophysics operations in archaeology and gives non-specialist students both the confidence and the competence to set up and carry out their own surveys. A Field Guide to Geophysics in Archaeology • explains the processes involved in clear and accessible language; • gives a step-by-step guide to setting up and carrying out a survey; • demonstrates the application of science to instruments; • gives examples of results of surveys and shows how to interpret them; • explains soil conditions measured by the techniques and relates them to archaeological features. With many illustrations to explain the text and techniques, this book will be an invaluable resource for specialists and non-specialists in archaeological geophysics alike

This new edition of the classic reference work on writing research papers recognizes recent developments in information literacy...including finding, evaluating, and citing a wide range of digital sources...and the evolving use of software for citation management, graphics, and paper format and submission while continuing to reflect best practices for research and writing, as adapted from the most recent editions of The Craft of Research and The Chicago Manual of Style....Provided by publisher

A dazzlingly original account of the life and thought of Adam Smith, the greatest economist of all time Adam Smith (1723-1790) is now widely regarded as the greatest economist of all time. But what he really thought, and the implications of his ideas, remain fiercely contested. Was he an eloquent advocate of capitalism and individual freedom? A prime mover of 'market fundamentalism'? An apologist for human selfishness? Or something else entirely? In Adam Smith, political philosopher Jesse Norman dispels the myths and caricatures, and provides a far more complex portrait of the man. Offering a highly engaging account of Smith's life and times, Norman explores his work as a whole and traces his influence over two centuries to the present day. Finally, he shows how a proper understanding of Smith can help us address the problems of modern capitalism. The Smith who emerges from this book is not only the greatest of all economists but a pioneering theorist of moral philosophy, culture, and society. (https://www.amazon.de)

As it becomes clear that climate change is not easily within the boundaries of the 1990’s, society needs to be prepared and needs to anticipate future changes due to the uncertain changes in climate. So far, extensive research has been carried out on several issues including the coastal defence or shifting ecozones. However, the role spatial design and planning can play in adapting to climate change has not yet been focussed on. This book illuminates the way adaptation to climate change is tackled in water management, ecology, coastal defence, the urban environment and energy. The question posed is how each sector can anticipate climate change by creating spatial designs and plans. The main message of this book is that spatial design and planning are a very useful tool in adapting to climate change. It offers an integral view on the issue, it is capable in dealing with uncertainties and it opens the way to creative and anticipative solutions. Dealing with adaptation to climate change requires a shift in mindset; from a technical rational way of thinking towards an integral proactive one. A new era in spatial design and planning looms on the horizon. Mounting evidence suggests climate change is going to be much worse much sooner than most people expect with little chance remaining of capping the rise in global temperatures at just two degrees and no better than a 50-50 chance of stabilising at a four degree increase. So a book like this is absolutely vital as a guide to what we can do and how we can cope. Ken Livingstone, former mayor of London We must urgently phase out coal emissions and move to the post fossil fuel era, if we wish to preserve a tolerable planet for our children and grandchildren. Yet even so, society must prepare for some effects of climate change that have become inevitable. This book shows how. James E. Hansen, Director NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Adjunct Professor Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York Climate change is one of the biggest global problems mankind faces in the next centuries. People all over the world will need to save energy and use sustainable resources only. Meanwhile, they need to adapt to the effects of climate change urgently. In this book a very important contribution is made on the possibilities of spatial planning and design to enhance a high-qualitative adaptation, which can be applied over the entire globe. Prof. Dr. Victor Sergeev, MGIMO University - Center for the Studies of Global Problems, Moscow, Russia The necessity to adapt to climate change offers us also a chance: this enhances us to improve the spatial quality of regions and to create valuable, liveable and worthwhile landscapes and urban environments. This book illuminates the way adaptation to climate change can be tackled in a spatial way. The many examples from Groningen province illustrate our frontrunner position in this field. Marc Calon, Regional Minister of Spatial Affairs, Finance, Area Development and Estate Development Corporation Policy, Province of Groningen

This book provides a concise overview of the recent development in geocomputing, which covers the model construction and result visualisation, advanced computational theory and high performance software development on supercomputers and their applications in simulating geodynamics, crustal dynamics, earthquakes, tsunami and rock physics spanning different scales

The Association of Geographic Information Laboratories for Europe (AGILE) was established in early 1998 to promote academic teaching and research on GIS at the European level. Since then, the annual AGILE c- ference has gradually become the leading GIScience conference in Europe and provides a multidisciplinary forum for scientific knowledge prod- tion and dissemination. GIScience addresses the understanding and automatic processing of geospatial information in its full breadth. While geo-objects can be represented either as vector data or in raster formats these representations have also guided the research in different disciplines, with GIS researchers concentrating on vector data while research in photogrammetry and c- puter vision focused on (geospatial) raster data. Although there have - ways been small but fine sessions addressing photogrammetry and image analysis at past AGILE conferences, these topics typically played only a minor role. Thus to broaden the domain of topics the AGILE 2009 con- rence it is jointly organized with a Workshop of the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), dedicated to High Re- lution Satellite Imagery, organized by Prof. Christian Heipke of the Le- niz Universität Hannover. This collocation provides opportunities to explore commonalities - tween research communities and to ease exchange between participants to develop or deepen mutual understanding. We hope that this approach enables researchers from the different communities to identify common - terests and research methods and thus provides a basis for possible future cooperations

It is more than half a century since the publication of R. A. Bagnold’s classic book The physics of blown sand and desert dunes, and it is a tribute to the quality of Bagnold’s work that many of the fundamental principles which he developed - main valid today. His book continues to be essential reading for any serious s- dent of aeolian processes. However, the past two decades have seen an explosion in the scale of research dealing with aeolian transport processes, sediments, and landforms. Some of this work has been summarized in review papers and edited conference proceedings, but this book provides the rst attempt to review the whole eld of aeolian sand research. Inevitably, it has not been possible to cover all - pects in equal depth, and the balance of included material naturally re ects the - thors’ own interests to a signi cant degree. However, our aim has been to provide as broad a perspective as possible, and to provide an entry point to an extensive mul- disciplinary scienti c literature, some of which has not been given the attention it deserves in earlier textbooks and review papers. Many examples are drawn from existing published work, but the book also makes extensive use of our own research in the Middle East, Australia, Europe, and North America. The book has been written principally for use by advanced undergraduates, po- graduates, and more senior research workers in geomorphology and sedimentology

Life on Earth is critically dependent upon the continuous cycling of water between oceans, continents and the atmosphere. Precipitation (including rain, snow, and hail) is the primary mechanism for transporting water from the atmosphere back to the Earth's surface. It is also the key physical process that links aspects of climate, weather, and the global hydrological cycle. Changes in precipitation regimes and the frequency of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, severe ice/snow storms, monsoon fluctuations and hurricanes are of great potential importance to life on the planet. One of the factors that could contribute to precipitation modification is aerosol pollution from various sources such as urban air pollution and biomass burning. Natural and anthropogenic changes in atmospheric aerosols might have important implications for precipitation by influencing the hydrological cycle, which in turn could feed back to climate changes. From an Earth Science perspective, a key question is how changes expected in climate will translate into changes in the hydrological cycle, and what trends may be expected in the future. We require a much better understanding and hence predictive capability of the moisture and energy storages and exchanges among the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, continents and biological systems. This book is a review of our knowledge of the relationship between aerosols and precipitation reaching the Earth's surface and it includes a list of recommendations that could help to advance our knowledge in this area

Seien Sie agil, wenn Sie Ihre Kunden behalten wollen Die agile Produktentwicklung ist inzwischen mehr als nur Best Practice, sie entwickelt sich zu einer Überlebensstrategie für Unternehmen. Immer kürzere Zyklen, weltweit verteilte Teams und steigende Komplexität fordern innovativere Entwicklungsprozesse. Hier helfen agile Methoden mit weniger Regeln, iterativem Vorgehen und weniger bürokratischem Aufwand. Wie es funktioniert steht im Buch: - Lernen Sie die Methode kennen: die Rollen, die dazugehörenden Rituale und die Einführung im Unternehmen - Erzielen Sie schnelle, transparente Ergebnisse mit Hilfe eines Agile Coaches - Führen Sie agile Sprint-Rhythmen ein: klare Ziele, eindeutige Verpflichtungen, Freiräume für die Umsetzung und den gelungenen Abschluss - Profitieren Sie von den Erfahrungen anderer: Führungskräfte von neun Top-Unternehmen beschreiben ihr Verständnis von Agile und die Umsetzung im eigenen Haus, die Ausgangssituation, Teamdynamik und bleibende Veränderungen. Agil arbeitende Teams spüren ihren Arbeitsfortschritt, in kurzen Sprintzyklen verbessern sie sich ständig. Sie geben sich gegenseitig Anerkennung, die Atmosphäre wird positiver. Alle Beteiligten bewegen sich Stück für Stück auf einer sich selbst beflügelnden Erfolgsspirale, für mehr wirtschaftlichen Erfolg und zufriedene Kunden. Lassen auch Sie sich hier inspirieren. In der 2. Auflage haben die Autoren einige Ergänzungen und Aktualisierungen vorgenommen. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. However, it is now clear that complex societies with large, sedentary populations were present for over a millennium before European contact. Associated with these are tracts of anomalously fertile, dark soils termed terra preta or dark earths. These soils are presently an important agricultural resource within Amazonia and provide a model for developing long-term future sustainability of food production in tropical environments. The late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) was instrumental in bringing the significance of these soils to the attention of the world over four decades ago. Wim saw not only the possibilities of improving the lives of small holders throughout the world with simple carbon based soil technologies, but was an early proponent of the positive synergies also achieved in regards to carbon sequestration and global climatic change abatement. Wim’s vision was to form a multidisciplinary group whose members maintained the ideal of open collaboration toward the attainment of shared goals. Always encouraged and often shaped by Wim, this free association of international scholars termed the Terra Preta Nova Group came together in 2001 and has flourished. This effort has been defined by enormous productivity. Wim who is never far from any of our minds and hearts, would have loved to share the great experience of seeing the fruits of his vision as demonstrated in this volume

The volume contains summaries of facts, theories, and unsolved problems pertaining to the unexplained extinction of dozens of genera of mostly large terrestrial mammals, which occurred ca. 13,000 calendar years ago in North America and about 1,000 years later in South America. Another equally mysterious wave of extinctions affected large Caribbean islands around 5,000 years ago. The coupling of these extinctions with the earliest appearance of human beings has led to the suggestion that foraging humans are to blame, although major climatic shifts were also taking place in the Americas during some of the extinctions. The last published volume with similar (but not identical) themes -- Extinctions in Near Time-- appeared in 1999; since then a great deal of innovative, exciting new research has been done but has not yet been compiled and summarized. Different chapters in this volume provide in-depth resumés of the chronology of the extinctions in North and South America, the possible insights into animal ecology provided by studies of stable isotopes and anatomical/physiological characteristics such as growth increments in mammoth and mastodont tusks, the clues from taphonomic research about large-mammal biology, the applications of dating methods to the extinctions debate, and archeological controversies concerning human hunting of large mammals

Reflecting the global nature of the workplace with its use of real world examples and case studies, Nick Wilton’s book is not another 'How to' of HRM in practice, but goes beyond the prescriptive approach to the practice of strategic HRM and encourages critical reflection to prepare students for the issues and dilemmas they could face in their careers. Providing an introduction to the management of people in work organizations, it seeks to outline the purpose and operation of HRM activities in the 'real world', whilst situating practice in the context of associated debates and controversies played out in the parallel field of academic study. It adopts a critical perspective on the study and practice of HRM to provide the reader with an understanding not only of the potential for HRM to contribute to both improved organizational performance and individual well-being in the workplace, but also why it very often fails to achieve either of these positive outcomes and suggests that the management of people is not the exclusive preserve of HR specialists, but an area of interest or concern for all organizational actors. The new edition comes packed with features that encourage readers to engage and relate theory to practice including: - Management skills and attributes boxes outlining the required competencies of line managers and HR practitioners - HR in practice boxes illustrating how HRM theory works in real world practice - Ethical insights presenting ethical considerations for budding practitioners - Global insights highlighting practices around the world - Research insights inviting students to explore further academic research - Case Studies and Examples offering a more in-depth look at HRM across a variety of organizations - A free interactive eBook* featuring author videos, web-links interactive multiple choice questions, free SAGE journal articles, extended case studies and other relevant links, allowing access on the go and encouraging learning and retention whatever the reading or learning style. Aimed at students across the academic spectrum, whether studying on a specialist HRM or CIPD program of study, a generalist business and management programme or studying HRM as part of a programme in an unrelated discipline (such as engineering or humanities). (https://www.amazon.de)

This book will be a key trailblazer in a new and upcoming field. The author’s predictive approach relies on simple and intuitive probability formulations that will appeal to readers with a modest knowledge of astronomy, mathematics, and statistics. Wells’ carefully erected theory stands on a sure footing and thus should serve as the basis of many rational predictions of survival in the face of not only natural disasters such as hits by asteroids or comets, but perhaps more surprisingly from man-made hazards arising from genetic engineering or robotics. Any formula for predicting human survival will invite controversy. Dr Wells counters anticipated criticism with a thorough approach in which four lines of reasoning are used to arrive at the same survival formula. One uses empirical survival statistics for business firms and stage shows. Another is based on uncertainty of risk rates. The third, more abstract, invokes Laplace’s principle of insufficient reason and involves an observer’s random arrival in the lifetime of the entity (the human race) in question. The fourth uses Bayesian theory. The author carefully explains and gives examples of the conditions under which his principle is valid and provides evidence that can counteract the arguments of critics who would reject it entirely. His deflection of possible criticisms results from two major premises: selecting the proper random variable and “reference class” to make predictions, and the recognition that if one does not know the law that governs a process, then the best prediction that can be made is his own formula

***Selected as CES 2018 Top Technology Book of the Year *** "Artificial intelligence" is the buzz word of the day. You've no doubt read your fair share of media hype either proclaiming doom and gloom where robots seize our jobs or prophesying a new utopia where AI cures all our human problems. But what does it actually mean for your role as a business leader? Applied Artificial Intelligence is a practical guide for business leaders who are passionate about leveraging machine intelligence to enhance the productivity of their organizations and the quality of life in their communities. If you want to drive innovation by combining data, technology, design, and people to solve real problems at an enterprise scale, this is your playbook. This book does not overload you with details on debugging TensorFlow code nor bore you with generalizations about the future of humanity. Instead, we teach you how to lead successful AI initiatives by prioritizing the right opportunities, building a diverse team of experts, conducting strategic experiments, and consciously designing your solutions to benefit both your organization and society as a whole. This book is focused on helping you drive concrete business decisions through applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Written with the combined knowledge of three experts in the field, Applied Artificial Intelligence is the best practical guide for business leaders looking to get true value from the adoption of machine learning technology. If you have questions such as... How do I distinguish true value from AI hype? What are the best business use cases for AI established so far? How do I identify the best business case for AI adoption and evaluate opportunities? Should I build or buy an AI platform? How do I find and recruit top AI talent for my enterprise? How will bringing AI into my business increase revenue or decrease costs? How can I facilitate AI adoption within my company? ... then this handbook provides you with answers. (https://www.amazon.de)

This book Applied Hydrometeorology is intended to serve as a text for senior undergraduate or beginning undergraduate courses in hydrometeorology, and will also be of value to practicing engineers and hydrologists engaged in the planning, design, development, and management of water resources. The subject matter has been developed in a logical and coherent manner and covers a wide spectrum of topics and provides a discussion of significant developments. Also emphasis is placed on the applied aspects of hydro meteorological research and practice worldwide.  Numerous worked examples are provided in each chapter to enable the user to gain comprehension and understanding of the subject of hydrometeorology. Audience: This book will be of interest to senior undergraduates and graduates in meteorology, hydrology and hydrometeorology. It will also be valuable book for practicing engineers and hydrologists engaged in the planning, development and management of water resources

The goal of the book is to discuss environmental policy and present northern and southern technologies and scientific methods that address specific environmental problems affecting humanity in general, but more specifically, people and ecosystems in developing countries. The book contains selected, refereed papers submitted to or presented at the First International Conference on Environmental Research, Technology and Policy held in Accra, Ghana, July 17-19, 2007. The primary goal of the conference was to provide a forum for policy makers, scientists, practitioners, and civil society advocates to discuss grass-root environmental issues, assess efforts by government machinery and identify what communities and corporate entities can do as a social responsibility to mainstream environmental protection for sustainable development. It is acknowledged that environmental research, technology applications and policy implementation have been demonstrated to improve environmental sustainability and protection in several developed economies. The book argues that similar gains can be achieved in developing countries and countries in transition

Archaeomineralogy provides a wealth of information for mineralogists, geologists and archaeologists involved in archaeometric stuides of our past. The first edition was very well recieved and praised for its systematic description of the rocks and minerals used througout the world by our ancestors and for its excellent list of over 500 references, providing easy access to the fields of archaeomineralogy and geoacrchaeology. This second edition of Archaeomineralogy takes an updated and expanded look at the human use of rocks and minerals from the Paleolithic through to the 18th century ACE. It retains the structure and main themes of the original edition but has been revised and expanded with more than 200 new references in the text, a bibliography of useful references not included in the text, a dozen new figures (drawings and photos), coverage of many additional important mineral, rock, and gem materials, increased geographic scope, particularly but not limited to Eastern Europe, and a more thorough review of early contributions to archaeomineralogy especially those of Agricola.  

How can environmental scientists and engineers use the increasing amount of available data to enhance our understanding of planet Earth, its systems and processes? This book describes various potential approaches based on artificial intelligence techniques, including: -neural networks -decision trees -genetic algorithms -fuzzy logic Part I contains a series of tutorials describing the methods and the important considerations in applying them. In Part II, many practical examples illustrate the power of these techniques on actual environmental problems. The book is a scientific as well as a cultural blend: one culture entwines ideas with a thread, while another links them with a red line. Thus, a “red thread” ties the book together and weaves the fabric of the methods into a tapestry that pictures the ‘natural’ data-driven artificial intelligence methods in the light of the more traditional modeling techniques. The international authors, who are recognized major experts in their respective fields, bring to life ways to apply artificial intelligence to problems in the environmental sciences, demonstrating the power of these data-based methods

Atmospheric ammonia is increasingly being recognized as a pollutant of key environmental concern. Ammonia contributes to several environmental problems, including direct toxic effects on vegetation, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, leading to the eutrophication and acidification of sensitive ecosystem, and to the formation of secondary particulate matter in the atmosphere, with effects on human health, atmospheric visibility and global radiative balance. Ammonia emissions are increasing rapidly in many parts of the world, so that these environmental concerns are expected to grow in future. In Europe, efforts are currently being made to reduce ammonia emissions, alongside reductions in other air pollutants, notably sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. However, reducing ammonia emissions has proved uncertain and challenging, with only modest regional reductions achieved to date. As the emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are reduced, ammonia is therefore increasingly dominating the air pollution climate of Europe and the consequent environmental impacts. It was in this context that the leading international experts met in Edinburgh in December 2006 under the auspices of the UN-ECE Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution to review the current state of the science of ammonia in the atmosphere. Specifically, the international workshop was a joint effort between several bodies of the Convention: the Ammonia Expert Group, the Working Group on Effects and the Task Force on Measurement and Modelling, together with the COST 729 and the NitroEurope Integrated Project. This book reports the underpinning information in the form of several major reviews, combined with supporting chapters on recent research results, to provide an up-to-date scientific synthesis in relation to four key themes: Re-evaluation of the critical thresholds for ammonia effects on sensitive plants and habitats Assessment of the extent to which independent atmospheric measurements can verify where regional changes in ammonia emissions have and have not occurred Review of approaches for downscaling transboundary assessments to deal with ammonia hotspots in relation to operational modelling and monitoring Review of regional scale atmospheric transport and chemistry models in relation to their formulation and results for ammonia. Each of these themes is of fundamental to the quantification of ammonia impacts in the environment and the assessment of possible abatement measures. The reviews highlight how the critical threshold for ammonia concentrations – the critical level – has been overestimated in the past, and the book explains the new estimates. Monitoring of atmospheric concentrations and deposition is the only independent way to verify the success of emission abatement policies. The analysis shows how it has been a major challenge to verify the reported reductions in emissions, but that several new datasets now support expected trends in emission reduction, even though total emissions may still be underestimated. Atmospheric models are central to the assessment at both regional and landscape scales. The dynamics within ‘ammonia hotspots’ are particularly important to understand both the fate of ammonia export from source regions and to assess the local environmental impacts. Similarly, modeling at regional scales forms the basis for transboundary assessment of ammonia emissions and deposition. At both scales, the present assessment shows that quantification of ammonia dry deposition remains a key uncertainty. Cross-cutting analyses in the review addressed the reliability of ammonia emissions data and abatement efficiencies, as well as the agricultural and environmental policy context, considering how scientific understanding can help address the challenges to reduce the adverse effects of ammonia in the environment. This book will be valuable to all those interested in the behaviour of ammonia in the environment, as it explains the current state of knowledge, reports new critical level values, and describes the main scientific uncertainties

The harmful impacts of pollution on atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic environments can cause extreme temperature changes, clean water shortage, and increase toxicity. This book studies environmental pollution impacts, from the mechanism of toxic nanoparticles on the molecular level to the detection of trace gas on the satellite perspective. It presents recent developments in advanced monitoring techniques, efficient process technologies and health impact assessment tools, from environmental scientists of diversified fields. The three sections highlight important aspects of emerging monitoring technologies in Atmospheric Environment, Contaminants Control Process and Environmental Toxicity Assessment. Observational tools presented in the first section range from in-situ analytical to digital techniques for atmospheric monitoring. Highlighted in the second section is the recently developed water quality monitoring system for lake stratification and membrane technologies for detection and removal of contaminants. Lastly, toxicity mechanisms of endocrine disruptors and nanoparticles are highlighted on the third section, with important new discoveries. The major topics addressed are: atmospheric environmental monitoring, including monitoring and modeling of trace air pollutants, contaminants control process monitoring, environmental toxicity monitoring and assessments, biological and chemical monitoring for environmental toxicity, monitoring technology for desalination water quality and toxicity measurement of desalted and concentrated water

This volume presents a comprehensive and complete treatment. In a systematic way the complex topics and techniques are covered that can be assembled under Geospatial Information namely, Geodesy, Cartography, Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, Informatics, Acquisition Systems, Global Positioning Systems, Digital Image Processing, Geographic Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, and WebGIS. It describes in detail and at an accessible level - too much math has been avoided - the state of current knowledge. Per chapter a detailed bibliography has been included. As such, it will serve as a working tool not only to geoscientists and geographers but also to engineers, architects, computer scientists, urban planners, specialists in GIS, remote sensing, forestry, agricultural science, soil science geometry, environmental scientists and managers. Applications can be found in security, risk management, monitoring, info-mobility, geo-positioning, food traceability, etc. From the reviews: The book is rigorous and synthetic, describing with precision the main instruments and methods connected to the multiple techniques today available. The objective pursued is to publish an integrated text, containing simple and comprehensible concepts relevant to experts in Geo-spatial Information. S. Dequal, Professor of Topography and Photogrammetry, DITAG, Polytechnic of Turin, Italy This book fills a void of telling and showing the reader how remote sensing as a part of geomatics really works. With a clearly presented historical review up to the present time, the author illustrates the basic theories and use of the different remote sensing sensors and how to analyze the data from them for their application. This book would be a complement to the standard remote sensing books and I would highly recommend it for all land oriented professionals and especially graduate students who need a clear explanation of how remote sensing works. Chris J. Johannsen, Professor Emeritus of Agronomy, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA Basics of Geomatics is structured in a clear and effective way into thematic chapters that provide a fundamental, yet comprehensive coverage of each of the major disciplines making up the field of Geomatics. Thanks to its clarity and completeness, the text, supplemented by many useful tables and illustrations will serve as a basic reference work for both beginners and experienced readers. John L. van Genderen, Professor, International Institute for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Department of Earth Observation Science, Enschede, The Netherlands

Seit über 50 Jahren dominiert die neoklassische Kapitalmarkttheorie unser Verständnis für die Abläufe an Finanzmärkten. Sie hat eine Vielzahl von Theorien und Konzepten hervor gebracht und basiert auf der Annahme eines streng rationalen Homo Oeconomicus. Das vorliegende Buch möchte Studierenden und Praktikern die Türe öffnen zu einer neu entstehenden, verhaltenswissenschaftlichen Sicht auf die Finanzmärkte in der ein realitätsnäherer Homo Oeconomicus Humanus an den Märkten agiert. Er setzt bei der Entscheidungsfindung begrenzt rationale Heuristiken ein und lässt sich von emotionalen Einflüssen lenken. Die Autoren schlagen zunächst den Bogen von der neoklassischen Sicht der Finanzmärkte zur Behavioral Finance. Anschließend werden spekulative Blasen als Anzeichen für begrenzte Rationalität vorgestellt. Danach stehen die Heuristiken bei Anlageentscheidungen im Vordergrund. Abschließend werden Beispiele für die Anwendung der Behavioral-Finance-Erkenntnisse im Wealth Management und Corporate Governance diskutiert und es wird ein Blick auf Neuro-Finance und Emotional Finance geworfen. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

Betriebswirtschaftliche Theorien sind weder Glasperlenspiele, deren Bedeutung nicht über den universitären Elfenbeinturm hinausreicht, noch eine bloße Beschreibung der vorfindbaren ökonomischen Verhältnisse. Sie haben vielmehr eine gestalterische Wirkung, die gar nicht groß genug eingeschätzt werden kann. Das Grundübel der vorherrschenden Betriebswirtschaftslehre ist, dass sie die Gewinnmaximierung als oberstes Unternehmensziel strukturell und ethisch legitimiert. Die Theorie liefert die Rechtfertigung für Unternehmer zulasten von Mensch und Umwelt den Profit zu steigern, ohne sich dabei schlecht fühlen zu müssen. Die Ausblendung der gesellschaftlichen Folgekosten unternehmerischer Gewinnerzielung ist eine in den Grundlagen der Betriebswirtschaftslehre angelegte gigantische Bilanzfälschung. Daniel Deimling unterzieht die zentralen Axiome und Hintergrundannahmen der vorherrschenden Betriebswirtschaftslehre einer fundamentalen Kritik und stellt alternative Sichtweisen dar. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

Covering an area of over 130 million km2 spanning the equator and tropics, the African continent features a spectacular geographic diversity. Consequently, it is characterised by extremely variable climatic, edaphic and ecological conditions, associated with a wide range of natural vegetation and wildlife, as well as human population density, crops and livestock. In this book, Henry Le Houérou presents his bioclimatic and biogeographic classification of Africa. The extensive data provide the basis for comparisons between various African regions, and with regions on other continents such as Latin America or the Indian subcontinent. The results constitute a rational basis for national, regional and sub-regional rural development planning, and for agricultural research dealing with aspects such as plant and animal introductions, the extrapolation or interpolation of experimental or developmental findings, and ecosystems dynamics. Possible problems of applications are also examined. Henry Le Houérou (Montpellier, France) For his substantial contribution to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), he was awarded a share of the Nobel Peace Prize bestowed on the IPCC in 2007 (equally with Al Gore and others)

Anthropogenic influences to the earth's system, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere and lithosphere, represent a serious challenge to our planet's ecosystems and natural environments. Bioclimatology, hydrology, bio-hydrology and eco-physiology are important scientific research areas with wide application to environmental protection, forestry, agriculture and water management, and protection against natural hazards including droughts, floods, windstorms, weather extremes, and wild fires. Bioclimatology helps to better understand the causes and impacts of natural hazards and how to prevent them. Improved knowledge of natural hazards is a vital prerequisite for the implementation of integrated resource management. It provides a useful framework for combating current climate variability and for adapting to ongoing climate change. This book presents research on the interactions between meteorological, climatological, hydrological and biological processes in the atmospheric and terrestrial environment. It highlights a spectrum of topics associated with climate change and weather extremes and their impact on different economic sectors. The contributing authors come from renowned scientific research institutions and universities and specialise in issues of climate change, soil-plant-atmosphere interactions, hydrologic cycle, ecosystems, biosphere, and natural hazards

Pollution and its effects on the environment have emerged as critical areas of research within the past 30 years. The Handbook of Environmental Engineering is a collection of methodologies that study the effects of pollution and waste in their three basic forms: gas, solid, and liquid. In Volume 8, Biological Treatment Processes, tried-and-true solutions comprise a methodology of pollution control. The distinguished panel of authors contribute detailed chapters, which include topics ranging from treatment by land application, activated sludge processes, and submerged aeration to trickling filters, lagoons, rotating biological contactors, sequencing batch reactors, digestions, and composting. Volume 8 and its sister book - Volume 9: Advanced Biological Treatment Processes – are designed as both basic biological waste treatment textbooks and reference books for advanced undergraduate and graduate students – as well as for designers of waste treatment systems, scientists, and researchers. An indispensable addition to the Humana Press series, Volume 8: Biological Treatment Processes provides an illuminating look at water pollution control and the fascinating evolution of bio-environmental engineering

Biometeorology has long been concerned with describing and understanding the impacts of weather and climate on humans and their activities and the natural (biosphere) system. Applied biometeorologists have focused on how best to prepare for and cope with weather and climate abnormalities. However they have tended to pursue their research in relative isolation from each other. There is now a need to better understand the commonalities as well as the differences within the broad field of applied biometeorology. The driving force is that biometeorologists are faced with a common problem – how best to provide advice on how to adapt to or cope with climate change. Adaptation is a cross cutting theme. It is an issue which biometeorologists are increasingly engaging with and learning about from each other. Biometeorology because of its focus on the sensitivity of human and biophysical systems to atmospheric variations and change clearly has something to contribute to the wider agenda of managing the impacts of climate change. The purpose of this collection of papers on biometeorology and adaptation is therefore to: Communicate some of the basic ideas and concepts of the sub-fields of biometeorology as they relate to climate change. Explore ideas, concepts, and practice within the field of biometeorology that may be developed in common. Provide a basis for a new vision for biometeorology that will help to communicate its understanding and expertise, as well as enhance its utility.  

There is an increasing need for effective methods of estimating the risks caused by the large number of pollutants released into the environment by human activities. This volume provides an overview of biosensors as a key tool for the environmental monitoring of aquatic systems. Biosensor technology is based on a specific biological recognition element in combination with a transducer for signal processing. In particular, the detection and identification of endocrine-disrupting compounds and other toxins in wastewater are treated in detail. Biosensors are presented as a practical alternative or supplement to traditional chromatographic techniques. Emphasis is also placed on the validation of the applied technology and its application to real-world environmental samples

This book is the fruition of work from contributors to the Art and Cartography: Cartography and Art symposium held in Vienna in February 2008. This meeting brought together cartographers who were interested in the design and aesthetics elements of cartography and artists who use maps as the basis for their art or who incorporate place and space in their expressions. The outcome of bringing together these like minds culminated in a wonderful event, spanning three evenings and two days in the Austrian capital. Papers, exhi- tions and installations provided a forum for appreciating the endeavors of artists and cartographers and their representations of geography. As well as indulging in an expansive and expressive occasion attendees were able to re? ect on their own work and discuss similar elements in each other’s work. It also allowed cartographers and artists to discuss the potential for collaboration in future research and development. To recognise the signi? cance of this event, paper authors were invited to further develop their work and contribute chapters to this book. We believe that this book marks both a signi? cant occasion in Vienna and a starting point for future collabo- tive efforts between artists and cartographers. The editors would like to acknowledge the work of Manuela Schmidt and Felix Ortag, who undertook the task of the design and layout of the chapters

This book provides an overview of cathodoluminescence properties of the planetary materials. It is unique in that it is the first book of its kind presenting new important data on cathodolumiescence spectrocopy and microscopy on samples of impactites, meteorites, shock recovery experiences and Interplanetary Dust Particles. Each chapter is written by a well-known specialist and covers new fields such as shock-induced microdeformations in minerals, astrobiology and the cosmochemistry of meteorites

Climate change is directly linked to the human activities, according to the Fourth Assessment Report of IPCC (2007). In last two decades of 20th Century, accelerated anthropogenic activities pushed up the atmospheric abundance of greenhouse gases, mainly CO2, CH4, and N2O, alarmingly which enhanced the radiative forcing of the Earth’s surface and thus perturbed its heat radiation balance. As a consequence, atmospheric characteristics, such as temperature, rainfall pattern, levels of CO2 and O3 have changed significantly, affecting the farm productivity. Although rising level of CO2 may have fertilizing effect on C3 crops, but concomitant rise in atmospheric temperature, O3 level and extreme weather conditions can not only nullify the fertilizing effect of CO2, but also drastically reduce the crop production, threatening food security to burgeoning world population. Agricultural crops are not only victim of climate variability and extreme whether conditions, but also serve as a potential source of CH4 and N2O. Therefore, in changed scenario, Kyoto Protocol (1997) has sought all signatory developed nations to cut down their emission levels as per their differential commitments to UNFCCC and developing nations to invest in less carbon emission projects to avert the process of global warming process. In this context, the present edition, which compiles latest findings of studies carried out by the scientists on climate change and crops around the world, serves as a ready reckoner to crop scientists, atmospheric scientists, ecologists, environmentalists, research scholars and post- graduate students to update their knowledge and understanding on this issue

Are established economic, social and political practices capable of dealing with the combined crises of climate change and the global economic system? Will falling back on the wisdoms that contributed to the crisis help us to find ways forward or simply reconfigure risk in another guise? This volume argues that the combination of global environmental change and global economic restructuring require a re-thinking of the priorities, processes and underlying values that shape contemporary development aspirations and policy. This volume brings together leading scholars to address these questions from several disciplinary perspectives: environmental sociology, human geography, international development, systems thinking, political sciences, philosophy, economics and policy/management science. The book is divided into four sections that examine contemporary development discourses and practices. It bridges geographical and disciplinary divides and includes chapters on innovative governance that confront unsustainable economic and environmental relations in both developing and developed contexts. It emphasises the ways in which dominant development paths have necessarily forced a separation of individuals from nature, but also from society and even from self. These three levels of alienation each form a thread that runs through the book. There are different levels and opportunities for a transition towards resilience, raising questions surrounding identity, governance and ecological management. This places resilience at the heart of the contemporary crisis of capitalism, and speaks to the relationship between the increasingly global forms of economic development and the difficulties in framing solutions to the environmental problems that carbon-based development brings in its wake.. Existing social science can help in not only identifying the challenges but also potential pathways for making change locally and in wider political, economic and cultural systems, but it must do so by identifying transitions out of carbon dependency and the kind of political challenges they imply for reflexive individuals and alternative community approaches to human security and wellbeing. Climate Change and the Crisis of Capitalism contains contributions from leading scholars to produce a rich and cohesive set of arguments, from a range of theoretical and empirical viewpoints. It analyses the problem of resilience under existing circumstances, but also goes beyond this to seek ways in which resilience can provide a better pathway and template for a more sustainable future. This volume will be of interest to both undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Human Geography, Environmental Policy, and Politics. (https://www.amazon.de)

In this book the eminent authors analyse the ice cover variability in the Arctic Seas during the 20th and early 21st centuries. In the first two chapters, they show that multi-year changes of the sea-ice extent in the Arctic Seas were formed by linear trends and long-term (climatic) cycles lasting about 10, 20 and 60 years. The structure of temporal variability of the western region (Greenland – Kara) differs significantly from the eastern region seas (Laptev and Chukchi). In the latter region, unlike the former area, relatively short-period cycles (up to 10 years) predominate. The linear trends can be related to a super-secular cycle of climatic changes over about 200 years. The most significant of these cycles, lasting 60 years, is most pronounced in the western region seas

Climate change is affecting the Arctic environment and ecosystems at an accelerating speed, twice the rate of the global average. This is opening the Arctic to transportation and resource development and creating serious challenges for local communities and indigenous peoples. Climate Governance in the Arctic considers two aspects of climate change from an institutional perspective. It focuses on how relevant regimes, institutions and governance systems support mitigation of climate change. It also examines the extent to which the varying governance arrangements in the Arctic support adaptation and the development of adaptation processes for the region. The book’s focus on Arctic governance offers unique insights within climate change mitigation and adaptation research. Climate Governance in the Arctic is intended for an audience of international lawyers, international relations scholars and political scientists concerned with the regional implications of climate change for existing governance regimes and the role of indigenous peoples within those regimes

The Comparative Evaluations of Innovative Solutions in European Fisheries Management (CEVIS) Project (2006 - 2009) was an exploration of how science can aid policy decisions. CEVIS teamed up biologists, economists, and other social scientists to evaluate four fisheries management innovations being considered for Europe: participatory approaches; rights-based regimes; effort control; and decision-rule systems. Comparative Evaluations of Innovative Fisheries Management brings the CEVIS project full circle by providing further insights into the role of science in policy. The volume begins with a look at four places outside the European Union known for innovative management: New Zealand, Nova Scotia, Alaska and Iceland. Then the focus shifts to the success criteria related to specific disciplines including biological and social robustness, economic efficiency and impacts on management costs. Hypotheses are tested using data capable of generating useful results. The main conclusions include a retrospective of how key concepts defined and represented the various perspectives, skills and backgrounds that made up the multidisciplinary CEVIS project

When discussing the issue of contamination of the aquatic environment, water pollution is still the major aspect that has been regulated and extensively studied, but poor attention has been devoted to sediments. Sediments have been described as the sink or storage place and a source for contaminants entering river systems through various pathways. But bottom sediments have various functions in the environment, such as providing habitat for many aquatic organisms, and are an important component of aquatic ecosystems. This volume of the Handbook deals with various aspects of sediment contamination such as the fate and behavior of persistent organic pollutants, the application of sediment toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) protocols, and the various ways to degrade toxic pollutants from sediments. Overall the book provides readers the fundamental knowledge needed to better understand the complex issue of contaminated sediments

Today drought causes severe social problems and receives broad attention from the international scientific and policy communities. Drought management in the Mediterranean region exemplifies many other drought-prone regions with rapidly expanding populations that are placing increased pressure on already limited water supplies. The experiences in the development and implementation of drought management plans in the Mediterranean highlight the success and challenges of coping with drought for societies with different vulnerabilities. Based on these experiences and the current methods for evaluating risk, the book synthesises guidelines for drought management that can be applied to other regions. Coping with Drought Risk in Agriculture and Water Supply Systems addresses the growing issue of drought preparedness planning, monitoring, and mitigation which has worldwide application. The book collates considerable information from diverse disciplines. The information is presented to appeal to a broad scientific and policy audience seeking to develop proactive drought management plans effective for decreasing social vulnerability. This book has been written within the framework of the MEDROPLAN (Mediterranean Drought Preparedness and MItigation Planning) Project, co-funded by the European Union through the Euro-Mediterranean Regional Programme for Local Water Management (MEDA Water) and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza - CIHEAM (Spain; Coordinator), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain), University of Cyprus (Cyprus), National Technical University of Athens (Greece), University of Catania (Italy), Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hasan II (Morocco), Canal de Isabel II (Spain), Confederación Hidrográfica del Tajo (Spain), Fundación Ecología y Desarrollo (Spain) and Ministère de l'Agriculture, de l'Environnement et des Ressources Hydrauliques (Tunisia). Audience: This book will be of interest to agricultural, water and land managers; policy-makers; researchers in natural hazards and risk management; graduate students in natural hazards, agricultural and water management, rural planning, policy development, and social development

One of the main problems confronting the world of the 21st Century is a shortage of water. There is already severe scarcity in many regions of the world, causing tremendous problems for local populations and indeed entire societies. There is insufficient water available for the production of food to alleviate poverty and starvation; the lack of water hampers industrial, urban and tourism development, forcing restrictions on other sectors, especially agriculture; health problems arise as the deterioration of ground and surface waters favours water-borne diseases, which flourish in the absence of decent water distribution and sewerage systems. Water conflicts still arise in areas under stress, while water for nature has become a vanishing priority in such zones. This book is a guide to the establishment of regional and/or local guidelines for developing and implementing new ideas for coping with water scarcity. The basic premise underlying the book is that water scarcity will persist, so personal, human and society-wide skills will be needed to cope with it while living in harmony with the necessary environmental constraints. The book provides basic information to assist decision makers, water managers, engineers, agronomists, social scientists and other professions (and their students) in formulating coherent, hopefully harmonious and consolidated views on the issue. Guidelines are also given for introducing the general public to the concept of water scarcity and how to deal with it. Audience: This book will be of interest to policy-makers, decision-makers, water managers, land use planners, engineers (mainly agricultural, civil and environmental engineers), agronomists, economists, social scientists; other professionals related with water; students (engineering and planning)

The cultural and creative industries have become increasingly prominent on many policy agendas in recent years. Governments have identified the growing consumer potential for cultural/creative industry products in the home market, as well as for the growth of exports. The emphasis now lies on creativity, innovation, small business growth, and access to global markets – all in line with the move from cheap manufacture towards high value-added products and services. At the same time, the cultural and creative industries have become key drivers for urban regeneration and global repositioning of cities across Europe and Asia. Some of the themes, such as capital of culture, and attracting a ‘creative class’, have become global preoccupations. However, there are very real differences and ambiguities at play when such policy discourses move between historically distinct regions. By offering both Asian and European experiences, this volume shows the differences between them, and thus allows meaningful comparisons

Perhaps once a decade, a book comes along that transforms people's lives in a very real, measurable way. This is one of them. Crucial Conversations exploded onto the scene ten years ago and revolutionized the way people communicate when stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. Since then, millions of people have learned how to hold effective crucial conversations and have dramatically improved their lives and careers thanks to the methods outlined in this book. Now, the authors have revised their bestselling classic to provide even more ways to help you take the lead in any tough conversation: New firsthand accounts of how these skills changed readers' lives New case studies showing how business leaders successfully applied these methods to achieve results New links to videos teaching what to do and what to avoid during crucial conversations New research findings offering fresh insights for applying the skills taught in the book Crucial Conversations is filled with practical advice you can start using today: Prepare for high-stakes conversations Make it safe to talk about almost anything Transform unpleasant emotions into powerful dialogue Be persuasive, not abrasive Crucial Conversations gets you past the hard parts of dialogue and helps you achieve relationships that are real, productive, and that will enrich your life and career. (https://www.amazon.de)

Anonymous ist ein weltweit agierendes Hackerkollektiv, welches immer öfters Cyberangriffe auf staatliche und nichtstaatliche Akteure tätigt. Dabei stellt sich die Frage, ob deren Angriffe einen bewaffneten Konflikt iSd Humanitären Völkerrechts darstellen und ob Anonymous einen Cyber War auslösen kann, auf welchen die Bestimmungen des Rechts der bewaffneten Konflikte anzuwenden sind.

Die Finanzkrise hat deutlich gemacht, dass Geldsystem und Währung entscheidenden Einfluss auf das Funktionieren unserer Wirtschaft nehmen – und dieses auch empfindlich stören können. Entsprechend ist das Vertrauen in das bestehende Finanzsystem stark erschüttert. Gibt es nicht ganz andere Geld- und Währungsmodelle? Solche, die wieder ein festes Fundament für eine nachhaltige und zukunftsfähige Wirtschaft bilden könnten? Jens Martignoni gibt in einfacher und knapper Form einen Überblick über die aktuelle Diskussion zum Thema alternative Währungen und stellt die erfolgreichsten Beispiele vor. Dabei spannt er den Bogen von Quartier- und Lokalwährungen über Gutscheinsysteme bis hin zu neuesten Entwicklungen der Fintech. Das Buch vermittelt Leserinnen und Lesern das Wissen, um sich zu orientieren, mitzureden und auch mitzutun, indem sie selbst solche Währungen nutzen oder sich an neuen Konzepten beteiligen. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

Für mehr Gerechtigkeit und gegen Armut versucht der Faire Handel, den ungleichen Machtverhältnissen auf dem Weltmarkt etwas entgegenzusetzen. Was mit alternativen Läden begann, findet heute mit Zertifizierungs-Siegeln statt, die auch auf Produkten im konventionellen Markt zu finden sind; ausgehandelt von einem weltweiten Netzwerk gleichberechtigter Partner aus Nord und Süd. Caspar Dohmen zeichnet diese Entwicklung nach. Er erklärt, was das Fairtrade-Verfahren konkret vom »normalen« Handel unterscheidet und zeigt seine Wirkung bei den Menschen vor Ort. ›Das Prinzip Fairtrade‹ ist ein Buch für alle, die sich für die Zukunft der globalen Ökonomie und die Zusammenhänge zwischen Wirtschaft und Politik interessieren. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

Data Assimilation comprehensively covers data assimilation and inverse methods, including both traditional state estimation and parameter estimation. This text and reference focuses on various popular data assimilation methods, such as weak and strong constraint variational methods and ensemble filters and smoothers. It is demonstrated how the different methods can be derived from a common theoretical basis, as well as how they differ and/or are related to each other, and which properties characterize them, using several examples. It presents the mathematical framework and derivations in a way which is common for any discipline where dynamics is merged with measurements. The mathematics level is modest, although it requires knowledge of basic spatial statistics, Bayesian statistics, and calculus of variations. Readers will also appreciate the introduction to the mathematical methods used and detailed derivations, which should be easy to follow, are given throughout the book. The codes used in several of the data assimilation experiments are available on a web page. The focus on ensemble methods, such as the ensemble Kalman filter and smoother, also makes it a solid reference to the derivation, implementation and application of such techniques. Much new material, in particular related to the formulation and solution of combined parameter and state estimation problems and the general properties of the ensemble algorithms, is available here for the first time. The 2nd edition includes a partial rewrite of Chapters 13 an 14, and the Appendix. In addition, there is a completely new Chapter on Spurious correlations, localization and inflation, and an updated and improved sampling discussion in Chap 11

This book presents the most recent achievements in data assimilation in Geosciences, especially in regards to meteorology, oceanography and hydrology. It spans both theoretical and applied aspects with various methodologies including variational, Kalman filter, maximum likelihood ensemble filter and other ensemble methods. Besides data assimilation, other important topics are also covered including targeting observation, parameter estimation, and remote sensing data retrieval. The book will be useful to individual researchers as well as graduate students as a reference in the field of data assimilation

The NATO Advanced Research Workshop, “Decision Support for Natural Disasters and Intentional Threats to Water Security” was the result of close collaboration between environmental, security, water resource, and health officials in the United States and Croatia. The premise of the Workshop is that multiple, disparate threats to water security exist, and that shared decision support structures provide effective means for avoiding and responding to potential or actual situations. The Workshop was co-directed by Professors Tissa Illangasekare of the Colorado School of Mines, and Dragutin Geres of Hrvatske vode. The Workshop was organized into a series of case studies, presentation of management tools, or a combination of the two. Presentations were further organized as to (1) Natural Occurrences, (2) Anthropogenic Causes, and (3) Decision Support Tools. Delegates from eleven countries assembled to explore these topics at the Hotel Dubrovnik President in Dubrovnik from April 22–25, 2007. A total of thirty delegates from NATO, Partner, Mediterranean Dialog, or other countries were in attendance. The final program included technical sessions using a presentation and dialog format, a field trip, and networking sessions. There were twenty five technical presentations supported by seventeen formal papers (many updated in late-2008 and 2009), and these form the basis for these proceedings. xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The co-directors and organizers of this Advanced Research Workshop a- nowledge the NATO Science Programme for major financial support and for providing detailed guidance on how best to organize and execute a meeting of this nature

Decision Support Systems for Risk-Based Management of Contaminated Sites addresses decision making in environmental risk management for contaminated sites, focusing on the potential role of decision support systems in informing the management of chemical pollutants and their effects. Considering the environmental relevance and the financial impacts of contaminated sites all over the post-industrialized countries and the complexity of decision making in environmental risk management, decision support systems can be used by decision makers in order to have a more structured analysis of a problem at hand and define possible options of intervention to solve the problem. Accordingly, the book provides an analysis of the main steps and tools for the development of decision support systems, namely: environmental risk assessment, decision analysis, spatial analysis and geographic information system, indicators and endpoints. Sections are dedicated to the review of decision support systems for contaminated land management and for inland and coastal waters management. Both include discussions of management problem formulation and of the application of specific decision support systems. This book is a valuable support for environmental risk managers and for decision makers involved in a sustainable management of contaminated sites, including contaminated lands, river basins and coastal lagoons. Furthermore, it is a basic tool for the environmental scientists who gather data and perform assessments to support decisions, developers of decision support systems, students of environmental science and members of the public who wish to understand the assessment science that supports remedial decisions

This book opens the door to the intriguing world of interplanetary flight. It provides a highly focused, insider’s view of current and recent interplanetary space exploration, describing all the different aspects of the many individual space-exploring machines that operate throughout our Solar System. The book: Illuminates the ‘science pipeline’, enabling readers to follow any specific interplanetary mission(s) and access the science datastream; Covers concisely the space-related fields of specialization and how they interrelate in interplanetary flight; Provides an insider’s guide of what is involved in the conduct of robotic interplanetary mission; Gives a snapshot of what has been going on in interplanetary flight in the last 25 years of the Space age. Deep Space Craft shows how, in order to make sense of all the scientific data coming back to Earth, the need for experiments and instrumentation arises, and follows the design and construction of the instruments through to their placement and testing on a spacecraft prior to launch. Examples are given of the interaction between an instrument’s science team and the mission’s flight team to plan and specify observations, gather and analyze data in flight, and finally present the results and discoveries to the scientific community

This work becomes with methodological rigor a part of the innovative proposals for the characterization of the areas at risk of desertification. The complexity of the phenomenon of desertification, which involves extended surfaces in all continents, is one of the most alarming processes of the environmental degradation of our Planet and threatens the health and the living conditions of over a billion of persons. The food crisis, in continuous increase, ask for the world of research to urgently supply reassuring solutions concerning the acquisition of indicators, which are easy to monitor and concur to control the phenomenon in order to fight its acceleration. The constant but different combination that determines the diffusion of deserti- cation in the territories, attributable mostly to climatic changes and the activities of the man, makes our job challenging and complicated, since it varies from region to region. We are aware of all this and therefore we think that the methodological approach of survey of the data is an extremely important element to locate of the phenomenon and to monitor its course. This work, which is characterized for its multi-disciplinary approach, suggests solutions that we wish will quickly find concrete applications at international level. Prof. Bruno Dettori President CNLSD (Comitato Nazionale per la Lotta alla Siccità e alla Desertificazione) v

• Für alle Innovationstreiber und Teams, die kreative Workshops mit Perspektivenwechsel gestalten wollen • Schritt für Schritt durch die sechs Phasen des Design Thinking Prozesses • Pragmatisch, kompakt und wunderbar anschaulich (https://www.amazon.de)

In Developments in Russian Politics 8, leading experts provide a broad-ranging assessment of Putin's third term in power. All essays are either new or comprehensively rewritten for this volume, and cover executive power, parliamentary politics, the electoral process, the rule of law, foreign policy, the economy, and the military. They also address matters concerning Russia's media and political communication in the digital age; society and social divisions; protest and challenge; and future trajectories for Russian politics. Developments in Russian Politics remains the first-choice introduction to the politics of the world’s largest nation. Contributors. Vladimir Gel'man, Henry E. Hale, Philip Hanson, Kathryn Hendley, Margot Light, Jennifer Mathers, Ian McAllister, Sarah Oates, Thomas F. Remington, Graeme Robertson, Richard Sakwa, Darrell Slider, Svetlana Stephenson, Stephen White, John P. Willerton. (https://www.amazon.de)

The rapid growth of gemological sciences and mineralogy requires a comprehensive dictionary for gemologists, mineralogists, geologists, jewel dealers, industry, and hobbyists. The third edition of this dictionary contains about 24,000 entries – about 4,000 more than the second edition. The comprehensive definitions are now completed by more than 1,500 charts, diagrams and figures. The author offers a one-stop reference to any matter dealing with gems and gemology. Review of the 1st edition, published in the March 2001 issue of CHOICE “Detailed and highly technical, this work provides encyclopedic coverage of terms, techniques, places, and people related to gems and gemology. Each entry includes scientific and historical information, often illuminated by a line drawing. The volume’s strength lies in its comprehensive scope; it treats all aspects of gemology beginning with the gems themselves, elaborates on technical methods and procedures, explicates professional terminology, and identifies individuals and associated groups. Supplementing the text, 21 tables contain such relevant information as atomic weights, light spectrum, and geological timetables. Given its useful format and comprehensiveness, the book will serve as an invaluable reference source for practitioners and serious scholars in the field.” L. Doumato, National Gallery of Art

Das Buch greift die Diskussion um Inklusion in den letzten Jahren in den unterschiedlichsten gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhängen kritisch auf. Ausgangspunkt der Betrachtung ist die Stadt und das urbane Zusammenleben. Denn insbesondere Städte und hier kompakte, also dichte und gemischte Quartiere bieten sich für die Inklusionsforschung und -praxis an, da sie adäquate Sozialräume darstellen, die das heute immer stärker urban geprägte Zusammenleben reflektieren und neu durchbuchstabieren. Vor diesem Hintergrund setzen sich die Autorinnen und Autoren empirisch und theoretisch mit der Frage nach der Gestaltung eines zukunftsorientierten und professionellen Referenzrahmens für eine inklusive und nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung auseinander, die auch einer weiter zunehmenden Mobilität und Diversität gerecht wird. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

1.1 Basic idea and main task of photogrammetry If you want to measure the size of an object, let’s say the length, width and height of a house, then normally you will carry this out directly at the object. Now imagine that the house didn’t exist anymore – it was destroyed, but some historic photos exist. Then, if you can determine the scale of the photos, it must be pos- ble to get the desired data. Of course you can use photos to get information about objects. This kind of - formation is different: So, for example, you may receive qualitative data (the house seems to be old, the walls are coloured light yellow) from photo interpre- tion, or quantitative data like mentioned before (the house has a base size of 8 by 6 meters) from photo measurement, or information in addition to your background knowledge (the house has elements of the “art nouveau” style, so may be c- th structed at the beginning of the 20 century), and so on

The Decision Model and Notation (DMN) standard is transforming the practice of business decision management. Instead of 'harvesting' business rules in text-based requirements documents handed off to programmers, business users themselves now can create true decision models that serve either as verifiable implementation requirements or complete, fully executable decision services. Completely revised from the original edition and updated to DMN 1.2, the book guides business users through the use of DMN, including creation of Decision Requirements Diagrams, decision tables, basic FEEL expressions, and invocation of more complex logic expressions created by others. It explains proper use of the DRD shapes and symbols, literal expressions in FEEL, and use of decision table analysis to ensure the decision logic is complete, consistent, and properly contracted and normalized. Even though the models are defined graphically in diagrams and tables, they are fully executable. The book shows how to execute decision logic directly in the modeling tool to test its correctness, and even how to deploy decision models as executable REST services in the cloud. (https://www.amazon.de)

Dynamics of Ice Sheets and Glaciers presents an introduction to the dynamics and thermodynamics of flowing ice masses on Earth. Based on an outline of general continuum mechanics, the different initial-boundary-value problems for the flow of ice sheets, ice shelves, ice caps and glaciers are systematically derived. Special emphasis is put on developing hierarchies of approximations for the different systems, and suitable numerical solution techniques are discussed. A separate chapter is devoted to glacial isostasy. The book is appropriate for graduate courses in glaciology, cryospheric sciences, environmental sciences, geophysics and related fields. Standard undergraduate knowledge of mathematics (calculus, linear algebra) and physics (classical mechanics, thermodynamics) provide a sufficient background for successfully studying the text

When did life first appear on Earth and what form did it take? The answer to this intriguing and fundamentally important question lies somewhere within the early Archean rock record. The young Earth was, however, a very different place to that we know today and numerous pitfalls await our interpretation of these most ancient rocks. The first half of this practical guide equips the reader with the background knowledge to successfully evaluate new potentially biological finds from the Archean rock record. Successive steps are covered, from locating promising samples in the field, through standard petrography and evaluation of antiquity and biogenicity criteria, to the latest state of the art geochemical techniques. The second half of the guide uniquely brings together all the materials that have been claimed to comprise the earliest fossil record into an easily accessible, fully illustrated format. This will be a handbook that every Archean geologist, palaeobiologist and astrobiologist will wish to have in their backpack or on their lab-bench

Wildland fires are becoming one of the most critical environmental factors affecting a wide range of ecosystems worldwide. In Mediterranean ecosystems (including also South-Africa, California, parts of Chile and Australia), wildland fires are recurrent phenomena every summer, following the seasonal drought. As a result of changes in traditional land use practices, and the impact of recent climate warming, fires have more negative impacts in the last years, threatening lives, socio-economic and ecological values. The book describes the ecological context of fires in the Mediterranean ecosystems, and provides methods to observe fire danger conditions and fire impacts using Earth Observation and Geographic Information System technologies

A Complutense International Seminar on Earth Sciences and Mathematics was organised and held in Madrid at the Facultad de Ciencias Matemáticas of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in September 2006. Scientists from both fields, Mathematics and Earth Sciences, took part in this International Seminar, addressing scientific problems related to our planet from clearly complementary approaches, seeking to gain and learn from this dual approach and proposing a closer collaboration in the near future. This volume is the second one of a Topical Issue on Earth Sciences and Mathematics and contains papers addressing different topics as analysis of InSAR time series, fuzzy classification for remote sensing, modelling gravitational instabilities, geodynamical evolution of the Alboran Sea, statistical warning systems for volcanic hazards, analysis of solutions for the hydrological cycle, study of the ice flow, magma intrusion in elastic layered media, river channel formation, Hartley transform filters for continuous GPS, and deformation modeling

The broad spectrum of hydrologic responses to earthquakes offers a better understanding of the earth's hydrologic system at a scale which is otherwise unachievable; it has also allowed field testing of several long-standing hypotheses which may impact on our understanding of some earthquake-induced hazards. The book is based on a graduate course on Earthquake Hydrology at Berkeley jointly offered by the authors in the past few years. It begins with an introduction of the basic materials to form a basis for understanding the chapters which follow. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the field to interested readers and beginning researchers, and a convenient reference to numerous publications currently scattered in various journals

Mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs are circumtropical ecosystems that are highly productive, and provide many important biological functions and economic services. These ecosystems cover large surface areas in the shallow tropical coastal seascape but have suffered from serious human degradation, especially in the last few decades. Part of their diversity, productivity, and functioning seems to be based on their juxtaposition. Especially in the last decade significant advances have been made on new insights into their ecological connectivity. This authoritative book provides a first-time comprehensive review of the major ecological interactions across tropical marine ecosystems that result from the mutual exchange of nutrients, organic matter, fish, and crustaceans. A group of leading authors from around the world reviews the patterns and underlying mechanisms of important biogeochemical and biological linkages among tropical coastal ecosystems in 15 chapters. Included are chapters that review cutting-edge tools to study and quantify these linkages, the importance of such linkages for fisheries, and how tropical ecosystems should be conserved and managed for sustainable use by future generations. The book uses examples from all over the world and provides an up-to-date review of the latest published literature. This book is a ‘must read’ for professionals working on the conservation, management, and ecology of mangrove, seagrass and coral reef ecosystems

This book provides the background, organisation, methods, results and recommendations regarding the ecotoxicological classification and assessment of waste. Waste must be characterised, according to the European Waste list, as ecotoxicologically hazardous or non-hazardous. Despite being in force since 2000 no methodological recommendations have been provided to address the hazard criterion (H14 ecotoxicity) which was taken over from the legislation on dangerous substances. Based on the recommendations of CEN guideline 14735 (2005), an international ring test was co-organised by the German Federal Environment Agency and ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH. This book provides an overview of the experience as well as a comparison of the ring test results with the literature and data that has been published to date. In total, 60 laboratories from 15 countries participated in the ring test. Tests were performed with three representative waste types: an ash from an incineration plant mainly contaminated with heavy metals, a soil containing high concentrations of organic contaminants (PAHs) and a preserved wood waste contaminated with copper and other heavy metals. Information is provided on the basic test battery used in the ring test, consisting of three aquatic (Algae test, Daphnia acute test and Microtox test) and two terrestrial (earthworm acute and plant test with two species) tests, which cover all three waste types. In addition, data is presented for ten additional tests: five aquatic (including a genotoxicity test) and five terrestrial. Most tests were performed according to ISO guidelines, providing EC50 values as a measurement of toxicity. Data evaluation was done following recent recommendations made by ISO (2002) and Environment Canada (2005). The results of the ring testing support the proposals made in the CEN guideline 14735 (2005) concerning the performance of such tests. This book also supplies a comprehensive list of references for further studies as well as the addresses of the ring test partners, among other useful information

Both by definition and by scope, ecotoxicology is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary science combining the disciplines of chemistry, biochemistry, toxicology, and ecology. Modeling is also increasingly used by ecotoxicologists to better understand the effects and fate of chemicals in the different compartments of the biosphere and to simulate them in the frame of predictive hazard and risk assessment schemes. Ecotoxicology Modeling is a comprehensive and well-documented text providing a collection of computational methods to the ecotoxicologists primarily interested in the study of the adverse effects of chemicals, their mechanisms of action and/or their environmental fate and behavior. Avoiding mathematical jargon, the book presents numerous case studies to enable the reader to understand the interest but also the limitations of linear and nonlinear models in ecotoxicology. Written by an international team of scientists, Ecotoxicology Modeling is of primary interest to those whose research or professional activity is directly concerned with the development and application of models in ecotoxicology. It is also intended to provide the graduate and post-graduate students with a clear and accessible text covering the main types of modeling approaches used in environmental sciences

Organotin compounds, used as antifouling biocides since 1960, are chemical compounds that act as endocrine disrupters. It is not known how organotin compounds cause hormone disturbance, however, and many questions remain about their effect on aquatic organisms. Studies on organotin compounds have recently evolved, with many new findings reported. Following a worldwide ban on organotin compounds in 2008, alternative compounds will mainly be used, with the potential for coastal areas to become contaminated, causing, among other effects, cholinesterase inhibition in aquatic organisms. Use of alternative compounds must be controlled to avoid such errors. These and other findings are described and concisely summarized in this book, providing a useful reference in countries where alternative biocides are being considered. Included are studies on the effects on marine organisms, making this book an excellent aid to experts in environmental chemistry, to government organizations, and to students

From an internationally acclaimed economist, a provocative call to jump-start economic growth by aggressively overhauling liberal democracy Around the world, people who are angry at stagnant wages and growing inequality have rebelled against established governments and turned to political extremes. Liberal democracy, history's greatest engine of growth, now struggles to overcome unprecedented economic headwinds--from aging populations to scarce resources to unsustainable debt burdens. Hobbled by short-term thinking and ideological dogma, democracies risk falling prey to nationalism and protectionism that will deliver declining living standards. In Edge of Chaos, Dambisa Moyo shows why economic growth is essential to global stability, and why liberal democracies are failing to produce it today. Rather than turning away from democracy, she argues, we must fundamentally reform it. Edge of Chaos presents a radical blueprint for change in order to galvanize growth and ensure the survival of democracy in the twenty-first century. (https://www.amazon.de)

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Prologue -- Chapter 1. Fundamental Change -- Chapter 2. Market Discipline -- Chapter 3. On the Wire -- Chapter 4. Reprise -- Chapter 5. The Governor's Proposal -- Chapter 6. Waterloo -- Chapter 7. Redefinition -- Chapter 8. Market Failure -- Chapter 9. The Fourth Way -- Chapter 10. Limits -- Chapter 11. A Distant Mirror -- Chapter 12. Across the Gulf -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index

Electrostatic Precipitation includes selected papers presented at the 11th International Conference on Electrostatic Precipitation. It presents the newest developments in electrostatic precipitation, flue gas desulphurization (FGD), selective catalytic reduction (SCR), and non-thermal plasma techniques for multi-pollutants emission control. Almost all outstanding scientists and engineers world-wide in the field will report their on-going researches. The book will be a useful reference for scientists and engineers to keep abreast of the latest developments in environmental science and engineering

What started out as a communications workshop tailored for undergraduate and graduate students in atmospheric science evolved into a book that will benefit scientists at any stage in their careers. Eloquent Science draws on Schultz’s experience as a journal editor and prolific writer, the insight of his colleagues, and the best advice from hundreds of sources. This must-have reference is loaded with tips for writing and reviewing scientific journal articles and creating and delivering scientific presentations, and features: Help for the entire writing process from planning to proofing, including dealing with writer’s block, creating effective figures, advice for non-native speakers of English, and an appendix of commonly misused scientific concepts; A peek behind the curtain into the operations of editorial boards and publishers of scientific journals—helpful whether writing your own review or responding to someone else’s; Guidance on getting your conference abstract accepted, making effective slides and poster presentations, and presenting with confidence; and sidebars written by experts on topics including citing others’ work, how to critique a scientific paper, answering questions at a conference, and communicating with the media. The result is the ultimate communications manual for undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in the atmospheric sciences and intersecting disciplines. Every student, teacher, and science department should have a copy

Concern exists over human-generated increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases and their potential consequences to society. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 finds that global temperatures have increased by 0.8ºC since 1850 and that climate warming is now 'unequivocal'. While the human imprint is becoming increasingly apparent, Earth’s climate has shifted dramatically and frequently during the last few million years, alternating between ice ages, when vast glaciers covered Northern Europe and much of North America, and interglacials—warm periods much like today. Farther back in geologic time, climates have differed even more from the present. Thus, to fully understand the unusual changes of the 20th century and possible future trends, these must be placed in a longer-term context extending beyond the period of instrumental records. The Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments, a companion volume to the recently-published Encyclopedia of World Climatology, provides the reader with an entry point to the rapidly expanding field of paleoclimatology—the study of climates of the past. Highly interdisciplinary in nature, paleoclimatology integrates information from a broad array of disciplines in the geosciences, ranging from stratigraphy, geomorphology, glaciology, paleoecology, paleobotany to geochemistry and geophysics, among others. The encyclopedia offers 230 informative articles written by over 200 well known international experts on numerous subjects, ranging from classical geological evidence to the latest research. The volume is abundantly illustrated with line-drawings, black-white and color photographs. Articles are arranged alphabetically, with extensive bibliographies and cross-references. Volume Editor: Vivien Gornitz is a Senior Research Scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research Columbia University and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. She holds a B.A. from Barnard College and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Her research interests include global sea level rise--past, present, and future, coastal hazards, climatic implications of land cover transformations, and planetary geology, including Mars. In addition to numerous scientific publications, she has edited Geology of the Planet Mars (Benchmark Papers in Geology, v. 48, Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc., 1979) and has contributed articles to several of the encyclopedias in the Earth Sciences Series. She was a Contributing Author for the IPCC in 1990, 1995, 2001, and 2007

On 21 November 2007 the grand and elegant Delegates Hall of the Hungarian Parliament was the scene of the opening of a conference to discuss some of the most pressing issues of the day, those related to our unending thirst for energy, its environmental consequences, and the challenges that these bear on security. Over the next 3 days scientists, parliamentarians and their guests confronted, challenged, teased and cajoled each other in a NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) entitled “Energy and Environmental Challenges to Security,” affirming that knowledge and public service hold the keys to solving our greatest challenges. The magnitude of the security challenge was confirmed while this volume was being prepared. In mid-2008, the International Energy Agency issued a report concluding that US$45 trillion would be needed over the next half century to prevent energy shortages and greenhouse gas emissions from undermining global economic growth. But lest such large numbers cause us all to shrug, this volume brings attention to some of the more manageable aspects of the environment and energy security challenge – from addressing conflict resources such as illegal timber that contribute to corruption and regional instability, to means and mechanisms to enable the diversification of energy supplies, to environmental risk reduction strategies for particular installations. The participants in the Hungarian Parliament building were atypical for a NATO Advanced Research Workshop

David Price had written the greater part of this book by the time he died; it has been completed by his colleagues as a tribute to the many contributions he made to the subject of engineering geology through his professional and academic life. David graduated from the University of Wales in 1954 with the degree of Geology with Mathematics and Physics, joined the Overseas Division of the Geological Survey and was despatched to what was then British Guiana, to map economic mineral reserves and construction materials. He returned to the UK in 1958 to join the construction company George Wimpey. The post-war boom was beginning and David was engaged as an engineering geologist. In those days industry appreciated the need for research, as little was known for the tasks that had to be completed, and David joined a remarkable group of scientists and engineers at Wimpey’s Central Laboratory at Hayes; the young reader can best visualise this as an ”industrial university”. At that time formal education and training in engineering geology did not exist and as David recalled ”… no one really knew what they were doing; we followed the principles of our subject, used common sense, learnt from what happened on site and talked to those who seemed to know more than we on the subject in hand. ” It was David’s generation that established ”Engineering Geology”, as we now know it, in the UK and he played a full part in its foundation

Departing from a survey on the post-modern landscapes of tourism, this book explores the transformations the city has undergone and the way it has become a simulacrum offered to tourists, spectacularised with the aim of increasing its capacity for attraction. The experiences dealt with in the papers of authors belonging to different disciplinary fields, emphasise the city’s tendencies to create stage-set contexts of the private type, be it historic quarters, theme parks or hypermarkets. Issues like aestheticisation, thematisation and genericity are dealt with, conceptual categories that highlight the weak resistance cities put up against the rules of the leisure industry and, more generally speaking, the consumer economy. The book inquires into the capacity of the urban and territorial project to construct a perspective for a public dimension of space. This is linked with ethical action of the project involving an active relationship with places and a capacity to understand the dynamics of different urban populations. In this sense capacity for innovation and creativity can contribute to transforming islands of leisure into places of the city and consumers into citizens. Giovanni MACIOCCO obtained a degree in Engineering at the University of Pisa and in Architecture at the University of Florence. He is Full Professor of Town and Regional Planning, Director of the Department of Architecture and Planning and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sassari. His works include: Les lieux de l'eau et de la terre, (Lybra Immagine, 1998); Wastelands (Dedalo, 2000); Il progetto ambientale nelle aree di bordo, with Pittaluga P. (FrancoAngeli, 2006), Fundamental Trends in City Development (Springer, 2008), Urban Landscape Perspectives (Ed.) (Springer, 2008), The Territorial Future of the City (Ed.) (Springer, 2008), People and Space. New Forms of Interaction in City Project (Springer, 2009); Il potenziale urbano dei territori esterni with Sanna G. and Serreli S. (Eds.) (FrancoAngeli, 2009). Silvia SERRELI is a Researcher in Town and Regional Planning at the Faculty of Architecture University of Sassari. She has a Ph.D. in Urban Planning Methodology from La Sapienza University of Rome and a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Cagliari. Her works include: Le dimensioni plurali della città ambientale. Prospettive di integrazione ambientale nel progetto del territorio (FrancoAngeli, 2004), Urban Landscape and an ecology of creativity, in Maciocco G. (Ed.) Urban Landscape Perspectives (Springer, 2008), Derelict places as alternative territories of the city, in Maciocco G. (Ed.) The Territorial Future of the City (Springer, 2008), Il potenziale urbano dei territori esterni with Maciocco G. and Sanna G. (Eds.) (FrancoAngeli, 2009)

This book aims to discuss environmental and health management and policy issues in Sub-Saharan Africa and present ways to address specific environmental problems of the people and ecosystems in general. The book contains selected refereed papers on food security, environment and health, environmental management and policy development and social responsibility that were submitted to or presented at the First International Conference on Environmental Research, Technology and Policy held in Accra, Ghana, July 17-19, 2007. The primary goal of the conference was to provide a forum for policy makers, scientists, practitioners, and civil society advocates to discuss grass-root environmental issues. To assess efforts by government machinery and identify what communities and corporate entities can do as a social responsibility to mainstream environmental protection for sustainable development

War has disastrous effects on people and the physical, biological, economic, and social environment. The state-of-the-art of research on the environmental consequences of war and its aftermath is presented in this Handbook. A broad range of topics are included, such as the prevention of war and its environmental repercussions and selected environmental and human health effects of chemical warfare agents and the atmospheric transport and deposition of pollutants under warfare with two main case studies: the Balkans and the Gulf war. This book is of great help in bridging the gap between environmental chemists, who generally have limited experience with Chemical Warfare (CW) issues, with those who work with CW disarmament and nonproliferation issues but tend not to have scientific backgrounds. This book provides the basic background information needed to better grasp the problem of the environmental consequences of war, promotes a greater public awareness of and sensitivity to these issues, and can hopefully contribute to avoiding further wars in future

To commemorate the momentous 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering journey into space on 12th April 2011, a series of five books – to be published annually – will explore this half century, decade by decade, to discover how humanity’s knowledge of flying, working and living in space has changed. Each volume will focus not only upon the individual missions within ‘its’ decade, but also upon the key challenges facing human space exploration at specific points within those 50 years: from the simple problems of breathing and eating in space to the challenges of venturing outside in a pressurised spacesuit and locomotion on the Moon. The first volume of this series will focus upon the 1960s, exploring each mission from April 1961 to April 1971 in depth: from the pioneering Vostok flights to the establishment of the first Salyut space station and from Alan Shepard’s modest sub-orbital ‘hop’ into space to his triumphant arrival at the Moon’s Fra Mauro foothills almost a decade later

Exploring Culture brings Geert Hofstede's five dimensions of national culture to life. Gert Jan Hofstede and his co-authors Paul Pedersen and Geert Hofstede introduce synthetic cultures, the ten 'pure' cultural types derived from the extremes of the five dimensions. The result is a playful book of practice that is firmly rooted in theory. Part light, part serious, but always thought-provoking, this unique book approaches training through the three-part process of building awareness, knowledge, and skills. It leads the reader through the first two components with more than 75 activities, dialogues, stories, and incidents. The Synthetic Culture Laboratory and two full simulations fulfill the skill-building component. Exploring Culture is suitable for students, trainers, coaches and educators. It can be used for individual study or as a text, and it serves as an excellent partner to Geert Hofstede's popular Cultures and Organizations. (https://www.amazon.de)

The book contains the contributions at the NATO Study Institute on Exposure and Risk Assessment of Chemical Pollution – Contemporary Methodology, which took place in Sofia – Borovetz, Bulgaria, July 1–10, 2008. Rapid advances in mathematics, computer science and molecular biology and chemistry have lead to the development in of a new branch of toxicology called Computational Toxicology. This emerging field is addressing the estimation and prediction of exposure risk and effects of chemicals based on experimental data, measured concentration and biological mechanisms and computational models of biological systems. Mathematical models are also being used to predict the fate and transport of substances in the environment. Because this area is still in its infancy, there has been limited application from governmental agencies to regulating controllable processes, such as registration of new chemicals, determination of estimated exposure and risk based limits and maximum acceptable concentrations in different compartments of the environment – ambient air, waters, soil and food products. However, this is soon to change as the ability to collect, analyze and interpret the required information is becoming increasingly more efficient and cost effective. Full implementation of the new processes have to involve education on both part of the experimentalists who are generating the data and the models, and the risk assessors who will use them to better protect human health and the environment

The year 2007 could perhaps accurately be described as the year when climate change finally received the attention that this challenge deserves globally. Much of the information and knowledge that was created in this field during the year was the result of the findings of the Fourth - sessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which were disseminated on a large scale and reported extensively by the media. This was the result not only of a heightened interest on the part of the public on various aspects of climate change, but also because the IPCC itself proactively attempted to spread the findings of its AR4 to the public at large. The interest generated on the scientific realities of climate change was further enhanced by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC and former Vice President of the US, Al Gore. By taking this decision in favour of a leader who has done a great deal to create awareness on c- mate change, and a body that assesses all scientific aspects of climate change and disseminates the result of its findings, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has clearly drawn the link between climate change and peace in the world

Farmers' cooperatives are very prevalent in the European Union, where they account for approximately half of agricultural trade and thus are key to articulating rural realities and in shaping the sustainability credentials of European food and farming. This book analyses to what extent farmers' cooperatives are working to benefit their members, are showing concern for their communities and are promoting cooperative economies. It offers a multilevel set of theoretical, disciplinary, methodological, empirical and social perspectives, using the UK and Spain as contrasting examples, and analyses whether agricultural cooperatives contribute to achieving sustainable food systems. The book presents empirical data from diverse and rich case studies, from large, international cooperatives, to small, multi-stakeholder initiatives. This provides an alternative viewpoint to that of economics, which tends to dominate the study of agricultural cooperatives. The author presents a new theoretical framework that provides a novel lens to study farmers’ cooperatives as organisations deeply embedded in power dynamics of the food system and agricultural policy that shape and constraint their potential to adopt cooperative and sustainable practices. The book is a major addition to the study of agricultural cooperatives and their impact in the development of fairer and more sustainable food systems and it is one of the first detailed accounts of multi-stakeholder food and farming cooperatives in Europe. It is a valuable resource for all scholars working on cooperatives, as well as for students studying agricultural and food policy, environmental justice and rural sociology. (https://www.amazon.de)

Provides an introduction to petroleum exploration methods, referring to both geophysical and geochemical techniques and the logistics of various drilling techniques and well logging methods for oil and gas exploration. The second part of the book focuses on using these methods for petroleum exploration within the context of northern Africa. The geology of northern Africa is described and computerized lithographic correlation charts are presented and applied to petroleum exploration targets from the region

Cover -- Endorsements for Focus, 2nd Edition -- Other books by Mike Schmoker -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Foreword to the Second Edition: The Importance of Evidence -- Introduction -- SECTION I: First Things First: What We Teach, How We Teach-and Literacy -- 1: The Importance of Simplicity, Clarity, and Priority -- 2: What We Teach -- 3: How We Teach -- SECTION II: Curriculum, Instruction, and Literacy in the Content Areas -- 4: English Language Arts Made Simple -- 5: Social Studies with Reading and Writing at the Core -- 6: Redefining Inquiry in Science -- 7: Making Math Meaningful -- Conclusion: Why Wait? -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author -- Related ASCD Resources -- Back Cover

What is the 'populist moment' and what does it mean for the left? We are currently witnessing in Western Europe a 'populist moment' that signals the crisis of neoliberal hegemony. The central axis of the political conflict will be between right- and left-wing populism. By establishing a frontier between 'the people' and 'the oligarchy,' a left–populist strategy could bring together the manifold struggles against subordination, oppression and discrimination. This strategy acknowledges that democratic discourse plays a crucial role in the political imaginary of our societies. And through the construction of a collective will, mobilizing common affects in defence of equality and social justice, it will be possible to combat the xenophobic policies promoted by right-wing populism. In redrawing political frontiers, this 'populist moment' points to a 'return of the political' after years of postpolitics. A return may open the way for authoritarian solutions—through regimes that weaken liberal-democratic institutions—but it could also lead to a reaffirmation and extension of democratic values. (https://www.amazon.de)

This monograph aims to provide state-of-the-art numerical methods, procedures and algorithms in the field of computational geoscience, based on the authors’ own work during the last decade. Although some theoretical results are provided to verify numerical ones, the main focus of this monograph is on computational simulation aspects of the newly-developed computational geoscience discipline. The advanced numerical methods, procedures and algorithms presented are also applicable to a wide range of problems in both geological length-scales and engineering length-scales. In order to broaden the readership, common mathematical notations are used to describe the theoretical aspects of geoscience problems, making it either an invaluable textbook for postgraduate students or an indispensable reference book for computational geoscientists, mathematicians, engineers and geoscientists

Geodetic reference frames are the basis for The programme of the Symposium was divided three-dimensional, time dependent positioning according to the Sub-commissions, Projects in all global, regional and national networks, in and Study Groups of Commission 1 into eight cadastre, engineering, precise navigation, geo- general themes: information systems, geodynamics, sea level studies, and other geosciences. They are 1. Combination of space techniques necessary to consistently estimate unknown 2. Global reference frames and Earth rotation parameters using geodetic observations, e. g. , 3. Regional reference frames station coordinates, Earth orientation and 4. Interaction of terrestrial and celestial frames rotation parameters. Commission 1 “Reference 5. Vertical reference frames Frames” of the International Association of 6. Ionosphere modelling and analysis Geodesy (IAG) was established within the new 7. Satellite altimetry structure of IAG in 2003 with the mission to 8. Use of GNSS for reference frames study the fundamental scientific problems for the establishment of reference frames. One day of the Symposium was dedicated to a The principal objective of the scientific work joint meeting with the International Congress of the Commission is basic research on: of Federación Internationale des Géomètres - Definition, establishment, maintenance, and (FIG) and the INTERGEO congress of the improvement of geodetic reference frames. German Association of Surveying, Geo- - Advanced development of terrestrial and information and Land Management. The space observation techniques for this contributions presented at this meeting are purpose. integrated into these proceedings

Globally there has been a marked increase in both the frequency and cost of natural disasters occurring due to geological, hydrological and meteorological causes. According to the United States National Academy of Sciences losses caused by natural disasters have quadrupled in the last twenty years. This book, conceived as a technical manual deals with various aspects of geohazards - using photogeology and remote sensing. It is unique in that the succinct text supports the illustrations, and is aimed at geoscience professionals and university students, devised as a quick-reference standardized presentation of 177 globally occurring photo-geomorphological units and an equal number of variants derived from a comprehensive image-resolvable and ordered genetic classification of geounits. The selected geounits are uniquely classed and identified as either agents of, or susceptible to, one or more of the 14 general types of geohazards. The data set of each geounit systematically integrates characterizing graphics, ground- and air- perspective photos to introduce interpreted aerospace mono/stereoscopic photos and images demonstrating their detectability and mappability

Geological Formation Names of China (1866—2000) is the only catalogue on stratigraphic nomenclature for China in the world to keep two writing types (Wade-Giles Romanization and Chinese Phonetic Alphabet) so as to provide convenience for domestic and overseas readers. The catalogue is intended for specialists and graduates in Geosciences and Stratigraphy. Shouxin Zhang (1927 —2006) was stratigrapher and research professor at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

This books presents the first comprehensive overview of the evolution, geology, geomorphology and dynamics of Holocene coastal barriers in Brazil. Following two introductory chapters outlining the coast geology, climate, oceanography, general setting and dynamics, each subsequent chapter deals with the evolution and development of Holocene barriers in each state covering 9,200 kilometers of coastline. The examples cover all tidal types from micro to macro tidal, all wave and wind energies, and virtually every barrier type ranging from barrier islands, spits, strandplains, attached, receded and prograded barriers, climbing, clifftop and falling dunefield barriers and the largest transgressive dunefield barriers in the world. The book has been written by experts in Brazil, and provides a wealth of information previously inaccessible to scientists, students and managers

Nigeria is a vast country with considerable wealth in natural resources and understanding Nigeria’s geology is critical for efficient exploration and exploitation of these resources. This book provides a detailed description of Nigeria’s geology and mineral resources with the aim of promoting sustainable economic development of Nigeria’s mineral and petroleum sectors. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 discusses the geology of the crystalline rocks and their regional distribution while the sedimentary basins constitute the subject of Part 2. Part 3 presents the mineral resources of Nigeria, their geological environment, mode of occurrence, localities and where possible their estimated reserves. This is followed by an account of the previous and current mining policies (including that of petroleum) of the Nigerian government and highlights those areas of the minerals sector favorable for investment in the near future

Earth's magnetic field is currently changing dramatically. Is the observed decrease of the dipole moment indicating a future polarity transition? What would be the effects of such a drastic change on system Earth? Can any positive or negative effects on our biosphere or even humans be expected? This book gives a first overview about the geomagnetic field in general and serves as an introduction into geomagnetism. As the topic of the book covers a wide range of scientific disciplines, the first chapter summarises basic principles of geomagnetism and related fields including a historic overview, instruments and measurements, paleomagnetic fields, basics of dynamo theory, etc. The contributed chapters review major results of international activities aiming at understanding the causes and effects of geomagnetic field variations in view of the questions above

About one-third of the Earth’s land surface experiences a desert climate, and this area supports approximately 15% of the planet’s population. This percentage continues to grow, and with this growth comes the need to acquire and apply an understanding of desert geomorphology. Such an understanding is vital in managing scarce and fragile resources and in mitigating natural hazards. This authoritative reference book is comprehensive in its coverage of the geomorphology of desert environments, and is arranged thematically. It begins with an overview of global deserts, proceeds through treatments of weathering, hillslopes, rivers, piedmonts, lake basins, and aeolian surfaces, and concludes with a discussion of the role of climatic change. Written by a team of international authors, all of whom are active in the field, the chapters cover the spectrum of desert geomorphology. Geomorphology of Desert Environments – Second Edition is thoroughly revised and extended with six new chapters, many new illustrations and expanded and updated references in each chapter. - The most comprehensive and up-to-date research-level treatment of desert geomorphology - Presented from a global perspective - Written by authoritative practitioners in the field From the reviews of the previous edition: Geomorphology of Desert Environments is a worthy and desirable newcomer Nature ... up-to-date expert reviews that together represent a comprehensive treatment of the state of knowledge in desert geomorphology. SciTech Book News

Globalisation has not led to the ‘death of geography’. Intensified relations between communities in different parts of the world have only highlighted the need for understanding and managing phenomena on a variety of geographic scales. From global warming to credit crunch, and from epidemics to terrorism, causes and solutions are sought on local, regional, national as well as inter-continental levels. With the advent of Geospatial Technology, scholars, policymakers and entrepreneurs have valuable tools in hand to proceed. This book offers the first systematic account of the science behind this mental and technological revolution. Tracing the adoption and dissemination of Geospatial Technology in a range of disciplines, it examines the impact this technology has had, and is likely to have, on the explanation of spatial behaviour, phenomena and processes. At the same time, stressing innovative usage, it explores scientific contributions to technology advancement

Earth Observation interacts with space, remote sensing, communication, and information technologies, and plays an increasingly significant role in Earth related scientific studies, resource management, homeland security, topographic mapping, and development of a healthy, sustainable environment and community. Geospatial Technology for Earth Observation provides an in-depth and broad collection of recent progress in Earth observation. Contributed by leading experts in this field, the book covers satellite, airborne and ground remote sensing systems and system integration, sensor orientation, remote sensing physics, image classification and analysis, information extraction, geospatial service, and various application topics, including cadastral mapping, land use change evaluation, water environment monitoring, flood mapping, and decision making support. Geospatial Technology for Earth Observation serves as a valuable training source for researchers, developers, and practitioners in geospatial science and technology industry. It is also suitable as a reference book for upper level college students and graduate students in geospatial technology, geosciences, resource management, and informatics

Access, distribution and processing of Geographic Information (GI) are basic preconditions to support strategic environmental decision-making. The heterogeneity of information on the environment today available is driving a wide number of initiatives, on both sides of the Atlantic, all advocating both the strategic role of proper management and processing of environme- related data as well as the importance of harmonized IT infrastructures designed to better monitor and manage the environment. The extremely wide range of often multidimensional environmental information made available at the global scale poses a great challenge to technologists and scientists to find extremely sophisticated yet effective ways to provide access to relevant data patterns within such a vast and highly dynamic information flow. In the past years the domain of 3D scientific visualization has developed several solutions designed for operators requiring to access results of a simulation through the use of 3D visualization that could support the understanding of an evolving phenomenon. However 3D data visualization alone does not provide model and hypothesis-making neither it provide tools to validate results. In order overcome this shortcoming, in recent years scientists have developed a discipline that combines the benefits of data mining and information visualization, which is often referred to as Visual Analytics (VA)

This book has been designed to serve as a text book for post graduate-students and research workers in earth sciences who require a background of and a feel for statistics and the theory of regionalised variables. The book is titled 'Geostatistics with Applications in Earth Sciences. This new edition has been completely revised to reflect the notable concept - and technique-wise in geostatistics. Chapter 1 has been expanded and incorporates more detials on sampling and sampling designs. Chapters 2 and 5 have been extensively revised and a new chapter Introduction to Advanced Geostatistics has been added. Also new are the Review Questions at the end of each chapter. Audience: This book will be of interest to post-graduate students and researchers in Earth sciences. - Written from the perpective of the mining industry - Includes codes for six computer programs - Worked examples and review questions are added at the end of each chapter From the reviews of the previous edition: ... It would be particularly useful as a quick reference text and, along with others of its ilk, as a resource for individuals who might want to ramp up quickly in the field of geostatistics. (T.C. Coburn, Mathematical Geology, vol. 36, no. 8, 2004)

The German Annual of Spatial Research and Policy 2009 explores the concept of spatial disparities, which has its roots in national spatial planning and spatial development policy, and discusses new spatial disparities in Europe. The scientific articles provide an overview of the process of formulating a European position on territorial cohesion and address some of the issues surrounding new spatial disparities at different levels in different European countries. This includes the transformation from the industrial to the knowledge society, the development of settlement structures, spatial patterns of suburbanisation processes, demographic transformation, and equal ecological living conditions in the European Union

Uncertainties of information on the problems of global climatology are a principal barrier for adequate understanding of the anthropogenic effects on global ecodynamics. The purpose of the book is to summarize existing information and assess the level of these uncertainties. We want to stimulate readers to think in the longer term about climate change and ecological damage that is being done to the planet Earth in the hope that it may remain fit for human habitation and a satisfying life style for future generations, not just the next generation or two

The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) has been established by the Int- national Association of Geodesy (IAG) in order to integrate the three fundamental areas of geodesy, so as to monitor geodetic parameters and their temporal varia- ?9 tions, in a global reference frame with a target relative accuracy of 10 or b- ter. These areas, often called ‘pillars’, deal with the determination and evolution of (a) the Earth’s geometry (topography, bathymetry, ice surface, sea level), (b) the Earth’s rotation and orientation (polar motion, rotation rate, nutation, etc. ), and (c) the Earth’s gravity eld (gravity, geoid). Therefore, Earth Observation on a global scale is at the heart of GGOS’s activities, which contributes to Global Change - search through the monitoring, as well as the modeling, of dynamic Earth processes such as, for example, mass and angular momentum exchanges, mass transport and ocean circulation, and changes in sea, land and ice surfaces. To achieve such an - bitious goal, GGOS relies on an integrated network of current and future terrestrial, airborne and satellite systems and technologies. These include: various positioning, navigation, remote sensing and dedicated gravity and altimetry satellite missions; global ground networks of VLBI, SLR, DORIS, GNSS and absolute and relative gravity stations; and airborne gravity, mapping and remote sensing systems

Gravity interpretation involves inversion of data into models, but it is more. Gravity interpretation is used in a “holistic” sense going beyond “inversion”. Inversion is like optimization within certain a priori assumptions, i.e., all anticipated models lie in a limited domain of the a priori errors. No source should exist outside the anticipated model volume, but that is never literally true. Interpretation goes beyond by taking “outside” possibilities into account in the widest sense. Any neglected possibility carries the danger of seriously affecting the interpretation. Gravity interpretation pertains to wider questions such as the shape of the Earth, the nature of the continental and oceanic crust, isostasy, forces and stresses, geol- ical structure, nding useful resources, climate change, etc. Interpretation is often used synonymously with modelling and inversion of observations toward models. Interpretation places the inversion results into the wider geological or economic context and into the framework of science and humanity. Models play a central role in science. They are images of phenomena of the physical world, for example, scale images or metaphors, enabling the human mind to describe observations and re- tionships by abstract mathematical means. Models served orientation and survival in a complex, partly invisible physical and social environment

Auch eine noch so genaue Kenntnis der Gesetzeslage allein reicht für die juristische Arbeit nicht aus. Die unvermeidliche Distanz zwischen konkretem Fall einerseits und generell-abstrakten Normen andererseits macht eine Interpretation unumgänglich. Dabei bedarf es einer gelegentlich durchaus aufwändigen methodischen Vorgangsweise. Darüber soll hier Auskunft gegeben werden. Die Schwerpunkte liegen bei der Auslegung von Rechtsnormen, bei der Arbeit mit (möglicherweise) lückenhaften oder überschießenden Regelungen (Stichworte: Analogie und Reduktion) sowie bei der Arbeit mit Präjudizien, also mit Vorjudikatur zur neuerlich aktuellen Rechtsfrage. Das Buch wendet sich an Studierende der Rechtswissenschaften wie auch an praktisch tätige Juristen. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

The papers of this book are concentrated around the topic of the development and the formulation of guiding principles, concepts or visions for spatial planning and policy. In German we use a term not yet well known in international contexts - Leitbilder. For the non-German audience it might be important to know that within the German context we are dealing with a rather complex federal system. In this regard, this book reflects the use of guiding principles, concepts or visions – Leitbilder – for spatial planning and policy at the different federal levels. This includes the European level or cross-border relations at the macro level and the micro level of the local community as well. It includes rather theoretical reflections about the philosophies behind such concepts as well as the very concrete analysis of local concepts required by local communities with different historical traditions and backgrounds

The solar system has a rather well-known history. Looking at the present situation, one might get the impression that it was a rather stable and well-defined system: the orbits of the planets appear to be stable, climate and atmospheres on the planets have been determined, the risk of collision with other bodies (comets, asteroids, meteorites) seems to be small. However it is known today that the evolution of life on Earth was neither a steady progression nor uniform. There were several periods of mass extinction. These catastrophic events played a crucial role in the rise of new species. Events of astrophysical origin include: • Asteroid impacts • Major solar variabilty (space weather) • Nearby supernovae • The passage of the solar system through dense interstellar clouds Catastrophic cosmic events of this type appear in the range of some 100 million years. The author discusses whether and how such events could have occurred in the solar system as well as in recently found extrasolar planetary systems. In this text, which addresses readers in the field of Astrophysics and Astrobiology but also Geophysics and Biology these cosmic catastrophic events are described at an intermediate student's level

Handbook of Input-Output Economics in Industrial Ecology covers an array of topics including the history of industrial ecology and input-output economics, material flow analysis, LCA, sustainable consumption, policy applications, energy and climate change, waste management, national accounts and statistics, and new developments in modeling and theory. Particularly, this handbook is designed to offer a comprehensive coverage on three major issues: (1) theory and method of key analytical tools and models; (2) fundamental accounting principles and compilation of basic data; and (3) practical applications of the tools and models at various scales. First, various analytical tools and modeling techniques that are of particular importance to industrial ecology applications are comprehensively treated in this handbook, which includes hybrid models for LCA, Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and energy analysis; physical and hybrid-unit IO models; Waste IO model; multi-regional IO models; dynamic IO model; thermodynamic analysis; linear programming and optimization techniques; graph theory and network analysis; use of scenarios; and Structural Decomposition Analysis (SDA). Second, basic accounting frameworks and compilation of required data for these analytical tools and models are shown, which covers e.g., the supply-use framework, resources accounts, time-use survey, Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs), compilation of environmental IO databases of Japan (3EID) and the U.S. (CEDA). Third, use of these data, tools and models for micro-, meso-, as well as macro-scale applications are presented throughout the chapters. Readers will also notice the difference in mode of writing in some chapters: for instance, some are written more as a practical and instructive guide (e.g., the step-by-step approaches for net energy analysis of Chapter 24) and some are done more as a theoretical contribution (e.g., the multistage process-based make-use system of Chapter 35). Handbook of Input-Output Economics in Industrial Ecology can serve as a one-stop reference book for both industrial ecologists and input-output economists who are exploring the other discipline. This handbook would be particularly useful for those who study LCA, energy and climate change policy, environmental product policy and sustainable consumption

Vielfalt als pädagogische Herausforderung Der Band macht die unterrichtspraktisch relevanten Differenzen aus einer gesellschaftstheoretischen und machtkritischen Perspektive heraus als soziale Konstruktionen verstehbar. Zugleich werden Wege des reflexiven Umgangs mit den Differenzen diskutiert. Heterogenität hat als Begriff in wissenschaftlichen, politischen und medialen Diskursen über (Schul-)Bildung Konjunktur. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

Climatologists with an eye on the past have any number of sources for their work, from personal diaries to weather station reports. Piecing together the trajectory of a weather event can thus be a painstaking process taking years and involving real detective work. Missing pieces of a climate puzzle can come from very far afield, often in unlikely places. In this book, a series of case studies examine specific regions across North America, using instrumental and documentary data from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Extreme weather events such as the Sitka hurricane of 1880 are recounted in detail, while the chapters also cover more widespread phenomena such as the collapse of the Low Country rice culture. The book also looks at the role of weather station histories in complementing the instrumental record, and sets out the methods that involve early instrumental and documentary climate data. Finally, the book’s focus on North America reflects the fact that the historical climate community there has only grown relatively recently. Up to now, most such studies have focused on Europe and Asia. The four sections begin with regional case studies, and move on to reconstruct extreme events and parameters. This is followed by the role of station history and, lastly, methodologies and other analyses. The editors’ aim has been to produce a volume that would be instrumental in molding the next generation of historical climatologists. They designed this book for use by general researchers as well as in upper-level undergraduate or graduate level courses

Hormones and Pharmaceuticals Generated by Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Transport in Water and Soil examines how hormones, antibiotics and pharmaceuticals generated from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) of cattle, poultry, swine and aquaculture are transported in water and soil. Little is known of the environmental fate of the tons of physiologically active steroid hormones released each year. In their own regard, in the last 20 years considerable attention has been given to a wide variety of natural and anthropomorphic agents known as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). Until the contribution of steroid hormones to the environment are better defined, it will be difficult to quantify the exact impact of EDCs. While some advances in the understanding of the fate of these compounds in water has been made, little is known about the processes that govern their transport in soil or how they eventually reach groundwater. As this book discusses extensively, it is somewhat of a mystery how steroids, with their lipophilic nature, strong binding to humic acids and extensive metabolism by soil bacteria, can be transported through even a few centimeters of soil, let alone 20 to 40 meters to the groundwater. With respect to antibiotics, the emphasis is on their fate and transport in the environment and on the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Impacts on soil ecology, including the impact of antibiotics on the metabolism of other active agents, is also discussed. Similarly, the acaricides and insecticides used in animal husbandry are widely used and their environmental pathways have been studied and have significant impacts on soil and dung ecology. Active compounds with potential environmental impacts, such as growth promoters generated from CAFOs, are described. However, because little is known of their environmental fate, emphasis is placed on defining the gaps in our knowledge and defining their possible effects

Hurricanes are nature’s most destructive agents. They have recently been linked to changes in climate. A 4-day international summit on hurricanes and climate change took place in 2007 to discuss and debate various scientific issues related to this important topic. There were 77 attendees from 18 different countries who participated in the summit. This book is a sample collection of papers from talks that were presented. The chapters are organized around the broad hurricane-climate themes of empirical evidence, statistical methods, and numerical models. A major focus of the conference was the importance of statistical models for understanding how hurricane activity is changing and may change in the future. Emphasis was also placed on evidence of low-frequency swings in hurricane activity using historical and geological records. Results from various high-resolution numerical models, including a 20-km mesh model, were consistent in showing stronger hurricanes in a warmer future. Most numerical models indicate an overall decrease in the number of storms attributable to greater atmospheric stability and to a decrease in vertical mass flux. This book is unique in its scope drawing from an international community of scholars in the field of hurricane climate science. The science addresses a variety of perspectives ranging from the microphysics of lightning to geological evidence of prehistoric storminess

Hydrothermal processes on Earth have played an important role in the evolution of our planet. These processes link the lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere in continuously evolving dynamic systems. Terrestrial hydrothermal processes have been active since water condensed to form the hydrosphere, most probably from about 4.4 Ga. The circulation of hot aqueous solution (hydrothermal systems) at, and below, the Earth’s surface is ultimately driven by magmatic heat. This book presents an in-depth review of hydrothermal proceses and systems that form beneath the oceans and in intracontinental rifts, continental margins and magmatic arcs. The interaction of hydrothermal fluids with rockwalls, the hydrophere and the biophere, together with changes in their composition through time and space, contribute to the formation of a wide range of mineral deposit types and associated wallrock alteration. On Earth, sites of hydrothermal activity support varied ecosystems based on a range of chemotrophic microorganisms both at surface and in the subsurface. This book also provides an overview of hydrothermal systems associated with meteorite impacts and explores the possibility that hydrothermal processes operate on other terrestrial planets, such as Mars, or satellites of the outer planets such as Titan and Europa. Possible analogues of extraterrestrial putative hydrothermal processes pose the intriguing question of whether primitive life, as we know it, may exist or existed in these planetary bodies. Audience: This volume will be of interest to scientists and researchers in geosciences and life sciences departments, as well as to professionals and scientists involved in mining and mineral exploration

Ice ages represent perhaps the most dramatic example of extreme climate change on the Earth. Understanding how and why ice ages occur is of great importance in our wider understanding of the global climate system and how it might change. If one examines Greenland ice data for the past 100,000 years, it becomes very clear that the relatively warm period of the past 11,000 years stand out in striking contrast to the 90,000 years of extreme cold that preceded it. We now refer to the unusually warm period that we are in at the present time as an interglacial; the long preceding period of cold is a glacial or ice age. During the last ice age, humans developed elaborate tools and homo sapiens migrated from Africa to Europe, but it wasn’t until that ice age ended 11,000 years ago that agriculture began and with it the foundation of modern civilization. It is therefore not surprising that there is enormous interest in trying to work out the mechanisms which trigger ice ages to begin, and what causes them to end. Of particular interest is the fact that ice ages appear to begin and end very abruptly on the geological timescale. Previous and existing books on ice ages are mostly short, popular and non-technical. This book will provide an independent and complete summary of the latest data, independent of theory or analysis, before exploring theories and making comparisons with that data. Professor Donald Rapp has had a long and varied scientific and engineering career, with 48 years of experience in different fields. He has published many scientific papers and five books, including Assessing Climate Change, published by Springer-Praxis in December 2007

Ein Mann rast mit dem Lkw in eine Menschenmenge, eine Schülerin legt in ihrem Zimmer ein Waffenarsenal an, ein Altenpfleger tötet seine Patienten. Woher kommt der Hass? Nahlah Saimeh weiß, dass aus scheinbar 'normalen' Menschen Mörder werden können, dass die Anlage zur Gewalt in jedem steckt, und was das für eine immer brutaler werdende Gesellschaft bedeutet. Als forensische Psychiaterin kennt die Autorin die verschiedensten Arten von Gewalt. In faszinierenden Fallbeispielen spannt sie den Bogen von Gewalt im sozialen Umfeld bis zu Gewalt und Terror im öffentlichen Raum und regt jeden dazu an, sich zu fragen, wo er selbst steht. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

Since the late 1990s, megaconferences in the water-related sectors have become regular occurrences. The latest one, in Mexico City, in March 2006, is estimated to have cost a total of $205 million, and had 19,000+ participants. In spite of such huge costs and organizational efforts, not a single water megaconference has ever been seriously evaluated in terms of its overall impacts on the water sector. This book is the first pioneering study to assess the impacts of the megaconferences on water policies, programs and projects at global, regional and national levels. The results are bleak. The evaluation indicated that except for the UN Water Conference, held in Argentina in 1977, the impacts of the subsequent megaconferences have been at best marginal in terms of knowledge generation and application, poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and /or increasing availability of investments funds for the water sector

This book is unique in identifying general patterns in responses of terrestrial biota to industrial pollution and the sources of variation in these responses. The meta-analysis is based on extensive original data on soils, plants and animals collected around 18 industrial polluters in six countries. The colour section is self-explanatory and informative, showing examples of severely polluted landscapes compared to pristine environment. This book will be a valuable source of information for ecologists, ecotoxicologists, and anyone interested to learn on how pollution affects wildlife on our planet

This volume presents a critical analysis and timely synthesis of the past decade of intensive research, development, and demonstrations on the in situ bioremediation of perchlorate in groundwater. The intended audiences include the decision makers, practicing engineers and hydrogeologists who will select, design, and operate these remedial systems, as well as researchers seeking to improve the current state-of-the-art. Our hope is that this volume will serve as a useful resource to assist remediation professionals in applying and developing the technology as effectively as possible. An overview of the current state-of-understanding of perchlorate remediation is followed by a discussion of basic principles of microbial and abiotic processes, and of the engineering and implementation issues underlying the technologies described. Characterization of both anthropogenic and natural sources of perchlorate, including isotopic analysis to distinguish between differing sources, precedes discussions of the advantages, performance, and relative costs of applying a range of remedial technologies. Active, semi-passive, and passive in situ bioremediation are fully described and compared with emphasis on field application. Cost information for each technology, using case studies and analyses of several template sites, covers capital costs, as well as costs for laboratory testing, pilot-scale demonstration, design, system operation, monitoring and maintenance during operations, and demolition and restoration after remediation. In addition, analogous cost data are presented for pump-and-treat systems for each template site to illustrate the potential cost savings associated with the use of alternative approaches. Emerging technologies such as monitored natural attenuation, phytoremediation, and vadose zone bioremediation are described, and field demonstrations are used to illustrate the current stage of maturity and the potential applicability of these approaches for specific situations. Each chapter in this volume has been thoroughly reviewed for technical content by one or more experts in each subject area covered

eng: Has the Great Recession led to a change in income inequality within European countries? Jenkins (2012) and current country-case studies do not find a significant change for the period 2007-2010. However, recovery has not proven to be sustainable by then, as many Eurozone countries dipped into a second recession in 2012. We conduct a cross-sectional event study on the distribution of disposable income. In line with the literature we do not find a change in inequality during the early phase of the Great Recession. When including the period 2010-2015 we find a tentative increase in the ratio of the ninth to the first decile of disposable income (d9/d1 ratio), as well as for the d5/d1 ratio, for the 29 European countries on average. In order to explain the heterogeneity of the change in inequality across countries we group the European countries into 6 welfare regimes. The southern European and the post-socialist corporatist regime is positively associated with the mid-term change in inequality. Thus inequality behaves counter-cyclically in southern European countries, which is in line with literature. However, the business cycle behaviour of inequality in the other welfare regimes is rather acyclical. Eurozone members experience by 2 to 4 % stronger growth in inequality, according to the d9/d1, the d5/d1 and the Gini coefficient. Ethnolinguistic fractionalization is positively associated with the mid-term change in the d9/d1 ratio. These results are policy relevant as they address both equity and efficiency concerns.

The current state-of-the-art allows seismologists to give statistical estimates of the probability of a large earthquake striking a given region, identifying the areas in which the seismic hazard is the highest. However, the usefulness of these estimates is limited, without information about local subsoil conditions and the vulnerability of buildings. Identifying the sites where a local ampli?cation of seismic shaking will occur, and identifying the buildings that will be the weakest under the seismic shaking is the only strategy that allows effective defence against earthquake damage at an affordable cost, by applying selective reinforcement only to the structures that need it. Unfortunately, too often the Earth’s surface acted as a divide between seism- ogists and engineers. Now it is becoming clear that the building behaviour largely depends on the seismic input and the buildings on their turn act as seismic sources, in an intricate interplay that non-linear phenomena make even more complex. These phenomena are often the cause of observed damage enhancement during past ear- quakes. While research may pursue complex models to fully understand soil dyn- ics under seismic loading, we need, at the same time, simple models valid on average, whose results can be easily transferred to end users without prohibitive expenditure. Very complex models require a large amount of data that can only be obtained at a very high cost or may be impossible to get at all

Indigenous Peoples, Consent and Benefit Sharing is the first in-depth account of the Hoodia bioprospecting case and use of San traditional knowledge, placing it in the global context of indigenous peoples’ rights, consent and benefit-sharing. It is unique as the first interdisciplinary analysis of consent and benefit sharing in which philosophers apply their minds to questions of justice in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), lawyers interrogate the use of intellectual property rights to protect traditional knowledge, environmental scientists analyse implications for national policies, anthropologists grapple with the commodification of knowledge and, uniquely, case experts from Asia, Australia and North America bring their collective expertise and experiences to bear on the San-Hoodia case. While much of the focus is on bioprospecting and natural product development, Indigenous Peoples, Consent and Benefit-Sharing also draws important lessons about informed consent and benefit-sharing from the health sciences and sectors such as mining. Policymakers around the world are under significant pressure to resolve the challenges of implementing the CBD. This book’s analysis and recommendations will help them. ‘It is good to see philosophers engaging with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and doing so by looking in depth at a real situation in which it has been invoked.’ Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University ‘This book arrives at a critical juncture in the history of genetic resource use and policymaking - not only in southern Africa, but across that continent and, indeed, around the world. ABS Regime negotiators would do well to study closely the pages of this insightful and provocative volume.’ Timothy J. Hodges, Co-Chair UN CBD Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources (ABS) ‘A timely study of the way in which the key elements of the CBD relating to access to genetic resources - prior informed consent, benefit sharing - may, or may not, work in the real world, especially as it relates to the knowledge and innovations of indigenous peoples and local communities. Analytical, in-depth and insightful. An excellent work of scholarship.’ Gurdial Nijar, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity Law [CEBLAW], Professor of Law, University of Malaya; Lead negotiator for Malaysia and the Like-Minded Megadiverse countries (LMMC) for The International ABS Regime ‘This is an eagerly anticipated book, extremely well researched, and uncovering in great detail many interesting issues that will be extremely valuable for the entire indigenous plant and traditional knowledge research and commercialisation fraternity – not only in southern Africa but worldwide.’ Cyril Lombard, Marketing Manager, PhytoTrade Africa

The current warming trends in the Arctic may shove the Arctic system into a seasonally ice-free state not seen for more than one million years. The melting is accelerating, and researchers were unable to identify natural processes that might slow the deicing of the Arctic. Such substantial additional melting of Arctic and Antarctic glaciers and ice sheets would raise the sea level worldwide, flooding the coastal areas where many of the world's population lives. Studies, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Arizona, show that greenhouse gas increases over the next century could warm the Arctic by 3-5°C in summertime. Thus, Arctic summers by 2100 may be as warm as they were nearly 130,000 years ago, when sea levels eventually rose up to 6 m higher than today

This volume contains the papers presented at the International Workshop “Information Fusion and Geographic Information Systems” (IF&GIS’09) held in St. Petersburg, Russia in May 2009. The workshop was organized by the St. Petersburg Institute for Informatics and Automation of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPIIRAS). The workshop continues a series organised biannually, and attracts academics and industrials from a wide range of disciplines including computer science, geography, statistics, mathematics, hydrography, geomorphology, and environmental sciences. The objective of this workshop is to provide a forum for innovative research oriented towards Geographic Information Science and tech- logies and Corporate Information Systems whose close association highlight novel theoretical and practical challenges. The papers selected by the International Program Committee cover a wide range of innovative areas including ontological and semantic approaches for the representation of geographical data, geographical data monitoring, situation management and forecast, to emerging applications oriented to the maritime environment, disaster management and security threats. While traditional topics of GIS conferences are well represented and still being advanced, several new domains appear and stress the need for the development of versatile monitoring systems and decision making systems. While GIS already have a de facto standard for geographical monitoring and analysis, the papers accepted in this volume also illustrate several novel directions of application whose objective is more closely oriented to process modeling and decision making, and where the nature of the objects represented is revisited using ontological and semantic approaches

Information technologies have evolved to an enabling science for natural resource management and conservation, environmental engineering, scientific simulation and integrated assessment studies. Computing plays a significant role in every day practices of environmental engineers, natural scientists, economists, and social scientists. The complexity of natural phenomena requires interdisciplinary approaches, where computing science offers the infrastructure for environmental data collection and management, scientific simulations, decision support documentation and reporting. Ecology, environmental engineering and natural resource management comprise an excellent real-world testbed for IT system demonstration, while raising new challenges for computer science. Complexity, uncertainty and scaling issues of natural systems form a demanding application domain for sensor networks and earth observation systems; modelling, simulation and scientific workflows, data management and reporting, decision support and intelligent systems, distributed computing environments, geographical information systems, heterogeneous systems integration, software engineering, accounting systems and control systems. This books offers a collection of papers presented at the 4th International Symposium on Environmental Engineering, held in May 2009, in Thessaloniki, Greece. Recent success stories in ecoinformatics, promising ideas and new challenges are discussed among computer scientists, environmental engineers, economists and social scientists, demonstrating new paradigms for problem solving and decision making

The infrasound field, the science of low-frequency acoustic waves, has developed into a broad interdisciplinary field encompassing academic disciplines of physics and recent technical and scientific developments. The infrasound network of the International Monitoring Network (IMS) of the CTBT-Organization has demonstrated its capability for detecting and locating infrasonic sources such as meteorites, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, auroras, mountain associated waves... Nearly 70% of the global network is now operational and regional cluster arrays are deployed around the globe. Systematic investigations into low-frequency acoustic signals have evidenced an unprecedented potential of the monitoring of infrasonic waves permanently generated by natural and man-made events. Furthermore, recent studies point out new insights on quantitative relationships between observables and atmospheric specifications, and therefore opening new fields into the mathematics of geophysical inverse problems for atmospheric remote sensing. This volume reviews the most important areas of infrasound, with emphasis on the latest researches and applications, e.g. instrumentation, engineering, signal processing, source monitoring, propagation modeling, atmospheric dynamics, global changes, remote sensing methods. Researchers and students will benefit from a comprehensive content of infrasound related topics, where both fundamental and applied topics are discussed by authors from international institutions, all experts in their fields

In creating urban space, there is always an exchange of dialogue as to what the space currently is and how it ought to exist, by those who live in that place, those who have a stake in its future, and those who sense the need for improvement in its harsh reality. Some of their thoughts materialize in the form of a physical change to the current environment – and urban regene- tion is one such form. This process in which people redefine their living environment and socially reconstruct the meaning and value of a place is all too important in deciding what, if any, change should be introduced in the form of a physical project. Some might argue that this communicative process is indeed the very core or even the definition of urban regeneration rather than a mere condition for instigation. However, it has also been observed that such a communicative process is often difficult to manage, if it happens at all. Social exclusion, power imbalance, conflict, indifference, and lack of c- municative social capital are the usual suspects in collective inaction, but it is also true that they are familiar constituents of any urban life. In some social contexts, little attention has been paid to such complexity

Remote sensing of our environment is becoming increasingly accessible and important in today’s society. This book aims to highlight some of the broad and multi-disciplinary applications, and emerging practices, that remote sensing and photogrammetric technologies lend themselves to. The papers have been selected from the 13th and 14th Australasian Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Conferences given by experts in remote sensing, spatial analysis and photogrammetry from across the Asia Pacific region. They are presented here as a collection of peer reviewed papers covering research into areas such as data fusion techniques and their applications in environmental monitoring, synoptic monitoring and data processing, terrestrial and marine applications of remote sensing, and photogrammetry

Das erfolgreiche Management von innovativen Ideen ist für Unternehmen ein ebenso klassisches wie hoch aktuelles Thema. Für die fünfte Auflage des bewährten Lehrbuchs wurden die Inhalte vollständig aktualisiert, neu strukturiert und erweitert. Wesentliche Themen sind unter anderem: Erfolgsfaktoren von Innovationen, Innovationsstrategie, Innovationskultur, organisatorische Integration der Innovationsfunktion, Phasen von Innovationsprozessen, Innovationscontrolling, internes und externes Marketing von Innovationen sowie Innovationsschutz. Das aktuelle Wissen zum Thema: übersichtlich dargestellt und verständlich erklärt. (http://www.buchhandel.de)

An understanding of the uniquely human behavior of stone tool making tackles questions about hominins’ ability to culturally transmit and expand their base of social and practical knowledge and their cognitive capacities for advanced planning. The appearance of stone tools has often been viewed as a threshold event, impacting directly and profoundly the later course of cultural and social evolution. Alternatively, it has been understood as a prelude to significant succeeding changes in behavioral, social and biological evolution of hominins. This book presents a series of recent enquiries into the technological and adaptive significance of Oldowan stone tools. While anchored in a long research tradition, these studies rely on recent discoveries and innovative analyses of the archaeological record of ca. 2.6 – 1.0 million years ago in Africa and Eurasia, dealing with the earliest lithic industries as manifestations of hominin adaptations and as expressions of hominin cognitive abilities

As a result of arms control efforts over the past 50 years, nuclear material is subject to strict national controls and tough international treaties. But there are still almost no controls, other than a voluntary International Atomic Energy Agency code of conduct, on the sorts of radiological sources used to make radiological dirty bombs. Radiological sources are used all over the world for a wide range of peaceful purposes, including smoke detectors, medical devices, meteorology, mining and thermoelectric generators. There are at least eight million identified radiological sources worldwide. Their small size, portability and high value make them vulnerable to misuse and theft: the IAEA reported 272 cases of illicit trafficking in sealed radioactive sources between 1993 and 2002. The IAEA estimates that 110 countries worldwide still fail to impose adequate controls. The time is ripe for an international convention and treaty on the safety and security of radiological sources. This book covers expert discussions designed to enhance cooperation and assistance between NATO and Partner countries in support of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) efforts to secure radioactive sources against the threat of terrorism and also to support the security agenda at the International Radiation Protection Association Congress in Buenos Aires in 2008

Over two billion people live in tropical lands. Most of them live in intimate contact with the immediate geological environment, obtaining their food and water directly from it. The unique geochemistry of these tropical environments have a marked influence on their health, giving rise to diseases that affect millions of people. The origin of these diseases is geologic as exemplified by dental and skeletal fluorosis, iodine deficiency disorders, trace element imbalances to name a few. This book, one of the first of its kind, serves as an excellent introduction to the emerging discipline of Medical Geology

Etabliert als fundiertes Grundlagen- und kompetentes Nachschlagewerk: Das Lehrbuch deckt alle Bereiche und Aspekte des finanziellen Rechnungswesens ab, die zu jeder betriebswirtschaftlichen Ausbildung gehören sollten. Vor dem Hintergrund der dynamischen Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet der Abschlusserstellung und der Unternehmensberichterstattung durchgehend aktualisiert und überarbeitet, u.a. im nationalen Bereich Berücksichtigung des BilRuG und des CSR-RL-Umsetzungsgesetzes, im Bereich internationale Rechnungslegung die neuen Standards IFRS 9, 15 und 16. Das bewährte didaktische Konzept, verbunden mit vielen zweifarbigen Abbildungen, Grafiken und Beispielen wurde beibehalten. (http://www.buchhandel.de)