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ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and New Management Standards (Measuring Operations Performance)
by Iñaki Heras-SaizarbitoriaThis book is a comprehensive reference on ISO management system standards and their implementation. The impacts that ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 have had on business performance are analyzed in depth, and up-to-date perspectives are offered on the integration of these and other management standards (e.g. SA8000, ISO/TS 16949). Detailed information is provided on the signaling value of different management standards and on the new ISO standards for management systems, such as ISO 50001 and ISO 45001, relating to energy management and occupational health and safety. The role of audits in ensuring compliance with the standards and achievement of objectives is also carefully considered. The volume examines avenues for further research and emerging challenges. In offering an integrated, holistic perspective on ISO management system standards, this book will have wide appeal for academics, public decision-makers, and practitioners in the field of quality and environmental management.
China from the Inside: Letters from an Economist
by Liam BruntThis book delivers the fascinating account of one Western family’s time living and working in China. Told through a series of letters, China from the Inside: Letters from an Economist presents insights into the society and economy of a country that is often opaque to outsiders and poorly understood. The author’s expertise as an economist, and the family’s efforts to integrate into Chinese society, furnish a vivid and unique account. It provides a valuable new perspective on the Chinese worldview, social relations and economy, as well as informed opinion on its projected economic development. Addressing issues ranging from the education system to the sustainability of economic growth, this is an accessible and engaging book that will be essential reading for all those interested in China and its future.
China from the Inside: Letters from an Economist
by Liam BruntThis book delivers the fascinating account of one Western family’s time living and working in China. Told through a series of letters, China from the Inside: Letters from an Economist presents insights into the society and economy of a country that is often opaque to outsiders and poorly understood. The author’s expertise as an economist, and the family’s efforts to integrate into Chinese society, furnish a vivid and unique account. It provides a valuable new perspective on the Chinese worldview, social relations and economy, as well as informed opinion on its projected economic development. Addressing issues ranging from the education system to the sustainability of economic growth, this is an accessible and engaging book that will be essential reading for all those interested in China and its future.
Problems, Philosophy and Politics of Climate Science (Springer Climate)
by Guido ViscontiThis book is a critical appraisal of the status of the so-called Climate Sciences (CS). These are contributed by many other basic sciences like physics, geology, chemistry and as such employ theoretical and experimental methods. In the last few decades most of the CS have been identified with the global warming problem and numerical models have been used as the main tool for their investigations. The produced predictions can only be partially tested against experimental data and may represent one of the reasons CS are drifting away from the route of the scientific method. On the other hand the study of climate faces many other interesting and mostly unsolved problems (think about ice ages) whose solution could clarify how the climatic system works. As for the global warming, while its existence is largely proved, scientifically it can be solved only with a large experimental effort carried out for a few decades. Problems can arise when not proved hypotheses are adopted as the basis for public policy without the recognition that they may be on shaky ground. The strong interactions of the Global Warming (GW) with the society create another huge problem of political nature for the CS. The book argues that the knowledge gained so far on the specific GW problem is enough for the relevant political decisions to be taken and that Climate Science should resume the study of the climate system with appropriate means and methods. The book introduces the most relevant concepts needed for the discussion in the text or in appropriate appendices and it is directed to the general public with upper undergraduate background. Each chapter closes with a debate between a climate scientist and a humanist to reflect the discussions between climate science and philosophy or climate scientists and society.
Advanced Multipoles for Accelerator Magnets: Theoretical Analysis and Their Measurement (Springer Tracts in Modern Physics #277)
by Pierre SchnizerThis monograph presents research on the transversal beam dynamics of accelerators and evaluates and describes the respective magnetic field homogeneity. The widely used cylindrical circular multipoles have disadvantages for elliptical apertures or curved trajectories, and the book also introduces new types of advanced multipole magnets, detailing their application, as well as the numerical data and measurements obtained. The research presented here provides more precise descriptions of the field and better estimates of the beam dynamics. Moreover, the effects of field inhomogeneity can be estimated with higher precision than before. These findings are further elaborated to demonstrate their usefulness for real magnets and accelerator set ups, showing their advantages over cylindrical circular multipoles. The research findings are complemented with data obtained from the new superconducting beam guiding magnet models (SIS100) for the FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) project. Lastly, the book offers a comprehensive survey of error propagation in multipole measurements and an appendix with Mathematica scripts to calculate advanced magnetic coil designs.
Mississippi Delta Restoration: Pathways to a sustainable future (Estuaries of the World)
by John W. Day Jori A. ErdmanThis book is a new and provocative treatment dealing with and defining sustainable pathways for the restoration of the Mississippi Delta. Based on a consideration of natural functioning of the Mississippi delta, factors that led to its severe deterioration, and major global trajectories of the 21st century, the authors investigate possible future pathways for sustainable management of the delta. They consider current conditions as well as future trajectories of climate and energy and resource scarcity. The book concludes that without profound changes of how humans live in and manage the delta, sustainability of the delta will be profoundly compromised.
Landscapes and Landforms of Egypt: Landforms and Evolution (World Geomorphological Landscapes)
by Nabil Sayed EmbabiThis book provides a unique reference resource not only for geomorphologists, but for all Earth scientists. It shows how landforms vary enormously across Egypt, from high mountains to endless plains, and presents the vast heritage of forms that have developed under different climates. Richly illustrated with numerous plates and figures, it also includes a bibliography offering exhaustive coverage of the literature.
The Management of Small Renal Masses: Diagnosis and Management
by Kamran Ahmed Nicholas Raison Ben Challacombe Alexandre Mottrie Prokar DasguptaWithin this single volume, surgeons and medical students are able to find up-to-date clinical information and advice needed to manage this unique condition of small renal masses. The book aims to present information on the topic in a clear and logical way, with the help of figures, tables, and images that will assist in the practical application of the skills that are obtained from the book. The growth of new technologies and the continued development of existing techniques have led to a considerable number of new options that can be offered to patients by urologists. Despite these advances, challenges still remain and this book offers individual solutions to each aspect of the management of small renal masses, so that every diagnosis can be tailored to each patient. Written by leading experts, this book gives expert insight and advice into the diagnosing and managing of this condition. From making an accurate diagnosis to selecting the appropriate treatment for the patient, this book will provide a comprehensive guide on all aspects of the management of small renal masses.
New Perspectives on Prison Masculinities (Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology)
by Matthew Maycock Kate HuntNew Perspectives on Prison Masculinities
The Changing Nature of Happiness: An In-Depth Study of a Town in North West England 1938–2016
by Sandie McHughThis book shines a light on the meaning of happiness and how public perceptions of it have changed over time. A question that has engaged philosophers from the days of Aristotle, happiness is a subject of growing academic interest, and its recent integration into government policy is provoking increased debate into its definition and nature. Sandie McHugh and her associates build on the work of social anthropologist Tom Harrison’s ‘Worktown’ Mass Observation study from 1938, repeating the original study today. Together these accounts show how perceptions of happiness have changed over the years for the people of Bolton, UK, and reveal major difference between its definition then and now. This unique study is a useful tool in the understanding and study of happiness, offering invaluable insights for scholars and practitioners working in the fields of social psychology, positive psychology, health psychology and wellbeing.
The Changing Nature of Happiness: An In-Depth Study of a Town in North West England 1938–2016
by Sandie McHughThis book shines a light on the meaning of happiness and how public perceptions of it have changed over time. A question that has engaged philosophers from the days of Aristotle, happiness is a subject of growing academic interest, and its recent integration into government policy is provoking increased debate into its definition and nature. Sandie McHugh and her associates build on the work of social anthropologist Tom Harrison’s ‘Worktown’ Mass Observation study from 1938, repeating the original study today. Together these accounts show how perceptions of happiness have changed over the years for the people of Bolton, UK, and reveal major difference between its definition then and now. This unique study is a useful tool in the understanding and study of happiness, offering invaluable insights for scholars and practitioners working in the fields of social psychology, positive psychology, health psychology and wellbeing.
Scher and Daniel's Nails: Diagnosis, Surgery, Therapy
by Adam I. Rubin Nathaniel J. Jellinek C. Ralph Daniel III Richard K. ScherThis thoroughly updated 4th Edition of this highly regarded text continues to provide the latest therapeutic and surgical information on nail disease and disorders. It expands and updates all areas of onychology, including the newest in diagnostic techniques for nail diseases, a segment of dermatology that not only proves more difficult than cutaneous disorders but also is an exciting and innovative area on the frontier of skin research. Scher and Daniel's Nails: Diagnosis, Surgery, Therapy provides an update of therapeutic advances to help the resident, practitioner, and related healthcare provider (podiatrist, nurse, primary care physician, and all involved in nail care). A major section is devoted to nail surgery and nail pathology, both of which have been behind compared to other aspects of dermatology. There is also extensive information on the billion dollar nail cosmetics industry, which will bring this text to the attention of all nail technicians (several hundred thousand in the US alone) as well as to cosmeticians and manufacturers.
Semantics
by András KornaiThe focus of this textbook is the meaning of linguistic expressions, typically full sentences and longer texts. The author describes the conceptual and formal tools required for building semantic systems capable of understanding text, both for specific tasks such as information extraction and question answering and for broad undertakings such as the Semantic Web. The goal here is to present the fundamental ideas that working systems rest on, and this book is aimed primarily at Computer Science or Engineering students interested in developing semantic systems. The ideal reader is a hacker, a person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system.
Charles De Gaulle and the Media: Leadership, TV and the Birth of the Fifth Republic
by Riccardo Brizzi Jon KearThis book explores Charles De Gaulle's use and strict control of television between 1958 and 1969, highlighting the association between charismatic power and television with regards to legitimizing the Gaullist leadership and determining an evolution towards presidentialism during the Fifth Republic. A protagonist of European political history of the twentieth century, Charles de Gaulle was a pioneer in the use of mass media: in the Second World War he had earned the nickname of Général-micro due to his reliance on radio communication; in 1958 he then started an substantive and fruitful use of television, which some of his opponents labelled as ‘telecracy’. From difficult beginnings, where he followed the advice of publicity and communication experts, through his masterful TV appearances during the dramatic moments of the Algerian War, to the presidential campaign of 1965 and the crisis of May 1968, the author paints a compelling fresco of de Gaulle as the first TV leader in contemporary European history. The book will appeal to students and scholars interested in the fields of French politics, political communication and political leadership.
Charles De Gaulle and the Media: Leadership, TV and the Birth of the Fifth Republic
by Riccardo Brizzi Jon KearThis book explores Charles De Gaulle's use and strict control of television between 1958 and 1969, highlighting the association between charismatic power and television with regards to legitimizing the Gaullist leadership and determining an evolution towards presidentialism during the Fifth Republic. A protagonist of European political history of the twentieth century, Charles de Gaulle was a pioneer in the use of mass media: in the Second World War he had earned the nickname of Général-micro due to his reliance on radio communication; in 1958 he then started an substantive and fruitful use of television, which some of his opponents labelled as ‘telecracy’. From difficult beginnings, where he followed the advice of publicity and communication experts, through his masterful TV appearances during the dramatic moments of the Algerian War, to the presidential campaign of 1965 and the crisis of May 1968, the author paints a compelling fresco of de Gaulle as the first TV leader in contemporary European history. The book will appeal to students and scholars interested in the fields of French politics, political communication and political leadership.
Self-Assembled Molecules – New Kind of Protein Ligands: Supramolecular Ligands
by Irena Roterman Leszek KoniecznyThe subject of this book relates to protein ligands with particular structural and complexation properties. They are composed of self-assembled molecules, capable of penetrating as a unit into proteins outside the binding site. The ribbon-like supramolecular system only permits the penetration of self-assembled molecules into the protein-body and formation of stable complexes. Supramolecular Congo red and similar compounds fit these requirements. Destabilized protein fragments enable the penetration of such ligands, with susceptibility to supramolecular ligand binding often associated with protein function. As a result, complexation modifies their functional effects. The activity of enzymes is inhibited by arresting them in the complexed state, but “naturally irreversible” complexation as in the case of immune complexation, is enhanced instead. This property offers many attractive possibilities of using supramolecular ligands as described in this book. This book is an open access under a CC BY license.
Advances in Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems: The 9th International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems (INCoS-2017) (Lecture Notes on Data Engineering and Communications Technologies #8)
by Leonard Barolli Isaac Woungang Omar Khadeer HussainThe aim of this book is to provide the latest research findings, innovative research results, methods and development techniques from both theoretical and practical perspectives related to intelligent social networks and collaborative systems, intelligent networking systems, mobile collaborative systems, secure intelligent cloud systems, etc., and to reveal synergies among various paradigms in the multi-disciplinary field of intelligent collaborative systems. It presents the Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems (INCoS-2017), held on August 24–26, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.With the rapid evolution of the Internet, we are currently experiencing a shift from the traditional sharing of information and applications as the main purpose of the Web to an emergent paradigm that puts people at the very centre of networks and exploits the value of people’s connections, relations and collaborations. Social networks are also playing a major role in the dynamics and structure of intelligent Web-based networking and collaborative systems.Virtual campuses, virtual communities and organizations effectively leverage intelligent networking and collaborative systems by tapping into a broad range of formal and informal electronic relations, such as business-to-business, peer-to-peer and many types of online collaborative learning interactions, including the emerging e-learning systems. This has resulted in entangled systems that need to be managed efficiently and autonomously. In addition, the latest and powerful technologies based on Grid and wireless infrastructure as well as Cloud computing are now greatly enhancing collaborative and networking applications, but are also facing new issues and challenges. The principal objective of the research and development community is to stimulate research that leads to the creation of responsive environments for networking and, in the longer-term, the development of adaptive, secure, mobile, and intuitive intelligent systems for collaborative work and learning.
Earth Observation Open Science and Innovation (ISSI Scientific Report Series #15)
by Pierre-Philippe Mathieu Christoph AubrechtThis book is published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.Over the past decades, rapid developments in digital and sensing technologies, such as the Cloud, Web and Internet of Things, have dramatically changed the way we live and work. The digital transformation is revolutionizing our ability to monitor our planet and transforming the way we access, process and exploit Earth Observation data from satellites.This book reviews these megatrends and their implications for the Earth Observation community as well as the wider data economy. It provides insight into new paradigms of Open Science and Innovation applied to space data, which are characterized by openness, access to large volume of complex data, wide availability of new community tools, new techniques for big data analytics such as Artificial Intelligence, unprecedented level of computing power, and new types of collaboration among researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and citizen scientists. In addition, this book aims to provide readers with some reflections on the future of Earth Observation, highlighting through a series of use cases not just the new opportunities created by the New Space revolution, but also the new challenges that must be addressed in order to make the most of the large volume of complex and diverse data delivered by the new generation of satellites.
Internet Sex Work: Beyond the Gaze
by Teela Sanders Jane Scoular Rosie Campbell Jane Pitcher Stewart CunninghamThis book takes readers behind the screen to uncover how digital technologies have affected the UK sex industry. The authors use extensive new datasets to explore the working practices, safety and regulation of the sex industry, for female, male and trans sex workers primarily working in the UK. Insights are given as to how sex workers use the internet in their everyday working lives, appropriating social media, private online spaces and marketing strategies to manage their profiles, businesses and careers. Internet Sex Work also explores safety strategies in response to new forms of crimes experienced by sex workers, as well as policing responses. The book will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of social science disciplines, including gender studies, socio-legal studies, criminology and sociology.
The Economy as a Complex Spatial System: Macro, Meso and Micro Perspectives (Springer Proceedings in Complexity)
by Pasquale Commendatore Ingrid Kubin Spiros Bougheas Alan Kirman Michael Kopel Gian Italo BischiThis book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.This collected volume represents the final outcome of the COST Action IS1104 “The EU in the new complex geography of economic systems: models, tools and policy evaluation”.Visualizing the EU as a complex and multi-layered network, the book is organized in three parts, each of them dealing with a different level of analysis: At the macro-level, Part I considers the interactions within large economic systems (regions or countries) involving trade, workers migration, and other factor movements. At the meso-level, Part II discusses interactions within specific but wide-ranging markets, with a focus on financial markets and banking systems. Lastly, at the micro-level, Part III explores the decision-making of single firms, especially in the context of location decisions.
Topics in Mathematical Biology (Lecture Notes on Mathematical Modelling in the Life Sciences)
by Karl Peter Hadeler Michael C. Mackey Angela StevensThis book analyzes the impact of quiescent phases on biological models. Quiescence arises, for example, when moving individuals stop moving, hunting predators take a rest, infected individuals are isolated, or cells enter the quiescent compartment of the cell cycle. In the first chapter of Topics in Mathematical Biology general principles about coupled and quiescent systems are derived, including results on shrinking periodic orbits and stabilization of oscillations via quiescence. In subsequent chapters classical biological models are presented in detail and challenged by the introduction of quiescence. These models include delay equations, demographic models, age structured models, Lotka-Volterra systems, replicator systems, genetic models, game theory, Nash equilibria, evolutionary stable strategies, ecological models, epidemiological models, random walks and reaction-diffusion models. In each case we find new and interesting results such as stability of fixed points and/or periodic orbits, excitability of steady states, epidemic outbreaks, survival of the fittest, and speeds of invading fronts. The textbook is intended for graduate students and researchers in mathematical biology who have a solid background in linear algebra, differential equations and dynamical systems. Readers can find gems of unexpected beauty within these pages, and those who knew K.P. (as he was often called) well will likely feel his presence and hear him speaking to them as they read.
The Foxtail Millet Genome (Compendium of Plant Genomes)
by Manoj PrasadThis book presents up-to-date information on foxtail millet genomics, with a particular focus on its agronomic importance, genome architecture, marker development, evolutionary and diversity studies, comparative genomics and stress biology. The topics discussed have the potential to open up a new era of crop improvement in foxtail millet and other related grass species.Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) is the oldest domesticated crop in the world (domesticated >8700 years ago) and it has been extensively grown in the semi-arid regions of Asia, Europe and the Americas as a food and fodder crop ever since. Further, as a C4 crop with close genetic relatedness to several biofuel grasses, foxtail millet has been promoted as a model plant. In view of its importance, the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and Beijing Genomics Institute have independently sequenced the genome of foxtail millet. The availability of the draft genome sequence has advanced the genomics and genetics of this important crop, resulting in the development of large-scale genome-wide molecular markers and demonstration of their utility in genomics-assisted breeding, as well as the identification of the molecular and biological roles of several stress-responsive gene families in connection with abiotic stress tolerance. In addition, several open access databases have been developed to make these resources for crop improvement through structural and functional genomics widely available.
Optimal Control of Energy Resources for State Estimation Over Wireless Channels (SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering)
by Alex S. Leong Daniel E. Quevedo Subhrakanti DeyThis brief introduces wireless communications ideas and techniques into the study of networked control systems. It focuses on state estimation problems in which sensor measurements (or related quantities) are transmitted over wireless links to a central observer. Wireless communications techniques are used for energy resource management in order to improve the performance of the estimator when transmission occurs over packet dropping links, taking energy use into account explicitly in Kalman filtering and control. The brief allows a reduction in the conservatism of control designs by taking advantage of the assumed. The brief shows how energy-harvesting-based rechargeable batteries or storage devices can offer significant advantages in the deployment of large-scale wireless sensor and actuator networks by avoiding the cost-prohibitive task of battery replacement and allowing self-sustaining sensor to be operation. In contrast with research on energy harvesting largely focused on resource allocation for wireless communication systems design, this brief optimizes estimation objectives such as minimizing the expected estimation error covariance. The resulting power control problems are often stochastic control problems which take into account both system and channel dynamics. The authors show how to pose and solve such design problems using dynamic programming techniques. Researchers and graduate students studying networked control systems will find this brief a helpful source of new ideas and research approaches.
Proceedings of the Symposium of Aeronautical and Aerospace Processes, Materials and Industrial Applications: Presented at the XXV International Materials Research Congress – Cancun 2016
by P. Zambrano-Robledo A. Salinas-Rodriguez F. Almeraya CalderonThis book presents selected contributions to the Symposium of Aeronautical and Aerospace Processes, Materials and Industrial Applications of the XXV International Materials Research Congress (IMRC). Each chapter addresses scientific principles behind processing and production of materials for aerospace/aeronautical applications. The chapter deals with microstructural characterization including composites materials and metals. The second chapter deals with corrosion in aerospace components is a large and expensive problema for aerospace industry. Finally, the last chapter covers modeling and simulation of different processes to evaluate and optimize the forming process. This book is meant to be useful to academics and professionals.
Sociocultural Perspectives on Youth Ethical Consumerism (Cultural Studies of Science Education #16)
by Giuliano Reis Michael Mueller Rachel Gisewhite Luiz Siveres Renato BritoThis exciting new book advances current practice-based and theoretical knowledge around how youth defines and engages with consumerism to provoke a larger conversation within science and environmental education. It is also geared towards unveiling those literacy praxes that can assist youth to adopt more ethically-oriented consumerist habits. More specifically, this book studies how youth’s participation in the global consumer market intersects with media technologies, new literacies, as well as science and the environment from sociocultural perspectives. In addition, it considers how school science has mediated youth participation in hyper-consumerism, from food and technology to shelter and transportation. This important and timely book is a must-read for those interested in topics such as critical youth studies, critical media literacy, STEM, arts-based research, STSE education, citizenship education, cultural studies, policy studies, curriculum studies, socio-scientific issues, technology, sustainability, food studies, social justice, poverty, and consumer behaviour.A wide range of science, technology and environmental educators from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Netherlands and the United States have combined their perspectives to produce this exciting, innovative, timely and important book. It should be essential reading for all teachers, teacher educators and curriculum developers keen to address key issues raised by a commitment to assist students in refining their understanding of what constitutes socially, culturally, ethically and politically responsible consumer practices and supporting them in formulating and engaging in effective individual and collective action.Derek Hodson, Emeritus Professor of Science Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, Professor of Science Education at The University of Auckland (New Zealand), and Founding Editor of the Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education (CJSMTE).The authors in the book deconstruct and analyse intricate economic, sociopolitical and affective networks that are behind the cycles of production, distribution and consumption of objects that are present in youngsters' daily lives and their attitudes towards them. Apart from breaking new ground by proposing and discussing socioculturally informed research about the topic, the book connects with pedagogical approaches that value critical perspectives on the nature of the relationship between science, technology, society and environment. It is a must-read for both researchers and practitioners interested in issues related to sustainability and citizenship education. Isabel Martins, Professor of Science Education, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).