springer netherlands jul 2014 (119 risultati)

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The three concepts central to this volume-practice, learning and change-have received very different treatments in the educational literature, an oversight directly confronted here. While learning and change have been extensively theorised, their various contexts articulated and analysed, practice is notably underrepresented. Where much of the literature on learning and change takes the notion of 'practice' as an unexamined given, its co-location as a term with various classifiers, as in 'legal practice' and 'teaching practice', render it curiously devoid of semantic force.In this book, 'practice' is the super-ordinate organising idea. Drawing on what has been termed the 'practice turn in contemporary theory', the work develops a conceptual framework for researching learning in, and on, practice. It challenges received notions of practice, questioning the assumptions, elisions, conflations and silences on the subject. In so doing, it offers fresh insights into learning and change, and how they relate to practice. In tandem with this conceptual work, the book details site-ontological studies of practice and learning in diverse professional and workplace contexts, examining the work of occupations as various as doctors, chefs and orchestral musicians. It demonstrates the value of theorising practice, learning and change, as well as exploring the connections between them amid our evolving social and institutional structures. 308 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Neuro-robotics is one of the most multidisciplinary fields of the last decades, fusing information and knowledge from neuroscience, engineering and computer science. This book focuses on the results from the strategic alliance between Neuroscience and Robotics that help the scientific community to better understand the brain as well as design robotic devices and algorithms for interfacing humans and robots. The first part of the book introduces the idea of neuro-robotics, by presenting state-of-the-art bio-inspired devices. The second part of the book focuses on human-machine interfaces for performance augmentation, which can seen as augmentation of abilities of healthy subjects or assistance in case of the mobility impaired. The third part of the book focuses on the inverse problem, i.e. how we can use robotic devices that physically interact with the human body, in order (a) to understand human motor control and (b) to provide therapy to neurologically impaired people or people with disabilities. 456 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This book provides an account of the state-of-the-art in thermochemical biomass conversion and arises from the third conference in a series sponsored by the International Energy Agency's Bioenergy Agreement. Fundamental and applied research topics are included, reflecting recent advances as well as demonstration and commercial innovation.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In this edited open access book leading scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds wrestle with social science integration opportunities and challenges. This book explores the growing concern of how best to achieve effective integration of the social science disciplines as a means for furthering natural resource social science and environmental problem solving. The chapters provide an overview of the history, vision, advances, examples and methods that could lead to integration.The quest for integration among the social sciences is not new. Some argue that the social sciences have lagged in their advancements and contributions to society due to their inability to address integration related issues. Integration merits debate for a number of reasons. First, natural resource issues are complex and are affected by multiple proximate driving social factors. Single disciplinary studies focused at one level are unlikely to provide explanations that represent this complexity and are limited in their ability to inform policy recommendations. Complex problems are best explored across disciplines that examine social-ecological phenomenon from different scales. Second, multi-disciplinary initiatives such as those with physical and biological scientists are necessary to understand the scope of the social sciences. Too frequently there is a belief that one social scientist on a multi-disciplinary team provides adequate social science representation. Third, more complete models of human behavior will be achieved through a synthesis of diverse social science perspectives. 288 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -India has been traditionally well-endowed with large freshwater reserves, but increasing population, urbanization and agricultural growth in recent decades are causing overexploitation of surface and groundwater. As consumption of water grows, wastewater increases significantly and in the absence of proper measures for treatment and management, is polluting existing freshwater reserves. As a result, water pollution has emerged as one of the nation's gravest environmental threats.This book draws a link between water pollution generated by different industries and the various economic activities of the Indian economy using the Input-output framework. It constructs a detailed water pollution coefficient matrix involving different types of water pollutants. The book estimates the total amount of water pollution generated directly and indirectly in different sectors and activities, and also calculates the water pollution content in India's foreign trade sector. It also accounts for defensive expenditure from water pollution and estimates Green GDP for the extent and scope of environmental challenges. Analysis of the result indicates the variation in the pollution content of different economic activities. Finally, the book offers a portfolio of policies and assesses the implications of such policies on pollution generation in India. 288 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Managed realignment has been a preferred coastal management strategy in England in the 21st century and has also been increasingly implemented elsewhere. Climate change and environmental and financial concerns have led to a shift from the traditional 'hold-the-line' approach of coastal protection towards more flexible soft engineering options. Managed realignment is a relatively new soft engineering alternative aiming to provide sustainable flood risk management with added environmental and socio-economic benefits by creating space for coastal habitats to develop more dynamically. The natural adaptive capacity of coastal habitats and the ecosystem services they provide underpin the sustainability of managed realignment. However, many definitions of managed realignment exist and the understanding of what the term actually represents in practice has evolved through time and varies regionally. This book clarifies the definitions and terminology used in the literature and proposes that managed realignment is used as a general term that encompasses the many different methods of implementation worldwide, including: removal, breach and realignment of defences; controlled tidal restoration (which includes regulated tidal exchange and controlled reduced tide); and managed retreat. These methods of implementation are explained and illustrated with examples from around the world. In addition to a general overview of emerging policies and current practices, specific chapters discuss approaches adopted in different locations, including the Netherlands, the UK and Maui (USA). The UK experience is presented from the perspectives of three sectors: the National Trust (a charity organisation that owns 10% of the coastline of England and Wales), the Environment Agency (the organisation responsible for implementing government policy concerning flood and erosion risk) and a private consultant involved in the planning, design and delivery of managed realignment projects. Taking a wider perspective to consider the range of implementation methods, the viability of managed realignment as a long-term coastal management strategy is discussed. Recent national and regional strategies worldwide give managed realignment an increasing role in climate change and flood risk management. Gaining stakeholders and public support is fundamental for the success of emerging coastal management strategies. However, public perception and stakeholders engagement are often cited as a factor limiting the wider uptake of managed realignment. Results from a recent survey are used to benchmark the current thinking about the potential, the performance and the limitations of managed realignment in the UK and elsewhere. Current opinions about managed realignment are often not clearly defined, partly due to many projects being relatively recent. There is a general perception of great potential to provide sustainable flood risk management with added environmental benefits. However, the views of stakeholders are considerably more negative and notably contrast with the views of practitioners and researchers. The only clear and dominant agreement across all groups of respondents is that better understanding about the long-term evolution of sites is needed. 164 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Disorder is everywhere, inherently present in nature, and is commonly believed to be a synonymous with disturbance. As a consequence, the methodical and customary study of the dynamics of the electromagnetic field, both in the linear and nonlinear optical regimes, leans to rule out it from the treatment. On the other hand, nonlinearity enriches the physical disciplines and brings them closer to reality with respect to the linear approximation. Nonlinearity allows to stimulate a wide and rich ensemble of optical responses that beautifies the role of matter in the active processes with electromagnetic fields. Independently of each other, both of these mechanisms foster localization of light. What happens when light enlightens their synergistic interaction When pushed together, light, disorder and nonlinearity make new and intriguing phenomena emerge. This text provides a comprehensive investigation of the role of disorder in the nonlinear optical propagation both in transparent media and lasers. Eventually, disorder promotes and enhances complex nonlinear dynamics opening new perspectives in applied research driven by the processes of localization of the electromagnetic field. The first experimental study of laser emission in granular media unveils how randomness magnifies and largely affect laser-matter interactions. Viola Folli in her research work touches and deepens the leading milestones of the new science named Complex Photonics. 132 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This text is an introduction to the physics of collisional plasmas, as opposed to plasmas in space. It is intended for graduate students in physics and engineering . The first chapter introduces with progressively increasing detail, the fundamental concepts of plasma physic. The motion of individual charged particles in various configurations of electric and magnetic fields is detailed in the second chapter while the third chapter considers the collective motion of the plasma particles described according to a hydrodynamic model. The fourth chapter is most original in that it introduces a general approach to energy balance, valid for all types of discharges comprising direct current(DC) and high frequency (HF) discharges, including an applied static magnetic field. The basic concepts required in this fourth chapter have been progressively introduced in the previous chapters. The text is enriched with approx. 100 figures, and alphabetical index and 45 fully resolved problems. Mathematical and physical appendices provide complementary information or allow to go deeper in a given subject. 504 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Ouverts a I'ensemble de la communaute internationale, les symposia ASTM-EURATOM sur la dosimetrie des rayonnements de reilcteur traitent de tous les sujets de dosimetrie dans tous les systemes a neutron: dosimetrie des experiences en reacteur, codes d'ajustement, precision, etalons et intercomparaison, donnees nucleaires, techniques de mesure, correlation de dommages radio-induits, echauffement nucleaire, etc . appliques principalement aujourd'hui aux problemes des reacteurs a eau legere, des reacteurs a neutrons rapides et aux systemes a fusion. Les travaux en dosimetrie, tout comme I'ensemble du domaine de I'energie atomique, sont moins caracterises aujourd'hui par des idees scientifiques franchement nouvelles que par la necessite d'echange, de cooperation, de collaboration, appliques a la satisfaction de besoins de type industriel ou quasi-industriel. L'organisation de nos symposia a suivi cette evolution.Nombre de ceux qui y ont participe ont un souvenir emu du ler symposium a Petten en 1975, qui fut une reussite complete.L'organisation et Ie devouement du CCR de Petten y avait beaucoup contribue. Et puis, aussi, c'etait un commencement, c'etait Ie premier de nos symposia . Les symposia suivants, alternativement aux USA et en EUROPE, a rythme sensiblement bi-annuel, ont du faire face progressivement a un besoin plus grand d'echange et de discussion par petits groupes, ainsi qu'a afflux croissant de propositions de communications de valeur. L'organisation a du s'adapter en consequence. Ce 5eme sy~posium ASTM EURATOM represente, de part sa belle reussite, une etape importante de cette evolution et un garant de la maturation correspondante. 1080 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the area of robot mechanisms, primarily considering industrial manipulators and humanoid arms. The book is intended for both teaching and self-study. Emphasis is given to the fundamentals of kinematic analysis and the design of robot mechanisms. The coverage of topics is untypical. The focus is on robot kinematics. The book creates a balance between theoretical and practical aspects in the development and application of robot mechanisms, and includes the latest achievements and trends in robot science and technology. 348 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book explores schools and how they can function as social institutions that advance the interests and life chances of all young people, especially those who are already the most marginalized and at an educational disadvantage. Social justice is a key theme as the book examines the needs of youth, the concept of school culture, school/community relations, socially critical pedagogy, curriculum and leadership and a socially critical approach to work. The Socially Just School is based upon four decades of intensive writing and researching of young lives. This work presents an alternative to the damaging school reform in which schools are made to serve the interests of the economy, education systems, the military, corporate or national interests.Readers will discover the hallmarks of socially just schools:- They educationally engage young people regardless of class, race, family or neighbourhood location and they engage them around their own educational aspirations.- They regard all young people as being morally entitled to a rewarding and satisfying experience of school, not only those whose backgrounds happen to fit with the values of schools.- They treat young people as having strengths and being 'at promise' rather than being 'at risk' and with 'deficits' or as 'bundles of pathologies' to be remedied or 'fixed'.- They are 'active listeners' to the lives and cultures of their students and communities and they construct learning experiences that are embedded in young lives.This highly readable book will appeal to students and scholars in education and sociology, as well as to teachers and school administrators with an interest in social justice. 208 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -At the beginning of this book, and in the absence of guidance from IUPAC, it is appropriate to clarify the term 'chemical sensor'. A chemical sensor may be defined as a simple-to-use, robust device that is capable of reliable quantitative or qualitative recognition of atomic, molecular or ionic species. It is hard to imagine a field of applied chemistry in which a significant impact could not be made by such a device. Undoubtedly, it is this potential that has fuelled the contemporary preoccupation with chemical sensors. An unfortunate side-effect of this otherwise welcome interest is the use of the term 'chemical sensor' to add the chemical equivalent of a 'High-Tech gloss' to a rather ordinary device, publication, conference or research group. This loose usage of terminology is responsible in part for the ambiguity that surrounds many chemists' concepts of the form and function of chemical sensors. Further ambiguity arises from the extravagant claims that have been made for some sensors, and the impression that has been given of much 'verging-on-a-breakthrough' research. The research chemist engaged in sensor development should be mindful of the fact that the ultimate target for these devices is the real world, and that a successful laboratory device operating under well-defined conditions and careful calibration does not constitute a chemical sensor. Research into chemical sensors is not a recent phenomenon; it has been under way for over 80 years. 344 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book disentangles the complex meanings of responsibility in nanotechnology development by focusing on its theoretical and empirical dimensions. The notion of responsibility is extremely diversified in the public discourse of nanoscale technologies. Addressed are major disciplinary perspectives working on nanotechnology, e.g. philosophy, sociology, and political science, as well as the major multidisciplinary areas relevant to the innovation process, e.g. technology assessment and ethics. Furthermore, the interplay between such expertises, disciplines, and research programmes in providing a multidisciplinary understanding of responsibility is emphasized. 220 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The subject of mechanical behavior has been in the front line of basic studies in engineering curricula for many years. This textbook was written for engineering students with the aim of presenting, in a relatively simple manner, the basic concepts of mechanical behavior in solid materials. A second aim of the book is to guide students in their laboratory experiments by helping them to understand their observations in parallel with the lectures of their various courses; therefore the first chapter of the book is devoted to mechanical testing. Another aim of the book is to provide practicing engineers with basic help to bridge the gap of time that has passed from their graduation up to their actual involvement in engineering work. The book also serves as the basis for more advanced studies and seminars when pursuing courses on a graduate level. The content of this textbook and the topics discussed correspond to courses that are usually taught in universities and colleges all over the world, but with a different and more modern approach. It is however unique by the inclusion of an extensive chapter on mechanical behavior in the micron and submicron/nanometer range. Mechanical deformation phenomena are explained and often related to the presence of dislocations in structures. Many practical illustrations are provided representing various observations encountered in actual structures of particularly technical significance. A comprehensive list of references at the end of each chapter is included to provide a broad basis for further studying the subject. 648 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -In this edited open access book leading scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds wrestle with social science integration opportunities and challenges. This book explores the growing concern of how best to achieve effective integration of the social science disciplines as a means for furthering natural resource social science and environmental problem solving. The chapters provide an overview of the history, vision, advances, examples and methods that could lead to integration.The quest for integration among the social sciences is not new. Some argue that the social sciences have lagged in their advancements and contributions to society due to their inability to address integration related issues. Integration merits debate for a number of reasons. First, natural resource issues are complex and are affected by multiple proximate driving social factors. Single disciplinary studies focused at one level are unlikely to provide explanations that represent this complexity and are limited in their ability to inform policy recommendations. Complex problems are best explored across disciplines that examine social-ecological phenomenon from different scales. Second, multi-disciplinary initiatives such as those with physical and biological scientists are necessary to understand the scope of the social sciences. Too frequently there is a belief that one social scientist on a multi-disciplinary team provides adequate social science representation. Third, more complete models of human behavior will be achieved through a synthesis of diverse social science perspectives.Springer-Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 288 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Few faculty members in academic medical centers are formally prepared for their roles as teachers. This work is an introductory text designed to provide medical teachers with the core concepts of effective teaching practice and information about innovations for curriculum design, delivery and assessment. It offers brief, focused chapters with content that is assimilated easily by the reader. The topics are relevant to basic science and clinical teachers and the work does not presume readers possess prerequisite knowledge of education theory or instructional design. The authors emphasize the application of concepts to teaching practice. Topics include: Facilitating Student Learning; Teaching Large Groups; Teaching in Small Groups; Flipping the Classroom; Problem-Based Learning; Team-Based Learning; Teaching Clinical Skills; Teaching with Simulation; Teaching with Practicals and Labs; Teaching with Technological Tools; Teaching to Develop Scientific Engagement in Medical Students; Designing a Course; Establishing and Teaching Elective Courses; Designing Global Health Experiences; Assessing Student Performance; Documenting the Trajectory of Your Teaching and Teaching as Scholarship. This is a complete revision of the first edition of this work with new chapters and up to date information. Similar to the first edition, chapters were written by leaders in medical education and research who draw upon extensive professional experience and the literature on best practices in education. Although designed for teachers, the work reflects a learner-centered perspective and emphasizes outcomes for student learning. The book is accessible and visually interesting and the work contains information that is current, but not time-sensitive. Each chapter concludes with references, many include recommendations for additional reading, and the work includes an appendix with resources for medical education. 288 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book deals with the major issues being faced by the coastal population in Asia with emphasis on natural and man-made hazards, climate change impact and pressures caused by mega cities along Asian coasts. The edited book contains chapters authored by experts who are well known in their own fields of specialization relevant to coastal processes. Emphasis has been given to almost all regions of Aisan coast although coverage for south and south eastern regions of Asia is rather strong. Each chapter has been peer reviewed and revised before acceptance. In this book practical suggestions to mitigate problems in sustainable management of coastal regions are also discussed. The book will be useful for students, researchers in physical and social science, policy makers and climate change specialists. 264 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The past several decades of rapid organizational change and global economic activity beseech a fresh understanding of work conditions and mental health across all nations and regions. This volume addresses psychosocial factors at work, legislation, frameworks, research innovations and common perceptions in the Asia Pacific countries. It presents new research on psychosocial factors at work from an Asia Pacific perspective, introducing exciting new research on workaholism, bullying, work-life balance and conflict, work demands classifications, and psychosocial safety climate. Insights regarding workplace psychosocial factors, worker health and well-being have evolved mainly within North American and European cultural contexts and developed industrial countries. This state of the art account of knowledge development in the Asia Pacific region will stimulate new insights for researchers and policy makers to improve the quality of workers' lives worldwide.'This very informative book highlights the significance and uniqueness of job stress problems encountered by workers of different countries in the Asia Pacific region. Occupational health researchers all around the world will find this book a great inspiration for future research.' Yawen Cheng, ScD, Institute of Health Policy and Management, Taiwan'Initiatives and interventions reported from collaborative projects present useful hints for filling gaps in policies and practices for managing psychosocial risk factors in diverse work-life situations in the Asia Pacific region'.Dr. Kazutaka Kogi, President, International Commission of Occupational Health 408 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This collection examines issues of agency, power, politics and identity as they relate to science and technology and education, within contemporary settings. Social, economic and ecological critique and reform are examined by numerous contributing authors, from a range of international contexts. These chapters examine pressing pedagogical questions within socio-scientific contexts, including petroleum economies, food justice, health, environmentalism, climate change, social media and biotechnologies. Readers will discover far reaching inquiries into activism as an open question for science and technology education, citizenship and democracy. The authors call on the work of prominent scholars throughout the ages, including Bourdieu, Foucault, Giroux, Jasanoff, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, Rancie re and Zizek. The application of critical theoretical scholarship to mainstream practices in science and technology education distinguishes this book, and this deep, theoretical treatment is complemented by many grounded, more pragmatic exemplars of activist pedagogies. Practical examples are set within the public sphere, within selected new social movements, and also within more formal institutional settings, including elementary and secondary schools, and higher education. These assembled discussions provide a basis for a more radically reflexive reworking of science and technology education. Educational policy makers, science education scholars, and science and technology educators, amongst others, will find this work thought-provoking, instructive and informative. 668 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In 1998, the Foundation for Child Development (FCD) provided Kenneth Land a grant to explore the feasibility of producing the first national composite index of the status of American children that would chart changes in their well-being over time. Important questions needed to be answered: was it possible to trace trends in child and youth well-being over several decades Could such an index provide a way of determining whether the United States was making progress in improving its children's lives The Index of Child and Youth Well-Being (CWI) was born from these questions. Viewing the CWI trends from 1975 to present, there is evidence that the well-being of American children lags behind other Western nations. As conditions change, it is clear that the index is an evolving and rich enterprise. This volume attests to that evolution, and what the CWI promises for understanding the progress - or lack of progress - in enhancing the life prospects of all American children. 284 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -SYNER-G, a multidisciplinary effort funded by the European Union, allowed the development of an innovative methodological framework for the assessment of physical as well as socio-economic seismic vulnerability and risk at urban and regional level. The results of SYNER-G are presented in two books both published by Springer, the present and a second one, entitled 'SYNER-G: Typology Definition and Fragility Functions for Physical Elements at Seismic Risk: Buildings, Lifelines, Transportation Networks and Critical Facilities'(\*), which provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art of the fragility curves, an alternative way to express physical vulnerability of elements at risk.In this second volume of SYNER-G, the focus has been on presenting a unified holistic methodology for assessing vulnerability at systems level considering interactions between elements at risk (physical and non-physical) and between different systems. The proposed methodology and tool encompasses in an integrated fashion all aspects in the chain, from hazard to the vulnerability assessment of components and systems and to the socio-economic impacts of an earthquake, accounting for most relevant uncertainties within an efficient quantitative simulation scheme. It systematically integrates the most advanced fragility functions to assess the vulnerability of physical assets for buildings, utility systems, transportation networks and complex infrastructures such as harbours and hospitals. The increasing impact due to interactions between different components and systems is treated in a comprehensive way, providing specifications for each network and infrastructure. The proposed socio-economic model integrates social vulnerability into the physical systems modelling approaches providing to decision makers with a dynamic platform to capture post disaster emergency issues like shelter demand and health impact decisions. Application examples at city and regional scale have provided the necessary validation of the methodology and are also included in the book.The present volume, with its companion volume on fragility functions, represent a significant step forward in the seismic vulnerability and risk assessment of complex interacting urban and regional systems and infrastructures. These volumes are not only of interest to scientists and engineers but also to the insurance industry, decision makers and practitioners in the sector of civil protection and seismic risk management.(\*) Pitilakis K, Crowley E, Kaynia A (eds) (2014) SYNER-G: Typology definition and fragility functions for physical elements at seismic risk, Series: Geotechnical, Geological and Earthquake Engineering 27, ISBN 978-94-007-7872-6, Springer Science+Business Media, Dordrecht. 412 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Human activity is changing the global environment at an unprecedented rate while humanity faces a range of complex and interrelated challenges to local, regional and global development, human security and politics. Food security ranks high on the science, policy and development agendas. However, most research linking global change and food systems examines the impact of climate change on agricultural production, or the impact of agriculture on land use, pollution and biodiversity, overlooking interactions with other aspects of the food system - such as food processing, packaging, transportation and consumption and employment derived from these activities.This book demonstrates that new threats to food security which arise from environmental change require more than simply a focus on agricultural practices - what is needed is an integrated food system approach. The authors point out that the process of adapting food systems to global environmental change is not simply a search for technological solutions to increase agricultural yields. Tradeoffs across multiple scales among food system outcomes are a prevalent feature of globalized food systems. Within food systems, there are key underexplored areas that are both sensitive to environmental change and crucial to understanding its implications for food security and adaptation strategies.The authors assert that technical prescriptions alone will not efficiently manage the food security challenge. This book is their contribution to a new paradigm, which addresses food systems holistically by engaging researchers in multiple disciplines to understand the causes and drivers of vulnerability. 372 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This volume contains thirteen articles on advances in applied mathematics and computing methods for engineering problems. Six papers are on optimization methods and algorithms with emphasis on problems with multiple criteria; four articles are on numerical methods for applied problems modeled with nonlinear PDEs; two contributions are on abstract estimates for error analysis; finally one paper deals with rare events in the context of uncertainty quantification. Applications include aerospace, glaciology and nonlinear elasticity.Herein is a selection of contributions from speakers at two conferences on applied mathematics held in June 2012 at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. The first conference, 'Optimization and PDEs with Industrial Applications' celebrated the seventieth birthday of Professor Jacques Périaux of the University of Jyväskylä and Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Barcelona Tech) and the second conference, 'Optimization and PDEs with Applications' celebrated the seventy-fifth birthday of Professor Roland Glowinski of the University of Houston.This work should be of interest to researchers and practitioners as well as advanced students or engineers in computational and applied mathematics or mechanics. 260 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Successive food, economic and environmental crises have prompted the world Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) bodies to spring into action. Faced with the clear failure of public development aid to reduce inequalities and hunger, especially in Africa, wide consensus has been achieved from the World Bank to the G8 via the UN, the European Union and the African Union these past five years on the need to improve agricultural production through sustainable rural development which shows respect for Man and Nature. The ARD has set itself the goal of supporting the implementation of technical, social and institutional responses to sustainable development through a partnership encouraging the pooling of knowledge, increased skills and the autonomy of key players. 88 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The Dead Sea transform is an active plate boundary connecting the Red Sea seafloor spreading system to the Arabian-Eurasian continental collision zone. Its geology and geophysics provide a natural laboratory for investigation of the surficial, crustal and mantle processes occurring along transtensional and transpressional transform fault domains on a lithospheric scale and related to continental breakup. There have been many detailed and disciplinary studies of the Dead Sea transform fault zone during the last 20 years and this book brings them together.This book is an updated comprehensive coverage of the knowledge, based on recent studies of the tectonics, structure, geophysics, volcanism, active tectonics, sedimentology and paleo and modern climate of the Dead Sea transform fault zone. It puts together all this new information and knowledge in a coherent fashion. 372 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This volume consists of original essays by academic leaders and scholars connected to Clark Kerr's life and work. He was arguably America's most significant higher education thinker and public policy analyst in the last 50 years of the 20th century and renowned globally. However, little thoughtful attention has been devoted to assessing the whole of his work. Some commentators misunderstand the man as well as his ideas. The California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 was one of his famous undertakings, as was his part in shaping the multi-campus University of California towards global eminence. He coined the word 'multiversity' to describe what he called the 'uses' of the university, but began to think it had become much too 'multi'. Some of his most important work was as director of the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education and the Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education, which laid the foundation for sophisticated policy-making. The contributors honor the achievements of a remarkable man and provide portraits of him, but of equal importance are their critical discussions of the sources of his thinking, his attempts to balance access and merit in mass higher education circumstances, the policy issues that he confronted and the success of their resolution. For many of the contributors, Kerr's work is the starting point for understanding policy issues in varying regional and national contexts. Often thought to be a social scientist eager to keep abreast of trends, Kerr was actually au fond a moralist and surprisingly old-fashioned in his personal values. 272 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This valuable addition to the literature offers readers a comprehensive overview of recent brain imaging research focused on reading, writing and mathematics-a research arena characterized by rapid advances that follow on the heels of fresh developments and techniques in brain imaging itself. With contributions from many of the lead scientists in this field, a number of whom have been responsible for key breakthroughs, the coverage deals with the commonalities of, as well as the differences between, brain activity related to the three core educational topics. At the same time, the volume addresses vital new information on both brain and behavior indicators of developmental problems, and points out the new directions being pursued using current advances in brain imaging technologies as well as research-based interventions. The book is also a tribute to a new Edmund, J Safra Brain center for the study of learning Disabilities at the University of Haifa-Israel. 340 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Developmental Education is an approach to education in school that aims at promoting children's cultural development and their abilities to participate autonomously and well-informed in the cultural practices of their community. From the point of view of Cultural-historical Activity theory (CHAT), a play-based curriculum has been developed over the past decades for primary school, which presents activity contexts for pupils in the classroom that create learning and teaching opportunities for helping pupils with appropriating cultural knowledge, skills, and moral understandings in meaningful ways. The approach is implemented in numerous Dutch primary schools classrooms with the explicit intention to support the learning of both pupils and teachers. The book focuses especially on education of young children (4 - 8 years old) in primary school and presents the underpinning concepts of this approach, and chapters on examples of good practices in a variety of subject matter areas, such as literacy (vocabulary acquisition, reading, writing), mathematics, and arts. Successful implementation of Developmental Education in the classroom strongly depends on dynamic assessment and continuous observations of young pupils' development. Strategies for implementation of both the teaching practices and assessment strategies are discussed in detail in the book. 320 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Leaving school, whether to move on to training, work or education, is a fundamental rite of passage the world over. This volume draws on a wealth of international sources and studies in its analysis of the 'transitions' young students make as they move on from their secondary schooling. It identifies how these transitions are planned for by policymakers, enacted by school staff and engaged with by students themselves. With data from a range of nations with advanced industrial economies, the book delineates how the policies relating to these transitions need to be conceived and implemented, how the transitions themselves are negotiated by young people, and how they might be shaped to meet the varied needs of the students they are designed to help. The authors argue that the relationship, often complex, between what schools provide in the way of preparation, and the ways in which students take up what is on offer, is the crucial nexus for understanding the experience of transitions by young people, and for enhancing that experience. With a host of case studies of transition policies themselves, as well as evaluative data on how they were received by the school leavers whom they were designed for, this valuable addition to the educational literature deserves to be read by all those with roles in preparing the young for their journey into a complex adult world full of pitfalls as well as opportunity. 288 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Cantonese, the lingua franca of Hong Kong and its neighboring province, has an unusually rich repertoire of verbal particles. This volume significantly augments the academic literature on their semantics, focusing on three affixal quantifiers, -saai, -hoi and -maai. The author shows how these verbal suffixes display a unique interplay of syntax and semantics: used in a sentence with no focus, they quantify items flexibly, according to an accessibility hierarchy; with focus, focus comes into effect after syntactic selection.This fresh and compelling perspective in the study of particles and quantification is the first in-depth analysis of Cantonese verbal suffixes. It compares the language's affixal quantification to the alternative determiner and adverbial quantifiers. The book's syntax-semantics mapping geography deploys both descriptive and theoretical approaches, making it an essential resource for researchers studying the nexus of syntax and semantics, as well as Cantonese itself. 268 pp. Englisch.