Refine Results
Sort By
From
To
Page 10
Page 10
Americanization of the European Economy : A compact survey of American economic influence in Europe since the 1800s
Provides a comprehensive yet compact survey of the growth of American economic influence in Europe since the 1880s. Three distinct but cumulative waves of Americanization are identified. Americanization was (and still is) a complex process of technological, political, and cultural transfer, and this overview explains why and how the USA and the American model of industrial capitalism came to be accepted as the dominant paradigm of political economy in today's Europe. Americanization of the European Economy summarizes the ongoing discussion by business historians, sociologists, and political scientists and makes it accessible to all types of readers who are interested in political and economic development.
Agent-based computational modelling : Applications in demography, social, economic and environmental sciences
The present book describes the methodology to set up agent-based models and to study emerging patterns in complex adaptive systems resulting from multi-agent interaction. It offers the application of agent-based models in demography, social and economic sciences and environmental sciences. It presents and combines different approaches how to implement agent-based computational models and tools in an integrative manner that can be extended to other cases.
Accounting and Statistical Analyses for Sustainable Development : Multiple Perspectives and Information-Theoretic Complexity Reduction
In this book Claudia Lemke develops a comprehensive Multi-Level Sustainable Development Index (MLSDI) that is applicable to micro, meso, and macro objects by conducting methodological and empirical research.
A Trading Desk View of Market Quality
"Market quality" is a complex, ambiguous term that means different things to different people. How should it be defined, measured, monitored, and improved? What is the evidence about the current state of our markets? How effective have recent innovations been? How can we better meet investor needs? These are some of the questions that we address in this book, along with a broad range of issues concerning equity market structure, regulation, and the quest for best execution. Throughout, particular attention is given to the perspective of front line participants on the buy-side and sell-side trading desks.
A Successful Transformation? : Restructuring of the Czech Automobile Industry
This book investigates the complex processes of the post-1990 transformation in the Czech automotive industry and its selective integration in the West European automobile manufacturing system. The post-1990 restructuring of the Czech automotive industry is analyzed in the context of its pre-1990 development and in the context of the Central and East European automobile industry as a whole. Specifically, the book examines the development and post-1990 restructuring of the Czech passenger car industry, the components industry and truck manufacturing. Major topics covered include the development of the Czech automotive industry before 1990, the detailed case study of Škoda Auto, the effects of the post-1990 privatization in the Czech automotive industry, the role and effects of foreign direct investment during the post-1990 restructuring, the restructuring of the Czech truck industry, and the rapid development of the automotive components manufacturing.
(R)Evolution : Organizations and the Dynamics of the Environment
Investigates the possible changes needed for industrial organizations to adapt to and remain competitive in their ever evolving environment. (R)Evolution’s main area of contribution to these very complex issues is embedded in the work’s ambitious attempt to borrow from evolutionary biology and genetics not only metaphors but also concepts and models to be adapted to the management of business organizations. The work provides us with a comprehensive vision of adaptation and variation in the business community, integrating various intellectual inputs which are based on an evolutionary vision of economic behavior. Using an extensive study of the literature in management science, and applying new models and methodologies in numerous case studies, Dekkers draws many insightful conclusions including the claim that companies often evolve slower than generally expected. Furthermore the research calls into question the effectiveness of the common practice of corporate reorganization. Embracing and merging most major contemporary developments in the theories of change into a comprehensive integrated approach, (R)Evolution is an invaluable resource for researchers specializing in the management of technological change.
Animating Unpredictable Effects : Nonlinearity in Hollywood’s R&D Complex
Uncanny computer-generated animations of splashing waves, billowing smoke clouds, and characters’ flowing hair have become a ubiquitous presence on screens of all types since the 1980s. This Open Access book charts the history of these digital moving images and the software tools that make them. Unpredictable Visual Effects uncovers an institutional and industrial history that saw media industries conducting more private R&D as Cold War federal funding began to wane in the late 1980s. In this context studios and media software companies took concepts used for studying and managing unpredictable systems like markets, weather, and fluids and turned them into tools for animation. Unpredictable Visual Effects theorizes how these animations are part of a paradigm of control evident across society, while at the same time exploring what they can teach us about the relationship between making and knowing.
Alvar Aalto Houses
Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) designed nearly one hundred single-family houses. Aalto, who is also known for his furniture and glassware, worked in a unique style that blended modernism and traditional vernacular architecture. Authors Jari and Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen (Finnish Summer Houses) present twenty-six of Aalto's innovative residences—from small summer homes and postwar standardized housing to large housing complexes for industrial commissions—built between the 1920s to the 1960s.
250 Things a Landscape Architect Should Know
In this book 50 landscape architects from Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia each give five responses. These include practitioners and teachers, young start-ups as well as internationally established firms. The publication illustrates the complex and dynamic nature of the discipline, and presents a diverse cross-section of the core expertise of this field. At the same time, it allows the reader to trace the individual attitudes into which geographical conditions, social contexts and political circumstances flow.
Building performance analysis
presents a comprehensive and systematic overview of the subject. It provides a working definition of building performance, and an in-depth discussion of the role building performance plays throughout the building life cycle. The book also explores the perspectives of various stakeholders, the functions of buildings, performance requirements, performance quantification (both predicted and measured), criteria for success, and the challenges of using performance analysis in practice. Assembles the current body of knowledge on building performance analysis in one unique resource Offers deep insights into the complexity of using building performance analysis throughout the entire building life cycle, including design, operation and management Contributes an emergent theory of building performance and its analysis
Building meaning : An architecture studio Primer on design, theory, and history
Introduction to the complex relationship between form making, historical analysis, and conceptual explorations. This book focuses on the relationship and interdependence between design, theory, and history for an innovative and holistic studio approach. Draws from a diverse range of thinkers and designers to highlight the many interpretations of key architectural concepts, and provides readers with the context essential for developing their own approaches to any design problem.
Biomimetics for architecture & design : Nature - analogies - technology
Provides the readers with a timely guide to the application of biomimetic principles in architecture and engineering design. As a result of a combined effort by two internationally recognized authorities, the biologist Werner Nachtigall and the architect Göran Pohl, the book describes the principles which can be used to compare nature and technology, and at the same time it presents detailed explanations and examples showing how biology can be used as a source of inspiration and “translated” in building and architectural solutions (biomimicry). Even though nature cannot be directly copied, the living world can provide architects and engineers with a wealth of analogues and inspirations for their own creative designs. But how can analysis of natural entities give rise to advanced and sustainable design? By reporting on the latest bionic design methods and using extensive artwork, the book guides readers through the field of nature-inspired architecture, offering an extraordinary resource for professional architects, engineers, designers and urban planners, as well as for university teachers, researchers and students.
Basics design and living
Residential Buildings are normally the first design projects encountered by the student in his or her training. The focus at this point is on the different conceptual possibilities that allow one to take the first step toward an actual idea. Themes: concepts and kinds of cohabitation and dwelling residential functions the creation of living space design in housing construction This book is intended to help readers to find an easy way into the complex subject of housing design, explaining fundamental concepts, the way the individual living areas can cohere, and building form variations.
Architecture : Form, Space, and Order ; 5th ed.
Distills complex concepts of design into a clear focus and brings difficult abstractions to life. It explains form and space in relation to light, view, openings, and enclosures and explores the organization of space, and the elements and relationships of circulation, as well as proportion and scale. In addition, the text's detailed illustrations demonstrate the concepts presented and reveal the relationships between fundamental elements of architecture through the ages and across cultures.
Architectural scale models in the digital age : Design, representation and manufacturing
Complex geometric forms generated using virtual media can be tested and validated only by means of physical models, which also make it possible to assess their practical application. The complexity of contemporary architectural design requires the mastery of new methods of producing scale models, which opens a new chapter in the field of modeling, and is the focus of this book. Along with the traditional methods that provide the basis for modeling, this book presents the principles of digital NURBS modeling, parametric modeling, digital modeling support, and model creation, complete with a number of tutorials, practical advice and examples found in architectural practice today.
Adaptable Architecture : Theory and practice
provides thought-provoking and inquisitive insights into how we can prolong the useful life of buildings by designing them to be more adaptable, and hence create a more sustainable built environment. The book provides a theoretical foundation counterpointed by the experiences and ideas of those involved in the design and use of buildings. It explains many approaches to designing for change, with lessons from history, and case studies including The Cedar Rapids Public Library, Kentish Town Health Centre and Folkestone Performing Arts Centre, which stretch our thinking beyond the conventional notions of adaptability. The authors reveal the many conditions that make it a complex design phenomenon, by considering the purpose, design and business case of buildings as well as the physical product. Full of summaries, diagrams, reference charts, tables, and photos of exemplar solutions for use as conversational tools or working aids, this book is for any professional or student who wants to research, question, imagine, illustrate - and ultimately design for - adaptation.
101 rules of thumb for low energy architecture
Sets out the essential elements of low-energy architecture in a fresh, intuitive way. Where ever-changing technology and complex legislation can cloud the designer’s thought-process, this book equips you with the fundamentals you need to minimise CO2 emissions, design for low-energy use and work with, not against, the forces of nature.
Mathematical Modeling of Complex Biological Systems : A Kinetic Theory Approach
This book describes the evolution of several socio-biological systems using mathematical kinetic theory. Specifically, it deals with modeling and simulations of biological systems—comprised of large populations of interacting cells—whose dynamics follow the rules of mechanics as well as rules governed by their own ability to organize movement and biological functions. The authors propose a new biological model for the analysis of competition between cells of an aggressive host and cells of a corresponding immune system.Because the microscopic description of a biological system is far more complex than that of a physical system of inert matter, a higher level of analysis is needed to deal with such complexity. Mathematical models using kinetic theory may represent a way to deal with such complexity, allowing for an understanding of phenomena of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics not described by the traditional macroscopic approach. The proposed models are related to the generalized Boltzmann equation and describe the population dynamics of several interacting elements (kinetic population models).The particular models proposed by the authors are based on a framework related to a system of integro-differential equations, defining the evolution of the distribution function over the microscopic state of each element in a given system. Macroscopic information on the behavior of the system is obtained from suitable moments of the distribution function over the microscopic states of the elements involved. The book follows a classical research approach applied to modeling real systems, linking the observation of biological phenomena, collection of experimental data, modeling, and computational simulations to validate the proposed models. Qualitative analysis techniques are used to identify the prediction ability of specific models.
Mathematical Methods in Time Series Analysis and Digital Image Processing
The aim of this volume is to bring together research directions in theoretical signal and imaging processing developed rather independently in electrical engineering, theoretical physics, mathematics and the computer sciences. In particular, mathematically justified algorithms and methods, the mathematical analysis of these algorithms, and methods as well as the investigation of connections between methods from time series analysis and image processing are reviewed. An interdisciplinary comparison of these methods, drawing upon common sets of test problems from medicine and geophysical/enviromental sciences, is also addressed.
Materials Fundamentals of Gate Dielectrics
This book presents materials fundamentals of novel gate dielectrics that are being introduced into semiconductor manufacturing to ensure the continuous scalling of the CMOS devices. This is a very fast evolving field of research so we choose to focus on the basic understanding of the structure, thermodunamics, and electronic properties of these materials that determine their performance in device applications. Most of these materials are transition metal oxides. Ironically, the d-orbitals responsible for the high dielectric constant cause sever integration difficulties thus intrinsically limiting high-k dielectrics. Though new in the electronics industry many of these materials are wel known in the field of ceramics, and we describe this unique connection. The complexity of the structure-property relations in TM oxides makes the use of the state of the art first-principles calculations necessary. Several chapters give a detailed description of the modern theory of polarization, and heterojunction band discontinuity within the framework of the density functional theory. Experimental methods include oxide melt solution calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry, Raman scattering and other optical characterization techniques, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
