Civil engineering materials : From theory to practice ; 1st ed.
Presents the state-of-the-art in civil engineering materials, including the fundamental theory of materials needed for civil engineering projects and unique insights from decades of large-scale construction in China. The title includes the latest advances in new materials and techniques for civil engineering, showing the relationship between composition, structure and properties, and covering ultra-high-performance concrete and self-compacting concrete developed in China. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the most commonly used, most advanced materials for use in civil engineering. This volume consists of eight chapters covering the fundamentals of materials, inorganic cementing materials, Portland cement concrete, bricks, blocks and building mortar, metal, wood, asphalt and polymers.
Bridge Design : Concepts and Analysis
Provides a unique approach, combining the fundamentals of concept design and structural analysis of bridges in a single volume. The book provides insights into conceptual design with concrete, steel or composite bridge solutions as alternatives.
Bio-based Building Skin
This book provides a compendium of material properties, demonstrates several successful examples of bio-based materials’ application in building facades, and offers ideas for new designs and novel solutions. It features a state-of-the-art review, addresses the latest trends in material selection, assembling systems, and innovative functions of facades in detail. Selected case studies on buildings from diverse locations are subsequently presented to demonstrate the successful implementation of various biomaterial solutions, which defines unique architectural styles and building functions. The structures, morphologies and aesthetic impressions related to bio-based building facades are discussed from the perspective of art and innovation; essential factors influencing the performance of materials with respect to functionality and safety are also presented. Special emphasis is placed on assessing the performance of a given facade throughout the service life of a building, and after its end.
A City in Blue and Green : The Singapore Story
Highlights Singapore’s development into a city in which water and greenery, along with associated environmental, technical, social and political aspects have been harnessed and cultivated into a liveable sustainable way of life. It is also a story about a unique and thoroughgoing approach to large-scale and potentially transferable water sustainability, within largely urbanized circumstances, which can be achieved, along with complementary roles of environmental conservation, ecology, public open-space management and the greening of buildings, together with infrastructural improvements.
Management : Leading & collaborating in a competitive world
Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World is the perspective of a current or future manager and emphasizes six essential performance dimensions: cost, quality, speed, innovation, service, and sustainability. This bottom-line, results-oriented approach is a unique hallmark of this text. Leadership is also a vital theme and includes working collaboratively toward outstanding results
Knowledge Solutions : Tools, Methods, and Approaches to Drive Organizational Performance
Covers topics in knowledge management and competence in strategy development, management techniques, collaboration mechanisms, knowledge sharing and learning, as well as knowledge capture and storage. Presented in accessible “chunks,” it includes more than 120 topics that are essential to high-performance organizations. The extensive use of quotes by respected experts juxtaposed with relevant research to counterpoint or lend weight to key concepts; “cheat sheets” that simplify access and reference to individual articles; as well as the grouping of many of these topics under recurrent themes make this book unique. In addition, it provides scalable tried-and-tested tools, method and approaches for improved organizational effectiveness.
Knowledge Management : Organizational and Technological Dimensions
Presents a unique blend of articles which combines both conceptual and practical concerns related to devising and implementing sustainable Knowledge Management systems and solutions in contemporary global organizations. The book's contributors are among the leading thinkers and practitioners in this growing field. The seamless synthesis of the human, organizational, and technological dimensions of Knowledge Management makes this book a definitive guide for academics and practising managers alike.
Its Not About the Technology : Developing the Craft of Thinking for a High Technology Corporation
This book is not about a new concept, or a new technique. It tackles the big questions of how to develop the craft of the thinking that is required of us in high technology companies. It is predicated on a radical notion that, even though the problematic is the execution in a high technology corporation, neither a high level market strategy nor the kind of technology itself matters, insofar as learning the craft of execution goes. How marketers and engineers comprehend a context uniquely shapes the ways they interact, engage in decision-making phenomenon, and eventually their execution performance in a company. The breakdown of their interaction occurs when the individual contexts of a marketer and an engineer are permanently secluded from one another.this book methodically demystifies the key to successful execution in the high technology space
Competition Policies in Emerging Economies : Lessons and Challenges from Central America and Mexico
Do small developing economies, or SDEs, need a specific competition policy to create competitive markets? Against the backdrop of globalization, protectionist policies that promote state ownership and heavy regulation of key industries are proving increasingly ineffective for driving growth. Countries around the world are instituting reforms to promote competition and business creation, yet the economic and political concentration of power, feeble judicial systems, and the scarcity of human and financial resources pose special challenges to SDEs. Competition Policies in Emerging Economies features an in-depth analysis of two strategic industries — telecommunications and banking — in several Central American nations which sheds light on the dynamics of the transition to deregulation and trade liberalization. Examining the lessons learned from these experiences and presenting discussion of political, legal, economic, financial, cultural, and organizational issues, the book provides unique perspectives on competition policy and economic development.
Catastrophe modeling : A new approach to managing risk
Catastrophe Modeling: A New Approach to Managing Risk is the first book that systematically analyzes how catastrophe models can be used for assessing and managing risks of extreme events. It focuses on natural disaster risk, but also discusses the management of terrorism risk. A unique feature of this book is the involvement of three leading catastrophe modeling firms, AIR Worldwide, EQECAT, and Risk Management Solutions, who examine the role of catastrophe modeling in rate setting, portfolio management and risk financing. Given the uncertainties associated with terrorism the book points out the opportunities for utilizing catastrophe models to set insurance rates and to examine public-private partnerships for providing financial assistance in the event of a terrorist attack. This book is strongly recommended for individuals who must make decisions regarding the management of impacts of catastrophe risks including those in both the public and private sector.
Building a Future with BRICs : The Next Decade for Offshoring
In 2003, Goldman Sachs published a startling report on the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) region: These four countries would be larger than the G6 economics within 40 years, muscling their way to economic dominance over the coming decades, and powering past developed countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. This book focuses on the technology and technology-enabled services that underpin this social and economic revolution. The editor analyses the reasons why these four countries are in a unique position to lead a 21st century growth in international services. He then features 12 chapters written by the most important chief executives from the BRICs service economy. Indian technology leaders, such as Nandan Nilekani (Infosys), Shiv Nadar (HCL), and Rajendra Pawar (NIIT), feature alongside their peers from Brazil, Russia, and China outlining their views on the next decade for offshoring.
Building a Cashless Society : The Swedish Route to the Future of Cash Payments
This book tells the story of how Sweden is becoming a virtually cashless society. Its goal is to improve readers’ understanding of what is driving this transition, and of the factors that are fostering and hampering it. In doing so, the book covers the role of central banks, political factors, needs for innovation, and the stakeholders involved in developing a cashless ecosystem. Adopting a historical standpoint, and drawing on a unique dataset, it presents an academic perspective on Sweden’s leading role in this global trend. The global interest in the future of cash payments makes the Swedish case particularly interesting. As a country that is close to becoming a cashless economy, it offers a role model for many other countries to learn from - whether they want to stimulate or reduce the use of cash. This highly topical book will be of interest to politicians, researchers, businesses, financial service providers and payment service providers, as well as fintech start-ups, regulators and other authorities.
Analysis and Algorithms for Service Parts Supply Chains
Services requiring parts has become a $1.5 trillion business annually worldwide, creating a tremendous incentive to manage the logistics of these parts efficiently by making planning and operational decisions in a rational and rigorous manner. This book provides a broad overview of modeling approaches and solution methodologies for addressing service parts inventory problems found in high-powered technology and aerospace applications. The focus in this work is on the management of high cost, low demand rate service parts found in multi-echelon settings. This unique book, with its breadth of topics and mathematical treatment, begins by first demonstrating the optimality of an order-up-to policy [or (s-1,s)] in certain environments. This policy is used in the real world and studied throughout the text. The fundamental mathematical building blocks for modeling and solving applications of stochastic process and optimization techniques to service parts management problems are summarized extensively. A wide range of exact and approximate mathematical models of multi-echelon systems is developed and used in practice to estimate future inventory investment and part repair requirements.
Advances in public economics : Utility, choice and welfare
This Festschrift in honor ofChristian Seidl combines a group of prominent authors who are experts in areas like public economics, welfare economic, decision theory, and experimental economics in a unique volume. He has dedicated most of his research to utility and decision theory, social choice theory, welfare economics, and public economics.
Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science
Learning and adaption are key features of "real economies". Studying interesting real phenomena like innovation, industry evolution or the role of expectation formulation in financial markets thus necessitates novel methods of data analysis and modelling. This title covers statistical models of heterogeneity, artificial consumer markets, models of adaptive expectation formulation in financial markets and agent-based models of industry evolution, product diversification and energy markets. The joint findings are presented in a manner that is interesting both for readers with a background in economics/management and mathematics and statistics and also for non-expert readers because it allows them to grasp the ideas of modern management science. This book thus provides a unique integrated toolbox for building realistic agent-based models of learning and adaption in a variety of settings based on sound data analysis.
Cartooning made easy : Circle, triangle, square : Draw unique cartoon characters using simple geometric shapes
offers easy-to-follow instruction for using basic shapes to draw cute cartoon characters. Her approach is simple: All you need are basic drawing tools and shapes to cartoon! The book features dozens of drawing projects and step-by-step instruction perfect for beginning and aspiring artists, cartoonists, illustrators, pen and graphite artists, and many others. Each project combines simple geometric shapes—including circles and triangles and squares but also ovals, rectangles, and more—to draw adorable, cartoon-inspired artwork, including cartoon: Heads / Faces / Bodies / Unique characters / Animals, such as elephants / And more!
Materials and Components of Interior Architecture
Offers a unique look at interior design,fully covering the exciting breadth of nonstructural materials available to interior designers. With an eye on the environment, it instills a firm understanding of the products, properties, and uses of all materials—from floors, walls, and ceilings to installation and recycling. Going beyond paint and carpet, it explores over 27 different floorings and devotes separate chapters to kitchens and baths. Filled with the latest information from manufacturers, suppliers, and associations, it provides students with the knowledge to creatively engage the “nuts and bolts” of interior design—both in terms of structure and style.
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.
Lean Architecture : Excellence in Project Delivery
Shows readers a path to improve their project delivery via the application of lean concepts and process management. Authors Michael Czap and Gregory Buchanan challenge readers to reexamine their approach to architectural practice and projects by presenting a unique and compelling alternative. Readers will learn to: Maximize the use of their resources to deliver superior results in less time / Minimize waste, cost, and inefficiency in their firm’s operations / Move between radically different project scales while retaining efficient and effective processes
Cities and Affordable Housing : Planning, Design and Policy Nexus
Provides a comparative perspective on housing and planning policies affecting the future of cities, focusing on people- and place-based outcomes using the nexus of planning, design and policy. A rich mosaic of case studies features good practices of city-led strategies for affordable housing provision, as well as individual projects capitalising on partnerships to build mixed-income housing and revitalise neighbourhoods. Twenty chapters provide unique perspectives on diversity of approaches in eight countries and 12 cities in Europe, Canada and the USA.



















