Wetlands and water framework directive : Protection, management and climate change
This book compares the lessons learned from a wetland-perspective approach to the changing climate and the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) with regard to environmental conservation. Examples from Germany and Poland are discussed due to the efficiency of their respective implementations of water conservation policies. Although the general scientific interest in specific issues such as wetlands, climate change, nature conservation and the WFD enjoy a well established position in international environmental research, these four elements are rarely considered together due to the complexity of the processes, biased scenarios of global change and subjective policy background. Major challenges involved in carrying out environmental conservation actions that assess the potential impacts of climate change and management plans on water bodies are identified.
Valuing Environmental Amenities Using Stated Choice Studies : A Common Sense Approach to Theory and Practice
Provides practical, research-based advice on how to conduct high-quality stated choice studies. It covers every aspect of the topic, from planning and writing the survey, to analyzing results, to evaluating quality. Chapters by highly-regarded academics and professionals are provided on rarely-discussed topics such as "supporting questions” and experimental design, as well as state-of-the-art multinomial choice modelling, attribute processing, the role of information, and lessons learned from the field of experimental economics. There is no other book on the market today that so thoroughly addresses the methodology of stated choice. Academics and practitioners in fields such as environmental, health and transportation economics, and marketing, will need this book on their shelves – and they will refer to it often.
The State of Peacebuilding in Africa : Lessons Learned for Policymakers and Practitioners
This book on the state of peacebuilding in Africa brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to reflect on key experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding in Africa over the past half century.
The LegalTech Book : The Legal Technology Handbook for Investors, Entrepreneurs and FinTech Visionaries
Written by prominent thought leaders in the global fintech and legal space, The LegalTech Book aggregates diverse expertise into a single, informative volume. Key industry developments are explained in detail, and critical insights from cutting-edge practitioners offer first-hand information and lessons learned.
The Allegheny Woodrat : Ecology, Conservation, and Management of a Declining Species
Once a common resident of the northeastern United States, the Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister) has now disappeared from areas where it was once abundant. The mystery of its decline has confounded biologists for three decades, but offers warnings for the future of other small, inconspicuous native mammals. Mammalogists John Peles and Janet Wright have synthesized current knowledge of the species in book form. The Allegheny Woodrat: Ecology, Conservation, and Management of a Declining Species provides the reader with a coherent, integrated picture illustrating the current status and distribution of the woodrat as well as the factors that have contributed to its decline. It provides background of the mammal’s ecology and genetics and insight into its future through conservation initiatives and management programs. Through hard lessons learned and relayed in the book, the editors and contributors hope to provide both good models for, and some caveats to, general principles that may be applied to the study of other declining species. It is a real and instructive study for ecology, management and conservation.
The AI Book : The Artificial Intelligence Handbook for Investors, Entrepreneurs and FinTech Visionaries
The AI Book aggregates diverse expertise into a single, informative volume and explains what artifical intelligence really means and how it can be used across financial services today. Key industry developments are explained in detail, and critical insights from cutting-edge practitioners offer first-hand information and lessons learned.
Strategies to Enhance Environmental Security in Transition Countries
This volume presents the main environmental security challenges facing transition countries, as well as practical methods and approaches for addressing them. These approaches are equally applicable to all countries. The four basic topics this volume addresses are (I) Introduction to Environmental Security Challenges (II) Strategies, Methods and Approaches for Addressing these Challenges (III) Lessons Learned as Illustrated via Research and Case Studies (IV) Issues Related to Metals in the Environment. The final chapter of the book is a summary of the discussions and working group sessions, entitled "Environmental Security in Transition Countries: Knowledge Gaps, Hurdles and Effective Strategies to Address Them".
Smittestopp : A Case Study on Digital Contact Tracing
Describes Smittestopp, the first Norwegian system for digital contact tracing of Covid-19 infections, which was developed in March and early April 2020. The system was deployed after five weeks of development and was active for a little more than two months, when a drop in infection levels in Norway and privacy concerns led to shutting it down. The intention of this book is twofold. First, it reports on the design choices made in the development phase. Second, as one of the only systems in the world that collected population data into a central database and which was used for an entire population, we can share experience on how the design choices impacted the system's operation. By sharing lessons learned and the challenges faced during the development and deployment of the technology, we hope that this book can be a valuable guide for experts from different domains, such as big data collection and analysis, application development, and deployment in a national population, as well as digital tracing.
Small Satellites for Earth Observation : Selected Contributions
This book deals with different aspects of small satellites for Earth observation: programmatics, current and planned Earth observation missions, spacebased instruments, satellite constellations, satellite subsystems, spacecraft bus systems, lessons learned, special aspects (e.g. thermal control, integration and test, launch services, ground station).
Safety Improvements through Lessons Learned from Operational Experience in Nuclear Research Facilities
For operators of nuclear research facilities, it is of particular importance to investigate minor incidents. The nuclear industry has developed some very progressive tools for experience feedback. This book presents the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Workshop dedicated to this matter of concern.
Researching Design Learning : Issues and Findings from Two Decades of Research and Development
This book summarises the lessons learned from this and other projects. The book’s messages centre on the designing activity, on learning, teaching and assessment, and, more widely, on what can be learnt about the research process itself. The authors aim to answer questions such as: How does the active, concrete learning tradition enable cognitive and emotional growth? What influences bear upon the process; the teacher, the environment, the task, the learners themselves? Researching such questions, their concerns have integrated the conceptual, the practical and the pedagogic.
Remote Sensing and GIS Technologies for Monitoring and Prediction of Disasters
Lessons learned in the last several years have given clear indications that the prediction and efficient monitoring of disasters is one of the critical factors in decision-making process. In this respect space-based technologies have the great potential of supplying information in near real time. This book focuses on a wider utilisation of remote sensing in disaster management.
Reflections on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident : Toward Social-Scientific Literacy and Engineering Resilience
This book focuses on nuclear engineering education in the post-Fukushima era. It was edited by the organizers of the summer school held in August 2011 in University of California, Berkeley, as part of a collaborative program between the University of Tokyo and UC Berkeley. Motivated by the particular relevance and importance of social-scientific approaches to various crucial aspects of nuclear technology, special emphasis was placed on integrating nuclear science and engineering with social science. The book consists of the lectures given in 2011 summer school and additional chapters that cover developments in the past three years since the accident.
Quantifying Environmental Impact Assessments Using Fuzzy Logic
The author places special emphasis on the types of issues that frequently arise in NEPA environmental assessments and environmental impact statements and in similar regulations that are used in jurisdictions regionally and internationally. The new methods are intended to reduce the time and cost of assessments, while producing justifiable and legally defensible results. First, issues related to current environmental impact assessment methods are discussed. Then the book discusses how lessons learned from computational intelligence can address these problems. It describes how a systematic, logical approach to environmental assessment can be applied to a variety of complex situations. Finally, the design and implementation of a more objective and powerful assessment is demonstrated through a worked example. Explanations of computational intelligence techniques and discussions of helpful software are intended to benefit those people actually preparing and using environmental assessments--in language that makes the process transparent and transferable to all types of systems.
Product-Focused Software Process Improvement ; 9th International Conference, PROFES 2008 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy, June 23-25, 2008 Proceedings
The papers address different development modes, roles in the value chain, stakeholders’ viewpoints, collaborative development, as well as economic and quality aspects. The papers are organized in topical sections on quality and measurement, cost estimation, capability and maturity models, systems and software quality, software process improvement, lessons learned and best practices, and agile software development.
Practical Economics : Economic Transformation and Government Reform in Georgia 2004–2012
In this book, Nika Gilauri reveals his formulas for government reform and economic recovery, including how to fight against corruption, reform fiscal policy and tax systems, privatize state-owned enterprises, build a welfare system for those most in need, create a competitive education and healthcare system, and streamline procurement. All formulas are corroborated by practical experience and empirical evidence gathered during Mr Gilauri's term as a cabinet member (2004-2009) and prime minister (2009-2012) of Georgia, and provide an in-depth view of what worked in the case of Georgia since 2003, and how lessons learned could be applied in other parts of the world.
Pervasive Computing ; 6th International Conference, Pervasive 2008 Sydney, Australia, May 19-22, 2008 Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Pervasive Computing, PERVASIVE 2008, held in Sydney, Australia, in May 2008.The 18 revised full papers presented were carefully selected during two rounds of reviewing and improvement. The papers are organized in topical sections on sensing and activity recognition, applications for mobile devices, location in pervasive systems, platforms for pervasive computing, lessons learned from displays, games and health applications, as well as privacy and security.
Oil Spill Response : A Global Perspective
This book provides a timely international perspective on applied research and development, technology transfer, and “lessons learned” from field trials and actual case studies associated with recent spill events. This book provides a synopsis as to the methods currently employed to deals with spills and an insight on future technologies under development.
Health Dimensions of COVID-19 in India and Beyond
This book addresses the multiple health dimensions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in India and other countries including nine in Asia, five in Sub-Saharan Africa, and New Zealand. It explores the impact of the pandemic on mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, health financing, self-care, and vaccine development and distribution. The contributing authors discuss its impact on vulnerable populations, including interstate migrants and female sex workers. The significant role of media and communications, rapid dissemination of information in social media, and its impact during the COVID-19 pandemic era are discussed. It closes with lessons learned from the experiences of countries that have contained the pandemic.
From brows to trust : Evaluating embodied conversational agents
This book will help experts and designers in the specification and development of applications incorporating ECAs. Part 1 provides guidelines for evaluation methodologies and the identification of design and evaluation parameters. Part 2 demonstrates the importance of considering the user's perspective and interaction experience. Part 3 addresses issues in fine-tuning design parameters of ECAs and verifying the perceived effect. Finally, in Part 4 lessons learned from a number of application case studies are presented. The book is intended for both ECA researchers in academia and industry, and developers and designers interested in applying the technology.



















