الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
Natural Disasters as Interactive Components of Global-Ecodynamics
This book opens a new approach to the study of global environmental changes having unfavourable character for mankind and other living systems. The main advantage of the book consists in the accumulation of knowledge from different sciences to parametrize the global ecodynamic process. Natural catastrophes are considered as an interactive element of global natural dynamics which are described by means of simulation models of global nature/society. The realization of this approach allows the integration within a complex structure of all international and national means of environmental monitoring and provides a tool for objective evaluation of the environmental quality. The main purpose of this book is to develop a universal information technology to estimate the state of environmental subsystems functioning under various climatic and anthropogenic conditions.
Migration and Environmental Change in Morocco : In search for Linkages Between Migration Aspirations and (Perceived) Environmental Changes
This book studies the migration aspirations and trajectories of people living in two regions in Morocco that are highly affected by environmental change or emigration, namely Tangier and Tinghir, as well as the migration trajectories of immigrants coming from these regions currently living in Belgium
Mediterranean Island Landscapes : Natural and Cultural Approaches
Mediterranean islands exhibit many similarities in their biotic ecological, physical and environmental characteristics. There are also many differences in terms of their human colonization and current anthropogenic pressures. This book addresses in three sections these characteristics and examines the major environmental changes that the islands experienced during the Quaternary period. The first section provides details on natural and cultural factors which have shaped island landscapes. It describes the environmental and cultural changes of the Holocene and their effects on biota, as well as on the current human pressures that are now threats to the sustainability of the island communities. The second section focuses on the landscapes of the largest islands namely Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus, Crete, Malta and the Balearics. Each island chapter includes a special topic reflecting a particular characteristic of the island. Part three presents strategies for action towards sustainability in Mediterranean islands and concludes with a comparison between the largest islands.
Integral bridges : a fundamental approach to the time–temperature loading problem
In recent years, integral bridges have become increasingly popular in the UK. The Highways Agency standard now requires, where possible, that all new bridges with a length of less than sixty metres should be of integral form. In addition, it has been found that, due especially to the problems and costs associated with failed expansion joints, integral bridges are not only cost effective but also have a longer lifespan. Integral Bridges was commissioned by the Highways Agency to produce guidance for bridge designers by addressing the thermally induced soil/structure interaction problem created by environmental changes of temperature and the associated cyclical displacements imposed on the granular backfill to the bridge abutments. It develops a better theoretical understanding of the cyclic performance, in particular the strain racheting in the backfill soil when in contact with a stiff structure. It also identifies the governing soil parameters and examines their influence in the interaction problem, develops numerical modelling procedures to predict interactive soil behaviour, and identifies and quantifies the controlling features of bridge structures relevant to the interaction problem.
Information Technologies in Environmental Engineering ; ITEE 2007 - 3rd International ICSC Symposium
Potentially dangerous environmental changes are happening in the atm- phere, oceans, animal habitats and places where hazardous materials are used, or have been discarded without adequate environmental protections. These increasing problems that also affect human health demand for int- disciplinary approaches where engineers, natural scientists, economists and computer scientists work together. This book publishes the results of the ITEE 2007 conference where information about the topics above has been presented and discussed among environmental engineers, computer scientists and economists.
Globalization and Sustainable Development : Environmental Agendas
A characteristic of the present global ecological situation is increasing instability or— put another way—a crisis in the civilization system, the global scale of which is expressed through a deterioration of human and animal habitats. The most sub stantial features of global ecodynamics of the late 20th and early 21st centuries include the rapid increase in world population (mainly in developing countries), increase in the size of the urban population (considerable growth in the number of megalopolises), and increase in the scales of such dangerous diseases as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis, etc.
Everglades Experiments: Lessons for Ecosystem Restoration
This work covers both the structural and functional responses of the Everglades ecosystem via experimental and gradient studies on microbial activity, algal responses, macroinvertebrate populations, macrophyte populations, and productivity in response to alterations to nutrients in soil and water, hydrologic changes, and fire. Importantly, this volume reclassifies the Everglades, provides a comparison of historic and current ecological processes, and presents a new working hydrologic paradigm, which collectively provides essential lessons for the restoration of this vast peatland complex
Environmental Problems of Central Asia and their Economic, Social and Security Impacts
entral Asia is a developing region with great potential, but there are valid concerns that current resource management practices are not sustainable, particularly with regard to the management of water resources. Recent changes in social structures, accompanied by regional climate change, have caused substantial environmental changes leading to security concerns in the region. As a result, the local economy has been significantly impacted to the extent that the potential for social unrest is of great concern.
Environmental Effects of Marine Finfish Aquaculture
Environmental risks associated with large-scale marine finfish cage aquaculture have led to claims that the long-term sustainability of the industry is in doubt. Methods and models currently used to measure near and far-field environmental effects of finfish mariculture and to assess their implications for management are presented in 20 chapters arranged in four sections (Eutrophication, Sedimentation and Benthic Impacts, Changes in Trophic Structure and Function, and Managing Environmental Risks). Case studies show how models may be used to predict environmental changes and provide management tools to minimize potentially adverse environmental risks. The volume is of interest to those working towards sustainable development of mariculture, including environmental managers and decision-makers with regulatory responsibilities.
Marginality : Addressing the Nexus of poverty, exclusion and ecology
In this volume economists, ecology experts, geographers, agronomists, sociologist, and business experts come together to address marginality. The inter-disciplinary research offers conceptual innovations and presents the dimensions of marginality in developing countries. Economic, political, and environmental drivers are assessed and mapped globally and in detail for countries in Africa and Asia, especially Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia. Economic growth especially in rural areas remains and farming communities is central to poverty reduction but needs to be complemented with specific actions to reach those at the margins.
Managing Diversity in Intergovernmental Organisations
Intensifying worldwide environmental changes as well as political, cultural, religious, and economic crises have made intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) important instruments in international and global cooperation. In order to cope with their diverse stakeholders, it is more imperative than ever for intergovernmental organisations to engage in personnel policy on an international scale. Successful diversity management is an essential prerequisite for organisational performance, conflict management, and dynamics of IGOs. Björn A. Peters examines the challenges of diversity and managing diversity in IGOs on the basis of the Mekong River Commission case study.
Learning and Adaption in Multi-Agent Systems ; 1st International Workshop, LAMAS 2005, Utrecht, The Netherlands, July 25, 2005, Revised Selected Papers
Contains selected and revised papers of the International Workshop on Lea- ing and Adaptation in Multi-Agent Systems (LAMAS 2005), held at the AAMAS 2005 Conference in Utrecht, The Netherlands, July 26. An important aspect in multi-agent systems (MASs) is that the environment evolves over time, not only due to external environmental changes but also due to agent int- actions. For this reason it is important that an agent can learn, based on experience, and adapt its knowledge to make rational decisions and act in this changing environment autonomously. Machine learning techniques for single-agent frameworks are well established. Agents operate in uncertain environments and must be able to learn and act - tonomously. This task is, however, more complex when the agent interacts with other agents that have potentially different capabilities and goals. The single-agent case is structurally different from the multi-agent case due to the added dimension of dynamic interactions between the adaptive agents. Multi-agent learning, i.e., the ability of the agents to learn how to cooperate and compete, becomes crucial in many domains. Autonomous agents and multi-agent systems (AAMAS) is an emerging multi-disciplinary area encompassing computer science, software engineering, biology, as well as cognitive and social sciences. A t- oretical framework, in which rationality of learning and interacting agents can be - derstood, is still under development in MASs, although there have been promising ?
Bacterial signal transduction : Networks and drug targets
Interactions among different TCSs enable one system to respond to multiple signals, which is important for bacteria to minutely adjust themselves to complex environmental changes. Such interactions are found or predicted in various bacteria in this book. Over the past decade, a vast amount of exciting new information on the signal transduction pathway in bacteria has been brought to light. Reports on these develop› ments have been put together in this book, Bacterial Signal Transduction: Networks andDrug Targets. This book Offers an incentive for graduate students, academic scientists, and researchers in the pharmaceutical industry to further elucidate the TCS networks and apply them in the search for novel drugs.
Asian-Pacific coasts and their management : States of environment
The Asia-Pacific region is home to the world’s largest region of coral reefs and mangroves. It accommodates two-thirds of the world’s human population and its economic activities have the highest growth rate in the world. Ongoing degradation of the environment, resulting from coastal development, deforestation, desertification and over-harvesting, are becoming a matter of great concern, as floods and droughts occur as a result of this degradation. Threats of global environmental change, such as climate change and sea-level rise, will exacerbate such problems. Therefore, appropriate policies and measures are needed for coastal management, to address both the local and global trends. This book gives an overview of the state-of-the-art understanding on the drivers, state, and responses to coastal environmental changes in the Asia-Pacific region. It provides excellent perspectives on current and anticipated environmental changes in the region’s coastal areas, to researchers, students, policy makers, coastal managers and other stakeholders.
As Pastoralists settle : Social, health, and economic consequences of the pastoral Sedentarization in Marsabit District, Kenya
Formerly nomadic livestock-keeping pastoralists have settled in many regions of the world in the past century. Some groups, including those in the former Soviet Union, Iran, and Israel, have settled in response to state-enforced measures; others including Saami in Norway or Bedouins in Saudi Arabia, in response to changing economic opportunities. East Africa, home to many cattle- and camel-keeping pastoral societies, has been among the most recent to change. The shift to sedentism by East African pastoralists increased d- matically in the late 20th century as a result of sharp economic, political, demographic, and environmental changes.
Arctic Alpine ecosystems and people in a changing environment
This book addresses the significant environmental changes experienced by high latitude and high altitude ecosystems at the beginning of the 21st c- tury. Increased temperatures and precipitation, reduction in sea ice and glacier ice, the increased levels of UV-radiation and the long-range tra- ported contaminants in arctic and alpine regions are stress factors that challenge terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The large natural variation in the physical parameters of these extreme environments is a key factor in structuring the biodiversity and biotic productivity, and the effect of the new stress factors can be critical for the population structures and the - teraction between species. These changes may also have socio-economic effects if the changes affect the bio-production, which form the basis for the marine and terrestrial food chains. The book is uniquely multidisciplinary and provides examples of va- ous aspects of contemporary environmental change in arctic and alpine - gions. The 21 chapters of the book are organised under the fields of •Climate change and ecosystem response, •Long range transport of poll- ants and ecological impacts, and •UV radiation and biological effects, each also including aspects of the •Socio-economic effects of environmental change. The introductory chapter presents and explains the internal c- nection and integration of all chapters.
Air, Water and Soil Quality Modelling for Risk and Impact Assessment
This book is the result of the Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Air, Water and Soil Quality Modelling for Risk and Impact Assessment,The aim of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on was to further joint environmental compartment modelling and applications of control theory to environmental management. The articles of the proceedings provide an overview of ongoing research in this field regarding assessment of environmental risks and impacts. Besides selected issues of practical application they address questions of forward and inverse modelling, integrated treatment of environmental changes and economic impacts as well as aspects of future development of numerical environmental modelling.
A Contingency-Based View of Chief Executive Officers' Early Warning Behaviour : An Empirical Analysis of German Medium-Sized Companies
Organizations need to identify risks and chances of environmental changes in order to adapt to or possibly even to influence them. Early warning which comprises scanning and interpretation plays an important role in this process. Whereas the traditional contingency approach considers early warning as a part of the organizational structure, the extended contingency theory assumes the additional influence of an individual’s personality on early warning. Andreas Kirschkamp empirically analyses the early warning behavior of Chief Executive Officers in German medium-sized companies. First, he presents the design variables of early warning, then the influencing contingency variables. On the basis of the scholarly research on psychological and contingency theory, the author deduces hypotheses and tests them. The results show that early warning behavior is not only influenced by traditional contingency variables but also by personal attitudes.
