From disaster response to risk management : Australia's National Drought Policy
In 1992 Australia’s Commonwealth and State governments announced the introduction of a National Drought Policy adopting an innovative risk management approach, which received broad support from Australia’s major political parties and the policy community. This trail-blazing attempt and the experiences with the development and implementation of this policy over the past decade have intrigued the international scientific and policy communities. The present book comprises an academically focused collection of papers, which the Editors hope will provide others moving in a similar direction with the benefit of experience. The work highlights the successes and challenges of a move from disaster to risk management in responding to drought. As such it will be a valuable and useful addition to the international literature on drought preparedness and response.
From Digital Twins to Digital Selves and Beyond : Engineering and Social Models for a Trans-humanist World
This book aims at deepening the understanding of the relation between cyber-physical systems (CPSs) as socio-technical systems and their digital representations with intertwined artificial intelligence (AI). The authors describe why it is crucial for digital selves to be able to develop emotional behavior and why a humanity-inspired AI is necessary so that humans and humanoids can coexist.
From Data to Models and Back ; 9th International Symposium, DataMod 2020, Virtual Event, October 20, 2020, Revised Selected Papers
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on From Data Models and Back, DataMod 2020, held virtually, in October 2020. The 11 full papers and 3 short papers presented in this book were selected from 19 submissions. The papers are grouped in these topical sections: machine learning; simulation-based approaches, and data mining and processing related approaches.
From Customer Retention to a Holistic Stakeholder Management System : Living a Vision
Being the fourth in the series on Stakeholder Management books, the current volume looks back at the beginnings of Stakeholder Management and how it has since developed into a fully-fledged system over the last 20 years. It also highlights the importance of a benchmarking database generated from several thousand case studies for comparing businesses. Furthermore, international case studies look at the application of Stakeholder Management in a wide array of industries such as the automotive, public and hospitality sector as well as the consumer market. The reader benefits from a well-rounded account of articles that explain the entire process from data collection to implementation of actions derived from result analysis.
From Colonialism to International Aid : External Actors and Social Protection in the Global South
This book addresses the role of external actors in social protection in the Global South, from the Second World War until today, analysing the influence of colonial powers, superpowers during the Cold War and contemporary donor agencies.
From Cells to Proteins : Imaging Nature across Dimensions ; Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, held in Pisa, Italy, 12-23 September 2004
This book offers updated information on how much information we are able to obtain in the exploration of the inner details of biological specimens in their native structure and composition. And deals with the implementation of laser beam and stage scanning systems incorporating confocal optics or multiphoton microscopy; the advent of new electro-optical detectors with great sensitivity, linearity, and dynamic range; the possibility of 2D fast image enhancement, reconstruction, restoration, analysis and 3D display, and the application of luminescence techniques.
From Bulk to Nano : The Many Sides of Magnetism
The field of magnetism is rapidly advancing in this new millennium, revealing an ever-wider diversity of magnetic phenomena on more than one scale. With the emergence of countless applications particularly on a nanoscale, and their unpredictable implications mostly on a macroscale, it may seem that different aspects of magnetism are unrelated. Quite often, the overwhelming amount of topics discussed in the professional literature views only parts of a field, ignoring a broader context. Therefore, the present book aims at addressing the relationship between apparently unconnected topics in magnetism. Less obvious relationships are revealed among individual fields on various scales, making them better understandable.
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.
From Biological Control to Invasion : the Ladybird Harmonia axyridis as a Model Species
Harmonia axyridis has been described as the "most invasive ladybird on Earth". It has a long history of use as a classical biological control agent in the USA and more recently in Europe. This beetle has been effective at controlling pest insects in a variety of crop systems but it poses unacceptable risks by impacting on non-target species as both an intraguild predator and competitor.Written by renowned scientists, this book is a synthesis of recent research on H. axyridis and provides informative insights into current perspectives and future directions. Biological control is an essential component of sustainable agriculture but the distinction between a successful biological control agent and an invasive species can be narrow. We hope that lessons can be learnt from H. axyridis.
From Bilateral Arbitral Tribunals and Investment Courts to a Multilateral Investment Court : Options Regarding the Institutionalization of Investor-State Dispute Settlement
This book considers the potential setup for a future Multilateral Investment Court (MIC). The option of an MIC was first discussed by the EU Commission in 2016 and has since been made an official element of the EU Common Commercial Policy. In 2017, UNCITRAL also decided to discuss the possibility of an MIC, and on 20 March 2018, the Council of the EU gave the EU Commission the mandate to negotiate the creation of an MIC. The “feasibility study” presented here is intended to contribute to a broader discussion on the options for a new international court specialized in investment protection.
From Assessing to Conserving Biodiversity : Conceptual and Practical Challenges
This book despite increasing communication, accelerating policy and management responses, and notwithstanding improving ecosystem assessment and endangered species knowledge, conserving biodiversity continues to be more a concern than an accomplished task. Why is it so? The overexploitation of natural resources by our species is a frequently recognised factor, while the short-term economic interests of governments and stakeholders typically clash with the burdens that implementing conservation actions imply. But this is not the whole story. This book develops a different perspective on the problem by exploring the conceptual challenges and practical defiance posed by conserving biodiversity, namely: on the one hand, the difficulties in defining what biodiversity is and characterizing that “thing” to which the word ‘biodiversity’ refers to; on the other hand, the reasons why assessing biodiversity and putting in place effective conservation actions is arduous.
From Animals to Animats 9 ; 9th International Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, SAB 2006, Rome, Italy, September 25-29, 2006, Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, SAB 2006. The 35 revised full papers and 35 revised poster papers presented are organized in topical sections on the animat approach to adaptive behaviour, perception and motor control, action selection and behavioral sequences, navigation and internal world models, learning and adaptation, evolution, collective and social behaviours, applied adaptive behavior and more.
From Animals to Animats 10 ; 10th International Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, SAB 2008, Osaka, Japan, July 7-12, 2008. Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, SAB 2008, held in Osaka, Japan in July 2008.The 30 revised full papers and 21 revised poster papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 110 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on the animat approach to adaptive behaviour, evolution, navigation and internal world models, perception and control, learning and adaptation, cognition, emotion and behaviour, collective and social behaviours, adaptive behaviour in language and communication, and applied adaptive behaviour.
Frobenius Splitting Methods in Geometry and Representation Theory
The theory of Frobenius splittings has made a significant impact in the study of the geometry of flag varieties and representation theory. This work, unique in book literature, systematically develops the theory and covers all its major developments.
Freshwater Microplastics : Emerging Environmental Contaminants?
Focuses on microscopic plastic debris, also referred to as microplastics, which have been detected in aquatic environments around the globe and have accordingly raised serious concerns. The book explores whether microplastics represent emerging contaminants in freshwater systems, an area that remains underrepresented to date.Given the complexity of the issue, the book covers the current state-of-research on microplastics in rivers and lakes, including analytical aspects, environmental concentrations and sources, modelling approaches, interactions with biota, and ecological implications. To provide a broader perspective, the book also discusses lessons learned from nanomaterials and the implications of plastic debris for regulation, politics, economy, and society. In a research field that is rapidly evolving, it offers a solid overview for environmental chemists, engineers, and toxicologists, as well as water managers and policy-makers.
Freshwater Governance for the 21st Century
The objective of this book is to broadly illustrate the key aspects of water governance, mapping the spectrum of decision-making from techno-centric and eco-centric approaches, to hybrid concepts and people-centric approaches. Topics covered include the challenges for water-governance models, the polycentric model, the integration challenge, water in the decision-making hierarchy, and the rise of water-sensitive design, while also taking into account interdependencies between stakeholders, as well as the issue of scale.
Fresh Dialogue ; Vol.5 : New Voices in Graphic Design
This book is a documentation wide range of disciplines and experience, looking of an inspiring evening of design and discussion.
Frei Otto: Forschen, Bauen, Inspirieren = A Life of Research, Construction and Inspiration - DETAIL Special
Provides insights on the key aspects of his work. At its heart was the search for natural designs and an exploration of form-finding and self-development processes. As such he created a whole universe of ideas using membrane, net and convertible roofs with umbrellas, grid shells, and pneumatic structures. The book highlights his key works and how his ideas were adopted throughout the world. Read more...
Freelancing platform = منصة للأعمال الحرة
The digital era has seen a significant rise in freelancing, providing a flexible and accessible employment model for professionals worldwide. This project introduces an advanced freelancing platform designed to enhance the interaction between freelancers and clients. By employing a microservices architecture, the platform ensures a seamless, efficient, and secure environment for managing project collaborations, communications, and payment processes. The platform supports three primary user roles: Administrators, Freelancers, and Users. Administrators oversee comprehensive system management, including user accounts, service categories, platform settings, and financial transactions. Freelancers can create detailed profiles showcasing their skills, experiences, and portfolios, and publish services with clear descriptions, pricing, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Users can post service requests, outlining project requirements and budgets, enabling freelancers to apply and engage in these projects.
Freedom and Value : Freedom’s Influence on Welfare and Worldly Value
Freedom of the sort implicated in acting freely or with free will is important to the truth of different sorts of moral judgment, such as judgments of moral responsibility and those of moral obligation. Little thought, however, has been invested into whether appraisals of good or evil presuppose free will. The central aim of this book is to dispute this assumption by arguing for the relevance of free will to the truth of two sorts of such judgment: welfare-ranking judgments or judgments of personal well-being (when is one's life intrinsically good for the one who lives it?), and world-ranking judgments (when is a possible world intrinsically better than another?). The book also examines free will’s impact on the truth of such judgments for central issues in moral obligation and in the free will debate.



















