Human-Nature Interactions : Exploring Nature’s Values Across Landscapes
Highlights how humans value nature, the opportunities and challenges in changing socio-ecological systems / Provides insights into concepts and methods to study human-nature relationships, designed for a broad audience / Focus on integrative approaches exploring interactions across different scales, intensity levels and landscapes
Human antibody therapeutics for viral disease
The articles in this volume are definitive and comprehensive reviews written by experts who have sought to define the principles of viral neutralization by human antibodies. They explore and anticipate the obstacles and opportunities that will be encountered as the power of human antibodies is harnessed to address the vast, un-met need for effective anti-viral therapeutics.
Higher Education in Romania : Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Opportunities
The book focuses on areas of interest for Romanian higher education, such as systemic measures to improve access, participation and completion for (vulnerable) students, better promotion of the Romanian higher education to attract students, as well as instruments for a more efficient use of data at higher education level. Each article includes evidence-based policy proposals that could support new strategic initiatives in higher education, including new legislation.
High Performance Computing for Geospatial Applications
This volume fills a research gap between the rapid development of High Performance Computing (HPC) approaches and their geospatial applications. With a focus on geospatial applications, the book discusses in detail how researchers apply HPC to tackle their geospatial problems. Based on this focus, the book identifies the opportunities and challenges revolving around geospatial applications of HPC. Readers are introduced to the fundamentals of HPC, and will learn how HPC methods are applied in various specific areas of geospatial study.
Handbook of obesity prevention : A resource for health professionals
Comprehensive in scope and meticulously researched, Handbook of Obesity Prevention analyzes the intricate causes of this public health crisis, and sets out concrete, multilevel strategies for meeting it head-on. This innovative handbook starts by clearly defining obesity in clinical, epidemiologic, and financial terms. From there, expert contributors provide insights on current issues, methods, and controversies in the field, focusing on new opportunities for prevention, successful interventions and initiatives, and guidelines for planning and implementing programs and evaluating results. This systematic approach to large-scale social and policy change gives all parties involved—from individual practitioners to multinational corporations—the tools to set and attain realistic goals based on solid evidence and best practice in public health.
Graphics Recognition. Recent Advances and New Opportunities ; 7th International Workshop, GREC 2007, Curitiba, Brazil, September 20-21, 2007. Selected Papers
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Graphics Recognition, GREC 2007, held in Curitiba, Brazil in September 2007.The 30 revised full papers presented together with a panel discussion report were carefully selected and improved during two rounds of reviewing and revision. The papers are organized in topical sections on technical documents, maps and diagrams understanding; symbol and shape description and recognition; information retrieval, indexing and spotting; sketching interfaces and on-line processing; feature and primitive analysis and segmentation; performance evaluation and ground truthing.
Governance : Systemic foundation and framework
Instead of yet another theory on good governance, this book presents a substantiation of contemporary notions. It builds on the theoretical foundations for taking an overall perspective on social contexts and culminates in a systemic framework that captures social structures based on first principles of viability and sustainability. The framework at hand enables applicants to view social contexts holistically while at the same time envisioning a rich picture of what leverages the implementation of social purposes beyond the boxes of the professional disciplines: social structures can be assessed, strengths and weaknesses identified and measures arrived at. Ultimately, the required structures can be tailor-made to align forces for a joint implementation of purposes. Conventional static hierarchies can be deployed into dynamic social organisms capable of developing and adapting continuously according to the opportunities and challenges faced.
Global investing : A practical guide to the world's best financial opportunities
Relevant information about key stock markets around the world Insights into the underlying dynamics of the world’s major global industries Fulsome discussions on how to evaluate companies within each global industry Advice on how to construct a portfolio of global stocks that will help you to build wealth and protect it during times of stock market weakness Descriptions of free and paid tools that belong on the radar of every successful global investor
Global Fintech : Financial Innovation in the Connected World
How the global financial services sector has been transformed by artificial intelligence, data science, and blockchain. Artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and other new technologies have upended the global financial services sector, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and corporate innovators. Venture capitalists have helped to fund this disruption, pouring nearly $500 billion into fintech over the last five years. This book offers global perspectives on technology-fueled transformations in financial services, with contributions from a wide-ranging group of academics, industry professionals, former government officials, and current government advisors. They examine not only the struggles of rich countries to bring the old analog world into the new digital one but also the opportunities for developing countries to “leapfrog” directly into digital.
Global business strategy : Multinational corporations venturing into emerging markets
This book presents theories and case studies for corporations in developed nations, including Japan, for designing strategies to maximize opportunities and minimize threats in business expansion into developing nations. The case studies featured here focus on Asia, including China and India, and use examples of Japanese manufacturers. Five case studies are provided, including Hitachi Construction Machinery and Shiseido in China and Maruti Suzuki in India. These cases facilitate the reader’s understanding of the business environments in emerging economies.
Geological atlas of Africa : With notes on stratigraphy, tectonics, economic geology, geohazards, geosites and geoscientific education of each country
Here is the new edition of the first attempt to summarize the geology of Africa by presenting it in an atlas and to synthesize the stratigraphy, tectonics, economic geology, geohazards and geosites of each country and territory of the continent. Furthermore, the digitized geological maps are correlated and harmonized according to the current stratigraphic timetable. The atlas aims to contribute to capacity building in African Earth Sciences and to aid the initiation of research and enable the achievement of economic opportunities by providing a database of basic geological background information.
Genetic Improvement of Bioenergy Crops
This book presents an overview of the major bioenergy crops that can be used for the production of biomass and ethanol, with a focus on their genetic improvement. In order to maintain focus, biodiesel and the genetic improvement of oil crops are not covered. The available genetic resources are largely untapped and offer major opportunities to significantly enhance the contribution of bioenergy, while addressing many of the economic and ecological concerns.
Gambling Problems in Youth : Theoretical and Applied Perspectives
Howard J. Shaffer, Ph. D. More than 20 years ago, I first noted that young people in North America were growing up in a context of legalized gambling for their entire lifetime. By the 1980s, for young people, gambling had become an average and expectable part of the social landscape. Amid legal opportunities to gamble in all but two of the United States and with illicit opportunities to gamble in every state, gambling is now ubiquitous in America. With few social sa- tions to limit a young person’s interest in gambling—like their adult co- terparts—young people now gamble in larger numbers and for seemingly higher stakes
Future Shaper : How Leaders Can Take Charge in an Uncertain World
What should leaders do? The answer is not to shy away from inevitable changes and more uncertainty, but to have the courage to face it. Leaders need to take charge by embracing new technologies, new ideas and converting these into opportunities for leadership innovation. The best ways for leaders to predict the future is to help create the future. Future Shaper is about giving back a sense of control. It's about empowering leaders to take charge and shape the future. Niamh O'Keeffe asks leaders to re-calibrate their leadership skills to include imagination and courage, to embrace innovation and drive growth and create a better future. Future Shaper helps readers to: · Embrace new digital technologies, understand AI and equip themselves for those not-yet-invented challenges ·
Future campus : Design quality in university buildings
Argues that investment in the higher education sector is a driver for intellectual, social and economic development, offering opportunities for positive impacts for the physical environment on the character and performance of higher education. The editor believes that good outcomes result from good design, which should address elements such as learning from best current practice, the importance of clear briefing, good environmental performance, the positive social impacts and, also, the importance of ensuring a beautiful outcome. It has chapters contributed from leading-edge practices, including case studies with highly illustrated project examples.
Fundamentals of Structural Mechanics
With the advent of the finite element method, our ability to compute has surpassed our ability to formulate theory. As a result, continuum mechanics is no longer the province of the specialist. What an engineer needs to know about mechanics has been forever changed by our capacity to compute. This book attempts to capitalize on the pedagogi cal opportunities implicit in this shift of perspective. It now seems more ap propriate to focus on fundamental principles and formulations than on classical solution techniques.
Fundamentals of Architectural Lighting
Light is an inseparable part of architectural design, and is intended to provide students of architecture and interior design with a graphic guideline to the fundamental role lighting plays in this process. While simple light sources may be enough to satisfy practical needs, the design process must expand beyond basic illumination. The challenge for architects and designers is the creation of luminous environments offering visual interest and a sense of well-being, while also meeting basic seeing needs. Technological advances provide opportunities for the lighting designer's creative introduction of light, and the visual and psychological perceptions of the illuminated architectural environment. Fundamentals of Architectural Lighting offers a complete comprehensive guide to the basics of lighting design, equipping students and practitioners with the tools and ideas they need to master a variety of lighting techniques. The book is extensively illustrated with over 250 illustrations to demonstrate basic principles and procedures. It is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the fundamentals of integrated lighting for architectural interior spaces
Full of Life : UNESCO Biosphere Reserves - Model Regions for Sustainable Development
UNESCO biosphere reserves are full of life. Here, people put sustainable development into practice: economic, ecological, social and cultural objectives are pursued, conserving precious natural spaces in the process. People are opening up new opportunities for today and are taking responsibility for future generations. What could be more exciting than a look at new ways into the future? The 14 biosphere reserves in Germany are part of a world network of 440 areas in the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). Founded in the 1970s to research the relationship between man and the environment, biosphere reserves have been developed into model regions for sustainable development since the 1992 Rio Conference. This publication gives an overview of developments to date and the new direction for the MAB Programme in Germany. The generally valid guidelines for the conservation, care and development of these areas are explained. Various project examples from practice and research bear witness to the living implementation of the Programme in the German UNESCO biosphere reserves.
Foundation models for natural language processing : pre-trained language models integrating media
Covers basic natural language processing models, pre-trained language models BERT, GPT, and sequence-to-sequence converters, as well as the concepts of self-attention and context-sensitive embedding. Various approaches to improving these models are then discussed, such as expanding the pre-training parameters, increasing the length of input texts, or incorporating additional knowledge. An overview of the best performing models is then provided for about twenty application areas, e.g., question answering, translation, story generation, dialogue systems, image generation from text, etc. For each application area, the strengths and weaknesses of existing models are discussed, and an overview of further developments is provided. In addition, links to freely available code are provided. The concluding chapter summarizes the economic opportunities, risk mitigation, and potential developments of AI.
Flower Breeding and Genetics : Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st Century
This book provides a unique and valuable resource on the many issues and challenges facing flower breeders, as well as the industry at-large. In this volume, the first comprehensive assemblage of its kind, a team of 32 international authorities has contributed to make this book a ‘must-have’ reference to research and develop flower crops for the 21st century consumers. Part 1 of this book (flower breeding program issues) contains unique features of interest to horticultural professionals and students, include coverage of plant protection strategies, cultivar trialing methodology, germplasm collection/preservation, preventing invasiveness, and other timely topics. The collective body of knowledge for 24 flower crops (Part 2: Crop-specific Breeding and Genetics) represents the in-depth science and art of breeding technology available for bedding plants, flowering potted plants, cut flowers, and herbaceous perennials. Each author provides crop-specific history, evolution, biology, taxonomy, state-of-the-art breeding/genetics, classical/molecular technologies, species traits, interspecific hybridization, and directions for future development/enhancement.



















