Page 1
Page 1
Open and distance education in Asia, Africa and the Middle East : National perspectives in a digital age
This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: China, India, Russia, Turkey, South Africa and South Korea. It describes how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of the national higher education systems in these countries. It also explores the similarities and differences between how their open and distance higher education systems are managed and structured. The book compare and draw conclusions about the nature of open and distance education in the context of various national higher education systems. In a digital era characterized by the growing use of online, open and distance education, this book will prove particularly valuable for policy-makers and senior administrators who want to learn about establishing or expanding open and distance education services. In addition, it offers a valuable reference guide for researchers, academics and students interested in understanding the different approaches to open and distance education.
Open and Closed Innovation : Different Cultures for Different Strategies
Open Innovation is a phenomenon in both research and management practice. Since radical innovation or new business development often require external technologies or ways of commercialization, many firms have shifted from a Closed to an Open Innovation model. However, firms often face difficulties during the implementation. While the implementation effort usually focuses on external ideas and technologies as well as the processes to identify them, cultural challenges are neglected. Philipp Herzog develops a theoretical framework arguing that Open Innovation and Closed Innovation cultures need to be different (e.g. regarding the not-invented-here (NIH) syndrome). Based on a multi-respondent survey among 120 R&D employees from three business units of a leading chemical firm, he provides empirical evidence for many of the hypothesized differences in innovation culture.
Open access databases and datasets for drug discovery
With an overview of 90 freely accessible databases and datasets on all aspects of drug design, development, and discovery, Open Access Databases and Datasets for Drug Discovery is a comprehensive guide to the vast amount of “free data” available to today’s pharmaceutical researchers. The applicability of open-source data for drug discovery and development is analyzed, and their usefulness in comparison with commercially available tools is evaluated. The most relevant databases for small molecules, drugs and druglike substances, ligand design, protein 3D structures (both experimental and calculated), and human drug targets are described in depth, including practical examples of how to access and work with the data. The first part is focused on databases for small molecules, followed by databases for macromolecular targets and diseases. The final part shows how to integrate various open-source tools into the academic and industrial drug discovery and development process.
Ontology Learning and Population from Text: Algorithms, Evaluation and Applications
Ontology Learning and Population from Text: Algorithms, Evaluation and Applications presents approaches for ontology learning from text and will be relevant for researchers working on text mining, natural language processing, information retrieval, semantic web and ontologies. Containing introductory material and a quantity of related work on the one hand, but also detailed descriptions of algorithms, evaluation procedures etc. on the other, this book is suitable for novices, and experts in the field, as well as lecturers.
Ontologies-Based Business Integration
E-business integration is a vision we have developed over a long period of time. As we have worked in business practice for many years prior to and in parallel with our academic research, we have always thought of such - tegration not only as an intellectual challenge but also as a real business tool. Consequently, when we started our project on Ontologies-based R- onciliation for Business Integration (ORBI) in 2004, not only pure science but also business objectives were at the center of our research. We were very happy to be able to form a project consortium that consisted not only of renowned researchers but also of experienced business practitioners from a range of companies. Each played a specific role – as user, provider or co-developer of the application components that are based on the me- ods we have developed. So may this book find its way not only to the desks of researchers and students, but also into the offices and minds of business practitioners worldwide who are dealing with the challenge of integrating their business processes, applications and information.
Ontologies for Urban Development
Action C21 of the European programme for Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST—http://www.cost.esf.org/) is dedicated to investigating urban ontologies for an improved communication in urban civil engineering projects. The Action, known informally as "Towntology", brings together a large and heterogeneous grouping from across Europe, whose interests range from construction to urban tourism and from transport infrastructure to resource visualisation. On 6-7 November 2006, in Geneva, the Action convened a successful workshop to address emerging issues in the field. This volume presents the contributions to that workshop, in many cases revised afterwards to capture some of the outcomes of discussion.
Ontologies : A Handbook of Principles, Concepts and Applications in Information Systems
The primary objective of ONTOLOGIES: A Handbook of Principles, Concepts and Applications in Information Systems is to mobilize a collective awareness in the research community to the leading and emerging developments in ODIS, and consequently, highlight the enormous potential of ODIS research to both fundamentally transform and create innovative solutions to several problems in various domains. This book is a compilation of 32 leading-edge chapter contributions from some of the top researchers in the community working in various fundamental and applied disciplines related to ODIS. These chapters are organized into four broad themes: Foundations of ODIS, Ontological Engineering, ODIS Architectures, and ODIS Applications.
Online Investing on the Australian Sharemarket : How to Research, Trade and Invest in Shares and Securities Online
Offers step-by-step guidance on choosing an online broker, accessing and making best use of online share investing resources, planning trades, identifying profit-making opportunities, timing of and placing online orders, managing investment risks, and much more.
Online hate speech in the European Union : A discourse-analytic perspective
open access under a CC BY 4.0 license and reports on research carried out as part of the European Union co-funded C.O.N.T.A.C.T. project which targeted hate speech and hate crime across a number of EU member states. It showcases the bearing that discourse analytic research can have on our understanding of this phenomenon that is a growing global cause for concern.
One-Dimensional Nanostructures
One-dimensional (1D) nanostructures, including nanowires, nanotubes and quantum wires, have been regarded as the most promising building blocks for nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. Worldwide efforts in both the theory and the experimental investigation of growth, characterization and applications of 1D nanostructures have resulted in a mature, multidisciplinary field. In this book, a wealth of state-of-the-art information offers the opportunity to uncover the underlying science from diverse perspectives. Leading researchers elucidate the synthesis and properties of 1D nanostructures for various morphologies and compositions (semiconductor, metal, carbon, etc.) as well as their considerable impact on spintronics, information storage, and the design of field-effect transistors.
One Hundred Years of Chemical Warfare : Research, Deployment, Consequences
On April 22, 1915, the German military released 150 tons of chlorine gas at Ypres, Belgium. Carried by a long-awaited wind, the chlorine cloud passed within a few minutes through the British and French trenches, leaving behind at least 1,000 dead and 4,000 injured. This chemical attack, which amounted to the first use of a weapon of mass destruction, marks a turning point in world history. The preparation as well as the execution of the gas attack was orchestrated by Fritz Haber, the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry in Berlin-Dahlem. During World War I, Haber transformed his research institute into a center for the development of chemical weapons (and of the means of protection against them).
Oncogenes Meet Metabolism : From Deregulated Genes to a Broader Understanding of Tumour Physiology
In 1920s, Otto Warburg described the phenomenon of ‘aerobic glycolysis’, the ability of tumour cells to convert glucose to lactate in the presence of normal oxygen conditions. Warburg’s hypothesis of an altered metabolism in cancer cells found no immediate acceptance, though it was latter confirmed for most human tumours. With the advent of molecular biology the focus in tumour research has shifted towards the search for oncogenes. However, the interest in cancer molecular profiling eventually led to a renaissance of the Warburg effect trying to combine genetic alterations with effects on metabolism with the help of modern analytic technologies to rapidly analyze broad varieties of metabolites in various tissues and bodyfluids (metabonomics).
omputational science and its applications - ICCSA 2005 ; Vol. 3480 ; International Conference, Singapore, May 9-12, 2005, Proceedings, Part I
The four volume set assembled following The 2005 International Conference on Computational Science and its Applications, ICCSA 2005, held in Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore, from 9 May 2005 till 12 May 2005, represents the ?ne collection of 540 refereed papers selected from nearly 2,700 submissions. Computational Science has ?rmly established itself as a vital part of many scienti?c investigations, a?ecting researchers and practitioners in areas ranging from applications such as aerospace and automotive, to emerging technologies such as bioinformatics and nanotechnologies, to core disciplines such as ma- ematics, physics, and chemistry. Due to the shear size of many challenges in computational science, the use of supercomputing, parallel processing, and - phisticated algorithms is inevitable and becomes a part of fundamental t- oretical research as well as endeavors in emerging ?elds.
Omics sudies of medicinal plants
Herbal drugs play a pivotal role in modern medicine and pharmaceutical care; however, only limited biotechnology applications have been seen in medicinal plants. Revolutions in high-throughput approaches emphasize omics approaches, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. A volume in the Exploring Medicinal Plants series, this book provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of breakthroughs in high-throughput approaches for the research of medicinal plants.
Omega-3 fatty acids : Keys to nutritional health
Argues for the importance of essential nutrients in our diet. Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of research on the relationship of Omega-3 fatty acids and the importance of antioxidants to human health. Expert authors discuss the importance of a diet rich in Omega-3 Fatty acids for successful human growth and development and for the prevention of disease. Chapters highlight their contribution to the prevention and amelioration of a wide range of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, obesity, mental health and bone health.
Omega 3 and Omega 6 and its relationship to obesity
This research summarizes information about omega-3 and omega-6. In recent times, there has been growing recognition of the key role of foods and beverages in disease prevention and treatment. Thus, the production and consumption of functional foods has gained much importance as they provide a health benefit beyond the basic nutritional functions. At present, PUFA (poly unsaturated fatty acids) as Omega-3 [(n-3)] fatty acids and Omega -6 [(n-6)] fatty acid have been linked to healthy aging throughout life. Recently, omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid ) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid ) have been associated with cardiovascular function, and Alzheimer’s disease.
olution Sets for Net Zero Energy Buildings : Feedback from 30 Buildings Worldwide
Presents a unique study of 30 NZEBs that have been constructed and have had their performance measured for at least 12 months. The study is based upon an international collaborative research initiated by the International Energy Agency. It is the first book to evaluate building strategies in houses, educational buildings and offices that have been demonstrated to work in practice. It examines how the design challenges of climate and building type have been addressed, and to what extent the various design approaches have been successful. This book presents convincing evidence that a careful re-thinking of conventional design norms can achieve a far greater performance benefit than is normally feasible. It identifies 'solution sets' that work at the whole building level and at the individual building design challenge level for each climate and building type. In doing so, the book provides guidance as to how to improve the design by learning from these cases. Unusually for a book of this type it has examples of buildings in what are conventionally labeled 'hot' and 'cold' climates.
Oil-in-Water Nanosized Emulsions for Drug Delivery and Targeting
ompiles the step-by-step investigations made concerning the potential of nanosized emulsions on both drug delivery and drug targeting areas by different group of scientists in various laboratories across the world Inverts the common nano-emulsions coverage trend of focusing on focused on the particulate system itself, instead exploring the way to turn nanosized emulsions as biomedical tool, as well as, treating the in vitro and in vivo aspects after administration Provides an overview of the current state-of-the art regarding the development of tocol emulsions, emulsion adjuvants in immunization research, oxygen-carrying emulsions (called as fluorocarbon emulsion) and emulsions for delivering drugs to nasal and topical (ocular and transdermal) routes
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.
Offshore Wind Energy : Research on Environmental Impacts
The accompanying ecological research for using wind energy in the German North and Baltic Seas has brought out a variety of results concerning possible effects on the marine environment. This book provides an overview of the state of the accompanying ecological research in Germany. It shows the relevance of the new results of the research projects for the planning and permission process for offshore wind energy farms.
