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Advances in Waste Management: Select Proceedings of Recycle 2016
by Ajay S. Kalamdhad Jiwan Singh Kondusamy DhamodharanThis book presents some of the latest technologies in waste management, and emphasizes the benefits that can be gained from the use of recycled products. Divided into four sections, it deals with phytoremediation, acquatic weed management and the treatment of solid- and water-based wastes, such as those arising from agricultural, industrial and medical activities. With its special emphasis on the utilization of recycled products, this volume will be of interest to students, academicians, policy makers and others who have a practical and academic interest in dealing with the waste society generates.
Advances in Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology (Water Resources Development and Management)
by Muhammad Suleman Tahir Muhammad Sagir Muhammad Bilal TahirThis book highlights the several pollutants and their derivatives that exist in water and wastewater, such as pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, personal care products, heavy metals, pesticides, dyes etc., as a result of rapid urbanization and industrialization. Several part pollution is caused by nutrients, organics, and contaminants with low concentration but is highly toxic to human and aquatic environment. This book provides a holistic approach in terms of measurement, monitoring, and recent advances in treatment technologies for water and wastewater treatment and water reuse. The technologies involve the physio-chemical, biological and advanced oxidation processes in which they are modified or coupled with nanomaterials and/or newly developed products for improving the performance of the current treatment processes. In addition, the membrane processes include recent research on the removal of challenging chemicals by various membrane bioreactors and reverse osmosis processes.
Advances in Water Resource Planning and Sustainability (Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences)
by Praveen Kumar RaiSustainable water resources planning deals with the interface of water resources science and the needs of human populations. It highlights works that addresses practical methods and basic research in, for example: quantity and quality management of groundwater and surface water resources; sustainability of water resources and water availability; water use and reuse including managed aquifer recharge and storage; geopolitical and socio-economic aspects of water resource management; water development and human activity impacts on ecological systems and human health, including, for instance, agricultural and climatic impacts, subsurface waste storage and injection, geothermal energy development and subsurface energy storage. This book provides up-to-date systematic and scientific analyses of such water problems and suggests sustainable measures to overcome them through effective surface and sub-surface water resource management. It is immensely valuable to students, researchers, water resource managers, hydrologists and all those who are engaged or interested in any aspect of river water conservation and management of water resources.
Advances in Water Resources Engineering and Management: Select Proceedings of TRACE 2018 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering #39)
by Rafid AlKhaddar Ram Karan Singh Subashisa Dutta Madhuri KumariThis book comprises select papers presented at the International Conference on Trends and Recent Advances in Civil Engineering (TRACE 2018). The book covers inter-disciplinary research and applications in integrated water resource management, river ecology, irrigation system, water pollution and treatment, hydraulic structure and hydro-informatics. The topics on water resource management include technological intervention and solution for climate change impacts on water resources, water security, clean water to all, sustainable water reuse, flood risk assessment, interlinking of rivers and hydro policy. The contents of this book will be useful to researchers and professionals working in the field of water resource management and related policy making.
Advances in Water Resources Management for Sustainable Use (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering #131)
by Pankaj Kumar Roy Malabika Biswas Roy Supriya PalThis book presents the innovative ideas and technical expertise for the sustainable solution in the field of water resources. It covers various topics on sustainable water resources management under climate change where researchers and professionals have shared their experience, innovative ideas, issues, recent trends and future directions in field of water resources engineering, science and technology. This book culminates the importance of achieving the ways towards water security and espouse targets and measures that will allow the end-user to meet this challenge in conjunction. It is a compendium of research articles pertaining to the mitigation of water crisis, surface and groundwater management, watershed management and modelling, case studies related to wetland vulnerability, water pollution, water quality, extreme climate hazards and others issues and its sustainable diminution through ingenious ideas and technologies that will incur valuable information to the stakeholders in the society. Given its scope, this book will be useful for the researchers and professionals.
Advances in Water Treatment and Management: Select Proceedings of ICAWTM 2023 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering #536)
by Anurag Mudgal Philip Davies Maria Kennedy Guillermo Zaragoza Kiho ParkThis book presents the select proceedings of International Conference on Advances in Water Treatment and Management (ICAWTM 2023). It covers the recent trends in water treatment processes. Various topics covered include innovative process developments in water treatment, renewable energy-assisted desalination processes, conceptual design, and process hybridization for water treatment. The book is highly useful for researchers and professionals in the fields of water treatment, renewable energy, industrial chemistry, and many other allied fields.
Advances in Watershed Science and Assessment (The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry #33)
by Tamim Younos Tammy E. PareceThis volume offers concepts, methods and case studies of innovative and evolving technologies in the area of watershed assessment. Topics discussed include: (1) Development and applications of geospatial, satellite imagery and remote sensing technologies for land monitoring; (2) Development and applications of satellite imagery for monitoring inland water quality; (3) Development and applications of water sensor technologies for real-time monitoring of water quantity and quality; and (4) Advances in biological monitoring and microbial source tracking technologies. This book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers involved in watershed science and environmental studies. Equally, it will serve as a valuable guide to experts in government agencies who are concerned with water-availability and water-quality issues, and engineers and other professionals involved in the design of land- and water-monitoring systems.
Advances in Wheat Genetics: Proceedings of the 12th International Wheat Genetics Symposium
by Yasunari Ogihara Shigeo Takumi Hirokazu HandaThis proceedings is a collection of 46 selected papers that were presented at the 12th International Wheat Genetics Symposium (IWGS). Since the launch of the wheat genome sequencing project in 2005, the arrival of draft genome sequences has marked a new era in wheat genetics and genomics, catalyzing rapid advancement in the field. This book provides a comprehensive review of the forefront of wheat research, across various important topics such as germplasm and genetic diversity, cytogenetics and allopolyploid evolution, genome sequencing, structural and functional genomics, gene function and molecular biology, biotic stress, abiotic stress, grain quality, and classical and molecular breeding. Following an introduction, 9 parts of the book are dedicated to each of these topics. A final, 11th part entitled "Toward Sustainable Wheat Production" contains 7 excellent papers that were presented in the 12th IWGS Special Session supported by the OECD. With rapid population growth and radical climate changes, the world faces a global food crisis and is in need of another Green Revolution to boost yields of wheat and other widely grown staple crops. Although this book focuses on wheat, many of the newly developed techniques and results presented here can be applied to other plant species with large and complex genomes. As such, this volume is highly recommended for all students and researchers in wheat sciences and related plant sciences and for those who are interested in stable food production and food security.
Advances in Wind Energy Conversion Technology (Environmental Science and Engineering)
by Geeta Susan Philip Mathew SathyajithWith an annual growth rate of over 35%, wind is the fastest growing energy source in the world today. As a result of intensive research and developmental efforts, the technology of generating energy from wind has significantly changed during the past five years. The book brings together all the latest aspects of wind energy conversion technology - right from the wind resource analysis to grid integration of the wind generated electricity. The chapters are contributed by academic and industrial experts having vast experience in these areas. Each chapter begins with an introduction explaining the current status of the technology and proceeds further to the advanced lever to cater for the needs of readers from different subject backgrounds. Extensive bibliography/references appended to each chapter give further guidance to the interested readers.
Advances on Testing and Experimentation in Civil Engineering: Geotechnics, Transportation, Hydraulics and Natural Resources (Springer Tracts in Civil Engineering)
by Carlos Chastre José Neves Diogo Ribeiro Maria Graça Neves Paulina FariaThe book presents the recent advances on testing and experimentation in civil engineering, especially in the branches of geotechnics, transportation, hydraulics, and natural resources. It includes advances in physical modelling, monitoring techniques, data acquisition and analysis, and provides an invaluable contribution for the installation of new civil engineering experimental facilities. The first part of the book covers the latest advances in testing and experimentation in key domains of geotechnics: soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, rock mechanics and rock engineering, and engineering geology. Some of the topics covered include new developments in topographic survey acquisition for applied mapping and in situ geotechnical investigations; laboratory and in situ tests to estimate the relevant parameters needed to model the behaviour of rock masses and land structures; monitoring and inspection techniques designed for offshore wind foundations. The second part of the book highlights the relevance of testing and monitoring in transportation. Full-scale accelerated pavement testing, and instrumentation becomes even more important nowadays when, for sustainability purposes, non-traditional materials are used in road and airfield pavements. Innovation in testing and monitoring pavements and railway tracks is also developed in this part of the book. Intelligent traffic systems are the new traffic management paradigm, and an overview of new solutions is addressed here. Finally, in the third part of the book, trends in the field and laboratory measurements and corresponding data analysis are presented according to the different hydraulic domains addressed in this publication, namely maritime hydraulics, surface water and river hydraulics and urban water.
Advances on Testing and Experimentation in Civil Engineering: Materials, Structures and Buildings (Springer Tracts in Civil Engineering)
by Carlos Chastre José Neves Diogo Ribeiro Maria Graça Neves Paulina FariaThis book presents the most recent advances on testing and experimentation in civil engineering, especially in the branches of materials, structures, and buildings, complementing the authors’ publication Advances on Testing and Experimentation in Civil Engineering - Geotechnics, Transportation, Hydraulics and Natural Resources. It includes advances in physical modelling, monitoring techniques, data acquisition and analysis, and provides an invaluable contribution to the installation of new civil engineering experimental facilities. The first part of the book covers the latest advances in the testing and experimentation of key domains of materials, such as bio-cementation and self-healing, durability, and recycled materials, as well as the new environmental requirements related to the presence of hazardous substances in construction materials. Furthermore, laboratory and in situ tests, together with equipment needed to estimate the behaviour and durability of construction materials are presented, updating the most important technological advances. The second part of the book highlights the relevance of testing and monitoring in structures, including in situ tests related to static load tests, dynamic tests, and long-term monitoring strategies, as well as laboratory tests of adhesive joints. Experimental tests on shake tables and blast-resistant structures are also described. Recent applications of drone technologies for the inspection and monitoring of civil structures are another important theme developed. Finally, in its third part, the book presents new developments in the characterisation of building testing, with the support of modelling, to assess building pathology and new requirements, acoustic comfort, fire safety, visual comfort, and energy consumption.
Advancing Culture of Living with Landslides: Volume 1 ISDR-ICL Sendai Partnerships 2015-2025
by Kyoji Sassa Yueping Yin Matjaž MikošThis volume includes papers from 4 different sessions pertinent to the main theme - ADVANCES IN LANDSLIDE SCIENCE. The related session descriptions include - a) LANDSLIDE FIELD RECOGNITION IDENTIFICATION: REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES, FIELD TECHNIQUES, b) LANDSLIDE INVESTIGATION: FIELD INVESTIGATIONS, LABORATORY TESTING, c) LANDSLIDE MODELING: LANDSLIDE MECHANICS AND SIMULATION MODELS, and d) LANDSLIDE HAZARD, RISK ASSESSMENT & PREDICTION: LANDSLIDE INVENTORIES & SUSCEPTIBILITY, HAZARD MAPPING METHODS, DAMAGE POTENTIAL
Advancing Culture of Living with Landslides: Volume 3 Advances in Landslide Technology
by Kyoji Sassa Yueping Yin Matjaž Mikoš Željko ArbanasThis volume includes papers from 4 different sessions pertinent to the main theme - ADVANCES IN LANDSLIDE SCIENCE. The related session descriptions include - a) LANDSLIDE FIELD RECOGNITION IDENTIFICATION: REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES, FIELD TECHNIQUES, b) LANDSLIDE INVESTIGATION: FIELD INVESTIGATIONS, LABORATORY TESTING, c) LANDSLIDE MODELING: LANDSLIDE MECHANICS AND SIMULATION MODELS, and d) LANDSLIDE HAZARD, RISK ASSESSMENT & PREDICTION: LANDSLIDE INVENTORIES & SUSCEPTIBILITY, HAZARD MAPPING METHODS, DAMAGE POTENTIAL
Advancing Culture of Living with Landslides: Volume 4 Diversity of Landslide Forms
by Kyoji Sassa Yueping Yin Matjaž Mikoš Nicola CasagliThis book is open access under a CC BY 4. 0 license. This volume contains peer-reviewed papers from the Fourth World Landslide Forum organized by the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), the Global Promotion Committee of the International Programme on Landslides (IPL), University of Ljubljana (UL) and Geological Survey of Slovenia in Ljubljana, Slovenia from May 29 to June 2, 2017. The complete collection of papers from the Forum is published in five full-color volumes. Thisfirst volume contains the following: * Three forum lectures * Background and Content of the Sendai Partnerships 2015-2025 * Contribution from the signatory organizations of the Sendai Partnerships * Landslide Dynamics: ISDR-ICL Landslide Interactive Teaching Tools (LIT T) * Progress of the World Report on Landslides (WRL) * International Programme on Landslides (IPL): Objects, History and List of WCoE/IPL projects * UNESCO-KU-ICL UNITIWIN Network supporting IPL * Landslides: Journal of International Consortium on Landslides * International Programme on Landslides (IPL): WCoEs and IPL Projects * Landslides and Society Prof. Kyoji Sassa is the Founding President of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL). He is Executive Director of ICL and the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal Landslides since its foundation in 2004. Prof. Matjaž Mikos is the Forum Chair of the Fourth World Landslide Forum. He is the Vice President of International Consortium on Landslides and President of the Slovenian National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Prof. Yueping Yin is the President of the International Consortium on Landslides and the Chairman of the Committee of Geo-Hazards Prevention of China, and the Chief Geologist of Geo-Hazard Emergency Technology, Ministry of Land and Resources, P. R. China. IPL (International Programme on Landslides) is a programme of the ICL. The programme is managed by the IPL Global Promotion Committee including ICL and ICL supporting organizations, UNESCO, WMO, FAO, UNISDR, UNU, ICSU, WFEO, IUGS and IUGG. The IPL contributes to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the ISDR-ICL Sendai Partnerships 2015-2025.
Advancing Culture of Living with Landslides: Volume 2 Advances in Landslide Science
by Kyoji Sassa Yueping Yin Matjaz Mikos Binod TiwariThis volume contains peer-reviewed papers from the Fourth World Landslide Forum organized by the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), the Global Promotion Committee of the International Programme on Landslides (IPL), University of Ljubljana (UL) and Geological Survey of Slovenia in Ljubljana, Slovenia from May 29 to June 2,. The complete collection of papers from the Forum is published in five full-color volumes. This second volume contains the following: * Two keynote lectures * Landslide Field Recognition and Identification: Remote Sensing Techniques, Field Techniques * Landslide Investigation: Field Investigations, Laboratory Testing * Landslide Modeling: Landslide Mechanics, Simulation Models * Landslide Hazard Risk Assessment and Prediction: Landslide Inventories and Susceptibility, Hazard Mapping Methods, Damage Potential Prof. Matjaž Mikos is the Forum Chair of the Fourth World Landslide Forum. He is the Vice President of International Consortium on Landslides and President of the Slovenian National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Prof. Binod Tiwari is the Coordinator of the Volume 2 of the Fourth World Landslide Forum. He is a Board member of the International Consortium on Landslides and an Executive Editor of the International Journal "Landslides". He is the Chair-Elect of the Engineering Division of the US Council of Undergraduate Research, Award Committee Chair of the American Society of Civil Engineering, Geo-Institute's Committee on Embankments, Slopes, and Dams Committee. Prof. Yueping Yin is the President of the International Consortium on Landslides and the Chairman of the Committee of Geo-Hazards Prevention of China, and the Chief Geologist of Geo-Hazard Emergency Technology, Ministry of Land and Resources, P. R. China. Prof. Kyoji Sassa is the Founding President of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL). He is Executive Director of ICL and the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal"Landslides" since its foundation in 2004. IPL (International Programme on Landslides) is a programme of the ICL. The programme is managed by the IPL Global Promotion Committee including ICL and ICL supporting organizations, UNESCO, WMO, FAO, UNISDR, UNU, ICSU, WFEO, IUGS and IUGG. The IPL contributes to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the ISDR-ICL Sendai Partnerships 2015-2025.
Advancing Culture of Living with Landslides: Volume 5 Landslides in Different Environments
by Vít Vilímek Matjaž Mikoš Yueping Yin Kyoji SassaThis book is open access under a CC BY 4. 0 license. This volume contains peer-reviewed papers from the Fourth World Landslide Forum organized by the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), the Global Promotion Committee of the International Programme on Landslides (IPL), University of Ljubljana (UL) and Geological Survey of Slovenia in Ljubljana, Slovenia from May 29 to June 2, 2017. The complete collection of papers from the Forum is published in five full-color volumes. Thisfirst volume contains the following: * Three forum lectures * Background and Content of the Sendai Partnerships 2015-2025 * Contribution from the signatory organizations of the Sendai Partnerships * Landslide Dynamics: ISDR-ICL Landslide Interactive Teaching Tools (LIT T) * Progress of the World Report on Landslides (WRL) * International Programme on Landslides (IPL): Objects, History and List of WCoE/IPL projects * UNESCO-KU-ICL UNITIWIN Network supporting IPL * Landslides: Journal of International Consortium on Landslides * International Programme on Landslides (IPL): WCoEs and IPL Projects * Landslides and Society Prof. Kyoji Sassa is the Founding President of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL). He is Executive Director of ICL and the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal Landslides since its foundation in 2004. Prof. Matjaž Mikos is the Forum Chair of the Fourth World Landslide Forum. He is the Vice President of International Consortium on Landslides and President of the Slovenian National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Prof. Yueping Yin is the President of the International Consortium on Landslides and the Chairman of the Committee of Geo-Hazards Prevention of China, and the Chief Geologist of Geo-Hazard Emergency Technology, Ministry of Land and Resources, P. R. China. IPL (International Programme on Landslides) is a programme of the ICL. The programme is managed by the IPL Global Promotion Committee including ICL and ICL supporting organizations, UNESCO, WMO, FAO, UNISDR, UNU, ICSU, WFEO, IUGS and IUGG. The IPL contributes to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the ISDR-ICL Sendai Partnerships 2015-2025.
Advancing Energy Policy: Lessons on the integration of Social Sciences and Humanities
by Chris Foulds Rosie RobisonThis open access book advocates for the Social Sciences and Humanities to be more involved in energy policymaking. It forms part of the European platform for energy-related Social Sciences and Humanities’ activities, and works on the premise that crossing disciplines is essential. All of its contributions are highly interdisciplinary, with each chapter grounded in at least three different Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines. These varying perspectives come together to cover an array of issues relevant to the energy transition, including: energy poverty, justice, political ecology, governance, behaviours, imaginaries, systems approaches, modelling, as well as the particular challenges faced by interdisciplinary work. As a whole, the book presents new ideas for future energy policy, particularly at the European level. It is a valuable resource for energy researchers interested in interdisciplinary and society-relevant perspectives. Those working outside the Social Sciences and Humanities will find this book an accessible way of learning more about how these subjects can constructively contribute to energy policy.
Advancing Environmental Education Practice (Cornell Series in Environmental Education)
by Marianne E. KrasnyIn this important intervention, change-agent Marianne E. Krasny challenges the knowledge-attitudes-behavior pathway that underpins much of environmental education practice; i.e., the assumption that environmental knowledge and attitudes lead to environmental behaviors. Krasny shows that certain types of knowledge are more likely than others to influence behaviors, and that generally it is more effective to work with existing attitudes than to try to change them. The chapters expand the purview of potential outcomes of environmental education beyond knowledge and attitudes to include nature connectedness, sense of place, efficacy, identity, norms, social capital, youth assets, and individual wellbeing.Advancing Environmental Education Practice also shows how, by constructing theories of change for their environmental education programs, environmental educators can target specific intermediate outcomes likely to lead to environmental behaviors and collective action, and plan activities to achieve those intermediate outcomes. In some cases, directly engaging program participants in the desired behavior or collective action can lead to changes in efficacy, sense of place, and other intermediate outcomes, which in turn foster future environmental actions. Finally, Advancing Environmental Education Practice shares twenty-four surveys that assess changes in environmental behaviors and intermediate outcomes, and provides guidelines for qualitative evaluations.Thanks to generous funding from the Cornell Department of Natural Resources, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellopen.org) and other Open Access repositories.
Advancing Environmental Justice for Marginalized Communities in India: Progress, Challenges and Opportunities
by Aruna Kumar Malik Alan P. Diduck Kirit PatelThis interdisciplinary collection examines social equity and environmental justice in India. It assesses the effectiveness of environmental policies and institutions in rendering justice for marginalized communities while ensuring protection of the environment. It also analyses the influence of the neoliberal state and its political economies on the development and outcomes of these policies and institutions. The book provides a unique perspective on environmental justice because of its consistent emphasis on social justice, rather than the prevailing predominant analyses from legal or environmental perspectives. It explores the themes of effectiveness and equity as they pertain to public policy instruments, such as environmental impact assessment, environmental licensing and enforcement, public hearings, and environmental activism strategies. The four interlinked dimensions of environmental justice, namely recognitional justice, procedural justice, distributive justice, and restorative justice, provide the core of the book’s conceptual framework. The contributions draw on ideas and methods from development studies, environmental geography, environmental law and policy, natural resource management, public administration, and political economy The book concludes by considering planning, policy and institutional reforms and community-based initiatives that are needed to promote and protect environmental justice in India. Offering an important reference for researchers and scholars, this book will appeal to those in law, geography, environmental studies, natural resource management, development studies, sociology, and political science. It will also be of interest to community-based researchers, environmentalists and other civil society activists, natural resource managers, and policy makers.
Advancing Land Change Modeling: Opportunities and Research Requirements
by Committee on Needs Research Requirements for Land Change ModelingPeople are constantly changing the land surface through construction, agriculture, energy production, and other activities. Changes both in how land is used by people (land use) and in the vegetation, rock, buildings, and other physical material that cover the Earth's surface (land cover) can be described and future land change can be projected using land-change models (LCMs). LCMs are a key means for understanding how humans are reshaping the Earth's surface in the past and present, for forecasting future landscape conditions, and for developing policies to manage our use of resources and the environment at scales ranging from an individual parcel of land in a city to vast expanses of forests around the world. "Advancing Land Change Modeling: Opportunities and Research Requirements" describes various LCM approaches, suggests guidance for their appropriate application, and makes recommendations to improve the integration of observation strategies into the models. This report provides a summary and evaluation of several modeling approaches, and their theoretical and empirical underpinnings, relative to complex land-change dynamics and processes, and identifies several opportunities for further advancing the science, data, and cyberinfrastructure involved in the LCM enterprise. Because of the numerous models available, the report focuses on describing the categories of approaches used along with selected examples, rather than providing a review of specific models. Additionally, because all modeling approaches have relative strengths and weaknesses, the report compares these relative to different purposes. "Advancing Land Change Modeling's" recommendations for assessment of future data and research needs will enable model outputs to better assist the science, policy, and decisionsupport communities.
Advancing Responsible Sourcing in Mineral Value Chains: Environmental, Social, and Economic Sustainability
by Masuma Farooki Alexander Graf Stefanie DegreifThis book examines the responsible sourcing of raw materials within global value chains. With the need for a vast amount of additional raw materials to enable the global green energy transition, it examines the current responsible sourcing landscape, with the aim of bringing clarity and harmony to theories and practices that are characterized by systemic fragmentation. Normative elements are introduced to create a framework for a functioning responsible sourcing system built around the behavioural change of supply chain actors. Drawing from state of the art conceptual ideas and practical experience, an impactful and economically viable approach to the responsible sourcing of raw material is presented. This book sets out a vision of global value chains based on environmental, societal, and economic sustainability. It will be relevant to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners interested in resource economics and sustainable value chains. This is an open access book.
Advancing Smart Cities: Sustainable Practices, Digital Transformation, and IoT Innovations (Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation)
by Simon Elias Bibri Anna Visvizi Orlando TroisiThis book presents a comprehensive exploration of the transformative journey toward smart cities and the implementation of cutting-edge technologies in urban development. Divided into four distinct parts, it covers a broad range of topics that contribute to sustainable, efficient, and innovative urban living. Encompassing diverse research from IEREK's Future Smart Cities (FSC) conference, it focuses on smart city advancement through sustainable practices, digital transformation, and IoT integration. Covering topics such as smart buildings, urban planning during pandemics, and IoT applications in health care and agriculture, this book shapes the future of urban living. It delves further into opportunities in city regeneration, human-centric smart design, IoT data effectiveness, and more. A valuable resource for academics, researchers, and policymakers, it offers insights into telecommunications, AI, smart manufacturing, and methodologies for urban ecosystem improvement.
Advancing the Science of Climate Change
by National Research Council of the National AcademiesClimate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change , part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.
Adventure Diffusion: From Meandering Molecules to the Spreading of Plants, Humans, and Ideas
by Gero VoglThis easy-to read book looks at the many ways in which diffusion bears on processes that involve dispersion, starting from the Brownian motion of molecules, covering the invasion of exotic plants, migration of populations, epidemics, and extending to the spreading of languages and ideas. Recently, there has been a growing interest in understanding migrations, diffusion and spreading outside the “hard” natural sciences of physics and chemistry, for example the spreading of plants introduced as a result of globalization. Another fascinating story is that of human migration in the distant past, i.e. the immigration of our ancestors who brought agriculture from the Near East, or the fast spread of the Palaeo-Indians into the Americas after the end of the Ice Age. Likewise, the spread of languages in the past, and even more so the current spread and retreat of languages will be described here in terms of diffusion. By understanding these principles, there is hope that some of the less common languages that are threatened by globalization can be saved. Another important implication discussed by the author concerns the outbreak of epidemics; these may be mitigated if we understand their spreading mechanism. Last but not least the spreading of ideas and innovations, a process which changes the world sometimes faster than we wish, can also be usefully described in this picture.
The Adventure of Sustainable Performance: Beyond ESG Compliance to Leadership in the New Era
by Dean Sanders Stuart McLachlanA guidebook for leaders to create value from sustainability and organisational performance. The Adventure of Sustainable Performance seeks out bold pioneers or forgotten pioneers who need reinvigorating and to be inspired with renewed purpose. Leaders who want more than just modest incremental efficiency gains, who want to create value, to deliver positive impact and meaningful change, should welcome this book. In a time of disruption like never before, boundaries will need revisiting, systems need reimagining, and assets need repurposing through wise stewardship. The authors share their many years of experience serving clients and driving performance as the world transitions to a net zero carbon future. A future that uses resources sustainably and that seeks social justice. Through storytelling and interviews from many international leaders in business and sustainability, and by anchoring practical advice with evidence and truth, you will find: The avalanche of new regulations and changes to the compliance landscape The opportunity for value creation beyond compliance box ticking Inspirational stories on how ambitions can be reset A destination that supports ongoing prosperity for humanity from sustainable performance models How purpose driven brands generate superior value The role of ‘Total Value Systems’ as we move from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism models. The relationship between sustainability, talent and customer attraction How digital will play an increasingly important role as the world pivots in response to the climate crisis Be in no doubt, The Adventure of Sustainable Performance describes an adventurous journey, uncomfortable at times, where a new and cold reality is dawning. But, in a period when the world will continue to play at denial or talk more of ruins, this book helps leaders to instead see foundations. Foundations upon which the new era will be built, and new systems of value will be realised. Perfect for executives, managers, directors, and other business leaders, The Adventure of Sustainable Performance is an actionable guidebook for the implementation of value-add sustainability programmes.