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Gliding for Gold: The Physics of Winter Sports
by Mark DennyAs anyone from cold climates knows, living with lots of ice and snow can lead to a special appreciation of sports such as skiing, sledding, and skating. Prolific physics popularizer Mark Denny’s take on winter athletics lays out the physical principles that govern glaciated game play.After discussing the physical properties of ice and snow and describing the physics behind sliding friction and aerodynamic drag, Denny applies these concepts to such sports as bobsledding, snowboarding, and curling. He explains why clap skates would only hinder hockey players, how a curling rock curls, the forces that control luge speed, and how steering differs from skiing to snowboarding. With characteristic accuracy and a touch of wit, Denny provides fans, competitors, and coaches with handy, applicable insights into the games they love. The separate section of technical notes offers an original and mathematically rigorous exploration of the key aspects of winter sports physics. A physics-driven exploration of sports played on ice and snow that is truly fun and informative, Gliding for Gold is the perfect primer for understanding the science behind cold weather athletics.
Global Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges, Opportunities and Implications
by Zachary ZimmerPopulation ageing - a growth in the proportion of a population that is in older age - is now occurring in every region and nearly every country of the world. Indeed, the growth of older populations is among the important global phenomena of the twenty-first century. It poses both opportunities and challenges for societies and policy makers, but these are far from uniform worldwide. Dynamic factors are at work impacting on how ageing will influence people, places and policies and there are large variations in the rate and timing of population ageing across countries, owing to differing social, health and economic circumstances and a variety of policy options from which to choose. Given this variation in the context of global ageing as a backdrop, this edited book focuses on three overarching themes that are among the most critical to understand if societies are to age successfully in the twenty-first century and beyond: Healthy ageing and health care; the ageing workforce, retirement and the provision of pensions; shifting intergenerational relations. These three themes are cross-cut by other dimensions that are intertwined with the dynamic processes of ageing, such as immigration/emigration, contrasting policy regimes and global and national economic forces. This ground-breaking book will be of interest to all scholars, students and policy-makers working within this area of study.
Global Analysis of Dynamic Models in Economics and Finance: Essays in Honour of Laura Gardini
by Carl Chiarella Gian Italo Bischi Iryna SushkoThe essays in this special volume survey some of the most recent advances in the global analysis of dynamic models for economics, finance and the social sciences. They deal in particular with a range of topics from mathematical methods as well as numerous applications including recent developments on asset pricing, heterogeneous beliefs, global bifurcations in complementarity games, international subsidy games and issues in economic geography. A number of stochastic dynamic models are also analysed. The book is a collection of essays in honour of the 60th birthday of Laura Gardini.
Global Banking Crises and Emerging Markets (Palgrave Readers in Economics)
by Paul Wachtel Josef C. BradaThis timely reader of seminal papers published by Palgrave on behalf of Comparative Economic Studies, examines how and why foreign banks enter emerging markets and the positive benefits they bring to the host countries.
Global Catholicism, Tolerance and the Open Society: An Empirical Study of the Value Systems of Roman Catholics
by Arno Tausch Stanislaw ObirekThis book systematically assesses the political and social values of the more than 1.3 billion Catholics around the globe, by far the largest denomination of Western Christianity. Based on an extensive analysis of data from the World Values Survey and other global opinion surveys, the book sheds new light on the value systems and opinions of Roman Catholics. The authors highlight core problems and challenges the Church is currently facing in adapting to the modern world, including Catholic anti-Semitism, religious and sexual tolerance, and opinions towards democracy, while also offering an anthropological reflection on how well the Church is adapting or failing to adapt to the requirements of an open society.
Global Change and the Challenges of Sustainably Feeding a Growing Planet
by Thomas W. Hertel Uris Lantz C. BaldosThis book explores the fundamental determinants of long term changes in agricultural land use and the associated implications for environmental and food security. The book is designed around the idea that each chapter focuses on one driver, or underlying determinant, of land use change at global scale. It starts with key factors which have been influential in the past, such as growth population, incomes and agricultural productivity, thereafter turning to new drivers such as biofuels, climate change and demand for environmental services. Specialized topics include food security outcomes, projections of future agricultural prices, greenhouse gas emissions, the role of globalization and market integration. The book draws heavily on the emerging body of literature on these topics, summarizes key findings and organizes these within a unifying economic framework.
Global Construction Data
by Stephen GrunebergGlobal construction data is vital for contractors, governments, international organisations, policy makers, academic researchers and statisticians. As the global population of the world expands, the sustainability of the built environment raises the political agenda and the need to manage infrastructure and buildings in both urban and rural contexts becomes ever more pressing. How much more can the built environment grow and how can it be managed sustainably? This edited volume addresses how we can find a possible way through the inconsistencies between national construction data sets to devise a consistent approach to national construction data to further the global sustainability agenda and inform policy making. This search begins in Part I, which looks at the methods and definitions used in construction statistics in different countries. Part II considers examples of different types of construction data from the cost of materials, measuring work on high rise buildings and existing stock. In Part III, the authors consider construction data internationally, beginning with the problem of comparing data in different countries using exchange rates and purchasing power parities (PPPs), comparing innovation processes in different countries and looking at the provision of building design internationally. In Part IV, the international theme is continued by comparing accounting practices and company performance in different countries and concludes with an international comparison of construction industries. This book raises awareness of the significance of the construction industry globally and the importance of data to measure it. It informs the discussion of the best ways of handling the consequences of policies affecting the built environment and the effect of the built environment on the rest of the economy and society. It is essential reading for international economists, construction industry consultants, policy makers, construction statisticians and academics.
Global Demographic Change and Its Implications for Military Power
by Martin C. Libicki Howard J. Shatz Julie E. TaylorWhat is the impact of demographics on the prospective production of military power and the causes of war? This monograph analyzes this issue by projecting working-age populations through 2050; assessing the influence of demographics on manpower, national income and expenditures, and human capital; and examining how changes in these factors may affect the ability of states to carry out military missions.
Global Dynamics: Approaches from Complexity Science
by Alan WilsonA world model: economies, trade, migration, security and development aid. This bookprovides the analytical capability to understand and explore the dynamics of globalisation. It is anchored in economic input-output models of over 200 countries and their relationships through trade, migration, security and development aid. The tools of complexity science are brought to bear and mathematical and computer models are developed both for the elements and for an integrated whole. Models are developed at a variety of scales ranging from the global and international trade through a European model of inter-sub-regional migration to piracy in the Gulf and the London riots of 2011. The models embrace the changing technology of international shipping, the impacts of migration on economic development along with changing patterns of military expenditure and development aid. A unique contribution is the level of spatial disaggregation which presents each of 200+ countries and their mutual interdependencies - along with some finer scale analyses of cities and regions. This is the first global model which offers this depth of detail with fully work-out models, these provide tools for policy making at national, European and global scales. Global dynamics: Presents in depth models of global dynamics. Provides a world economic model of 200+ countries and their interactions through trade, migration, security and development aid. Provides pointers to the deployment of analytical capability through modelling in policy development. Features a variety of models that constitute a formidable toolkit for analysis and policy development. Offers a demonstration of the practicalities of complexity science concepts. This book is for practitioners and policy analysts as well as those interested in mathematical model building and complexity science as well as advanced undergraduate and postgraduate level students.
Global Flow of Funds Analysis: Data, Models, and Applications
by Nan Zhang Yiye ZhangThis book is the first to focus on the global flow of funds (GFF), providing an introduction to its fundamental concepts and establishing a theoretical framework for analysis. It connects the flow of funds within domestic economies to that of the rest of the world, offering a comprehensive analysis of GFF dynamics. This study enhances GFF statistics, enabling the assessment of global financial stability from both national and cross-border sectoral perspectives. The GFF data provide valuable insights into analyzing interconnectivity across borders and an understanding of global financial interdependencies. By examining the data sources and reconstructing the statistical framework to establish the GFF statistical matrix, this book conducts a case study to evaluate financial risks and influences in G20 countries. Subsequently, it connects the GFF matrix with sectoral account data and the flow of funds to establish the sectoral from-whom-to-whom financial stock matrix (SFSM). The SFSM aims to establish a new framework for conducting multi-country, multi-sector analysis within the G20, with a special emphasis on examining the national and cross-border exposures of sectors in China, Japan, and the USA. This involves constructing country-specific financial networks and connecting them based on cross-border exposures. The systematic analysis results effectively showcase the financial interconnections among G20 countries within the GFF and shed light on the attributes of external shocks and internal influences. The focus is particularly on the changes in risk exposure between China and the USA concerning their external assets and liabilities and the implications of economic decoupling of these dynamics.
Global Formulations of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Dynamics on Manifolds
by N. Harris Mcclamroch Taeyoung Lee Melvin LeokThis book provides an accessible introduction to the variational formulation of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, with a novel emphasis on global descriptions of the dynamics, which is a significant conceptual departure from more traditional approaches based on the use of local coordinates on the configuration manifold. In particular, we introduce a general methodology for obtaining globally valid equations of motion on configuration manifolds that are Lie groups, homogeneous spaces, and embedded manifolds, thereby avoiding the difficulties associated with coordinate singularities. The material is presented in an approachable fashion by considering concrete configuration manifolds of increasing complexity, which then motivates and naturally leads to the more general formulation that follows. Understanding of the material is enhanced by numerous in-depth examples throughout the book, culminating in non-trivial applications involving multi-body systems. This book is written for a general audience of mathematicians, engineers, and physicists with a basic knowledge of mechanics. Some basic background in differential geometry is helpful, but not essential, as the relevant concepts are introduced in the book, thereby making the material accessible to a broad audience, and suitable for either self-study or as the basis for a graduate course in applied mathematics, engineering, or physics.
Global Lorentzian Geometry (Chapman & Hall/CRC Pure and Applied Mathematics #202)
by John K. BeemBridging the gap between modern differential geometry and the mathematical physics of general relativity, this text, in its second edition, includes new and expanded material on topics such as the instability of both geodesic completeness and geodesic incompleteness for general space-times, geodesic connectibility, the generic condition, the sectional curvature function in a neighbourhood of degenerate two-plane, and proof of the Lorentzian Splitting Theorem.;Five or more copies may be ordered by college or university stores at a special student price, available on request.
Global Market Conditions and Systemic Risk
by Brenda González-Hermosillo Heiko HesseA report from the International Monetary Fund.
Global Migrants, Local Culture
by Laura TabiliEmploying the first analysis of the entire population of any British town, this book examines how overseas migrants affected society and culture in South Shields near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Resituating Britain within global processes of migration and cultural change, it recasts British society pre-1940 as culturally and racially dynamic and diverse.
Global Optimization
by Stefan SchäfflerThis self-contained monograph presents a new stochastic approach to global optimization problems arising in a variety of disciplines including mathematics, operations research, engineering, and economics. The volume deals with constrained and unconstrained problems and puts a special emphasis on large scale problems. It also introduces a new unified concept for unconstrained, constrained, vector, and stochastic global optimization problems. All methods presented are illustrated by various examples. Practical numerical algorithms are given and analyzed in detail. The topics presented include the randomized curve of steepest descent, the randomized curve of dominated points, the semi-implicit Euler method, the penalty approach, and active set strategies. The optimal decoding of block codes in digital communications is worked out as a case study and shows the potential and high practical relevance of this new approach. Global Optimization: A Stochastic Approach is an elegant account of a refined theory, suitable for researchers and graduate students interested in global optimization and its applications.
Global Optimization Methods In Geophysical Inversion
by Mrinal K. Sen Paul L. StoffaOne of the major goals of geophysical inversion is to find earth models that explain the geophysical observations. Thus the branch of mathematics known as optimization has found significant use in many geophysical applications. Both local and global optimization methods are used in the estimation of material properties from geophysical data. As the title of the book suggests, the aim of this book is to describe the application of several recently developed global optimization methods to geophysical problems. bull; The well known linear and gradient based optimization methods have been summarized in order to explain their advantages and limitationsbull; The theory of simulated annealing and genetic algorithms have been described in sufficient detail for the readers to understand the underlying fundamental principles upon which these algorithms are basedbull; The algorithms have been described using simple flow charts (the algorithms are general and can be applied to a wide variety of problemsStudents, researchers and practitioners will be able to design practical algorithms to solve their specific geophysical inversion problems. The book is virtually self-contained so that there are no prerequisites, except for a fundamental mathematical background that includes a basic understanding of linear algebra and calculus.
Global Perspectives for Local Action: Using TIMSS to Improve U.S. Mathematics and Science Education
by National Research CouncilThe Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) raised the alarm about U.S. mathematics and science education. Most Americans are now aware that U.S. students lag behind their peers in other developed nations. In one state, the legislature reacted by lengthening the school year, assuming that more time on academic content would boost student performance. Some educators have fixed the blame on the mathematics and science curricula typically used in U.S. schools.Does the problem lie in the curricula, instruction, or the system of support available to teachers? This book presents the first comprehensive analysis of TIMSS study--a half-million students from 15,000 schools around the world. It presents detailed reports on three major aspects of education, including curriculum issues, teaching practices, and school support.
Global Perspectives on Children's Health Literacy: Intersections Between Health, Education and Community
by Rosie Nash Vaughan Cruickshank Shandell ElmerThis book examines global perspectives of health literacy development to explore the intersections between health, education, and community settings. International health literacy experts provide a collection of important insights and recommendations that are urgently required to inform practice and policy. The impetus for this book is a growing recognition that a siloed approach to supporting health and health literacy exists in many countries. This book addresses a gap in the international literature by presenting solutions that promote ongoing collaboration across settings to redress inequity and optimize global health. Identifying intersections between the settings is critically important to supporting these collaborations. Health literacy is the ability to find, use, evaluate and apply information to look after our health. Developing the personal asset of health literacy earlier in life influences adult health behaviours. A Health in All Policies approach has been globally endorsed; however, a health literacy in all settings approach is yet to be realised. As a social determinant of health, health literacy can determine health outcomes, educational attainment, social equity, and productivity. The authors investigate the health literacy development of children and their communities within particular regions, exploring whether health literacy is addressed as a health, education or community issue. They describe where silos exist between and within settings, aiming to highlight areas where health literacy is present. This helps identify challenges and opportunities for optimizing health literacy development. Global Perspectives on Children's Health Literacy is essential reading for public health and health promotion researchers and practitioners, primordial prevention researchers, policy makers, health and education ministers, community service ministers, youth organisations, librarians, school teachers, health and physical education teachers, school nurses, child and parenting services nurses, paediatricians, and allied health professionals who work with children and families (e.g., social workers, speech pathologists, dietitians).
Global Perspectives on STEM Education: Theory and Practice
by Isha DeCoito Xavier Fazio Jane GichuruThis book focuses on STEM education as it applies to global competencies, innovative curriculum and accompanying pedagogy. Through a thematic approach, the authors explore cross-cutting perspectives, with a focus on social, equitable, environmental, and scientific issues as they relate to STEM literacy. The research outlined in the book adopts an integrated STEM framework that assesses, analyzes and explicitly links all STEM disciplines. The book prepares and inspires both educators and students to participate in STEM on a global level. The research presented in the book highlights innovative and unique classroom practices in STEM education (e.g., STEM environmental projects, digital video games). The book links research on and in practice, and the intended audience include STEM educators, researchers, curriculum developers, and policymakers interested in innovative STEM education.
Global Perspectives on Social Capital and Health
by Ichiro Kawachi S. V. Subramanian Soshi TakaoThis book is a follow up to Social Capital and Health (2008), edited by Kawachi, Subramanian & Kim. Global Perspectives on Social Capital and Health provides a timely update on emerging topics in a fast-growing field, and features contributions from an outstanding international team of scholars, selected from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds including: social epidemiology, medical geography, social psychology, social welfare and gerontology, pediatrics, political science, economics, and medical sociology. The book is organized in three parts: Part 1. Emerging directions in social capital research. This section highlights novel directions in social capital research. These include: a) novel settings for conducting research on social capital (workplaces, schools), b) new approaches for causal inference in social capital (instrumental variable analysis, twin fixed effects designs); c) cutting-edge directions for social capital research, including studies of the origins of community social capital, the use of social network analysis to investigate social capital, and novel methods for investigating the link between social capital and crime. Part 2. Social capital and health policy. The three chapters in this section highlight implications of social capital for interventions and health policy. Part 3. Social capital and health in global perspective The four chapters in this section look at research on social capital and health from a global perspective. The authors summarize the empirical studies on social capital and health conducted in each country/region, or each population group; discuss how the concept of social capital "translates" across different cultures; and identify challenges and future directions for research.
Global Population in Transition
by David A. Swanson Jo. M. Martins Fei GuoThis book deals with macro and micro aspects of population change and their inter-face with socio-economic factors and impact. It examines theoretical notions and pursues their empirical manifestations and uses multidisciplinary approaches to population change and diversity. It investigates the organic nature of the relationships between socio-economic factors and population change and the feedback loops that affect socio-economic organisation and behaviour. The book brings together material often scattered in a number of sources and disciplines that helps to understand population change and their socio-economic aspects. In addition to dealing with the more conventional factors in population dynamics in the form of fertility, mortality and migration, the book examines socio-economic forces that influence them. It discusses population evolving attributes that affect population characteristics and social and behaviour and impact on the environment. Further, it deals with social organisation and pathways that lead to different social and economic development and standards of living of diverse populations.
Global Population: History, Geopolitics, and Life on Earth
by Alison BashfordConcern about the size of the world's population did not begin with the "population bomb" in 1968. It arose in the aftermath of World War I and was understood as an issue with far-reaching ecological, agricultural, economic, and geopolitical consequences. The world population problem concerned the fertility of soil as much as the fertility of women, always involving both "earth" and "life." Global Population traces the idea of a world population problem as it evolved from the 1920s through the 1960s. The growth and distribution of the human population over the planet's surface came deeply to shape the characterization of "civilizations" with different standards of living. It forged the very ideas of development, demographically defined three worlds, and, for some, an aspirational "one world." Drawing on international conference transcripts and personal and organizational archives, this book reconstructs the twentieth-century population problem in terms of migration, colonial expansion, globalization, and world food plans. Population was a problem in which international relations and intimate relations were one. Global Population ultimately shows how a geopolitical problem about sovereignty over land morphed into a biopolitical solution, entailing sovereignty over one's person.
Global Population: History, Geopolitics, and Life on Earth (Columbia Studies in International and Global History)
by Alison BashfordConcern about the size of the world's population did not begin with the "population bomb" in 1968. It arose in the aftermath of World War I and was understood as an issue with far-reaching ecological, agricultural, economic, and geopolitical consequences. The world population problem concerned the fertility of soil as much as the fertility of women, always involving both "earth" and "life."Global Population traces the idea of a world population problem as it evolved from the 1920s through the 1960s. The growth and distribution of the human population over the planet's surface came deeply to shape the characterization of "civilizations" with different standards of living. It forged the very ideas of development, demographically defined three worlds, and, for some, an aspirational "one world."Drawing on international conference transcripts and personal and organizational archives, this book reconstructs the twentieth-century population problem in terms of migration, colonial expansion, globalization, and world food plans. Population was a problem in which international relations and intimate relations were one. Global Population ultimately shows how a geopolitical problem about sovereignty over land morphed into a biopolitical solution, entailing sovereignty over one's person.
Global Seismicity Dynamics and Data-Driven Science: Seismicity Modelling by Big Data Analytics (Advances in Geological Science)
by Mitsuhiro ToriumiThe recent explosion of global and regional seismicity data in the world requires new methods of investigation of microseismicity and development of their modelling to understand the nature of whole earth mechanics. In this book, the author proposes a powerful tool to reveal the characteristic features of global and regional microseismicity big data accumulated in the databases of the world. The method proposed in this monograph is based on (1) transformation of stored big data to seismicity density data archives, (2) linear transformation of microseismicity density data matrixes to correlated seismicity matrixes by means of the singular value decomposition method, (3) time series analyses of globally and regionally correlated seismicity rates, and (4) the minimal non-linear equations approximation of their correlated seismicity rate dynamics. Minimal non-linear modelling is the manifestation for strongly correlated seismicity time series controlled by Langevin-type stochastic dynamic equations involving deterministic terms and random Gaussian noises. A deterministic term is composed minimally with correlated seismicity rate vectors of a linear term and of a term with a third exponent. Thus, the dynamics of correlated seismicity in the world contains linearly changing stable nodes and rapid transitions between them with transient states. This book contains discussions of future possibilities of stochastic extrapolations of global and regional seismicity in order to reduce earthquake disasters worldwide. The dataset files are available online and can be downloaded at springer.com.
Global University Rankings: Challenges for European Higher Education
by Tero ErkkiläGlobal University Rankings explores the novel topic of global university rankings and their effects on higher education in Europe. The contributions in this volume outline different discourses on global university rankings and explore the related changes concerning European higher education policies, disciplinary traditions and higher education institutions. The first global university rankings were published less than a decade ago, but these policy instruments have become highly influential in shaping the approaches and institutional realities of higher education. The rankings have portrayed European academic institutions in a varying light. There is intense reflexivity over the figures, leading to ideational changes and institutional adaptation that take surprisingly similar forms in different European countries. The contributions in this book critically assess global university rankings as a policy discourse that would seem to be instrumental to higher education reform throughout Europe.