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Governing Complex Systems: Social Capital for the Anthropocene (Earth System Governance)
by Oran R. YoungAn exploration of the need for innovative mechanisms of governance in an era when human actions are major drivers of environmental change.The onset of the Anthropocene, an era in which human actions have become major drivers of change on a planetary scale, has increased the complexity of socioecological systems. Complex systems pose novel challenges for governance because of their high levels of connectivity, nonlinear dynamics, directional patterns of change, and emergent properties. Meeting these challenges will require the development of new intellectual capital. In this book, Oran Young argues that to achieve sustainable outcomes in a world of complex systems, we will need governance systems that are simultaneously durable enough to be effective in guiding behavior and agile enough to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. While some insights from past research on governance remain valid in this setting, Young argues that we need new social capital to supplement mainstream regulatory approaches that feature rule making with an emphasis on compliance and enforcement. He explores the uses of goal setting as a governance strategy, the idea of principled governance, and the role of what is often called good governance in meeting the challenges of the Anthropocene. Drawing on his long experience operating on the science/policy frontier, Young calls for more effective collaboration between analysts and practitioners in creating and implementing governance systems capable of producing sustainable outcomes in a world of complex systems.
Governing Digitally Integrated Genetic Resources, Data, and Literature
by Tom Dedeurwaerdere Paul F. Uhlir Reichman, Jerome H. and Uhlir, Paul F. and Dedeurwaerdere, Tom Jerome H. ReichmanThe free exchange of microbial genetic information is an established public good, facilitating research on medicines, agriculture, and climate change. However, over the past quarter-century, access to genetic resources has been hindered by intellectual property claims from developed countries under the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Agreement (1994) and by claims of sovereign rights from developing countries under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (1992). In this volume, the authors examine the scientific community's responses to these obstacles and advise policymakers on how to harness provisions of the Nagoya Protocol (2010) that allow multilateral measures to support research. By pooling microbial materials, data, and literature in a carefully designed transnational e-infrastructure, the scientific community can facilitate access to essential research assets while simultaneously reinforcing the open access movement. The original empirical surveys of responses to the CBD included here provide a valuable addition to the literature on governing scientific knowledge commons.
Governing Future Technologies
by Christoph Rehmann-Sutter Sabine Maasen Mario Kaiser Monika KurathNanotechnology has been the subject of extensive 'assessment hype,' unlike any previous field of research and development. A multiplicity of stakeholders have started to analyze the implications of nanotechnology: Technology assessment institutions around the world, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, re-insurance companies, and academics from science and technology studies and applied ethics have turned their attention to this growing field's implications. In the course of these assessment efforts, a social phenomenon has emerged - a phenomenon the editors define as assessment regime. Despite the variety of organizations, methods, and actors involved in the evaluation and regulation of emerging nanotechnologies, the assessment activities comply with an overarching scientific and political imperative: Innovations are only welcome if they are assessed against the criteria of safety, sustainability, desirability, and acceptability. So far, such deliberations and reflections have played only a subordinate role. This book argues that with the rise of the nanotechnology assessment regime, however, things have changed dramatically: Situated at the crossroads of democratizing science and technology, good governance, and the quest for sustainable innovations, the assessment regime has become constitutive for technological development. The contributions in this book explore and critically analyse nanotechnology's assessment regime: To what extent is it constitutive for technology in general, for nanotechnology in particular? What social conditions render the regime a phenomenon sui generis? And what are its implications for science and society?
Governing Groundwater: Between Law and Practice (Water Governance - Concepts, Methods, and Practice)
by Gabriela Cuadrado-QuesadaThis book empirically examines a diverse range of groundwater issues and different approaches to deal with such concerns taking into account responses from government bodies, community organizations, scientists, private sector, and academia. The overarching objective of this book is to empirically examine groundwater governance and groundwater law. It aims to provide a better understanding of the complexities surrounding groundwater governance in order to reconceptualize and retheorize the governance of subterranean resources having as entry points equity and sustainability concerns. This involves understanding what people do when using, sharing, protecting, and measuring groundwater; and why do they do what they do, i.e., what are their motivations to resort to certain practices. This is done through the comparative and contrasting investigation of six case studies from countries from the Global North and Global South. It offers a different perspective of literature given that it explains how groundwater governance and law are in practice rather than what they should be. Additionally, the research presented in this book provides ideas on how to rethink the design and implementation of groundwater law grounded on empirically based descriptions and the understanding of groundwater problems.
Governing Marine Protected Areas: Resilience through Diversity (Earthscan Oceans)
by Peter J.S. JonesIn this innovative volume, the author addresses some important challenges related to the effective and equitable governance of marine protected areas (MPAs). These challenges are explored through a study of 20 MPA case studies from around the world. A novel governance analysis framework is employed to address some key questions: How can top-down and bottom-up approaches to MPA governance be combined? What does this mean, in reality, in different contexts? How can we develop and implement governance approaches that are both effective in achieving conservation objectives and equitable in fairly sharing associated costs and benefits? The author explores the many issues that these questions raise, as well as exploring options for addressing them. A key theme is that MPA governance needs to combine people, state and market approaches, rather than being based on one approach and its related ideals. Building on a critique of the governance analysis framework developed for common-pool resources, the author puts forward a more holistic and less prescriptive framework for deconstructing and analyzing the governance of MPAs. This inter-disciplinary analysis is aimed at supporting the development of MPA governance approaches that build social-ecological resilience through both institutional and biological diversity. It will also make a significant contribution to wider debates on natural resource governance, as it poses some critical questions for contemporary approaches to related research and offers an alternative theoretical and empirical approach.
Governing Military Technologies in the 21st Century: Ethics and Operations
by Richard Michael O’mearaGoverning Military Technologies in the 21st Century is one of the first books to tackle the big five technological threats all in one place: nanotech, robotics, cyberwar, human enhancement, and, non-lethal weapons, weaving a historical, legal, and sociopolitical fabric into a discussion of their development, deployment, and, potential regulation.
Governing Natural Resources for Sustainable Peace in Africa: Environmental Justice and Conflict Resolution (Earthscan Studies in Natural Resource Management)
by Victoria R. Nalule Obasesam OkoiThis book examines the dynamics of natural resource conflicts in Africa and explores the different governance approaches for securing sustainable peace. One of the most prominent challenges facing Africa today is the consequences of natural resource extraction. While these resources hold the potential for economic transformation across Africa, their extraction also comes with a range of environmental, social, and economic consequences, including issues related to governance. This book assembles a unique cohort of peacebuilding, environmental justice, and sustainable development scholars and practitioners from Africa and beyond to examine the dynamics of natural resource conflict and explore the governance approaches that offer pathways for sustainable peace in Africa. Drawing on case studies and empirical lessons from the Horn of Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, East Africa, and the Central Sahel region, along with the African Union, the multidisciplinary contributors offer fresh insights into the nature of natural resource conflict in Africa, delve deeper into the complexities of natural resource governance, and highlight the interplay between resource governance and sustainable peace. By shedding light not only on Africa’s experiences and vulnerabilities but also on the challenges of natural resource governance, this book fills a crucial gap in understanding the connection between natural resource governance, conflict, and pathways for sustainable peace in Africa. Drawing on a range of disciplinary perspectives, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of natural resource governance, peace and conflict studies, environmental policy and justice, sustainable development, security studies and African studies more widely.
Governing the Air
by Rolf Lidskog Goran SundqvistGoverning the Air looks at the regulation of air pollution not as a static procedure of enactment and agreement but as a dynamic process that reflects the shifting interrelationships of science, policy, and citizens. Taking transboundary air pollution in Europe as its empirical focus, the book not only assesses the particular regulation strategies that have evolved to govern European air, but also offers theoretical insights into dynamics of social order, political negotiation, and scientific practices. These dynamics are of pivotal concern today, in light of emerging international governance problems related to climate change. The contributors, all prominent social scientists specializing in international environmental governance, review earlier findings, analyze the current situation, and discuss future directions for both empirical and theoretical work. [cut last sentence in first para for catalog] The chapters discuss the institutional dimensions of international efforts to combat air pollution, examining the effectiveness of CLRTAP (Convention for Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution) and the political complexity of the European Union; offer a broad overview and detailed case studies of the roles of science, expertise, and learning; and examine the "missing link" in air pollution policies: citizen involvement. Changing political conditions, evolving scientific knowledge, and the need for citizen engagement offer significant challenges for air pollution policy making. By focusing on process rather than product, learning rather than knowledge, and strategies rather than interests, this book gives a nuanced view of how air pollution is made governable.
Governing the Air: The Dynamics of Science, Policy, and Citizen Interaction (Politics, Science, and the Environment)
by Rolf Lidskog Goran SundqvistExperts offer theoretical and empirical analyses that view the regulation of transboundary air pollution as a dynamic process.Governing the Air looks at the regulation of air pollution not as a static procedure of enactment and agreement but as a dynamic process that reflects the shifting interrelationships of science, policy, and citizens. Taking transboundary air pollution in Europe as its empirical focus, the book not only assesses the particular regulation strategies that have evolved to govern European air, but also offers theoretical insights into dynamics of social order, political negotiation, and scientific practices. These dynamics are of pivotal concern today, in light of emerging international governance problems related to climate change. The contributors, all prominent social scientists specializing in international environmental governance, review earlier findings, analyze the current situation, and discuss future directions for both empirical and theoretical work.The chapters discuss the institutional dimensions of international efforts to combat air pollution, examining the effectiveness of CLRTAP (Convention for Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution) and the political complexity of the European Union; offer a broad overview and detailed case studies of the roles of science, expertise, and learning; and examine the “missing link” in air pollution policies: citizen involvement.Changing political conditions, evolving scientific knowledge, and the need for citizen engagement offer significant challenges for air pollution policy making. By focusing on process rather than product, learning rather than knowledge, and strategies rather than interests, this book gives a nuanced view of how air pollution is made governable.
Governing the Anthropocene: Novel Ecosystems, Transformation and Environmental Policy (Palgrave Studies in Environmental Policy and Regulation)
by Sarah ClementThis book focuses on the present and future challenges of managing ecosystem transformation on a planet where human impacts are pervasive. In this new epoch, the Anthropocene, the already rapid rate of species loss is amplified by climate change and other stress factors, causing transformation of highly-valued landscapes. Many locations are already transforming into novel ecosystems, where new species, interactions, and ecological functions are creating landscapes unlike anything seen before. This has sparked contentious debate not just about science, but about decision-making, responsibility, fairness, and human capacity to intervene. Clement argues that the social and ecological reality of the Anthropocene requires modernised governance and policy to confront these new challenges and achieve ecological objectives. There is a real opportunity to enable society to cope with transformed ecosystems by changing governance, but this is notoriously difficult. Aimed at anyone involved in these conversations, be those researchers, practitioners, decision makers or students, this book brings together diffuse research exploring how to confront institutional change and ecological transformation in different contexts, and provides insight into how to translate governance concepts into productive pathways forward.
Governing the Atom (Politics Of Risk Energy Policy Studies #Vol. 7)
by John Byrne Steven M. HoffmanPromoted as a form of limitless, low-cost energy without the polluting effects of Its fossil fuel counterparts, nuclear power has enjoyed unparalleled support in several countries. Despite the development of an extensive set of policy and institutional mechanisms to foster its use. nuclear technology has been troubled by a wide range of problems and continues to pose risks many believe are far greater than society should accept. The legacy of failure ranges from catastrophic accidents like that at Chernobyl to the declaration of bankruptcy by the Washington Public Power Supply System. Governing the Atom explores why support for the technology remains substantial. The first part of this volume examines the social institutions that have accompanied the development of nuclear power. The second part details the numerous accommodations which have been required of society, beginning with the technology’s Impact on communities and geographic regions particularly affected by mining and milling. The technology’s inherent tendency towards "normal accidents” and the conflict between expert and public opinion on the dangers involved is examined, as are the on-going problems of waste disposal and decommissioning. The volume concludes with an examination of nuclear power developments in France, Germany. Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Eastern Europe, Korea, and Japan. The volume provides a needed vehicle for the timely consultation and dissemination of current research on important energy policy issues. Governing the Atom provides insightful commentary regarding the initiation and development of nuclear technology. It will be of interest to policymakers, energy and environmental experts, sociologists and historians of technology, and all those interested in the problem of democracy in a technological society.
Governing the Palm Oil Industry: Perspectives from Southeast Asia and Latin America (ISSN)
by Helena Varkkey Patrick O’ReillyThis book examines how different countries across Southeast Asia and Latin America respond to the emergence and expansion of the lucrative, yet controversial palm oil industry, paying attention to how national policy and governance regimes are shaping this global industry.With its historic roots in Southeast Asia, oil palm cultivation continues to expand beyond its historical centres. In Latin America, many countries are now developing their own policies to promote and govern oil palm cultivation. This book provides a unique examination of how different countries strive to strike a balance between developmental and environmental concerns, through case studies on Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras, and Mexico, and an outlook for the industry's prospects in Africa. This book applies an assemblage approach to draw out lessons on the global challenges posed by the industry and how differing national governance regimes and communities might respond to them. Rather than a single global industry, the book unveils a complex arrangement of national and even local palm oil assemblages, indicating that there is more than one way to do palm oil. In doing so, the book contributes to a better understanding of the drivers and processes that shape the governance of the industry, both in different nations and globally.This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of the palm oil industry, as well as those interested in natural resource governance, sustainable agriculture, conservation, environmental justice, and environmental and development policy more broadly.
Governing the Uncertain
by Monica TennbergThe book provides a detailed analysis of the development of adaptive governance in Russia and Finland. It presents a case study from the Sakha Republic in Russia that focuses on community's participation in the process of governing of the flood events in the Tatta River area. Local adaptive practices are analyzed in relation to federal and regional responses that may mandate, encourage or collide with community's agency. A second case study is centered on the Finnish community of Kuttura, Ivalo. It explores the mounting challenges presented by changing environmental conditions to traditional reindeer herding, as well as the efforts made to cope with these new factors. Combining anthropological research and political science, this penetrating work offers revealing scrutiny of governmental responses to one of the most urgent issues facing both politicians and the citizens who live in their domains.
Governing through Goals: Sustainable Development Goals as Governance Innovation (Earth System Governance)
by Frank Biermann Norichika KanieA detailed examination of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the shift in governance strategy they represent.In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals built on and broadened the earlier Millennium Development Goals, but they also signaled a larger shift in governance strategies. The seventeen goals add detailed content to the concept of sustainable development, identify specific targets for each goal, and help frame a broader, more coherent, and transformative 2030 agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals aim to build a universal, integrated framework for action that reflects the economic, social, and planetary complexities of the twenty-first century. This book examines in detail the core characteristics of goal setting, asking when it is an appropriate governance strategy and how it differs from other approaches; analyzes the conditions under which a goal-oriented agenda can enable progress toward desired ends; and considers the practical challenges in implementation.ContributorsDora Almassy, Steinar Andresen, Noura Bakkour, Steven Bernstein, Frank Biermann, Thierry Giordano, Aarti Gupta, Joyeeta Gupta, Peter M. Haas, Masahiko Iguchi, Norichika Kanie, Rakhyun E. Kim Marcel Kok, Kanako Morita, Måns Nilsson, László Pintér, Michelle Scobie, Noriko Shimizu, Casey Stevens, Arild Underdal, Tancrède Voituriez, Takahiro Yamada, Oran R. Young
Government/Industry/Academic Relationships for Technology Development: A Workshop Report
by National Research Council of the National AcademiesNASA’s Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) program within the Office of Space Flight has proposed a new framework for space technology and systems development—Advanced Systems, Technology, Research, and Analysis (ASTRA) for future space flight capabilities. To assist in the development of this framework, NASA asked the National Research Council to convene a series of workshops on technology policy issues concerning the relationship of the various stakeholders in advancing human and robotic exploration and development of space. The second workshop, which is the summarized in this report, focused on the interrelationship between government, industry, and academia in the development of technology. Examples from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Department of Defense, and the National Science Foundation were covered in order to discuss best practices of such cooperative efforts as possible lessons for NASA’s space exploration activities.
Governmental Inerventions, Social Needs, and the Management of U.S. Forests (Routledge Revivals)
by Roger A. SedjoOriginally published in 1983, Governmental Interventions, Social Needs, and the Management of U.S. Forests aims to advise government and non-government managers about the issues around forestry in the United States. This report emphasises the management of forest lands in relation to the welfare of society touching on issues such as forest service planning, the effect of state regulations on private forest investments and the adequacy of timber resources. This title will be of interest to students of Environmental Studies and professionals.
Grab 'n' Go Astronomy
by Neil EnglishLike everyone else, most amateur astronomers live busy lives. After a long day or work or looking after young children, the last thing you want as an observer is to have to lug out a large telescope and spend an hour getting it ready before it can be used. Maybe you are going on vacation somewhere in the countryside where there are sure to be dark skies, but you don't necessarily want astronomy to dominate the trip. Or suppose you are not quite committed to owning a large telescope, but curious enough to see what a smaller, portable setup can accomplish. These are times when a small "grab 'n' go" telescope, or even a pair of binoculars, is the ideal instrument. And this book can guide you in choosing and best utilizing that equipment. What makes a telescope fall into the "grab 'n' go" category? That's easy - speed of setting up, ease of use, and above all, portability. In Part I of this book, we survey the various types of equipment, including accessories and mounts, that are available, and what it is best for what kind of viewing. Part II is about using your grab 'n' go telescope to visit a wealth and wide variety of objects. There are chapters on solar, lunar and planetary observing, as well as descriptions of many deep sky objects, including double and variable stars, planetary, emission and reflection nebulae, open and globular clusters and distant galaxies. This ambitious text is dedicated to those who love to or - because of their limited time - must observe the sky at a moment's notice, whether from the comfort of a backyard or while on business or vacation far from home. Everything you need to know is here. So get started!.
Grace Builds an Almost-Perfect Dog
by Curtis ManleyA girl builds and programs a robot dog in this heartwarming STEM-based picture book perfect for fans of THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING.Grace can’t have a real dog, so she takes matters into her own hands. She builds a robot dog named Kit!Grace codes him to behave like the perfect dog. Kit follows her instructions perfectly.He rolls over perfectly, every time.He plays fetch perfectly, every single time.But Grace soon discovers that maybe following the rules perfectly doesn’t make the perfect pet . . .Great for aspiring builders and coders, GRACE BUILDS AN ALMOST-PERFECT DOG is a tender tale about the power of friendship and determination.A Junior Library Guild Selection
Grace Hopper: Navy Admiral and Computer Pioneer
by Charlene W. BillingsTraces the life of the scientist who, as well as having a distinguished career in the Navy, was a pioneer contributor to computer science and is known as the grandmother of the computer age.
Grace in All Simplicity: Beauty, Truth, and Wonders on the Path to the Higgs Boson and New Laws of Nature
by Robert N. Cahn Chris QuiggAn enthralling and accessible account of humanity&’s quest to make sense of our physical world, told through interwoven tales of inspiration, tragedy, and triumph.How do the remarkable recent discoveries of the Higgs boson, dark matter, and dark energy connect with the equally revolutionary discoveries in centuries past? In Grace in All Simplicity, readers will delight in Cahn and Quigg's engaging prose and see how the infinite and the infinitesimal are joined. Today, physicists and astronomers are exploring distances from a billionth of a billionth of the human scale to the entire cosmos, and contemplating time intervals that range from less than a trillionth of a trillionth of a second out to far longer than the age of the universe. Leaving home in this metaphorical way requires devising new instruments that spectacularly expand our senses and conceiving original ways of thinking that expand our minds. This is at once an act of audacity and an exercise in humility. Grace in All Simplicity narrates the saga of how we have prospected for some of Nature&’s most tightly held secrets, the basic constituents of matter and the fundamental forces that rule them. Our current understanding of the world (and universe) we inhabit is the result of curiosity, diligence, and daring, of abstraction and synthesis, and of an abiding faith in the value of exploration. In these pages we will meet scientists of both past and present. These men and women are professional scientists and amateurs, the eccentric and the conventional, performers and introverts. Scientists themselves, Cahn and Quigg convey their infectious joy as they search for new laws of nature. Join the adventure as scientists ascend mountain tops and descend into caverns deep underground, travel to the coldest places on Earth, and voyage back in time to near the birth of the Universe. Visit today&’s great laboratories and the astounding instruments they house. Grace in All Simplicity is a thrilling voyage filled with improbable discoveries and the extraordinary community of people who make them. Together, we will travel the path to the Higgs boson, weigh the evidence for subliminal dark matter, and learn what makes scientists invoke a mysterious agent named "dark energy." We will behold the emergence of a compelling picture of matter and forces, simple in its structure, graceful in the interplay of its parts, but still tantalizingly incomplete.
Grade 3 Science Resources
by Lawrence Hall of Science University of California at BerkeleyNIMAC-sourced textbook
Grade 4 Science Resources
by Lawrence Hall of Science University of California at BerkeleyNIMAC-sourced textbook
Grade 5 Science Resources
by Lawrence Hall of Science University of California at BerkeleyNIMAC-sourced textbook
Gradient Expectations: Structure, Origins, and Synthesis of Predictive Neural Networks
by Keith L. DowningAn insightful investigation into the mechanisms underlying the predictive functions of neural networks—and their ability to chart a new path for AI.Prediction is a cognitive advantage like few others, inherently linked to our ability to survive and thrive. Our brains are awash in signals that embody prediction. Can we extend this capability more explicitly into synthetic neural networks to improve the function of AI and enhance its place in our world? Gradient Expectations is a bold effort by Keith L. Downing to map the origins and anatomy of natural and artificial neural networks to explore how, when designed as predictive modules, their components might serve as the basis for the simulated evolution of advanced neural network systems.Downing delves into the known neural architecture of the mammalian brain to illuminate the structure of predictive networks and determine more precisely how the ability to predict might have evolved from more primitive neural circuits. He then surveys past and present computational neural models that leverage predictive mechanisms with biological plausibility, identifying elements, such as gradients, that natural and artificial networks share. Behind well-founded predictions lie gradients, Downing finds, but of a different scope than those that belong to today&’s deep learning. Digging into the connections between predictions and gradients, and their manifestation in the brain and neural networks, is one compelling example of how Downing enriches both our understanding of such relationships and their role in strengthening AI tools. Synthesizing critical research in neuroscience, cognitive science, and connectionism, Gradient Expectations offers unique depth and breadth of perspective on predictive neural-network models, including a grasp of predictive neural circuits that enables the integration of computational models of prediction with evolutionary algorithms.