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Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt
by Alan MikhailIn one of the first environmental histories of the Ottoman Empire, Alan Mikhail examines relations between the empire and its most lucrative province of Egypt. Based on both the local records of various towns and villages in rural Egypt and the imperial orders of the Ottoman state, this book charts how changes in the control of natural resources fundamentally altered the nature of Ottoman imperial sovereignty in Egypt and throughout the empire. In revealing how Egyptian peasants were able to use their knowledge and experience of local environments to force the hand of the imperial state, Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt tells a story of the connections of empire stretching from canals in the Egyptian countryside to the palace in Istanbul, from Anatolian forests to the shores of the Red Sea, and from a plague flea's bite to the fortunes of one of the most powerful states of the early modern world.
Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt: An Environmental History
by Alan MikhailIn one of the first environmental histories of the Ottoman Empire, Alan Mikhail examines relations between the empire and its most lucrative province of Egypt. Based on both the local records of various towns and villages in rural Egypt and the imperial orders of the Ottoman state, this book charts how changes in the control of natural resources fundamentally altered the nature of Ottoman imperial sovereignty in Egypt and throughout the empire. In revealing how Egyptian peasants were able to use their knowledge and experience of local environments to force the hand of the imperial state, Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt tells a story of the connections of empire stretching from canals in the Egyptian countryside to the palace in Istanbul, from Anatolian forests to the shores of the Red Sea, and from a plague flea's bite to the fortunes of one of the most powerful states of the early modern world.
The Nature and Properties of Soils
by Nyle Brady Ray Weil<p>This hallmark text introduces the exciting world of soils through clear writing, strong pedagogy, and an ecological approach that effectively explains the fundamentals of soil science. Worked calculations, vignettes, and current real-world applications prepare readers to understand concepts, solve problems, and think critically. Written for both majors and non-majors, this text highlights the many interactions between the soil and other components of forest, range, agricultural, wetland and constructed ecosystems. <p>Now in full-color, the Fifteenth Edition includes hundreds of compelling photos, figures, and diagrams to bring the exciting world of soils to life. Extensively revised, new and updated content appears in every chapter. Examples include: coverage of the pedosphere concept; new insights into humus and soil carbon accumulation; subaqueous soils, soil effects on human health; principles and practice of organic farming; urban and human engineered soils; new understandings of the nitrogen cycle; water-saving irrigation techniques; hydraulic redistribution, soil food-web ecology; disease suppressive soils; soil microbial genomics; soil interactions with global climate change; digital soil maps; and many others.</p>
The Nature and Role of Algebra in the K-14 Curriculum: Proceedings of a National Symposium May 27 and 28, 1997
by National Council of Teachers of MathematicsA report on The Nature and Role of Algebra in the K-14 Curriculum
Nature as Measure: The Selected Essays of Wes Jackson
by Wes JacksonIn 'Nature as Measure', a collection of Jackson's essays, the ideas of land conservation and education are written from the point of view of a man who has practiced what he's preached and proven that it is possible to partially restore much of the land that we've ravaged.
Nature-Based Flood Risk Management on Private Land: Disciplinary Perspectives on a Multidisciplinary Challenge
by Thomas Hartmann Lenka Slavíková Simon McCarthyThis open access book addresses the various disciplinary aspects of nature-based solutions in flood risk management on private land. In recent decades, water management has been moving towards nature-based solutions. These are assumed to be much more multi-purpose than traditional “grey infrastructures” and seem to be regarded as a panacea for many environmental issues. At the same time, such measures require more – and mostly privately owned – land and more diverse stakeholder involvement than traditional (grey) engineering approaches. They also present challenges related to different disciplines. Nature-based solutions for flood risk management not only require technical expertise, but also call for interdisciplinary insights from land-use planning, economics, property rights, sociology, landscape planning, ecology, hydrology, agriculture and other disciplines to address the challenges of implementing them. Ultimately, nature-based flood risk management is a multi-disciplinary endeavor. Featuring numerous case studies of nature-based flood risk management accompanied by commentaries, this book presents brief academic reflections from two different disciplinary perspectives that critically highlight which specific aspects are of significance, and as such, underscore the multi-disciplinary nature of the challenges faced.
Nature-based Solutions for Circular Management of Urban Water (Circular Economy and Sustainability)
by Alexandros Stefanakis Hasan Volkan Oral Cristina Calheiros Pedro CarvalhoDespite the strong economic growth of the last decades, our modern global society is facing the existential threat of climate change. It is now realized that the linear economic model is not sustainable in the long run and cannot sustain the life standards. The new circular economy approach that is already under discussion suggests the adjustment of our priorities and the re-orientation of the future infrastructure investments. In this context, we are looking for new, innovative and sustainable solutions to increase the resiliency of our societies, to protect and restore the ecosystems, and to maintain the necessary economic growth without further undermining the planet’s boundaries. The well-being of coming generations will depend on our ability to adapt our economies to this challenge. In particular, transforming today’s cities into sustainable cities is one of the main adaptations that will be necessary. A holistic approach looking at cities from a system’s perspective is neededto achieve this goal. Nature-based solutions (NbS) serve exactly this ambitious and multi-factorial purpose due to their inherent ability not only to tackle climate change but also to provide a series of ecosystem services and social benefits. In the urban context, NbS can deal with main challenges such as urban heat islands, flooding, treatment of wastewater and runoff and food provision. At the same time, NbS can provide a series of ecosystem services beneficial for the environment and the society including clean water production, nutrient recovery, heavy metals retention and a broad range of plant-based materials. In the new circular economy paradigm, NbS can contribute to strategies for climate change adaptation and create a holistic resource management system for the urban biosphere. Thus, this book aims at providing a single reference that discusses the role and effectiveness of NbS in the urban environment and how these systems can contribute to the circular management of water, nutrients and resources towards resilient, sustainable and healthy cities. The scope of the book extends to various fields and disciplines such as the built environment, urban water and wastewater, resource recovery, urban farming, smart sensing, research and development, technology and innovation, society and governance. Research studies, pilot projects, and case studies are part of the book.
Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Mitigation: Environmental and Socio-Economic Aspects (The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry #107)
by Carla S. S. Ferreira Zahra Kalantari Thomas Hartmann Paulo PereiraThis book provides an overview of the typical nature-based solutions (NBS) used for flood mitigation at different scales and in different areas (e.g. from catchment to hillslope scale; from urban to coastal areas). NBS can provide several ecosystem services, such as water regulation and water quality enhancement, and as such offer relevant technical solutions to complement typical grey infrastructures to mitigate flood hazard and water quality problems. In recent years, political awareness and interest from the scientific community have led to increasing implementation of NBS worldwide. In light of this trend, this book provides valuable insights into the environmental aspects of NBS, particularly their effectiveness for flood and pollution mitigation, and discusses socio-economic aspects related to the implementation of NBS, including regulatory aspects, cost, and citizens’ perceptions of NBS. Compiling the latest research, the book furthers our understanding of the role of NBS for flood mitigation and its relation to environmental aspects, to guide scientists and stakeholders in future NBS projects. It is intended for the scientific community and stakeholders, such as spatial planners and landscape managers.Chapter "Nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and resilience in urban areas" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Nature-based Solutions for Resilient Ecosystems and Societies (Disaster Resilience and Green Growth)
by Shalini Dhyani Anil Kumar Gupta Madhav KarkiOver the past few decades, the frequency and severity of natural and human-induced disasters have increased across Asia. These disasters lead to substantial loss of life, livelihoods and community assets, which not only threatens the pace of socio-economic development, but also undo hard-earned gains. Extreme events and disasters such as floods, droughts, heat, fire, cyclones and tidal surges are known to be exacerbated by environmental changes including climate change, land-use changes and natural resource degradation. Increasing climate variability and multi-dimensional vulnerabilities have severely affected the social, ecological and economic capacities of the people in the region who are, economically speaking, those with the least capacity to adapt. Climatic and other environmental hazards and anthropogenic risks, coupled with weak and wavering capacities, severely impact the ecosystems and Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP) and, thereby, to human well-being. Long-term resilience building through disaster risk reduction and integrated adaptive climate planning, therefore, has become a key priority for scientists and policymakers alike. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is a cost-effective approach that utilizes ecosystem and biodiversity services for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, while also providing a range of co-benefits like sustainable livelihoods and food, water and energy security. This book discusses the concept of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) – both as a science and as art – and elaborates on how it can be applied to develop healthy and resilient ecosystems locally, nationally, regionally and globally. The book covers illustrative methods and tools adopted for applying NbS in different countries. The authors discuss NbS applications and challenges, research trends and future insights that have wider regional and global relevance. The aspects covered include: landscape restoration, ecosystem-based adaptation, ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, ecological restoration, ecosystem-based protected areas management, green infrastructure development, nature-friendly infrastructure development in various ecosystem types, agro-climatic zones and watersheds. The book offers insights into understanding the sustainable development goals (SDGs) at the grass roots level and can help indigenous and local communities harness ecosystem services to help achieve them. It offers a unique, essential resource for researchers, students, corporations, administrators and policymakers working in the fields of the environment, geography, development, policy planning, the natural sciences, life sciences, agriculture, health, climate change and disaster studies.
Nature Driven Urbanism (Contemporary Urban Design Thinking)
by Rob RoggemaThis book discusses the way that a nature-driven approach to urbanism can be applied at each of the urban scales; architectural design, urban design of neighborhoods, city planning and landscape architecture, and at the city and regional scales. At all levels nature-driven approaches to design and planning add to the quality of the built structure and furthermore to the quality of life experienced by people living in these environments. To include nature and greening to built structures is a good starting point and can add much value. The chapter authors have fiducia in giving nature a fundamental role as an integrated network in city design, or to make nature the entrance point of the design process, and base the design on the needs and qualities of nature itself. The highest existence of nature is a permanent ecosystem which endures stressors and circumstances for a prolonged period. In an urban context this is not always possible and temporality is an interesting concept explored when nature is not a permanent feature. The ecological contribution to the environment, and indirect dispersion of species, from a temporary location will, overall add biodiversity to the entire system.
Nature Guiding
by William Gould VinalNature Guiding is the science of inculcating nature enthusiasm, nature principles, and nature facts into the spirit of individuals. "Doing" nature-study means observing, wondering, and solving problems. It could include collecting, building, measuring, painting, planning, writing, touching, experimenting or any of a wide range of other activities. Most importantly, it allows children to be "original investigators."This book is intended as a resource for teachers and students engaged in nature study at summer camps and in schools. William Gould Vinal believed that the teacher of nature study should be "in sympathy with the simple life and the country way," that the nature study should emphasize observation of the interactions of plants and animals in their environment, and not be reduced to matters of taxonomy and anatomy. In Nature Guiding, he offers advice to camp counselors and school teachers on incorporating nature study into everyday activities, as well as suggestions for parents and others about using visits to state and national parks to teach nature lore.
Nature-Inspired Algorithms: For Engineers and Scientists
by Krishn Kumar MishraThis comprehensive reference text discusses nature inspired algorithms and their applications. It presents the methodology to write new algorithms with the help of MATLAB programs and instructions for better understanding of concepts. It covers well-known algorithms including evolutionary algorithms, genetic algorithm, particle Swarm optimization and differential evolution, and recent approached including gray wolf optimization. A separate chapter discusses test case generation using techniques such as particle swarm optimization, genetic algorithm, and differential evolution algorithm. The book- Discusses in detail various nature inspired algorithms and their applications Provides MATLAB programs for the corresponding algorithm Presents methodology to write new algorithms Examines well-known algorithms like the genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization and differential evolution, and recent approaches like gray wolf optimization. Provides conceptual linking of algorithms with theoretical concepts The text will be useful for graduate students in the field of electrical engineering, electronics engineering, computer science and engineering. Discussing nature inspired algorithms and their applications in a single volume, this text will be useful as a reference text for graduate students in the field of electrical engineering, electronics engineering, computer science and engineering. It discusses important algorithms including deterministic algorithms, randomized algorithms, evolutionary algorithms, particle swarm optimization, big bang big crunch (BB-BC) algorithm, genetic algorithm and grey wolf optimization algorithm. "
A Nature-Inspired Approach to Cryptology (Studies in Computational Intelligence #1122)
by Shishir Kumar Shandilya Agni Datta Atulya K. NagarThis book introduces nature-inspired algorithms and their applications to modern cryptography. It helps the readers to get into the field of nature-based approaches to solve complex cryptographic issues. This book provides a comprehensive view of nature-inspired research which could be applied in cryptography to strengthen security. It will also explore the novel research directives such as Clever algorithms and immune-based cyber resilience. New experimented nature-inspired approaches are having enough potential to make a huge impact in the field of cryptanalysis. This book gives a lucid introduction to this exciting new field and will promote further research in this domain. The book discusses the current landscape of cryptography and nature-inspired research and will be helpful to prospective students and professionals to explore further.
Nature-Inspired Computation in Navigation and Routing Problems: Algorithms, Methods and Applications (Springer Tracts in Nature-Inspired Computing)
by Xin-She Yang Yu-Xin ZhaoThis book discusses all the major nature-inspired algorithms with a focus on their application in the context of solving navigation and routing problems. It also reviews the approximation methods and recent nature-inspired approaches for practical navigation, and compares these methods with traditional algorithms to validate the approach for the case studies discussed. Further, it examines the design of alternative solutions using nature-inspired techniques, and explores the challenges of navigation and routing problems and nature-inspired metaheuristic approaches.
Nature-Inspired Computing: Physics and Chemistry-Based Algorithms
by Hojjat Adeli Nazmul H. SiddiqueNature-Inspired Computing: Physics and Chemistry-Based Algorithms provides a comprehensive introduction to the methodologies and algorithms in nature-inspired computing, with an emphasis on applications to real-life engineering problems. The research interest for Nature-inspired Computing has grown considerably exploring different phenomena observed in nature and basic principles of physics, chemistry, and biology. The discipline has reached a mature stage and the field has been well-established. This endeavour is another attempt at investigation into various computational schemes inspired from nature, which are presented in this book with the development of a suitable framework and industrial applications. Designed for senior undergraduates, postgraduates, research students, and professionals, the book is written at a comprehensible level for students who have some basic knowledge of calculus and differential equations, and some exposure to optimization theory. Due to the focus on search and optimization, the book is also appropriate for electrical, control, civil, industrial and manufacturing engineering, business, and economics students, as well as those in computer and information sciences. With the mathematical and programming references and applications in each chapter, the book is self-contained, and can also serve as a reference for researchers and scientists in the fields of system science, natural computing, and optimization.
Nature-Inspired Computing for Control Systems
by Hiram Eredín Ponce EspinosaThe book presents recent advances in nature-inspired computing, giving a special emphasis to control systems applications. It reviews different techniques used for simulating physical, chemical, biological or social phenomena at the purpose of designing robust, predictive and adaptive control strategies. The book is a collection of several contributions, covering either more general approaches in control systems, or methodologies for control tuning and adaptive controllers, as well as exciting applications of nature-inspired techniques in robotics. On one side, the book is expected to motivate readers with a background in conventional control systems to try out these powerful techniques inspired by nature. On the other side, the book provides advanced readers with a deeper understanding of the field and a broad spectrum of different methods and techniques. All in all, the book is an outstanding, practice-oriented reference guide to nature-inspired computing addressing graduate students, researchers and practitioners in the field of control engineering.
Nature Inspired Computing for Data Science (Studies in Computational Intelligence #871)
by Himansu Das Minakhi Rout Jitendra Kumar RoutThis book discusses the current research and concepts in data science and how these can be addressed using different nature-inspired optimization techniques. Focusing on various data science problems, including classification, clustering, forecasting, and deep learning, it explores how researchers are using nature-inspired optimization techniques to find solutions to these problems in domains such as disease analysis and health care, object recognition, vehicular ad-hoc networking, high-dimensional data analysis, gene expression analysis, microgrids, and deep learning. As such it provides insights and inspiration for researchers to wanting to employ nature-inspired optimization techniques in their own endeavors.
Nature-Inspired Computing for Smart Application Design (Springer Tracts in Nature-Inspired Computing)
by Santosh Kumar Das Thanh-Phong Dao Thinagaran PerumalThis book focuses primarily on the nature-inspired approach for designing smart applications. It includes several implementation paradigms such as design and path planning of wireless network, security mechanism and implementation for dynamic as well as static nodes, learning method of cloud computing, data exploration and management, data analysis and optimization, decision taking in conflicting environment, etc. The book fundamentally highlights the recent research advancements in the field of engineering and science.
Nature Inspired Computing for Wireless Sensor Networks (Springer Tracts in Nature-Inspired Computing)
by Debashis De Nilanjan Dey Amartya Mukherjee Santosh Kumar DasThis book presents nature inspired computing applications for the wireless sensor network (WSN). Although the use of WSN is increasing rapidly, it has a number of limitations in the context of battery issue, distraction, low communication speed, and security. This means there is a need for innovative intelligent algorithms to address these issues.The book is divided into three sections and also includes an introductory chapter providing an overview of WSN and its various applications and algorithms as well as the associated challenges. Section 1 describes bio-inspired optimization algorithms, such as genetic algorithms (GA), artificial neural networks (ANN) and artificial immune systems (AIS) in the contexts of fault analysis and diagnosis, and traffic management. Section 2 highlights swarm optimization techniques, such as African buffalo optimization (ABO), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and modified swarm intelligence technique for solving the problems of routing, network parameters optimization, and energy estimation. Lastly, Section 3 explores multi-objective optimization techniques using GA, PSO, ANN, teaching–learning-based optimization (TLBO), and combinations of the algorithms presented. As such, the book provides efficient and optimal solutions for WSN problems based on nature-inspired algorithms.
Nature-Inspired Intelligent Computing Techniques in Bioinformatics (Studies in Computational Intelligence #1066)
by Khalid RazaThis book encapsulates and occupies recent advances and state-of-the-art applications of nature-inspired computing (NIC) techniques in the field of bioinformatics and computational biology, which would aid medical sciences in various clinical applications. This edited volume covers fundamental applications, scope, and future perspectives of NIC techniques in bioinformatics including genomic profiling, gene expression data classification, DNA computation, systems and network biology, solving personalized therapy complications, antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens, and computer-aided drug design, discovery, and therapeutics. It also covers the role of NIC techniques in various diseases and disorders, including cancer detection and diagnosis, breast cancer, lung disorder detection, disease biomarkers, and potential therapeutics identifications.
Nature-Inspired Metaheuristic Algorithms for Engineering Optimization Applications (Springer Tracts in Nature-Inspired Computing)
by Serdar Carbas Abdurrahim Toktas Deniz UstunThis book engages in an ongoing topic, such as the implementation of nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms, with a main concentration on optimization problems in different fields of engineering optimization applications. The chapters of the book provide concise overviews of various nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms, defining their profits in obtaining the optimal solutions of tiresome engineering design problems that cannot be efficiently resolved via conventional mathematical-based techniques. Thus, the chapters report on advanced studies on the applications of not only the traditional, but also the contemporary certain nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms to specific engineering optimization problems with single and multi-objectives. Harmony search, artificial bee colony, teaching learning-based optimization, electrostatic discharge, grasshopper, backtracking search, and interactive search are just some of the methods exhibited and consulted step by step in application contexts. The book is a perfect guide for graduate students, researchers, academicians, and professionals willing to use metaheuristic algorithms in engineering optimization applications.
Nature-Inspired Methods for Metaheuristics Optimization: Algorithms and Applications in Science and Engineering (Modeling and Optimization in Science and Technologies #16)
by Fouad Bennis Rajib Kumar BhattacharjyaThis book gathers together a set of chapters covering recent development in optimization methods that are inspired by nature. The first group of chapters describes in detail different meta-heuristic algorithms, and shows their applicability using some test or real-world problems. The second part of the book is especially focused on advanced applications and case studies. They span different engineering fields, including mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, and earth/environmental science, and covers topics such as robotics, water management, process optimization, among others. The book covers both basic concepts and advanced issues, offering a timely introduction to nature-inspired optimization method for newcomers and students, and a source of inspiration as well as important practical insights to engineers and researchers.
Nature-Inspired Methods for Smart Healthcare Systems and Medical Data
by Ahmed M. Anter Mohamed Elhoseny Anuradha D. ThakareThis book aims to gather high-quality research papers on developing theories, frameworks, architectures, and algorithms for solving complex challenges in smart healthcare applications for real industry use. It explores the recent theoretical and practical applications of metaheuristics and optimization in various smart healthcare contexts. The book also discusses the capability of optimization techniques to obtain optimal parameters in ML and DL technologies. It provides an open platform for academics and engineers to share their unique ideas and investigate the potential convergence of existing systems and advanced metaheuristic algorithms. The book's outcome will enable decision-makers and practitioners to select suitable optimization approaches for scheduling patients in crowded environments with minimized human errors.The healthcare system aims to improve the lives of disabled, elderly, sick individuals, and children. IoT-based systems simplify decision-making and task automation, offering an automated foundation. Nature-inspired metaheuristics and mining algorithms are crucial for healthcare applications, reducing costs, increasing efficiency, enabling accurate data analysis, and enhancing patient care. Metaheuristics improve algorithm performance and address challenges in data mining and ML, making them essential in healthcare research. Real-time IoT-based healthcare systems can be modeled using an IoT-based metaheuristic approach to generate optimal solutions.Metaheuristics are powerful technologies for optimization problems in healthcare systems. They balance exact methods, which guarantee optimal solutions but require significant computational resources, with fast but low-quality greedy methods. Metaheuristic algorithms find better solutions while minimizing computational time. The scientific community is increasingly interested in metaheuristics, incorporating techniques from AI, operations research, and soft computing. New metaheuristics offer efficient ways to address optimization problems and tackle unsolved challenges. They can be parameterized to control performance and adjust the trade-off between solution quality and resource utilization. Metaheuristics manage the trade-off between performance and solution quality, making them highly applicable to real-time applications with pragmatic objectives.
Nature-Inspired Networking: Theory and Applications
by Phan Cong-Vinh"Nature-inspired" includes, roughly speaking, "bio-inspired"+"physical-inspired"+"social-inspired"+ and so on. This book contains highly original contributions about how nature is going to shape networking systems of the future. Hence, it focuses on rigorous approaches and cutting-edge solutions, which encompass three classes of major methods: 1) Those that take inspiration from nature for the development of novel problem solving techniques; 2) Those that are based on the use of networks to synthesize natural phenomena; and 3) Those that employ natural materials to compute or communicate.
Nature Inspired Optimisation for Delivery Problems: From Theory to the Real World (Natural Computing Series)
by Neil UrquhartThis book explains classic routing and transportation problems and solutions, before offering insights based on successful real-world solutions. The chapters in Part I introduce and explain the traveling salesperson problem (TSP), vehicle routing problems (VRPs), and multi-objective problems, with an emphasis on heuristic approaches and software engineering aspects. In turn, Part II demonstrates how to exploit geospatial data, routing algorithms, and visualization. In Part III, the above techniques and insights are combined in real-world success stories from domains such as food delivery in rural areas, postal delivery, workforce routing, and urban logistics.The book offers a valuable supporting text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses and projects in Computer Science, Engineering, Operations Research, and Mathematics. It is accompanied by a repository of source code, allowing readers to try out the algorithms and techniques discussed.