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Mosaics in the Medieval World: From Late Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century
by Liz JamesIn this book, Liz James offers a comprehensive history of wall mosaics produced in the European and Islamic middle ages. Taking into account a wide range of issues, including style and iconography, technique and material, and function and patronage, she examines mosaics within their historical context. She asks why the mosaic was such a popular medium and considers how mosaics work as historical 'documents' that tell us about attitudes and beliefs in the medieval world. The book is divided into two part. Part I explores the technical aspects of mosaics, including glass production, labour and materials, and costs. In Part II, James provides a chronological history of mosaics, charting the low and high points of mosaic art up until its abrupt end in the late middle ages. Written in a clear and engaging style, her book will serve as an essential resource for scholars and students of medieval mosaics.
Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess
by Rachel HoffmanFinally, a housekeeping and organizational system developed for those of us who'd describe our current living situation as a “f*cking mess” that we're desperate to fix. Unf*ck Your Habitat is for anyone who has been left behind by traditional aspirational systems. The ones that ignore single people with full-time jobs; people without kids but living with roommates; and people with mental illnesses or physical limitations. Most organizational books are aimed at traditional homemakers, DIYers, and people who seem to have unimaginable amounts of free time. They assume we all iron our sheets, have linen napkins to match our table runners, and can keep plants alive for longer than a week. Basically, they ignore most of us living here in the real world.Interspersed with lists and challenges, this practical, no-nonsense advice relies on a 20/10 system (20 minutes of cleaning followed by a 10-minute break; no marathon cleaning allowed) to help you develop lifelong habits. It motivates you to embrace a new lifestyle in manageable sections so you can actually start applying the tactics as you progress. For everyone stuck between The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Adulting, this philosophy is decidedly more realistic than aspirational, but the goal is the same: not everyone will have a showcase of a home, but whatever your habitat, you deserve for it to bring you happiness, not stress.
The Forest and the City: The Cultural Landscape Of Urban Woodland
by Cecil C. KonijnendijkAmsterdamse Bos, Bois de Boulognes, Epping Forest, Hong Kong’s country parks, Stanley Park: throughout history cities across the world have developed close relationships with nearby woodland areas. In some cases, cities have even developed – and in some cases are promoting – a distinct ‘forest identity’. This book introduces the rich heritage of these city forests as cultural landscapes, and shows that cities and forests can be mutually beneficial.Essential reading for students and researchers interested in urban sustainability and urban forestry, this book also has much wider appeal. For with city forests playing an increasingly important role in local government sustainability programs, it provides an important reference for those involved in urban planning and decision making, public affairs and administration, and even public health. From providers of livelihoods to healthy recreational environments, and from places of inspiration and learning to a source of conflict, the book presents examples of city forests from around the world. These cases clearly illustrate how the social and cultural development of towns and forests has often gone hand in hand. They also reveal how better understanding of city forests as distinct cultural and social phenomena can help to strengthen synergies both between cities and forests, and between urban society and nature.
Interior Design Masters
by Mark Hinchman Elyssa YonedaInterior Design Masters contains 300 biographical entries of people who have significantly impacted design. They are the people, historical and contemporary, that students and practitioners should know. Coverage starts in the late Renaissance, with a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The book has five sections, with the entries alphabetical in each, so it can serve as a history textbook and a reference guide. The seventeeth- and eighteenth-century section covers figures from Thomas Chippendale to Horace Walpole. The nineteenth-century section includes William Morris and Candace Wheeler. The early twentieth-century section presents modernism’s design heroes, including Marcel Breuer, Eileen Gray, and Gilbert Rohde. The post-World War II designers range from Madeleine Castaing to Raymond Loewy. The final contemporary section includes Ron Arad and the Bouroullec brothers. These are the canonical figures who belong to any design history. The book also contains less well-known figures who deserve attention, such as Betty Joel, the British art deco furniture designer; Paul Veysseyre, the Frenchman active in China in the 1930s; and more recently Lanzavecchia-Wai, the Italian-Singaporean duo whose work ranges from health care to helicopters. Global in its coverage, the book is richly illustrated with over 600 black-and-white and color photographs.
The World’s Urban Forests
by Joe R. McBrideThe purpose of this book is to examine urban forests in cities around the world. It will ask questions about the history, composition, structure, and management of trees in urban areas. Data for this book was collected in 33 cities across broad geographical areas known as biomes. Constraints and opportunities imposed on urban forest composition, design, and management by the ecological characteristics of these biomes will be examined. The book will also address the cultural and historical factors that influenced the characteristics of urban forests around the world.
Construction Technology
by NccerThis exceptionally produced trainee guide features a highly illustrated design, technical hints and tips from industry experts, review questions and a whole lot more! Key content includes: Site Layout One-Distance Measurement and Leveling, Introduction to Concrete, Reinforcing Materials, and Forms, Handling and Placing Concrete, Introduction to Masonry, Masonry Units and Installation Techniques, Floor Systems, Wall and Ceiling Framing, Roof Framing, Roofing Applications, Exterior Finishing, Basic Stair Layout, Electrical Safety, Residential Electrical Services, Introduction to HVAC, Introduction to Drain, Waste and Vent Systems, Plastic Pipe and Fittings, and Copper Pipe and Fittings.
¿Qué pasaría si...?: Respuestas serias y científicas a todo tipo de preguntas absurdas
by Randall MunroeUn libro en el que el humor y la ciencia se unen para dar explicación a todo tipo de preguntas curiosas. ¡Ey! Gracias por fijarte en mi libro. Si estás pensando en comprarlo hay dos cosas que no tendrías por qué saber pero que quiero contarte por si finalmente no te gusta y decides darle otro uso: - Los humanos no podemos digerir el papel de celulosa, pero en caso de que pudiéramos, si decidieras comerte este libro engordarías 2.300 calorías -¡incluida la cubierta, claro! - Si tienes un buen brazo, podrías lanzar este libro a más de 13 metros. Con práctica es posible llegar a lanzar un libro cada 800 milisegundos, lo que significa que si un agresor te estuviera persiguiendo, podrías tener tres o cuatro oportunidades de golpearlo antes de que te alcanzara. Si en cambio el ataque fuera por parte de un coyote que corre a la máxima velocidad que puede, solo tendrías una oportunidad. ¡Apunta bien! ¿Qué pasaría si...? es un libro de divulgación científica en el que se recopilan algunos de los mejores posts así como otros nuevos elaborados a partir de las preguntas del blog de Randall Munroe, en el que responde a los lectores haciendo uso de sus conocimientos científicos y matemáticos. Munroe fue físico en la NASA antes de crear la web www.xkcd, que ha recibido más de un millón de visitas. Este es un libro original, inteligente y con mucho humor. * Nº1 en la lista de más vendidos de The New York Times durante meses. * Mejor libro de 2014 según la revista People. * Entre los 10 mejores libros de no ficción según la revista Time. Reseñas: «Munroe piensa que analizar una broma es como diseccionar una rana, puede hacerse pero la rana acaba por morir». The New York Times «Trata de analizar la clase de maravillas y de fantasías hipotéticas que podrían surgir en una conversación de bar». The Atlantic «Este libro es una buena combinación de diversión y una clase magistral de tal razonamiento. Como en todas las buenas lecciones, solo te das cuenta de que has aprendido algo una vez que se ha terminado». The Economist «Munroe se ha convertido en algo así como un héroe de culto». The New York Times
El paraíso es tu casa: Un manual para ser feliz de puertas adentro
by Diana QuanNo hay nada como el hogar. De nosotros depende que sea como queremos. Y si bien es cierto que inevitablemente acaba siendo una manifestación de nuestra personalidad, también lo es que con una preparación adecuada, una estrategia relativa a los objetivos claros, tenacidad, rigor y buena voluntad, podemos cambiar el estilo del lugar donde vivimos. Y, al mismo tiempo, nos cambiaremos también un poco a nosotros mismos. De hecho, no hay ninguna transformación que introduzcamos en nuestro entorno que no nos afecte de manera directa, así como a nuestras actividades cotidianas. Este libro habla precisamente de todo esto y de mucho más. Concebido como una guía, encontraremos en él información para saber qué dice de nosotros nuestro hogar; orientación sobre los cambios que podemos hacer para transformarlo a fin de obtener el mayor bienestar; las características de cada estancia para saber cuáles generan vitalidad, relax o concentración e inspiración; consejos para sanar o mejorar nuestro estado de ánimo a través del sitio en que vivimos, con elementos tan sencillos como la luz, las plantas y los colores; técnicas para conseguir llenar de positividad nuestra vivienda; detalles prácticos sobre los mejores materiales para crear un hogar saludable; ideas para conseguir que en él reinen siempre la armonía y la tranquilidad.
Coastal Towns in Transition: Local Perceptions of Landscape Change
by Raymond James GreenMany coastal areas around the world are experiencing dramatic landscape changes as a result of increased tourism development and the "sea change phenomenon" - the migration of affluent urbanites to small coastal towns seeking beautiful, natural surroundings. In response to these changes local residents in these places often complain that the distinctive character of their towns and/or individual neighborhoods is being lost or degraded. Coastal Towns in Transition looks at how changes due to unsympathetic development of the built environment and modification of the natural landscape are perceived to negatively impact on the character of small coastal towns. The book explores the concept of town character, and associated notions of sense of place, genius loci and place identity, as conceptualised by local residents in several coastal town communities along Australia's Great Ocean Road. Findings of a four-year study involving over 1800 respondents from these communities are used to explore theoretical and methodological issues associated with the assessment of place character in the context of coastal towns that are experiencing rapid environmental change. This book will be of interest to planners and environmental designers, as well as scholars in both landscape studies and social science and planning fields who are interested in the sustainable development of coastal areas. The case studies and associated planning and design strategies, together with the bibliography of selected relevant literature, will provide an invaluable reference for these scholars.
Adaptation to Climate Change: A Spatial Challenge
by Rob RoggemaAs it becomes clear that climate change is not easily within the boundaries of the 1990's, society needs to be prepared and needs to anticipate future changes due to the uncertain changes in climate. So far, extensive research has been carried out on several issues including the coastal defence or shifting ecozones. However, the role spatial design and planning can play in adapting to climate change has not yet been focused on. This book illuminates the way adaptation to climate change is tackled in water management, ecology, coastal defence, the urban environment and energy. The question posed is how each sector can anticipate climate change by creating spatial designs and plans. The main message of this book is that spatial design and planning are a very useful tool in adapting to climate change. It offers an integral view on the issue, it is capable in dealing with uncertainties and it opens the way to creative and anticipative solutions. Dealing with adaptation to climate change requires a shift in mindset; from a technical rational way of thinking towards an integral proactive one. A new era in spatial design and planning looms on the horizon.
Daylight Science and Daylighting Technology
by Miroslav Kocifaj Richard Kittler Stanislav DarulaSunlight profoundly influences the Earth's atmosphere and biosphere. Nature fuels the evolution of all living things, their visual systems, and the manner in which they adapt, accommodate, and habituate. Sun luminance measurements serve as data to calculate typical changes in the daily, monthly, and annual variability characteristics of daylight. Climate-based sky luminance patterns are used as models in predicting daylighting calculation and computer programs applied in architecture and building design. Historically, daylight science and daylighting technology has prioritized photometric methods of measurements, calculation, and graphical tools aimed at predicting or evaluating the daylighting of architectural design alternatives. However, due to a heightened awareness of general health and well-being, sunlight exposure and freedom from visual discomfort while undertaking visual tasks are now equally prioritized. Therefore, in order to assure optimal environmental quality, daylighting technology must be based on sound science. Daylight Science and Daylighting Technology, by Richard Kittler, Miroslav Kocifaj, and Stanislav Darula, sketches the entire evolution of daylight science from atmospheric science through apt visual workplace psychophysics.
An Introduction to the Physical Chemistry of Food (Food Science Text Series)
by John N. CouplandFamiliar combinations of ingredients and processing make the structures that give food its properties. For example in ice cream, the emulsifiers and proteins stabilize partly crystalline milk fat as an emulsion, freezing (crystallization) of some of the water gives the product its hardness and polysaccharide stabilizers keep it smooth. Why different recipes work as they do is largely governed by the rules of physical chemistry. This textbook introduces the physical chemistry essential to understanding the behavior of foods. Starting with the simplest model of molecules attracting and repelling one another while being moved by the randomizing effect of heat, the laws of thermodynamics are used to derive important properties of foods such as flavor binding and water activity. Most foods contain multiple phases and the same molecular model is used to understand phase diagrams, phase separation and the properties of surfaces. The remaining chapters focus on the formation and properties of specific structures in foods - crystals, polymers, dispersions and gels. Only a basic understanding of food science is needed, and no mathematics or chemistry beyond the introductory college courses is required. At all stages, examples from the primary literature are used to illustrate the text and to highlight the practical applications of physical chemistry in food science.
Rhapsody in Green: A Novelist, An Obsession, A Laughably Small Excuse For A Vegetable Garden
by Charlotte MendelsonGardening can be viewed as a largely pointless hobby, but the evangelical zeal and camaraderie it generates is unique. Charlotte Mendelson is perhaps unusually passionate about it. For despite her superficially normal existence, despite the fact that she has only six square metres of grotty urban soil and a few pots, she has a secret life. She is an extreme gardener, an obsessive, an addict. And like all addicts, she wants to spread the joy. Her garden may look like a nasty drunk old man's mini-allotment, chaotic, virtually flowerless, with weird recycling and nowhere to sit. When honoured friends are shown it, they tend to laugh. However, it is actually a tiny jungle, a minuscule farm, a wildly uneconomical experiment in intensive edible cultivation, on which she grows a taste of perhaps a hundred kinds of delicious fruits and odd vegetables. It is a source of infinite happiness and deep peace. It looks completely bonkers. Arguably, it's the most expensive, time-consuming, undecorative and self-indulgent way to grow a salad ever invented, but when tired or sad or cross it never fails to delight.
Enabling Eco-Cities
by Dominique Hes Judy BushCities are striving to become more resilient, adaptive and sustainable; this requires new ways of governing and developing the city. This book features chapters by researchers using regenerative development and transitions theories to envisage how Eco-Cities could be planned, designed and created, and concludes with practical tools and an outline of how this evolution could be facilitated. It examines two major questions: How can we use understandings of Eco-Cities to address the legacy of urban built form and existing practices which often make it difficult to create the systemic changes needed? And what are the elements of complex urban places and spaces that will enable the planning, creation and evolution of thriving cities?The book will appeal to planners, city makers, urban researchers, students and practitioners, including planners, designers, architects and sustainability managers, and all those seeking to envisage the steps along the path to thriving cities of the future.
Artful Rainwater Design: Connecting Theory, Practice, And Possibilities
by Stuart Echols Eliza PennypackerStormwater management as art? Absolutely. Rain is a resource that should be valued and celebrated, not merely treated as an urban design problem--and yet, traditional stormwater treatment methods often range from ugly to forgettable. Artful Rainwater Design shows that it's possible to effectively manage runoff while also creating inviting, attractive landscapes. This beautifully illustrated, comprehensive guide explains how to design creative, yet practical, landscapes that treat on-site stormwater management as an opportunity to enhance site design. Artful Rainwater Design has three main parts: first, the book outlines five amenity-focused goals that might be highlighted in a project: education, recreation, safety, public relations, and aesthetic appeal. Next, it focuses on techniques for ecologically sustainable stormwater management that complement the amenity goals. Finally, it features diverse case studies that show how designers around the country are implementing principles of artful rainwater design. Artful Rainwater Design is a must-have resource for landscape architects, urban designers, civil engineers, and architects who won't let stormwater regulations cramp their style, and who understand that for a design to truly be sustainable, people must appreciate and love it. It is a tool for creating landscapes that celebrate rain for the life-giving resource it is--and contribute to more sustainable, healthy, and even fun, built environments.
Sustainable Landscape Construction, Third Edition: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors
by J. William Thompson Kim SorvigSince the publication of the first edition in 2000, Sustainable Landscape Construction has helped to spur a movement towards resilient outdoor environments, in the U.S. and throughout the world. The third edition has been updated to include important recent developments in this landscape revolution. It remains essential reading for everyone with an interest in "green" design of outdoor spaces and infrastructures.Like its predecessors, the new edition of Sustainable Landscape Construction is organized around principles, recognizing that built environments, and our work in them, pose both pragmatic and ethical challenges. Each chapter focuses on one overarching site goal, such as "Pave Less,” "Heal Injured Sites,” and "Consider Origin and Fate of Materials.” These principles of land sustainability are clearly articulated and developed through specific examples of more than 100 projects from around the world, reflecting both traditions and recent innovations. Expanded coverage of industry trends toward performance monitoring, and of lessons from project failures, form an important enhancement in this edition. New content also details the necessity to plan adaptively, not just preventively, for the realities of changing climate and intensifying weather. Some of the trends covered will shift how landscape architects and contractors will do business in challenging years ahead: to survive, many professionals and clients will focus on restoration projects, motivated by ecosystem services and social justice, and funded by innovative methods.Sustainable Landscape Construction is part of the canon of landscape construction texts, and with this update, remains a visionary, one of a kind reference for professionals and students.
Preserving Summer's Bounty: A Quick And Easy Guide To Freezing, Canning, Preserving, And Drying What You Gro w (Rodale Garden Book Ser.)
by Susan McClure Rodale Food CenterWhen your harvest comes in, turn to Preserving Summer's Bounty for all the answers about what to do with more than 100 fruits and vegetables. Master preserving processes and techniques, including canning, drying, freezing, pickling, juicing, and storing, with easy-to-follow explanations and more than 200 recipes.
Composting for Sustainable Agriculture (Sustainable Development and Biodiversity #3)
by Dinesh K. MaheshwariThe dramatic worldwide increase in agricultural and industrial productivity has created severe environmental problems. Soil and groundwater reservoirs have been polluted with pesticides, xenobiotics and agro-chemicals. The global consensus to reduce inputs of chemical pesticides and agrochemical fertilizers, which are perceived at being hazardous by some consumers, has provided opportunities for the development of novel, benign sustainable crop management strategies. The future of agricultural depends upon our ability to enhance the productivity without damage to their long-term production potential. One of the strategies is the application of effective microbial products beneficial for both farmers and ecosystems. This kind of approach can ensure both ecological and economic sustainability. Soil microbial populations are immersed in framework of interactions, which are known to affect plant fitness and soil quality. For betterment of life of human being, improved quality and variety of products are formed due to versatile action of different group of microorganisms, Microbes are able to degrade solid waste material into compost which is a mixture of decayed organic matter, manure etc. Incomplete microbial degradation of organic waste where the microbial process varies aerobic to anaerobic form is stated as compost, if added to soil improves plant growth and development. The biological activities and microbial metabolism in the soil contribute to alter its mixture and fertility. Incorporation of organic remain in the form of compost is known to influence favourably the physio-chemical and biological properties of soil. The beneficial activities bestowed upon plants by compost utilization are multifaceted, hence most promising alternatives for achieving sustainable agricultural production. An increased awareness on compost has led to their use in agricultural concern. Contents in the present book will comprised various chapters on the role of beneficial bacteria in the composting process. The application is depicted to achieve the attainable productivity besides, in disease management and suppressiveness of organisms of phytopathogenic in nature. Significance of the compost elicits certain responses e. g. soil reclamation, soil fertility, soil health and disease management exhibit due to quality compost amendment in soil. It serves as low cost prospective option for sustainable crop production and protection.
Resilience for All: Striving for Equity Through Community-Driven Design
by Barbara Brown WilsonIn the United States, people of color are disproportionally more likely to live in environments with poor air quality, in closeproximity to toxic waste, and in locations more vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events.In many vulnerable neighborhoods, structural racism and classism prevent residents from having a seat at the table when decisions are made about their community. In an effort to overcome power imbalances and ensure local knowledgeinforms decision-making, a new approach to community engagement is essential.In Resilience for All, Barbara Brown Wilson looks at less conventional, but often more effective methods to makecommunities more resilient. She takes an in-depth look at what equitable, positive change through community-drivendesign looks like in four communities—East Biloxi, Mississippi; the Lower East Side of Manhattan; the Denbyneighborhood in Detroit, Michigan; and the Cully neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. These vulnerable communities haveprevailed in spite of serious urban stressors such as climate change, gentrification, and disinvestment. Wilson looks at how the lessons in the case studies and other examples might more broadly inform future practice. She shows how community-driven design projects in underserved neighborhoods can not only change the built world, but also provide opportunities for residents to build their own capacities.
Biotechnological strategies for the conservation of medicinal and ornamental climbers
by Anwar Shahzad Shiwali Sharma Saeed A. SiddiquiThe book provides an overview on adoption of biotechnological approaches for the conservation, micropropagation, synseed production of various medicinal and ornamental climbers. The work includes a brief chapter on evolution and diversification of climbers. Other chapters give insights on protocols for in vitro propagation and synseed production of selected threatened medicinal and ornamental climbers. Informative chapter on the production of bioactive compound and their enhancement through genetic transformation and elicitation have been incorporated to cover latest advancement in the field of plant biotechnology. This book also explores the use of molecular marker technique for the desired improvement/magnification of medicinal and aesthetic value of climbing plants.
Islamic Gardens and Landscapes (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture)
by D. Fairchild Ruggles"In the course of my research," writes D. Fairchild Ruggles, "I devoured Arabic agricultural manuals from the tenth through the fourteenth centuries. I love gardening, and in these texts I was able to enter the minds of agriculturalists and botanists of a thousand years ago who likewise believed it was important and interesting to record all the known ways of propagating olive trees, the various uses of rosemary, and how best to fertilize a garden bed."Western admirers have long seen the Islamic garden as an earthly reflection of the paradise said to await the faithful. However, such simplification, Ruggles contends, denies the sophistication and diversity of the art form. Islamic Gardens and Landscapes immerses the reader in the world of the architects of the great gardens of the Islamic world, from medieval Morocco to contemporary India.Just as Islamic culture is historically dense, sophisticated, and complex, so too is the history of its built landscapes. Islamic gardens began from the practical need to organize the surrounding space of human civilization, tame nature, enhance the earth's yield, and create a legible map on which to distribute natural resources. Ruggles follows the evolution of these early farming efforts to their aristocratic apex in famous formal gardens of the Alhambra in Spain and the Taj Mahal in Agra.Whether in a humble city home or a royal courtyard, the garden has several defining characteristics, which Ruggles discusses. Most notable is an enclosed space divided into four equal parts surrounding a central design element. The traditional Islamic garden is inwardly focused, usually surrounded by buildings or in the form of a courtyard. Water provides a counterpoint to the portioned green sections.Ranging across poetry, court documents, agronomy manuals, and early garden representations, and richly illustrated with pictures and site plans, Islamic Gardens and Landscapes is a book of impressive scope sure to interest scholars and enthusiasts alike.
Advances in Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors: Proceedings of the AHFE 2016 International Conference on Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors, July 27-31, 2016, Walt Disney World®, Florida, USA (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing #489)
by Ravindra Goonetilleke Waldemar KarwowskiTaking the field of human factors and ergonomics beyond state of the art, this volume focuses on advances in the use of ergonomics modeling and on the evaluation of usability, which is a critical aspect of any human-technology system. The research described in the book's 70 chapters is an outcome of dedicated research by academics and practitioners from around the world, and across disciplines. The chapters are organized under five sections: I. Models and Methods II. Vision and Visual Displays , III. Product Design and User Interfaces IV. Input Devices and Computer Based Systems V. Individual and Environmental Technology Related Issues. This work provides an invaluable resource for evaluating products and environments and designing future ones that are intuitive, safe, and easy to use. Seven other titles in the Advances in Human Factors and Ergonomics Series are: Advances in Human Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare Advances in Applied Digital Human Modeling Advances in Cross-Cultural Decision Making Advances in Cognitive Ergonomics Advances in Occupational, Social and Organizational Ergonomics Advances in Human Factors, Ergonomics and Safety in Manufacturing and Service Industries Advances in Neuroergonomics and Human Factors of Special Populations
Architecture and the Social Sciences: Inter- and Multidisciplinary Approaches between Society and Space
by Maria Manuela Mendes Teresa Sá João CabralThis book contributes to current debates on the relationship between architecture and the social sciences, highlighting current interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teaching as well as research and practice in architecture and urbanism. It also raises awareness about the complementarities and tensions between the spaces of the project, including the construction spaces and living space. It gives voice to recent projects and socio-territorial interventions, focusing on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches between society and space. Divided into two parts, the first part discusses the possible dialogue between social sciences and architecture, while the second part explores architecture, politics and social change in urban territories from a European perspective.
Advances in Research on Fertilization Management of Vegetable Crops (Advances in Olericulture)
by Francesco Tei Silvana Nicola Paolo BenincasaThis book is a review of the recent literature on the key scientific and technical subjects of fertilization management in vegetable crops. In the last decades, research on fertilization management in vegetables was aimed at producing economical yields with reduced fertilizer inputs by the development and implementation of cropping systems, nutrient management approaches and crop varieties. Examples of the interventions in cropping systems included adequate crop rotations, inter-cropping, double cropping, and other strategies for a better soil organic matter management; nutrient management approaches included modelling, Decision Support Systems, crop nutritional status testing and precision agriculture technologies; amelioration of crop varieties has been directed toward higher nutrient/fertilizer use efficiency.
Chinese Porcelain in Colonial Mexico: The Material Worlds of an Early Modern Trade (Palgrave Studies in Pacific History)
by Meha PriyadarshiniThis book follows Chinese porcelain through the commodity chain, from its production in China to trade with Spanish Merchants in Manila, and to its eventual adoption by colonial society in Mexico. As trade connections increased in the early modern period, porcelain became an immensely popular and global product. This study focuses on one of the most exported objects, the guan. It shows how this porcelain jar was produced, made accessible across vast distances and how designs were borrowed and transformed into new creations within different artistic cultures. While people had increased access to global markets and products, this book argues that this new connectivity could engender more local outlooks and even heightened isolation in some places. It looks beyond the guan to the broader context of transpacific trade during this period, highlighting the importance and impact of Asian commodities in Spanish America.