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Environmental Nanotechnology: Volume 2 (Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World #21)
by Eric Lichtfouse Shivendu Ranjan Nandita DasguptaThis is the second volume on Environmental Nanotechnology. The first chapter discusses the synthesis of nanomaterial and mainly the green synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials. Furthermore, a comperative discussion about resistive and capacitive measurement of nano-based biosensor is reviewed and the efficient delivery of nutraceutical with the help of nano-vehicles are explained. Moreover, the book also includes reviews on such topics as nanopharmaceuticals, health benefits and the toxic impact of heavy metal nanomaterials and the impact of several nanomaterials on plant abiotic stress and have focussed on the long term impacts of nanomaterials on agroecosystems. The reader will also find presentations on molecularly imprinted polymeric nanocomposites, critical and comparative comments on Nano-biosensors and Nano-aptasensors and on applications of nanotechnology for the remediation and purification of water with a main focus on drinking water. The last chapter presents a comprehensive review on plasmonic nanoparticle based sensors whereby the authors have hypothesized the future applications in the environment which can be plausible in the near future.
Effective Complaint Management: The Business Case for Customer Satisfaction (Management for Professionals)
by Bernd Stauss Wolfgang SeidelThis practice- and research-based book caters to the needs of executive managers who see customer satisfaction as their primary goal. The authors identify the need for an effective complaint management strategy that prevents the loss of dissatisfied customers. Dissatisfied customers are at risk of migrating; accordingly, neglecting professional complaint management poses a considerable threat to customer relationships, sales and profits. The book offers a comprehensive management concept, which emphasizes direct contact with the complainant by employing complaint stimulation, acceptance, processing and reaction. Further, it discusses the relevant ‘backstage’ tasks involved in using complaint information to achieve quality improvements and cost reductions through complaint analysis, controlling and reporting.
Practical Applications of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, 12th International Conference (Advances In Intelligent Systems and Computing #803)
by Florentino Fdez-Riverola Mohd Saberi Mohamad Miguel Rocha Juan F. De Paz Pascual GonzálezThis book introduces the latest international research in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology. It includes various studies in the area of machine learning in bioinformatics, systems biology, omics data analysis and mining, biomedical applications and sequences, which were selected by an international committee and presented at the 12th International Conference on Practical Applications of Computational Biology & Bioinformatics held in Toledo in June 2018.
Preventing Mental Illness: Past, Present and Future (Mental Health in Historical Perspective)
by Despo Kritsotaki Vicky Long Matthew SmithThis book provides an overview of a diverse array of preventive strategies relating to mental illness, and identifies their achievements and shortcomings. The chapters in this collection illustrate how researchers, clinicians and policy makers drew inspiration from divergent fields of knowledge and practice: from eugenics, genetics and medication to mental hygiene, child guidance, social welfare, public health and education; from risk management to radical and social psychiatry, architectural design and environmental psychology. It highlights the shifting patterns of biological, social and psychodynamic models, while adopting a gender perspective and considering professional developments as well as changing social and legal contexts, including deinstitutionalisation and social movements. Through vigorous research, the contributors demonstrate that preventive approaches to mental health have a long history, and point to the conclusion that it might well be possible to learn from such historical attempts. The book also explores which of these approaches are worth considering in future and which are best confined to the past. Within this context, the book aims at stoking and informing debate and conversation about how to prevent mental illness and improve mental health in the years to come.Chapters 3, 10, and 12 of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com
Maritime Spatial Planning: past, present, future
by Jacek Zaucha Kira GeeThis open access book is the first comprehensive overview of maritime or marine spatial planning. Countries across the globe are beginning to implement maritime spatial plans; however the authors of this collection have identified several key questions that are emerging from this growing body of MSP experience. How can maritime spatial planning deal with a complex and dynamic environment such as the sea? How can MSP be embedded in multiple levels of governance across regional and national borders – and how far does the environment benefit from this new approach? This book actively engages with the problems encapsulated in these questions, and explores possible solutions. <P><P> Situated at the intersection between theory and practice, the volume draws together several strands of interdisciplinary research, reflecting on the history of MSP as well as examining current practice and looking towards the future. The authors and contributors examine MSP from disciplines as diverse as geography, urban planning, political science, natural science, sociology and education; reflecting the growing critical engagement with MSP in many academic fields. This innovative and pioneering volume will be of interest and value to students and scholars of maritime spatial planning, as well as planners and practitioners.
Computer and Information Science (Studies in Computational Intelligence #791)
by Roger LeeThis book presents the outcomes of the 17th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Computer and Information Science (ICIS 2018), which was held in Singapore on June 6–8, 2018. The aim of the conference was to bring together researchers and scientists, businessmen and entrepreneurs, teachers, engineers, computer users, and students to discuss the various fields of computer science and to share their experiences, and to exchange new ideas and information in a meaningful way. The book includes findings on all aspects (theory, applications and tools) of computer and information science and discusses related practical challenges and the solutions adopted to solve them. The conference organizers selected the best papers from those accepted for presentation. The papers were chosen based on review scores submitted by members of the program committee and underwent a further rigorous round of review. From this second round, 13 of the conference’s most promising papers were then published in this Springer (SCI) book and not the conference proceedings. We impatiently await the important contributions that we know these authors will make to the field of computer and information science.
Electronic Government: 17th IFIP WG 8.5 International Conference, EGOV 2018, Krems, Austria, September 3-5, 2018, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #11020)
by Peter Parycek Olivier Glassey Marijn Janssen Hans Jochen Scholl Efthimios Tambouris Evangelos Kalampokis Shefali VirkarThis book constitutes the proceedings of the 17th IFIP WG 8.5 International Conference on Electronic Government, EGOV 2018, held in Krems, Austria, in September 2018, in conjunction with the 10th International Conference on eParticipation, ePart 2018.The 22 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 48 submissions. The papers are clustered under the following topical sections: General E-Government and Open Government; Open Data, Linked Data, and Semantic Web; Smart Governance (Government, Cities and Regions); and Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Automated Decision-Making.
Microgrids Design and Implementation
by Antonio Carlos Zambroni de Souza Miguel CastillaThis book addresses the emerging trend of smart grids in power systems. It discusses the advent of smart grids and selected technical implications; further, by combining the perspectives of researchers from Europe and South America, the book captures the status quo of and approaches to smart grids in a wide range of countries. It describes the basic concepts, enabling readers to understand the theoretical aspects behind smart grid formation, while also examining current challenges and philosophical discussions. Like the industrial revolution and the birth of the Internet, smart grids are certain to change the way people use electricity. In this regard, a new term – the “prosumer” – is used to describe consumers who may sometimes also be energy producers. This is particularly appealing if we bear in mind that most of the distributed power generation in smart grids does not involve carbon emissions. At first glance, the option of generating their own power could move consumers to leave their current energy provider. Yet the authors argue that doing so is not a wise choice: utilities will play a central role in this new scenario and should not be ignored.
Advances in the Mathematical Sciences: Awm Research Symposium, Los Angeles, Ca, April 2017 (Association for Women in Mathematics Series #15)
by Alyson Deines Daniela Ferrero Erica Graham Mee Seong Im Carrie Manore Candice PriceFeaturing research from the 2017 research symposium of the Association for Women in Mathematics, this volume presents recent findings in pure mathematics and a range of advances and novel applications in fields such as engineering, biology, and medicine. Featured topics include geometric group theory, generalized iterated wreath products of cyclic groups and symmetric groups, Conway-Coxeter friezes and mutation, and classroom experiments in teaching collegiate mathematics. A review of DNA topology and a computational study of learning-induced sequence reactivation during sharp-wave ripples are also included in this volume. Numerous illustrations and tables convey key results throughout the book. This volume highlights research from women working in academia, industry, and government. It is a helpful resource for researchers and graduate students interested in an overview of the latest research in mathematics.
Handbook of Climate Change and Biodiversity (Climate Change Management Ser.)
by Richard Preziosi Jelena Barbir Walter Leal FilhoThis book comprehensively describes essential research and projects on climate change and biodiversity. Moreover, it includes contributions on how to promote the climate agenda and biodiversity conservation at the local level. Climate change as a whole and global warming in particular are known to have a negative impact on biodiversity in three main ways. Firstly, increases in temperatures are detrimental to a number of organisms, especially those in sensitive habitats such as coral reefs and rainforests. Secondly, the pressures posed by a changing climate may lead to sets of responses in areas as varied as phenology, range and physiology of living organisms, often leading to changes in their lifecycles (especially but not only in reproduction), losses in productivity or even death. In some cases, the very survival of very sensitive species may be endangered. Thirdly, the impacts of climate change on biodiversity will be felt in the short term with regard to some species and ecosystems, but also in the medium and long term in many biomes. Indeed, if left unchecked, some of these impacts may be irreversible. Many individual governments, financial institutes and international donors are currently spending billions of dollars on projects addressing climate change and biodiversity, but with little coordination. Quite often, the emphasis is on adaptation efforts, with little emphasis on the connections between physio-ecological changes and the lifecycles and metabolisms of fauna and flora, or the influence of poor governance on biodiversity. As such, there is a recognized need to not only better understand the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, but to also identify, test and implement measures aimed at managing the many risks that climate change poses to fauna, flora and micro-organisms. In particular, the question of how to restore and protect ecosystems from the impact of climate change also has to be urgently addressed. This book was written to address this need. The respective papers explore matters related to the use of an ecosystem-based approach to increase local adaptation capacity, consider the significance of a protected areas network in preserving biodiversity in a changing northern European climate, and assess the impacts of climate change on specific species, including wild terrestrial animals. The book also presents a variety of case studies such as the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, the effects of climate change on the biodiversity of Aleppo pine forest in Senalba (Algeria), climate change and biodiversity response in the Niger Delta region, and the effects of forest fires on the biodiversity and the soil characteristics of tropical peatlands in Indonesia. This is a truly interdisciplinary publication, and will benefit all scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies engaged in research and/or executing projects on climate change and biodiversity around the world.
Multimedia and Network Information Systems: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference MISSI 2018 (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing #833)
by Kazimierz Choroś Marek Kopel Elżbieta Kukla Andrzej SiemińskiThese proceedings collect papers presented at the 11th International Conference on Multimedia & Network Information Systems (MISSI 2018), held from 12 to 14 September 2018 in Wrocław, Poland. The keynote lectures, given by four outstanding scientists, are also included here. The Conference attracted a great number of scientists from across Europe and beyond, and hosted the 6th International Workshop on Computational Intelligence for Multimedia Understanding as well as four special sessions. The majority of the papers describe various artificial intelligence (AI) methods applied to multimedia and natural language (NL) processing; they address hot topics such as virtual and augmented reality, identity recognition, video summarization, intelligent audio processing, accessing multilingual information and opinions, video games, and innovations in Web technologies. Accordingly, the proceedings provide a cutting-edge update on work being pursued in the rapidly evolving field of Multimedia and Internet Information Systems.
Applying Machine Learning for Automated Classification of Biomedical Data in Subject-Independent Settings (Springer Theses)
by Thuy T. PhamThis book describes efforts to improve subject-independent automated classification techniques using a better feature extraction method and a more efficient model of classification. It evaluates three popular saliency criteria for feature selection, showing that they share common limitations, including time-consuming and subjective manual de-facto standard practice, and that existing automated efforts have been predominantly used for subject dependent setting. It then proposes a novel approach for anomaly detection, demonstrating its effectiveness and accuracy for automated classification of biomedical data, and arguing its applicability to a wider range of unsupervised machine learning applications in subject-independent settings.
Public Order Policing in Hong Kong: The Mongkok Riot (Palgrave Advances in Criminology and Criminal Justice in Asia)
by Kam C. WongThis book examines the Hong Kong Mongkok Riot (MKR) of 2016 to offer a clear and objective account of the events as they unfolded, to dispel the myths, and to explore what can be learned from it. It draws on multiple sources including: public survey data, eyewitness accounts, LegCo proceedings, official press releases, newspaper reports, and video presentations. The study investigates the causes, issues and impacts of MKR including how the media reported it. It examines the historical context surrounding MKR, before and after, and considers the importance of this independent inquiry including its use and limitations. It aims to bring closure to the event, establish a record for the future, provide insightful data for cross-cultural studies on riots, and offer insights for police scholars, security consultants, political scientists, Asian and Chinese studies scholars, and comparative criminal justice researchers.
Speaking Out: Feminism, Rape and Narrative Politics
by Tanya SerisierThis is the first critical study of feminist practices of ‘speaking out’ in response to rape. This book argues that feminist anti-rape politics are characterised by a belief in the transformative potential of women’s personal narratives of sexual violence. The political mobilisation of these narratives has been an incredibly successful strategy, but one with unresolved ethical questions and political limitations. The book explores both the successes and the unresolved questions through feminist archival materials, published narratives of sexual violence, and mass media and internet sources. It argues that that a rethinking of the role and place of women’s stories and the politics of speaking out is vital for a rethinking of feminist politics around sexual violence and key to fresh approaches to combating this violence.
New Directions of STEM Research and Learning in the World Ranking Movement: A Comparative Perspective (International and Development Education)
by John N. Hawkins Aki Yamada Reiko Yamada W. James JacobThis volume analyzes the dominance of STEM fields in various university rankings and the reasons why many governments in the world disproportionately give value to STEM fields. Secondly, although there is general agreement that STEM fields are important, chapter authors also examine the role of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches for a revised STEM education as well as implications for the future. The book presents examples from the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
Cartographies of New York and Other Postwar American Cities: Art, Literature And Urban Spaces (Geocriticism and Spatial Literary Studies)
by Monica ManolescuCartographies of New York and Other Postwar American Cities: Art, Literature and Urban Spaces explores phenomena of urban mapping in the discourses and strategies of a variety of postwar artists and practitioners of space: Allan Kaprow, Claes Oldenburg, Vito Acconci, Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Smithson, Rebecca Solnit, Matthew Buckingham, contemporary Situationist projects. The distinctive approach of the book highlights the interplay between texts and site-oriented practices, which have often been treated separately in critical discussions. Monica Manolescu considers spatial investigations that engage with the historical and social conditions of the urban environment and reflect on its mediated nature. Cartographic procedures that involve walking and surveying are interpreted as unsettling and subversive possibilities of representing and navigating the postwar American city. The book posits mapping as a critical nexus that opens up new ways of studying some of the most important postwar artistic engagements with New York and other American cities.
Global Health and Volunteering Beyond Borders: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals
by Mildred M. G. Olivier Clarisse C. Croteau-ChonkaGlobal Health and Volunteering: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals is designed to educate volunteers to be effective partners in delivering medical services locally and globally. Healthcare professionals are increasingly interested in global health and volunteering in areas of acute need. The biggest challenge to health in many locales is the inability to access the health care system. When people do connect with medical services, medications and surgical opportunities for chronic disease (i.e. glaucoma, diabetes, or hypertension) are often not affordable or cannot be sustained for a long period of time. The contributions in this book focus on a respectful dialog with local people and a willingness to learn from new experiences on the part of the volunteer. Skills transfer from visiting personnel to local providers is featured as a means to enhance healthcare sustainability. An appreciation of differing cultures, an understanding of the local economic conditions and challenges, and strategies for collaborating with the existing medical establishment are foundations of successful volunteer experiences as highlighted in this book. Dimensions of global health such as professionalism, religious beliefs, ethical dilemmas, traditional medicine, and alternative strategies for service are addressed by experts. Written and edited by leaders in the field, many of whom have more than two decades of experience volunteering abroad, Global Health and Volunteering: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals imparts lessons learned to help the reader avoid initial mistakes, while making the global health commitment stronger.
Surprise: An Emotion? (Contributions To Phenomenology #97)
by Natalie Depraz Anthony J. SteinbockThis volume offers perspectives on the theme of surprise crossing philosophical, phenomenological, scientific, psycho-physiology, psychiatric, and linguistic boundaries. The main question it examines is whether surprise is an emotion. It uses two main theoretical frameworks to do so: psychology, in which surprise is commonly considered a primary emotion, and philosophy, in which surprise is related to passions as opposed to reason. The book explores whether these views on surprise are satisfying or sufficient. It looks at the extent to which surprise is also a cognitive phenomenon and primitively embedded in language, and the way in which surprise is connected to personhood, the interpersonal, and moral emotions. Many philosophers of different traditions, a number of experimental studies conducted over the last decades, recent works in linguistics, and ancestral wisdom testimonies refer to surprise as a crucial experience of both rupture and openness in bodily and inner life. However, surprise is a theme that has not been dealt with directly and systematically in philosophy, in the sciences, in linguistics, or in spiritual traditions. This volume accomplishes just that.
Developments in Language Theory: 22nd International Conference, DLT 2018, Tokyo, Japan, September 10-14, 2018, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #11088)
by Mizuho Hoshi Shinnosuke SekiThis book constitutes the proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Developments in Language Theory, DLT 2018, held in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2018. The 39 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 84 submissions. The papers cover the following topics and areas: combinatorial and algebraic properties of words and languages; grammars, acceptors and transducers for strings, trees, graphics, arrays; algebraic theories for automata and languages; codes; efficient text algorithms; symbolic dynamics; decision problems; relationships to complexity theory and logic; picture description and analysis, polyominoes and bidimensional patterns; cryptography; concurrency; celluar automata; bio-inspired computing; quantum computing.
Business Process Management Forum: BPM Forum 2018, Sydney, NSW, Australia, September 9-14, 2018, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing #329)
by Mathias Weske Marco Montali Ingo Weber Jan Vom BrockeThis book constitutes the proceedings of the BPM Forum held during the 16th International Conference on Business Process Management, BPM 2018, which took place in Sydney, Australia, in September 2018. The BPM Forum hosts innovative research which has a high potential of stimulating discussions. The papers selected for the forum are expected to showcase fresh ideas from exciting and emerging topics in BPM, even if they are not yet as mature as the regular papers at the conference. The 14 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 113 submissions. They were organized according to the tracks of the conference: foundations; engineering; management.
Business Process Management: 16th International Conference, BPM 2018, Sydney, NSW, Australia, September 9–14, 2018, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #11080)
by Mathias Weske Marco Montali Ingo Weber Jan Vom BrockeThis book constitutes the proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Business Process Management, BPM 2018, held in Sydney, Australia, in September 2018. The 27 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 140 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: reflections on BPM; concepts and methods in business process modeling and analysis; foundations of process discovery; alignments and conformance checking; process model analysis and machine learning; digital process innovation; and method analysis and selection.
Third-Person Self-Knowledge, Self-Interpretation, and Narrative (Contributions To Phenomenology #96)
by Patrizia Pedrini Julie KirschThis volume answers questions that lead to a clearer picture of third-person self- knowledge, the self-interpretation it embeds, and its narrative structure. Bringing together current research on third-person self-knowledge and self-interpretation, the book focuses on third-person self-knowledge, and the role that narrative and interpretation play in acquiring it. It regards the third-personal epistemic approach to oneself as a problem worthy of investigation in its own right, and makes clear the relation between third-person self-knowledge, self-interpretation, and narrative capacities. In recent years, the idea that each person is in a privileged position to acquire knowledge about her own mental states has come under attack. A growing body of empirical research has cast doubt upon the existence of what philosophers call ‘first person self-knowledge’, i.e., knowledge about our mental states that is often thought to be immediate, transparent, and authoritative. This line of thought has led some philosophers to claim that what seems to be ‘first-person self-knowledge’ is really just ‘third-person self-knowledge,’ i.e., knowledge about our mental states that is inferential, opaque, and fallible. This book discusses challenges for first-person knowledge and explores the true nature of third-person knowledge.
The Massachusetts General Hospital Guide to Learning Disabilities: Assessing Learning Needs Of Children And Adolescents (Current Clinical Psychiatry)
by H. Kent Wilson Ellen B. BraatenThis book connects experts in the field of child assessment to provide child psychiatrists with knowledge in evaluation and educational programming. The book provides a review of the latest science behind: common learning disabilities, including etiology and guidelines for assessment/diagnosis; neurodevelopmental disorders, like learning disabilities, ADHD; psychiatric disorders in childhood such as mood and anxiety disorders; and impact learning and development protocols. The Massachusetts General Hospital Guide to Learning Disabilities evaluates the interventions that are effective in addressing these learning challenges in the context of multiple factors in a way that no other current text does. Special topics such as special education law and managing the needs of transitional age youth allow psychiatrists to support their patients’ and their families as they navigate the system. By offering a better understanding the learning needs of their patients, this texts gives readers the tools to consult with families and educators regarding how to address the learning needs of their patients at school and in other settings. <p><p> \The Massachusetts General Hospital Guide to Learning Disabilities is a vital took for child psychiatrists, students, assessment professionals, and other professionals studying or working with children suffering from learning disabilities.
Modernism and Scottish Theatre since 1969: A Revolution on Stage
by Mark BrownThis book argues that Scottish theatre has, since the late 1960s, undergone an artistic renaissance, driven by European Modernist aesthetics. Combining detailed research and analysis with exclusive interviews with ten leading figures in modern Scottish drama, the book sets out the case for the last half-century as the strongest period in the history of the Scottish stage. Mark Brown traces the development of Scottish theatre’s Modernist revolution from the arrival of influential theatre director Giles Havergal at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow in 1969 through to the advent of the National Theatre of Scotland in 2006. Finally, the book contemplates the future of Scotland’s theatrical renaissance. It is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary theatre and/or the modern history of live drama in Scotland.
Europe's New Fiscal Union
by Pierre SchlosserThe euro crisis made Europe’s stateless currency falter. This book retraces and interprets the ways in which the crisis impacted the unique institutional set-up of Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). It argues that the crisis propelled the European continent towards the institutionalization of an unprecedented form of centralized authority: Europe’s New Fiscal Union. Diving into the central functions of fiscal surveillance, financial assistance, lending of last resort and banking resolution, the book reveals how a covert and convoluted mutualisation process occurred in the shadow of the euro crisis management. Based on 62 interviews conducted by the author with senior policy-makers in Brussels, Frankfurt, Helsinki and Rome, the book claims that Europe’s New Fiscal Union is largely unsettled and still unstable. It therefore engages with the challenges arising from the patchwork of newly adopted rules, instruments and bodies, suggesting crucial reform steps to make EMU sustainable.