The Thermodynamics of evolution

Author: François Roddier
Publisher: Primento Digital sprl
ISBN: 2917141891
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
Thermodynamique de l'évolution - Un essai de thermo-bio-sociologie - translated into English with the help of Steve Ridgway À PROPOS DE L'AUTEUR François Roddier est né en 1936. Astrophysicien, il est connu de tous les astronomes pour ses travaux qui ont permis de compenser l’effet des turbulences atmosphériques lors de l’observation des astres. Après avoir créé le département d’astrophysique de l’université de Nice, c’est aux États-Unis, au National Optical Astronomy Observatory (Tucson, Arizona) puis à l’Institute for Astrophysics de l’Université d’Hawaii, qu’il participe au développement des systèmes d’optique adaptative qui équipent désormais les grands outils d’observation comme le télescope CFHT (Canada-France-Hawaii), ou le télescope japonais Subaru tous deux situés à Hawaii, et les télescopes de l’ESO (European Southern Observatory), l’observatoire européen austral situé au Chili. Savant toujours curieux, il s’intéresse aux aspects thermodynamiques de l’évolution.

Sustainable energy supply in Asia

Author: Pradeep Chaturvedi
Publisher: Concept Publishing Company
ISBN: 9788170226314
Category : Energy conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 656

Book Description

International Asia Conference on Industrial Engineering and Management Innovation (IEMI2012) Proceedings

Author: Ershi Qi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642384455
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 1666

Book Description
The International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management is sponsored by the Chinese Industrial Engineering Institution, CMES, which is the only national-level academic society for Industrial Engineering. The conference is held annually as the major event in this arena. Being the largest and the most authoritative international academic conference held in China, it provides an academic platform for experts and entrepreneurs in the areas of international industrial engineering and management to exchange their research findings. Many experts in various fields from China and around the world gather together at the conference to review, exchange, summarize and promote their achievements in the fields of industrial engineering and engineering management. For example, some experts pay special attention to the current state of the application of related techniques in China as well as their future prospects, such as green product design, quality control and management, supply chain and logistics management to address the need for, amongst other things low-carbon, energy-saving and emission-reduction. They also offer opinions on the outlook for the development of related techniques. The proceedings offers impressive methods and concrete applications for experts from colleges and universities, research institutions and enterprises who are engaged in theoretical research into industrial engineering and engineering management and its applications. As all the papers are of great value from both an academic and a practical point of view, they also provide research data for international scholars who are investigating Chinese style enterprises and engineering management.

Routledge Handbook of Global Public Health in Asia

Author: Siân M. Griffiths
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317817702
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 769

Book Description
Global public health is of growing concern to most governments and populations, nowhere more so than in Asia, the world’s largest and most populous continent. Whilst major advances have been made in controlling infectious diseases through public health measures as well as clinical medical treatments, the world now faces other challenges including ageing populations and the epidemic crisis of obesity and non-communicable diseases. New emerging infections continue to develop and the growing threats to health due to environmental pollution and climate change increase the need for resilience and sustainability. These threats to health are global in nature, and this Handbook will explore perspectives on current public health issues in South, Southeast and East Asia, informing global as well as regional debate. Whilst many books cite Western examples of the development of global public health, this Handbook brings together both Western and Eastern scholarship, creating a new global public health perspective suitable to face modern challenges in promoting the population’s health. This Handbook is essential reading not only for students, professionals and scholars of global public health and related fields but is also written to be accessible to those with a general interest in the health of Asia.

Principles of Macroeconomics Asia-Pacific Edition with Online Study Tool S 12 Months

Author: Robin Ellen Stonecash
Publisher: Cengage AU
ISBN: 0170382648
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 548

Book Description
The brief and student-friendly approach of this book boils economics down to its essentials, by considering what is truly important for students to learn in their first course in economics. In keeping with the authors' philosophy of showing students the power of economic tools and the importance of economic ideas, this edition pays careful attention to regional and global policies and economic issues ' including the impacts of the ongoing global financial crisis, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, and monetary and fiscal policy. Continuing global financial uncertainty and the current state of the Australian economy provide a constant supply of new material, re-evaluated models, and policy changes and updates for the Principles of Macroeconomics text. The book emphasises the material that students should and do find interesting about the study of the economy, resulting in a focus on applications and policy, and less on formal economic theory. Principles of Macroeconomics, 7e encourages students to make their own judgements by presenting both sides of the debate on five controversial issues facing policymakers: the proper degree of policy activism in response to the business cycle, the choice between rules and discretion in the conduct of monetary policy, the desirability of reaching zero inflation, the importance of balancing the government's budget, and the need for tax reform to encourage saving.

Design in Nature

Author: Adrian Bejan
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307744345
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
In this groundbreaking book, Adrian Bejan takes the recurring patterns in nature—trees, tributaries, air passages, neural networks, and lightning bolts—and reveals how a single principle of physics, the constructal law, accounts for the evolution of these and many other designs in our world. Everything—from biological life to inanimate systems—generates shape and structure and evolves in a sequence of ever-improving designs in order to facilitate flow. River basins, cardiovascular systems, and bolts of lightning are very efficient flow systems to move a current—of water, blood, or electricity. Likewise, the more complex architecture of animals evolve to cover greater distance per unit of useful energy, or increase their flow across the land. Such designs also appear in human organizations, like the hierarchical “flowcharts” or reporting structures in corporations and political bodies. All are governed by the same principle, known as the constructal law, and configure and reconfigure themselves over time to flow more efficiently. Written in an easy style that achieves clarity without sacrificing complexity, Design in Nature is a paradigm-shifting book that will fundamentally transform our understanding of the world around us.

Climate Change and Food Security in South Asia

Author: Rattan Lal
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9048195160
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 601

Book Description
This book addresses an important topic of food security in South Asia with specific reference to climate change. Of the 1 billion food insecure people in the world, more than 30% are in South Asia. The problem of food insecurity may be exacerbated by the projected climate change especially because of the water scarcity caused by rapid melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas and increase in variability in monsoonal rains and frequency of extreme events. Furthermore, large populations of Bangladesh and other coastal regions may be displaced by sea level rise. Thus, this volume addresses recommended land use and soil/water/crop/vegetation management practices which would enable land managers to adapt to climate disruption by enhancing soil/ecosystem/social resilience. In addition to biophysical factors, this book also addresses the issues related to human dimensions including social, ethnical and political considerations.

Encyclopedia of World Climatology

Author: John E. Oliver
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402032641
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 873

Book Description
Today, given the well-publicized impacts of events such as El Niño, there is an unequaled public awareness of how climate affects the quality of life and environment. Such awareness has created an increasing demand for accurate climatological information. This information is now available in one convenient, accessible source, the Encyclopedia of World Climatology. This comprehensive volume covers all the main subfields of climatology, supplies information on climates in major continental areas, and explains the intricacies of climatic processes. The level of presentation will meet the needs of specialists, university students, and educated laypersons. A successor to the 1986 Encyclopedia of Climatology, this compendium provides a clear explanation of current knowledge and research directions in modern climatology. This new encyclopedia emphasizes climatological developments that have evolved over the past twenty years. It offers more than 200 informative articles prepared by 150 experts on numerous subjects, ranging from standard areas of study to the latest research studies. The relationship between climatology and both physical and social science is fully explored, as is the significance of climate for our future well-being. The information is organized for speedy access. Entries are conveniently arranged in alphabetical order, thoroughly indexed, and cross-referenced. Every entry contains useful citations to additional source materials. The Editor John E. Oliver is Professor Emeritus at Indiana State University. He holds a B.Sc. from London University, and a MA and Ph.D from Columbia University. He taught at Columbia University and then at Indiana State where he was formerly Chair of the Geography-Geology Department, and Assoc iate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences. He has written many books and journal articles in Climatology, Applied Climatology and Physical Geography.

Principles of Economics Asia-Pacific Edition with Online Study Tools 12 Months

Author: Joshua Gans
Publisher: Cengage AU
ISBN: 0170382656
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 982

Book Description
Principles of Economics 7th edition combines microeconomics and macroeconomics into one volume for students who take a full year's course. The latest edition of this text continues to focus on important concepts and analyses necessary for students in an introductory economics course. In keeping with the authors' philosophy of showing students the power of economic tools and the importance of economic ideas, this edition pays careful attention to regional and global policies and economic issues ' such as climate change and resource taxation, the impacts of the ongoing global financial crisis, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, monetary and fiscal policy.

Building Adaptation

Author: James Douglas
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136425101
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 680

Book Description
As existing buildings age, nearly half of all construction activity in Britain is related to maintenance, refurbishment and conversions. Building adaptation is an activity that continues to make a significant contribution to the workload of the construction industry. Given its importance to sustainable construction, the proportion of adaptation works in relation to new build is likely to remain substantial for the foreseeable future, especially in the developed parts of the world. Building Adaptation, Second Edition is intended as a primer on the physical changes that can affect older properties. It demonstrates the general principles, techniques, and processes needed when existing buildings must undergo alteration, conversion, extension, improvement, or refurbishment. The publication of the first edition of Building Adaptation reflected the upsurge in refurbishment work. The book quickly established itself as one of the core texts for building surveying students and others on undergraduate and postgraduate built environment courses. This new edition continues to provide a comprehensive introduction to all the key issues relating to the adaptation of buildings. It deals with any work to a building over and above maintenance to change its capacity, function or performance.