Earth Sciences, Geography & Environment Books

Book SynopsisThis book presents the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Integrated Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences 2016 (ICIPEG 2016), held under the banner of World Engineering, Science & Technology Congress (ESTCON 2016) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from August 15 to 17, 2016. It presents peer-reviewed research articles on exploration, while also exploring a new area: shale research. In this time of low oil prices, it highlights findings to maintain the exchange of knowledge between researchers, serving as a vital bridge-builder between engineers, geoscientists, academics, and industry.Table of ContentsHistory Matching Using Proxy Modeling and Multi-Objective Optimizations.- New Insight in Sand and Petrophysical Properties Prediction Using Attenuation Attributes.- Optimizing Injection Perforated Layers of Lateral Continuous Shale during Secondary Recovery; A Simulation Approach.- Sensitivity Analysis of Sandstone Rock Elastic Properties to Effective Pressure Using a New Rock Physics Workflow and Its Application for Time-Lapse Seismic Data Analysis.- Comparison of Liquid CO2 Injection with a Common Tertiary Recovery Method Using Non-Isothermal Simulations.- A Simulation Study of Foam Generation across Vertical Heterogeneity.- Pressure Transient Behavior of Injection/Falloff Tests Simulation Study Of The Effect Of Smart Water On Relative Permeability During WAG-CO2 Injection For Light Oil Reservoir.- Investigation on Performance of Cationic Polymeric Inhibitors for Mitigating Silicate Scales during ASP Flooding.

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Book SynopsisWe cannot continue on a business-as-usual, carbon fuel dependent mode of operation, because the consequences of doing so are catching up with us. So, what must we do to ensure there is a tomorrow? In this book, experts from around the world come together to shed light on what we can do to preserve and expand resources key to the survival of human civilization - from the state-of-the-art of innovative engineering; to the latest status on energy, energy mix, and advancements in renewable energy - including the complementary energy storage using hydrogen; or innovative architecture for more sustainable buildings, including retrofitting of aging tall buildings; innovative ways to improve our air, water and coastline with nearshore biodiversity reclamation; to the subject of sustainable development through the water-energy-food nexus. This volume is recommended for research and graduate courses on energy and sustainability, and policymakers interested in the subjects.Table of ContentsEnergy: A Reasonable Mix?; Energy Supply and Consumption in Senegal; Hydrogen as an Energy Vector: Present and Future; V-shaped Roughened Geometries and their Effect on Heat Transfer and Friction Factor in Solar Air Heater; Retrofitting aging Tall and Supertall Buildings: A Continuing Challenge; Energy Efficiency as a Function of Changing Building Form in Sustainable Rural Architecture; Sustaining our Air and Water; 'Living' Coastal Protection and Nearshore Biodiversity Reclamation; Transitioning towards Sustainable Development through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus;

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Book SynopsisThis volume, the second in the Lectures in Climate Change series, covers the full array of climate impacts and adaptation measures. It has been brought together by friends and colleagues of Dr Martin Parry, Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007 assessment on impacts and adaptation. The writers are experts in this field and have been lead authors in many of the IPCC assessments and other major publications.Lectures in Climate Change is a unique combination of written text plus electronic slides that together comprise an informative and up-to-date set of presentations. This second volume, entitled Our Warming Planet: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation, covers areas of climate impacts related to climate science, methods and approaches, sectors, regional and national studies, and policy and practice.The volume comprises topics such as current and future challenges of climate change, global assessments, downscaling, community-based adaptation, impacts on biodiversity, food systems, water resources, and cities. Research from across the world is presented on making science actionable through assessments, early warning and early action, communicating climate risk, documenting the uptake of adaptation on the global front, and transformation towards systemic resilience.Included with this publication are downloadable electronic slides and accompanying notes of each lecture for students, teachers, and public speakers around the world to be better able to understand and present climate change impacts and adaptation.Related Link(s)Table of ContentsClimate Change: Current and Future Challenges; Assessing Impacts and Adaptation; Global Assessments; Regional and Local Downscaling; Going to Extremes: From Risk to Resilience; Community-Based Adaptation; Integrated Nature-Based Responses to Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss; Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Coastal Regions; Impacts on Water Quantity and Quality; Food System; Risk Margins of Agriculture and Settlement; Role of Cities; On the Frontline: Climate Risks and Responses in the Pacific Islands Region; Caribbean Coasts: Challenges, Threats and the Pursuit of Solutions Under a Changing Climate; Climate Change Impacts in Africa and the Role of Urbanization and Youth; Risks of Climate and Land Cover Changes to the Amazon Forest; Cross-Sectoral Impacts in Europe; Relative Risks from Climate Change to US National Security Interests; Climate Change and Natural Disasters: Japan's Perspective; Climate Change Risks in a Biodiversity Hotspot; Challenges of Making Science Actionable Through Assessments; Early Warning and Early Action and Forecast-Based Financing; Communicating the Essentials of Climate Risk; Documenting the Uptake of Adaptation on the Global Front; Transformation: Towards Global Systemic Adaptation;

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Book SynopsisChina has promised to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. To achieve this goal, the country must implement necessary reforms and focus on innovation in areas of economics and finance. This book explores main challenges that China may face in achieving green and low-carbon development, analyzes green and low-carbon related issues from the economic perspective and proposes countermeasures as required. The book further helps readers understand China's progress in protecting its environment, achieving sustainable development, facilitating green investments and in being a green economy.

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Book SynopsisCoastlines, like many things around us, are constantly evolving. Keeping pace with the changes and their development is necessary to ensure their stability and to maintain eco-equilibrium for nearshore hydrodynamics and morphodynamics. Supported with field measurements for model validation, several numerical and analytical tools are available to us to understand the physical processes in the vicinity of these water bodies.This book encompasses the engineering principles involved in field data observation, measurement, collection, and processing; the prediction of wave climate and sediment transport using measured field data; numerical modelling involving calibration and validation of the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes; and the study of the underlying physical processes and the application of sustainable engineering measures to combat coast- and estuary-related problems.The book has three sections: The first section is an elaboration on the need for and framework of the existing management and engineering notions. The second section details the measurement of the various parameters such as wave climate (offshore and nearshore), shoreline changes, beach profile variation, and sediment transport rates. The third section describes the aspects of wave prediction to arrive at design characteristics and modelling of the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes along open coasts and tidal inlets.This book is designed to benefit students pursuing coastal engineering as their field of specialization. It could also serve as a guidebook to engineers, planners, and decision makers working in the fields of coastal, estuarine, and harbour engineering, governmental and private agencies that plan the financial outlay for coastal development projects, and private consultants dealing with maritime hydraulics.

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Book SynopsisThe book contains high-quality research papers presented at Sixth International Conference on Solid Waste Management held at Jadavpur University, Kolkata India during November 23-26, 2016. The Conference, IconSWM 2016, is organized by Centre for Quality Management System, Jadavpur University in association with premier institutes and societies of India. The researchers from more than 30 countries presented their work in Solid Waste Management. The book is divided into two volumes and deliberates on various issues related to innovation and implementation in sustainable waste management, segregation, collection, transportation of waste, treatment technology, policy and strategies, energy recovery, life cycle analysis, climate change, research and business opportunities.Table of ContentsPart 01. Swachh Bharat Mission in India.- Part 02. Solid Waste Management in Asia-Pacific, African and European Countries.- Part 03. Sustainability and Climate Change.- Part 04. Policies and Strategies.- Part 05. Municipal Solid Waste Management.- Part 06. City Specific MSW.- Part 07. Landfill and Leachate Management.- Part 8. Composting.- Part 9. Industrial Waste Treatment and Management.- Part 10. Sludge Management.- Part 11. Waste to Energy.- Part 12. W2E Pyrolysis and Gasification.- Part 13. C_D Waste Management.- Part 14. WEEE Management.- Part 15. Plastic Waste Management.- Part 16. Chemical Engineering in Waste Management.- Part 17. Waste Utilization and Minimization.- Part 18. Air Pollution.- Part 19. Modeling in Solid Waste Management.- Part 20. Waste Water Treatment.- Part 21. Nano Technology.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents an overview of the main research findings and case studies concerning education and skills for inclusive growth, green jobs and the greening of economies. Focusing on India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam, it discusses government and business sector responses to these issues and how Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems and institutions are addressing both the renewal of curricula in the context of green growth dynamics, and patterns of training and skills development to meet demands. In addition, the book examines cross-country issues, concerns and prospects regarding education and skills for inclusive growth and green jobs for the four countries. These include critical themes and issues in the selected industry sectors triggering a demand for green jobs in the region; how industry is responding to those demands; areas impeding the transition from traditional to green practices; the importance of skills development; the role of TVET in addressing industry needs; and reasons for the slow response of TVET to green skills.While other studies conducted in Asia – and internationally - on the same topic have largely relied on secondary sources, this study conducted by the Asian Development Bank and the Education University of Hong Kong (ADB-EdUHK) is unique in that the findings, conclusions and recommendations reported on are based on primary data. As part of the study, TVET providers, business enterprises, policy makers and practitioners were surveyed using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. In addition, workshops were held in each of the four countries to ascertain the views of key stakeholders in government, nongovernment organisations, members of the international development community, TVET providers and members of the business sector.The book also provides summaries of the case studies undertaken for India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. Table of ContentsOverview.- Introduction.- Summary of Main Research Findings and Storylines: India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam.- Case Study of a Private Sector Firm in Indonesia.- A Holistic Approach to Greening TVET: A Case Study and Analysis of Bac Thang Long Economic Technical College Practices.- Summary, Conclusions, and the Way Ahead: Cross-Country Concerns, Issues, and Prospects.

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Book SynopsisThis book considers the intersections of race, gender and class in multicultural Australia through the lens of migration to the country. Focusing on Philippines-born migration, it presents the profile and history of this minority group through an examination of their print material culture over the last 40 years. Particularly, it examines the growth of the production of Filipino cultural identity and the politics of community building in relation to the sexualisation of their acquired citizenship. Given the promotion of Australia as a modern, multicultural, Western nation in the Asia-Pacific region, the book questions the bases on which this claim stands using the example of Filipino settlement in Australia. Considering the social contradictions that continue to shape multicultural politics in Australia, it examines how the community makes sense of its migration through print material culture. The book analyses the community’s responses to their minoritisation to understand how Filipino-Australian migration— the affective and economic appropriation of women’s labour—is instructive of the social reality of millions in the global diaspora today. Based on archival and ethnographic research, this text straddles the interdisciplinary fields of gender and cultural studies, and is a key read for all scholars of Asian and Australian area studies.Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Philippine migration in multicultural Australia.- Writing a cultural history.- Representations of a sexualised citizen.- Fil-Oz in Blacktown : a cultural geography.- Questionable solidarity: “Romances, after all, start in various ways”.- Class and Filipino Australians.- Male-ordered bodies.- The Filipino elderly: to love is to labour.- Filipino Australian activism: decolonising solidarity and the search for identity.- Conclusions: The culturalisation of sexualised citizenship.

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Book SynopsisBy analyzing the interactions between China’s central government and its local governments and enterprises, this book constructs an analytical framework of government-enterprise collusion, analyzing the impact of collusion within the China model on Chinese society. Against the background of decentralization and under information asymmetry, this text argues that Chinese local governments connive at enterprises’ adoption of a low-cost ‘bad’ mode of production — a ‘stimulus’ for quick growth at the cost of safer working conditions — so as to obtain fiscal or political capital for further promotion. Through an examination of coalmine mortality rate, environmental pollution, food safety and house pricing, the book argues that collusion is the intrinsic drive of the China model. It consider how against a backdrop of political centralization and economic decentralization, collusion exacerbates corruption and impacts both on the country’s social development and on its foreign direct investment. Offering an analysis of future prospects for the China model, it puts forward key policy proposals to improve domestic institutional construction through reform.Table of ContentsPART ONE An Anatomy of the China Model from the Perspective of Collusion.- Introduction.- Government-Firm Collusion: A New Analytical Framework.- Collusion and Coalmine Accidents.- Collusion and House Prices.- Pollution, Illegal Land Use, and Other Major Social Problems.- PART TWO The Impact of Collusion and Institutional Environment.- The Impact of Collusion on Corporate Behaviors and Political Performance Assessment.- The Impact of Collusion on Government Behaviors.- The Impact of Collusion on Social Development.- Institutional Environment of Collusion.- Reform Prospects of the China Model.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores significant aspects of the New Urban Agenda in the Asia-Pacific region, and presents, from different contexts and perspectives, innovative interventions afoot for transforming the governance of 21st-century cities in two key areas: (i) urban planning and policy; and (ii) service delivery and social inclusion. Representing institutions across a wide geography, academic researchers and development practitioners from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America have authored the chapters that lend the volume its distinctly diverse topical foci. Based on a wide range of cases and intriguing experiences, this collection is a uniquely valuable resource for everyone interested in the present and future of cities and urban regions in Asia-Pacific.Table of ContentsForeword President of the East-West CenterPreface Bharat Dahiya and Ashok DasSection 1: IntroductionChapter 1: The New Urban Agenda in the Asia-PacificBharat Dahiya and Ashok DasChapter 2: Resilience-Based Urban Disaster ManagementAllen ClarkSection 2: Urban Planning and PolicyChapter 3: From Urban Policy Making to Implementation: Reviving Riverine Urban Community of Amphawa, ThailandBharat Dahiya and Wichaya KominChapter 4: Integrating Urban and Rural Development (IURD) through Governance Program in China's Megacities: A Suzhou ModelMin Zhao, Chenhao Fang, Chen Chen, Richard LeGatesChapter 5: Case study (India)Debolina KunduChapter 6: Urban Planning, Policy and Governance Challenges: A Case Study of Megacity of Dhaka, BangladeshSalahuddin AminuzzamanChapter 7: Urban Governance Challenges and Reforms in IndonesiaWilmar SalimChapter 8: Issues in Urban Planning and Policy: Case Study of Lahore, PakistanNasir Javed and Asad JanSection 3: Innovations in Service Delivery and Access toward Social InclusionChapter 9: Financing Local Infrastructure and Public Services—A Township Case in Suburban SuzhouXu Chen, Min Zhao, Richard LeGatesChapter 10: Urban Governance in Australia: A case study of Brisbane cityBhishna Bajracharya and Shahed KhanChapter 11: Re-thinking, re-form and re-imagine urban planning in Indonesia: Kota Kita and Community Participation in CitiesJohn TaylorChapter 12: The Changing Role of Voluntary Regional Organisations in Australia: A case study from PerthShahed Khan and Bhishna BajracharyaChapter 13: Urban Service Delivery and Access: The special case of Brunei DarussalamPushpa Thambipillai and Li Li PangChapter 14: Guizhou Province’s Six Action Plan Program for Rural InfrastructureFeng Luan, Haiyan Zou, Hui XI, Ben YangChapter 15: The political economy of urban governance in Asian cities - delivering water, sanitation and solid waste management servicesHashim Zaidi, Ammar Malik and Jamie BoexChapter 16: Relevant practices for social inclusion by local governmentsBjörn MollerSection 4: Emerging Trends and Future TrajectoriesChapter 17: Emerging Trends and Future TrajectoriesAshok Das and Bharat Dahiya

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Book SynopsisThis pivot introduces the Arctic Council and its role as a platform for dealing with local, national, regional and global challenges of relevance to the “new” Arctic. Against the backdrop of climate change and increasing commercial activity, it considers what a future Arctic should look like, from ideas of total protection to expansive oil and gas extraction. It examines the Arctic’s position on the political agenda, from Norway’s High North hype to a more peripheral place in the foreign policy of the US and explores the Council's role as an important international forum for dialogue and cooperation on Arctic challenges and opportunities, and a significant arena for developing knowledge and learning about a changing region.Table of ContentsThe Arctic Council: from environmental protection to geopolitics.- Organisation, actors and member states interests.- The Arctic Council in Arctic Governance.- Challenges and recommendations.- The Arctic Council: between environmental protection and geopolitics.

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Book SynopsisThe most commonly used biological wastewater treatment technologies still have serious technical-economical and sustainability-related limitations, due to their high energy requirements, poor effluent quality, and lack of energy and resource recovery processes. In this thesis, novel electrochemical membrane bioreactors (EMBRs), which take advantage of membrane separation and bioelectrochemical techniques, are developed for wastewater treatment and the simultaneous recovery of energy and resources. Above all, this innovative system holds great promise for the efficient wastewater treatment and energy recovery. It can potentially recover net energy from wastewater while at the same time harvesting high-quality effluent. The book also provides a proof-of-concept study showing that electrochemical control might offer a promising in-situ means of suppressing membrane fouling. Lastly, by integrating electrodialysis into EMBRs, phosphate separation and recovery are achieved. Hence, these new EMBR techniques provide viable alternatives for sustainable wastewater treatment and resource recovery. Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Research background.- Intermittently aerated membrane bioreactor technologies for nutrients removal and phosphate recovery.- Anaerobic hybrid membrane bioreactor technology for refractory organic pollutant removal.- Electrochemical membrane bioreactor technologies for sustainable wastewater treatment.- In-situ utilization of generated electricity to mitigate membrane fouling.- In-situ utilization of generated electricity for nutrient recovery.- Conclusion.- acknowledgement.- Academic papers and patents during doctoral studies.

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Book SynopsisThis open access book focuses on the issue of sustainability standards from the perspective of both global governance frameworks and emerging economies. It stems from the recognition that the accelerated pace of economic globalization has generated production and consumption patterns that are generating sustainability concerns. Sustainability standards (and regulations) are increasingly being used in a bid to make global consumption and production more sustainable. Given the dense inter-connectedness of economic affairs globally, the use of sustainability standards has become a concern of global governance, who face the challenge of achieving a balance between the use of standards for genuine sustainability objectives, and not allowing them to turn into instruments of protectionism or coercion.The emerging economies, given their increasing engagement with the global economy, are most impacted by the use of sustainability standards. The emphasis of ‘emerging economies’ in this book is retained both by using case studies from these economies and by collating perceptions and assessments of those located in these economies. The case studies included span sectors such as palm oil, forestry, food quality, vehicular emissions and water standards, and address the problems unique to the emerging economies, including capacity building for compliance with standards, adapting international standards in domestic contexts and addressing the exclusion of small and medium enterprises etc. Complex interfaces and dynamics of a global nature are not limited to the thematic of this book but also extend to the process through which it was written. This book brings together insights from developed as well as emerging economies (Germany, India, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan, Mexico and China). It also brings together scholars and practitioners to jointly ponder upon the conceptual aspects of the global frameworks for sustainability standards. This book is a very useful resource for researchers and practitioners alike, and provides valuable insights for policy makers as well. Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction.- Part I – Global Governance Frameworks for Sustainability Standards.- Chapter 2. Transformative impacts? Exploring the link between voluntary sustainability standards and the Sustainable Development Goals.- Chapter 3. Assessing the role of the World Trade Organization in regulating the use of standards in international trade.- Chapter 4. Towards greening trade? Environmental provisions in emerging markets’ preferential trade agreements.- Chapter 5. The CSR interface between the private sector and social and environmental standards and regulations.- Chapter 6. Advances in sustainability reporting: What is missing?.- Chapter 7. The impact of global labour standards on export performance.- Part II – Sustainability Standards in Sectoral and Country Contexts.- Chapter 8. The changing landscape of sustainability standards in Indonesia: Potentials and pitfalls of making global value chains more sustainable.- Chapter 9. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and its contribution to sustainable forest management in Indonesia.- Chapter 10. Emerging international environmental standards and trade: Sectoral implications for Pakistan.- Chapter 11. Global and national food safety and quality standards: Implications and impacts for farmers in Thailand and India.- Chapter 12. Making local work for the global best: A comparative study on vehicle efficiency standards implementation in China and Mexico.- Chapter 13. Standard-setting in water use and sustainable development: A comparative critical analysis of grey water recycling in the tourism sector.- Chapter 14. Conclusions and policy recommendations.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents papers from the International Conference on Sustainable Civil Engineering and Architecture 2019, which was held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from 24–26 October 2019. The conference brought together international experts from both academia and industry to share their knowledge and experiences, and to facilitate collaboration and improve cooperation in the field. The book highlights the latest advances in sustainable architecture and civil engineering, covering topics such as offshore structures, structural engineering, construction materials, and architecture.Table of ContentsFloating Solutions for Challenges Facing Humanity.- Decadal Morphological Recovery of Estuaries and Coasts after The 2011 Tohoku Tsunami.- Formal Techniques for Emergent Architectural Designs.- Research and Development of New Spaces on the Sea for Industrial and Recreational Applications.- Analytical Methods for Dynamic Interaction between Strip Foundations and Poroelastic Soils.- Floating Offshore Wind Turbines in Goto Islands, Nagasaki, Japan Optimization of Steel Panel Damper Design for Seismic Moment Frames.- Tensile Behavior of Ultra-High-Ductile Fiber-Reinforced Cementless Composites.- Experimental Study on the Response of Ultra - High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete Slabs under Contact Blast Loading.- Performance Analysis of a Combination between D-wall and Secant Pile Wall in Upgrading the Depth of Basement by Plaxis 2D: A Case Study in Ho Chi Minh City.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a fresh analysis of constitutional, economic, demographic and cultural developments in the overseas territories of Britain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Ranging from Greenland to Gibraltar, the Falklands to the Faroes, and encompassing islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Caribbean, these territories command attention because of their unique status, and for the ways that they occasionally become flashpoints for rival international claims, dubious financial activities, illegal migration and clashes between metropolitan and local mores. Connell and Aldrich argue that a negotiated dependency brings greater benefits to these territories than might independence.Table of ContentsChapter 1 A Decolonised World?.Chapter 2 Constitutions: The Constancy of Change.Chapter 3 Identity, Culture and Politics.Chapter 4 New Caledonia: The Infinite Pause?.Chapter 5 Economics: Niche Markets and Global Contexts.Chapter 6 Migration: Holding on to Home?.Chapter 7 Geopolitics: The Local and the Global.Chapter 8 Anomalies on the Map.Chapter 9 Plus ça change? From Last Colonies to Overseas Territories.

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Book SynopsisThis book documents the practice-led research of painting as a peripatetic art practice through travel and transient life in Australia, India, and Pakistan. Crossing disciplines of Art, Applied Anthropology, and Cultural Geography, painting is explored as a way of negotiating the uncertainties inherent in cross-cultural journeys, and the possibility of connecting with others in their lifeworlds. The ways of navigating and of making that support creativity in the field are identified, as are the multifarious conditions of the field in view of how these shaped painting, and ultimately, the consciousness of the artist through possibilities for empathy, advocacy, and activism. The book includes many images that illustrate the form which painting took in the field and the techniques employed to create these. Interactive links in the eBook edition enable the reader to view documentary films about subjects with whom the artist worked, and that illustrate the field and conditions of making. Throughout the book the reader may also engage with virtual tours of the Australindopak Archive as the art work generated by this research.Table of ContentsPrologue.- Pakistan and Australia: The First Scroll: Canberra and Other Ideas.- Australia and India: The Second Scroll: Australind.- India, Pakistan and Australia: The Third Scroll: IndoPak.

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Book SynopsisAs the crises of capitalism continue to intensify, radical thinkers must conjure realistic and inspirational alternative futures beyond this failing social order. This book presents a stimulating array of essays exploring such post-capitalist futures. With contributions and perspectives from the Global North and Global South, central topics include ecosocialism, ecofeminism, degrowth, community economies, and the Green New Deal. There are also chapters offering analyses of land, energy, technology, universal basic services, and (re)localisation of economies. The book is in three parts. The first presents various alternative paradigms for thinking about – and working toward – post-capitalist futures. The second section offers perspectives on alternative governance strategies and approaches for post-capitalist futures. The closing section gathers various analyses of post-capitalist geographies and resistance. Going beyond critique and instead envisioning alternative imaginaries, this collection should challenge and inspire readers to think and act upon the range of possibilities immanent in our crisis-ridden present.Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Part I: Alternative Paradigms for Post-Capitalist Futures.- The Race to Replace a Dying Neoliberalism.- Ecosocialism from a Post-development Perspective.- Post-Capitalism Now: A Community Economies Approach.- Collective Sufficiency: Degrowth as a Political Project.- China: Capitalism and Change?.- Part II: Governing for Post-Capitalist Futures.- From Technological Utopianism to Universal Basic Services.- Ecofeminist Political Economy: Critical Reflections on the Green New Deal.- The Macroeconomics of Degrowth: Can Planned Economic Contraction be Stable?.- Post-capitalist Techno-futures – Beyond Instrumental Utopianism.- Crises, COVID, and the Climate State.- Part III: Post-Capitalist Geographies and Resistance.- Localisation – the World Beyond Capitalism.- Indigenous Australians and their Lands: Post-capitalist Development Alternatives.- Environmental Justice Movements as Mediums of Post-capitalist Futures: Perspectives from India.- Careful Thinking –Pensar Cuidando –Henvupen Yaconso.

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Book SynopsisIn April 2016, a series of earthquakes hit the Kumamoto area of Kyushu Island, southwest Japan. The Mj 7.3 (Mw 7.0) mainshock produced extensive and complex surface ruptures in and around the active Futagawa-Hinagu fault zone, including primary right-lateral faulting, slip-partitioned normal faulting, and distributed and triggered surface breaks, as well as minor surface ruptures associated with the foreshocks of up to Mj 6.5 (Mw 6.2). This book provides a complete record of those surface ruptures mapped by a team of more than 25 researchers from Japanese universities and research institutes. The locations, traces, morphology, and displacement are described in great detail along with over 300 on-site photographs, and the information is supplemented by the GIS data available online. The book is useful for a wide range of earthquake scientists and engineers who work on active faults and related seismic hazard assessment, including earthquake geologists, tectonic geomorphologists, seismologists, geodesists, civil engineers, and city planners.Table of ContentsPart I Tectonic Setting of the Epicentral Area Chapter 1 Geomorphology and Geology Chapter 2 Seismicity and Crustal Movement Chapter 3 Active Faults and Paleoseismicity Chapter 4 Seismological and Geodetic Observations of the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Sequence Part II Detailed Description of the Surface Ruptures Chapter 5 Field Mapping Methods and Data Compilation Procedures of the Surface Ruptures Chapter 6 General Characteristics of the Surface Ruptures of the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Sequence Chapter 7 Surface Ruptures of the Shirahata-Oike Section Chapter 8 Surface Ruptures along the Kita-Amagi Fault Zone Chapter 9 Surface Ruptures along the Southern Part of the Futagawa Fault Chapter 10 Surface Ruptures along the Central-Northern Part of the Futagawa Fault Chapter 11 Surface Ruptures in the Downtown of Kumamoto City Chapter 12 Surface Ruptures and Tectonic Geomorphology along and around the Idenokuchi Fault Chapter 13 Surface Ruptures in the Northwestern Part of the Inner Aso Caldera Chapter 14 Surface Ruptures in the Northeastern Part of the Inner Aso Caldera Chapter 15 Surface Ruptures in the Northwest of the Outer Aso Caldera Chapter 16 Surface Ruptures along the Western Part of the Bungo-Kaido Road Chapter 17 Surface Ruptures in Mashiki Town: Tectonic Significance and Building Damage Chapter 18 Surface Ruptures Accompanied with the Largest Foreshock

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Book SynopsisThe Bay of Bengal is prone to tropical cyclones and storm surges as a result of its location, and many of the mostly poor people living along the coastal regions of South Asia lose their lives almost every year. These disasters have been particularly devastating and have caused serious damage. During the past five decades, the low-lying coastal and offshore islands have experienced a tragic history of 50 severe cyclones and storm surges, with more than one million victims dead or missing. People accepted and waited for the next disaster as they had no alternatives. Members of the poor families who survived the disasters experienced hard times recovering from damage and the loss of their loved ones. After disasters, epidemic diseases arise in the affected areas. Many of the people in distress are also deprived of public services. Providing all sorts of assistance and emergency health preparedness are most essential to overcome such a situation. The causes of these huge casualties have been mainly: (1) the high population density of costal settlements, (2) inadequate cyclone shelters in the disaster risk areas, (3) lack of awareness of the disaster risk by the vulnerable population, (4) deterministic attitudes of people who accept disasters as “fate”, (5) houses that are weakly constructed and (6) underdeveloped central awareness programmes and weather forecast systems. This book is based on an empirical study presenting a timeline analysis of major cyclones and their impacts and consequent losses through the super-cyclones in the disaster-prone coastal regions of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This study also investigates resilience mechanisms based on early warning systems, technology applications including GIS and remote sensing, best practices, success stories and case studies that can be used for effective cyclone management and development of a resilience mechanism among coastal communities.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Conceptual and Contextual Scenario of Disaster Risk Reduction and Cyclonic Resilience Chapter 2: Major Cyclonic Disasters in India Chapter 3: The Application of Early Warning System in India Chapter 4: Major Cyclonic Disasters in Bangladesh Chapter 5: The Major Cyclonic disasters in Sri Lanka Chapter 6: Policy and Governance Strategies for Effective Cyclone Risk Management in Odisha, India: A Journey from 1999 Super Cyclone Chapter 7: Way forward and Resilience Development for Cyclone in South Asia

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a comprehensive introduction to the evolving field of international planning studies. It is an essential resource that situates planning as an international discipline and practice with an important role to play in delivering sustainable development across different scales in diverse global contexts. A series of chapters covers past episodes of international influence and exchange in planning, key concepts, research strategies, methods in contemporary international planning studies, as well as ways of characterising and comparing planning systems. The authors explore the emergence of a global agenda for planning, through the activities and goal setting of international organisations, and professional and civil society networks. Transnational and cross-border contexts and initiatives in different global regions, and their relevance to planning, are investigated. An invaluable resource for students and researchers in planning studies, this book offers an important reflection on the internationalisation of planning practice, education, and scholarship, and the future prospects for planning and planning studies from an international perspective.Table of ContentsChapter 1 – Introduction.- Chapter 2 – The Historical Dimension in International Planning Studies.- Chapter 3 – Contemporary Contexts and Concepts for International Planning Studies.- Chapter 4 - Research design and methods for international planning studies.- Chapter 5 – Characterising Planning Systems.- Chapter 6 – A Global Agenda for Planning.- Chapter 7 – Cross-border planning, transnational, and supranational planning.- Chapter 8 - Planning as an international discipline.- Chapter 9 – Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book is the first systematic account of mega urban projects in China, covering their construction, operation and planning. It is a detailed examination of the planning and construction of Hongqiao and its impact on local residents. In short, the aim of this book is to examine the process of planning and development of the Hongqiao transportation and commercial zone, to explore its relationship to urban development and spatial restructuring in Shanghai, and in doing so to comment on and critique the nature of urban change in contemporary China, which is characterized as property- and infrastructure-driven. Mega urban projects are arguably the quintessential symbol of entrepreneurial urbanism, and it is no coincidence that they have become a familiar part of the urban scene throughout the world, not least in East Asia. They can be seen as both a consequence of, and a response to, the deindustrialization of leading cities, first in North America and Europe and then in East Asia, as economies transitioned to globalized neoliberalism. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the main features of the land-based urban growth coalition formed in Hongqiao by introducing the detailed picture of the Hongqiao project, and it outlines the recent example of the competitive rush to urban projects in China's largest cities that has led to the proliferation of new financial districts in Beijing and Guangzhou.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Hongiqao and urban theory.- Shanghai in the context of urban change in the PRC.- Competitive urbanism in its regional setting.- New wave development of mega urban projects in China.- Hongqiao: Vision, planning and design of the project.- Entrepreneurial governance and land-based urban growth coalitions in the development of Hongqiao Business District

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Book SynopsisThis book summarizes the new major research findings about formation mechanism and control strategies of haze in China, including basic theories, key technologies, equipment and platforms and the applications and implementations of control technologies, in implementing the Strategic Priority Research Program (Class B) of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Different types of air pollution processes experienced by the developed countries in different stages are out-breaking simultaneously in China in the recent years and resulting a new type of “haze chemistry smog” pollution, which is different from the “London smog” and the “Los Angeles photochemical smog”. This book provides a useful reference for related researchers, engineers and policy-makers engaged in atmospheric pollution research, prevention and control in China and other countries.Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Atmospheric oxidation and secondary particle formation.- Haze Source Tracing.- Numerical Model of Atmospheric Haze.- Research and Development, Industrialization, and Application of Advanced Instruments.- Multi-Pollutant Collaborative Treatment Technology and Special Equipment of Atmospheric Haze.

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Book SynopsisThis open access book provides a topical overview of the key sustainability issues in Qatar, focusing on environmental sustainability from a socio-political perspective. The transition to a sustainable Qatar requires engagement with diverse areas of social-political, human, and environmental development. On the environmental aspects, the contributors address climate change, food security, water reuse and desalination, energy, and biodiversity. The socio-political section examines state strategy and regulation, the place of environmental law and geopolitics and sustainability innovators and catalysts. The human section considers economics, sustainability education, the knowledge economy, and waste management. In doing so, the book demarcates the ways in which the country encounters and grapples with significant challenges and delves into the range of options for future pathways to sustainability in Qatar. Relevant to policymakers and scholars in energy and environment, urban and developmental studies, as well as the arenas of politics, climate change and policy, this book is a landmark collection on environmental policy in the Gulf and beyond.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Sustainable Qatar.- Chapter 2. The Evolvement of Qatar’s Environmental Sustainability Policy: The Strategies, Regulations, and Institutions.- Chapter 3. Law and Governance Innovations on Sustainability in Qatar: Current Approaches and Future Directions.- Chapter 4. FIFA World Cup 2022 as a Catalyst for Environmental Sustainability in Qatar.- Chapter 5. Qatar Foundations: A Sustainability Innovator.- Chapter 6. Qatar's Energy Policy and the Transition Towards a Renewable and Carbon-Neutral Future.- Chapter 7. Qatar in the Energy Transition: Low Carbon Economy Challenges and Opportunities.- Chapter 8. A Systems Perspective on the Sustainable Development of Qatar .- Chapter 9. Sea Level Rise and the National Security Challenge of Sustainable Urban Adaptation in Doha and other Arab Coastal Cities.- Chapter 10. Assessing and Reporting Potential Environmental Risks Associated with Reefing Oil Platform During Decommissioning in Qatar.- Chapter 11. The Domestic Water Sector in Qatar.- Chapter 12. Contribution of Non-Profit Organizations to Food Security Sustainability in the State of Qatar.- Chapter 13. Terrestrial Biodiversity in Arid Environments: One Global Component of Climate Crisis Resilience.- Chapter 14. Doha as a 15-Minute City – An Urban Fareej.- Chapter 15. Post-Oil Urbanism: A Need for Smart and Sustainable Urban Development Strategies and Framework in the Gulf States.- Chapter 16. Towards the Circular Qatari Zero-Waste Management Sector.- Chapter 17. Education for Sustainable Development in Qatar.- Chapter 18. Developing A Vibrant Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Qatar: A Sustainable Pathway Toward the Knowledge-based Economy?.- Chapter 19. Pathways for a Sustainable Future.

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Book SynopsisThe latest advances and discoveries in science have made, and continue to make, a huge impact on our lives. This book is a history of the social impact of science and technology from the beginnings of civilization up to the present. The book explains how the key inventions: agriculture, writing and printing with movable type, initiated an explosive growth of knowledge and human power over the environment. It also shows how the Industrial Revolution changed the relationship between humans and nature, and initiated a massive use of fossil fuels. Problems related to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, genetic engineering, information technology, exhaustion of non-renewable resources, use of fossil fuels and climate change are examined in the later chapters of the book. Finally, the need for ethical maturity to match our scientific progress is discussed.Table of ContentsPreface; The Beginnings of Civilization; Ancient Greece; The Hellenistic Era; Civilizations of the East; Science in the Renaissance; Galileo; The Age of Reason; The Industrial Revolution; Evolution; Victory Over Disease; Atoms in Chemistry; Electricity and Magnetism; Atomic and Nuclear Physics; Relativity; Nuclear Fission; Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Genesplicing; Artificial Intelligence; Caring for the Earth; Looking Towards the Future; Index;

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Book SynopsisThis book offers extensive information on the course of sedimentation in the Proterozoic Vindhyan Basin and the potential record of ancient life stored within the rocks. It covers topics ranging from facies analysis to sequence-building, from carbonates to siliciclastics, and mixed lithology and life records from microbial to potentially eukaryotes, along with the basin evolutionary history. Further, the book includes 75 color photographs and accompanying hand-sketches to help readers grasp key aspects of Vindhyan Geology. Vindhyan rocks are well known for their excellent preservation of microbial record of earth. Offering a student-friendly field guide containing detailed route maps, geological maps and a wealth of visual examples, it is also extremely useful in terms of understanding the microbe-dominated environments on Mars.Trade Review“The book is primarily meant for graduate students … . The book is also useful in planning field trips to be organized for students and researchers. … Throughout the book, excellent field photographs illustrate the lithofacies and sedimentary structures well, and add to visual pleasure. … Reference list is up-to-date … attesting to the fact that readers are getting first-hand information in this book. … Certainly the libraries can subscribe to this useful field guide.” (Dilip Saha, Journal of Earth System Science, Vol. 131, 2022)“The authors have ably combined their research findings and field traverse recordings, references in an exemplary manner and on reading the book it brings a virtual field trip to the Vindhyan Supergroup. … The authors’ wide experience and publications on the Vindhyan sequence are added merit of this book. An ideal book for students, researchers and trainee geologists. I congratulate the authors for their contribution and sharing their field knowledge and experience in this book.” (R. Nagendra, Journal of the Geological Society of India, Vol. 97, November, 2021)Table of ContentsGeological Background.- Facies, Paleogeography and Sequence Stratigraphy.- Selected Traverses.- Selected Field Sections.- Microbial Mat Structures Formed Within Siliciclastics.- Index.

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Book SynopsisWildness and Wellbeing explores the dynamic relationships between urban nature and mental health, offering practical strategies for urban design. Mental health is a leading global issue and our urban environments can contribute to conditions such as depression and anxiety. Presenting the latest research, this book explores how neuroscience can offer new perspectives on the crucial role everyday multisensory interactions with nature can have on our mental wellbeing. These insights can help us (un)design our streets, neighbourhoods and cities, allowing nature to be integrated back into our cities. Wildness and Wellbeing is for anyone interested in the connections between urban ecology, health, environmental science, planning, and urban design, helping to create biodiverse cities for mental health.Table of Contents1. Our Nature in/of the City.2. Reimaging Urban Nature.3. Multisensory Nature and Mental Health.4. Urban Nature and Designing for Mental Health.5. Conclusion: Inhabiting Space, Encountering (Our) Nature.

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Book SynopsisThis book uses the concept of the region to introduce traditional Chinese villages in ten typical areas. Most of the villages have been included in the World Cultural Heritage List or the Tentative List and reflect the diversity of rural and traditional life. Richly illustrated with pictures of architectural decorations, dwellings, day-to-day country life and aerial views of settlements, it not only enhances readers’ knowledge of China’s traditional architectural culture but also provides inspiration for architectural creation. It is a valuable resource for graduate students, lecturers and researchers in the field of traditional villages, heritage conservation and Chinese architectural culture.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Diverse Cultures, Villages and Architecture.- Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant Villages in Southern Anhui.- Lofty Buildings Towering East and West, Kaiping Watchtower Villages in Central and Southern Guangdong.- Round and Square Buildings and Five-phoenix Mansions, Ancient Villages in Southwestern Fujian.- Drum Towers against Mountains and over Waters, Ancient Dong Villages in Southeastern Guizhou.- Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages in Southeastern Guizhou.- Watchtowers over Gorges, Qiang and Tibetan Villages in Western Sichuan.- Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages in Central Shanxi.- Dwellings for All Walks of Life, Villages on Middle Reaches of Qinhe River in Shanxi and Henan.- Hakka Weilong Houses among Green Mountains and Waters, Traditional Meizhou Villages in Guangdong.- Fresh and Diverse Local Life, Ancient Naxi Villages in Yunnan.

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Book SynopsisDoing research is an essential element of almost all programmes in planning studies as well as related areas such as geography and urban studies, from undergraduate, through Masters to doctoral programmes. While most texts on such research emphasise methodologies, this book is unique in addressing how theoretical frameworks and perspectives can inform research activity. Providing both a concise introduction to a wide range of such theories and detailed engagement with cases of planning research, it provides the reader with the insights necessary to conduct theory-informed research. It offers an understanding of how the choice of a theoretical framework has implications for the focus of the research, the precise research questions addressed and the methodologies that will be most effective in answering those questions. Through practical advice and published examples it will support planning researchers in doing stronger, more widely-applicable research, which answers key questions about planning systems and their role within our societies.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: theory and planning research.- Chapter 2 Governmental Models: the hope of rational public administration.- Chapter 3 Rational Choice Perspectives: self-interest and decision-making.- Chapter 4 The Influence of New Institutionalism: how culture shapes planning.- Chapter 5 Governance Theory: stakeholders, networks and collaboration.- Chapter 6 Urban Politics: conflict, power and justice.- Chapter 7 Political Economy: crisis and response.- Chapter 8 Discourse, Knowledge and Governmentality: the influence of Foucault.- Chapter 9 Relational Approaches: assemblages, materiality and power.- Chapter 10 Conclusion: on doing planning research.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on two major challenges in the climate sciences: 1) to describe the decadal-to-centennial variations in instrumental and proxy records; and 2) to distinguish between anthropogenic variations and natural variability. The National Taiwan University invited some of the world's leading experts across the areas of observational analysis, mathematical theory, and modeling to discuss these two issues. The outcome of the meeting is the 23 chapters in this book that review the state of the art in theoretical, observational and modeling research on internal, unforced and externally forced climate variability. The main conclusion of this research is that internal climate variability on decadal and longer time scales is so large that sidestepping it may lead to false estimates of the climate's sensitivity to anthropogenic forcing.World Scientific Series on Asia-Pacific Weather and Climate is indexed in SCOPUS.Table of ContentsIntroduction and Theoretical Approaches: Attribution of Climate Change in the Presence of Internal Variability; Mathematical Theory of Climate Sensitivity; Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem; Parameterization of Cross-Scale Interaction; Dynamics of Nonlinear Error Growth; Adaptive Approach for Nonlinear and Nonstationary Processes; Low-Frequency Oceanic Variability and Atmospheric Impacts: Internal Southern Ocean Centennial Variability; Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; North Atlantic Multidecadal Variability and Predictability; Pacific Interdecadal Climate Variability; Global-Scale Decadal Hyper Modes; Observational and Modeling Studies: Recurrent Multidecadal Oscillation in Global Temperature and 21st Century Projections; Sea Ice Variability Over Decadal and Longer Timescales; Multi-Year Prediction and Predictability; Decadal Hydroclimate Variability Across the Americas; Interhemispheric and Long-Term Variations in Tropical Climate Over 20th - 21st Centuries; Climate of China in the Holocene; Tropical Cyclones and Monsoons: North Atlantic Hurricane Activity: Past, Present and Future; Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Activity on Decadal and Longer Scales; Record-Breaking Increase in Taiwan Typhoon Rainfall Since the Late 20th Century; Multidecadal Variability in Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall Using Proxy Data; South-Flood North-Drought Pattern Over Eastern China and the Drying of the Gangetic Plain; Impacts of Aerosols on the Asian Monsoon.

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Book SynopsisThis book is a study of the return migration of overseas Chinese students. By 2018, over 3.5 million Chinese students had returned from overseas universities to China, with the megacities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen representing by far their main destinations. In other words, when overseas students return to China, many do not return to their hometown but usually land, work and settle down in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Their return migration is thus not only transnational, but also internal-urban. This book adopts a multi-level geographical analysis to explore this important phenomenon, exploring why and how returnees choose these three cities and how they experience and interpret their everyday lives in these megacities after their return. In doing so, it highlights the importance of cultural logics and multiscalar thinking of transnational Chinese students’ return migration and illuminates how their transnational migration reproduces domestic socio-spatial inequalities. This book brings an important contribution to the fields of Cultural Geography, Urban Geography, Transnationalism, Migration Studies and Citizenship Studies.Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Cityzenship: Contemporaneous Migration, City and Citizenship Chapter 3 To be a cityzen of where? Chapter 4 To live as a cityzen: class-based cosmopolitan cityzenship Chapter 5 Cityzenship and the Hukou System Chapter 6 A ‘Modern’ Cityzen Chapter 7 Conclusion

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