Renewable Energy and Sustainable Buildings


Book Description

This book contains selected papers presented during the World Renewable Energy Network’s 28thanniversary congress at the University of Kingston in London. The forum highlighted the integration of renewables and sustainable buildings as the best means to combat climate change. In-depth chapters written by the world’s leading experts highlight the most current research and technological breakthroughs and discuss policy, renewable energy technologies and applications in all sectors – for heating and cooling, agricultural applications, water, desalination, industrial applications and for the transport sectors. Presents cutting-edge research in green building and renewable energy from all over the world; Covers the most up-to-date research developments, government policies, business models, best practices and innovations; Contains case studies and examples to enhance practical application of the technologies.




ECEG2013- 13th European Conference on eGovernment


Book Description

These proceedings represent the work of authors at the 13th European Conference on e-Government (ECEG 2013). The Conference this year is hosted by the Iuniversity of Insubria in Como, Italy. The Conference Chair is Professor Walter Castelnovo and the Programme Chair is Professor Elena Ferrari, both are fro the Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences at the University of Insubria. The opening keynote address is given by Dr Gianluca Misuraca from the European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Seville, Spain and Gianluca is addressing the topic "eGovernment: Past, Present & Future: A policy-research perspective for renewing governance in the digital age". The second day of the conference is opened by Dr Antoinio Cordella from the London School of Economics, London, UK, who will talk about "Public value creation: the new challenge for e-government policies". ECEG brings together, researchers, Government officials and practitioners in the area of e-Government from around the world. Participants are able to share their research findings and explore the latest developments and trends in the field which can then be disseminated to the wider community. With an initial submission of 153 abstracts, after the double blind, peer review process there are papers published in these Conference Proceedings from 40 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Eygpt, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UK and USA. This will ensure a very interesting two days.




Warlord Democrats in Africa


Book Description

Post-war democratization has been identified as a crucial mechanism to build peace in war-ridden societies, supposedly allowing belligerents to compete through ballots rather than bullets. A byproduct of this process, however, is that military leaders often become an integral part of the new democratic system, using resources and networks generated from the previous war to dominate the emerging political landscape. The crucial and thus-far overlooked question to be addressed, therefore, is what effect the inclusion of ex-militaries into electoral politics has on post-war security. Can 'warlord democrats' make a positive contribution by shepherding their wartime constituencies to support the building of peace and democracy, or are they likely to use their electoral platforms to sponsor political violence and keep war-affected communities mobilized through aggressive discourses? This important volume, containing a wealth of fresh empirical detail and theoretical insight, and focussing on some of Africa's most high-profile political figures – from Paul Kagame to Riek Machar to Afonso Dhlakama – represents a crucial intervention in the literature of post-war democratization.




Textbook of Israeli Hebrew


Book Description

The aim of this book is to enable the student to read, write, and speak acceptable Israeli Hebrew and to understand less complex biblical Hebrew. A unique feature is the author's use of the principles of structural analysis. For students who are not acquainted with a language other than English, he elucidates those features of the language that are unfamiliar in the structure of English. The student is trained, from the first, to read "unvocalized" script as the native reader does, and "reading clues" (word and phrase patterns) are provided for this purpose. The work is organized into sections that can be worked through in an academic year—presentation of features, text samples, exercises, grammatical synopses, and individual and comprehensive glossaries. This text may be used by teachers without specialized training in linguistics. It can be used by self-teaching students as well as by those at college level, and it will valuable for immigrants to Israel.







Water, Energy & Food Sustainability in the Middle East


Book Description

This book provides a survey of technologies available to tackle the problems associated with climate change in the energy, water and food security nexus with a special focus on the Middle East. It is divided into three main sections. The energy Section consists of six chapters, the water section of seven chapters and finally the food security section has six chapters. The individual chapters are authored by experts and provide discussions and in-depth views on the current status of each topic.




Translating the Paris Agreement into Action in the Pacific


Book Description

This book provides an insight into how a country contributes to the GHG emissions reductions required to keep global warming within the limits set by the Paris Agreement arrived at COP21 in 2015. It shows what actions are needed for the implementation plan that Fiji will use to satisfy its quota (i.e. its Nationally Determined Contribution or NDC) of the total GHG emissions reductions. It is a primary resource material for those who wish to obtain an understanding of the science behind climate change mitigation. It reveals the behind-the-scenes action that takes place to convert the rhetoric of climate change into the action on the ground that actually reduces the GHG emissions and global warming. The book also presents a critique of methods adopted by nations in meeting their NDCs to emissions reductions as agreed at the Paris Agreement, and suggests improvements.




Selected Topics in the Chemistry of Natural Products


Book Description

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 A Globe and Mail Best Books of the Year 2011 Title A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2011 title Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world. Francis Fukuyama, author of the bestselling The End of History and the Last Man and one of our most important political thinkers, provides a sweeping account of how today’s basic political institutions developed. The first of a major two-volume work, The Origins of Political Order begins with politics among our primate ancestors and follows the story through the emergence of tribal societies, the growth of the first modern state in China, the beginning of the rule of law in India and the Middle East, and the development of political accountability in Europe up until the eve of the French Revolution. Drawing on a vast body of knowledge—history, evolutionary biology, archaeology, and economics—Fukuyama has produced a brilliant, provocative work that offers fresh insights on the origins of democratic societies and raises essential questions about the nature of politics and its discontents.




The Chinese are the Worst?


Book Description

Examines conditions at China Nonferrous Metal Mining Company (CNMC) and Zambia's mining enterprises, and empirically evaluates practices implicating rights related to safety, wages, hours, unions, and job security in order to evaluate assertions by Human Rights Watch (HRW) that CNMC engages in labor abuses and is a "bad employer" compared to Western-based foreign investors.




The Great East Window of York Minster


Book Description

After an immense process of careful restoration and conservation, the outstanding artistry of the Great East Window is revealed afresh through state-of-the art photography that captures the complete sequence of major panels, in corrected placements, for the very first time. At the size of a tennis court, it is the largest single expanse of medieval stained glass in Britain and one of the largest medieval windows ever made. This visual feast is brought to life by expert author Sarah Brown, who explores the history, artistry, meaning and restoration of the window, revealing new insights on a fragile masterpiece that has been described as England's Sistine Chapel. Ground breaking new research has shed exciting new light on the window's complex narratives, relating its story to the Minster's history and liturgy. The Great East Window of York Minster explores the window's biblical presentation of the beginning and end of time, the window's relationships with other media and the technical processes behind its creation. This stunning, illustrated hardback presents an engaging contextual analysis of the window's unequivocal position as an English masterpiece.