From Structures to Services


Book Description




Long-term Performance and Durability of Masonry Structures


Book Description

Long-Term Performance and Durability of Masonry Structures: Degradation Mechanisms, Health Monitoring and Service Life Design focuses on the long-term performance of masonry and historical structures. The book covers a wide range of related topics, including degradation mechanisms in different masonry types, structural health monitoring techniques, and long-term performance and service life design approaches. Each chapter reflects recent findings and the state-of-the-art, providing practical guidelines. Key topics covered include the theoretical background, transport properties, testing and modeling, protective measures and standards and codes. The book's focus is on individual construction materials, the composite system and structural performance. - Covers all issues related to durability, including degradation mechanisms, testing and design, monitoring and service life design - Focuses on different masonry construction types - Presents a 'one-stop' reference for advanced postgraduate courses that focuses on the durability of masonry and historical constructions




Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean


Book Description

This volume examines violence across Latin America and the Caribbean to demonstrate the importance of subnational analysis over national aggregates.




International Mobility, Global Capitalism, and Changing Structures of Accumulation


Book Description

International mobility is not a new concept as people have moved throughout history, voluntarily and forcibly, for personal, familial, economic, political, and professional reasons. Yet, the mobility of technical talent in the global economy is relatively new, largely voluntary, structurally determined by market forces, and influenced by immigration policies. With over a decade’s worth of extensive research in India, Japan, Finland, and Singapore, this book provides an alternative understanding of how capitalism functions at the global level by specifically analyzing the international movement of technical professionals between India and Japan. There are three factors that inform this study: the services transition away from manufacturing, the movement of technical professionals in the world economy, and the demographic crisis facing Japan. The dynamics of changing capitalism are examined by theorizing the emergence of the services sector in the USA and Japan, analyzing the pronounced social inequality in India that is the basis for the global supply of highly skilled technical professionals, and providing considerable empirical data on the flows of professionals to these two countries to indicate Japan’s institutional inflexibility in accommodating foreign talent. The author anticipates that Japanese industry will shed some of its institutional rigidity due to the pressures of competition and the scarcity of technical professionals. Providing a wealth of information on the topic of international mobility, this book is an essential addition for scholars and students in the field of International Development, Business Studies, Asian Studies, Migration Studies, and Political Economy.




Strategies, Structures, and Processes for Network and Resources Management in Industrial Parks


Book Description

In the recent years the number of industrial parks has grown rapidly worldwide driven by economic policies and industrial restructuring. The high resource consumption and prices as well as stringent environmental policies and laws have pushed the strategic importance of efficient resources management. Due to the proximity of companies, industrial parks offer potential for the development of interorganizational resource exchanges, in terms of energy and waste, infrastructure sharing and joint services. Utilizing this potential enhances the resource efficiency and added value of companies while often reducing their environmental impacts. Efficient management of resources in industrial parks requires an appropriate management concept. However, the research and literature on the management of industrial parks is very limited. As a solution the author introduces the concept for integrated resources management. The theoretical status quo of the concept is studied from the perspective of industrial ecology with the conclusion that the approach lacks a strategic management dimension. To tackle the problem, the author draws upon the strategic management and organizational theories as well as the approaches of network and environmental management. The empirical insights into the concept are sought by analyzing applied practices to network and resources management in industrial parks. The case studies comprise representative examples of successful industrial restructuring from Germany such as DOW ValuePark(R) and Chemical Industrial Park Marl and showcases of China's economic policy such as Shanghai Chemical Industry Park and Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area. A reader will find in this book a sound theoretical framework to accommodate further research and practical decision support to manage resource problems characterized by conflicting stakeholder interests.




Governance Structures and Mechanisms in Public Service Organizations


Book Description

This book addresses the nexus of issues exploring governance structures and mechanisms in public service organizations, thus contributing to the development of disciplines that focus on public management. It goes beyond the state of the art by addressing a number of specific issues in a more systematic fashion. The book’s interdisciplinary focus is a particularly valuable asset, as its topic is situated at the crossroads of a number of fields, including public management, business administration, corporate governance, policy studies, political science, sociology, and third sector studies, all of which offer important perspectives and are important for the development of public management and public services. The book covers more than Italy and Norway and focuses specifically on public service organizations, addressing more aspects of their governance structures and mechanisms than any other book available today. The unique presentation of features related to the governance and management of different actors (state-owned enterprises, local public utilities, ministries, municipalities, citizens, etc.), involved at different levels in the production and provision of public services, makes it possible to compare and contrast these different perspectives and opens new avenues of theoretical collaboration and development.




Service Life Estimation and Extension of Civil Engineering Structures


Book Description

Service life estimation is an area of growing importance in civil engineering both for determining the remaining service life of civil engineering structures and for designing new structural systems with well-defined periods of functionality. Service life estimation and extension of civil engineering structures provides valuable information on the development and use of newer and more durable materials and methods of construction, as well as the development and use of new techniques of estimating service life.Part one discusses using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites to extend the service-life of civil engineering structures. It considers the key issues in the use of FRP composites, examines the possibility of extending the service life of structurally deficient and deteriorating concrete structures and investigates the uncertainties of using FRP composites in the rehabilitation of civil engineering structures. Part two discusses estimating the service life of civil engineering structures including modelling service life and maintenance strategies and probabilistic methods for service life estimation. It goes on to investigate non-destructive evaluation and testing (NDE/NDT) as well as databases and knowledge-based systems for service life estimation of rehabilitated civil structures and pipelines.With its distinguished editors and international team of contributors Service life estimation and extension of civil engineering structures is an invaluable resource to academics, civil engineers, construction companies, infrastructure providers and all those with an interest in improving the service life, safety and reliability of civil engineering structures. - A single source of information on the service life of reinforced concrete and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) rehabilitated structures - Examines degradation mechanisms in composites for rehabilitation considering uncertainties in FRP reliability - Provides an overview of probabilistic methods for rehabilitation and service life estimation of corroded structures







Global Property Investment


Book Description

Developments in the sophistication of global real estate markets mean that global real estate investment is now being executed professionally. Thanks to academic enquiry, professional analysis and entrepreneurial activity, backed by the globalisation of all investment activity, there is now an available body of material which forms the basis of this scholarly but practical summary of the new state of this art. The measurement, benchmarking, forecasting and quantitative management techniques applied to property investments are now compatible with those used in other asset classes, and advances in property research have at last put the ongoing debate about the role of real estate onto a footing of solid evidence. The truly global scope and authorship of this book is unique, and both authors here are singularly well qualified to summarise the impact and likely future of global innovations in property research and fund management. Between them, they have experienced three real estate crashes, and have observed at first hand the creation of the real estate debt and equity instruments that led to the global crisis of 2008-9. Global Property Investment: strategies, structure, decisions offers a unique perspective of the international real estate investment industry with: a close focus on solutions to real life investment problems no excessive theoretical padding a target of both students and professionals highly qualified dual-nationality authorship With many cases, problems and solutions presented throughout the book, and a companion website used for deeper analysis and slides presentations (see below), this is a key text for higher-level real estate students on BSc, MSc, MPhil and MBA courses worldwide as well as for practising property professionals worldwide in fund management, investment and asset management, banking and real estate advisory firms.




Streamlining Federal Field Structures


Book Description