Natur

This book covers over 24 country studies on various dimensions associated with the geographical spread of COVID-19. The chapters in the book, from geographically diversified countries, assert the need to undertake intensive regional research in order to understand the global pattern of Coronavirus focusing on infection migration, and indigenous origin that has caused tremendous global economic, social and health disaster. The book contends that understanding of peoples' behaviour is crucial towards safety measures against infection, as COVID-19 impacted to a greater extent social wellbeing of population because of lockdowns in all corners of the world.Some of the countries featured are USA, France, Italy, Hong Kong, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Pacific Islands, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Nigeria, Mexico, Peru and Brazil.

Against the background of unprecedented rates of urbanisation in the Global South, leading to massive social, economic and environmental transformations, this book engages with the dire need to understand the ecology of such settings as the foundation for fostering sustainable and resilient human settlements in contexts that are very different to the Global North. It does so by bringing together scholars from around the world, drawing together research and case studies from across the Global South to illustrate, in an interdisciplinary and comprehensive fashion, the ecology of towns and cities in the Global South. Framed using a social-ecological systems lens, it provides the reader with an in-depth analysis and understanding of the ecological dynamics and ecosystem services and disservices within the complex and rapidly changing towns and cities of the Global South, a region with currently scarce representation in most of the urban ecology literature. As such the book makes a call forgreater geographical balance in urban ecology research leading towards a more global understanding and frameworks. The book embraces the complexity of these rapid transformations for ecological and environmental management and how the ecosystems and the benefits they provide shape local ecologies, livelihood opportunities and human wellbeing, and how such knowledge can be mobilised towards improved urban design and management and thus urban sustainability.

The contributed volume puts emphasis on a superior role of water in (bio)systems exposed to a mechanical stimulus. It is well known that water plays an extraordinary role in our life. It feeds mammalian or other organism after distributing over its whole volume to support certain physiological and locomotive (friction-adhesion) processes to mention but two of them, both of extreme relevance.Water content, not only in the mammalian organism but also in other biosystems such as whether those of soil which is equipped with microbiome or the ones pertinent to plants, having their own natural network of water vessels, is always subjected to a force field.The decisive force field applied to the biosystems makes them biomechanically agitated irrespective of whether they are subjected to external or internal force-field conditions. It ought to be noted that the decisive mechanical factor shows up in a close relation with the space-and-time scale in which it is causing certain specific phenomena to occur.The scale problem, emphasizing the range of action of gravitational force, thus the millimeter or bigger force vs. distance scale, is supposed to enter the so-called macroscale approach to water transportation through soil or plants¿ roots system. It is merely related to a percolation problem, which assumes to properly inspect the random network architecture assigned to the biosystems invoked. The capillarity conditions turn out to be of prior importance, and the porous-medium effect has to be treated, and solved in a fairly approximate way.The deeper the scale is penetrated by a force-exerting and hydrated agent the more non-gravitational force fields manifest. This can be envisaged in terms of the corresponding thermodynamic (non-Newtonian) forces, and the phenomena of interest are mostly attributed to suitable changes of the osmotic pressure. In low Reynolds number conditions, thus inthe (sub)micrometer distance-scale zone, they are related with the corresponding viscosity changes of the aqueous, e.g. cytoplasmatic solutions, of semi-diluted and concentrated (but also electrolytic) characteristics. For example, they can be observed in articulating systems of mammals, in their skin, and to some extent, in other living beings, such as lizards, geckos or even insects. Through their articulating devices an external mechanical stimulus is transmitted from macro- to nanoscale, wherein the corresponding osmotic-pressure conditions apply.The content of the proposed work can be distributed twofold. First, the biomechanical mammalian-type (or, similar) systems with extraordinary relevance of water for their functioning will be presented, also including a presentation of water itself as a key physicochemical system/medium. Second, the suitably chosen related systems, mainly of soil and plant addressing provenience, will be examined thoroughly. As a common denominator of all of them, it is proposed to look at their hydrophobic and/or (de)hydration effects, and how do they impact on their basic mechanical (and related, such as chemo-mechanical or piezoelectric, etc.) properties. An additional tacit assumption employed throughout the monograph concerns statistical scalability of the presented biosystems which is equivalent to take for granted a certain similarity between local and global system¿s properties, mostly those of mechanical nature. The presented work¿s chapters also focus on biodiversity and ecological aspects in the world of animals and plants, and the related systems. The chapters¿ contents underscore the bioinspiration as the key landmark of the proposed monograph.

VIDEO FLIP-THROUGH: .facebook.com/xenia.elizabeth.zilli.ART/videos/658433374534163Whether you are someone who loves animals and are concerned about their survival, or someone who just loves colouring - this book is for you.The 'Colour Me Alive: Endangered Species Colouring Book 1' features:: 31 single sided illustrations to colour which vary between simple, slightly and heavily shaded line art, featuring different endangered species of animals such as butterflies, pandas, bees, dragonflies, hummingbirds, turtles and more. A full page of introduction text about endangered species in general, as well as separate pages with facts about each endangered species presented. Three fun colouring pages with endangered species related craft projects.This book is created with the aim to aid the conservationists' effort around the world by raising awareness to the problem and inspire you to find ways to protect endangered species and their habitats locally and globally. 100% of the funds received from the sales of this book are going to the 'ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY' in Koropi Greece to help preserve endangered species and their habitats.

This book considers how rurality interacts with the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and communities in different regional settings.

This volume offers readers insight into social constructionist approaches to identity and authenticity. It focuses on the processes of identification and authentication, rather than on subjective experiences of selfhood.

This book addresses the multifaceted problems arising from high energy demand. It highlights the need for a multi-dimensional analysis of the relationship between energy and other sectors is needed while providing constructive policy recommendations.

The book aims to illustrate the complexity of patterns of crime and fear in public places with examples of studies on these topics contextualized in different cities and countries around the world.

The contributors to this volume examine the actual workings and on-the-ground effects of contemporary political economic shifts in the Global South, and implications for reconfiguring social networks, conceptions and practices of governance, and burgeoning social movements.

This book explains how Chinäs legal system is gradually being mobilized to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in China and achieve adaptation to climate change. This will be an important resource for scholars of international law, environmental law, and Chinese law.

This book focuses on the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) in Africa, and examines the role of the private sector in the fight against poverty.

This book explores the experiences, causes, and consequences of food insecurity in different geographical regions and historical eras. It highlights collective action and political action aimed at food sovereignty as solutions to mitigate suffering.

This is a key text for those studying water governance and management. Taking on a multi- and inter-disciplinary viewpoint, Water Resources and Economic Processes offers an up-to-date collection of contributions from leading scholars and gathers research on important aspects of relevant fields.

The relationship between Africa and Europe is of high strategic importance. This volume studies the ongoing dynamics between the two continents by adopting a pluralist understanding of international relations which encompasses non-state actors as well as states.

This book offers a critical examination of the latest published research on sport and environmental sustainability. It examines how strategic management, policy and education influence the relationship between sport and the natural environment, and how the advancement of knowledge via research journals can have an impact on policy and practice.

This book explores attitudes and strategies towards the return of the wild in times of ecological crisis, focusing on wolves in Europe.The contributions from a variety of disciplines discuss human encounters with wolves, engaging with traditional narratives and contemporary conflicts.

Visual Participatory Arts Based Research in the Cities maps ontological, aesthetic and ethic differences between humanist and posthumanist arts-based research, while providing insight on methodological orientations to develop arts-based research with frameworks based on process-philosophies.

This book contains high-quality and original research on computational intelligence for green smart cities research. In recent years, the use of smart city technology has rapidly increased through the successful development and deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) architectures. The citizens' quality of life has been improved in several sensitive areas of the city, such as transportation, buildings, health care, education, environment, and security, thanks to these technological advancesComputational intelligence techniques and algorithms enable a computational analysis of enormous data sets to reveal patterns that recur. This information is used to inform and improve decision-making at the municipal level to build smart computational intelligence techniques and sustainable cities for their citizens. Machine intelligence allows us to identify trends (patterns). The smart city could better integrate its transportation network, for example. By offering a better public transportation network adapted to the demand, we could reduce personal vehicles and energy consumption. A smart city could use models to predict the consequences of a change, such as pedestrianizing a street or adding a bike lane. A city can even create a 3D digital twin to test hypothetical projects. This book comprises many state-of-the-art contributions from scientists and practitioners working in machine intelligence and green smart cities. It aspires to provide a relevant reference for students, researchers, engineers, and professionals working in this area or those interested in grasping its diverse facets and exploring the latest advances in machine intelligence for green and sustainable smart city applications.