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This book enhances the discussion of anthropized soils with photographs of soil profiles and provides general information about soils in Japan, using data on their physical and chemical properties. Soils targeted in this book have wide spectra in anthropized influences from lesser effects such as agricultural improvements to drastic changes caused by infrastructure construction. These include soils sealed by technic hard materials, on ski slopes, on river embankments and coastal berms, in historical urban parks, on man-made islands in Tokyo Bay, in reclaimed lands, in greenhouse fields, and those filling in swamplands. These examples supported with data can be a bridge between agriculture an...
This book introduces what sclerotia grains are, and where and how they exist in soils, by compiling the results obtained from the studies on fungal sclerotia formed by Cenococcum geophilum (Cg) and related species, the visible black small grains persistent for a few thousand to ten thousands of years in forest soils and sediments. The chapters contain the results and discussions on the ecological distribution and regulating factors, characteristics, and function of Cg sclerotia grains, carried out by researchers from soil geography, soil science, soil microbiology, physiology, forestry, analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, material science, and related disciplines. The anatomy of sclerotia grains in soil was realized in terms of interdisciplinary joint researches, which resulted in deepening understanding of the ecological function of the mesoscale organic component in soils. This book covers the natural history of sclerotia in soils, pedo-sclerotiology.
The developing world is looking for effective, creative ideas for upscaling clean, renewable energy. No place will gain more socially, economically, and environmentally from increased access to clean, reliable energy than poor, rural areas. Biomass energy, produced from animal and crop wastes, is a sensible renewable energy option for rural areas and it can be cost-effective at community and industry scales if guided effectively by governments. This publication explores the potential of biomass energy to close the urban–rural energy gap, raise farmer incomes, and mend the environment in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Its findings are instructive for other developing and medium-incom...
In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors details through archaeological analysis, the dispersal of our species, Homo sapiens, providing a broad examination of evidence for early human migration into Asia and Oceania. Those migrations are crucial to our understanding of the global story of human evolution and cultural diversification. Chapters from an international team of experts provide the new geographical and temporal coverage. Controversies around timing, pathways, and competing models of migrations are explored in regions where archaeological data can be scarce. Genetic and archaeological data often seem inconsistent, but this book uses syntheses of archaeological evidence to give an updated view of our current knowledge of when and how these regions were first settled. These analyses help us understand the pattern of human movement and adaptation that led to the contemporary distribution of our species. This book provides the latest coverage of this important topic and contributes to thinking about the history of our species. In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors is an essential text for researchers and students of archaeology, anthropology, and human evolution.
FAO teamed up with the World Bank on this strategic analysis of the investment, policy and institutional support needed to shift South Sudan’s agriculture sector from humanitarian relief to a development-oriented growth path. The team carried out a thorough review of lessons learned in South Sudan and other conflict-affected countries and held consultations with a wide range of stakeholders in the country. As a result, four complementary investment strategies were identified: agriculture production and food security; community resilience and social capital; value chain development and jobs; and peace consolidation. The authors advocate for combining these four strategies in a flexible way,...
The long-standing debate on public vs. private healthcare systems has forced an examination of these organizations, in particular whether these approaches play corresponding or conflicting roles in service to global citizens. Healthcare Management and Economics: Perspectives on Public and Private Administration discusses public and private healthcare organizations by gathering perspectives on the differences in service, management, delivery, and efficiency. Highlighting the impact of citizens and information technology in these healthcare processes, this book is a vital collection of research for practitioners, academics, and scholars in the healthcare management field.
This pathbreaking book grapples with an established reality: well-intentioned international development programs often generate local conflict, some of which escalates to violence. To understand how such conflicts can be managed peacefully, the authors have undertaken a comprehensive mixed-methods analysis of one of the world's largest participatory development projects, the highly successful Kecamatan Development Program (KDP), which was launched by the World Bank and the Indonesian government in the late 1990s and now operates in every district across Indonesia. --
"Foreign investments by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the oil and gas sector began a dramatic climb in the late 1990s amid rising oil prices. These investments are widely perceived to be politically driven, raising concerns about resource mercantilism and asymmetric interdependence. The book begins with the premise that the investments are commercial ventures by ambitious SOEs seeking to become global players. Applying the principal agent model, the book argues that the realization of their global ambitions depends on two domestic structural factors. First, democracies can limit investments with questionable viability, as it can be politically costly for elected leaders to endorse SOE decisions that prove unprofitable for the state. Second, bureaucratic structures overseeing the SOEs can help prevent counterproductive behavior, conditional upon a clear line of authority among bureaucratic principals on matters pertaining to SOE operations. The argument differs from previous approaches by exploring a range of institutional alternatives to privatization for solutions to problems of oil sector governance"--
This book is about the consequences of the Fukushima disaster in light of their technological, societal, political, cultural and environmental origins. The magnitude of the nuclear accident is investigated in this book in the contexts of politics, economy, and society. The authors scrutinize the relationships between science, technology and society leading to this accident. Further, the authors reveal how these relationships were constructed historically. This book provides a case analysis on the Fukushima disaster in political, societal, economic and cultural dimensions. In addition, analyses for historically grown relationships between different societal spheres mouthing into disasters are...