Education Reform in the American States is a timely evaluation of the accountability movement in American public education, culminating in the No Child Left Behind Act, federal legislation of 2002. The authors treat the current accountability movement, placing it in historical context and addressing the evolution in public education policymaking from the overwhelming emphasis on state and local discretion to increasing federal oversight and mandates related to federal funding. They provide...

The 2014 midterm congressional elections provided a view of the attitude of American voters in the sixth year of Barack Obama’s presidency. This book provides insight about the formative aspects of the 2014 campaign season as well as in depth coverage of key races for Congress. The first section has four chapters that cover the substance of topics that impacted this campaign cycle: the popularity and productivity of the 113th Congress, voter suppression laws passed in many states, the role...

Abstract This chapter defines food security as the condition reached when a nation’s population has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet its dietary needs and food preferences. It stresses China’s importance to global food security because of its population size. The chapter introduces the contents of the volume and then treats briefly food security in ancient and dynastic (211 bc–1912) China. It examines environmental stressors, such as population growth, natural disast...

The 2010 Midterm Elections were momentous in the history of U.S. campaigns. Readers of this book will follow the path of seven House and six Senate races from inception to election postmortem. The chapters are both narrative and provide analysis of an array of interesting and diverse contests from throughout the country. Each entry was written by one or more experts living in the state or region of the race. The authors provide succinct and highly readable chapters meant to illustrate the ...

Essential reading for all studying horticulture and keen gardeners. This clear introduction to the principles underlying the practical applications of horticulture opens up the excitement of growing plants and garden development without readers wading through complex information. Written by a team of highly motivated and experienced horticultural tutors, the text supports the newly restructured RHS Level 2 qualifications with related Level 3 topics in boxes and signposting to Level 4 topic...

How does nature work? When one looks closely at the enormously complex web of life, it is impossible not to be caught by the wonder of how all living things – including rocks and crystals – are interconnected. Just as there is thought behind action, so there is energy behind matter. The Fertile Earth, the third volume of the Eco-Technology series which presents the original, passionate and convincing research of Viktor Schauberger in translation for the first time, contains his groundbreak...

One of the early set of reforms that South Africa embarked on after emerging from apartheid was in the water sector, following a remarkable, consultative process. The policy and legal reforms were comprehensive and covered almost all aspects of water management including revolutionary changes in defining and allocating rights to water, radical reforms in water management and supply institutions, the introduction of the protection of environmental flows, and major shifts in charging for wat...

This book presents cases from different countries with a main focus on the perspectives of using precision farming in Europe. Divided into 12 chapters it addresses some of the most recent developments and aspects of precision farming. The intention of this book is to provide an overview of some of the most promising technologies with precision agriculture from an economic point of view. Each chapter has been put together so that it can be read individually should the reader wish to focus o...

In Enemy Within, Don Watson takes a memorable journey into the heart of the United States in the year 2016 – and the strangest election campaign that country has seen.Travelling in the Midwest, Watson reflects on the rise of Donald Trump and the “thicket of unreality” that is the American media. Behind this he finds a deeply fearful and divided culture. Watson considers the irresistible pull – for Americans – of the Dream of exceptionalism, and asks whethe...

This book shows how Rwanda’s development model and the organisation of genocide are two sides of the same coin. In the absence of mineral resources, the elite organised and managed the labour of peasant producers as efficient as possible. In order to stay in power and benefit from it, the presidential clan chose a development model that would not change the political status quo. When the latter was threatened, the elite invoked the preservation of group welfare of the Hutu, called for Hutu...

The monoculture systems that have been encouraged by governments since the 1960s have led to major socio-economic and environmental crises. Now the diversification of tree crop systems is advancing throughout the tropics. Why and when does diversification take place? What categories of farmers diversify? What obstacles do they have to overcome, and how do public and private policies interfere in this process? How do land use systems and landscapes evolve as a result of this diversification...

How did Farage persuade Reckless and Carswell to ditch the Conservatives? Would UKIP ever do a deal with another party? How have three near-death experiences shaped Farage's politics? How does Nigel feel about controversial kippers and their high-profile gaffes? Twenty-one years after its formation as a single-policy protest party, and on the eve of what promises to be one of the closest, most exciting general elections in recent memory, the truly remarkable rise of UKIP and its charismati...