The diverse nature of environmental problems mankind has encountered within the last decade has developed a new understanding of the nature of environmental processes. Currently, the environment is considered as a continuum of air, soil and water as the vital components for sustaining life on earth. The interactive nature of these components requires that the environment is managed and protected as a cohesive whole. This can only be accomplished through an integrated approach to environmen...

An integrated approach to environmental data management is necessitated by the complexity of the environmental problems that need to be addresses, coupled with the interdisciplinary approach that needs to be adopted to solve them. Agenda 21 of the Rio Environmental Conference mandated international programmes and organizations to take steps to develop common data and information management plans, and steps have been taken in this direction.The key word that defines the framework of ...

It is now accepted that humans are changing the climate of the Earth and this is the most compelling amongst a long litany of reasons as to why, collectively, we have to change our ways of thinking and acting. Most people now recognise that we have to be capable of adapting quickly as new and uncertain circumstances emerge: this capability will need to exist at personal, group, community, regional, national and international levels, all at the same time.Systems Practice is structur...

Personal computers have made life convenient in many ways, but what about their impacts on the environment due to production, use and disposal? Manufacturing computers requires prodigious quantities of fossil fuels, toxic chemicals and water. Rapid improvements in performance mean we often buy a new machine every 1-3 years, which adds up to mountains of waste computers. How should societies respond to manage these environmental impacts?This volume addresses the environmental impacts...

This book provides a comprehensive discussion on urban growth and sprawl, and how they can be analyzed using remote sensing imageries. It compiles views of numerous researchers that help in understanding the urban growth and sprawl; their patterns, process, causes, consequences, and countermeasures; how remote sensing data and geographic information system techniques can be used in mapping, monitoring, measuring, analyzing, and simulating the urban growth and sprawl and what are the merits...

This book shows how to do systems thinking and translate that thinking into praxis (theory informed practical action). It will be welcomed by those managing or governing in situations of complexity and uncertainty across all domains of professional and personal life. The development of capabilities to think and act systemically is an urgent priority. Humans are now a force of nature, affecting whole-earth dynamics including the earth's climate - we live in an Anthropocene or Capitalocene a...

The book offers a broad overview of asset management processes for different utilities, with a special emphasis on energy and water. It provides readers with important practical considerations concerning the development of new competitive structures and procedures for guaranteeing a sufficient supply of energy and water in a regulated environment, using clearly defined technical and economic cornerstones. On the one hand asset owners expect suitable interests from their investment and busi...

Web Programming for Business: PHP Object-Oriented Programming with Oracle focuses on fundamental PHP coding, giving students practical, enduring skills to solve data and technical problems in business.Using Oracle as the backend database, the book is version-neutral, teaching students code that will still work even with changes to PHP and Oracle. The code is clean, clearly explained and solutions-oriented, allowing students to understand how technologies such as XML, RSS o...

This work is the definitive guide for IT managers and agile practitioners. It elucidates the principles of agile risk management and how these relate to individual projects. Explained in clear and concise terms, this synthesis of project risk management and agile techniques is illustrated using the major methodologies such as XP, Scrum and DSDM.Although the agile community frequently cites risk management, research suggests that risk is often narrowly defined and, at best, implicit...

Job titles like “Technical Architect” and “Chief Architect” nowadays abound in software industry, yet many people suspect that “architecture” is one of the most overused and least understood terms in professional software development.Gorton’s book tries to resolve this dilemma. It concisely describes the essential elements of knowledge and key skills required to be a software architect. The explanations encompass the essentials of architecture thinking, practices, and supporting te...

This book is not designed to be an exhaustive work on mine wastes. It aims to serve undergraduate students who wish to gain an overview and an understanding of wastes produced in the mineral industry. An introductory textbook addressing the science of such wastes is not available to students despite the importance of the mineral industry as a resource, wealth and job provider. Also, the growing imp- tance of the topics mine wastes, mine site pollution and mine site rehabilitation in univer...

5 REFERENCES 127 7 DIGITAL TERRAIN 129 1. 1 INTRODUCTION 129 1. 2 DRAINAGE NETWORK 130 1. 3 DEFINITION OF CHANNEL NETWORKS 135 1. 4 RESOLUTION DEPENDENT EFFECTS 138 1. 5 CONSTRAINING DRAINAGE DIRECTION 141 1. 6 SUMMARY 145 1. 7 REFERENCES 146 8 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT 149 1. 1 INTRODUCTION 149 1. 2 RAIN GAUGE ESTIMATION OF RAINFALL 151 ADAR STIMATION OF RECIPITATION 1. 3 R E P 155 1. 4 WSR-88D RADAR CHARACTERISTICS 167 1. 5 INPUT FOR HYDROLOGIC MODELING 172 1. 6 SUMMARY 174 1. 7 RE...