All the cost data you need to keep your estimating accurate, competitive and profitable. Do you work on jobs between 50 and 50,000? Then this book is for you. Specially written for contractors, quantity surveyors and clients carrying out small works, this book contains accurate information on thousands of rates each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit.More than just a price book, it gives easy-to-read professional advice on setting up and running a business.

All the cost data you need to keep your estimating accurate, competitive and profitable.Do you work on jobs between 50 and 50,000? - Then this book is for you.Specially written for contractors and small businesses carrying out small works, Spon's Estimating Cost Guide to Plumbing and Heating contains accurate information on thousands of rates each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit.The first book to include typical project costs for: rainwater goods installations bathrooms external waste systems central heating systems hot and cold water systems.

Specifically written for contractors and small businesses carrying out small works, this second edition of Spon's Estimating Cost Guide to Small Groundworks, Landscaping Work and Gardening contains accurate information on thousands of rates, each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit.This is the first book to focus on this range of external work, including garden maintenance work on blocks of flats and individual houses, schools and sports fields, garden makeovers, laying patios and paths, small land drainage schemes on farmland, and small-scale local authority maintenance work.

The potential application areas for polymer composites are vast. While techniques and methodologies for composites design are relatively well established, the knowledge and understanding of post-design issues lag far behind. This leads to designs and eventually composites with disappointing properties and unnecessarily high cost, thus impeding a wider industrial acceptance of polymer composites. Manufacturing of Polymer Composites completely covers pre- and post-design issues. While the book enables students to become fully comfortable with composites as a possible materials choice, it also provides sufficient knowledge about manufacturing-related issues to permit them to avoid common pitfalls and unmanufacturable designs. The book is a fully comprehensive text covering all commercially significant materials and manufacturing techniques while at the same time discussing areas of research and development that are nearing commercial reality.

Despite major advances in healthcare over the past century, the successful treatment of cancer has remained a significant challenge, and cancers are the second leading cause of death worldwide behind cardiovascular disease. Early detection and survival are important issues to control cancer. The development of quantitative methods and computer technology has facilitated the formation of new models in medical and biological sciences. The application of mathematical modelling in solving many real-world problems in medicine and biology has yielded fruitful results. In spite of advancements in instrumentations technology and biomedical equipment, it is not always possible to perform experiments in medicine and biology for various reasons. Thus, mathematical modelling and simulation are viewed as viable alternatives in such situations, and are discussed in this book. The conventional diagnostic techniques of cancer are not always effective as they rely on the physical and morphological appearance of the tumour. Early stage prediction and diagnosis is very difficult with conventional techniques. It is well known that cancers are involved in genome level changes. As of now, the prognosis of various types of cancer depends upon findings related to the data generated through different experiments. Several machine learning techniques exist in analysing the data of expressed genes; however, the recent results related with deep learning algorithms are more accurate and accommodative, as they are effective in selecting and classifying informative genes. This book explores the probabilistic computational deep learning model for cancer classification and prediction.

Stochastic Differential Equations for Science and Engineering is aimed at students at the M.Sc. and PhD level. The book describes the mathematical construction of stochastic differential equations with a level of detail suitable to the audience, while also discussing applications to estimation, stability analysis, and control. The book includes numerous examples and challenging exercises. Computational aspects are central to the approach taken in the book, so the text is accompanied by a repository on GitHub containing a toolbox in R which implements algorithms described in the book, code that regenerates all figures, and solutions to exercises. Features: Contains numerous exercises, examples, and applications Suitable for science and engineering students at Master's or PhD level Thorough treatment of the mathematical theory combined with an accessible treatment of motivating examples GitHub repository available at: https://github.com/Uffe-H-Thygesen/SDEbook and https://github.com/Uffe-H-Thygesen/SDEtools

Medicinal Agroecology: Reviews, Case Studies and Research Methodologies presents information on applications of 'green therapies' in restoration towards global sustainability. These practices connect the world of medicinal plants with ecologic farming practice creating a compassionate socio-political worldview and heartfelt scientific research towards food sovereignty and a healthier future on planet Earth. The book communicates benefits of using plant-based solutions to manage the challenges of unsustainable practices in human healthcare, veterinary medicine, agriculture, forestry, and water management. The contributions introduce advances around plants and their active components to potentially treat disease, regulate dysfunction, and balance ecosystems. These practices are explored in further depth through three sections - I. POLICIES & FRAMEWORKS, II. INSIGHTS & OVERVIEWS, III. CASE STUDIES & RESEARCH METHODS. Edited by Immo Fiebrig, Medicinal Agroecology: Reviews, Case Studies and Research Methodologies appeals to those in various disciplines including agriculture and agroecology, healthcare, environmental sciences, and veterinary medicine.

This book is based on deep learning approaches used for the diagnosis of neurological disorders, including basics of deep learning algorithms using diagrams, data tables, and practical examples, for diagnosis of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. It includes application of feed-forward neural networks, deep generative models, convolutional neural networks, graph convolutional networks, and recurrent neural networks in the field of diagnosis of neurological disorders. Along with this, data pre-processing including scaling, correction, trimming, normalization is also included. Offers a detailed description of the deep learning approaches used for the diagnosis of neurological disorders Demonstrates concepts of deep learning algorithms using diagrams, data tables, and examples for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders; neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric disorders. Helps build, train, and deploy different types of deep architectures for diagnosis Explores data pre-processing techniques involved in diagnosis Include real-time case studies and examples This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in biomedical imaging and machine learning.

The art of applying mathematics to real-world dynamical problems such as structural dynamics, fluid dynamics, wave dynamics, robot dynamics, etc. can be extremely challenging. Various aspects of mathematical modelling that may include deterministic or uncertain (fuzzy, interval, or stochastic) scenarios, along with integer or fractional order, are vital to understanding these dynamical systems. Mathematical Methods in Dynamical Systems offers problem-solving techniques and includes different analytical, semi-analytical, numerical, and machine intelligence methods for finding exact and/or approximate solutions of governing equations arising in dynamical systems. It provides a singular source of computationally efficient methods to investigate these systems and includes coverage of various industrial applications in a simple yet comprehensive way.

Discusses digital fashion design and e-prototyping, including 2D/3D CAD, fashion simulation, fit analysis, digital pattern cutting, marker making, and the zero-waste concept Covers digital human modelling and VR/AR technology Details digital fashion business and promotion, including application of e-tools for supply chain, e-commerce, block chain technologies, big data, and AI

Recent years have seen a surge of interest in 'the commons' based on a simple yet radical idea: great improvements in production and management could be achieved by reducing barriers to knowledge exchange and power-sharing. Ranging from meadows, forests and parks to language, open-source software (FLOSS and Blockchain) and 3D printers, the commons are distributed or common property resources/infrastructures that are self-managed by their user communities. While acknowledging the significant contributions that can be made through commons-based peer production, this book provides a critical examination of the commons with the aim of contributing to their long-term sustainability. In particular, the book examines the relation of Blockchain to the commons by illustrating the case study of the Commons Stack. Drawing on a range of interdisciplinary ideas and methodologies, the book argues that there are a number of economic and social barriers that are obstructing the wider reproduction of the commons. Problems with access to capital and training, the lack of entrepreneurial and managerial skills and the absence of institutional support from governments, larger co-ops and NGOs are some of the external difficulties facing the commons today. Meanwhile, localism, gated communities, vested interests, atavism, traditionalism, ideology, conflict, neo-conservatism and techno-elitism represent some of the internal contradictions inherent in the commons. Through overcoming these contradictions, the ultimate goal is to transform capitalism into the postcapitalism of the commons: the creation of a social economy self-organised around the commons. This book provides vital reading for anyone interested in the commons, from economics, techno-politics and across the social sciences.

Food is a contentious and emotive issue, subject to critiques from multiple perspectives. Alternative food movements - including the different articulations of local, food miles, seasonality, food justice, food knowledge and food sovereignty - consistently invoke themes around autonomy, sufficiency, cooperation, mutual aid, freedom, and responsibility. In this stimulating and provocative book the authors link these issues to utopias and intentional communities. Using a food utopias framework presented in the introduction, they examine food stories in three interrelated and complementary ways: utopias as critique of existing systems; utopias as engagement with experimentation of the novel, the forgotten, and the hopeful in the future of the food system; and utopias as process that recognizes the time and difficulty inherent in changing the status quo. The chapters address theoretical aspects of food utopias and also present case studies from a range of contexts and regions, including Argentina, Italy, Switzerland and USA. These focus on key issues in contemporary food studies including equity, locality, the sacred, citizenship, community and food sovereignty. Food utopias offers ways forward to imagine a creative and convivial food system.

Plastic is ubiquitous. It is in the Arctic, in the depths of the Mariana Trench, and in the high mountaintops of the Pyrenees. It is in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Nanoplastics penetrate our cell walls. Plastic is not just any material-it is emblematic of life in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In Plastic Matter Heather Davis traces plastic's relations to geology, media, biology, and race to show how matter itself has come to be understood as pliable, disposable, and consumable. The invention and widespread use of plastic, Davis contends, reveals the dominance of the Western orientation to matter and its assumption that matter exists to be endlessly manipulated and controlled by humans. Plastic's materiality and pliability reinforces these expectations of what matter should be and do. Davis charts these relations to matter by mapping the queer multispecies relationships between humans and plastic-eating bacteria and analyzing photography that documents the racialized environmental violence of plastic production. In so doing, Davis provokes readers to reexamine their relationships to matter and life in light of plastic's saturation.

This book explores an ongoing puzzle: why don't catastrophic events, such as oil shocks and nuclear meltdowns, always trigger transitions away from the energy technologies involved? Jennifer F. Sklarew examines how two key factors - shocks and stakeholder relationships - combine to influence energy system transitions, applying a case study of Japan's trajectory from the time of the 1970s oil crises through the period following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Examining the role of diverse stakeholders' resilience priorities, she focuses on how changes in stakeholder cooperation and clout respond to and are affected by these shocks, and how this combination of shocks and relationship changes shapes energy policies and policymaking. From Japan's narrative, the book derives unique and universal lessons for cooperation on innovation and energy system resilience applicable to communities and nations around the globe, including implications for transitions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book also places energy system resilience and innovation in the broader context of the food-energy-water-climate nexus. Building Resilient Energy Systems: Lessons from Japan will appeal to all levels of readers with an interest in energy policy, energy technologies and energy transitions: experts and specialists; academics and students; practitioners and policymakers.

Shipboard Propulsion, Power Electronics, and Ocean Energy fills the need for a comprehensive book that covers modern shipboard propulsion and the power electronics and ocean energy technologies that drive it. With a breadth and depth not found in other books, it examines the power electronics systems for ship propulsion and for extracting ocean energy, which are mirror images of each other. Comprised of sixteen chapters, the book is divided into four parts: Power Electronics and Motor Drives explains basic power electronics converters and variable-frequency drives, cooling methods, and quality of power Electric Propulsion Technologies focuses on the electric propulsion of ships using recently developed permanent magnet and superconducting motors, as well as hybrid propulsion using fuel cell, photovoltaic, and wind power Renewable Ocean Energy Technologies explores renewable ocean energy from waves, marine currents, and offshore wind farms System Integration Aspects discusses two aspects-energy storage and system reliability-that are essential for any large-scale power system This timely book evolved from the author's 30 years of work experience at General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and Westinghouse Electric and 15 years of teaching at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. As a textbook, it is ideal for an elective course at marine and naval academies with engineering programs. It is also a valuable reference for commercial and military shipbuilders, port operators, renewable ocean energy developers, classification societies, machinery and equipment manufacturers, researchers, and others interested in modern shipboard power and propulsion systems. The information provided herein does not necessarily represent the view of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy or the U.S. Department of Transportation. This book is a companion to Shipboard Electrical Power Systems (CRC Press, 2011), by the same author.

When we look at the state of the world today, what is most evident is the fact that the major problems of our time - energy, environment, economy, climate change and social justice - cannot be understood in isolation. They are interconnected problems, which means that they require corresponding systemic solutions. Today's global economy has brought about critical distress for ecosystems and societies and we have to go to the very root of the problems to find a way out. This volume develops a synthesized interpretation of ecological economics integrating different levels: (economic) system, (business) practice and the (economic) actor. It discusses how changes on a systems level are connected to changes in practice and development of individual consciousness. Transformative Ecological Economics delves into the insight and knowledge from different sources of inspiration (thermodynamics, Darwinism, anthroposophy and Buddhism) as well as into an integrated story describing and illustrating the core ideas, principles and values that characterize a utopian society anchored in ecological economics. Implementation of the deep changes demanded depends on our ability to write a new story, a utopian one for sure, but one which is in accordance with and based on the reality in which we live. This book will be of interest to those who study ecological economics, political economy and environmental economics.

Includes Recommendations for Analysis, Design Practice, Design Charts, Tables, and More Using a unified approach to address a medley of engineering and construction problems, Slope Stability Analysis and Stabilization: New Methods and Insight, Second Edition provides helpful practical advice and design resources for the practicing engineer. This text examines a range of current methods for the analysis and design of slopes, and details the limitations of both limit equilibrium and the finite element method in the assessment of the stability of a slope. It also introduces a variety of alternative approaches for overcoming numerical non-convergence and the location of critical failure surfaces in two-dimensional and three-dimensional cases. What's New in the Second Edition: This latest edition builds on the concepts of the first edition and covers the case studies involved in slope stability analysis in greater detail. The book adds a chapter on the procedures involved in performing limit equilibrium analysis, as well as a chapter on the design and construction practice in Hong Kong. It includes more examples and illustrations on the distinct element of slope, the relation between limit equilibrium and plasticity theory, the fundamental connections between slope stability analysis and the bearing capacity problem, as well as the stability of the three-dimensional slope under patch load conditions. Addresses new concepts in three-dimensional stability analysis, finite element analysis, and the extension of slope stability problems to lateral earth pressure problems Offers a unified approach to engineering and construction problems, including slope stability, bearing capacity, and earth pressure behind retaining structures Emphasizes how to translate the conceptual design conceived in the design office into physical implementation on site in a holistic way Discusses problems that were discovered during the development of associated computer programs This text assesses the fundamental assumptions and limitations of stability analysis methods and computer modelling, and benefits students taking an elective course on slope stability, as well as geotechnical engineering professionals specializing in slope stability

Most of the real-life signals are non-stationary in nature. The examples of such signals include biomedical signals, communication signals, speech, earthquake signals, vibration signals, etc. Time-frequency analysis plays an important role for extracting the meaningful information from these signals. The book presents time-frequency analysis methods together with their various applications. The basic concepts of signals and different ways of representing signals have been provided. The various time-frequency analysis techniques namely, short-time Fourier transform, wavelet transform, quadratic time-frequency transforms, advanced wavelet transforms, and adaptive time-frequency transforms have been explained. The fundamentals related to these methods are included. The various examples have been included in the book to explain the presented concepts effectively. The recently developed time-frequency analysis techniques such as, Fourier-Bessel series expansion-based methods, synchrosqueezed wavelet transform, tunable-Q wavelet transform, iterative eigenvalue decomposition of Hankel matrix, variational mode decomposition, Fourier decomposition method, etc. have been explained in the book. The numerous applications of time-frequency analysis techniques in various research areas have been demonstrated. This book covers basic concepts of signals, time-frequency analysis, and various conventional and advanced time-frequency analysis methods along with their applications. The set of problems included in the book will be helpful to gain an expertise in time-frequency analysis. The material presented in this book will be useful for students, academicians, and researchers to understand the fundamentals and applications related to time-frequency analysis.

The focus of municipalities has been on the supply of sufficient water quantities to the public with less attention paid to water quality. The deteriorating quality of raw water sources necessitates increased attention to water quality with professional scientists playing a central role at municipalities and water boards together with professional engineers. With many stringent regulations on the quality of drinking water and recreational water bodies, the young municipal chemist needs a handy manual to assist in the often neglected and complicated field of municipal water management. Grounded in Science, Introduction to Municipal Water Quality Management not only links theory and regulations in practice but also offers simple numerical examples to better understand the rules and encourage a quantitative application to everyday problems. Developed from a series of lectures between 2015 and 2019, Introduction to Municipal Water Quality Management will give young professionals the confidence to analyse their results and apply their knowledge in a numerical fashion.

This book contributes to the debate about the suitability and challenges of the Smart Water Management (SWM) approach. Smart Water Management has increasingly been promoted to manage water and wastewater more efficiently and cost effectively by industries and utilities in urban contexts at regional or city scales, while reducing overall consumption. It is based on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide real-time, automated data to resolve water challenges. Many of these technologies are complex and costly, however, and the approach tends to overlook cheaper and less high-tech (softer) approaches to address the same problems. Yet there may be opportunities for using them even in resource short rural communities in developing countries. The book includes examples of SWM systems in practice in diverse locations from Korea, Mexico, Paris, the Canary Islands and southern Africa, aimed at addressing a diverse set of problems, including monitoring water supply to refugees. Critical voices highlight the need for smart institutions to accompany smart technologies, the absurdity of applying SWM to dysfunctional legacy infrastructure systems, whether its adoption raises moral hazards, and whether SWM is the latest example of hegemonic masculinity in water management. The chapters in this book were originally published in Water International.

The text provides in-depth knowledge about recent advances in solar collector system, photovoltaic system, role of thermal energy systems in buildings, phase change materials, geothermal energy, biofuels, thermal management systems for EV in social and industrial applications. It further aims toward the inclusion of innovation and implementation of strategies for CO2 emission reduction through the reduction of energy consumption using conventional sources. This book: Presents the latest advances in the field of thermal energy storage, solar energy development, geothermal energy, and hybrid energy applications for green development. Highlights the importance of innovation and implementation of strategies for CO2 emission reduction through the reduction of energy consumption using sustainable technologies and methods. Discusses design development, life cycle assessment, modeling, and simulation of thermal energy systems in detail. Synergize exploration related to the various properties and functionalities through extensive theoretical and numerical modeling present in the energy sector. Explores opportunities, challenges, future perspectives, and approaches toward gaining sustainability through renewable energy resources. The text discusses the fundamentals of thermal energy and its applications in a comprehensive manner. It further covers advancements in solar thermal, and photovoltaic systems. The text highlights the contribution of geothermal energy conversion systems to sustainable development. It showcases the design and optimization of ground source heat pumps for space conditioning and presents modeling and simulation of the thermal energy systems for design optimization. It will serve as an ideal reference text for senior undergraduate, graduate students, and academic researchers in the fields including mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, and energy engineering.

Should there be firmer restrictions on trade, with more policies aimed at protecting its environmental impacts, or would the environment benefit most from unrestricted free trade? Do importing countries have a responsibility only to their local ecosystems, or are they also responsible for environmental degradation caused by the production of traded goods in exporting countries? Trading the Environment examines both the dependence and the effects of international trade on the earth's life support systems and looks at ways in which trading regulations could be adapted to promote ecologically sustainable economic development. It addresses the issues from a fully integrated approach, focusing on the interrelations between ecosystems, economic development and trade. The authors provide a carefully constructed ecological and economic analysis of trade and the environment, examine the existing legal and institutional frameworks and set out 16 recommendations to achieve environment beneficial trade at both national and international levels. Trading with the environment was originally commissioned by the Swedish government and is already regarded thereon essential reference. It makes an excellent introduction as well as constructive analysis, both for students and for policy-makers and professional economics and other scientists working on the issues. Published in 1995

As medical devices become even more intricate, concerns about efficacy, safety, and reliability continue to be raised. Users and patients both want the device to operate as specified, perform in a safe manner, and continue to perform over a long period of time without failure. Following in the footsteps of the bestselling second edition, Reliable Design of Medical Devices, Third Edition shows you how to improve reliability in the design of advanced medical devices. Reliability engineering is an integral part of the product development process and of problem-solving activities related to manufacturing and field failures. Mirroring the typical product development process, the book is organized into seven parts. After an introduction to the basics of reliability engineering and failures, it takes you through the concept, feasibility, design, verification and validation, design transfer and manufacturing, and field activity phases. Topics covered include Six Sigma for design, human factors, safety and risk analysis, and new techniques such as accelerated life testing (ALT) and highly accelerated life testing (HALT). What's New in This Edition Updates throughout, reflecting changes in the field An updated software development process Updated hardware test procedures A new layout that follows the product development process A list of deliverables needed at the end of each development phase Incorporating reliability engineering as a fundamental design philosophy, this book shares valuable insight from the author's more than 35 years of experience. A practical guide, it helps you develop a more effective reliability engineering program-contributing to increased profitability, more satisfied customers, and less risk of liability.

The current policy for climate change prioritises mitigation over adaptation. The collected papers of Climate Change as Environmental and Economic Hazard argue that although efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are still vital, the new policy paradigm should shift the priority to adaptation, with a special focus on disaster risk reduction. It should also consider climate change not purely as a hazard and a challenge, but as a window of opportunity to shift to a new sustainable development policy model, which stresses the particular importance of communities' resilience. The papers in this volume explore the key issues linked to this shift, including: ' Increasing research into the Earth Sciences, climate reconstruction and forecasting in order to decrease the degree of uncertainty about the origin, development and implications of climate change; ' The introduction of more binding and comprehensive regulation of both greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation measures, like that in the United Kingdom; ' Matching climate policy with that for disasters and mainstreaming it into overall development strategies. The volume is a valuable addition to previous climate change research and considers a new policy approach to this new global challenge.

* New chapter specifically on electric vehicles * Increased international focus, with more examples from outside the USA * Pedagogical features including learning objectives at the start of each chapter, in-chapter questions and end-of-chapter suggested online activities * Student companion website material: multiple choice questions and homework exercises * Instructor companion website material: lecture slides, solution files for instructors; suggested questions for discussion forums to increase engagement; and activities to achieve the chapter learning objectives, including quizzes with answers, that instructors can use to assess student attainment