Fundamental Considerations in Technology Mediated Language Assessment aims to address issues such as how the forced integration of technology into second language assessment has shaped our understanding of key traditional concepts like validity, reliability, washback, authenticity, ethics, fairness, test security, and more. Although computer assisted language testing has been around for more than two decades in the context of high-stakes proficiency testing, much of language testing worldwide has shifted to 'at home' mode, and relies heavily on the mediation of digital technology, making its widespread application in classroom settings in response to the COVID-19 outbreak as unprecedented. Integration of technology into language assessment has brought with it countless affordances and at the same time challenges, both theoretically and practically. One major theoretical consideration requiring attention is the way technology has contributed to a re-conceptualisation of major assessment concepts/constructs. There is very limited literature available on theoretical underpinnings of technology mediated language assessment. This book aims to fill this gap. This book will appeal to academic specialists, practitioners or professionals in the field of language assessment, advanced and/or graduate students, and a range of scholars or professionals in disciplines like educational technology, applied linguistics and TESOL.

The book is an introduction to nanomedicine informed by a philosophical reflection about the domain and recent developments. It is an overview of the field, sketching out the main areas of current investment and research. The authors present some case-studies illustrating the different areas of research (nanopharmacy, theranostics and patient monitoring) as well as reflecting on the risks that accompany it, such as unanticipated impacts on human health and environmental toxicity. This introduction to a fast-growing field in modern medical research is of great interest to researchers working in many disciplines as well as the general public. In addition to an overview of the work currently ongoing, the authors critically assess these projects from an ethical and philosophical perspective. Key Features Provides an overview of nanomedicine Employs a reflective and coherent critical evaluation of the benefits and risks of nanomedicine Written in an accessible manner intended for a wide audience Related Titles Hehenberger, M. Nanomedicine: Science, Business, and impact (ISBN 978-9-8146-1376-7). Beg, S., et al. Nanomedicine for the treatment of Disease: From Concept to Application (ISBN 978-1-7746-3443-1) Brenner, S. The Clinical Nanomedicine Handbook (ISBN 978-1-1380-7578-8)

Environmental finance and green banking are central drivers of the transition to a sustainable economy and essential components in solutions to climate change. This book presents the latest research on theory and practices in these interdisciplinary fields, incorporating both public and corporate finance. It introduces three parts - environmental investing and financing, green banking and environmental policies in the public sector. The book explores the current trends, dynamics and ways forward for environmental finance and green banking, including fundamental theories (e.g., environmental Kuznets curve) and comparisons between traditional and green bond efficiency, corporate governance practices and disclosure, green central banking, climate finance, sustainable strategies, green Islamic banking, and public climate fund management in multi-country context. The contributors to this book highlight significant challenges ahead while recognizing potential opportunities, such as the revolution in green investments and trading in green bonds. This book is a welcome addition to the literature on environmental economics and finance and the economics of sustainability and climate change.

Worldwide growth and application of post-tensioning in recent years is one of the major developments in building construction. The growth is propelled by significant economy of construction for serviceable and safe buildings. Unlike traditional construction, post-tensioning is based on new design methodology often not covered in traditional engineering courses. With more than 40 years of experience of study, teaching and work on post-tensioning applications around the world, the author has written this book for students as well as practicing engineers, contractors and academics. While the book covers the basics and concepts of post-tensioning in simple and clear language, it also focuses on the application and detailed design through real world examples. Topics of the book include the European and the American building Codes for post-tensioning design. The Codes are detailed in the book's examples such as column-supported floors and beam frames. The book explains and highlights the importance of shortening specific to post-tensioned members and construction detailing for serviceable and safe performance.

Combination products are therapeutic and diagnostic products that combine drugs, devices, and/ or biological products. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), “a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and a device; a biological product and a device; a drug and a biological product; or a drug, device and a biological product.” Examples include prefilled syringes, pen injectors, autoinjectors, inhalers, transdermal patches, drug-eluting stents, and kits containing drug administration devices co-packaged with drugs and/or biological products. This handbook provides the most up-to-date information on the development of combination products, from the technology involved to successful delivery to market. The authors present important and up-to-the-minute pre- and post-market reviews of combination product regulations, guidance, considerations and best practices. This handbook: • Brings clarity of understanding for combination products guidance and regulations • Reviews the current state-of-the-art considerations and best practices spanning the combination product lifecycle, pre-market through post-market • Reviews medical product classification and assignment issues faced by global regulatory authorities and industry The editor is a recognized international Combination Products and Medical Device expert with over 35 years of industry experience and has an outstanding team of contributors. Endorsed by AAMI – Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.

This book addresses the vital importance of reshoring US manufacturing capability to ensure economic and military security and then discusses the proven methods that the United States used to gain manufacturing supremacy in the first place. The vital takeaway is: If the job can be made sufficiently productive, the per-unit labor cost ceases to be relevant which means a business can pay high wages, realize high profits, and deliver low prices simultaneously. The contest is then not between high wages and cheap labor, but between efficiency and inefficiency and, when automation is involved, machine against machine. Readers will be able to put these principles to work very quickly to achieve tangible results. The relatively low Federal minimum wage has meanwhile become a major issue, but inflation skyrocketed in the second quarter of 2022 when higher wages, and higher demand for goods and services, were not matched with higher productivity. The book addresses the relationship between the money supply and the velocity of money to prices, wages, and productivity. A manufacturing resurgence in the United States will not only increase our standard of living enormously but generate taxable economic activity that will help pay down rather than increase the Federal debt. Higher productivity also delivers a greater supply of goods to accompany higher wages, and thus works against inflation. This can prevent looming recessions and disruptions.

Operational information management is at a crossroads as it sheds the remaining vestiges of its paper-based processes and moves through the uncharted domain of electronic data processes. The final outcome is not yet in full focus, but real progress has been made in the transition to electronic documents providing the aviation industry with a clear direction. This book looks at a combination of industry initiatives and airline successes that point to the next steps that operators can take as they transition to fully integrated information management systems. Although the route has not been fully identified, it is evident that a key to successful long-term efficient information management is industry-wide cooperation. The chapters are authored by a range of experts in operational information management, and collectively, they outline ways that operators can improve efficiency across flight, ground and maintenance operations. Considerations and recommendations are identified and presented addressing the following priorities: Safety-critical information and procedures Human factors Information security Operational information standardization. The readership includes: Airline flight operations managers and standards personnel, Airline operating documents and publication specialists, Airline information managers, Commercial pilots, Airline maintenance managers and personnel, Manufacturers and vendors of aviation products, Aviation regulators and policy makers, Aviation researchers and developers of information technologies, and Military technical publications specialists.

1. The book demonstrates how art, history and cultural heritage can help to create a climate-literate public that responds to environmental issues and climate change in an informed way. 2. Sutton shows how arts and humanities approaches to environmental and climate change can engage a far wider public in learning, conversation and action than science can alone. This will make the book most interesting to readers looking for ways to broaden engagement with environmental and climate issues. The ideas shared within the book should also act as inspiration for a broad spectrum of practitioners, particularly those writing, designing, and curating public engagement materials in museums and for the media. 3. Unlike competing titles, the proposed book references the growing body of broad-reaching material (instead of focusing on single-topic research (archaeology), or a single genre of museums (science or natural history)). Unlike other titles, it also collects usually isolated and distinctive examples into one publication.

Biomimetics is based on nature, while technology is based on economy. One of the solutions for a sustainable society is to learn a grand design of technology from nature. Methods that mimic nature have a long history in various fields. Now is the time to use biomimetics as a starting technology design. Biomimetics is gaining a great deal of attention not only in materials and mechanical engineering but also in the ecosystem that comprises city planning, agriculture, and forestry. Informatics is being added to biomimetics to support its diversity and cross-disciplinarity. This book will inspire the undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and general readers who aim to develop technology for sustainability. Edited by Profs Akihiro Miyauchi and Masatsugu Shimomura, two prominent nanotechnology researchers, the book is their second volume on biomimetics. The first volume, Industrial Biomimetics, also published by Jenny Stanford Publishing, focused on the engineering aspect of biomimetics.

This book is an essential resource for facilitators seeking to help students develop their knowledge of management practice in Italy. It presents a collection of the best case studies and accompanying teaching notes from the Italian Association for Management Development (ASFOR) competition in 2014. The cases are written by teachers across many of the members of ASFOR in Italy, leading business schools, corporate universities and academia. Knowledge gained by professionals often remains implicit and is rarely shared. By grouping together the award-winning case studies in this volume, readers can gain an important insight into how management is conducted in Italy. This collection shines a light on management practices across several industries. The Italian economy differs from others in that it is one in which small and family-run businesses dominate, and the relationship between the private sector and public life is unique. As a result, The Italian Model of Management provides the opportunity for students to enlarge the Anglo-Saxon model and perspective of management, and to offer cross-cultural learning experiences, based on the distinction of a "Made in Italy" competitive advantage. Each case provides an engaging story, plots the strategic development of the organization in question, and is supported by online teaching guidance and teaching notes.

- Provides a cross-disciplinary overview of design theory through the lens of cultural studies, aesthetics and history - Offers a departure from the traditional compartmentalization of practice, history and theory - Engages student readers in contemporary design debates surrounding responsibility, cultural and social awareness and the contexts products are manufactured within.

What is the carbon footprint of your libido? In this highly original book, Dominic Pettman examines the mutual influence and impact of human desire and ecological crisis. His account is premised on a simple but startling observation: the decline of libido among the world's population, the loss of the human sex drive, closely tracks the destruction of environments worldwide. The advent of the Anthropocene leads to the decline of eros, the weakening of the link between sexual pleasure and human reproduction, and thus, potentially, to human extinction. Our capacity to care for one another in any meaningful way is being replaced by a restless, technologically-enhanced zombie drive. The environmental crisis of our time is also, and simultaneously, a crisis of human reproduction and of interpersonal intimacy. What Freud called 'libidinal economy' has morphed into libidinal ecology. Drawing on the work of a wide range of thinkers from Georges Bataille to Donna Haraway, Pettman explores the implications of peak libido, linking this development to the new cultural interest in eco-sexuality, polyamory, and other cases of the 'greening of the libido'. Peak Libido is a forceful reminder that our hearts and loins are primarily ecological organs, beholden to their wider environments, and, as such, they share the same fate.

Topical and transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDs) have several advantages over traditional drug delivery methods, as they can be less invasive, more sanitary, more cost-effective, and may result in better patient compliance. TDDs play a significant role in therapeutics with a variety of preparations and approaches designed by expert formulation scientists. This volume integrates a wide variety of case studies, research, and theories to reveal their diversity and capture the novel approaches of transdermal and topical drug delivery employed by developers and content experts in the field. It provides an abundance of important information and state-of-the-art research on topical and transdermal drug delivery systems and addresses the basics of drug delivery systems, strategies to enhance permeation across membranes, and formulation and evaluation of diverse dosage forms. The volume presents an evaluation of the pros and cons of conventional drug delivery systems against TDDs and discusses the nuances of micro- and nano-systems in TDDs. The extraordinary packages of nano systems (vesicular systems, polymeric nanoparticles, nanoemulsion and dendrimers) are broadly discussed, and their applications are reviewed through a transdermal route. The book looks at TDDs and the main nanoparticles used in skin diseases and lesions of the aging, such as psoriasis, vitiligo, cancer, lesions of the aging and others. Chapters also discuss polymeric micelles in topical and transdermal delivery; microneedles; emulsion, nanoemulsion and microemulsion; TDDs in pulmonary drug delivery systems; nanoencapsulated nasal drug delivery systems; skin sensitivity and irritation testing for transposing transdermal drug delivery systems; and regulatory aspects of drug development for dermal products. Topical and Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems: Applications and Prospects will be a valuable resource for pharmaceutical scientists and researchers, industry professionals, and academicians and students of the pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences.

Features • Provides a cutting edge review of the latest emerging science, technology and applications in the field. • Tackles a topic with fast growing interest in USA, Europe and China. • Explores the simple and cheap design and tests of lasers, and outline the feasible applications.

This book elaborates fuzzy machine and deep learning models for single class mapping from multi-sensor, multi-temporal remote sensing images while handling mixed pixels and noise. It also covers the ways of pre-processing and spectral dimensionality reduction of temporal data. Further, it discusses the ‘individual sample as mean’ training approach to handle heterogeneity within a class. The appendix section of the book includes case studies such as mapping crop type, forest species, and stubble burnt paddy fields. Key features: Focuses on use of multi-sensor, multi-temporal data while handling spectral overlap between classes Discusses range of fuzzy/deep learning models capable to extract specific single class and separates noise Describes pre-processing while using spectral, textural, CBSI indices, and back scatter coefficient/Radar Vegetation Index (RVI) Discusses the role of training data to handle the heterogeneity within a class Supports multi-sensor and multi-temporal data processing through in-house SMIC software Includes case studies and practical applications for single class mapping This book is intended for graduate/postgraduate students, research scholars, and professionals working in environmental, geography, computer sciences, remote sensing, geoinformatics, forestry, agriculture, post-disaster, urban transition studies, and other related areas.

The first accessible text on the topic of animals as environmental predictors, bringing together the literature from as far back as 18th century through to the present day. - Covers wider terrain than other titles in a relatively unexplored subject area. The text discusses climate change (highly topical) and how animals may be able to be used to predict future weather and climatic events. There is international potential as the climate challenge is global, and the examples span worldwide case studies. The sources used include myths, anecdotes, news articles and stories backed up by relevant scientific literature in international peer-reviewed journals. Each chapter starts with a short fictitious story to set the scene and anecdotes from indigenous cultures are especially interesting. The author draws on his vast expertise in biochemistry and cell biology. The science does not impede the less technical reader, due to the engaging mix of stories, anecdotes, personal observations and scientific underpinnings.

The World Guide to Sustainable Enterprise is the first comprehensive global compendium that clearly describes the national approaches to sustainable enterprise. Through a systematic review of each country, this quick-to-access reference Guide showcases the similarities and differences in each region. Each profile includes key information about the relevant history, country-specific issues, trends, research, best practice case studies and the leading organisations operating in the field. The Guide comprises of four volumes, each dedicated to a specific region of the world.This complete set of all four volumes of The World Guide to Sustainable Enterprise is available at a 25% discount on the price of all four books.The set comprises: Volume 1 Africa and the Middle East; Volume 2 Asia Pacific; Volume 3 Europe; and Volume 4 The Americas.

Daoism and Environmental Philosophy explores ethics and the philosophy of nature in the Daodejing, the Zhuangzi, and related texts to elucidate their potential significance in our contemporary environmental crisis. This book traces early Daoist depictions of practices of embodied emptying and forgetting and communicative strategies of undoing the fixations of words, things, and the embodied self. These are aspects of an ethics of embracing plainness and simplicity, nourishing the asymmetrically differentiated yet shared elemental body of life of the myriad things, and being responsively attuned in encountering and responding to things. These critical and transformative dimensions of early Daoism provide exemplary models and insights for cultivating a more expansive ecological ethos, environmental culture of nature, and progressive political ecology. This work will be of interest to students and scholars interested in philosophy, environmental ethics and philosophy, religious studies, and intellectual history.

This book casts a light on the daily struggles and achievements of 'gender experts' working in environment and development organisations, where they are charged with advancing gender equality and social equity and aligning this with visions of sustainable development. Developed through a series of conversations convened by the book's editors with leading practitioners from research, advocacy and donor organisations, this text explores the ways gender professionals - specialists and experts, researchers, organizational focal points - deal with personal, power-laden realities associated with navigating gender in everyday practice. In turn, wider questions of epistemology and hierarchies of situated knowledges are examined, where gender analysis is brought into fields defined as largely techno-scientific, positivist and managerialist. Drawing on insights from feminist political ecology and feminist science, technology and society studies, the authors and their collaborators reveal and reflect upon strategies that serve to mute epistemological boundaries and enable small changes to be carved out that on occasions open up promising and alternative pathways for an equitable future. This book will be of great relevance to scholars and practitioners with an interest in environment and development, science and technology, and gender and women's studies more broadly. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351175180, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

* Updated vision on tunnelling design, tools, materials and construction * Balanced mix of theory, technology and applied experience * Different and harmonized points of view from academics, professionals and contractors * Easy consultation in the form of a handbook * Risk-oriented approach to tunnelling problems

The global lubricants market exceeds $110 billion, with strong future-estimated annual growth projections. While much has been written about the technical aspects of lubricant development, Lubricant Marketing, Selling, and Key Account Management fills a need for a comprehensive guide on the important commercial aspects of the business, offering unique and valuable insights from a veteran of the industry. It answers questions and offers insights on how to effectively market and sell all types of lubricants, including automotive, industrial, mining, marine, agricultural and aerospace, among others. Covers how and why people and companies buy lubricants. Instructs readers how to research and analyze markets and use the results to plan marketing and sales campaigns and activities. Details how to identify specific target market segments and sell to key lubricant accounts. Discusses how to forecast future demand for lubricants in all types of global markets. This practical book is written for technical and non-technical readers involved in the sale and management of lubricant products and offers hands-on guidance for how to successfully navigate and grow your profitability in this vitally important product sector.

Climate Change Temporalities explores how various timescales, timespans, intervals, rhythms, cycles, and changes in acceleration are at play in climate change discourses. It argues that nuanced, detailed, and specific understandings and concepts are required to handle the challenges of a climatically changed world, politically and socially as well as scientifically. Rather than reflecting abstractly on theories of temporality, this edited collection explores a variety of timescales and temporalities from narratives, experience, popular culture, and everyday life in addition to science and history - and the entanglements between them. The chapters are clustered into three main sections, exploring a range of genres, such as questionnaires, interviews, magazines, news media, television series, aquariums, and popular science books to critically examine how and where climate change understandings are formed. The book also includes chapters historising notions of climate and temporality by exploring scientific debates and practices. Climate Change Temporalities will be of great interest to students and scholars of humanistic climate change research, environmental humanities, studies of temporality and historicity, cultural studies, cultural history, and popular culture.

--The first edition is an essential reading for planning students as it is the only text available that focuses on planning law and practice in Northern Ireland. --Updated to address consequences of BREXIT, the impact of COVID-19 on planning procedures, and the emergence of Local Development Plans within the new 2-tier planning system of Northern Ireland

Impact investing is gaining global attention from society, governments and businesses. Increasingly, it is seen as a new paradigm to deal with the economic crisis and curtailed public budgets, an answer to the diversified needs of society. It now ranks high on the policy agenda of governments and international organizations, and private investors are searching for new investment opportunities to channel the liquidity available. This book is the first to look at impact investing as a "refocus" of venture capital to sustain the development of societal impact enterprises. Principles and Practice of Impact Investing collects chapters from international experts on the subject, discussing the foundations of the movement, analysing leading international cases and debating future trends in the field. It also includes interviews with some of the most influential stakeholders of impact investing across the world. The book is an inspirational and practical guide for actors and stakeholders to enable better understanding of impact investing. Taking an international perspective, the chapters primarily deal with mature economies, setting it apart from the existing literature focused on emerging countries. The book will be of interests to practitioners and executives, as well as researchers and MBA students.

Discusses advances in the computation of phase diagrams Offers expanded treatment of eutectic solidification with practical examples and new coverage of ternary phase diagrams, covering the concepts of orthoequilibrium and paraequilibrium Updates discussion of bainite transformation to reflect current opinions Includes new case studies covering grain refiners in aluminium alloys, additive manufacturing, thin film growth, important aerospace Al-Li alloys, and quenched and partitioned steels, and metastable austenitic stainless steels. Each chapter now begins with a list of key concepts, includes simpler illustrative exercises with relevance to real practical applications, and references to scientific publications updated to reflect experimental and computational advances in metallurgy