The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the UPOV Convention are increasingly relevant and important. They have technical, social and normative legitimacy and have standardised numerous concepts and practices related to plant varieties and plant breeding. In this book, Jay Sanderson provides the first sustained and detailed account of the Convention. Building upon the idea that it has an open-ended and contingent relationship with scientific, legal, technical, political, social and institutional actors, the author explores the Convention's history, concepts and practices. Part I examines the emergence of the UPOV Convention during the 1950s and its expanding legitimacy in relation to plant variety protection. Part II explores the Convention's key concepts and practices, including plant breeder, plant variety, plant names (denomination), characteristics, protected material, essentially derived varieties (EDV) and farm saved seed (FSS). This book is an invaluable resource for academics, policy makers, agricultural managers and researchers in this field.

"A required read for every university administrator grappling with the complexities of technology and education. Bates has combined an impressive depth of experience and practice to produce an authoritative and well-reasoned approach."--Bruce Pennycook, vice-principal, Information Systems and Technology, McGill University

"Digital technologies are revolutionizing the practices of teaching and learning at colleges and universities all around the world. This book will be helpful for all those who are planning and managing such organizational and technological change on their campuses."--Timothy W. Luke, executive director, Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning, Virginia Tech

Implementing new technology at a college or university requires more than simply buying new computers and establishing a Web site. The successful use of technology for teaching and learning also demands major changes in teaching and organizational culture. In Managing Technological Change, Tony Bates -- a world-renowned expert on the use of technology in university teaching -- reveals how to create the new, technologically competitive academic organization. He draws from recent research and best practice case studies--as well as on his thirty years of experience in using technology for teaching--to provide practical strategies for managing change to ensure the successful use of technology. Readers will learn how to win faculty support for teaching with technology and get advice on appropriate decision-making and reporting structures. Other topics covered include reward systems, estimating costs of teaching by technology, and copyright issues. Bates also details the essential procedures for funding new technology-based systems, managing the technology, and monitoring its ongoing educational effectiveness in anticipation of future changes. Throughout the book, he maintains a focus on the human factors that must be addressed, identifying the risks and penalties of technologically based teaching and showing how to manage those hazards.

'Entertaining and insightful' -- Evening Standard 'One of the most important books of the year... Compelling' Jamie Bartlett, Literary Review 'Timely' -- New Statesman As the world becomes better connected and we grow ever more dependent on technology, the risks to our infrastructure are multiplying. Whether it's a hostile state striking the national grid (like Russia did with Ukraine in 2016) or a freak solar storm, our systems have become so interlinked that if one part goes down the rest topple like dominoes. In this groundbreaking book, former government minister Oliver Letwin looks ten years into the future and imagines a UK in which the national grid has collapsed. Reliant on the internet, automated electric cars, voice-over IP, GPS, and the internet of things, law and order would disintegrate. Taking us from high-level government meetings to elderly citizens waiting in vain for their carers, this book is a wake up call for why we should question our unshakeable faith in technology. But it's much more than that: Letwin uses his vast experience in government to outline how businesses and government should respond to catastrophic black swan events that seem distant and implausible - until they occur.

Companies face major challenges as they seek to flourish in competitive global markets, fuelled by developments in technology, from the Internet to grid computing and Web services. In this environment, service orientation - aligning business processes to the changing demands of customers - is emerging as a highly effective approach to increasing efficiency. In this book, Paul Allen provides an accessible guide to service orientation, showing how it works and highlighting the benefits it can deliver. The book provides an integrated approach: after covering the basics of service orientation, he discusses key issues such as business agility, designing quality-of-service infrastructure, implementing service-level agreements, and cultural factors. He provides roadmaps, definitions, templates, techniques, process patterns and checklists to help you realize service orientation. These resources are reinforced with detailed case studies, from the transport and banking sectors. Packed with valuable insights, the book will be essential reading for CIOs, IT architects and senior developers. IT facing business executives will also benefit from understanding how software services can enable their business strategies. Paul Allen is a principal business-IT strategist at CA and is widely recognized for his innovative work in component-based development (CBD), business-IT alignment and service-oriented architecture. With over thirty years experience of large-scale business systems, he is an established author whose previous book was the critically acclaimed 'Realizing e-Business with Components'. Sam Higgins is now with Forrester Research Inc.; formerly he managed the Innovation and Planning Unit ofQueensland Transport's Information Services Branch. Paul McRae is the application architect in the Innovation and Planning Unit of Queensland Transport's Information Services Branch. Hermann Schlamann is a senior architect in the architecture group of Credit Suisse.

Learning is a critical worldwide problem for humans, essential to create a peaceful and happy world. We have serious problems in learning in both wealthy and poor areas. New approaches to learning are needed, as the current system may not rise to the new challenges. This book proposes a new strategy for learning, worldwide and for all ages of students. Computer-based distance learning would be the major delivery mechanism, with very large numbers of students. The very frequent interactions between the student and the computer would be like that with a skilled human teacher. These interactions would take place in the student's native language, in both directions. A typical interaction would be a question to a student, and a free-form student response. Both voice and keyboard student input would be possible. The learning programs would work with each student until mastery is achieved, adapting to the needs of each. Students would be active learners. The book begins with the problems and goals of learning. It considers possible forms of distance learning, looking at the variables involved, current examples of distance learning, and possible future forms including examples from science fiction. It then investigates student interactions, considering both frequency of interactions and the quality of each interaction. Programs developed in the Educational Technology Center at the University of California, Irvine, illustrate the critical idea of tutorial learning with computers. Production of tutorial learning material and costs for a student hour of learning is discussed. The book ends with suggestions for future progress. Current hardware and software is fully adequate for the tasks described. Development of all required learning units is a major activity. After this development, both better quality of learning and lower costs are very likely. Further experimental work is essential to understand the possibilities.

FRANCIS W. HOLM 30 Agua Sarca Road, Placitas, New Mexico 1. Overview The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sponsored an Advanced Research in Prague, Czech Republic, on October 13-15, 1997, to collect and Workshop (ARW) study information on effluents from alternative demilitarization technologies and to report on these fmdings. The effluents, orprocess residues, identified for assessment at the workshop are generated by systems that have been proposed as alternatives to incineration technology for destruction of munitions, chemical warfare agent, and associated materials and debris. The alternative technologies analyzed are grouped into three categories based on process bulk operating temperature: low (0-200 C), medium (200-600 C), and high (600-3,500 C). Reaction types considered include hydrolysis, biodegradation, electrochemical oxidation, gas-phase high-temperature reduction, steam reforming, gasification, sulfur reactions, solvated electron chemistry, sodium reactions, supercritical water oxidation, wet air oxidation, and plasma torch technology. These ofprocesses, some of which have been studied categories represent a broad spectrum only in the laboratory and some of which are in commercial use for destruction of hazardous and toxic wastes. Some technologies have been developed and used for specific commercial applications; however, in all cases, research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) is necessary to assure that each technology application is effective for destroying chemical warfare materiel. Table 1 contains a list of more than 40 technologies from a recent report for the U.S. Army [1]. Many ofthe technologies in Table 1 are based on similar principles.

Concurrent design, or co-design of hardware and software is extremely important for meeting design goals, such as high performance, that are the key to commercial competitiveness. Hardware/Software Co-Design covers many aspects of the subject, including methods and examples for designing: (1) general purpose and embedded computing systems based on instruction set processors; (2) telecommunication systems using general purpose digital signal processors as well as application specific instruction set processors; (3) embedded control systems and applications to automotive electronics. The book also surveys the areas of emulation and prototyping systems with field programmable gate array technologies, hardware/software synthesis and verification, and industrial design trends. Most contributions emphasize the design methodology, the requirements and state of the art of computer aided co-design tools, together with current design examples.

A vital perspective is missing from the discussions we're having about Artificial Intelligence: what does it mean for our identity?

Our fascination with AI stems from the perceived uniqueness of human intelligence. We believe it's what differentiates us. Fears of AI not only concern how it invades our digital lives, but also the implied threat of an intelligence that displaces us from our position at the centre of the world.

Neil D. Lawrence's visionary book shows why these fears may be misplaced. Atomism, proposed by Democritus, suggested it was impossible to continue dividing matter down into ever smaller components: eventually we reach a point where a cut cannot be made (the Greek for uncuttable is 'atom'). In the same way, by slicing away at the facets of human intelligence that can be replaced by machines, AI uncovers what is left: an indivisible core that is the essence of humanity.

By contrasting our own (evolved, locked-in, embodied) intelligence with the capabilities of machine intelligence through history, The Atomic Human reveals the technical origins, capabilities and limitations of AI systems, and how they should be wielded. Not just by the experts, but ordinary people. Either AI is a tool for us, or we become a tool of AI. Understanding this will enable readers to choose the future we want.

Can we really restore the earth’s atmosphere within our lifetime?

Whether through sustainable technologies such as fossil-free steel production, hydrogen-powered ships and electric motorbikes, or natural solutions like rewilding peatlands, people all over the world are finding new ways to travel, feed themselves and drive industry while safeguarding a liveable planet for future generations.

Drawing on decades of research and a vast network of experts, Rob Jackson, Chair of the Global Carbon Project, introduces some of the brilliant innovators behind the boldest solutions to climate change – including an Eritrean agricultural scientist, a Swedish CEO and a Brazilian hydrologist.

Now we have more tools to combat climate change than ever before, Into the Clear Blue Sky traces a clear path to a better future for us all – one that will see us cutting emissions in inventive new ways that protect our health and livelihoods, while repairing the damage we have caused to the atmosphere. This visionary and transformative book is the call to action we need – right now.

A powerful guide to why even the most well-intentioned innovations go haywire, and the surprising ways we can change course to create a more positive future, by two celebrated experts working at the intersection of design, technology, and learning at Stanford University’s acclaimed d.school.

In Assembling Tomorrow, authors Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter explore the intangible forces that prevent us from anticipating just how fantastically technology can get out of control, and what might be in store for us if we don’t start using new tools and tactics. Despite our best intentions, our most transformative innovations tend to have consequences we can’t always predict. From the effects of social media to the uncertainty of AI and the consequences of climate change, the outcomes of our creations ripple across our lives. Time and again, our seemingly ceaseless capacity to create rubs up against our limited capacity to understand our impact.

Assembling Tomorrow explores how to use readily accessible tools to both mend the mistakes of our past and shape our future for the better. We live in an era of “runaway design,” where innovations tangle with our lives in unpredictable ways. This book explores the off-­­kilter feelings of today and follows up with actionables to alter your perspective and help you find opportunities in these turbulent times.

Mixed throughout are histories of the future, short pieces of speculative fiction that imagine the future as if it has already happened and consider the past with a critical yet hopeful eye so that all of us—as designers of our own futures—can create a better world for generations to come.

Nearly everyone agrees that life has changed in our technological society, whether the contrast is with earlier stages in Western culture or with non-Western cultures. "Modernization" is just one of various terms that have been applied to the process by which we have arrived at the peculiar lifestyle typical of our age; whatever the term for the process, almost all analysts agree in finding technology to be one of its key ingredients. This is the judgment of critics of all sorts - anthropologists, historians, literary figures, sociologists, theologians. Volume 4 in the Philosophy and Technology series brings the perspectives of philosophers to bear on the issue of characterizing contemporary life, mainly in high-technology societies. Some of the philosophers look at the issue directly. Others focus on work life - or on the living arrangements that surround or condition or offer refuge from work life in technological society. Still others reflect on particular technologies, especially biotechnology and computer technology, that are increasingly affecting both work and family life. There is also a paper on the nature of thinking in technologi cal praxis, along with two papers on whether it is appropriate to export this sort of thinking to Third World countries, and another paper on the issue of responsibility in technology - which would have fit better in volume 3 of the series, entitled Technology and Responsibility (1987). Finally, volume 4 closes with a broad-ranging bibliography that takes work and technology as its focus."

This book offers a critical analysis of the contemporary and global tech culture and exposes the gender bias of masculine tech ideology and stereotypes. Is the place of 'women in tech' immovable from masculine leadership practices? And what are the cultural, social, personal and economic consequences of gender as a point of difference in the context of work in the tech sector? Mariann Hardey examines the rise of entrepreneurial work and leadership, the contemporary urban setting of global tech work, and specifically women's place in tech clusters. The book engages with attempts by women to establish and then sustain their professional status and long-term careers, despite predatory social media trolling and inappropriate sexualized behaviour. Based on a series of commentaries from research undertaken by the author about workers located within 'tech cities' in the UK, USA and East Asia regions, the work exposes the serious problem of women's position in the industry. While this study continues to be critical of the conceits of masculine tech ideology, prejudices and stereotypes, the work contributes to recent calls to help find solutions and ways forward.

Academic discoveries account for some of the most successful products in the marketplace, from pharmaceutical blockbusters like Lyrica (R) to household names like Gatorade (TM). Yet few researchers understand the process of technology transfer or the various pathways for commercialization available to them. Beyond Discovery is the ultimate guide for researchers interested in moving their inventions from the laboratory to the marketplace. Focusing particularly on scientists and engineers, this volume demystifies the process of commercialization by offering clarity on key complex topics, including technology transfer, intellectual property, and the uneven landscape for inventors of different genders and ethnicities. The authors describe how academics must adapt their thinking and provide numerous best practices for advancing through this unfamiliar and demanding terrain, with profiles of current scientists and engineers to illustrate how academic inventions have translated to commercial success. Beyond Discovery also offers realistic recommendations to academic institutions for engaging their researchers in the commercialization enterprise. Comprehensive and pragmatic, Beyond Discovery illustrates how commercialization can deepen the impact of academic research and offers seasoned advice for each step in the technology transfer process.

This book separates fact from fiction and teaches science basics in an easy-to-understand and -apply way. With the knowledge base gained from Dave Farina’s teaching, you can spot misinformation and lies on the internet before they spot you.

Is This WiFi Organic? is about science that affects us all. Food, medicine, and technology. Earth, sea, and sky. Light, heat, and fire. Science is the study of everything around us. It has ultimately yielded to all of the modernity that is inextricable from our everyday experience, from cures for diseases to the electricity we use constantly. But one impressive scientific breakthrough, the internet, has pervaded and encapsulated popular culture, and it is also making it harder and harder to know what is true―and what is not.

Learn how to separate internet fact from fiction. We live in the information age, giving us access to every datum ever collected and every opinion its originator thought fit to share. But with this newfound access to information comes a new challenge. Namely, how can you tell what information is true and what is false? In Is This WiFi Organic? Dave Farina, author and science expert from the YouTube channel Professor Dave Explains, is here to help you fight confirmation bias and logical fallacies.

In this book of science essays, you will learn:

• The real science behind controversial health issues like medications and vaccines
• What energy actually is―and how we use it each and every day
• A core of scientific knowledge, from biochemistry and molecular biology to theoretical physics, that will help you pull truths from the weeds of misinformation and outright lies

Readers captivated by the scientific and technological teachings in science books like Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking, Everybody Lies, and The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe will love Is This WiFi Organic?

This book investigates the ways in which soft power is used by African countries to help drive global influence.

Selecting four of the countries most associated with soft power across the continent, this book delves into the currencies of soft power across the region: from South Africa’s progressive constitution and expanding multinational corporations, to Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry and Technical Aid Corps (TAC) scheme, Kenya’s sport diplomacy, fashion and tourism industries, and finally Egypt’s Pan-Arabism and its reputation as the cradle of civilisation. The book asks how soft power is wielded by these countries and what constraints and contradictions they encounter. Understandings of soft power have typically been driven by Western scholars, but throughout this book, Oluwaseun Tella aims to Africanise our understanding of soft power, drawing on prominent African philosophies, including Nigeria’s Omolúwàbí, South Africa’s Ubuntu, Kenya’s Harambee, and Egypt’s Pharaonism.

This book will be of interest to researchers from across political science, international relations, cultural studies, foreign policy and African Studies.

This text addressed the shipboard firefighting requirements of various maritime regulatory organizations.

This book was first published in 2006. Technologists have the ideas. Lawyers know the rules. But for business managers and investors, rules and ideas don't readily combine into a strategic vision. No longer is intellectual property (IP) just a necessary expense for large technology companies. Competing and succeeding in the marketplace requires an in-depth understanding of IP - its use as a weapon, as a shield, and as a monetizable asset. Yet in a world where fortunes can rise or founder on the strength of an IP portfolio, hesitation to enter this arcane, unfamiliar world still abounds. This book equips the business manager with a working, practical knowledge essential to creating and exploiting IP wealth. It shows investors how to evaluate IP strength and competitive value. With its results-oriented perspective and international focus, Intellectual Property for Managers and Investors is essential for those with decision making-responsibility at the interface where business and innovation meet.

How can we promote people-centered governance in Africa? Cell phones/ information and communications technology (ICT) are shown to be linked to neoliberal understandings of more democratic governance structures, defined by the Worldwide Governance Indicators as: the rule of law, corruption-control, regulation quality, government effectiveness, political stability/no violence, and voice and accountability. However, these indicators fall short: they do note emphasize gender equity or pro-poor policies. Writing from an African feminist scholar-activist perspective, Assata Zerai emphasizes the voices of women in two ways: (1) she examines how women's access to ICT makes a difference to the success of people-centered governance structures; and (2) she demonstrates how African women's scholarship, too often marginalized, must be used to expand and redefine the goals and indicators of democratice governance in African countries. Challenging the status quo that praises the contributions of cell phones to the diffusion of knowledge and resultant better governance in Africa, this book is an important read for scholars of politics and technology, gender and politics, and African Studies.

Climate engineering is a dystopian project. But as the human species hurtles ever faster towards its own extinction, geoengineering as a temporary fix, to buy time for carbon removal, is a seductive idea. We are right to fear that geoengineering will be used to maintain the status quo, but is there another possible future after geoengineering? Can these technologies and practices be used to bring carbon levels back down to pre-industrial levels? Are there possibilities for massive intentional intervention in the climate that are democratic, decentralised, or participatory? These questions are provocative, because they go against a binary that has become common sense: geoengineering is assumed to be on the side of industrial agriculture, inequality and ecomodernism, in opposition to degrowth, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and climate justice. After Geoengineering rejects this binary, to ask: what if the people seized the means of climate production? Both critical and utopian, the book examines the possible futures after geoengineering. Rejecting the idea that geoengineering is some kind of easy work-around, Holly Buck outlines the kind of social transformation that would be necessary to enact a programme of geoengineering in the first place.