* Innovative clinical trial design * Regulatory approval * Real world evidence

Ian McHarg’s ecological planning approach has been influential since the 20th century. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of his projects. Using the framework of landscape performance assessment, this book demonstrates the long-term benefits of a renowned McHargarian project (The Woodlands town development) through quantitative and qualitative methods. Including 44 black and white illustrations, Landscape Performance systematically documents the performance benefits of the environmental, social, and economic aspects of The Woodlands project. It delves into McHarg’s planning success in The Woodlands in comparison with adjacent Houston developments, which demonstrated urban resilience after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Lastly, it identifies the ingredients of McHarg’s ability to do real and permanent good. Yang also includes a number of appendices which provide valuable information on the methods of assessing performance in landscape development. This book would be beneficial to academics and students of landscape architecture and planning with a particular interest in Ian McHarg.

Ian McHarg's ecological planning approach has been influential since the 20th century. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of his projects. Using the framework of landscape performance assessment, this book demonstrates the long-term benefits of a renowned McHargarian project (The Woodlands town development) through quantitative and qualitative methods. Including 44 black and white illustrations, Landscape Performance systematically documents the performance benefits of the environmental, social, and economic aspects of The Woodlands project. It delves into McHarg's planning success in The Woodlands in comparison with adjacent Houston developments, which demonstrated urban resilience after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Lastly, it identifies the ingredients of McHarg's ability to do real and permanent good. Yang also includes a number of appendices which provide valuable information on the methods of assessing performance in landscape development. This book would be beneficial to academics and students of landscape architecture and planning with a particular interest in Ian McHarg.

This two volume set of LNAI 11061 and LNAI 11062 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Knowledge Science, Engineering and Management, KSEM 2018, held in Changchun, China, in August 2018. The 62 revised full papers and 26 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 262 submissions. The papers of the first volume are organized in the following topical sections: text mining and document analysis; image and video data analysis; data processing and data mining; recommendation algorithms and systems; probabilistic models and applications; knowledge engineering applications; and knowledge graph and knowledge management. The papers of the second volume are organized in the following topical sections: constraints and satisfiability; formal reasoning and ontologies; deep learning; network knowledge representation and learning; and social knowledge analysis and management.

This two volume set of LNAI 11061 and LNAI 11062 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Knowledge Science, Engineering and Management, KSEM 2018, held in Changchun, China, in August 2018. The 62 revised full papers and 26 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 262 submissions. The papers of the first volume are organized in the following topical sections: text mining and document analysis; image and video data analysis; data processing and data mining; recommendation algorithms and systems; probabilistic models and applications; knowledge engineering applications; and knowledge graph and knowledge management. The papers of the second volume are organized in the following topical sections: constraints and satisfiability; formal reasoning and ontologies; deep learning; network knowledge representation and learning; and social knowledge analysis and management.

This book presents some of the emerging techniques and technologies used to handle Web data management. Authors present novel software architectures and emerging technologies and then validate using experimental data and real world applications. The contents of this book are focused on four popular thematic categories of intelligent Web data management: cloud computing, social networking, monitoring and literature management. The Volume will be a valuable reference to researchers, students and practitioners in the field of Web data management, cloud computing, social networks using advanced intelligence tools.

This book presents some of the emerging techniques and technologies used to handle Web data management. Authors present novel software architectures and emerging technologies and then validate using experimental data and real world applications. The contents of this book are focused on four popular thematic categories of intelligent Web data management: cloud computing, social networking, monitoring and literature management. The Volume will be a valuable reference to researchers, students and practitioners in the field of Web data management, cloud computing, social networks using advanced intelligence tools.

There is no single certification system available Nationally or Internationally for Urological Laparoscopy. Skill training and certification are needed to protect both patients and doctors from the pitfalls of uncertified practice. The book focuses on the details of training within this field. The next step will be to agree nationally and internationally how to assess and certify the skills attained through training in Laparoscopic Urology. The Training Courses of Urological Laparoscopy takes experts in Laparoscopic Urology together from across the world to share their ideas and experience of training, from basic stems in the dry lab through to hints and tricks for problem solving in complex scenarios. The editors want to make this contribution to the literature with the aim to shortly establish robust assessment and certification globally for Laparoscopic Urologists.

Multiple Criteria Decision Support in Engineering Design examines some of the underlying issues and related modelling strategies, with a view to exploring the rich potential of a generalised multiple-criteria approach to design decision-making. The arguments are supported by numerical examples. It can be argued that, within the classic monocriterion paradigm, the optimal solution is inarguably identified once the feasible alternatives are established and an objective function agreed on. It is only when conflict resolution is involved that decision-making truly becomes important, and many design situations exist where stated functional requirements may be in actual or potential conflict. The most preferred solution under such circumstances depends on the designer's or decision-maker's priorities, so that the chosen solution is based on a combination of technical possibilities and designer preferences. This book addresses the key concepts in multiple criteria decision-making and provides valuable insight into how such problems arise and can be solved, in the area of decision-making in general and in the domain of engineering design in particular.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-workshop proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Web-Based Learning, ICWL 2010, held in Shanghai, China, in December 2010. The 36 revised full papers and 8 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 192 submissions. They deal with topics such as e-learning platforms and tools, technology enhanced learning, Web-based learning for oriental languages, mobile/situated e-learning, learning resource deployment, organization and management, design, model and framework of e-learning systems, e-learning metadata and standards, collaborative learning and game-based learning, as well as practice and experience sharing, and pedagogical issues.

Geopolymer Concrete Structures with Steel and FRP Reinforcements: Analysis and Design focuses on structural behavior, including the aspects of compression, bending strength and combined action of GPC members, with the book's content based on published studies over the last two decades. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) structural members reinforced with FRP reinforcement have some advantages in resisting forces compared to conventional concrete or steel tubular members. Among the most important are the high strength and bending stiffness, fire and impact performance and favorable, construction ability and durability. To this end, there are no significant applications of these new structural elements worldwide, partly due to the lack of the understanding of their behavior and insufficient design provisions in different design manuals. This book, therefore, seeks to highlight their characteristics and future potential.

Optimal Operation of Integrated Energy Systems Under Uncertainties: Distributionally Robust and Stochastic Models discusses new solutions to the rapidly emerging concerns surrounding energy usage and environmental deterioration. Integrated energy systems (IESs) are acknowledged to be a promising approach to increasing the efficiency of energy utilization by exploiting complementary (alternative) energy sources and storages. IESs show favorable performance for improving the penetration of renewable energy sources (RESs) and accelerating low-carbon transition. However, as more renewables penetrate the energy system, their highly uncertain characteristics challenge the system, with significant impacts on safety and economic issues. To this end, this book provides systematic methods to address the aggravating uncertainties in IESs from two aspects: distributionally robust optimization and online operation.

Behaviour of Building Structures Subjected to Progressive Collapse gives in-depth and up-to-date quantitative and numerical analysis of building structures against progressive collapse. It does so at various levels, including bare steel joints, composite joints and sub-assemblages and frames under quasi-static loading conditions. The book provides analysis of the force transfer mechanisms of composite structures and reinforced concrete structures, along with detailed numerical models that shed light on the effects of critical parameters on progressive collapse resistances. It includes direct design methods that take into account various collapse-resisting mechanisms. The collapse of the World Trade Center in New York has spurred extensive experimental study and numerical analysis of the structural behavior of buildings under progressive collapse scenarios. Although design guidelines have been published by governments, most are missing up-to-date numerical and experimental results, quantitative accounts of force transfer mechanisms, and numerical guidelines.

Steel-concrete composite structures, including concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) structures and concrete-filled double skin steel tubular (CFDST) structures, have seen a significant increase in use in the modern construction industry due to their superior structural performance compared to conventional steel bare sections and reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Single Skin and Double Skin Concrete Filled Tubular Structures presents state-of-the-art in CFST and CFDST structures and their performance under various static loading conditions. The book establishes a foundation for understanding the structural performance of composite structures by discussing the behavior of CFST and CFDST structures based on experimental and finite element (FE) investigations. Besides, numerical and analytical methods for investigating the behavior of CFST and CFDST structures are presented in detail. The title offers many design examples following international design codes, including North American design guidelines ANSI-AISC 360, European design regulations Eurocode 4, and Australian design code AS 5100. The title can be used for the practical use of civil engineers and as a resource for further research.

Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems and Applications provides a timely introduction to state-of-the-art technologies and important demonstration projects in this rapidly developing field. Written with a view to real-world applications, the authors describe storage technologies and then cover operation and control, system integration and battery management, and other topics important in the design of these storage systems. The rapidly-developing area of electrochemical energy storage technology and its implementation in the power grid is covered in particular detail. Examples of Chinese pilot projects in new energy grids and micro grips are also included. Drawing on significant Chinese results in this area, but also including data from abroad, this will be a valuable reference on the development of grid-scale energy storage for engineers and scientists in power and energy transmission and researchers in academia.

This book offers an introduction to the theory and practice of ecological wisdom (EW). EW is the integration of robust contemporary science with proven cultural and historical practices to identify long-term, sustainable solutions to problems of environmental management and urban design. The book combines theoretical concepts with specific case studies, illustrating the opportunities for interdisciplinary approaches combining historical experience, cultural context, and contemporary science as effective strategies for addressing complex problems confronting metropolitan and rural environmental and resource management in areas such as land use, water management, materials and building engineering, urban planning, and architecture and design. EW transcends the limitations in these fields of the normative approaches of modernity or traditional wisdom by offering a new, synthetic strategy to address socio-ecological issues. By presenting these ideas both theoretically and through existing case studies, the book provides researchers, practitioners and students with a powerful new perspective in developing long-term, resilient solutions to existing socio-environmental challenges. It is intended mainly for those working or interested in the fields of sustainable environmental and resource management, city and regional planning, architecture and design, civil engineering, landscape architecture, and the philosophy of science, particularly those with an ecological or sustainability focus.

The Training Courses of Urological Laparoscopy is written by an international team of experts who have come together to share their experiences of training and skills acquisition in Urological Laparoscopy. Skills training and certification are needed to protect both patient and doctor from the pitfalls of uncertified practice. This comprehensive text focuses on the details of laparoscopic training within the field of urology from step-by-step guidance on the use of basic stems in the dry lab through to hints and tricks for problem solving in more complex scenarios. The Training Courses of Urological Laparoscopy is an essential text for Urologists and residents in training.