Ecologists are aware of the importance of natural dynamics in ecosystems. Historically, the focus has been on the development in succession of equilibrium communities, which has generated an understanding of the composition and functioning of ecosystems. Recently, many have focused on the processes of disturbances and the evolutionary significance of such events. This shifted emphasis has inspired studies in diverse systems. The phrase "patch dynamics" (Thompson, 1978) describes their common focus.
The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics brings together the findings and ideas of those studying varied systems, presenting a synthesis of diverse individual contributions.

"Education and Career Choice" reports on a research project that offers a new perspective on post-sixteen transitions. Using an approach that combines a synthesis of secondary data with the collection and analysis of narrative accounts it describes how young people in the UK make choices at the end of their compulsory schooling. It presents a dynamic model of decision-making that is unconstrained by currently fashionable theoretical concepts and provides a thorough critique of the current state of research in this area.

Written by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, academics and professionals involved in the EU funded BlueHealth project Based on applied research and evidence from primary and secondary data sources, including surveys, experiments and post-occupancy evaluations Includes practical tools, scenarios and inspirational examples for professionals and students, linked to an online database of further projects Fully illustrated in colour throughout.

Life is often considered to be a journey. The lifecycle of waste can similarly to be a journey from the cradle (when an item becomes be considered is placed in the dustbin) to the grave (when value valueless and, usually, is restored by creating usable material or energy; or the waste is transformed into emissions to water or air, or into inert material placed in a landfill). of this book This preface provides a route map for the journey the reader will undertake. Who? Who are the intended readers of this book? Waste managers (whether in public service or private companies) will find a holistic approach for improving the environmental quality and the of managing waste. The book contains general principles economic cost based on cutting edge experience being developed across Europe. Detailed data and a computer model will enable operations managers to develop data-based improvements to their systems. oj waste will be better able to understand how their actions can Producers influence the operation of environmentally improved waste management systems. oj products and packages will be better able to understand how Designers their design criteria can improve the compatibility of their product or package with developing, environmentally improved waste management systems. Waste data specialists (whether in laboratories, consultancies or environ mental managers of waste facilities) will see how the scope, quantity and quality of their data can be improved to help their colleagues design more effective waste management systems."

The subject of this brief is the application of linear parameter-varying (LPV) control to a class of dynamic systems to provide a systematic synthesis of gain-scheduling controllers with guaranteed stability and performance. An important step in LPV control design, which is not well covered in the present literature, is the selection of weighting functions. The proper selection of weighting functions tunes the controller to obtain the desired closed-loop response. The selection of appropriate weighting functions is difficult and sometimes appears arbitrary. In this brief, gain-scheduling control with engineering applications is covered in detail, including the LPV modeling, the control problem formulation, and the weighting function optimization. In addition, an iterative algorithm for obtaining optimal output weighting functions with respect to the H2 norm bound is presented in this brief. Using this algorithm, the selection of appropriate weighting functions becomes an automatic process. The LPV design and control synthesis procedures in this brief are illustrated using: * air-to-fuel ratio control for port-fuel-injection engines; * variable valve timing control; and * application to a vibration control problem. After reading this brief, the reader will be able to apply its concepts to design gain-scheduling controllers for their own engineering applications. This brief provides detailed step-by-step LPV modeling and control design strategies along with an automatic weight-selection algorithm so that engineers can apply state-of-the-art LPV control synthesis to solve their own engineering problems. In addition, this brief should serve as a bridge between the H-infinity and H2 control theory and the real-world application of gain-scheduling control.

There has never been a better time for seeking grant support for artistic activities. The importance of theater, dance, literature, music, film, the visual arts, and many other art forms is being increasingly appreciated by those individuals and organizations that can best lend financial support to creative endeavors. But just how can these funds be obtained?"Grants for the Arts" gives the specifics of obtaining support for artistic activities from both the public and private sectors. Written by a well known and widely experienced expert in the field of grants administration, this book describes in a clear and easy to follow fashion the best methods for finding out about grants that are available. Library materials, professional associations, workshops, and the news media are just a few of the information sources whose use is detailed.Government support of the arts is covered, with a breakdown by agency of the various federal;, state, and local programs offering aid to the arts. Programs sponsored by foundations and corporations are also included, with specific information about each sector. Writing the proposal--that crucial step in obtaining a grant--is given in-depth, step-by-step consideration. The covering letter, abstract, and project description are all detailed. Budget preparation is given special attention, including the figuring of direct and indirect costs, cost sharing, matching funds, and budget justification."Grants for the Arts" will be an invaluable guide for individual artists in all fields seeking grants, as well as for nonprofit and professional arts organizations.

A fluent and accurate new translation of the dialogue that, of all Plato's works, has seemed to speak most directly to the interests of contemporary and analytical philosophers. White's extensive introduction explores the dialogue's central themes, its connection with related discussions in other dialogues, and its implicaiton for the interpretation of Plato's metaphysics.

Much has been written about whether end-of-life law should change and what that law should be. However, the barriers and facilitators of such changes - law reform perspectives - have been virtually ignored. Why do so many attempts to change the law fail but others are successful? International Perspectives on End-of-Life Law Reform aims to address this question by drawing on ten case studies of end-of-life law reform from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. Written by leading end-of-life scholars, the book's chapters blend perspectives from law, medicine, bioethics and sociology to examine sustained reform efforts to permit assisted dying and change the law about withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. Findings from this book shed light not only on changing end-of-life law, but provide insight more generally into how and why law reform succeeds in complex and controversial social policy areas.

A step by step, passage by passage analysis of the complete Republic. White shows how the argument of the book is articulated, the important interconnections among its elements, and the coherent and carefully developed train of though which motivates its complex philosophical reasoning. In his extensive introduction, White describes Plato's aims, introduces the argument, and discusses the major philosophical and ethical theories embodied in the Republic. He then summarizes each of its ten books and provides substantial explanatory and interpretive notes.

This research project offers a new perspective on post-sixteen transitions. Combing secondary data with narrative accounts it describes how young people in the UK make choices at the end of their compulsory schooling and provides a dynamic model of decision-making and a thorough critique of current research in the area, beyond fashionable concepts.

From the Introduction: "Stoic philosophy, of which Epictetus (c. a.d. 50--130) is a representative, began as a recognizable movement around 300 b.c. Its founder was Zeno of Cytium (not to be confused with Zeno of Elea, who discovered the famous paradoxes). He was born in Cyprus about 336 b.c., but all of his philosophical activity took place in Athens. For more than 500 years Stoicism was one of the most influential and fruitful philosophical movements in the Graeco-Roman world. The works of the earlier Stoics survive only in fragmentary quotations from other authors, but from the Renaissance until well into the nineteenth century, Stoic ethical thought was one of the most important ancient influences on European ethics, particularly because of the descriptions of it by Cicero, through surviving works by the Stoics Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and also Epictetus--and also because of the effect that it had had in antiquity, and continued to have into the nineteenth century, on Christian ethical views. Nowadays an undergraduate or graduate student learning about ancient philosophy in a university course may well hear only about Plato and Aristotle, along perhaps with the presocratics; but in the history of Western thought and education this situation is somewhat atypical, and in most periods a comparable student would have learned as much or more about Stoicism, as well as two other major ancient philosophical movements, Epicureanism and Scepticism. In spite of this lack of explicit acquaintance with Stoic philosophers and their works, however, most students will recognize in Epictetus various ideas that are familiar through their effects on other thinkers, notably Spinoza, in our intellectual tradition."

A fluent and accurate new translation of the dialogue that, of all Plato's works, has seemed to speak most directly to the interests of contemporary and analytical philosophers. White's extensive introduction explores the dialogue's central themes, its connection with related discussions in other dialogues, and its implicaiton for the interpretation of Plato's metaphysics.

World War I had a profound impact on the United States of America, which was forced to 'grow' an army almost overnight. The day the United States declared war on Germany, the US Army was only the 17th largest in the world, ranking behind Portugal - the Regular Army had only 128,00 troops, backed up by the National Guard with some 182,000 troops. By the end of the war it had grown to 3,700,000, with slightly more than half that number in Europe. Until the United States did so, no country in all history had tried to deploy a 2-million-man force 3,000 miles from its own borders, a force led by American Expeditionary Forces Commander-in-Chief General John J. Pershing. This was America's first truly modern war and rising from its ranks was a new generation of leaders who would control the fate of the United States armed forces during the interwar period and into World War II. This book reveals the history of the key leaders working for and with John J. Pershing during this tumultuous period, including George S. Patton (tank commander and future commander of the US Third Army during World War II); Douglas MacArthur (42nd Division commander and future General of the Army) and Harry S. Truman (artillery battery commander and future President of the United States). Edited by Major General David T. Zabecki (US Army, Retired) and Colonel Douglas V. Mastriano (US Army, Retired), this fascinating title comprises chapters on individual leaders from subject experts across the US, including faculty members of the US Army War College.