The setting for this book is the networked community. The treatment of the subject matter is broad and interdisciplinary, with contributions from computer science, sociology, design, human factors and communication technology.

The chapter contributors, drawn from across Europe and North America, offer a varied prospectus of commentary, critique, sociological enquiry, technological development and research findings, which provides a rounded account of the progressive intermingling of social and electronic networks.

The contributors discuss the ways in which the Internet affects both familial and social relationships, communal and civic involvement, social capital and work patterns and lifestyle. Civic intelligence is presented as a nascent concept from which future social networks of increased public advocacy, scrutiny and action may be sourced. Other reported developments include agent-based community systems to model and support communal memory and social knowledge.

The opening section provides a purview of the broad scene covered by the book, followed by discussions about the current state of connected communities. Following this there are case studies illustrating the different aspects of research, both sociological and technological, in this area. The final part reports the variety and the scope of technology-mediated human-to-human communication in a connected community setting today.

Concise Guide to Reinforced Concrete Design to Eurocode 2 explains the principles of limit state design in Eurocode 2 by means of simple worked examples of reinforced concrete design. The book introduces the reader to the basic principles applicable to each section and will guide you to design elementary reinforced concrete structures. Further practice problems and outline solutions are provided along the way and design charts, tables and formulae are included as design aids throughout. Each chapter contains a summary of the key structural design steps and more in-depth coverage of the design of reinforced concrete structural elements are presented which will be of benefit to any practitioner or student. This book is a concise, pick-up-and-go introduction to concrete technology for students of engineering and architecture, and an aide for junior engineers, architects and draughtspersons looking for the essential information for designing with Eurocode 2.

The setting for this book is the networked community. The treatment of the subject matter is broad and interdisciplinary, with contributions from computer science, sociology, design, human factors and communication technology. The chapter contributors, drawn from across Europe and North America, offer a varied

The population of the United States is growing older. Because of the ageing of the population and the decline in income that occurs when people retire, both the amount and the composition of spending by American households could change substantially as the 76 million members of the baby boom generation reach retirement age. This book presents data on spending by Americans aged 55 and older collected by the U S Department of Labor through its Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES). From 1985 to 2005, the average annual expenditures of older Americans rose along with their incomes, and the distribution of spending among expenditure categories changed. These changes were the result of changing tastes and preferences among consumers and differences in the rates of price increase among various classes of goods and services.

The ageing of the American population and the retirement of the baby boom generation will place financial strains on Social Security, public and private pensions, and on retirees' personal savings. Since the 1960s, birth rates have fallen and average life expectancy has increased. Consequently, the number of workers relative to the number of retirees is projected to decline, and retirees will have to stretch their savings and other assets over longer periods of retirement than their parents and grandparents experienced. This book presents data collected by the Census Bureau from 1969 through 2005 that describe how the demographic traits, employment patterns, and the sources and amounts of income of people 65 and older have changed over a period of nearly 40 years.