Open Access Books

Due to the decreasing availability of fossil fuel resources and rising environmental awareness, innovative methods of renewable energy generation and utilization are rapidly becoming of interest to researchers. Electrical drives and power electronics are one of the most critical components of modern renewable energy systems. The robustness of machines and the increased efficiency of power semiconductor devices enable the improvement of many types of power conversion and generation systems. Thus, this reprint presents and disseminates recent advances regarding theory, modeling, design, application, control, and analysis related to the advancement of electrical engineering in renewable energy. It clarifies the junction of two interesting areas that serve to link information derived from electrical engineering and renewable energy, including recent techniques used to design and model various renewable energy systems, and demonstrates different ways to use power electronics in renewable systems. The reprint also discusses the best ways to identify, design, integrate, and operate the most appropriate technologies through key problems. And it offers some applications related to electrical power engineering and renewable energy technologies, including photovoltaic systems, solar water pumping systems, electric vehicles, microgrid systems, battery energy storage, etc.

‘Private ordering’ is a term that is often mentioned, but used inconsistently. In the age of platformised communication, it has become an essential concept for understanding the dynamics of rule-setting and rule-implementation on platforms. Private ordering in the narrower sense refers to the development of rules by one or more private actors, usually businesses, in relation to the (digital) services they offer and the conditions under which they offer them. In the case of private ordering in the media sector, the behaviour being regulated is communication. This article describes its genesis, challenges and future in the light of a growing demand for the inclusion of public values in self-given orders, and analyses its role in different media sectors, in public relations work by governments and on online platforms. It focuses on private ordering by individual companies and organisations and thus excludes sector-wide standards and other cases of (regulated) self-regulation.

« Le 11 mars 2011, le district Nord-Est du Japon a été frappé par un tremblement de terre massif suivi d’un tsunami majeur et d’une série d’accidents à la centrale nucléaire de Fukushima avec fuites d’éléments radioactifs ». Tel est le message que le professeur Kanazawa, président du Science Council of Japan (SCJ) adressa quelques jours après la catastrophe aux présidents des académies des sciences étrangère …

En Océanie, et tout particulièrement au Vanuatu, les jardins sont les témoins d'une tradition rurale ancestrale où la plante alimentaire est à la fois une ressource indispensable, le symbole d'une communauté et un objet d'échange. Les Vanuatais vouent une véritable passion à leurs jardins dans lesquels ils réunissent, sélectionnent et diversifient un riche patrimoine végétal. À travers cet ouvrage abondamment illustré, le lecteur découvrira toute la diversité des plantes alimentaires océaniennes ainsi que les nombreuses espèces introduites par les grands explorateurs du xvie siècle. Chaque espèce fait l'objet d'une fiche descriptive qui présente entre autres la variabilité, la morphologie, le mode de culture et de production ainsi que les différents usages de la plante. Le cédérom qui accompagne le livre apporte des informations plus détaillées qui intéresseront le spécialiste : références bibliographiques, bases de description des ignames et des taras, photos de variabilité morphologique... Afin de mieux préserver cet exceptionnel patrimoine végétal, cet ouvrage attire l'attention d'un large public sur les jardins du Vanuatu et sur cette agriculture océanienne qui combine avec originalité différents apports multiculturels.

Die Schweiz wird seit der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts gerne als Willensnation bezeichnet. Dabei schwingt die Vorstellung mit, dass ein Wille zu Einigkeit und Brüderlichkeit letztlich schon in der DNA der Alten Eidgenossen angelegt gewesen sei und bis heute fortexistiere. Doch davon kann für die Jahrzehnte, die für die Entstehung des modernen Bundesstaats entscheidend waren, keine Rede sein: Der Autor zeigt anhand von Zeitungen, die als wichtigste Plattformen der vorbundesstaatlichen Konflikte gelten können, dass unterschiedliche Geschichtsbilder bestanden, die ihrerseits mit abweichenden nationalen Visionen verknüpft waren. Er bezieht den Faktor Konfession sowie die unterschiedlichen Vorstellungen von tugendhafter Männlichkeit mit ein und eröffnet so neue Einblicke in die komplexe Vorgeschichte des Schweizer Bundesstaats.

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Industrial / commercial art & design

The ecosystems present a great diversity worldwide and use various functionalities according to ecologic regions. In this new context of variability and climatic changes, these ecosystems undergo notable modifications amplified by domestic uses of which it was subjected to. Indeed the ecosystems render diverse services to humanity from their composition and structure but the tolerable levels are unknown. The preservation of these ecosystemic services needs a clear understanding of their complexity. The role of the research is not only to characterise the ecosystems but also to clearly define the tolerable usage levels. Their characterisation proves to be important not only for the local populations that use it but also for the conservation of biodiversity. Hence, the measurement, management and protection of ecosystems need innovative and diverse methods. For all these reasons, the aim of this book is to bring out a general view on the biogeochemical cycles, the ecological imprints, the mathematical models and theories applicable to many situations.

Depuis que la sociologie s’est édifiée en discipline, la question de l’articulation entre pensée empirique et pensée normative – entre faits et valeurs – y occupe une place à la fois centrale et problématique. La multiplicité et la diversité des « ontologies » semblent en effet n’avoir offert aucune perspective totalement satisfaisante, laissant cette question en suspens. D’Émile Durkheim à Max Weber, Andrew Abbott revisite les théories classiques qui se sont construites en réaction au dualisme kantien des trois Critiques, pour poser les jalons de sa propre théorie du processus social. Il tente ainsi de dépasser l’opposition stricte entre le monde des faits et celui des possibilités et des valeurs : entre l’historicisme (Karl Marx) et les thèses du droit naturel et de l’économie scientifique (Alfred Marshall). Au fil d’une réflexion ponctuée d’exemples concrets et de métaphores éclairantes, les fondements d’un nouveau « processualisme » se dessinent peu à peu. Cette approche du monde social prône l’instauration d’un dialogue dynamique entre faits et valeurs – entre passé et futur – pour saisir le flux des processus historiques qui interagissent en permanence au sein d’un présent « épais ».

Negotiating nursing explores how the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Q.A.s) salvaged men within the sensitive gender negotiations of what should and could constitute nursing work and where that work could occur. The book argues that the Q.A.s, an entirely female force during the Second World War, were essential to recovering men physically, emotionally and spiritually from the battlefield and for the war, despite concerns about their presence on the frontline. The book maps the developments in nurses’ work as the Q.A.s created a legitimate space for themselves in war zones and established nurses’ position as the expert at the bedside. Using a range of personal testimony the book demonstrates how the exigencies of war demanded nurses alter the methods of nursing practice and the professional boundaries in which they had traditionally worked, in order to care for their soldier-patients in the challenging environments of a war zone. Although they may have transformed practice, their position in war was highly gendered and it was gender in the post-war era that prevented their considerable skills from being transferred to the new welfare state, as the women of Britain were returned to the home and hearth. The aftermath of war may therefore have augured professional disappointment for some nursing sisters, yet their contribution to nursing knowledge and practice was, and remains, significant.

This book focuses on the analysis, design and implementation of future smart grid systems. This book contains eleven chapters, which were originally published after rigorous peer-review as a Special Issue in the International Journal of Energies (Basel). The chapters cover a range of work from authors across the globe and present both the state-of-the-art and emerging paradigms across a range of topics including sustainability planning, regulations and policy, estimation and situational awareness, energy forecasting, control and optimization and decentralisation. This book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and scholars working in areas related to future smart grid systems.

Recognising the urgent need for further progress in teacher education and preparation for the success of early language learning, this volume presents research on the education and professional development of teachers, exploring how they can foster multilingual spaces in the early years of formal education. Investigating a range of European contexts, the book examines the effectiveness of teacher education for early language learning, covering contexts of multilingualism and English as a foreign language (EFL) with children under the age of 12. Split into three parts examining research into teacher practices, education, and curricula, chapters cover emerging topics such as teacher education and local linguistic encounters; global citizenship and transcultural education; linguistic landscapes and visual narratives; mixed-age classrooms and literacy skills; pre-service and in-service teacher education; and teacher and teacher educator competencies and beliefs. Offering a unique combination of foci on teachers, teacher education and classroom practice, this book will be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of early language education, multilingualism, EFL and teacher education more broadly. Student teachers and teachers working in early language learning contexts may also find the volume of interest.

In recent years, parallel kinematics mechanisms have attracted a lot of attention from the academic and industrial communities due to potential applications not only as robot manipulators but also as machine tools. Generally, the criteria used to compare the performance of traditional serial robots and parallel robots are the workspace, the ratio between the payload and the robot mass, accuracy, and dynamic behaviour. In addition to the reduced coupling effect between joints, parallel robots bring the benefits of much higher payload-robot mass ratios, superior accuracy and greater stiffness; qualities which lead to better dynamic performance. The main drawback with parallel robots is the relatively small workspace. A great deal of research on parallel robots has been carried out worldwide, and a large number of parallel mechanism systems have been built for various applications, such as remote handling, machine tools, medical robots, simulators, micro-robots, and humanoid robots. This book opens a window to exceptional research and development work on parallel mechanisms contributed by authors from around the world. Through this window the reader can get a good view of current parallel robot research and applications.

Moving abroad means having to settle into a new host country. This book enables expats and those who support them to create intercultural connections and friendships both within and outside the workplace. Having left behind a large part of their social network, expats need to make local friends to really settle in. This book shows you how this works, and that breaking out of the expat bubble and making local friends helps you adjust and settle in the new place you call home. Organisations and societies should also support expats if they would like to retain this international talent. It is important to create the conditions for expats to build a social network, for example by connecting them with a local buddy. Learn more in this book about the advantages of such contact and how to set up and manage a buddy system to the benefit of both your expats and your organisation or community. The book is illustrated by many quotes from almost 20 years of research and features 11 real-world experiences of expats around the world. It also includes practical recommendations for expats, organisations and societies. An invaluable resource on creating more intercultural connections and friendships in the workplace and the local community, this book will be well placed in the hand luggage of expats – especially those who go without much organisational support – as well as on the desks of managers and HR professionals who would like to better support expats on this great adventure.