lap lambert academic publishing jan 2010 (482 Ergebnisse)

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is using less energy to provide the same level of energy service. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature. Another example would be installing fluorescent lights and/or skylights instead of incandescent lights to attain the same level of illumination. A 13 watt fluorescent light bulb outputs the same amount of visible light as a 60 watt incandescent bulb, so you are getting more light for less energy. Efficient energy use is achieved primarily by means of a more efficient technology or process rather than by changes in individual behavior. Energy efficient buildings, industrial processes and transportation could reduce the world''s energy needs in 2050 by one third, and help controlling global emissions of greenhouse gases, according to the International Energy Agency. Energy efficiency and renewable energy are said to be the twin pillars of sustainable energy policy.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 84 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book discusses the relationship between corruption and economic development.Corruption here is defined as the abuse of power by a public official for private benefit. This is an empirical research using well known econometric methods along with recent data related to corruption and economic development. The results agree with the ones from older similar researches while at the same time the author tries to incorporate some new variables that capture aspects of economic development never examined before.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 60 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event ¿related evoked potential (EP) that reportedly reflects the brain''s detection of differences in acoustic stimuli. It''s clinical use is not routine and the EP itself has questionable reliability. This study measured MMN in response to long-duration tonal stimuli in typically developing children ages 7-13. MMN was present in 7 of the 10 children evaluated. Although MMN may have promise as a tool to assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of individuals with auditory processing abnormalities, as well as those with hearing loss and/or language impairments, the use of MMN as a clinical measurement tool at this time is questionable. These results should assist students and professionals understand more clearly the data collection challenges as well as the reasons MMN is not routinely used clinically today. More studies are needed to establish the reliability of MMN in normal individuals.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 64 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Many have questioned the role of credit rating agencies, (CRAs), in the 2007-2008 great financial crisis. Economists and financial observers have criticized CRAs for understating the risk in the sub-prime mortgage markets which they helped structure, such as sub-prime mortgage-based CDSs and CDOs. CRAs are now under investigation for giving investment-grade rating, even AAA grade to sub-prime securities and investment vehicles, at the origin of the housing bubble that brought the whole financial system in 2008 to a near collapse, had governments and central banks not swiftly intervened to stop it from crashing. This book reviews the sovereign credit rating industry, analyses its impact on developing countries and assesses some of the CRAs'' shortcomings in the context of the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the 1997-1998 Asian crisis and concerns that have been raised in regulatory agencies in the US and in Europe.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 72 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Political ecology is a holistic mode of inquiry that applies political analysis to issues of resource use, specifically by actors and organizations interacting in defined social and cultural contexts. This book uses a political ecology perspective to reveal how the Atna'', an Athabaskan people of south-central Alaska who have no treaty rights to resources, use their knowledge of the environment to articulate a specific claim to Copper River salmon. Included here is a discussion of political ecology as it is used in three case studies of Atna'' public activism, as well as in three other case studies from fisheries in North America. The outcome of the book investigates whether there is room for a co-management regime to give the Atna'', as well as other user groups, an equal voice in decisions regarding resource management of the Copper River fishery.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Since its independence, Indonesia has limited the forms of religious expression to six recognized religions based on the Pancasila. In spite of the policy, the existence of other religions are still practiced. One of these¿unrecognized religions¿ is called the kebatinan. Shortly after independence the country has experienced the rise of the kebatinan movement, a phenomenon of re-emergence of local beliefs. This was a new religio-political phenomenon for the newborn country of Indonesia. The purpose of this book is to describe the religious movement of one of the kebatinan groups among the people in West Java, called the PACKU (Paguyuban Adat Cara Karuhun Urang) as the continuation of ADS (Agama Djawa Sunda) belief group. The values of the ADS continue to exist within a complexity of Indonesian National Religions and local animistic beliefs. Special attention will be given to how ADS ideology has been and continues to be religiously negotiated within organizations like the PACKU. This book explores the ways in which religion plays a significant role in resisting the loss of self and communal identity, by focusing on the religious leaders and their negotiations of the ADS ideology.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The European Union describes itself as a ''world player'' in international relations and is considered the ''good guy'' in the international arena. This book inspects if these labels rightly applies to its economic policies. This project investigates gaps and discrepancies thoroughly and as a result creates awareness of the issue at hand. The EU''s trading policy is closely linked to its development policy. Altough the EU can be commended for trading with developing countries and providing them with opportunities for development, it remains unclear if the EU has truly provided them with opportunities to benefit from or if they are merely taking advantage of their weak economic status.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 76 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This study looks at the participatory budgeting (PB) implemented in the Brazilian city of São Paulo between 2001 and 2004 to analyze whether it increased marginalized groups'' chances of influencing public policies in the city. São Paulo is one of the largest and most unequal urban centers in the world. Therefore, the city is an important test case for studying the potential of the PB model because it constitutes an amplified version of the challenges associated with democratic consolidation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The author uses Leonardo Avritzer''s concept of 'participatory publics' to analyze the PB vis-à-vis traditional mechanisms of democratic representation. Results from fieldwork conducted during the summer of 2004 confirm the usefulness of Avritzer''s framework. The PB opened up the political opportunity structure in the city, facilitated the incorporation of alternative practices first introduced by social movements, and combined both deliberative and decision-making features. Moreover, according to several interviewees, the PB 'tensioned' or helped to expand existing democratic structures by including more radical forms of participation.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 80 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This study examines different levels of security community development between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Following security community development model by Emanuel Adler and Michael Barnett, it examines core states, shared ideology, economic transactions and international institutions among EU and ASEAN members that are all conducive to security community development in order to investigate what causes the difference in the development. It also examines mutual trust and collective identity which are the necessary conditions of a security community. This research not only identifies causes for the difference in security community developments, but also finds that there is a correlation between the factors and conditions of a security community, thus, validating Adler and Barnett model.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 88 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -People working in the informal sector, such as street vendors, are perceived as passive players rather than active individual entrepreneurs. In smaller developing countries like Nepal the informal sector forms a major aspect of the overall economy, providing employment to a large percentage of the urban population and providing cheaper goods and services to people of all income levels. This research looks into the economic, social and political situation of street vendors in the cities of Kathmandu and Lalitpur and examine ways to organize them.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Supply chain coordination and shipping conditions have a substantial impact on food quality of produce supply chains, especially when supply chains cross international borders. After harvesting, shipping conditions are the primary determinants of food quality for highly perishable commodities such as tomatoes. Based on food marketing research, food quality for highly perishable commodities is becoming one of the most important issues in today''s food markets. With the help of a discrete-event simulation software (SIMUL8®), a simulated supply chain distribution model, including tomato harvesting, packing, shipping and distributing, was developed to analyze overall supply chain performance, and Simetar was used to estimate associated costs and benefits for each participant in this supply chain. Finally, benefit-cost ratios were simulated to assess the adoption of temperature controlling technology on tomato supply chain marketing implications. The results show that tomato keeping quality can be improved from 2.7 days to 5.4 days on average when temperature range within marine containers is controlled better.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 84 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -In this study, investor decision theory was used as the basis for a survey that demonstrates the barriers faced by those promoting microfinance institutions and public capital markets as the mechanism for implementing grassroots development theory. Grassroots development theory promotes entrepreneurship across the base of a developing country''s population by encouraging capital infusion at the local instead of national or industry level and promoting local ownership and local capital building. A common method for implementing grassroots theory in developing countries is through microfinance institutions. Investor decision theory, supported by the data from this study, raises concerns over the validity of grassroots development theory as a valid tool for economic growth in developing countries. While individual MFIs have encouraging performance, the aggregate of MFI loans globally are too small to measurably impact developing nations'' economies. Thus, for grassroots development theories to be implemented successfully, there needs to be an expansion of MFIs'' capitalization structure. Publicly traded mutual funds offer a method to access this capital.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book is a discourse on the capital market and its interactive framework of acquisition and issuance of financial assets for investors and issuers of capital assets. The monograph consists of four essays in financial economics that offer a spectrum of revisions to the existing literature. Chapter 1 is a delineation of the capital markets over the past half century and major developments on these markets on issues that pertain to the investor''s opportunity set and the corporation''s capital-raising availability set. Chapter 2 is a rework on the Markowitz-Roy-Tobin structure of the efficient frontier and of the Separation Theorem. Taking the paradigm from a 2-asset to an n-asset portfolio, revision-theoretic exercises are performed under a comparative-statics framework, and the effect of a perceived risk/return change is explored. Chapter 3 questions the legitimacy of existing capital structure literature, points out the obfuscation of Modigliani-Miller''s Value Invariance Proposition, and corrects the major result. Chapter 4 is a re-examination of MM''s analysis with taxes. It is demonstrated that the literature needs correcting, and modifications on the classic results are shown.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 100 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act introduced fixed payments which unlike previous payment programs are designed to be ¿decoupled¿ from production decisions. In general, economists believe that fixed payments, which account for one-third of total United States government payments to farmers, are an efficient way to transfer income to targeted recipients. Further, fixed payments are believed to generate only minimal distortions in resource allocation decisions. This study, based on data from a national survey of farm households, examines how farm households allocate the proceeds from a fixed payment. In addition, it examines what factors best explain how farm households indicate that they would allocate the hypothetical payment. Results indicate that the extent to which fixed payments can be considered ¿decoupled¿ depends on a variety of factors that describe the farm business, operator, and household.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 100 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The remaining good native vegetation (more than 50% native plant cover) is estimated to be less than 2% of the land mass of Mauritius. With human colonization, large number of alien species has been introduced in Mauritius, contributing greatly to the degradation of our native flora and fauna, with the strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum Sabine) one of the most aggressive invasive alien plant. The aim of this study was to determine species richness, stem density and basal area of alien species within 1-ha of non-managed native forest of Brise Fer in view of improving our understanding of their impact on the native woody plant species to suggest possible improvement of conservation management. Invasive alien plants have growing populations and they are, to a great extent, responsible for the reduction in growth and regeneration of native species, conservational measures such as, the weeding; is a must to maintain native species diversity and restoring forest ecosystems impacted by alien species.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 76 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -As with most other industrialized countries of the world, the population growth rate for older adults in the United States has rapidly exceeded the growth rate of the population as a whole. Despite these demographic changes, there is a lack of research that explores factors which contribute to the adaptation and well-being of the older population. This book, therefore, investigates the impact of biological, cultural, sociological, and psychological factors which influence the aging process, sexual health, and overall quality of life. Data were collected from residents of one of the largest active retirement communities in the United States. Study findings demonstrate physical fitness impacts perceived sexual desire and perceived sexual performance. The study identified a set of variables that predicted participation in sexual activity, sexual acceptance, sexual satisfaction, and quality of life among older adults. This book is useful for scholars, health professionals, and anyone else interested in the study of aging and sexuality.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 72 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The main objective of this study is to compare Muslim countries with the rest of world in terms of the effectiveness and efficiency of the factors of competitiveness. Its another objective is to determine the factors of competitiveness of the nations. The study has also assessed the impacts of improvement in political and corporate governances of the institutions, technological advancement and higher education on the business competitiveness.It was concluded that investment and technology readiness affects the competitiveness in Muslim countries in different ways. It was recommended that Muslim countries should improve their governance of the corporate and political institutions and the higher education to achieve the efficiency and higher targets of competitiveness. The study also discusses the cause and consequences of the deterioration and depressing condition of higher education in Muslim countries.The hypothesis of external conspiracy was not accepted in the study and it was concluded that weak human resources are mainly responsible for deterioration in the higher education.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 72 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The historical, traditional situation in Irish society is that the caring for family members is a normative cultural expectation. Carers provide help and support to family members or friends who require it due to illness or disability. This caring role provides many challenges to the carer and in particular places substantial mental and physical demands on the Individual. This book looks at the caring role and recognises the implications it has on the life of carers. In particular it highlights three main areas, the health of carers, financial support for carers and support systems provided for carers. This study has emphasised that providing care for an elderly person involves a considerable amount of work which can affect the wellbeing of carers and in turn affect their capacity to care. It would be useful for the government in the development of policy in Ireland, Organizations involved in providing support for carers and anyone else who works as a carer or knows a Carer, as they will truly appreciate the noble act of caring.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 76 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Over the past decade and a half we have seen how far countries can go in changing their economic and political system. Transition from central planning to market economy has been both difficult and challenging. Some countries have proceeded quite well but others are very far away. To ensure success of transition, countries will need to develop institutions that are necessary for private markets to operate successfully and establish a government which, will help the market economy to develop.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 84 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -As an integral part of the globalization process, international joint venture (IJV) has become a very popular and important mode for accessing foreign markets. One of the most interesting and important issue in the analysis of JVs is how profits are shared between the partners. Many existing papers use the bargaining approach. Unlike the normal methodology in the existing literature, this book displays a non-bargaining three-stage model to examine this question in three different markets. The result shows that with an optimal tax approach, no matter in a single market, or in an integrated market, or in a segmented market, the domestic partner always seizes more than 50% of profit share even without any bargain power. This book should provide an alternative view for policy makers in developing countries to attract and control foreign investments, and for scholars and advanced students who research on the field of foreign direct investment and international joint venture.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 68 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The current research is devoted to investigation of the impact of institutional environment on the volumes of private investments in infrastructural sectors in low and middle income countries. Econometric models for limited dependent variables (Tobit, Heckit) and count variables (Poisson) were implemented for analysis. The obtained results support the theoretical predictions on positive impact of better institutions' quality on probability of observing private infrastructural projects, total number of such projects and total volume of private infrastructural investments. The practical value of the work is in emphasis of cruciality of proper institutional policy for attracting private investments in infrastructural sectors.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 60 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The ingredients approach was used to estimate the cost of one school''s effort to comply with the reading and writing achievement goals as established for Pennsylvania schools in response to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The improvement strategies used in this study were aimed at raising the achievement of all students. While successful in moving students to proficient and advanced performance levels as measured by the Pennsylvania System for School Assessment, the intervention strategies failed to move all students to proficiency. Students with disabilities were among those most resistant to the intervention strategies. Three constituents, including the District, the Federal Government, and Teachers and Administrators, bore the three year best estimate cost of $352,264. Personnel costs, specifically classroom teachers, accounted for the largest percentage of this total cost. Teacher after-school work accounted for 44.4% of the total cost.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -These days, firesetting and arson seem to be on the increase. The detection of arson cases can result only from the thorough investigation of all fires. Currently, firefighters play a vital role in fire investigation. Indeed they are the first arrivals to the fire scene. They will need to be observant for the different indicators at the fire scene. There will be those who will judge if the fire was natural, accidentally or malicious. They will warn in this last case the competence of more suitable people: policemen, forensics, dog handlers¿ Therefore until the ¿fire investigators¿ arrive, the firefighters will be their eyes and ears; what they see and hear will be the key to future success. The ¿Fire Investigators¿ will have to be aware of information picked up by firefighters. It is why communication between firefighters and ¿Fire Investigators¿ is a basic requirement. The purpose of this book is to enable firefighers, through the substantial nature of the information given in this report, to recognise the first signs of arson and to behave properly at the fire scene to enable a further examination.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 60 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This thesis examines the development of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) movement in Latin America. It will show how this movement has developed and what it has achieved from its starting point in the 1960s until the present date. The first LGBT movements in Latin America sprung up in the major cities in the 1960s and 1970s and were inspired by other local and global social movements at the time including the gay liberation movement in the United States, the Hippies and the New Left. Due to several factors including political repression other Latin American did not develop a LGBT movement before the 1980s. Factors like a globalisation of sexual identity and the influx of HIV/AIDS pushed this movement forward as it has challenged traditional notions of sexuality. The book will draw on case studies from a number of countries including Argentina and Brazil to show that despite difficulties the LGBT movement have been able to achieve a number of things including a greater acceptance in society, a number of positive law changes.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -From covering rape trials and reporting on house fires to writing about student death and working 40 hours a week ¿ sometimes for no pay, there''s more behind what you see in college student newspapers. Across the country, tens of thousands of college students balance classes, their personal lives and the hours they spend each day at the student newspaper, sometimes not realizing the cost to themselves. In this work, Gutsche, a journalist and educator, attempts to address those interested in the development and experiences of college student journalists, the students themselves, and those who work with student reporters. Through the stories of ten college student journalists who work on independent college student newspapers, Gutsche reveals potential questions for future research surrounding this population. By voicing their struggles with identity formation, balancing career and academic planning, these journalists help uncover potential needs and challenges of these students on our college campuses.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The aim of this book ¿ submitted as part of my Master''s degree in Political Theory - is to examine the motivation behind the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, commencing with examinations of the positions taken in several prominent political theories concerning this issue. The theorists examined are Chalmers Johnson, Benjamin Barber, Mark Jurgensmeyer and Gilles Kepel. I shall also present a tripartite framework for Islamic fundamentalism, to model ideational developments within this sphere and to simplify the task of understanding the motivations of Islamist groups. I shall contend that Islamic fundamentalism actually consists of three distinct variants; bodies whose actions demonstrate distinct nationalised, regionalised and ¿globalised'' ambitions. The paradigm of ¿globalised fundamentalism'', to which I contend that Al Qaeda belong, developed along with ¿regionalised fundamentalism'' from the archetypal existence of ¿nationalised fundamentalism''. I bring this understanding to bear on the deficits of the theories examined.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 76 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Fifteen years after the demise of the Soviet Union the Central Asian republics found themselves in similar authoritarian conditions. However the so-called Tulip revolution sets Kyrgyzstan apart from the dominant patterns in the region. The role of informal politics has become one of the most attractive explanations of the political situation in the country. It is argued by many scholars that the ruling clan of the president Akaev could not stay in power for a long because it did not have enough resources to buy elite¿s support. Comparing the cases of the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan the research finds that role of resources does not play the assumed crucial role for the ruling elites to stay in power. The ability of the ruling clan to negotiate clan pacts and keep them stable, balancing and respecting other pact members, is the main explanatory factor contributing to regime durability in the cases researched.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 60 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -THIS study highlighted the impact of the International Economic Crisis on the investment environment and the financial policies of the Arab economies, with emphasis on its causes, repercussions and the mechanisms necessary to confront it. The study noted that the international economic crisis the world is facing is the worst since the 1930s. It also enumerated the roots of the current crisis and its impact on the world economy. It tackled the most significant effects of the crisis on the Arab states, especially on their stock markets, the expatriates'' fund transfers and the levels of employment. The study suggested a few recommendations to counter the crisis, such as raising investment growth rate, increasing the productivity and competitiveness of the real production sectors, increasing the volume of total expenditure, in addition to initiating employment programs and fostering small and medium projects.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 56 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book spells out the challenges that mothers as primary care givers face in caring for their HIV positive children. Challenges of ill health, and that of their children. Above all they face the challenge of adjusting to an HIV diagnosis that has not only affected their children but themselves also. The overwhelming impact of stigma prevents them from confronting their problems openly and directly in their own communities. Poor socio- economic factors and lack of support from families and the social service system leave them feeling dis empowered and incapable.These mothers had to contend with giving up their to institutional care as a strategy to survive the financial burden,stigma and rejection that is put on HIV positive members of the society. The way forward is to turn to the old concept of de-institutionalization whereby families are empowered and supported towards community based care of children.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 100 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Shorttitle The study investigated teenage childbearing patterns with a view to examine consequences of teenage childbearing in Southwest Nigeria.Employing 0.3 as the prevalence rate of early childbearing from Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2003 and 10% sample size adjustment factor for non-response rate, 355 women aged 15-49 years were selected and interviewed through a systematic random sampling technique. Structured questionnaire that investigated socio-economic variables of early childbearing was used for the study. With a mean age at first birth of 17 years, the study revealed a high prevalence rate of early childbearing among women in the study areas. The study further discovered that the incidence of early childbirth cut across parental socio-economic characteristics. Lastly, this study observed serious consequences ranging from high school drop-out, low or diminished employment opportunities for women, higher infant and maternal morbidity and mortality to the issue of poverty regeneration among women who experienced early childbirth in Southwestern Nigeria.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 100 pp. Englisch.