When high-magnitude meteorological hazards impact vulnerable human populations, disasters are the inevitable consequence. Through archaeological and historical evidence, this book investigates how these sudden and unpredictable events affected British medieval populations (AD 1000-1500).

This text is intended to be used in a lecture course for college students in air quality, with a focus on modelling challenges. The key current issues are discussed within six chapters: basic principles and classification of air pollution, radiative transfer, atmospheric boundary layer, gas-phase chemistry, aerosols and multiphase processes, and chemistry transport models and numerical simulation, respectively.

© Springer-Verlag 2008 rd 43 Biennial Meeting of the German Colloid Society rd This volume containsselected paperspresented at the 43 Biennial Meeting of the German Colloid Society held at the Schloß Waldthausen near Mainz, October 8–10, 2007. The meeting’s emphasis was given to “Surface and Interfacial Forces – From Fundamentals to Applications” but also provided a general overview on current aspects of colloid and polymer science in fundamental research and applications.

W ALL ARE SURROUNDED by plastic materials and cannot imagine modem life and utilities without the synthetic polymers. And yet, how many of us can distinguish between polyethylene and PVC? After all, most people name any polymer as ''Nylon. /I Is there any distinction between polymers and plastics? This introductory textbook tries to answer these questions and many others. It endeavors to provide the basic information required in modem life about the best utilization of new materials in the plastics era; the chemical sources of synthetic polymers, and the processes in which small"simple" molecules are converted to giant macromolecules, namely, high polymers; and the understanding of the role of these unique structures, their behavior and performance, their mechanical and thermal properties, flow and deforma­ tion. As we are mainly interested in the final product, the processing of plastics, through shaping and forming, presents a significant challenge to polymer engineering. All this is broadly discussed, ending with modem issues like composites, ecology and future prediction, followed by up-to-date informa­ tion and data about old as well as novel high performance polymers. The text is particularly targeted towards senior students of science and engineering (chemical, material, mechanical and others) who may use it as the first window to the world of polymers. At the same time many profession­ als who are involved in the resin or plastics industry may prefer this approach without elaborate math or overloading.

Mining and geological survey work in Jamaica goes back several hundred years and was initiated by the Europeans when they colonized the Island. The year 2019 marked 160 years since the first Government-commissioned Geological Survey of Jamaica. This is one of the oldest survey activity of this type in the World! This book seeks to commemorate this heritage. It is one of the first books of its kind examining the evolution of the mineral sector and geological survey work of Jamaica, set in the framework of the Country's history of over 500 years.

This book describes new techniques for making decisions in situations with uncertainty and new applications of decision-making techniques.

This edited volume aims to widen the discussion about the diversity of human-nature relationships and valuation methods and to stimulate new perspective that are needed to build a more sustainable future, especially in face of ongoing socio-environmental changes. Conceptual and empirical approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies have been used to highlight the importance of an integrative understanding of socio-ecological systems, where healthy ecosystems underpin the quality of life and societal activities largely drive environmental changes.