Books published by Apple Academic Press Inc.

Earth science is a broad field of study that encompasses many different disciplines, including meteorology, climatology, and geology. This work covers topics such as: using satellite remote sensing to track pollution and weather patterns, monitoring for pre-earthquake signals, desalination of ground water, predicting deforestation, and more.

A reference on sustainability, social responsibility, and green practices in hospitality and tourism, this book presents innovative research methods in sustainability, state-of-the-art research by leading internationally recognized scholars on this topic, providing an excellent source of quality research. Readers can expect to find several new ways to pursue research in sustainability.The book covers sustainability in the context of public policy and ethics, a popular topic with universal appeal to many disciplines beyond hospitality. It includes case studies and addresses sustainability issues from hotels, restaurants, tourism, travel, meetings, and others, with authors from all five continents.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.Due to climate change, the rise in energy demand, and issues of energy security, more countries are being forced to reexamine their energy policies and consider more renewable sources of energy. Solar power is expected to play a significant role in the changing face of energy economies, due in a large part to technological advances in the field and the significant decrease in cost. This book describes these advances and examines the current state of solar power. The sections of the book cover the following topics: an overview of hybrid solar energy systems, solar energy and conservation, current solar energy technologies, the economics of solar power, and public perceptions of solar energy.

Organized in three sections, this book covers understanding human performance, analyzing and improving work productivity, and analyzing and improving quality and safety. The author first develops a fundamental and basic understanding of human performance, then couples that understanding with learning how to analyze and improve human-related work productivity and quality and safety. He also discusses how knowledge and skills transfer from one work setting to another.

Backed by the (ISC)², the HealthCare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner (HCISPPSM) credential confirms a practitioner¿s core knowledge and experience in security and privacy controls for personal health information. The Official (ISC)2® Guide to the HCISPPSM CBK® provides the most comprehensive review of healthcare security and privacy concepts and industry best practices. The only HCISPP book endorsed by the (ISC)², it presents relevant and timely content based on sound learning theories to help readers increase knowledge retention.

This book is a follow-up to the author's bestselling book, Lean Safety, published in 2010. It is a natural progression from the philosophical overview provided by Lean Safety to the reality of the application of those principles in facilities around the world. This book presents a collection of Lean Safety Gemba Walk case studies that are based on the author?s experiences over the last four years. As the stories unfold, readers are transported on a journey of discovery through the Gemba and begin to see safety differently just as those who physically participated.

High Availability IT Services examines the considerations for designing and running highly available "services" and not just the systems infrastructure that supports those services. In doing so, it introduces the concept of logical outages and human factors. Providing an overview of virtualization, cloud computing, and cloud vendors, it supplies a detailed look at availability, redundancy, and fault tolerance. The book examines high availability architectures such as reliability, availability, and serviceability; clusters; grids; and redundant arrays of independent disks storage.

Using case studies, practical examples, illustrations, charts, and pictures from real small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturers, this book provides practical solutions to the issues facing every growing manufacturing business. The book details how SMEs differ from large organizations and why the approach to Lean Manufacturing must also be different. Covering the complete life cycle of small and medium-sized manufacturers, the book addresses a different SME manufacturing issue in each chapter¿enabling readers to tackle issues at their own pace and in their order of priority.

This gripping real-time drama is set against the devastation of the Haiti earthquake. The author, a pioneer of digital humanitarianism, didn¿t stay idle long. Within hours, from his laptop, he¿d assembled a global network of volunteers to collect, analyze, sift through, map, and relay accurate information from survivors on the ground voicing cries of help using social media. Their data-mining accomplishments were record breaking and set new standards for quick action in large-scale disaster relief situations. This book explains the technology behind this new wave of ICT networking and data mining.

Nursing personnel not only work to keep patients safe, but must also contend with a number of safety and health risks. Illustrating the occupational risks nurses face, this book addresses healthcare safety as related to nursing personnel risks, hazards, and responsibilities in hospitals and healthcare facilities. It begins with an introduction to nursing safety and then delves into the range of safety issues that nurses must contend with. Topics covered include administrative area safety, bloodborne pathogens, workplace violence, infection control and prevention, and emergency management.

This work presents recent research results in wavelet designs on 3D shapes and their applications in shape analysis. It explains how to apply the design methods to various types of 3D data, such as polygonal meshes, point clouds, manifolds, and volumetric images. Unlike many other wavelet books, this one does not involve complicated mathematics. Instead, the book uses simplified formulations and illustrative examples to explain deep theories. Code and other materials are available on a supplementary website.

With chapters by the editors and other experts in the field of polymer science, this book covers a broad selection of important research advances in the field, including updates on enzymatic destruction and photoelectric characteristics, studies on the changes in the polymer molecular mass during hydrolysis and a new type of bioadditive for motor fuel, and an exploration of the interrelation of viscoelastic and electromagnetic properties of densely cross-linked polymers. Also included are chapters that discuss the problems of mechanics of textile performance, new aspects of polymeric nanofibers, a mathematical model of nanofragment cross-linked polymers, and much more.

Through a balanced combination of theory and experiments, this book provides a detailed overview of the main and most up-to-date advances in the area of polymeric materials. Because the subject is essentially interdisciplinary and brings together scientists and engineers with different educational backgrounds, the book offers a research-oriented exposition of the fundamentals as well.

Environmental chemistry is considered an interdisciplinary field of study that involves the science of ecology as well as chemistry. This volume deals with topics in environmental chemistry, such as pesticide-related illnesses in humans and plants, the effects of litterfall in the soil of tropical forests, and toxicants in various bodies of water.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.The research contained in this valuable compendium offers a much-needed perspective on one of the most dangerous health crises our world faces today: obesity. Obesity has become an epidemic, a fact frequently discussed in the media, with many references to both childhood and adult obesity. These discussions, however, overlook an important demographic: the adolescent who is obese or overweight. The authors offer critical insights into the forces and factors that result in the numerous metabolic and psychological consequences of adolescent obesity.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.Nutrition is not only a basic need that all humans have to sustain life, but it is also critical to successful early development. This research compendium lends deeper insights into the links between nutrition and healthy brain functionΓÇöand from the reverse perspective, between nutrition and neurocognitive disorders. This well-organized and accessible compendium offers a vital research context for policymakers, educators, medical providers, and families. It underlines our urgent responsibility to give children a strong start by improving prenatal and early childhood nutrition.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.The rate of identification of children with neurobiological disabilities has been on the increase in recent years. Millions of dollars in research are being spent to understand the factors influencing these increases. The articles within this compendium shed vital light on this issue, confirming that various "ordinary" chemical hazardsΓÇöof the sort encountered by countless children in their everyday livesΓÇöare having serious impacts on development. This volume investigates the impact of exposure to tobacco smoke, household chemicals, lead, agricultural toxins, and flame retardants.

Examining energy, environment, and sustainability from the chemical engineering point of view, this book highlights critical issues faced by chemical engineers and biochemical engineers worldwide. The book covers recent trends in chemical engineering and bioprocess engineering, such as CFD simulation, statistical optimization, process control, waste water treatment, micro reactors, fluid bed drying, hydrodynamic studies of gas liquid mixture in pipe, and more. Other chapters cover important ultrasound-assisted extraction, process intensification, polymers and coatings, as well as modelling of bioreactor and enzyme systems and biological nitrification.

This new research book explores and discusses a range of topics on the physical and mechanical properties of chemical engineering materials. Chapters from prominent researchers in the fields of physics, chemistry, and engineering science present new research on composite materials, blends, carbon nanotubes, and nanocomposites along with their applications in technology. Discussing the processing, morphology, structure, properties, performance, and applications, the book highlights the diverse and multidisciplinary nature of the field.

This volume contains a collection of topical chapters that promote interdisciplinary approaches to biological systems, focusing on fundamental and relevant connections between chemistry and life. Included are studies and experiments as well as invited lectures and notes by prominent leaders on a wide variety of topics in biology and biochemistry. By describing the complementary nature of chemistry and biology, the book presents the biological processes in detailed chemical terms, providing a fascinating look into the emerging field of chemical biology.

The fundamentals of polymerization, polymer characteristics, rheology and morphology, as well as composition, technology, testing and evaluation of various plastics, rubbers, fibers, adhesives, coatings, and composites are comprehensively presented in this volume. The book presents the developments of advanced polyblends and the respective tools to characterize and predict the material properties and behavior. It provides original and theoretical experimental results that use non-routine methodologies often unfamiliar to many readers. Chapters on novel applications of more familiar experimental techniques and analyses of composite problems are included.

Describing breakthrough new work at Virginia Mason, the book explains why governance has played such a big role in Virginia Mason's success and also presents a new game-changing initiative concerning respect for people.

The role of the project manager with agile differs significantly from traditional project management in that there is minimal up-front planning. This book will help project managers from any industry transition to agile project management. The book focuses on the project management component of agility, concentrating on industry standards, certifications, and being agile. The book's focus is in alignment with the Project Management Institute (PMI®) Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®) credential-making it ideal for anyone preparing for the PMI-ACP® exam.

This book is part of a series of titles that are a spin-off of the Shingo Prize-winning book Leveraging Lean in Healthcare: Transforming Your Enterprise into a High Quality Patient Care Delivery System. Each book in the series focuses on a specific aspect of healthcare that has demonstrated significant process and quality improvements after a Lean implementation.The result of implementing Lean in the surgical suite is a powerful and proven mix that enables members of cross-functional teams to improve their processes, efficiency, and financial performance. Leveraging Lean in Surgical Services: Creating a Cost Effective, Standardized, High Quality, Patient-Focused Operation provides a functional understanding of Lean processes and quality improvement techniques for the surgical department. This book is an ideal guide for healthcare executives, leaders, process improvement team members, and inquisitive frontline workers who want to implement and leverage Lean in the surgical suite. Supplying detailed descriptions of Lean tools and methodologies, it identifies powerful solutions specific to the needs of surgical services.The first section provides an overview of Lean concepts, tools, methodologies, and applications. The second section focuses on the application of Lean in the surgical services environment. Presenting numerous examples, stories, case studies, and lessons learned, it examines the normal operation of each area in the surgical suite and highlights the areas where typical problems occur.Next, the book walks readers through various Lean initiatives and demonstrates how Lean tools and concepts have been used to achieve lasting improvements to processes and quality of care. It also introduces actionable blueprints that readers can duplicate or modify for use in their own institutions.Illustrating leadershipΓÇÖs role in achieving departmental goals, this book will provide you with a well-rounded understanding of how Lean can be applied to achieve significant improvements throughout the entire continuum of care.

Although life continues to become increasingly embedded with interactive computing services that make our lives easier, human-computer interaction (HCI) has not been given the attention it deserves in the education of software developers at the undergraduate level. Most entry-level HCI textbooks are structured around high-level concepts and are not directly tied to the software development process. Filling this need, Human-Computer Interaction: Fundamentals and Practice supplies an accessible introduction to the entire cycle of HCI design and implementationΓÇöexplaining the core HCI concepts behind each step. Designed around the overall development cycle for an interactive software product, it starts off by covering the fundamentals behind HCI. The text then quickly goes into the application of this knowledge. It covers the forming of HCI requirements, modeling the interaction process, designing the interface, implementing the resulting design, and evaluating the implemented product. Although this textbook is suitable for undergraduate students of computer science and information technology, it is accessible enough to be understood by those with minimal programming knowledge. Supplying readers with a firm foundation in the main HCI principles, the book provides a working knowledge of HCI-oriented software development. The core content of this book is based on the introductory HCI course (advanced junior or senior-level undergraduate) that the author has been teaching at Korea University for the past eight years. The book includes access to PowerPoint lecture slides as well as source code for the example applications used throughout the text.

Drawing on a stellar collection of contributors, this book highlights the importance of public administration training and development for equipping individuals with the competencies needed for leading and managing public agencies, enacting policies, and delivering public services. Responding to the recent increased demand for stronger and smarter training institutions and materials that prepare African professionals for implementation of reform policies, public-private partnerships, performance and ethics practices such as transparency and accountability, it offers concrete solutions to illustrative cases from a host of key nations.

The rapid development of the information society has accentuated the importance of digital divides, which refer to economic and social inequalities among populations due to differences in access to, use of, or knowledge of information and communication technologies (ICT). This book discusses the current state of digital divides, ranging from global challenges in universal access to new opportunities for greater digital inclusiveness (e-inclusion). The first part of the book illustrates current challenges and provides examples from emerging markets and developed countries alike. It covers digital divides facing a developing country like Ghana and the range of divides in large places like Australia, China, and Russia. It also discusses digital skill divides in Europe and the digital gender divide, which shows that there are more men online than women. The second part of the book focuses on e-inclusion and describes recent efforts to bridge digital divides through a number of initiatives. It explores the inclusion programs in Singapore, the efforts in India to leverage mobile devices, and how a UK nongovernmental organization attempts to bridge existing gaps there. It also assesses programs in several countries that provide computers to youth. The book concludes with a view toward the future, including challenges in determining outcomes in ICT for development (ICT4D) and anticipated new divides. It introduces the cyber dependency matrix to illustrate where countries are in their journey toward an information society and what happens as they reach higher levels. Emerging concerns include a global information divide, courtesy of cyber security and data policies.