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The urban population in many developing countries continues to grow at more than six percent per year. The number of cities with a population of over 10 million inhabitants is expected to double within a generation. More importantly, within a generation, more than half of the developing world's population and between a third and one-half of its poor, will then reside in cities. Not only will the number of inhabitants in cities continue to increase but the problems associated with an increasing urban population will be exacerbated. This strategy paper connects the urban and transport strategies with a focus on poverty. It concentrates on the problems of the very poor, not only in relation to income, but also in terms of the broader dimensions of social exclusion. The objectives of this book are to offer a better common understanding of urban transportation problems in developing and transitional economies and to identify an urban transport strategy framework for national and city governments. ... Read more

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Must read
Onramps and Overpasses is a delightful trip through time and geography as Perrier describes the building of the nation through the building of roads.The author provides a compelling description of the importance of highway infrastructure to people, places and pastimes through fascinating accounts of both famous and ordinary people's adventures in America.I found myself re-reading many passages just to enjoy the images portrayed as the prose became poetry.A must read. ... Read more

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The first edition of Southeast Asia was published before the economic meltdown in the region and this new edition provides a post-crisis account drawing upon literature studies and reports published since 1997. It is a grounded account of how people in the region are responding to-and being affected by-the changes sweeping through the region. ... Read more

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Talks about so much, yet so little
I read this book for a course on Southeast Asian development. I am familiar with the region, so I was fine that the book does not provide much background material. Nonetheless, this book does not effectively discuss development challenges in the region. It seems to take a topic and then provide dozens of little examples, rather than providing a clear thesis and arguing it. Too often, it reads like a World Bank report, with a bit of everything and anything littered in. After reading it, I feel I came away with no message or theme that I could remember, but rather thousands of facts I might forget. There are a few sections with reading (such as the discussion of how the term "development" translates into Asian languages), but overall there are much better books on the same subject, including "Southeast Asian Development" by Andrew McGregor. ... Read more

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This book presents the latest information on both the theory and applications of networks, especially from the fields of transportation and communication, economics and human knowledge handling. It demonstrates that networks are of broad interest and that networks analysis from different disciplines offer unifying insight. Special attention is paid to networks in the ever increasing integration of Europe. Another point of focus is upon combinatorial aspects and the interactive effects between different networks, often known as synergetics. ... Read more

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This unique work introduces the basic principles of artificial intelligence with applications in geographical teaching and research, GIS, and planning. Written in an accessible, non-technical and witty style, this book marks the beginning of the Al revolution in geography with major implications for teaching and research. The authors provide an easy to understand basic introduction to Al relevant to geography. There are no special mathematical and statistical skills needed, indeed these might well be a hindrance. Al is a different way of looking at the world and it requires a willingness to experiment, and readers who are unhindered by the baggage of obsolete technologies and outmoded philosophies of science will probably do best. The text provides an introduction to expert systems, neural nets, genetic algorithms, smart systems and artificial life and shows how they are likely to transform geographical enquiry.

• A major methodological milestone in geography
• The first geographical book on artificial intelligence (Al)
• No need for previous mathematical or statistical skills/knowledge
• Accessible style makes a difficult subject available to a wide audience
• Stan Openshaw is one of the world s leading researchers into geographical computing, spatial analysis and GIS.

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Promising
This is a very interesting direction for geography. Although this text often repeats itself, it covers some good ground.

It does not come with a disk. ... Read more

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Medical geography is an area of geographical research that incorporates geographic techniques into the study of health around the world and studies the impact of climate and location on an individual s health as well as the distribution of health services. It is an important branch of human geography because it aims to provide an understanding of health problems and improve the health of people worldwide based on the various geographic factors influencing them. This essential reader in medical geography has a wide ranging and international appeal. This anthology compiled in honour of Prof. Yola Verhasselt also reviews the progress and current state of the subject.The volume has been divided into six sections: Section I deals with conceptual and methodological aspects of medical geography. Section II of the book deals with case studies on disease ecology. Section III of the book pertains to studies in health care geography. Section IV is devoted to case studies on development and health. Section V concerns with studies on women s health. Section VI examines the progress made in the field of medical geography in Germany, Italy and India. The book will be helpful to geographers, environmentalists and health care professionals. ... Read more

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In this benchmark volume top scholars come together to present state-of-the-art research and pursue a more rigorous framework for understanding and studying the linkages between social and ecological systems. Contributors from a wide spectrum of disciplines, including archaeology, anthropology, geography, ecology, palaeo-science, geology, sociology, and history, present and assess both the evolution of our thinking and current, state-of-the-art theory and research. Covering ancient through modern periods, they discuss the complex ways in which human culture, economy, and demographics interact with ecology and climate change. The World System and the Earth System is critical reading for all scholars and students working at the interface of nature and society.
Contributors: Thomas Abel, Björn Berglund, Chris Chase-Dunn, Alfred Crosby, Carole L. Crumley, John Dearing, Bert de Vries, Nina Eisenmenger, Andre Gunder Frank, Jonathan Friedman, Stefan Giljum, Thomas Hall, Karin Holmgren, Alf Hornborg, Kristian Kristiansen, Thomas Malm, Daniel Mandell, Betty Meggers, George Modelski, Emilio Moran, Helena Öberg, Frank Oldfield, Susan Stonich, William Thompson, Peter Turchin. ... Read more

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We are on the verge of what many are calling the "second information revolution," based on ubiquitous access to both computing and information. The technologies of instant access have potential to transform dramatically our lives. This book contains chapters by leading international experts. They discuss issues surrounding the impact of instant access on cities, daily lives, transportation, privacy, social and economic networks, community and education.

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Students will gain an up to date and in-depth understanding of the issues involved in A-Level option choices. Students are helped to improve exam results by completing the variety of challenging questions and enquiries. Interest and motivation will be increased by the variety of approaches adopted by the various authors, all of whom are experienced educationalists. Student improvement is made possible by the application of a common approach to case studies and an integrated approach to the development of core skills. Teachers will receive value for money from these flexible, well-designed topic books. ... Read more

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This book constitutes a status report on health conditions (including nutrition and freshwater supply) in the Pacific Island Nations. The report is based on investigations carried out over the past decade by the Pacific Science Association and includes ethnic, demographic, historic, economic, political, climatological and ecological aspects. As such, it will serve as an important decision-making tool with respect to criteria for future development, taking into account the very special carrying capacities of the island territories concerned.

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A survey of new research in the cultural history of urban public health, "Body and City" links the approaches of demographic and medical history with the methodologies of urban history and historical geography. It challenges older methodologies, offering new insights into the significance of cultural history, which has largely been overlooked by previous histories of public health. The book explores important issues and experiences in the public health arena in diverse European settings from the medieval to the early 20th century. ... Read more

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Here, Owen Gutfreund offers a fascinating look at how highways have dramatically transformed American communities nationwide, aiding growth and development in unsettled areas and undermining existing urban centers. Gutfreund uses a "follow the money" approach, showing how government policies subsidized suburban development, ] and fueled a chronic nationwide dependence on cars and roadbuilding, with little regard for expense, efficiency, ecological damage, or social equity.The consequence was a combination of unstoppable suburban sprawl, along with ballooning municipal debt burdens, deteriorating center cities, and profound changes in American society and culture. Gutfreund tells the story via case studies of three communities--Denver, Colorado; Middlebury, Vermont; and Smyrna, Tennessee.Different as these places are, they all show the ways that government-sponsored highway development radically transformed America's cities and towns. Based on original research and vividly written, Twentieth-Century Sprawl brings to light the benefits and consequences of the spread of American highways and makes a major contribution to our understanding of ... Read more

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Wonderful book
This book delivers detailed, thorough insight into how federal and state highway policies affected cities of varied size and circumstance. Its excellent historical background reminds us why twenty-first century cities and their transportation are facing the challenges they are today.

A Book About USA's Sins
After reading this book, you will know why we should change the way we are building our cities, and the way we are living. ... Read more

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Spatial analysis assists theoretical understanding and empirical testing in the social sciences, and rapidly expanding applications of geographic information technologies have advanced the spatial data-gathering needed for spatial analysis and model making. This much-needed volume covers outstanding examples of spatial thinking in the social sciences, with each chapter showing some aspect of how certain social processes can be understood by analyzing their spatial context. The audience for this work is as trans-disciplinary as its authorship because it contains approaches and methodologies useful to geography, anthropology, history, political science, economics, criminology, sociology, and statistics. ... Read more

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Excellence!
This book uncovers a relevant framework of social science but is a little expensive! ... Read more

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This title covers: Population, and Population and Health; Geographical Issues in Agriculture; Industry in the Economy; Tourism; and Sustainable Development. ... Read more

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This book with its illustrated exercises and CD-ROM support material, explain how GIS takes geographic information and makes it visually understandable. ... Read more

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plain reading for simple-minded managers
simple-minded in the good sense.for entrenched managers who are struggling to keep up with the latest tools for running utilities, this book is the one to read.in fact, there are no freindly books ever beenwritten about how to apply GIS to utilities ... Read more

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Places the world at your fingertips, with key geography topics explained in a lively and accessible way. It oncovers the drama of the physical world, looking at whirling tornadoes, fiery volcanos and more. Hundreds of recommended Web sites take the reader on journey around the world. Ages 10+. ... Read more

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Medical anthropology is one of the youngest and most dynamic of anthropology's various subdisciplines, examining health-related issues in precapitalist indigenous and state societies, capitalist societies, and postrevolutionary of socialist-oriented societies. While critical medical anthropology draws heavily on neo-Marxian, critical, and world systems theoretical perspectives, it attempts to incorporate the theoretical contributions of other systems in medical anthropology, including biocultural or medical ecology, ethnomedical approaches, cultural constructivism, poststructuralism, and postmodernism. This is the first textbook to incorporate this perspective. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very comprehensive, usually interesting read
As a nonacademic with a strong interest in medical anthropology, this book is exactly what I was looking for, a very broad, thorough overview of the subject, with ample history of the development of medical anthropology.It gave me many new perspectives from which to view disease and health issues.It even briefly covers aspects of New Age approaches to health.Very contemporary and up to date.Since it is written as an academic textbook for undergraduate or graduate courses, the layman will find some sections dragging, but overall very comprehensible and engaging. ... Read more

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The International conference on Design & Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning is organised bi-annually by the Eindhoven University of Technology. This volume contains a selection of papers from the seventh conference that was held at De Ruwenberg Castle in Sint-Michiels Gestel, The Netherlands, from 2 to 5 July, 2004.

Traditionally, the DDSS conferences aim to be a platform for both starting and experienced researchers who focus on the development and application of computer support in the areas of urban planning and architectural design. This results in an interesting mix of well-established research projects and first explorations. It also leads to a very valuable cross-over of theories, methods, and technologies for support systems in the two different areas, architecture and urban planning. This volume contains 22 peer reviewed papers from this year's conference that are organised into five sections:

* Applications of Artificial Intelligence,
* Visualisation fro Design and Decision Support,
* Simulation and Agent Technology,
* Design Research and Design Support Systems,
* Geographical Information Systems.