This book presents some of the leading technical, professional, and political challenges associated with the development and implementation of teacher evaluation systems, along with characterizing some of these systems in different countries around the world. The book promotes a broader comprehension of the complexities associated with this kind of initiatives, which have gained relevance in the last two decades, especially in the context of policies aimed at improving the quality of education.

The present book entitled, “Re-visiting the Rhizosphere Eco-system for Agricultural Sustainability” written by experts in the field, provides a comprehensive and consolidated state-of art overview of various aspects of rhizosphere biology, ecology and functioning. The role of rhizosphere microbial diversity in enhancing plant health and plant-microbe beneficial symbioses is discussed. Main topics include the diversity of plant-associated microbes in the rhizosphere, below-ground communication among the plant, soil, insects and microbes, rhizosphere ecosystem functioning, rhizosphere engineering, recruitment of microorganisms in the rhizosphere, mycorrhizal fungal symbiosis, positive interaction of the plants with the beneficial soil microorganisms for inducing the plant growth, conferring abiotic and biotic stress tolerance and modulating several pathways of the plants for the proper establishment and revitalization in the degraded and contaminated soils or negative likes the host-pathogen interactions leading to the disease development in plants.

This book summarizes achievements of the study on circulation and air–sea interaction and development of the ocean observation network in the South China Sea in the last 20 years, thus serving as a comprehensive reference book to understand the dynamic environment in the SCS. It consists of seven chapters, briefly reviewing our understanding of the SCS circulation and air–sea interaction in chapter 1, then describing in detail the upper layer circulation from large scale (SCS through flow, SCS western boundary current, etc.), to meso- and submeso-scale in Chapters 2 and 5, dilute river plume and coastal upwelling over the shelf in Chapter 3, deep ocean circulation in Chapter 4, tropical cyclone activities and air–sea flux at the interface in Chapter 6, and the construction of the observation network and database in Chapter 7. Besides the basic features of these physical processes, the book also discusses their variations and fundamental dynamics. Thus, it is written in a way that meets the different information demands from researchers working in various marine related fields.

Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is the dominant desalination process worldwide for obtaining fresh water from the sea. The subject matter and scope of this book is the conceptual and advanced planning, design and engineering of plants of this desalination process together with the associated facilities for seawater pretreatment, post-treatment of the product water, wastewater treatment, seawater extraction and plant discharge.

This book covers a wide spectrum of water resources management, including water supply and demand, operation and maintenance of water distribution systems, water quality assessment, impacts of climate change on hydrological extremes, and water governance. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, and population growth are the major factors contributing to a significant rise in water demands across all the sectors in India. Although the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall contributes primarily to the available surface and groundwater resources, recurrent non-uniform/erratic rainfall events have resulted in widespread water scarcity. On many occasions, extreme meteorological conditions trigger the severity of water-related disasters such as floods and droughts. The untreated wastewater from domestic and industrial sources discharged through un-engineered means, adds to the issue as it ends up polluting the surface and groundwater resources.

This volume analyzes the development of the reactions to Covid-19 by governments, the public and the crime patterns in 16 European countries. All countries are members of the European Union and share common European norms and values, but the Covid-19 pandemic can serve as an example of how these norms and values are interpreted differently with regard to people’s trust in public institutions, governmental control strategies, dealing with fear, anxiety and other emotional responses to the new virus, crime patterns and law enforcement priorities to prevent and combat them. The volume provides empirical data based on available statistics, media analysis and qualitative data from interviews and observations, and examines the similarities and differences in crime patterns and the consequences for local communities and law enforcement priorities.

This book addresses the impact of soil and water quality on food production, and explores soil and water conservation measures to be applied at farm level for agricultural sustainability. Divided into 8 chapters, the book covers topics such as soil properties responsible for soil loss, the impact of climate change, water and biological factors on soil chemistry, the effect of soil on the quality of water including sustaining aquaculture productivity and environment of wetlands, soil and water qualities necessary for irrigation, management of soil organic carbon, and the importance of soil moisture conservation including agroforestry for food production. Particular attention is given to the management of soil organic carbon in sustainable crop cultivation as well as reducing soil erosion and nutrient loss from soil from cultivated lands. The book concludes with a chapter that integrates soil and water conservation with sustainable food production and food safety.

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​This book examines social inequalities in Europe, especially those caused by economic factors. It starts with the paradox of European inequality, where on the one hand, even total income inequality in Europe is significantly lower than in most parts of the world; but on the other, Europe is also characterised by profound and durable inequalities within the continent. It discusses inequalities caused by the exclusion of marginalised groups from the labour market, with considerable and sometimes increasing differences between central and peripheral regions, pronounced wealth and labour market inequalities, and significant rates of persistent poverty, deprivation, educational poverty, low wages and unemployment.

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