...no one had ever seen before. In the course of a few months, more than 60% of Florence’s population died from the disease. The Black Death was an epidemic of a terrible plague, a disease caused by a bacteria. The bacteria was Yersinia Pestis that goes around in wild rodents where they live in great numbers of groups. An area like that is called a ‘plague focus’ or a ‘plague reservoir’. Humans received the Black Death when they came in contact with rats, preferably black rats that were infected. It would take ten to fourteen days...
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...regarding how much variance is required in order to be considered a different functional phage. Under the current patent system in the United States, patenting a phage would be a nightmare, considering the process takes years, and bacteria could easily evolve, rendering the patent processing phage useless. Developing nations have the advantage of a more relaxed legal system, meaning phage therapy in medical applications and food usage is easier. The FDA equivalent in most developing nations is fundamentally not going to be as strict about what goes into the country's food supply, especially if phages are known to cause no harm to humans. Massive disease outbreak calls for any types of promising medical treatments (Skurnik et al. 1). The unpredictability of phage variance is why phage therapy makes more sense in less regulated...
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...Guns, Germs and Steel Page 1 GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL: The Fates of Human Societies By Jared Diamond, 1997 About the Author: Jared Diamond is a professor of physiology at UCLA School of Medicine. He is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and was awarded a 1999 National Medal of Science. He is also the author of The Third Chimpanzee. SUMMARY The book asks and attempts to answer the question, once humankind spread throughout the world, why did different populations in different locations have such different histories? The modern world has been shaped by conquest, epidemics, and genocide, the ingredients of which arose first in Eurasia. The book’s premise is that those ingredients required the development of agriculture. Agriculture also arose first in Eurasia, not because Eurasians were superior in any way to people of other continents, but because of a unique combination of naturally occurring advantages, including more and more suitable wild crops and animals to domesticate, a larger land mass with fewer barriers to the spread of people, crops, and technology, and an east-west axis which meant that climate was similar across the region. The book is well written and contains not only information about the history of cultures around the world, but excellent descriptions of the scientific methodologies used to study them, from how archeologists study the origin of agriculture to how writing evolved to how linguistics can trace the movements of peoples across huge geographic...
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...,This report has been prepared as input to the 2012 World Water Week and its Special Focus on Water and Food Security. Feeding a Thirsty World Challenges and Opportunities for a Water and Food Secure Future RepORT 31 Copyright © 2012, Stockholm International Water Institute, SIWI ISBN: 978-91-978846-5-5 ISSN: 1404-2134 How to Cite: Jägerskog, A., Jønch Clausen, T. (eds.) 2012. Feeding a Thirsty World – Challenges and Opportunities for a Water and Food Secure Future. Report Nr. 31. SIWI, Stockholm. Cover photo: iStockphoto Design by Britt-Louise Andersson and Elin Ingblom, SIWI Printing by Elanders, Mölnlycke, Sweden. The printing process has been certified according to the Nordic Swan label for environmental quality. For electronic versions of this and other SIWI publications, visit www.siwi.org. Feeding a Thirsty World Challenges and Opportunities for a Water and Food Secure Future Note to the Reader Today, in 2012, nearly one billion people still suffer from hunger and malnourishment, in spite of the fact that food production has been steadily increasing on a per capita basis for decades. Producing food to feed everyone well, including the 2 billion additional people expected to populate the planet by mid-century, will place greater pressure on available water and land resources. This report provides input into the discussions at the 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm, which is held under the theme of Water and Food Security, and was edited by Anders Jägerskog...
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...CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY The auditing standard and guidelines of 1980 (U.K) defines internal control “as the whole system of controls, financial and otherwise, established by the management in order to carry on the business of the enterprise in an orderly and efficient manner, ensure adherence to management policies, safeguard and assets and secure as far as possible the completeness and accuracy of the records”. This working definition is all embracing enough to serve as a guide throughout this chapter. The system of internal control extends beyond financial matters of an organization, in that human resource control, production control, work study and scheduling, operations research, quality control, total quality management, audit committee, corporate governance and all security arrangements among others are integral part of the system of control. Even a recent development in accountancy profession called ‘forensic accounting’ could be traced to have emanated from the system of internal control in an effort to produce accounting information “suitable for use in a court of law”. Invariably, forensic accounting is increasingly playing more pro-active risk reduction roles by designing and performing extended procedures as part of audit, control measures and fraud deterrence. Therefore, internal control system is concerned with the controls operating in every area of an establishment as well as with the way in which Individual control interact...
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...THE B L A C K SWAN The HIGHLY I mpact IM of the PROBABLE Nassim Nicholas Taleb U.S.A. $26.95 Canada $34.95 is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpre dictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9 / 1 1 . For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives. A BLACK SWAN Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to Taleb, is that humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don't know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate oppor tunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the "impossible." For years, Taleb has studied how we fool our selves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We restrict our thinking to the irrelevant and inconsequential, while large events continue to surprise us and shape our world. Now, in this reve latory book, Taleb explains everything we know about what we don't know. He offers...
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...Jurassic Park Michael Crichton Copyright Michael Crichton (c) 1991 All Rights Reserved The right of Michael Crichton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in Great Britain in 1991 by the Random Century Group 20 Vauxhall Bridge Rd, London SWIV 2SA Century Hutchinson South Africa (Pty) Ltd PO Box 337, Bergvlei 2012 South Africa Random Century Australia Pty Ltd 20 Alfred St, Milsons Point, Sydney, NSW 2061 Australia Random Century New Zealand Ltd PO Box 40-086, Glenfield, Auckland 10 New Zealand A CIP Catalogue Record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 0 7126 4686 8 Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc For A-M and T "Reptiles are abhorrent because of their cold body, pale color, cartilaginous skeleton, filthy skin, fierce aspect, calculating eye, offensive smell, harsh voice, squalid habitation, and terrible venom; wherefore their Creator has not exerted his powers to make many of them." LINNAEUS, 1797 "You cannot recall a new form of life." ERWIN CHARGAFF, 1972 Introduction "The InGen Incident" The late twentieth century has witnessed a scientific gold rush of astonishing proportions: the headlong and furious haste to commercialize genetic engineering. This enterprise has proceeded so rapidly-with so little outside commentary-that its dimensions and implications are hardly understood at all. Biotechnology promises the...
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...Review of Warehouse Receipt System and Inventory Credit Initiatives in Eastern & Southern Africa Final report commissioned by UNCTAD under the All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme (AAACP) *The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations September 2009 CONTENTS CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .....................................................................................................................iii GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................. iv GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................. iv SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Observations on the different approaches ......................................................................... 1 Policy conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................ 3 Specific proposals .....................................................................
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...More Praise for the Second Edition of Mergers & Acquisitions from A to Z ‘‘Sherman and Hart have done a terrific job assembling and synthesizing the basic, yet critical, issues to be aware of before/during/ after the deal. A well-rounded, up-to-date primer filled with pragmatic information that will serve as an excellent reference regardless of the reader’s M&A experience.’’ —Edward J. Hayes, Jr. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Quantum Corporation ‘‘After reading Andrew’s book, it became clear that his insight and processes assist entrepreneurs looking to expand their businesses. Andrew’s book offers guidance for non–U.S.-based businesses considering mergers and acquisitions in the United States.’’ —Nancye Miller, CEO, EO The Entrepreneurs’ Organization ................. 11539$ $$FM 10-19-05 09:48:09 PS PAGE i This page intentionally left blank PAGE ii MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS F ROM A SECOND TO Z EDITION Andrew J. Sherman and Milledge A. Hart American Management Association New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City • San Francisco Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D.C. ................. 11539$ $$FM 10-19-05 09:48:11 PS PAGE iii Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales Department, AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601...
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...TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND SIX SIGMA Edited by Tauseef Aized Total Quality Management and Six Sigma http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/2559 Edited by Tauseef Aized Contributors Aleksandar Vujovic, Zdravko Krivokapic, Jelena Jovanovic, Svante Lifvergren, Bo Bergman, Adela-Eliza Dumitrascu, Anisor Nedelcu, Erika Alves dos Santos, Mithat Zeydan, Gülhan Toğa, Johnson Olabode Adeoti, Andrey Kostogryzov, George Nistratov, Andrey Nistratov, Vidoje Moracanin, Ching-Chow Yang, Ayon Chakraborty, Kay Chuan Tan, Graham Cartwright, John Oakland Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained...
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...your research project your research project a step-by-step guide for the first-time researcher NICHOLAS WALLIMAN with Bousmaha Baiche SAGE Publications London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi To my wife, Ursula © Nicholas Walliman 2001 Chapter 2 © Dr Bousmaha Baiche 2001 First published 2001 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 6 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4PU SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd 32, M-Block Market Greater Kailash – I New Delhi 110 048 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 7619 6538 6 ISBN 0 7619 6539 4 (pbk) Library of Congress catalog record available Typeset by Keystroke, Jacaranda Lodge, Wolverhampton. Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire CONTENTS Acknowledgements Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Research and the Research Problem Information...
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...Acknowledgments ix Acknowledgments This book owes a great deal to the mental energy of several generations of scholars. As an undergraduate at the University of Cape Town, Francis Wilson made me aware of the importance of migrant labour and Robin Hallett inspired me, and a generation of students, to study the African past. At the School of Oriental and African Studies in London I was fortunate enough to have David Birmingham as a thesis supervisor. I hope that some of his knowledge and understanding of Lusophone Africa has found its way into this book. I owe an equal debt to Shula Marks who, over the years, has provided me with criticism and inspiration. In the United States I learnt a great deal from ]eanne Penvenne, Marcia Wright and, especially, Leroy Vail. In Switzerland I benefitted from the friendship and assistance of Laurent Monier of the IUED in Geneva, Francois Iecquier of the University of Lausanne and Mariette Ouwerhand of the dépurtement évangélrlyue (the former Swiss Mission). In South Africa, Patricia Davison of the South African Museum introduced me to material culture and made me aware of the richness of difference; the late Monica Wilson taught me the fundamentals of anthropology and Andrew Spiegel and Robert Thornton struggled to keep me abreast of changes in the discipline; Sue Newton-King and Nigel Penn brought shafts of light from the eighteenthcentury to bear on early industrialism. Charles van Onselen laid a major part of the intellectual foundations on...
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...COLLAPSE HOW S O C I E T I E S CHOOSE TO FAIL OR S U C C E E D JARED DIAMOND VIK ING VIKING Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England First published in 2005 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 13579 10 8642 Copyright © Jared Diamond, 2005 All rights reserved Maps by Jeffrey L. Ward LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed/Jared Diamond. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-670-03337-5 1. Social history—Case studies. 2. Social change—Case studies. 3. Environmental policy— Case studies. I. Title. HN13. D5 2005 304.2'8—dc22...
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...GAME CHANGE OBAMA AND THE CLINTONS, MCCAIN AND PALIN, AND THE RACE OF A LIFETIME JOHN HEILEMANN AND MARK HALPERIN FOR DIANA AND KAREN Contents Cover Title Page Prologue Part I Chapter One – Her Time Chapter Two – The Alternative Chapter Three – The Ground Beneath Her Feet Chapter Four – Getting to Yes Chapter Five – The Inevitables Chapter Six – Barack in a Box Chapter Seven – “They Looooove Me!” Chapter Eight – The Turning Point Chapter Nine – The Fun Part Chapter Ten – Two For the Price of One Chapter Eleven – Fear and Loathing in the Lizard’s Thicket Chapter Twelve – Pulling Away and Falling Apart Chapter Thirteen – Obama Agonistes Chapter Fourteen – The Bitter End Game Part II Chapter Fifteen – The Maverick and His Meltdown Chapter Sixteen – Running Unopposed Chapter Seventeen – Slipping Nooses, Slaying Demons Part III Chapter Eighteen – Paris and Berlin Chapter Nineteen – The Mile-High Club Chapter Twenty – Sarahcuda Chapter Twenty-One – September Surprise Chapter Twenty-Two – Seconds in Command Chapter Twenty-Three – The Finish Line Epilogue – Together at Last Index Author’s Notes About the Authors Copyright About the Publisher Prologue BARACK OBAMA JERKED BOLT upright in bed at three o’clock in the morning. Darkness enveloped his low-rent room at the Des Moines Hampton Inn; the airport across the street was quiet in the hours before dawn. It was very late December 2007, a few days ahead of the Iowa caucuses. Obama had been sprinting flat out...
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...Copyright Salman Rushdie, 1988 All rights reserved VIKING Published by the Penguin Group Viking Penguin Inc., 40 West 23rd Street, New York, New York 10010, U.S.A. Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England Penguin Books Australia Ltd. Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 2801 John Street, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 1B4 Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190, Wairau Road, Auckland ro, New Zealand Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England Published in 1989 by Viking Penguin Inc. For Marianne Contents I The Angel Gibreel II Mahound III Ellowen Deeowen IV Ayesha V A City Visible but Unseen VI Return to Jahilia VII The Angel Azraeel VIII The Parting of the Arabian Seas IX A Wonderful Lamp Satan, being thus confined to a vagabond, wandering, unsettled condition, is without any certain abode; for though he has, in consequence of his angelic nature, a kind of empire in the liquid waste or air, yet this is certainly part of his punishment, that he is . . . without any fixed place, or space, allowed him to rest the sole of his foot upon. Daniel Defoe, _The History of the Devil_ I The Angel Gibreel "To be born again," sang Gibreel Farishta tumbling from the heavens, "first you have to die. Hoji! Hoji! To land upon the bosomy earth, first one needs to fly. Tat-taa! Taka-thun! How to ever smile again, if first you won't cry? How to win the darling's love, mister, without a sigh? Baba, if you want to get born again...
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