Against the backdrop of consistent and continuous failure of the formal rural financial system to fulfill the goals and aspirations of government policy and poor masses, on the one hand, and the resilience of the traditional rural informal credit system, on the other, this study has applied the tools of institutional economics—especially those pertaining to information asymmetry and transaction costs to develop a conceptual framework to capture the broad features of the current rural credit scenario in India. Using a fairly large size data from 700 borrower households and 94 lending organizations across the country and over a period of three years, supplemented by case studies of several new generation credit organizations, it has evolved both demand and supply side perspective and action points to resolve the observed problems of rural credit—especially those pertaining to small farmers and other vulnerable (mostly landless) groups.

This book contains the most recent progress in data assimilation in meteorology, oceanography and hydrology including land surface. It spans both theoretical and applicative aspects with various methodologies such as variational, Kalman filter, ensemble, Monte Carlo and artificial intelligence methods. Besides data assimilation, other important topics are also covered including targeting observation, sensitivity analysis, and parameter estimation. The book will be useful to individual researchers as well as graduate students for a reference in the field of data assimilation.

This study not only demonstrates application of modern organization management tools in agri-business operations around credit, but also provides important clues toward improving performance of credit in this country.

Environmentally responsible building involves resolving many conflicting issues and requirements. Each stage in the design process from the fundamental decisions about what, where and even whether to build has implications for the environment. Evolving out of the success of Green Building Digest, a publication described by Building Design as well-researched, authoritative and exhaustive, this practical new handbook considers the environmental issues which relate to the production, use and disposal of key building products and materials. It is designed to help specifiers and purchasers gain awareness of the potential environmental impact of their decisions. Chapter by chapter Green Building Handbook looks at a different sector of the trade from flooring to roofing, comparing the environmental effects of commonly available products with less well known green alternatives. A Best Buy section then ranks these products from lowest to highest impact.

Rethinking Social Policy is a comprehensive introduction to, and analysis of, the complex mixture of problems and possibilities within the study of social policy. Contributors at the cutting edge of social policy analysis reflect upon the implications of new social and theoretical movements for welfare and the study of social policy. Topics covered include: criminology and crime control; race, class and gender; poverty and sexuality; the body and the emotions; violence; work and welfare in Europe. Examples are drawn from a variety of welfare sectors such as: social services and community care, health, education, employment, and criminal justice. This is a course reader for The Open University course (D860) Rethinking Social Practice.

Thermo-mechanical Modeling of Additive Manufacturing provides the background, methodology and description of modeling techniques to enable the reader to perform their own accurate and reliable simulations of any additive process. Part I provides an in depth introduction to the fundamentals of additive manufacturing modeling, a description of adaptive mesh strategies, a thorough description of thermal losses and a discussion of residual stress and distortion. Part II applies the engineering fundamentals to direct energy deposition processes including laser cladding, LENS builds, large electron beam parts and an exploration of residual stress and deformation mitigation strategies. Part III concerns the thermo-mechanical modeling of powder bed processes with a description of the heat input model, classical thermo-mechanical modeling, and part scale modeling. The book serves as an essential reference for engineers and technicians in both industry and academia, performing both research and full-scale production. Additive manufacturing processes are revolutionizing production throughout industry. These technologies enable the cost-effective manufacture of small lot parts, rapid repair of damaged components and construction of previously impossible-to-produce geometries. However, the large thermal gradients inherent in these processes incur large residual stresses and mechanical distortion, which can push the finished component out of engineering tolerance. Costly trial-and-error methods are commonly used for failure mitigation. Finite element modeling provides a compelling alternative, allowing for the prediction of residual stresses and distortion, and thus a tool to investigate methods of failure mitigation prior to building. - Provides understanding of important components in the finite element modeling of additive manufacturing processes necessary to obtain accurate results - Offers a deeper understanding of how the thermal gradients inherent in additive manufacturing induce distortion and residual stresses, and how to mitigate these undesirable phenomena - Includes a set of strategies for the modeler to improve computational efficiency when simulating various additive manufacturing processes - Serves as an essential reference for engineers and technicians in both industry and academia

Labyrinth spillways are almost as old as dam engineering. In spite of the fact that they appear as a very good technical-economical compromise, only 0.1% of large dams are equipped with such weirs. The main reason for this is that traditional labyrinth weirs usually cannot be installed on top of concrete gravity dams as they require a large foundat