This book provides a holistic, interdisciplinary overview of offshore wind energy, and is a must-read for advanced researchers. Topics, from the design and analysis of future turbines, to the decommissioning of wind farms, are covered. The scope of the work ranges from analytical, numerical and experimental advancements in structural and fluid mechanics, to novel developments in risk, safety & reliability engineering for offshore wind.The core objective of the current work is to make offshore wind energy more competitive, by improving the reliability, and operations and maintenance (O&M) strategies of wind turbines. The research was carried out under the auspices of the EU-funded project, MARE-WINT. The project provided a unique opportunity for a group of researchers to work closely together, undergo multidisciplinary doctoral training, and conduct research in the area of offshore wind energy generation. Contributions from expert, external authors are also included, and the complete work seeks to bridge the gap between research and a rapidly-evolving industry.

This text provides a comprehensive treatment of virtual world design from one of its pioneers. It covers everything from MUDs to MOOs to MMORPGs, from text-based to graphical VWs.

Evidence of violence and hatred worldwide - from the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 to the war in Iraq to the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah - call special attention to the critical importance of empathy in human affairs. Only when we begin to understand more fully the workings of empathy do we begin to be able to make sense of what happens to humans on a global scale. In Empathy in a Global World, Carolyn Calloway-Thomas examines the nature and zones of empathy, exploring how an understanding of empathy shapes global talk and action. This text presents the foundations of empathy, the historical beginnings of empathy, and the global practices of empathy, all with an eye toward understanding how and why this important concept matters. This book explores how empathetic literacy is crucial in addressing intercultural issues; how it is needed in decision making; how it is communicated via the media; and how it affects global issues such as poverty and environmental diasters. Second, the book goes beyond existing knowledge on empathy and extends into the realms of media, global class issues, the world of NGOs, and natural disasters. As such, the book takes readers on a tour of empathys nature, uses, practices and potentials in this manner. In this regard, the proposed book breaks new and compelling ground.Third, in its scope, the book exploits the disciplines of communication, black studies, education, history, cultural studies, media, philanthropy, psychology, religious studies, and sociology to bring fresh insights into the discourse, dynamics, patterns, and practices of empathy.

Contributed articles.

A biography of one of the Middle Ages' most controversial, reckless, and heroic figures Born in France in the early thirteenth century to a crusading father of the same name, Simon de Montfort traveled to England in his adulthood, where he claimed the earldom of Leicester and ingratiated himself into King Henry III's inner circles. Initially a trusted advisor, Simon's good relationship with the king did not last. Frustrated by the increasing injustice meted out to his subjects, Simon would go on to rebel against him, marching on the king's hall at Westminster and leading England's first revolution, and imposing a parliamentary system on Henry's rule. Montfort's life touched on nearly every notable event of the thirteenth century, from the holy wars being fought both abroad and closer to home, to the rebellion against the Plantagenets, to his campaigns against Jews in Leicester. The account of his death in battle-swinging his sword to the last-is one of the most graphic ever written of a medieval battlefield. Ambler provides a living portrait of the Middle Ages, brimming with illuminating insights into religion, society, the nobility, warfare, and daily life. In the words of bestselling historian Dan Jones, Ambler is "a dazzlingly talented historian" and her book on Simon de Montfort "marks the arrival of a formidably gifted historian."