What is it like? – This is often the first question we ask about any object, and it is typically answered with adjectives: old, smooth, pointed, narrow, etc. Characteristics of things around us is a fundamental aspect of how we conceptualize the physical world, regardless of when or where we live – and regardless of our language. Despite this, the vocabulary of physical qualities has received comparatively little attention in lexical typology: most research so far has focused on verbs and the actions they express. This volume presents a lexico-typological study of several domains of physical qualities: ‘sharp’/‘blunt’, ‘wet’, ‘empty’/‘full’, ‘old’, as well as dimensions temperature and surface texture. It discusses several theoretical issues including intragenetic language sampling, the possibility of signed vs. spoken language comparison at the lexicon level, and the potential of applying computational models of distributional semantics to lexical typology. The book will be of interest to linguists with a focus on typology, general and lexical semantics, to lexicographers, and to language students and teachers.

This handbook provides an overview and synthesis of relevant literature related to leisure and recreation, and physical activity and its relationship to quality of life. Divided into two parts, the text presents the analysis of leisure and recreation studies and physical activities and sports, with diverse populations. The first part deals with leisure and recreation in relation to quality of life, with different perspectives on different age groups, ethnic groups, the approach of an Integrated Model of Leisure Well-being focusing on how leisure activities contribute to leisure well-being etc. The second part deals with physical activities and sports in relation to quality of life, discussing the consideration that "exercise is good for you", associating physical exercise with other conditions of life in society, its impact on people with disabilities, etc. It is of interest to researchers and students, legislators, educators, providers of leisure services.

Fragility functions constitute an emerging tool for the probabilistic seismic risk assessment of buildings, infrastructures and lifeline systems. The work presented in this book is a partial product of a European Union funded research project SYNER-G (FP7 Theme 6: Environment) where existing knowledge has been reviewed in order to extract the most appropriate fragility functions for the vulnerability analysis and loss estimation of the majority of structures and civil works exposed to earthquake hazard. Results of other relevant European projects and international initiatives are also incorporated in the book. In several cases new fragility and vulnerability functions have been developed in order to better represent the specific characteristics of European elements at risk. Several European and non-European institutes and Universities collaborated efficiently to capitalize upon existing knowledge. State-of-the-art methods are described, existing fragility curves are reviewed and, where necessary, new ones are proposed for buildings, lifelines, transportation infrastructures as well as for utilities and critical facilities. Taxonomy and typology definitions are synthesized and the treatment of related uncertainties is discussed. A fragility function manager tool and fragility functions in electronic form are provided on extras.springer.com. Audience The book aims to be a standard reference on the fragility functions to be used for the seismic vulnerability and probabilistic risk assessment of the most important elements at risk. It is of particular interest to earthquake engineers, scientists and researchers working in the field of earthquake risk assessment, as well as the insurance industry, civil protection and emergency management agencies.

The book provides expert information about physical manual anthropology and its application in the study and research of the biological variability of humans and human populations in time and space. The book is written for students of healthcare disciplines, for students of medicine, for students of teaching degrees in human biology and kinanthropometry, and for postgraduate students and professionals (doctors, coaches, nutrition advisors, etc.). The book is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter introduces physical anthropology, explaining its position and goals in the system of anthropological disciplines. This is followed by a chapter presenting the standardized methods of anthropometry and a chapter describing the organization of anthropological research and presenting a historical overview of major anthropological surveys. The subsequent chapters outline methods designed to evaluate body com­position and human constitution and methods assessing the physical growth and development of children. The last chapter but one details methods serv­ing to assess the physical parameters of an individual or group compared to the standard using the Z-score. The final chapter sets out the anthropometric instruments used in physical anthropometry and describes their technical pa­rameters.

There is a growing need for appropriate management of aquatic plants in rivers and canals, lakes and reservoirs, and drainage channels and urban waterways. This management must be based on a sound knowledge of the ecology of freshwater plants, their distribution and the different forms of control available including chemical, physical, biological and biomanipulation. This series of papers from over 20 different countries was generated from the highly successful European Weed Research Society symposia on aquatic plant management, this being the ninth. The contributions provide a valuable insight into the complexities involved in managing aquatic systems, discuss state-of-the-art control techniques such as biomanipulation using fish and waterfowl and the use of straw, and deal with patterns of regrowth and recovery post-management. Careful consideration is given to the use of chemicals, a practice which has come under scrutiny in recent years. Underpinning the development of such control techniques is a growing body of knowledge relating to the biology and ecology of water plants, including growth responses under different trophic conditions, the impact of pollution, and aspects of photosynthesis. The authorship of the papers represents the collective wisdom of leading scientists and experts from fisheries agencies, river authorities, nature conservation agencies, the agrochemical industry and both governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Metaphor allows us to think and talk about one thing in terms of another, ratcheting up our cognitive and expressive capacity. It gives us concrete terms for abstract phenomena, for example, ideas become things we can grasp or let go of. Perceptual experience—characterised as physical and relatively concrete—should be an ideal source domain in metaphor, and a less likely target. But is this the case across diverse languages? And are some sensory modalities perhaps more concrete than others? This volume presents critical new data on perception metaphors from over 40 languages, including many which are under-studied. Aside from the wealth of data from diverse languages—modern and historical; spoken and signed—a variety of methods (e.g., natural language corpora, experimental) and theoretical approaches are brought together. This collection highlights how perception metaphor can offer both a bedrock of common experience and a source of continuing innovation in human communication.

Urban design is a process of establishing a structural order within human settlements; responding to dynamic emergent meanings and functions in a constant state of flux. The planning/design process is complex due to the myriad of ongoing (urban) organizational and structural relationships and contexts. This book reconnects the process with outcomes on the ground, and puts thinking about design back at the heart of what planners do. Mixing accessible theory, practical examples and carefully designed exercises in composition from simple to complex settings, Urban Design is an essential textbook for classrooms and design studios across the full spectrum of planning and urban studies fields. Filled with color illustrations and graphics of excellent projects, it gives students tools to enable them to sketch, draw, design and, above all, think. This new edition remains focused on instructing the student, professional and layperson in the elements and principles of design composition, so that they can diverge from conventional and packaged solutions in pursuit of a meaningful and creative urbanism. This edition builds upon established design principles and encourages the student in creative ways to depart from them as appropriate in dealing with the complexity of culture, space and time dynamics of cities. The book identifies the elements and principles of compositions and explores compositional order and structure as they relate to the meaning and functionality of cities. It discusses new directions and methods, and outlines the importance of both buildings and the open spaces between them.

Sepphoris was an important Galilean site from Hellenistic to early Islamic times. This multicultural city is described by Flavius Josephus as the “ornament of all Galilee,” and Rabbi Judah the Prince (ha-Nasi) codified the Mishnah there around 200 CE. The Duke University excavations of the 1980s and 1990s uncovered a large corpus of clay oil lamps in the domestic area of the western summit, and this volume presents these vessels. Richly illustrated with photos and drawings, it describes the various shape-types and includes a detailed catalog of 219 lamps. The volume also explores the origins of the Sepphoris lamps and establishes patterns of their trade, transport, and sale in the lower city’s marketplace. A unique contribution is the use of a combined petrographic and direct current plasma-optical emission spectrometric (dcp-oes) analysis of selected lamp fabrics from sites in Israel and Jordan. This process provided valuable information, indicating that lamps found in Sepphoris came from Judea, the Decapolis, and even Greece, suggesting an urban community fully engaged with other regional centers. Lamp decorations also provide information about the cosmopolitan culture of Sepphoris in antiquity. Discus lamps with erotic scenes and mythological characters suggest Greco-Roman influences, and menorahs portrayed on lamps indicate a vibrant Jewish identity.

Ownership of multiple homes has become increasingly popular throughout the Western world, with the UK and Ireland seeing a particular surge in recent years. Paris addresses the reasons why, and the effects, using case studies from Europe, Australia, America and Asia.

During the last two decades, the field of music production has attracted considerable interest from the academic community, more recently becoming established as an important and flourishing research discipline in its own right. Producing Music presents cutting-edge research across topics that both strengthen and broaden the range of the discipline as it currently stands. Bringing together the academic study of music production and practical techniques, this book illustrates the latest research on producing music. Focusing on areas such as genre, technology, concepts, and contexts of production, Hepworth-Sawyer, Hodgson, and Marrington have compiled key research from practitioners and academics to present a comprehensive view of how music production has established itself and changed over the years.