Urban climate adaptation currently focusses mainly on hazards but often ignores opportunities which arise in both space and time. Opportunistic Adaptation provides a rationalized approach to mainstream measures for climate adaptation into urban renewal cycles. Adaptation opportunities are identified by projecting the lifespans of urban assets into the future to obtain an operational urban adaptation agenda for the future. Upscaling of the adaptation process is done by synchronizing the end-of-lifecycle of a group of assets to develop adaptation clusters that comprise multiple dwellings, infrastructure as well as public spaces. An extensive catalogue of adaptation measures for different scale-levels ensures flexibility in the type of measures that can be integrated. Sequencing the adaptation measures over long periods of time provides insight and flexibility in the long-term protection standards that can be achieved. By applying a design-centered approach, the potentials of obtaining co-benefits in the urban landscape are maximized. Potentials of clustering of nature-based solutions are being considered which ensures to maximize the delivery of ecosystem services. This research aims to assess \the adaptation potential of Bangkok, based on a case study area (Lat Krabang) by mapping the adaptation opportunities and flood vulnerability. The resulting outputs will contribute to the development of a flexible and inclusive FRM strategy.

This book presents a new perspective on climate change for researchers and policymakers in the environmental social sciences and humanities.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Case-Based Reasoning, ICCBR 2009, held in Seattle, WA, USA, in July 2009. The 17 revised full papers and 17 revised poster papers presented together with 2 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 55 submissions. Covering a wide range of CBR topics of interest both to practitioners and researchers, the papers are devoted to theoretical/methodological as well as to applicative aspects of current CBR analysis.

Research shows that roughly half of all start-up businesses fail within the first three years, and the majority of failures happen because business owners aren't prepared enough to deal with the challenges that can affect them. In other words, they haven't done enough planning. Creating a business plan should be one of the first things you do when you think of starting up a company, and it's an important document to turn to time and again as your business develops - especially in these difficult financial times. Accessible and easy to read, the Good Small Business Planning Guide shows readers how to: Plan their business strategy Pitch their plan to raise funds Spot problems in advance and work out how to deal with them Update and refresh the plan for different audiences

The magnitude and urgency of the need to adapt to climate change is such that addressing it has been taken up by the United Nations as one of the sustainable development goals - Goal 13 (SDG13) in 2015. SDG13 emphasises the need to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related hazards and natural disasters. Coping with urban floods is one of the major needs of climate adaptation, where integration of climate change responses into flood risk management policies, strategies and planning at international, national, regional and local levels is now the norm. However, much of this integration lacks effectiveness or real commitment from stakeholders involved in adaptation planning and implementation. Hence this research has focused on integrating flexibility based adaptation responses into an urban flood risk management context. The research has synthesised flexible adaptation practices from several disciplines including information technology, automobile and aerospace manufacturing. The outcomes of the research are brought together in a framework for structuring local adaptation responses and an adaptation planning process based on flexibility concepts. The outcomes provide a way to assist with the identification of the appropriate nature and type of flexibility required; where flexibility can best be incorporated; and when is the most appropriate time to implement the flexible adaptation responses in the context of urban flooding.

Vinyl chloride (VC) is a widespread groundwater pollutant and Group 1 carcinogen. Microbial respiration of VC is both critical for complete remediation of chloroethenes in situ, and a unique physiology only observed by certain strains of Dehalococcoides. Two different genes independently encoding VC respiration in Dehalococcoides, vcrA and bvcA, were identified previously, each a member of the diverse family of reductive dehalogenase homologous genes, or rdhA. In this thesis I report that vcrA and bvcA are among a subset of putative 'foreign' rdhA with a low GC3 codon usage that favors the nucleotide T, even though tRNAs recognizing T-ending codons are categorically absent in Dehalococcoides genomes. Comparative genomics of the first two complete genome sequences of microorganisms able to respire VC, Dehalococcoides strains VS and BAV1, reveals that vcrA and bvcA are both located within recently integrated, but different, genomic islands (GIs). These islands have different predicted integration sites and different relative positions in the genome, suggesting that bvcA and vcrA were acquired independently and through different mechanisms. In particular, the vcrA-containing GI appears to have integrated at the single-copy tmRNA encoding gene, ssrA, along with many other homologous elements that site-specifically integrate/excise at ssrA -- some of which contain other rdhA. A detailed analysis of these 'ssrA-GIs' in Dehalococcoides identifies the precise position of insertion as well as a conserved module of syntenic integration-associated genes that includes the likely ssrA-specific integrase. Further analysis of (meta)genomic data, as well as targeted sequencing from 4 additional VC-respiring cultures, provided a total of 8 syntenic vcr-GIs from independently derived cultures. Evolutionary estimates for the age of divergence of these 8 vcrA sequences is not confidently distinguishable from the first industrial synthesis of chlorinated ethenes approximately 100 years ago. By contrast, the estimated age of divergence of Dehalococcoides strains far precedes industrial civilization. Overall, ssrA-GIs appear to be a major contributor to the second of two high plasticity regions, genetically dynamic regions that interrupt an otherwise stable, syntenic, and streamlined Dehalococcoides genome -- among the smallest of any free living microorganism. The apparent compartmentalization of Dehalococcoides genome dynamics within specialized regions may enhance opportunistic adaptation to (new) organohalide respiratory niches while protecting a core genome that is highly adapted to life in the anoxic subsurface, exemplified here by the recent site-specific acquisition of VC reductase genes.

What is this mysterious activity we call entrepreneurship? Does success require special traits and skills or just luck? Can large companies follow their example? What role does venture capital play? In a field dominated by anecdote and folklore, this landmark study integrates more than ten years of intensive research and modern theories of business and economics. The result is a comprehensive framework for understanding entrepreneurship that provides new and penetrating insights. Examining hundreds of successful ventures, the author finds that the typical business has humble, improvised origins. Well-planned start-ups, backed by substantial venture capital, are exceptional. Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Sam Walton initially pursue small, uncertain opportunities, without much capital, market research, or breakthrough technologies. Coping with ambiguity and surprises, face-to-face selling, and making do with second-tier employees is more important than foresight, deal-making, or recruiting top-notch teams. Transforming improvised start-ups into noteworthy enterprises requires a radical shift, from "opportunistic adaptation" in niche markets to the pursuit of ambitious strategies. This requires traits such as ambition and risk-taking that are initially unimportant. Mature corporations have to pursue entrepreneurial activity in a much more disciplined way. Companies like Intel and Merck focus their resources on large-scale initiatives that scrappy entrepreneurs cannot undertake. Their success requires carefully chosen bets, meticulous planning, and the smooth coordination of many employees rather than the talents of a driven few. This clearly and concisely written book is essential for anyone who wants to start a business, for the entrepreneur or executive who wants to grow a company, and for the scholar who wants to understand this crucial economic activity.