Exergy, Energy System Analysis, and Optimization theme is a component of the Encyclopedia of Energy Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources which is part of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. These three volumes are organized into five different topics which represent the main scientific areas of the theme: 1. Exergy and Thermodynamic Analysis; 2. Thermoeconomic Analysis; 3. Modeling, Simulation and Optimization in Energy Systems; 4. Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems in Energy Systems Analysis; 5. Sustainability Considerations in the Modeling of Energy Systems. Fundamentals and applications of characteristic methods are presented in these volumes. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.

Exergy, Energy System Analysis, and Optimization theme is a component of the Encyclopedia of Energy Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources which is part of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. These three volumes are organized into five different topics which represent the main scientific areas of the theme: 1. Exergy and Thermodynamic Analysis; 2. Thermoeconomic Analysis; 3. Modeling, Simulation and Optimization in Energy Systems; 4. Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems in Energy Systems Analysis; 5. Sustainability Considerations in the Modeling of Energy Systems. Fundamentals and applications of characteristic methods are presented in these volumes. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.

Exergy, Energy System Analysis, and Optimization theme is a component of the Encyclopedia of Energy Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources which is part of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. These three volumes are organized into five different topics which represent the main scientific areas of the theme: 1. Exergy and Thermodynamic Analysis; 2. Thermoeconomic Analysis; 3. Modeling, Simulation and Optimization in Energy Systems; 4. Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems in Energy Systems Analysis; 5. Sustainability Considerations in the Modeling of Energy Systems. Fundamentals and applications of characteristic methods are presented in these volumes. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.

Mechanical Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainable Development theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Physical Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Mechanical Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainable Development with contributions from distinguished experts in the field discusses mechanical engineering - the generation and application of heat and mechanical power and the design, production, and use of machines and tools. These five volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers, NGOs and GOs

Earth System: History and Natural Variability theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Natural Resources Policy and Management, in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Earth System: History and Natural Variability with contributions from distinguished experts in the field, presents a description of the cosmic environment around our planet influencing the Earth in a number of ways through variation of solar energy or meteorite impacts. The structure of the Earth and its rocks, waters and atmosphere is described. The Theme focuses on geological and evolutionary processes through the history of Earth's epochs and biomes since the Early Earth to the Quaternary. The unifying processes between the Earth's life and its rocks, waters and atmosphere are global natural cycles of carbon, sulfur and other elements that connect and influence the rate of geological processes, climate change, biological evolution and human economy. These five volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

These volumes are a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. These volumes discuss on Large-scale power production which requires the use of heat in a thermodynamic cycle to produce mechanical work, which in turn can generate electrical energy. Substantial quantities of fuel are hence required to sustain the production of heat. Fuel may be combustible, as in the case of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, or fissionable, as in the case of nuclear fuels such as uranium. All fuels produce waste products, which must be discharged, dumped, or stored. Such products range from innocuous water vapor to hazardous nuclear waste. These volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy and Decision Makers

The subject “Systems sciences and cybernetics” is the outcome of the convergence of a number of trends in a larger current of thought devoted to the growing complexity of (primarily social) objects and arising in response to the need for globalized treatment of such objects. This has been magnified by the proliferation and publication of all manner of quantitative scientific data on such objects, advances in the theories on their inter-relations, the enormous computational capacity provided by IT hardware and software and the critical revisiting of subject-object interaction, not to mention the urgent need to control the efficiency of complex systems, where “efficiency” is understood to mean the ability to find a solution to many social problems, including those posed on a planetary scale. The result has been the forging of a new, academically consolidated scientific trend going by the name of Systems Theory and Cybernetics, with a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary focus and therefore apt for understanding realities still regarded to be inescapably chaotic. This subject entry is subdivided into four sections. The first, an introduction to systemic theories, addresses the historic development of the most commonly used systemic approaches, from new concepts such as the so-called “geometry of thinking” or the systemic treatment of “non-systemic identities” to the taxonomic, entropic, axiological and ethical problems deriving from a general “systemic-cybernetic” conceit. Hence, the focus in this section is on the historic and philosophical aspects of the subject. Moreover, it may be asserted today that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, problems, in particular problems deriving from human interaction but in general any problem regardless of its nature, must be posed from a systemic perspective, for otherwise the obstacles to their solution are insurmountable. Reaching such a perspective requires taking at least the following well-known steps: a) statement of the problem from the determinant variables or phenomena; b) adoption of theoretical models showing the interrelationships among such variables; c) use of the maximum amount of – wherever possible quantitative – information available on each; d) placement of the set of variables in an environment that inevitably pre-determines the problem. That epistemology would explain the substantial development of the systemic-cybernetic approach in recent decades. The articles in the second section deal in particular with the different methodological approaches developed when confronting real problems, from issues that affect humanity as a whole to minor but specific questions arising in human organizations. Certain sub-themes are discussed by the various authors – always from a didactic vantage –, including: problem discovery and diagnosis and development of the respective critical theory; the design of ad hoc strategies and methodologies; the implementation of both qualitative (soft system methodologies) and formal and quantitative (such as the “General System Problem Solver” or the “axiological-operational” perspective) approaches; cross-disciplinary integration; and suitable methods for broaching psychological, cultural and socio-political dynamisms. The third section is devoted to cybernetics in the present dual meaning of the term: on the one hand, control of the effectiveness of communication and actions, and on the other, the processes of self-production of knowledge through reflection and the relationship between the observing subject and the observed object when the latter is also observer and the former observed. Known as “second order cybernetics”, this provides an avenue for rethinking the validity of knowledge, such as for instance when viewed through what is known as “bipolar feedback”: processes through which interactions create novelty, complexity and diversity. Finally, the fourth section centres around artificial and computational intelligence, addressing sub-themes such as “neural networks”, the “simulated annealing” that ranges from statistical thermodynamics to combinatory problem-solving, such as in the explanation of the role of adaptive systems, or when discussing the relationship between biological and computational intelligence.

Climate Change, Human Systems and Policy is a component of Encyclopedia of Natural Resources Policy and Management in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Climate Change, Human Systems and Policy presented in three volumes, deals with the interaction between climate and human systems for policy development. These volumes discuss History, Status, and Prediction of Global Climate Change; Potential Large-scale Effects of Global Warming; Public Perceptions Toward Global Climate Change; Effects of Potential Sea-Level Rises; Economics of Potential Climate Change; Response Strategies for Stabilization of Atmospheric Composition; Policy Framework and Systems Management of Global Climate Change. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

Hydraulic Structure, Equipment and Water Data Acquisition Systems is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Hydraulic structures occupied a vital role in the development of civilization from the earliest recorded history up to the present, and undoubtedly will do so in the future. Humanity in ancient times settled mostly near perennial rivers, nomadic people frequented oases and springs, and to augment these natural ephemeral supplies, established societies built primitive dams and dug wells. This 4-volume set contains several chapters, each of size 5000-30000 words, with perspectives, applications and extensive illustrations. It carries state-of-the-art knowledge in the fields of Hydraulic Structure, Equipment and Water Data Acquisition Systems. In these volumes the historical origins, modern developments, and future perspectives in the field of water supply engineering are discussed. Various types of hydraulic structures, their associated equipment, and the various systems for collecting data are described. These four volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers, NGOs and GOs.

Psychology theme in a set of three volumes is one of a number of many theme subjects covered by the Encyclopedia of Biological, Physiological and Health Sciences, a component of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty such component Encyclopedias. The three-volume set is organized in seven main areas that try to cover essential information about such this wide and complex field of human knowledge from its neurobiological correlates, to the study of how the human mind imagines and how it produces symbols that guide human behavior, to the most advanced clinical interventions within the psychotherapeutic realm. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.