Threatened Knowledge

Threatened Knowledge discusses the practices of knowing, not-knowing, and not wanting to know from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. In times of "fake news", processes of forgetting and practices of non-knowledge have sparked the interest of historical and sociological research. The common ground between all the contributions in this volume is the assumption that knowledge does not simply increase over time and thus supplant phases of not-knowing. Moreover, the contributions show that knowing and not-knowing function in very similar ways, which means they can be analysed along similar methodological lines. Given the implied juxtaposition between emotions and rational thinking, the role of emotions in the process of knowledge production has often been trivialized in more traditional approaches to the subject. Through a broad geographical and chronological approach, spanning from prognostic texts in the Carolingian period to stock market speculation in early-twentieth-century United States, this volume demonstrates the important role of emotions in the history of science. By bringing together cultural historians of knowledge, emotions, finance, and global intellectual history, Threatened Knowledge is a useful tool for all students and scholars of the history of knowledge and science on a global scale.

Medicinal plants are globally valuable sources of herbal products. Plant-based remedies have been used for centuries and have had no alternative in the western medicine repertoire, while others and their bioactive derivatives are in high demand and have been the central focus of biomedical research. As Medicinal plants move from fringe to mainstream with a greater number of individuals seeking treatments free of side effects, considerable attention has been paid to utilize plant-based products for the prevention and cure of human diseases. An unintended consequence of this increased demand, however, is that the existence of many medicinal plants is now threatened, due to their small population size, narrow distribution area, habitat specificity, and destructive mode of harvesting. In addition, climate change, habitat loss and genetic drift have further endangered these unique species. Although extensive research has been carried out on medicinal and aromatic plants, there is relatively little information available on their global distribution patterns, conservation and the associated laws prevailing. This book reviews the current status of threatened medicinal plants in light of increased surge in the demand for herbal medicine. It brings together chapters on both wild (non-cultivated) and domestic (cultivated) species having therapeutic values. Thematically, conventional and contemporary approaches to conservation of such threatened medicinal plants with commercial feasibility are presented. The topics of interest include, but not limited to, biotechnology, sustainable development, in situ and ex situ conservation, and even the relevance of IPR on threatened medicinal plants. We believe this book is useful to horticulturists, botanists, policy makers, conservationists, NGOs and researchers in the academia and the industry sectors.

Social trust, the willingness to rely on those with formal responsibility to develop policies and make decisions, facilitates effective management of environmental issues, including wildlife management. National polls suggest that the public trusts government agencies to solve environmental problems, yet such trust is low (or non-existent) in areas of controversy, such as the protection of threatened and endangered species. This study explored the role of social trust in understanding views of threatened and endangered species management in the National Forests of southern California. The 127 participants surveyed lived in or near a National Forest or were recreational and/or other users of the National Forest. The results suggest that trust in Forest Service management of wildlife relates to perceived similarity between individual values regarding species protection and Forest Service values. Participants who believe the Forest Service shares their values have a high trust; those who believe the Forest Service does not share their values have a low trust. The most trusting tend to believe that species protection should be the primary principle guiding forest management and that the Forest Service consistently operates according to these principles. Those low in trust believe forest management should be based on the fulfillment of human needs; they perceive that the Forest Service operates inconsistently according to their values. The study suggests that social trust is a significant predictor of approval of species management practices.

Executives today recognize that their firms face a wave of retirements over the next decade as the baby boomers hit retirement age. At the other end of the talent pipeline, the younger workforce is developing a different set of values and expectations, which creates new recruiting and employee retention issues. The evolution from an older, traditional, highly-experienced workforce to a younger, more mobile, employee base poses significant challenges, particularly when considered in the context of the long-term orientation towards downsizing and cost cutting. This is a solution-oriented book to address one of the most pressing management problems of the coming years: How do organizations transfer the critical expertise and experience of their employees before that knowledge walks out the door? It begins by outlining the broad issues and providing tools for developing a knowledge-retention strategy and function. It then goes on to outline best practices for retaining knowledge, including knowledge transfer practices, using technology to enable knowledge retention, retaining older workers and retirees, and outsourcing lost capabilities.

People cope with threats to their identities in many different ways. Until the original publication of this title in 1986, there had been no theoretical framework within which to analyse their strategies for doing this, or to examine the nature and impact of the threatening experiences themselves. In this elegant and original book, Glynis Breakwell proposes an integrative model which explores the structure of identity and the principles directing its development. Focusing on examples of threat such as unemployment, sexually atypical employment and ethnic marginality, Breakwell examines the relation of the individual to social change. Through her sensitive use of case studies, she enables the victims of threat to speak for themselves about their experiences and feelings. Their reactions illustrate her proposed framework of three levels of coping strategies – intra-psychic, interpersonal and intergroup – and her assessment of the factors which limit the success of such strategies. The case studies also point to new evidence on the effects of unemployment and the impact of youth training schemes at the time. This title would have been essential reading for a range of undergraduate courses in social and abnormal psychology and individual differences, as well as for postgraduate training in clinical and medical psychology at the time. Social workers, counsellors and all those concerned with the care of the sufferers of threatened identities will still find it both informative and influential.

Monitoring is integral to all aspects of policy and management for threatened biodiversity. It is fundamental to assessing the conservation status and trends of listed species and ecological communities. Monitoring data can be used to diagnose the causes of decline, to measure management effectiveness and to report on investment. It is also a valuable public engagement tool. Yet in Australia, monitoring threatened biodiversity is not always optimally managed. Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities aims to improve the standard of monitoring for Australia's threatened biodiversity. It gathers insights from some of the most experienced managers and scientists involved with monitoring programs for threatened species and ecological communities in Australia, and evaluates current monitoring programs, establishing a baseline against which the quality of future monitoring activity can be managed. Case studies provide examples of practical pathways to improve the quality of biodiversity monitoring, and guidelines to improve future programs are proposed. This book will benefit scientists, conservation managers, policy makers and those with an interest in threatened species monitoring and management.

Drawing upon years of practical experience and using numerous examples and illustrative case studies, Threat Forecasting: Leveraging Big Data for Predictive Analysis discusses important topics, including the danger of using historic data as the basis for predicting future breaches, how to use security intelligence as a tool to develop threat forecasting techniques, and how to use threat data visualization techniques and threat simulation tools. Readers will gain valuable security insights into unstructured big data, along with tactics on how to use the data to their advantage to reduce risk. Presents case studies and actual data to demonstrate threat data visualization techniques and threat simulation tools Explores the usage of kill chain modelling to inform actionable security intelligence Demonstrates a methodology that can be used to create a full threat forecast analysis for enterprise networks of any size

The tension between wildlife protection under the Endangered Species Act and water management in the Platte River Basin has existed for more than 25 years. The Platte River provides important habitat for migratory and breeding birds, including three endangered or threatened species: the whooping crane, the northern Great Plains population of the piping plover, and the interior least tern. The leading factors attributed to the decline of the cranes are historical overhunting and widespread habitat destruction and, for the plovers and terns, human interference during nesting and the loss of riverine nesting sites in open sandy areas that have been replaced with woodlands, sand and gravel mines, housing, and roadways. Extensive damming has disrupted passage of the endangered pallid sturgeon and resulted in less suitable habitat conditions such as cooler stream flows, less turbid waters, and inconsistent flow regimes. Commercial harvesting, now illegal, also contributed to the decline of the sturgeon. Endangered and Threatened Species of the Platte River addresses the habitat requirements for these federally protected species. The book further examines the scientific aspects of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's instream-flow recommendations and habitat suitability guidelines and assesses the science concerning the connections among the physical systems of the river as they relate to species' habitats.