Natural Step

In most cases models describing biogeochemical cycles are used to estimate the concentration (or total mass) in the various reservoirs based on information about source and sink processes, as in the examples given in Section 4.4. This is often called forward modeling. If direct measurements of the concentration are available, they can be compared to the model estimates. This process is referred to as model testing. If there are significant differences between observations and model simulations, improvements in the model are necessary. A natural step is then to reconsider the specification of the sources and/or the sinks and perform additional simulations. 

The Natural Step, an international movement, started in Sweden, dedicated to helping society reduce its impact on the environment has developed four system conditions for sustainability ... 

Similar to closed chaotic billiards the idea was to adjust RMT to the effective Hamiltonian Heff = H — iT (see the pioneering work (J.J.M. Verbaarschot et.al., 1985) and (H.-J. Sommers et.al., 1999) for references). These matrices correspond to GUE with broken time-reversal symmetry. A next natural step was to assume that in the transition region between GOE and GUE, the eigenfunctions are complex and may be thought as columns of the unitary random matrix (G. Lenz et.al., 1992 E. Kanzieper et.al., 1996) S = S +ieS2, composed of two independent orthogonal matrices. The parameter... 

While some younger physicists, like Born s student Werner Heisenberg and Ralph Fowler s student P. A. M. Dirac, were not sanguine about Bom s interpretation, it pleased chemists like Lewis, who earlier had been willing to think about the "average" position of an electron in its orbit, so as to reconcile Bohr s dynamic atom with Lewis s static atom. For Pauling, it was a natural step to take Y2 to be the probability distribution function for an electron s position in space.32... 

In this experiment, no use is made of femtosecond laser pulses, although the photoionization process itself is a femtosecond event. The next natural steps are experiments using femtosecond pulses and the traditional (not projection) electron optics. This materially extends the class of possible experiments. 

The next natural steps are the study of the mechanisms of photodetachment of dye chromophore ions from molecules adsorbed on surfaces and the search for conditions necessary to effect preferably the MPI of the labeled chromophores while causing no laser-induced desorption of intact molecules. This is necessary in order to make it possible to irradiate a large molecule on a surface repeatedly and thus accumulate information on the location of the chromophores in its various parts. 

In conclusion, the trust region method is more intuitive than the RF model and provides a more natural step control. On the other hand, RF optimization avoids the solution of one set of linear equations, which is important when the number of variables is large. 

Cheltenham, The Natural Step UK, 2000, pp.64, 30cm, 17 PVC AN EVALUATION USING THE NATURAL STEP FRAMEWORK... 

This is the full report of the Natural Step in the UK research project which was initiated by the PVC Co-ordination Group. The Natural Step framework evaluates the challenges needed to make PVC truly sustainable across its entire life cycle. The key questions explored in this study are whether the PVC industry is currently sustainable or is it moving towards increased sustainability and what steps are needed to make PVC sustainable ... 

The idea that molecular structure is related to a compound s bulk properties is inherent to chemistry. For example, a compound containing a carboxylic group is acidic. This concept leads to a fundamental tenet of computational chemistry structure-property relationships exist and may be quantified. A natural step is to inquire about using first principles (quantum mechanics) to calculate an appropriate property such as a pK value, for example. Quantum mechanical (QM) calculations involving isolated molecules are practical however, QM calculations for systems involving collections of molecules, such as would be required for pK values, are very time consuming. 

In testing a particular contraction for molecular calculations, the first natural step is the atomic SCF calculation . However, it should be kept in mind that although a good contracted basis set sust of necessity yield a satisfactory atomic energy, this alone is not sufficient. The basis set must also be flexible enough to allow for the changes in the valence atomic orbitals which occur upon mole-... 

High lard prices offered an opportunity to increase the domestic consumption of cottonseed oil. Lard was the choice fat for cooking and baking in many parts of the western world. One of the chief reasons was the particular consistency, which was optimum for incorporation into breads, cakes, pastries, and other baked products. It had become common practice to mix beef fat or tallow with lard, so adulteration with cottonseed oil was a natural step for the use of the inexpensive oil. Initially, meat packers secretly added cottonseed oil to lard. This practice was uncovered in... 

The Natural Step defines four system conditions that must prevail for a society to become sustainable. 

THE NATURAL STEP FRAMEWORK BACKCASTING FROM PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY... 

Blekinge Technical University and The Natural Step, Stockholm... 

Backcasting from Principles of Success Introduction to The Natural Step Framework and Approach... 

The Natural Step Framework is built on backcasting from basic principles of success. Backcasting refers to a planning procedure by which a successful outcome of the planning is imagined in the future, followed by the question what was it that we did today, that allowed us to get there The term basic principles of success denotes principles that... 

Applying The Natural Step Framework A Strategic Sustainable Development Decision-Making Process... 

The Natural Step has placed these principles into a framework for sustainable development, which is used in conjunction with backcasting techniques. Actions are launched, step by step, in a strategic way to serve as viable stepping stones towards compliance with the sustainability principles. The framework is systematized as an approach to facilitate the brainstorming sessions and team-planning that is presented in the A,B,C,D methodology. 

The Natural Step Framework and approach are elaborated from the constraints determined by basic principles of sustainability. Backcasting from basic principles of sustainability is a framework that covers relevant aspects of how to plan ahead in a complex system, such as for societies within the biosphere. The approach brings a sustainability perspective to analyses of current practices and materials, suggested solutions and visions, and the strategic evaluation of various solutions and paths to arrive at sustainability. And it brings this new perspective in with opportunities for improved economic outcomes. 

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