Publications

This Special Issue outlines the results of COST Action FP1202 “Marginal and peripheral tree populations: a key genetic resource for European forests”.

The transformations of people’s relations to media content, technologies and institutions raise new methodological challenges and opportunities for audience research. This edited volume aims at contributing to the development of the repertoire of methods and methodologies for audience research by reviewing and exemplifying approaches that have been stimulated by the changing conditions and practices of audiences. The contributions address a range of issues and approaches related to the diversification, integration and triangulation of methods for audience research, to the gap between the researched and the researchers, to the study of online social networks, and to the opportunities brought about by Web 2.0 technologies as research tools.

In 2005 the EU COST office approved a new action, the action C22 – Urban Flood Management (COST-UFM). During four years more than 50 scientists from 13 European nations have been cooperating in this action with the objective to demonstrate weaknesses of today‘s knowledge and practice in urban flood management, to provide examples of best practice and enhancement in flood risk management and to provide a framework for future research on a European level.

This book provides up-to-date information on the environmental impact of transgenic trees on genetically modified tree (GMT) communication strategy. It is useful to public/private organisations as well as to private and public research bodies and universities worldwide since it reports on the global status of GMT research and policy. A high number of genetically modified trees (GMTs) with altered or novel characteristics have been produced in the last 15 years. However, their very low public acceptance is a basic problem in their commercialization. Breeders anticipate economic and ecological benefits, like reduced product costs and less pressure on native forests, while opponents fear risks, such as unintended spread of GMTs. But what is true? To answer this question, the COST Action FP0905 focused on key aspects related to GMTs: (a) biological characterization; (b) assessment of possible environmental impacts; (c) socio-economic implications and public acceptance/concerns; (d) providing science-based information to communicate with the public.

Proceedings of the International Conference on “Probabilistic Models in Timber Engineering”, which took place in Arcachon, France.