Arabian Deserts : Nature, origin and evolution
This is the first comprehensive survey of all the deserts of Arabia, based largely on the author's 50 years of experience there. The text deals with every kind of desert in the region, from vast sand seas to clay pans and stony plains to volcanic flows.
Analytic Methods for Design Practice
In the competitive world of modern engineering, rigorous and definite design methodologies are needed. However, many parts of engineering design are performed in either an ad-hoc manner or based on the intuition of the engineer.Analytic Methods for Design Practice is the first book to look at both stages of the design process – conceptual design and detailed design – and detail design methodologies for every step of the entire design process. The book introduces the following analytic design methodologies and explores their usefulness with many mathematical and practical examples: Axiomatic design; Optimization; Design of experiments; Robust design; Structural optimization; Dynamic response optimization; and Multidisciplinary optimization. A chapter of the book is devoted to case studies showing how practical design problems can be solved with analytic design methods based on Professor Park’s experiences of teaching design engineering over the past ten years.
Ambient intelligence
Ambient intelligence is the vision of a technology that will become invisibly embedded in our natural surroundings, present whenever we need it, enabled by simple and effortless interactions, attuned to all our senses, adaptive to users and context-sensitive, and autonomous.
Ages, generations and the social contract : The demographic challenges facing the welfare state
Our societies are ageing. The Family is changing. Labour force behaviour is evolving. How is the organisation of family and collective solidarity adapting in this context of longer life spans, low fertility, and work that is simultaneously scarce and abundant? The welfare states are currently facing three main challenges: ensure satisfactory living conditions for the elderly without increasing the cost burden on the active population, reduce social inequality, and maintain equity between successive generations. In this book, researchers from different countries compare their experiences and offer contrasting views on the future of social protection. They consider the theoretical aspects of the intergenerational debate, relations between generations within the family, the living standards of elderly people, and the question of social time.
African Languages and Literatures in the 21st Century
Examines the crucial role still played by African languages in pedagogy and literatures in the 21st century, generating insights into how they effectively serve cultural needs across the African continent and beyond. Boldly positioning African languages as key resources in the 21st century, chapters focus on themes such as language revolt by marginalized groups at grassroots level, the experience of American students learning African languages, female empowerment through the use of African languages in music, film and literary works, and immigration issues. The contributions are written by scholars of language, literature, education and linguistics, and will be of interest to students and scholars in these and related areas.
Advancing Quality of Life in a Turbulent World
Environmental issues continued to loom large in the last decade of the twentieth century,especially environmental problems related to rising levels of CO emissions and 2 other greenhouse gases on the planet’s average temperatures and, subsequently, storm patterns. Floods and droughts, in combination with unseasonably high and low temperatures became the norm rather than the exception for large expanses of Africa,Asia and Oceania. Even large areas of Europe and NorthAmerica were s- jected to recurrent floods and droughts and experienced unseasonable extremes of hot and cold temperatures associated with man-made intrusions into the natural environment. And, still, a global plan of action to haltman-related patterns of def- estation, desertification, and over-fishing of the seas has yet to come into being. At the same time, the number of regional conflicts and civil wars increased and, with them, the lives of many women, children, old people and other n- combatants were lost in these conflicts.
Advances in Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering
This book presents a selection of papers related to the fifth edition of book further to the International Conference on Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering. This Conference has been organized within the framework of the activities of the AIP-PRIMECA network whose main scientific field is Integrated Design applied to both Mechanical Engineering and Productics. This network isorganized along the lines of a joint project: the evolution, in the field of training of Integrated Design in Mechanics and Productics, in quite close connection with the ever changing industrial needs over the past 20 years. It is in charge of promoting both exchanges of experience and know-how capitalisation. It has a paramount mission to fulfil, be it in the field of initial and continuous education, technological transfer and knowledge dissemination through strong links with research labs.
Adaptive and Personalized Semantic Web
Web Personalization can be defined as any set of actions that can tailor the Web experience to a particular user or set of users. To achieve effective personalization, organizations must rely on all available data, including the usage and click-stream data (reflecting user behaviour), the site content, the site structure, domain knowledge, as well as user demographics and profiles. In addition, efficient and intelligent techniques are needed to mine this data for actionable knowledge, and to effectively use the discovered knowledge to enhance the users' Web experience.
Actors and the Art of Performance : Under Exposure
Actors and the Art of Performance: Under Exposure combines the author's two main biographical paths: her professional commitment to the fields of both theatre and philosophy. The art of acting on stage is analysed here not only from the theoretical perspective of a spectator, but also from the perspective of the actor. The author draws on her experience as both a theatre actor and a university professor whose teachings in the art of acting rely heavily on her own experience and also on her philosophical knowledge. The book is unique not only in terms of its content but also in terms of its style. Written in a multiplicity of voices, the text oscillates between philosophical reasoning and narrative forms of writing, including micro-narratives, fables, parables, and inter alia by Carroll, Hoffmann and Kleist. Hence the book claims that a trans-disciplinary dialogue between the art of acting and the art of philosophical thinking calls for an aesthetical research that questions and begins to seek alternatives to traditionally established and ingrained formats of philosophy.
Acoustics for Engineers : Troy Lectures
This book provides the material for an introductory course in engineering acoustics for students with basic knowledge in mathematics. It is based on extensive teaching experience at the university level. Under the guidance of an academic teacher it is sufficient as the sole textbook for the subject.
Academic Integrity in Canada : An Enduring and Essential Challenge
Firmly grounded in the scholarly literature globally, it engages with the experience of local practicioners. It presents aspects of academic integrity that is specific to Canada, such as the existence of an "honour culture", rather than relying on an "honour code". It also includes Indigenous voices and perspectives that challenge traditional understandings of intellectual property, as well as new understandings that have arisen as a consequence of Covid-19 and the significant shift to online and remote learning.
A Short Media History of English Literature
Explores the history of literature as a history of changing media and modes of communication, from manuscript to print, from the codex to the computer, and from paper to digital platforms. It argues that literature has evolved, and continues to evolve, in sync with material forms and formats that engage our senses in multiple ways. Because literary experiences are embedded in, and enabled by, media, the book focuses on literature as a changing combination of material and immaterial features.
A Problem-based Approach for Management Education : Preparing Managers for Action
This book is designed to provide both novice and experienced users of PBL with resources for designing and implementing problem-based management education. The book provides the novice with useful theoretical and practical background on how to design a PBL curriculum, use PBL in a classroom, and develop PBL materials. At the same time, the book will challenge experienced users of PBL and case teaching to extend their applications through the use of learning technologies and more systematic approaches to assessment and curriculum design. Finally, the volume includes a set of sample PBL materials that provide readers with in-dept examples of what a PBL unit looks like and how it may be employed in the classroom.
A Primal Perspective on the Philosophy of Religion
This book challenges this widespread assumption and demonstrates how primal religions have something significant to offer on virtually every theme discussed in the philosophy of religion. Through this book the primal religous tradition stakes its claim for a place at the table.Despite the absence of written texts, primal religions have an implicit philosophy.This study shows how materials of primal religious experience can be incorporated in the categories of modern philosophy of religion. The book contends that the primal perspective can widen and deepen the horizons of philosophy of religion and enhance the philosophical appreciation of religion as a universal phenomenon.













