Learning About Particles - 50 Privileged Years
Embedded in an autobiographic framework, this book retraces vividly and in some depth the golden years of particle physics as witnessed by one of the scientists who made seminal contributions to the understanding of what is now known as the Standard Model of particle physics. Well beyond a survey of interest to historians of sciences and researchers in the field, this book is a must for all students and young researchers who have learned about the theoretical and experimental facts that make up the standard model through modern textbooks only. It will provide the interested reader with a first hand account and deeper understanding of the multilayered and sinuous development that finally led to the present architecture of this theory.
Le choix bayésien: Principes et pratique
Covers the so-called Bayesian approach to statistical inference and in particular its decision-making aspects. The bases of this axiomatics (choice of the a priori, optimal decisions, tests and regions of confidence) are discussed in detail, as well as more recent openings of Bayesian analysis such as the choice of models, the use of numerical methods. Stochastic approximation (MCMC), the theory of noninformative laws (Berger-Bernardo axioms) and the relation to the classical theory of admissibility. Each chapter is completed by an extensive series of exercises of increasing difficulty and by bibliographical notes on the themes addressed. This book can be used in a Master's program in Applied Mathematics, Biometrics, Econometrics or any other program that uses quantitative information processing techniques. It only requires a basic course in probability theory and mathematical statistics as a preliminary.
Lattice : Multivariate Data Visualization with R
R is rapidly growing in popularity as the environment of choice for data analysis and graphics both in academia and industry. Lattice brings the proven design of Trellis graphics (originally developed for S by William S. Cleveland and colleagues at Bell Labs) to R, considerably expanding its capabilities in the process. Lattice is a powerful and elegant high level data visualization system that is sufficient for most everyday graphics needs, yet flexible enough to be easily extended to handle demands of cutting edge research. Written by the author of the lattice system, this book describes it in considerable depth, beginning with the essentials and systematically delving into specific low levels details as necessary. No prior experience with lattice is required to read the book, although basic familiarity with R is assumed.
Latinas/os in the United States : Changing the Face of América
This book also addresses important theoretical and methodological issues related to the study of Latinas/os and presents in-depth analyses (both quantitative and qualitative) of substantive issues relevant to this population, including migration, demographic patterns and processes, education, health, citizenship, political participation, religion, gender and sex roles, literary and cultural production, and the media. The authors seek to educate and increase awareness of the diversity that exists among the Latina/o population, and to carefully examine the social, economic, demographic, cultural, and political impacts and contributions that this growing population has had in the United States. The edited volume presents a holistic and multidisciplinary perspective of this group, and it critically documents how Latinas and Latinos have changed and will continue to change the face of América.
Lateral Alignment of Epitaxial Quantum Dots
Accurate positioning of self-organized nanostructures on a substrate surface can be regarded as the Achilles’ heel of nanotechnology. This perception also applies to self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots. This book describes the full range of possible strategies to laterally align self-assembled quantum dots on a substrate surface, starting from pure self-ordering mechanisms and culminating with forced alignment by lithographic positioning. The text addresses both short- and long-range ordering phenomena and paves the way for the future high integration of single quantum dot devices on a single chip. Contributions by the best-known experts in this field ensure that all relevant quantum-dot heterostructures are elucidated from diverse relevant perspectives.
Laplacian Eigenvectors of Graphs : Perron-Frobenius and Faber-Krahn Type Theorems
Eigenvectors of graph Laplacians have not, to date, been the subject of expository articles and thus they may seem a surprising topic for a book. The authors propose two motivations for this new LNM volume: (1) There are fascinating subtle differences between the properties of solutions of Schrödinger equations on manifolds on the one hand, and their discrete analogs on graphs. (2) "Geometric" properties of (cost) functions defined on the vertex sets of graphs are of practical interest for heuristic optimization algorithms. The observation that the cost functions of quite a few of the well-studied combinatorial optimization problems are eigenvectors of associated graph Laplacians has prompted the investigation of such eigenvectors.
Landscapes Under Pressure : Theory and Practice of Cultural Heritage Research and Preservation
This book investigates the newly emerging scope of interests and project agendas to investigate and preserve cultural landscapes. It presents the historic, archaeological, ethnographic, and environmental traditions of cultural landscape study and the attempts to reconstruct and analyze the complex processes of cultural changes through prehistoric and historic times.The "guiding light" of the book is that the fullest understanding of a cultural landscape will materialize through interdisciplinary cooperation, which should involve an ecological approach with historical ecology as the guiding tool, applied archaeology, and environmental planning.
Landscapes of Mars : A Visual Tour
Landscapes of Mars is essentially a picture book that provides a visual tour of Mars. All the major regions and topographical features will be shown and supplemented with chapter introductions and extended captions. In a way, think of it as a visual tourist guide. Other topics covered are Martian uplands on the order of the elevation of Mt. Everest, Giant volcanoes and a rift system, the Grand Canyon of Mars, craters and the absence of craters over large regions (erosion), and wind shadows around craters, sand dunes, and dust devils.
Landscape Analysis and Visualisation : Spatial Models for Natural Resource Management and Planning
This book presents a collection and synthesis of many of these perspectives — perhaps it could only be produced in a land urb- ised in the tiniest of pockets, and yet so daunting with respect to the way non-populated landscapes dwarf its cities. Many travel to Australia to its cities and never see the landscapes — but it is these that give the country its power and imagery. It is the landscapes that so impress on us the need to consider how our intervention, through activities ranging from resource exploitation and settled agriculture to climate change, poses one of the greatest crises facing the modern world. In this sense, Australia and its landscape provide a mirror through which we can glimpse the extent to which our intervention in the world threatens its very existence.
Land-Change Science in the Tropics : Changing Agricultural Landscapes
Land use and land-cover change research over the past decade has focused mainly on contemporary primary land-cover conversions in the tropics and sub-tropics, with considerable resources dedicated to the explanation and prediction of tropical deforestation and often ignoring the dynamism in the world’s agro-pastoral landscapes. This collection integrates cutting-edge research in the social, biogeophysical, and geographical information sciences to understand the human and environmental dynamics that change the type, magnitude and location of land uses and land covers in the changing countryside.This book describes the monitoring of land-cover changes, explains the processes through which land is altered, and describes the development of spatially-explicit models to predict land change. This book illustrates how practitioners have integrated knowledge from the three scientific realms - social, biophysical, and GIScience - that underpin land-change science.
Land Use and Soil Resources
Land-use change is one of the main drivers of many environmental change processes. It influences the basic resources of land use, including the soil. Its impact on soil often occurs so creepingly that land managers hardly contemplate initiating ameliorative or counterbalance measures. Poor land management has degraded vast amounts of land, reduced our ability to produce enough food, and is a major threat to rural livelihoods in many developing countries. To date, there has been no single unifying volume that addresses the multifaceted impacts of land use on soils. This book has responded to this challenge by bringing together renowned academics and policy experts to analyze the patterns, driving factors and proximate causes, and the socioeconomic impacts of soil degradation. Policy measures to prevent irreversible degradation and rehabilitate degraded soils are also identified.
Lacroix and the Calculus
Lacroix and the Calculus is the first major study of Lacroix’s large Traité. It uses the unique and massive bibliography given by Lacroix to explore late 18th-century calculus, and the way it is reflected in Lacroix’s account. Several particular aspects are addressed in detail, including: the foundations of differential calculus, analytic and differential geometry, conceptions of the integral, and types of solutions of differential equations (singular/complete/general integrals, geometrical interpretations, and generality of arbitrary functions).
Kristian Birkeland : The First Space Scientist
PREFACEThisscientific biography of Kristian Birkeland (1867–1917) was written to bring the story ofa Norwegian national hero to the attention ofthe English-speaking world. Birkeland’sheroic stature was established not on a field of military battle,but in the bitter cold of the Artic wilderness ashe sought to answer basic questions abouthow the Sun controlled northern lights andmag-netic storms. He was also afather of Norsk Hydro one ofNorway’s largest industries. Birkel and died before reaching the age of 50.Because Birkel and never kept adiary, documented information about his family and private life is sparse. Before he died, Olaf Devik, the last of Birke-ffland’s close friends, gave along interview and graciously transferred his personal archive to A.E. Birkeland’s 82 scientific papers and three book-length publications map the progress of his investigations. addressed this book questions that had vexed European scientists for centuries. Why do the northern lights appear overhead when the Earth’s magnetic field is disturbed? How are magnetic storms connected to disturbances on the Sun? To answer these questions Birkeland interpreted his advance laboratory simulations and daring campaigns in the Arctic wilderness in the light of Maxwell’s newly discovered laws of electricity and magnetism. Birkeland’s ideas were dismissed for decades, only to be vindicated when satellites could fly above the Earth’s atmosphere.
Knowledge for Governance
Focuses on theoretical and empirical intersections between governance, knowledge and space from an interdisciplinary perspective. The contributions elucidate how knowledge is a prerequisite as well as a driver of governance efficacy, and conversely, how governance affects the creation and use of knowledge and innovation in geographical context.
Knowledge and Networks
This book discusses a core question in many fields of the social sciences, namely how to create, share and adopt new knowledge. It creates an original space for conversation between two lines of research that have developed largely in parallel for a long time: social network theory and the geography of knowledge. This book considers that relational thinking has become increasingly important for scholars to capture societal outcomes by studying social relations and networks, whereas the role of place, space and spatial scales has been somewhat neglected outside an emergent geography of knowledge.
Knowledge and Civil Society
Focuses on the role of civil society in the creation, dissemination, and interpretation of knowledge in geographical contexts. It offers original, interdisciplinary and counterintuitive perspectives on civil society. The book includes reflections on civil and uncivil society, the role of civil society as a change agent, and on civil society perspectives of undone science. Conceptual approaches go beyond the tripartite division of public, private and civic sectors to propose new frameworks of civic networks and philanthropic fields, which take an inclusive view of the connectivity of civic agency across sectors.
Knowledge and Action
Explores interdependencies between knowledge, action, and space from different interdisciplinary perspectives. Some of the contributors discuss knowledge as a social construct based on collective action, while others look at knowledge as an individual capacity for action. The chapters contain theoretical frameworks as well as experimental outcomes.
Knot Theory and Its Applications
The book contains most of the fundamental classical facts about the theory, such as knot diagrams, braid representations, Seifert surfaces, tangles, and Alexander polynomials; also included are key newer developments and special topics such as chord diagrams and covering spaces. The work introduces the fascinating study of knots and provides insight into applications to such studies as DNA research and graph theory. In addition, each chapter includes a supplement that consists of interesting historical as well as mathematical comments.
Kinship and Demographic Behavior in the Past
This book examines the role of kinship and the family’s influence on the health outcomes of their children, their children’s selection of marriage partners, couples having higher order births or reduced fertility, individual migration and origins of populations. Mortality patterns are examined to determine the influence of fertility patterns on parents’ mortality, the contribution of parents’ longevity to their children’s lifespan, and the whether a family history of disease affects the risk of dying from that same disease.This volume emphasizes the importance of studies that include and compare other factors related to social organization with information on multi-generational families. The authors elucidate previous explanations and provide provocative new results. Such intergenerational research is crucial in understanding long term demographic trends and processes.
John Dee : Interdisciplinary Studies in English Renaissance Thought
This volume records the diversity of scholarly approaches to John Dee which have emerged since the synthetic accounts of I. R. F. Calder, Frances Yates and Peter French. If these approaches have not succeeded in resolving the problematic multiplicity of Dee’s activities, they will at least deepen our understanding of specific and local areas of his intellectual life, and render them more historiographically legible.



















