Allocating public and private resources across generations : Riding the age waves ; Vol .2
The chapters in this volume greatly develop our understanding of the nature and measurement of transfers, their motives and mechanisms, and their macro-level dimensions, especially in the context of demographic transitions.
Alla ricerca della via più breve : Un'avventura matematica = Finding the shortest way : A mathematical adventure
Il libro narra la vicenda di Rut, quindicenne, trasferitasi da poco in Germania con la famiglia, al seguito del padre che lavora per un’azienda internazionale produttrice di Software. Sarà proprio il padre a regalare a Rut un computer nuovo, mentre a scuola attraversa un periodo di crisi.E’ l’inizio di un’avventura. Nel computer è installato Vim: un programma che ascolta, capisce e risponde alle domande che la ragazza, inizialmente incredula, fa. Raccontata da Vim, la matematica prende una forma completamente nuova, sorprendente e affascinante.
Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics VI
Robot algorithms are abstractions of computational processes that control or reason about motion and perception in the physical world. Because actions in the physical world are subject to physical laws and geometric constraints, the design and analysis of robot algorithms raises a unique combination of questions in control theory, computational and differential geometry, and computer science. Algorithms serve as a unifying theme in the multi-disciplinary field of robotics. This volume consists of selected contributions to the sixth Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics. This is a highly competitive meeting of experts in the field of algorithmic issues related to robotics and automation.
Agricultural standards : The shape of the global food and fiber system
This original and informative collection of studies of agri-food standards in the modern economy addresses these and helps to define the scope of the emerging study of the politics of standards setting.
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.
Agent-Based Modeling Meets Gaming Simulation
Provides a good example of the diverse scope and standard of research achieved in simulation and gaming today. The theme of the special session at ISAGA2003 was Agent-Based Modeling Meets Gaming Simulation. Nowadays, agent-based simulation is becoming very popular for modeling and solving complex social phenomena. It is also used to arrive at practical solutions to social problems. At the same time, however, the validity of simulation does not exist in the magni?cence of the model. R. Axelrod stresses the simplicity of the agent-based simulation model through the “Keep it simple, stupid” (KISS) principle: As an ideal, simple modeling is essential.
After Bourdieu : Influence, Critique, Elaboration
Intellectual origins & orientations We begin by providing an overview of Bourdieu’s life as a scholar and a public intellectual. The numerous obituaries and memorial tributes that have appeared following Bourdieu’s untimely death have revealed something of his life and career, but few have stressed the intersection of his social origins, career trajectory, and public intellectual life with the changing political and social context of France. This is precisely what David Swartz’s “In memoriam” attempts to accomplish. In it he emphasizes the coincidence of Bourdieu’s young and later adulthood with the period of decolonization, the May 1968 French university crisis, the opening up of France to privatization of many domains previously entrusted to the state (l’état providence), and, most threatening to post-World War II reforms, the emergence of globalization as the hegemonic structure of the 21st century.
Aesthetics and philosophy of art ; Vol. 9
The present volume is a continuation of the series Contemporary Philosophy (International Institute of Philosophy). As with the earlier volumes in the series, the present chronicles purport to give a survey of significant trends in contemporary philosophy. This volume on Aesthetics, containing nineteen surveys, shows the variety of approaches to Aesthetics in various cultures. The close connection between aesthetics and religion and between aesthetics and ethics is emphasized in several contributions.
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.
Advancing Human Assessment : The Methodological, Psychological and Policy Contributions of ETS
Describes the extensive contributions made toward the advancement of human assessment by scientists from one of the world’s leading research institutions, Educational Testing Service. The book’s four major sections detail research and development in measurement and statistics, education policy analysis and evaluation, scientific psychology, and validity. Many of the developments presented have become de-facto standards in educational and psychological measurement, including in item response theory (IRT), linking and equating, differential item functioning (DIF), and educational surveys like the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Programme of international Student Assessment (PISA), the Progress of International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). In addition to its comprehensive coverage of contributions to the theory and methodology of educational and psychological measurement and statistics,
Advances in Open Domain Question Answering
This book gives a comprehensive and detailed look at the current approaches to automated question answering. The book can serve as a "how-to" handbook for IT practitioners and system developers.
Advances in Natural Multimodal Dialogue Systems
The chapters in this book jointly contribute to what we shall call the fieldof natural and multimodal interactive systems engineering. This is not yet awell-established field of research and commercial development but, rather, anemerging one in all respects. It brings together, in a process that, arguably, wasbound to happen, contributors from many different, and often far more estab-lished, fields of research and industrial development. To mention but a few,these include speech technology, computer graphics and computer vision. Thefield’s rapid expansion seems driven by a shared vision of the potential of newinteractive modalities of information representation and exchange for radicallytransforming the world of computer systems, networks, devices, applications,etc.
Advances in Human-Robot Interaction
The book addresses key issues of human-robot interaction concerned with perception, modelling, control, planning and cognition, covering a wide spectrum of applications. This includes interaction and communication with robots in manufacturing environments and the collaboration and co-existence with assistive robots in domestic environments. Among the presented examples are a robotic bartender, a new programming paradigm for a cleaning robot, or an approach to interactive teaching of a robot assistant in manufacturing environment. This carefully edited book reports on contributions from leading German academic institutions and industrial companies brought together within MORPHA, a 4 year project on interaction and communication between humans and anthropomorphic robot assistants
Advanced Physicochemical Treatment Technologies ; Vol.5
In Advanced Physiochemical Treatment Technologies, leading pollution control educators and practicing professionals describe how various combinations of different cutting-edge process systems can be arranged to solve air, noise, and thermal pollution problems. Each chapter discusses in detail the three basic forms in which pollutants and waste are manifested: gas, solid, and liquid.
Advanced Physicochemical Treatment Processes
Leading pollution control educators and practicing professionals describe how various combinations of different physicochemical treatment processes can be arranged to solve air, noise, and thermal pollution problems. In Advanced Physicochemical Treatment Processes, the authors discuss strategies for abating pollution by converting it into a less noxious form, using the most feasible technologies. Each chapter discusses in detail a variety of process combinations, along with technical and economic evaluations, and presents explanations of the principles behind the designs, as well as numerous variant designs useful to practicing engineers. The emphasis throughout is on developing the necessary engineering solutions from fundamental principles of chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
Advanced Fuzzy Logic Technologies in Industrial Applications
Addresses the problem by introducing a dynamic, on-line fuzzy inference system. In this system membership functions and control rules are not determined until the system is applied and each output of its lookup table is calculated based on current inputs. The tuning process is a major focus in this volume because it is the most difficult stage in fuzzy control application. Using new methods such as µ-law technique, histogram equalization and the Bezier-based method, all detailed here, the tuning process can be significantly simplified and control performance improved. The other great strength of this book lies in the range and contemporaneity of its applications and examples which include: laser tracking and control; robot calibration; image processing and pattern recognition; medical engineering; audio systems; autonomous underwater vehicles and data mining.
Advanced control of industrial processes : structures and algorithms
Advanced Control of Industrial Processes presents the concepts and algorithms of advanced industrial process control and on-line optimisation within the framework of a multilayer structure. Relatively simple unconstrained nonlinear fuzzy control algorithms and linear predictive control laws are covered, as are more involved constrained and nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) algorithms and on-line set-point optimisation techniques.Advances in Industrial Control aims to report and encourage the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.
Advanced Air and Noise Pollution Control ; Vol.2
Handbook of Environmental Engineering, Volume 2, leading pollution control educators and practicing professionals describe how various combinations of different cutting-edge process systems can be arranged to solve air, noise, and thermal pollution problems. Each chapter discusses in detail a variety of process combinations, along with technical and economic evaluations, and presents explanations of the principles behind the designs, as well as numerous variant designs useful to practicing engineers. The emphasis throughout is on developing the necessary engineering solutions from fundamental principles of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The authors also include extensive references, cost data, design methods, guidance on the installation and operation of various air pollution control process equipment and systems, and Best Available Technologies (BAT) for air, thermal, and noise pollution control. A companion volume, Air Pollution Control Engineering: Handbook of Environmental Engineering, Volume 1 critically surveys the principles and practices involved in basic air pollution control processes.
Activity and Sign : Grounding Mathematics Education
This volume provides new sources of knowledge based on Michael Otte’s fundamental insight that understanding the problems of mathematics education – how to teach, how to learn, how to communicate, how to do, and how to represent mathematics – depends on means, mainly philosophical and semiotic, that have to be created first of all, and to be reflected from the perspectives of a multitude of diverse disciplines.
Activist Business Ethics
The book examines international aspects, the personification of stakeholders, the predominance of values and ethics for CEOs and the inefficient safeguards of the stakeholders' interests. The book presents new vehicles for the safeguard of those interests, such as the Internet, Transparency, Ethical Funds and Activist Associations, and future activist vehicles, such as the Supervision Board and the Institute of Ethics.



















