Approaches to Metaphysics
Today, when systematic philosophy - and reason itself - are challenged both outside of and within philosophy, is it still possible to do metaphysics? This volume provides a broad perspective on contemporary approaches to the nature and the fundamental questions of metaphysics. Drawing on scholars from continental Europe, Asia, Canada, the United States, and Great Britain, and representing a variety of philosophical cultures and traditions, this volume surveys and extends work in metaphysics and its implications for broader philosophical concerns (e.g., in ethics and social philosophy, in mathematics and logic, and in epistemology). It also addresses such questions as the role of history and historicity in undertaking metaphysics, the nature of metaphysics, the priority of metaphysics over epistemology, and the challenges of empiricism and postmodernism.
Applying reflective equilibrium : Towards the justification of a precautionary principle
This book provides the first explicit case study for an application of the method of reflective equilibrium (RE), using it to develop and defend a precautionary principle. It thereby makes an important and original contribution to questions of philosophical method and methodology. The book shows step-by-step how RE is applied, and develops a methodological framework which will be useful for everyone who wishes to use reflective equilibrium. With respect to precautionary principles, the book demonstrates how a rights-based precautionary principle can be constructed and defended.
Applied Stratigraphy
This book aims to incorporate major aspects and essential elements underpinning the modern applications and perspectives of stratigraphy. It focuses on traditional and innovative techniques and how these can be utilized in reconstructing the geological history of sedimentary basins and in solving manifold geological problems and phenomena. Each chapter summarizes contributions by leading researchers in the field. It is hoped that this book will provide the reader with key insights into all these aspects and applications.
Applied soft computing technologies : The challenge of complexity
This volume presents the proceedings of the 9th Online World Conference on Soft Computing in Industrial Applications (WSC9), September 20th - October 08th, 2004, held on the World Wide Web. It contains plenary lectures, original papers and tutorials presented during the conference. The book brings together outstanding research and developments in the field of soft computing (evolutionary computation, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and their fusion) and its applications in science and technology.
Applied Proof Theory : Proof Interpretations and Their Use in Mathematics
Ulrich Kohlenbach presents an applied form of proof theory that has led in recent years to new results in number theory, approximation theory, nonlinear analysis, geodesic geometry and ergodic theory (among others). This applied approach is based on logical transformations (so-called proof interpretations) and concerns the extraction of effective data (such as bounds) from prima facie ineffective proofs as well as new qualitative results such as independence of solutions from certain parameters, generalizations of proofs by elimination of premises. The book first develops the necessary logical machinery emphasizing novel forms of Gödel's famous functional ('Dialectica') interpretation. It then establishes general logical metatheorems that connect these techniques with concrete mathematics. Finally, two extended case studies (one in approximation theory and one in fixed point theory) show in detail how this machinery can be applied to concrete proofs in different areas of mathematics.
Applied Hydrogeophysics
This book focuses on how hydrogeophysical methods can be applied to solve problems facing environmental engineers, geophysicists, agronomists, hydrologists, soil scientists and hydrogeologists. We present applications of hydrogeophysical methods to the understanding of hydrological processes and environmental problems dealing with the flow of water and the transport of solutes and contaminants. The majority of the book is organized as a series of process-driven chapters, each authored by leading experts. Areas covered include: infiltration and solute transport processes, biogeochemical functioning of soil-water systems, coastal groundwater interactions, cold region hydrology, engineered barriers and landfill processes. In addition, the book offers insight into the development of new data fusion methodologies, of value to many hydrogeophysical investigations, and provides an account how the rapidly developing self-potential technique can give valuable information about water fluxes and hydrochemical states within the subsurface.
Applications of Synchrotron Radiation : Micro Beams in Cell Micro Biology and Medicine
This book demonstrates the applications of synchrotron radiation in certain aspects of cell microbiology, specifically non-destructive elemental analyses, chemical-state analyses and imaging (distribution) of the elements within a cell. The basics for understanding and applications of synchrotron radiation are also described to make the contents easier to be understood for a wide group of researchers in medical and biological sciences who might not be familiar with the physics of synchrotron radiation. The two main techniques that are discussed in this book are the x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and the x-ray fine structure analysis (XAFS).
Anxiety and substance use disorders : The vicious cycle of comorbidity
Anxiety and Substance Use Disorders: The Vicious Cycle of Comorbidity addresses this gap with dispatches from the frontlines of research and treatment. Thirty-four international experts offer findings, theories, and intervention strategies for this common form of dual disorder both across types of substances (alcohol, tobacco, street and prescription drugs) and the range of anxiety disorders (PTSD, social phobia, panic disorder, OCD) to give the reader comprehensive knowledge in a practical format. Informed by the reciprocal relationship between the two types of disorders
Anti-vivisection and the profession of medicine in Britain : A social history
This book explores the social history of the anti-vivisection movement in Britain from its nineteenth-century beginnings until the 1960s. It discusses the ethical principles that inspired the movement and the socio-political background that explains its rise and fall. Opposition to vivisection began when medical practitioners complained it was contrary to the compassionate ethos of their profession. Christian anti-cruelty organizations took up the cause out of concern that callousness among the professional classes would have a demoralizing effect on the rest of society. As the nineteenth century drew to a close, the influence of transcendentalism, Eastern religions and the spiritual revival led new age social reformers to champion a more holistic approach to science, and dismiss reliance on vivisection as a materialistic oversimplification.
Antifouling Paint Biocides
This volume describes the state-of-the-art advances regarding antifouling paint biocides and provides thorough evaluation of research and information on major topics such as occurrence and levels, environmental fate, analytical techniques and methods for the monitoring and control, environmental modeling, ecotoxicological effects and risk assessment placing emphasis on the knowledge acquired over the last 10 years. The contamination of the aquatic environment by antifouling compounds has been a topic of increasing importance during the last few years. The major classes of antifouling active biocides are discussed including the old-fashioned organotin compounds, the modern organic booster biocides and the promising naturally occurring antifoulant products. Therefore, the reader will get a balanced view of this developing field. Chapters were written by leading experts in their field who critically surveyed all the major areas of progress. This volume is an important resource and can constitute a good grounding in the field of antifouling paint biocides.
Anthropological Perspectives on Environmental Communication
Through anthropological and ethnographic analyses, this collection addresses how interests, values, and ideologies affect dialogue and sustainability work. Drawing on studies from three continents – Europe, North America, and South America – the paradoxes and the plurality of meanings associated with the creation of sustainable futures are explored. The book focuses on how communication practices collide with organizational frameworks, customary practices, livelihoods, and landscape.
Anthracycline Chemistry and Biology I : Biological Occurence and Biosynthesis, Synthesis and Chemistry
"This book … covers many different aspects of the origin, chemistry, and biosynthesis of one of the oldest but most important classes of anticancer agents. … In summary, the book is nicely produced, very well edited, and should serve as a valuable source of information … . This book will serve as an inspiration for scientists and students in the areas of chemistry, drug discovery, and biological evaluation. It should be an essential addition to institutional library collections … ."
Antarctica : Contributions to Global Earth Sciences
Sixty articles arranged in eight thematic sections refer to most recent geological and geophysical results of Antarctic research. The Precambrian of the East Antarctic shield and its geological history is considered as well as sub-ice topography, geophysics and stratigraphy, sedimentology and geophysics of the surrounding Southern Ocean. Particular emphasis is given to the connection of the Antarctic and the surrounding continents when forming part of Gondwana.
Animals in space : From research rockets to the space shuttle
Animals in Space will explain why dogs, primates, mice and other rodents were chosen and tested, at a time when dedicated scientists from both space nations were determined to establish the survivability of human subjects on both ballistic and orbital space flights. It will also recount the way this happened; the secrecy involved and the methods employed, and offer an objective analysis of how the role of animals as spaceflight test subjects not only evolved, but subsequently changed over the years in response to a public outcry led by animal activists. It will explore the ways in which animal high-altitude and space flight research impacted on space flight biomedicine and technology, and how the results - both successful and disappointing - allowed human beings to then undertake that same hazardous journey with far greater understanding and confidence.
Anaphora and Type Logical Grammar
This book develops a hybrid architecture that allows to incorporate anaphora resolution into grammatical deduction while avoiding these consequences. To this end, the grammar logic is enriched with a connective that specifically deals with anaphora.After giving a self-contained introduction into Type Logical Grammar in general, the book discusses the formal properties of this connective. In the sequel, Jäger applies this machinery to numerous linguistic phenomena pertaining to the interaction of pronominal anaphora, VP ellipsis and quantification. In the final chapter, the framework is extended to indefiniteness, specificity and sluicing.
Analytical Ultracentrifugation VIII
This book presents a comprehensive collection of 21 contributions from leading scientists in this field covering a broad spectrum of topics and presenting recent progress concerning instrumentation, data analysis and modeling, biological systems, particles, colloids, synthetic macromolecules, interacting systems. Due to the versatility of this fascinating and powerful technique, information and original publications are widespread and comprehensive collections are rare. Therefore, this volume presents a valuable source for biologists, chemists, materials scientists, and physicists interested in most recent information, results and development related to this important analytical method.
Analytical Chemistry : Theoretical and Metrological Fundamentals
Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry are usually presented as a sum of chemical and physical foundations, laws, axioms and equations for analytical methods and procedures. In contrast, this book delivers a practice-oriented, general guiding theory valid for all methods and techniques. Starting with a closer look to analytical signals and their dependencies, all the important figures of merit characterizing the power of analytical procedures and the reliability of analytical results are discussed and quantified, such as sensitivity, precision, accuracy and ruggedness. Elements of signal theory, information theory, statistics and fundamentals of calibration are also presented for this aim.
Analysis of phylogenetics and evolution with R
This book integrates a wide variety of data analysis methods into a single and flexible interface: the R language. This open source language is available for a wide range of computer systems and has been adopted as a computational environment by many authors of statistical software. Adopting R as a main tool for phylogenetic analyses will ease the workflow in biologists' data analyses, ensure greater scientific repeatability, and enhance the exchange of ideas and methodological developments.
Analysis I
Logical thinking, the analysis of complex relationships, the recognition of und- lying simple structures which are common to a multitude of problems — these are the skills which are needed to do mathematics, and their development is the main goal of mathematics education. Of course, these skills cannot be learned ‘in a vacuum’. Only a continuous struggle with concrete problems and a striving for deep understanding leads to success. A good measure of abstraction is needed to allow one to concentrate on the essential, without being distracted by appearances and irrelevancies. The present book strives for clarity and transparency. Right from the beg- ning, it requires from the reader a willingness to deal with abstract concepts, as well as a considerable measure of self-initiative. For these e?orts, the reader will be richly rewarded in his or her mathematical thinking abilities, and will possess the foundation needed for a deeper penetration into mathematics and its applications.
Analysis and Synthesis of Logics : How to Cut and Paste Reasoning Systems
Starting with simple examples showing the relevance of cutting and pasting logics, the monograph develops a mathematical theory of combining and decomposing logics, ranging from propositional and first-order based logics to higher-order based logics as well as to non-truth functional logics. The theory covers mechanisms for combining semantic structures and deductive systems either of the same or different nature (for instance, two Hilbert calculi or a Hilbert calculus and a tableau calculus). The important issue of preservation of properties is extensively addressed. For instance, sufficient conditions are provided for a combined logic to be sound and complete when the original component logics are known to be sound and complete.



















