Complexity and Artificial Markets
In recent years, agent-based simulation has become a widely accepted tool when dealing with complexity in economics and other social sciences. The contributions presented in this book apply agent-based methods to derive results from complex models related to market mechanisms, evolution, decision making, and information economics. In addition, the applicability of agent-based methods to complex problems in economics is discussed from a methodological perspective. The papers presented in this collection combine approaches from economics, finance, computer science, natural sciences, philosophy, and cognitive sciences.
Complex Artificial Environments : Simulation, Cognition and VR in the Study and Planning of Cities
This book explores the possibilities of applying the theories of complexity and self-organization developed to account for various phenomena in the natural science to artifacts traditionally the realm of humanities and social sciences. The emphasis of this volume is on the development of cities and the impact of these methods on urban simulation methods.
Classifying madness : A philosophical examination of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
Classifying Madness examines the conceptual foundations of the D.S.M., the main classification of mental disorders used by psychiatrists world-wide. It will be of interest to both mental health professionals and to philosophers interested in classification in science. The D.S.M. has become extremely controversial, and the possibility that there may be philosophical difficulties with it has become a commonplace in the mental health literature. Classifying Madness offers mental health professionals an opportunity to explore suspicions that there might be conceptual problems with the D.S.M. For philosophers, this book aims to contribute to debates in the philosophy of science concerning natural kinds, the theory-ladenness of classification, and the effect of sociological factors in science. These issues are normally approached via a consideration of the natural sciences and, as will be seen, approaching them via a consideration of psychiatry helps shed new light on old problems.
Biofuels and sustainability : Holistic perspectives for policy-making
This open access book presents a comprehensive analysis of biofuel use strategies from an interdisciplinary perspective using sustainability science. This interdisciplinary perspective (social science-natural science) means that the strategies and policy options proposed will have significant impacts on the economy and society alike. Biofuels are expected to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, revitalizing economies in agricultural communities and alleviating poverty. However, despite these anticipated benefits, international organizations such as the FAO, OECD and UN have published reports expressing concerns that biofuel promotion may lead to deforestation, water pollution and water shortages. The impacts of biofuel use are extensive, cross-sectoral and complex, and as such, comprehensive analyses are required in order to assess the extent to which biofuels can contribute to sustainable societies.
Atomic Force Microscopy, Scanning Nearfield Optical Microscopy and Nanoscratching : Application to Rough and Natural Surfaces
Making a clear distinction is made between nano- and micro-mechanical testing for physical reasons, this monograph describes the basics and applications of the supermicroscopies AFM and SNOM, and of the nanomechanical testing on rough and technical natural surfaces in the submicron range down to a lateral resolution of a few nm. New or improved instrumentation, new physical laws and unforeseen new applications in all branches of natural sciences (around physics, chemistry, mineralogy, materials science, biology and medicine) and nanotechnology are covered as well as the sources for pitfalls and errors.
Asymptotics for Dissipative Nonlinear Equations
Many of problems of the natural sciences lead to nonlinear partial differential equations. However, only a few of them have succeeded in being solved explicitly. Therefore different methods of qualitative analysis such as the asymptotic methods play a very important role. This is the first book in the world literature giving a systematic development of a general asymptotic theory for nonlinear partial differential equations with dissipation. Many typical well-known equations are considered as examples, such as: nonlinear heat equation, KdVB equation, nonlinear damped wave equation, Landau-Ginzburg equation, Sobolev type equations, systems of equations of Boussinesq, Navier-Stokes and others.
Artificial immune systems ; Vol. 4163 : 5th International conference, ICARIS 2006, Oeiras, Portugal, September 4-6, 2006, Proceedings
ICARIS 2006 is the ?fth instance of a series of conferences dedicated to the comprehension and the exploitation of immunological principles through their translation into computational terms.Their axis of research tries to stabilize an on-going identity somewhere in the crossroad of engineering (building useful artifacts), natural sciences (biologyor psychology— improving the comprehension and prediction of natural phenomena) and t- oretical computer sciences (developing and mastering the algorithmic world). Accordingly and depending on which of these perspectives receives more s- port, they attempt at attracting di?erent kinds of scientists and at stimul- ing di?erent kinds of scienti?c attitudes. For many years and in the previous ICARIS conferences, it was clearly the “engineering.
Arnolds Problems
Arnold's Problems contains mathematical problems.The invariable peculiarity of these problems was that Arnold did not consider mathematics a game with deductive reasoning and symbols, but a part of natural science (especially of physics), i.e. an experimental science. Many of these problems are still at the frontier of research today and are still open, and even those that are mainly solved keep stimulating new research, appearing every year in journals all over the world.The second part of the book is a collection of commentaries, mostly by Arnold's former students, on the current progress in the problems' solutions (featuring a bibliography inspired by them).
Applied Physical Pharmacy
Presents an introduction to physical pharmacy. This book begins with a review of key biopharmaceutics concepts of drug liberation, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion
Algoritmi : Lo spirito dell’informatica = Algorithms : The spirit of information technology
Algorithms are the heart of computer science and mathematics, since without them the use of computers would not be possible. In this book, which in its English edition has been a longtime bestseller, Harel and Feldmann answer all questions relating to this topic. They talk about the evaluation, correctness and effectiveness of algorithms, but also clarify some doubts about programming techniques and also refer to the very current discussion on quantum computing. The book is useful both as a basic text for an introductory university course in computer science, and as a general introduction to natural sciences, mathematics or engineering.
A first course in differential equations with modeling applications
A comprehensive treatment of ordinary differential equations, concisely presenting basic and essential results in a rigorous manner. Including various examples from physics, mechanics, natural sciences, engineering and automatic theory, Differential Equations is a bridge between the abstract theory of differential equations and applied systems theory.










