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Evolution from Cellular to Social Scales
Evolution is a critical challenge for many areas of science, technology and development of society. The book reviews general evolutionary facts such as origin of life and evolution of the genome and clues to evolution through simple systems. Emerging areas of science such as "systems biology" and "bio-complexity" are founded on the idea that phenomena need to be understood in the context of highly interactive processes operating at different levels and on different scales. This is where physics meets complexity in nature, and where we must begin to learn about complexity if we are to understand it. Similarly, there is an increasingly urgent need to understand and predict the evolutionary behavior of highly interacting man-made systems, in areas such as communications and transport, which permeate the modern world. The same applies to the evolution of human networks such as social, political and financial systems, where technology has tended to vastly increase both the complexity and speed of interaction, which is sometimes effectively instantaneous.
Everyday Innovators: Researching the Role of Users in Shaping ICTs
Everyday Innovators explores the active role of people, collectively and individually, in shaping the use of information and communication technologies. It examines issues around acquiring and using that knowledge of users, how we should conceptualise the role of users and understand the forms and limitations of their participation.
Event Structure and the Left Periphery : Studies on Hungarian
This book provides substantial new results in a novel field of research examining the syntactic and semantic consequences of event structure. The studies of this volume examine the hypothesis that event structure correlates with word order, the presence or absence of the verbal particle, the [+/- specific] feature of the internal argument, aspect, focusing, negation, and negative quantification, among others. The results reported concern the telicising vs. perfectivizing role of the verbal particle; the syntactic and semantic differences of verbs denoting a delimited change, and those denoting creation or coming into being; evidence of viewpoint aspect in a language with no morphological viewpoint marking; the aspectual role of non-thematic objects; the source of the ‘exhaustive identification’ function of structural focus; the interaction of negation and aspect etc.
Evaluating Multiple Narratives : Beyond Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist Archaeologies
This volume uses Bruce Trigger's 1984 article, "Alternative Archaeologies: Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist" as a starting point to examine the complex interaction between contemporary society and archaeological practice today. This book uses case studies from Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America to explore the interplay between the sociopolitical context of specific national, regional or local archaeological traditions and the variety of interpretations of the past made by archaeologists and others.
Eutrophication of Shallow Lakes with Special Reference to Lake Taihu, China
Eutrophication and algal blooms are worldwide environmental issues in lakes. The eutrophication process and formation mechanisms of algal blooms are particularly complicated in shallow lakes due to the strong lake–land, air–water and water–sediment interactions. This volume features papers presented at the International Symposium on the Eutrophication Process and Control in Large Shallow Lakes – with Special Reference to Lake Taihu, a Shallow Subtropical Chinese Lake, held in Nanjing, China, 22–26 April, 2005. The topics include: physical processes and their effects on shallow lake ecosystems; biogeochemistry of sediments and nutrient cycling in shallow lakes; algal blooms and ecosystem response in shallow lakes; eutrophication control and restoration in shallow lakes; and resource exploitation, environmental protection and sustainable management in shallow lakes.
EUNICE 2005: Networks and Applications Towards a Ubiquitously Connected World ; IFIP International Workshop on Networked Applications, Colmenarejo, Madrid/Spain, 6-8 July, 2005
The IFIP series publishes state-of-the-art results in the sciences and technologies of information and communication. The scope of the series includes: foundations of computer science; software theory and practice; education; computer applications in technology; communication systems; systems modeling and optimization; information systems; computers and society; computer systems technology; security and protection in information processing systems; artificial intelligence; and human-computer interaction. Proceedings and post-proceedings of referred international conferences in computer science and interdisciplinary fields are featured. These results often precede journal publication and represent the most current research. The principal aim of the IFIP series is to encourage education and the dissemination and exchange of information about all aspects of computing.
Etiology and Morphogenesis of Congenital Heart Disease : From Gene Function and Cellular Interaction to Morphology
This volume focuses on the etiology and morphogenesis of congenital heart diseases. It reviews in detail the early development and differentiation of the heart, and later morphologic events of the cardiovascular system, covering a wide range of topics such as gene functions, growth factors, transcription factors and cellular interactions that are implicated in cardiac morphogenesis and congenital heart disease. This book also presents recent advances in stem cell and cell sheet tissue engineering technologies which have the potential to provide novel in vitro disease models and to generate regenerative paradigms for cardiac repair and regeneration
Ethics, hunger and globalization : In search of appropriate policies
The book concludes that much of the rhetoric by policy makers is not followed up with appropriate action, and discusses the role of ethics in attempts to match action with rhetoric. The book also concludes that a better understanding of the values underlying both public and private sector action towards the alleviation of poverty and hunger would lead to more enlightened policies and greater success in attempts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The interaction between ethical, economic, and policy aspects is discussed and scholars and experienced practitioners from several disciplines suggest how such integration may be promoted.
Essentials of pharmacodynamics and drug action
Provides a comprehensive exploration of the dynamic field of pharmacology and its fundamental principles. It delves into the intricate interactions between drugs and the human body, focusing on pharmacokinetics, which explains the dynamics of drug actions in the body, and pharmacodynamics, which uncovers the mechanisms through which drugs exert their effects. The book also emphasizes the crucial aspects of therapeutics and gene-based therapy, shedding light on modern approaches to disease treatment.
Essential dental therapeutics
A practical guide to drugs and their effects on dental care. Covering both medical and dental prescribing, all major categories of prescription drugs, their possible side effects, and potential drug interactions are discussed. The medical section is succinct and easily understandable, providing busy dentists with the information they need about medical conditions and the drugs used to treat them. The dental section offers practical, straightforward information that is relevant to everyday dental prescribing.
Essays on congruence theory in marketing : Special focus on digital products and webstores
Digital products are intangible goods, mainly presented visually and acoustically to consumers in the form of videos, images, texts, and music that can be bought, downloaded, or streamed via various web stores. Their consumption primarily fulfills hedonic needs. Before purchasing, a consumer's interaction with a digital product is always mediated by technology. Therefore, consumers cannot directly judge the quality through "touch and feel" experiences.
ERP Systems and Organisational Change : A Socio-technical Insight
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems are now the backbone of the information systems in public and private sector organisations. This book provides a unique and comprehensive insight into ERP systems, from both a social and a technical viewpoint.
Ergonomics and Health Aspects of Work with Computers ; International Conference, EHAWC 2007, Held as Part of HCI International 2007, Beijing, China, July 22-27, Proceedings
This book address the latest research and development efforts and highlight the human aspects of design and use of computing systems. It cover the entire field of Human-Computer Interaction, addressing major - vances in knowledge and effective use of computers in a variety of application areas. This volume contains thematic area of Ergonomics and Health Aspects of Work with Computers, addressing the following major topics:Health and Well Being in the Working Environment, Ergonomics and Design
Equity Financing and Covenants in Venture Capital : An Augmented Contracting Approach to Optimal German Contract Design
Karoline Jung-Senssfelder presents the first augmented contracting analysis, focusing on the interaction of both, financial instruments and covenants, in the creation of incentives to the contracting parties. With a focus on the German market, she integrates the findings of her model-based theoretical and survey-based empirical analyses to derive value-adding implications for an incentive-compatible contract design in the German venture capital market.
Environments for Multi-Agent Systems III ; 3rd International Workshop, E4MAS 2006, Hakodate, Japan, May 8, 2006, Selected Revised and Invited Papers
This book are organized in topical sections on models, architecture, and design, mediated interaction and stigmery, governing environment, and applications.
Environments for Multi-Agent Systems ; 1st International Workshop, E4MAS, 2004, New York, NY, July 19, 2004, Revised Selected Papers
The modern ?eld of multiagent systems has developed from two main lines of earlier research. Its practitioners generally regard it as a form of arti?cial intelligence (AI). Some of its earliest work was reported in a series of workshops in the US dating from1980,revealinglyentitled,“DistributedArti?cialIntelligence,”andpioneers often quoted a statement attributed to Nils Nilsson that “all AI is distributed. ” The locus of classical AI was what happens in the head of a single agent, and much MAS research re?ects this heritage with its emphasis on detailed modeling of the mental state and processes of individual agents. From this perspective, intelligenceisultimatelythepurviewofasinglemind,thoughitcanbeampli?ed by appropriate interactions with other minds. These interactions are typically mediated by structured protocols of various sorts, modeled on human conver- tional behavior. But the modern ?eld of MAS was not born of a single parent. A few - searchershavepersistentlyadvocatedideasfromthe?eldofarti?ciallife(ALife). These scientists were impressed by the complex adaptive behaviors of commu- ties of animals (often extremely simple animals, such as insects or even micro- ganisms). The computational models on which they drew were often created by biologists who used them not to solve practical engineering problems but to test their hypotheses about the mechanisms used by natural systems. In the ar- ?cial life model, intelligence need not reside in a single agent, but emerges at the level of the community from the nonlinear interactions among agents. - cause the individual agents are often subcognitive, their interactions cannot be modeled by protocols that presume linguistic competence.
Environmentally Friendly Coastal Protection ; Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Environmentally Friendly Coastal Protection Structures, Varna, Bulgaria, 25-27 May 2004
Coast lines have been and are the central lines of civilization around the world with increasing pressure from both sides - the hinterland and the sea. This book features papers covering related aspects of Environmentally Friendly Coastal Structures - coast, engineering structures, water, sediments, ecosystems in their complicated interaction
Environmental Governance in Latin America
The multiple purposes of nature – livelihood for communities, revenues for states, commodities for companies, and biodiversity for conservationists – have turned environmental governance in Latin America into a highly contested arena. In such a resource-rich region, unequal power relations, conflicting priorities, and trade-offs among multiple goals have led to a myriad of contrasting initiatives that are reshaping social relations and rural territories. This edited collection addresses these tensions by unpacking environmental governance as a complex process of formulating and contesting values, procedures and practices shaping the access, control and use of natural resources. Contributors from various fields address the challenges, limitations, and possibilities for a more sustainable, equal, and fair development. In this book, environmental governance is seen as an overarching concept defining the dynamic and multi-layered repertoire of society-nature interactions, where images of nature and discourses on the use of natural resources are mediated by contextual processes at multiple scales.
Environmental Challenges in Civil Engineering II
Rports on findings concerning structural material behavior, and new methods and technologies in constructions. A special emphasis is given to sustainable constructions practices, including material recycling and reuse, renovation and restoration of historical building and to those fostering sustainable development of cities and rural areas, and a better integration of buildings with the environment. Offering a good balance of theory and practice, and covering both technical and organizational aspects in civil engineering and architectural projects, this book offers extensive information on solutions and current challenges in construction projects and structural interventions in the context of environmental protection and earthquake prevention.
Environmental and Microbial Relationships
After the publication of Volume IV in 1997, the introduction of molecular methods into ecology led to significant new findings. Emphasizing these advances, the chapters for the second edition have been completely updated and revised. This volume provides insight into current research on fungal populations and communities. It focuses on fungal responses to the physical environment, interactions with other fungi, microorganisms and invertebrates, the role of fungi in ecosystem processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling, and aspects of biogeography and conservation. Several chapters deal with various applications in, e.g. biological pest control, natural products discovery, and the degradation of toxic organic compounds. This is an invaluable source of information both for scientists who wish to update their knowledge of current progress and for graduate students interested in obtaining a first overview of this field of research.
