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Ethics of Belief : Essays in Tribute to D.Z. Phillips
This volume is presented as a tribute to D.Z. Phillips and the introduction by Eugene Long includes a brief discussion of Phillips' life and work. The first six articles were originally written at the invitation of Phillips for a conference on the ethics of belief held at Claremont Graduate University. Essays by Allen Wood, Richard Amesbury and Van Harvey discuss the question of the ethics of belief in the context of the evidentialist principle most frequently associated with W. K. Clifford. Essays by Ronney Mourad, Jennifer Faust and Robert Audi are concerned with the voluntariness of belief, the persuasive power of arguments and differing conceptions of faith, belief and acceptance. The final two essays by John Whittaker and Anselm Min focus on Phillips' understanding of the logic and rationality of religious belief.
Ethical and Philosophical Consideration of the Dual-Use Dilemma in the Biological Sciences
This book examines the kinds of life-science experiments that give rise to the dual-use dilemma and provides philosophical analysis of the ethical issues and policy options surrounding dual-use research. this is the first book-length treatment of the topic by professional ethicists. It also challenges, and offers an alternative perspective to, the hugely influential U.S. National Research Council position on the dual-use dilemma.
Esterification of Polysaccharides
Polysaccharide esters (cellulose and starch) are among the first polymeric materials applied commercially. The way of producing these technically relevant derivatives, mainly the carboxylic acid esters of C2 to C4 acids, have not been changed significantly during their history of manufacture. The investigation of new acylation methods and strategies of analysis was revived during the last decade by the search for tailored, biocompatible, material for specific fields of application, e.g., biotechnology, sensor technique and medicine. Unconventional solvents were developed for completely homo-geneous acylation reaction applying state of the art techniques of modern organic chemistry for polysaccharide modification. This book will provide a first comprehensive summary of acylation methods in a very practical manner. Detailed structure analysis is indispensable for the evaluation of structure-property-relationships. Spectroscopic methods in particular FTIR- and NMR spectroscopy including two dimensional methods are of increasing importance.
Essentials of Sports Nutrition and Supplements
Millions of consumers want to lose body fat, gain muscle mass, and/or improve exercise performance. In addition to an exercise program, they often look to sports supplements as ‘tools’ to help them reach their goals. This book, the culmination of years of work by the thought leaders in the sports nutrition field will help the consumer, student, scientist, and sports nutrition professional sift through the huge volume of information and come up with reasonable and scientifically-based ideas and conclusions about sports nutrition.
Essential Urban Design : A Handbook for Architects, Designers and Planners
Shaping our cities, streets and public spaces, urban design informs the places we live. It is a complex multi-disciplinary process, requiring the input of a wide variety of stakeholders and design and construction professionals. Each urban project invariably throws up a new set of problems and strategic decisions for the design team. This guide distils the essential information required for the expert direction of the day-to-day work of urban design, from strategic design to masterplanning through to character assessment and collaboration. Compact and accessible with over 250 hand-drawn figures and plans, it's the perfect everyday companion for junior practitioners and experienced heads alike across the built environment.
Essential cob construction : A guide to design, engineering and building
Presents both hands-on and rigorous technical information on how to build code compliant, low-embodied carbon, and fire- and earthquake-resistant buildings from cob--a mix of clay, sand and straw. The definitive cob guide for engineers, architects, designers, contractors, and owner-builders.
Esercizi di finanza matematica = Mathematical finance exercises
This is a collection of exercises that illustrates some fundamental aspects of Mathematical Finance, in particular the valuation of derivatives. It is aimed at students of master's degree courses, but can also be successfully used in first level degree courses, by students who have adequate mathematical training (degree courses in mathematics, engineering). The resolution of the exercises is addressed with the use of methods of both Probability Theory (stochastic processes) and Mathematical Analysis (Partial Derivative Equations).
E-science : Open, social and virtual technology for research collaboration
This book shows the breadth and various facets of e-Science, while also illustrating their shared core. Changes in scientific work are driven by the shift to grid-based worlds, the use of information and communication systems, and the existential infrastructure, which includes global collaboration. In this context, the book addresses emerging issues such as open access, collaboration and virtual communities and highlights the diverse range of developments associated with e-Science. As such, it will be of interest to researchers and scholars in the fields of information technology and knowledge management.
Ergativity : Emerging Issues
This volume presents a collection of papers on the enticing and complex theme of Ergativity. The papers exemplify theoretical depth applied to a wide range of languages, with the majority of papers based on original fieldwork. Ergativity refers to a grammatical pattern in which the logical subject of intransitive clauses and the logical object of transitive clauses share some grammatical features, and in this respect differ from transitive subjects. The shared features are often case and/or agreement, but a variety of other relevant features have also been isolated in the literature.
Equity policies in global higher Education : Reducing inequality and increasing participation and attainment
This book discusses and analyses global policies and practices aimed at promoting equity in higher education participation and attainment. Although the massification of higher education systems has facilitated the participation of students from deprived backgrounds, socioeconomic inequalities persist in access to the most prestigious institutions and programmes. Privileged students benefit from a number of advantages in the competition for selective and scarce places: access to information, lower aversion to debt, higher expectations, better previous schooling and higher academic achievement.
Equilibrium States and the Ergodic Theory of Anosov Diffeomorphisms
For this printing of R. Bowen's book, J.-R. Chazottes has retyped it in TeX for easier reading, thereby correcting typos and bibliographic details. From the Preface by D. Ruelle: "Rufus Bowen has left us a masterpiece of mathematical exposition... Here a number of results which were new at the time are presented in such a clear and lucid style that Bowen's monograph immediately became a classic. More than thirty years later, many new results have been proved in this area, but the volume is as useful as ever because it remains the best introduction to the basics of the ergodic theory of hyperbolic systems."
Equazioni a derivate parzial I : Complementi ed esercizi
La presente raccolta di problemi ed esercizi nasce dall'esperienza maturata durante il corso di Equazioni a Derivate Parziali (EDP), tenuto nell'ambito delle lauree di primo e secondo livello presso il Politecnico di Milano. Il volume è diviso in due parti; nei primi quattro capitoli l'obiettivo è l'uso di tecniche classiche, come la separazione delle variabili, il principio di massimo o le trasformate di Laplace e Fourier, per risolvere problemi di diffusione, trasporto e vibrazione. Il quinto capitolo invita a familiarizzare con i risultati di base negli spazi di Hilbert, nella teoria delle distribuzioni (o funzioni generalizzate) di Schwartz e in quella degli spazi di Sobolev più comuni. Il sesto ed ultimo capitolo riguarda la formulazione variazionale o debole dei più importanti problemi iniziali e/o al bordo per equazioni ellittiche e di evoluzione. L'introduzione ad ogni capitolo contiene una sintesi degli strumenti teorici più utilizzati.
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 II ; 2nd International Workshop, E4MAS 2005, Utrecht, The Netherlands, July 25, 2005, Selected Revised and Invited Papers
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Environments for Multiagent Systems, E4MAS 2005, held in July 2005. The 16 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from the lectures given at the workshop.
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.
Environmental Health in Central and Eastern Europe
Complex chemical mixtures impact our health every day. In the United States, and also in Central and Eastern Europe, there are a number of locations where complex chemical mixtures have been released to environmental media. Although exposure to mixtures is common, minimal information exists to quantify these exposures, or to determine their impact on human or ecological receptors. These proceedings present some of the most current research conducted to quantify complex mixtures in the environment and investigate their potential impact on human health. Many of the manuscripts reported in these proceedings represent the most up-to-date measurements of population exposures in Central and Eastern Europe. These studies are of value to health and environmental professionals around the world as they develop strategies for assessing exposures, remediating contaminated environments, and improving public health.
Environmental Geotechnics
A guide to aid engineers in applying geotechnical principles, processes and techniques in a way that will not only reduce their environmental impact but should benefit the environment. The major construction-environment interface is geotechnical in nature. For engineers to be able to foresee environmental problems and modify construction projects, or derive novel approaches, to prevent negative impacts from their works, they need a thorough knowledge of their subject and a constant awareness of the pollution-output' of any construction operation.
Environmental Effects of Afforestation in North-Western Europe : From Field Observations to Decision Support
Recognising the need for effective decision making in relation to land-use change, this timely book develops a series of tools for estimating the environmental impacts of afforestation. It also presents guidelines and decision support systems (DSS) to enable both policy makers and forest managers to maximize the benefits and minimize the adverse effects of afforestation. This book will provide a valuable resource for both graduate students and researchers in forest, environmental and biological sciences, as well as for landscape planners and policy makers involved in afforestation projects at local, regional and international levels.
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.
Entrepreneurship, the new economy and public policy : Schumpeterian perspectives
Silicon Valley is the most salient example of high-tech industrial clusters. Public policy makers throughout the world would like to learn the secrets of Silicon Valley in order to build their own high-tech economies. The existing literature on ind- trial clusters, which traces back to Marshall (1920), focuses on the way in which ?rms bene?t from locating in a cluster; it suggests that once a cluster comes into existence However, a more important question is how to reach this critical mass in the ?rst place. In contrast to the literature, evidence suggests that entrepreneurs rarely move when they est- lish high-tech start-ups. This contradicts the notion that location choice analyses lead entrepreneurs to a high-tech cluster. A high-tech industrial cluster such as Silicon Valley is characterized by c- centrated entrepreneurship.
