Technology, Engineering & Agriculture Books

Book SynopsisThis comprehensive publication "Handbook on Freshwater Aquaculture" is the collective effort of a wide array of eminent people associated with Indian aquaculture. Special emphasis has been given to aquaculture and its prospects and problems in rural India especially the lesser known areas. The book covers almost all important aspects of freshwater aquaculture, both traditional and modern aquaculture techniques, water quality issues, integrated farming practices, environmental, socio-economic and livelihood issues. It is expected that the book will prove to a source of useful information for the needs of students, scholars, farmers and researchers.Table of Contents1. Aquaculture and Environment by Neera Kapur 2. Management of Waterbodies for Better Fish Production by B. Santhosh and N.P. Singh 3. Aquaculture: Methods and Practices by Neera Kapur 4. Practical Approach to Freshwater Fish Culture by M. Sinha 5. Water Quality Management for Fish Culture by B. Santhosh, M. Datta and N. P. Singh 6. quaculture and Nutrition by Arun B. Patel and P.K. Pradhan 7. Hatchery Technologies for Freshwater Fish Production by P. K. Pradhan 8. Packing and Transportation of Fish Seeds and Fishes by B. Debnath 9. Health Management and Common Diseases of Cultured Fishes and Shellfishes by Ashutosh D. Deo 10. Freshwater Pearl Culture by Neera Kapur 11. An Overview of Aquaculture in India with Special Reference to North Eastern States by J.R. Dhanze 12. Social and Economic Issues Confronting Aquaculture Development in North Eastern Region by Manidip Roy and M.C. Nandeesha

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Book SynopsisFood and Beverage Services & Operations is specially written for the students and industry professionals who would work or are working in the food and beverage divisions of hospitality organizations. The book is divided into two parts – Part I is on Food and Beverage Service Operations, which discusses topics like catering services, restaurant services, room services, banquet services, food services, meals and menus, Guéridon services, range of alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages, wine world, beers, white spirits, brown spirits, tobacco products, cocktails, sales and revenue control systems, and so on. Part II is on Food Production Operations which discusses topics on kitchen management, principles of cooking, various kinds of vegetarian and non-vegetarian cookery, SSSS (Soups, Stocks, Sauces & Salads), basic commodities, gravies and curries, garnishes, food plating, cold kitchen, nutrition, hygiene and safety. With its wide coverage and approach to the subject, the book will serve as a complete standalone resource for students, chefs and food & beverage service professionals. Salient Features Learning aids include learning objectives, examples, key terms and review questions. Every service operation has been given in a step-wise manner following the standard operating procedure in the industry. Scroll boxes have been used creatively to present important and interesting facts. Well-labeled diagrams have been used profusely to aid understanding of the concepts. Table of Contents Part A: Food and Beverage Service Operations 1. Introduction 2. Food and Beverage Organizational Structure 3. Food and Beverage Service Equipment 4. Food and Beverage Department Coordination 5. Restaurant Operations 6. Room Service Operations 7. Technical Proficiency 8. Banquet 9. Meals and Menu 10. French Classical Menu 11. Guéridon and Carving 12. Types of Service 13. Introduction to Beverages 14. Non-Alcoholic Beverages 15. Fermented Beverage – Wine 16. Old Wine World 17. New Wine World 18. Brewed Beverage: Beer 19. Distilled Beverages: Spirits 20. Brown Spirits 21. White Spirits 22. Liqueurs, Aperitifs, Vermouths, Bitters and Other Spirits 23. Introduction to Bar 317 24. Tobacco Products (Cigar and Cigarette) 25. Sales/Revenue Control Part B: Food and Beverage Production Operations 27. Introduction to Cuisine 28. Introduction to Kitchen Organization 29. Fundamentals of Food Production 30. Stocks, Soups and Sauces 31. Fruit and Vegetable Cookery 32. Egg Cookery 33. Seafood Cookery 34. Poultry Cookery 35. Meat Cookery 36. Game Cookery 37. Dairy Products 38. Rice, Cereals, Pulses and Pasta Cookery 39. Introduction to Basic Ingredients 40. Shortenings (Fats and Oils) 41. Supporting Agents 42. Herbs and Spices 43. Basic Gravies, Curries and Sauces 44. Salad and Salad Dressing 45. Food Plating and Presentation 46. Nutrition 47. Basics of Bakery 48. Cold Kitchen 49. Safety and Hygiene 50. The Power of Skills Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisMachine Learning is a cutting-edge branch of Artificial Intelligence that has brought forth exciting new technological advances in recent years. This book introduces this important topic of current interest while also explaining its practical applications. Aimed at graduate students, teachers and researchers, this book will also help practitioners in implementing ML algorithms. This book explores concepts such as feature engineering, model selection, model estimation, model validation and model explanation and provides an in-depth discussion of the main classification and clustering techniques and algorithms. It also examines optimal predictors and provides an introduction to Deep Learning architecture, including autoencoders and various neural networks. This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in machine learning, data mining and pattern recognition. Salient features- 1. Clear and concise chapter learning objectives and summary of topics 2. Over 125 solved examples to aid and enhance understanding of concepts 3. Over 150 figures to provide visual impact and envisage abstract concepts 4. Applications drawn from real-life data sets 5.

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Book SynopsisIn a concise and crisp manner, this book presents the state of the art in ecological economics, an interdisciplinary field focused on the analysis of sustainability of global, national and regional economic systems. An elegant guide, the book offers a range of cutting edge methods used in sustainability research including multicriteria decision aid (MCDA), input-output analysis, and life cycle analysis. This book is packed with references for students with some background in economics, environmental science or mathematics who aim to develop the analytical skills required for redirecting our development path towards sustainability in government, international organisations, academia, non-profit sector and business. As such, the book is primarily aimed at MSc and first year PhD students reading for degrees in Environmental Change and Management, Ecological Economics, Environmental Management, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and those taking part in similar programmes. The book strives to develop the idea that a significant adjustment of the current economic theories is required, an idea supported by the emerged world economic crisis, the climatic and biodiversity crisis the world is currently facing and the enormously slow progress that has been made in the field of reorientation of the global economy towards sustainability. The practical case studies provided focus on the most pressing topics of today, and the book adopts a positive approach for problem solving and strategic development, which is aimed at educating the future decision makers and business leaders.Table of ContentsPart I: Theory of Ecological Economics Introduction 1. The Economic System and the Environment2. Industrial Ecology: Material and Energy Flows, Life Cycle Analysis3. The Big Picture Vision and the Environment: An International Perspective4. Economic Valuation and Decision Making: MCDA as a tool for the Future5. Macroeconomy: Market Failures and Externalities: What Can Be Done6. Economic Models and the Environment: Input-Output Analysis7. Sustainable Development: Measuring Progress Part II: Ecological-Economic Applications 8. Climate Change and Renewable Energy: How to Choose the Optimal Pool of Technologies9. Biodiversity Loss: New Methods for Evaluating Ecosystems10. Sustainable Cities: Interdisciplinary Perspective11. Regional Waste Management: Multicriteria Modelling 12. Business and Sustainable Development: CSR in Practice Index

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Book SynopsisTechniques and theory for processing otoliths from tropical marine fish have developed only recently due to an historic misconception that these organisms could not be aged. Otoliths are the most commonly used structures from which daily, seasonal or annual records of a fish’s environmental history are inferred, and are also used as indicators of migration patterns, home range, spatial distribution, stock structure and life history events. A large proportion of projects undertaken on tropical marine organisms involve removal and processing of calcified structures such as otoliths, statoliths or vertebrae to retrieve biological, biochemical or genetic information. Current techniques and principles have evolved rapidly and are under constant modification and these differ among laboratories, and more particularly among species and within life history stages. Tropical fish otoliths: Information for assessment, management and ecology is a comprehensive description of the current status of knowledge about otoliths in the tropics. This book has contributions from leading experts in the field, encompassing a tropical perspective on daily and annual ageing in fish and invertebrates, microchemistry, interpreting otolith microstructure and using it to back-calculate life history events, and includes a treatise on the significance of validating periodicity in otoliths.Table of Contentsto Otoliths and Fisheries in the Tropics.- Ageing in Coral Reef Fishes: Do we Need to Validate the Periodicity of Increment Formation for every species of Fish for which we collect age-based Demographic Data?.- Age in Years from Otoliths of Adult Tropical Fish.- Daily Otolith Increments in the Early Stages of Tropical Fish.- Alternatives to Sectioned Otoliths: The use of other Structures and Chemical Techniques to Estimate Age and Growth for Marine Vertebrates and Invertebrates.- The Back-Calculation of Fish Growth From Otoliths.- Otolith Microstructure in Tropical Fish.- Otolith Chemistry.- Tropical Otoliths – Where to Next?.- Alternatives to Sectioned Otoliths: The use of other Structures and Chemical Techniques to Estimate Age and Growth for Marine Vertebrates and Invertebrates.

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Book SynopsisThis volume rethinks the work of Jacques Ellul (1912-1994) on the centenary of his birth, by presenting an overview of the current debates based on Ellul's insights. As one of the most significant twentieth-century thinkers about technology, Ellul was among the first thinkers to realize the importance of topics such as globalization, terrorism, communication technologies and ecology, and study them from a technological perspective. The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses Ellul’s diagnosis of modern society, and addresses the reception of his work on the technological society, the notion of efficiency, the process of symbolization/de-symbolization, and ecology. The second analyzes communicational and cultural problems, as well as threats and trends in early twenty-first century societies. Many of the issues Ellul saw as crucial – such as energy, propaganda, applied life sciences and communication – continue to be so. In fact they have grown exponentially, on a global scale, producing new forms of risk. Essays in the final section examine the duality of reason and revelation. They pursue an understanding of Ellul in terms of the depth of experience and the traditions of human knowledge, which is to say, on the one hand, the experience of the human being as contained in the rationalist, sociological and philosophical traditions. On the other hand there are the transcendent roots of human existence, as well as “revealed knowledge,” in the mystical and religious traditions. The meeting of these two traditions enables us to look at Ellul’s work as a whole, but above all it opens up a space for examining religious life in the technological society. Table of ContentsIntroduction: Ellul returns; Helena Mateus Jerónimo, José Luís Garcia and Carl Mitcham.- Part I. Civilization of Technique.- Chapter 1. How The Technological Society Became More Important in the United States than in France; Carl Mitcham.- Chapter 2. The Technological Society: Social Theory, McDonaldization and the Prosumer; George Ritzer.- Chapter 3. Are We Still Pursuing Efficiency? Interpreting Jacques Ellul’s Efficiency Principle; Wha-Chul Son.- Chapter 4. Technological Acceleration and the “Ground Floor of Civilization”; Daniel Cérézuelle.- Chapter 5. Technological System and the Problem of Desymbolization; Yuk Hui.- Chapter 6. Against Environmental Protection? Ecological Modernization as “Technician Ecology”; Isabelle Lamaud.- Part II. Autonomous Technology.- Chapter 7. Propaganda and Dissociation from Truth; Langdon Winner.- Chapter 8. An Unseasonable Thinker: How Ellul Engages Cybercultural Criticism; Andoni Alonso.- Chapter 9. Fukushima: A Tsunami of Technological Order; José Luís Garcia and Helena Mateus Jerónimo.- Chapter 10. From the Contaminated Blood Affair to the Mediator Scandal: Public Health, Political Responsibility and Democracy; Patrick Troude-Chastenet.- Chapter 11. Homo Energeticus: Technological Rationality in the Alberta Tar Sands; Nathan Kowalsky and Randolph Haluza-DeLay.- Part III. Reason and Revelation.- Chapter 12. The Reception of Jacques Ellul’s Thought in French Protestantism; Frédéric Rognon.- Chapter 13. Radically Religious: Ecumenical Roots of the Critique of Technological Society; Jennifer Karns Alexander.- Chapter 14. Truth, Reality and the Ten Commandments: Not for Theology Alone; Virginia W. Landgraf.- Chapter 15. Social Intolerability of the Christian Revelation: A Comparative Perspective on the Works of Jacques Ellul and Peter L. Berger; Andrei Ivan.- Chapter 16. Postmodernity, the Phenomenal Mistake: Sacred, Myth and Environment; Gregory Wagenfuhr.

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Book SynopsisThe link between modern lifestyles and increasing levels of chronic heart disease, obesity, stress and poor mental health is a concern across the world. The cost of dealing with these conditions places a large burden on national public health budgets so that policymakers are increasingly looking at prevention as a cost-effective alternative to medical treatment. Attention is turning towards interactions between the environment and lifestyles. Exploring the relationships between health, natural environments in general, and forests in particular, this groundbreaking book is the outcome of the European Union’s COST Action E39 ‘Forests, Trees and Human Health and Wellbeing’, and draws together work carried out over four years by scientists from 25 countries working in the fields of forestry, health, environment and social sciences. While the focus is primarily on health priorities defined within Europe, this volume explicitly draws also on research from North America.Trade ReviewFrom the reviews:“This book—the product of a four-year European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) project—is a timely addition to the literature … . the book seems ideal for the practitioner or service-manager looking for a comprehensive overview of the key considerations for using forests and other ‘green spaces’ more systematically to enhance the health and quality of the life of individuals and communities.” (Mike Morgan, International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, Vol. 18 (10), October, 2011)Table of ContentsPreface 1 Forests, Trees and Human Health and Well-being: Introduction Kjell Nilsson, Marcus Sangster, Cecil C. Konijnendijk Part I, Forest Products and Environmental Services 2 Urban forests and their ecosystem services in relation to human health Giovanni Sanesi, Christos Gallis and Hans Dieter Kasperidus 3 Forest Products with Health-Promoting and Medicinal Properties Christos Gallis, Mariella Di Stefano, Paraskevi Moutsatsou, Tytti Sarjala, Vesa Virtanen, Bjarne Holmbom, Joseph A. Buhagiar, and Alexandros Katalanos 4 Negative aspects and hazardous effects of forest environment on human health Marek Tomalak, Elio Rossi, Francesco Ferrini, and Paola A. Moro Part II, Physical and Mental Health and the Experience of Nature 5 Health benefits of nature experience: Psychological, social and cultural processes Terry Hartig, Agnes van den Berg, Caroline Hägerhäll, Marek Tomalak, Nicole Bauer, Ralf Hansmann, Ann Ojala, Efi Syngollitou, Giuseppe Carrus, Ann van Herzele, Simon Bell, Marie Therese Camilleri Podesta, Grete Waaseth 6 Health benefits of nature experience: The challenge of linking practice and research Ann Van Herzele, Simon Bell, Terry Hartig, Marie Therese Camilleri Podesta and Ronald van Zon 7 Health benefits of nature experience: Implications of practice for research Simon Bell, Ronald van Zon, Ann Van Herzele and Terry Hartig Part III, Promoting Physical Activity 8 Contributions of Natural Environments to Physical Activity Sjerp de Vries, Thomas Claßen, Stella-Maria Eigenheer-Hug, Kalevi Korpela, Jolanda Maas, Richard Mitchell and Peter Schantz 9 Natural elements and physical activity in urban green space planning and design Paolo Semenzato, Tuija Sievanen, Eva Silveirinha de Oliveira, Ana Luisa Soares and Renate Spaeth 10 Motivating people to be physically active in green spaces Amalia Drakou, Rik De Vreese, Tove Lofthus and Jo Muscat Part IV, Therapeutical and Educational Aspects 11 Nature-based therapeutic interventions Ulrika K. Stigsdotter, Anna Maria Palsdottir, Ambra Burls, Alessandra Chermaz, Francesco Ferrini and Patrik Grahn 12 Outdoor education, life long learning and skills development in woodlands and green spaces: the potential links to health and well-being Liz O’Brien, Ambra Burls, Peter Bentsen, Inger Hilmo, Kari Holter, Dorothee Haberling, Janez Pirnat, Mikk Sarv, Kristel Vilbaste, John McLoughlin Part V, Forest and Health Policies and Economics 13 Measuring health benefits of green space in economic terms Ken Willis and Bob Crabtree Postscript: Landscapes and health as representations of cultural diversity Klaus Seeland

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Book SynopsisKnowledge is not merely everything we have come to know, but also ideas we have pondered long enough to know in which way they are related, and 1 how these ideas can be put to practical use. Modern aviation has been made possible as a result of much scienti c - search. However, the very rst useful results of this research became ava- able a considerable length of time after the aviation pioneers had made their rst ights. Apparently, researchers were not able to nd an adequate exp- nation for the occurrence of lift until the beginning of the 21st century. Also, for the fundamentals of stability and control, there was no theory available that the pioneers could rely on. Only after the rst motorized ights had been successfully made did researchers become more interested in the science of aviation, which from then on began to take shape. In modern day life, many millions of passengers are transported every year by air. People in the western societies take to the skies, on average, several times a year. Especially in areas surrounding busy airports, travel by plane has been on the rise since the end of the Second World War. Despite becoming familiar with the sight of a jumbo jet commencing its ight once or twice a day, many nd it astonishing that such a colossus with a mass of several hundred thousands of kilograms can actually lift off from the ground.Trade ReviewFrom the reviews: “This book was translated from the Dutch textbook Aeronautiek (2002) and then edited by the translators, one of whom is the senior author of the current work. It is an expansion of lecture material used by both Torenbeek and Wittenberg to instruct freshmen aerospace engineers at the Technical University of Delft from 1970 to 2000. … The work is useful to aeronautical engineering students as a good reference and as an adjunct to their course textbooks. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students.” (A. M. Strauss, Choice, Vol. 47 (5), January, 2010)Table of ContentsPreface; 1 History of Aviation; 1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Early history and the invention of ballooning; 1.3 The period between 1799 and 1870; 1.4 The decades between 1870 and 1890; 1.5 From 1890 until the Wright Flyer III; 1.6 European aviation between 1906 and 1918; 1.7 Aviation between the world wars; 1.8 Development after 1940; Bibliography; 2 Introduction to Atmospheric Flight; 2.1 Flying – How is that possible?; 2.2 Static and dynamic aviation; 2.3 Forces on the aeroplane; 2.4 Lift, drag and thrust; 2.5 Properties of air; 2.6 The earth’s atmosphere; 2.7 The standard atmosphere; 2.8 Atmospheric flight; Bibliography ; 3 Low-Speed Aerodynamics ; 3.1 Speed domains and compressibility; 3.2 Basic concepts; 3.3 Equations for steady flow; 3.4 Viscous flows; 3.5 The boundary layer; 3.6 Flow separation and drag; 3.7 Shape and scale effects on drag ; Bibliography; 4 Lift and Drag at Low Speeds; 4.1 Function and shape of aeroplane wings; 4.2 Aerofoil sections; 4.3 Circulation and lift; 4.4 Aerofoil section properties; 4.5 Wing geometry; 4.6 High-aspect ratio straight wings; 4.7 Low-aspect ratio wings ; 4.8 The whole aircraft; Bibliography; 5 Aircraft Engines and Propulsion; 5.1 History of engine development; 5.2 Fundamentals of reaction propulsion; 5.3 Engine efficiency and fuel consumption; 5.4 Piston engines in aviation; 5.5 Gas turbine engine components ; 5.6 Non-reheated turbojet and turbofan engines ; 5.7 Turboprop and turboshaft engines; 5.8 Gas turbine engine operation ; 5.9 Propeller performance; Bibliography; 6 Aeroplane Performance; 6.1 Introduction ; 6.2 Airspeed and altitude; 6.3 Equations of motion for symmetric flight; 6.4 Steady straight and level flight; 6.5 Climb and descent ; 6.6 Gliding flight; 6.7 Cruising flight; 6.8 Take-off and landing; 6.9 Horizontal steady turn; 6.10 Manoeuvre and gust loads; Bibliography; 7 Stability and Control; 7.1 Flying qualities; 7.2 Elementary concepts and definitions; 7.3 Tail surfaces and flight control; 7.4 Pitchingmoment of aerofoils; 7.5 Static longitudinal stability; 7.6 Dynamic longitudinal stability; 7.7 Longitudinal control; 7.8 Static lateral stability; 7.9 Dynamic lateral stability; 7.10 Lateral control; 7.11 Stalling and spinning ; Bibliography ; 8 Helicopter Flight Mechanics; 8.1 Helicopter general arrangements; 8.2 Hovering flight ; 8.3 The rotor in level flight; 8.4 Flight performance; 8.5 Stability and control; Bibliography; 9 High-Speed Flight; 9.1 Complications due to the compressibility of air; 9.2 Compressible flow relationships; 9.3 Speed of sound and Mach number; 9.4 Flow in a channel; 9.5 Shock waves and expansion flows; 9.6 High-subsonic speed; 9.7 Transonic speed; 9.8 Supersonic speed; 9.9 Supersonic propulsion; 9.10 Performance and operation; Bibliography; A Units and Dimensions; B Principles of Aerostatics; Index

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Book SynopsisThis volume rethinks the work of Jacques Ellul (1912-1994) on the centenary of his birth, by presenting an overview of the current debates based on Ellul's insights. As one of the most significant twentieth-century thinkers about technology, Ellul was among the first thinkers to realize the importance of topics such as globalization, terrorism, communication technologies and ecology, and study them from a technological perspective. The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses Ellul’s diagnosis of modern society, and addresses the reception of his work on the technological society, the notion of efficiency, the process of symbolization/de-symbolization, and ecology. The second analyzes communicational and cultural problems, as well as threats and trends in early twenty-first century societies. Many of the issues Ellul saw as crucial – such as energy, propaganda, applied life sciences and communication – continue to be so. In fact they have grown exponentially, on a global scale, producing new forms of risk. Essays in the final section examine the duality of reason and revelation. They pursue an understanding of Ellul in terms of the depth of experience and the traditions of human knowledge, which is to say, on the one hand, the experience of the human being as contained in the rationalist, sociological and philosophical traditions. On the other hand there are the transcendent roots of human existence, as well as “revealed knowledge,” in the mystical and religious traditions. The meeting of these two traditions enables us to look at Ellul’s work as a whole, but above all it opens up a space for examining religious life in the technological society. Table of ContentsIntroduction: Ellul returns; Helena Mateus Jerónimo, José Luís Garcia and Carl Mitcham.- Part I. Civilization of Technique.- Chapter 1. How The Technological Society Became More Important in the United States than in France; Carl Mitcham.- Chapter 2. The Technological Society: Social Theory, McDonaldization and the Prosumer; George Ritzer.- Chapter 3. Are We Still Pursuing Efficiency? Interpreting Jacques Ellul’s Efficiency Principle; Wha-Chul Son.- Chapter 4. Technological Acceleration and the “Ground Floor of Civilization”; Daniel Cérézuelle.- Chapter 5. Technological System and the Problem of Desymbolization; Yuk Hui.- Chapter 6. Against Environmental Protection? Ecological Modernization as “Technician Ecology”; Isabelle Lamaud.- Part II. Autonomous Technology.- Chapter 7. Propaganda and Dissociation from Truth; Langdon Winner.- Chapter 8. An Unseasonable Thinker: How Ellul Engages Cybercultural Criticism; Andoni Alonso.- Chapter 9. Fukushima: A Tsunami of Technological Order; José Luís Garcia and Helena Mateus Jerónimo.- Chapter 10. From the Contaminated Blood Affair to the Mediator Scandal: Public Health, Political Responsibility and Democracy; Patrick Troude-Chastenet.- Chapter 11. Homo Energeticus: Technological Rationality in the Alberta Tar Sands; Nathan Kowalsky and Randolph Haluza-DeLay.- Part III. Reason and Revelation.- Chapter 12. The Reception of Jacques Ellul’s Thought in French Protestantism; Frédéric Rognon.- Chapter 13. Radically Religious: Ecumenical Roots of the Critique of Technological Society; Jennifer Karns Alexander.- Chapter 14. Truth, Reality and the Ten Commandments: Not for Theology Alone; Virginia W. Landgraf.- Chapter 15. Social Intolerability of the Christian Revelation: A Comparative Perspective on the Works of Jacques Ellul and Peter L. Berger; Andrei Ivan.- Chapter 16. Postmodernity, the Phenomenal Mistake: Sacred, Myth and Environment; Gregory Wagenfuhr.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides an excellent overview on the most recent results on the industrial applications of Mössbauer spectroscopy attained on the fields of nanotechnology, metallurgy, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, applied mineralogy, energy production industry (coal, oil, nuclear, solar, etc.), computer industry, space technology, electronic and magnetic devices technology, ion implantation technology, including topics like characterization of novel construction materials, electronic components and magnetic materials, composite materials, colloids, amorphous and nanophase materials, small particles, coatings, interfaces, thin films and multilayers, catalysis, corrosion, tribology, surface modification, hydrogen storage, ball milling, radiation effects, electrochemistry, batteries, etc. From the various reports a broad overview emerges illustrating that the method can successfully be applied in a wide variety of topics. Previously published in the journal Hyperfine Interactions.Table of ContentsFrom the contents: 2D iron(II) spin crossover complex with 3,5-lutidine.- Spin state tuning in FeII 1D coordination polymers made of 1,2,4-triazol-4-yl-propanoic and butanoic acids.- Application of Mössbauer spectroscopy on corrosion products of NPP Industrial applications of Mössbauer Spectroscopy.- Mössbauer studies of interactions between titanium atoms dissolved in iron Defect-fluorite oxides: Ln (Eu and Gd) Mössbauer study coupled with new defect-crystal-chemistry model.- Water cleaning ability and local structure of iron-containing soda-lime silicate glass.- Electrical conductivity and local structure of lithium tin iron vanadate glass 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy study of the 37 K superconductor.- Sm0.85Ba0.15FeAsO doped with fluorine.- Mössbauer spectroscopic study of FeII-doped sulphonated poly(ether-urethane)—styrene-acrylate copolymer.- Study of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles using Mössbauer spectroscopy with a high velocity resolution.- Mössbauer and XRD investigations of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with varying Mg/Fe ratios.- Magnetism and phase transformation of Cu-Fe composite oxides prepared by the sol-gel route.- Mössbauer study of gamma‴-iron nitride film.

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Book SynopsisThe limiting influence of the environment on sonar has long been recognised as a major challenge to science and technology. As the area of interest shifts towards the lit­ toral, environmental influences become dominant both in time and space. The manyfold challenges encompass prediction, measurement, assessment and adaptive responses to maximize the effectiveness of systems. Although MCM and ASW activities are dom­ inated in different ways and scales by the environment, both warfare areas have had to consider the significantly changing requirements posed by operations in the littoraL The fundamental scientific issues involved in developing models relating acoustics to the environment are matched in difficulty by the need for data for their validation and eventual practical use for prediction. In many instances the need is for on-line adaptation of systems to changing circumstances whilst other needs are for the Ionger term planning activities. This book and the attached full-color CD are the proceedings of a conference organ­ ised by the SACLANT Undersea Research Centre, held at Villa Marigola, Lerici, Italy, on 16-20 September 2002. The fundamental problems associated with environmental 1 variability and sonar were explored at a previous SACLANTCEN conference in 1990. These problems have not gone away but, on the one hand are exaggerated by the move to the littoral and on the other hand, are open to treatrnent in new ways that advances in technology and computer power allow.Table of ContentsPreface. Section 1: Ocean variability. Acoustic effects of environmental variability in the SWARM, PRIMER and ASIAEX experiments (Invited paper); J. Lynch, et al. Acoustic intensity variability in a shallow water environment; B.H. Pasewark, et al. Combination of acoustics with high resolution oceanography (Invited paper); J. Sellschopp, et al. Effect of hurricane Michael on the underwater acoustic environment of the Scotian Shelf; D. Hutt, et al. High-frequency acoustic propagation in the presence of oceanographic variability; M. Badiey, et al. Instrumented tow cable measurements of temperature variability of the water column; A.A. Ruffa, M.T. Sundvik. Mesoscale - small scale oceanic variability effects on underwater acoustic signal propagation; E. Coelho. Spatial coherence of signals forward scattered from the sea surface in the East China Sea (Invited paper); P.H. Dahl. Variability in high frequency acoustic backscattering in the water column; A.C. Lavery, et al. Section 2: Seabed variability. Intra- and inter-regional geoacoustic variability in the littoral (Invited paper); C.W. Holland. Acoustic and in-situ techniques for measuring the spatial variability of seabed geoacoustic parameters in littoral environments; J.C. Osler, et al. Measurements of bottom variability during SWAT New Jersey Shelf experiment; A. Turgut, et al. Mapping seabed variability using combined echosounder and XBPs for sonar performance prediction; K.M. Kelly, G.J. Heald. Variability of shear wave speed and attenuation in surficial marine sediments; M.D. Richardson. In-situ determination of the variability of seafloor acoustic properties: An example from the ONR Geoclutter area; L.A. Mayer, et al. Calculation of in situ acousticwave properties in marine sediments; B.J. Kraft, et al. Sub-bottom variability characterization using surface acoustic waves; M.E. Zakharia. The influence of noise and coherence fluctuations on a new geo-acoustic inversion technique; C.H. Harrison. Estimating shallow water bottom geo-acoustic parameters using ambient noise; D. Tang. Effect of environmental variability on model-based signal processing: Review of experimental results in the Mediterranean; J.-P. Hermand. Rapid geoacoustic characterization for limiting environmental uncertainty for sonar system performance prediction; K.D. Heaney, H. Cox. Environmental uncertainty in acoustic inversion; S.E. Dosso, M.J. Wilmut. Measuring the azimuthal variability of acoustic backscatter from littoral seabeds; P.C. Hines, et al. Backscatter from elastic ocean bottoms: Using the small slope model to assess acoustical variability and uncertainty; R.F. Gragg, et al. Spatial and temporal variability in bottom roughness: Implications to high frequency subcritical penetration and backscatter; K.L. Williams, et al. Variability of bottom backscattering strength in the 10-500 kHz band at shallow grazing angles; N.P. Chotiros. Predicting scattered envelope statistics of patchy seafloors; A.P. Lyons, et al. The effect of seabed backscattering variability on the probability of detection and on the performance of seabed classification algorithms; E. Pouliquen, et al. Section 3: Acoustic fluctuations: Measurements. Effects of environmental variability on acoustic propagation loss in shallow water; T. Akal. Broadband acoustic signal variability in two 'typical' shallow-water regions; P.L. Nielsen, et al. Variability, coherence and predictability of shallow water acoustic propagation in the Straits of Florida; H.A. DeFerrari, et al. Ambient no

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Book Synopsis‘All new technology is accompanied with great expectations on the one hand and great fear on the other. Thierry Geerts reduces the digital revolution to its true proportions and shows that we control the impact of technology ourselves: technology becomes what we make of it. Few are better placed than the author to clearly define the potential, the tasks, and the responsibility that awaits each and every one of us.’ – Caroline Pauwels, rector of the VUB ‘After Digitalis drew up the contours of the new digital world, Homo digitalis now describes how we can appropriate it so that digitalisation will benefit humanity. But instead of trying to convince at all costs, Thierry Geerts puts things in perspective. With great expertise, he guides us through numerous groundbreaking initiatives that start-ups and companies in Europe have often developed.‘– Alain Gerlache, journalist ‘This book couldn't have come out at a better time. Change can be scary for many, but above all, it brings many opportunities. Thierry Geerts fantastically explains how Digitalis can be an inclusive place where social mobility and equality are self-evident. Now it’s up to our entrepreneurs, policymakers, and each of us as individuals to gear up and resolutely opt for the digital future.’ – Yasmien Naciri, entrepreneur and marketer ‘Think about the reasons for technology. That is the challenge that Thierry Geerts takes on with gusto and enthusiasm in this fascinating book.’ – Laurent Hublet, co-founder and CEO of BeCentral, the largest digitalis campus in Europe In Homo digitalis, Thierry Geerts, CEO of Google Belgium and Luxembourg, looks at the dangers and opportunities of the digital revolution. Without taboos and with an eye to the future, he offers thoughtful examples of how digitalisation affects us as people and as a society. His conclusion is clear: technology is neutral, and it’s up to people to use it consciously and confidently. If we do that, digitalisation will make us happier, with more time for creativity, personal development, healthcare, and the things that really matter. Then we’ll become more human and we homo sapiens will turn into homo digitalis.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a thorough account of the current status of achievements made in the area of soft X-Ray laser source development and of the increasingly diverse applications being demonstrated using such radiation sources. There is significant effort worldwide to develop very bright, short duration radiation sources in the X-Ray spectral region – driven by the multitude of potential applications in all branches of science. This book contains updates on several different approaches for comparative purposes but concentrates on developments in the area of laser-produced plasmas, whereby transient population inversion and gain between ion states is pumped by optical lasers interacting with pre-formed plasmas. Topics covered will include Laser-driven XRLs, Collisional XRLs, Recombination XRLs, Transient Inversion Collisional XRLs, Optical Field Ionization XRLs, Alternative XRL, pumping schemes Theory and simulations of XRL gain media and beam properties High order harmonic sources of XUV radiation, Free-electron lasers and other accelerator based X-Ray sources, X-Ray Laser drives, X-Ray optics and instrumentation Spectroscopy, and other diagnostics of laser media Applications of XRLs.Table of ContentsPart 1: X-Ray Laser SystemsRecent results and future plans for XRLs using the TARANIS laser facilityC.L.S. Lewis et alSource development and novel applications of laser-driven plasma x-ray lasers in JAEAT. Kawachi et alTheoretical study of Ni-like Ta XRL driven by One 2? pulse with duration of 100 ps on upgraded ShenguangII facilityZ. Guoping, Q. Xiumei, Z. WudiX-ray laser developments at PHELIX B. Zielbauer et alLASERIX : an open facility for developments of EUV and soft X-ray lasers and applicationsD. Ros et alUsing the X-FEL as a source to investigate photo-pumped X-ray lasers J. Nilsen and H. A. ScottPart 2: Repetitive X-Ray LasersDemonstration of an all-diode-pumped soft X-ray laser and other advances in table-top soft X-ray lasers J. J. Rocca et alSaturated XUV lasing down to 8.85 nm using the grazing-incidence schemeJ.E. Balmer, C. Imesch, and F. Staub Double-pulse single-beam grazing-incidence pumping (DGRIP)D. Zimmer et alDevelopment and application of plasma-waveguide based soft x-ray lasersJiunn-Yuan. Lin et alDevelopment of silver tape target system for high repetition X-ray laserMasaharu Nishikino et alPart 3: X-Ray Laser Amplifiers – Seeding Temporal coherence and spectral width of seeded and ASE XUV lasersA. Klisnick et alWave perspective on high harmonics amplification in a high-gain medium with level degeneracyC. M. Kim, K. A. Janulewicz, and J. LeeLaser driven parametric amplification in the xuv and soft-x-ray spectral rangeJ. Seres et alCharacterization of a seeded optical-field ionized collisional soft x-ray laser S. Sebban et alOptimization of soft x-ray amplifiers by tailoring plasmahydrodynamicsE. Oliva et alMeasurement of the temporal coherence of a seeded GRIP transient Mo soft X-ray laser L.M. Meng et alPart 4: Sources Based on Relativistic InteractionExtreme field limits in the ultra-relativistic interaction of electromagnetic waves with plasmasS. V. Bulanov et alGeneration of coherent X-ray radiation with relativistic nonlinear processesY. Kato et alPart 5: High-harmonicsGeneration of ultrashort attosecond high-harmonic pulses from chirp-compensated Ne harmonicsDong Hyuk Ko et alAn intense kHz and aberration-free two-color high harmonic source for seeding FEL and XRLG. Lambert et alTuning of high-order harmonics for soft x-ray laser seedingBoris Ecker et alGeneration of small band width coherent extreme ultraviolet radiation and its applicationL.V. Dao, S. Teichmann, K.B. Dinh, and P. Hannaford Highly directive high harmonic generation from solid target plasma for biomedical and medicine applicationsH. Kuroda et alHigh harmonic generation by using laser-ablation two-compounds target schemeM. Suzuki, M. Baba, R. A. Ganeev, and H. KurodaPart 6: Incoherent Short-Wavelength SourcesEUV-induced surface modification of polymersA. Bartnik et alStudy on fundamental processes of laser welded metals observed with intense x-ray beamsT. Muramatsu et alXUV radiation emitted by capillary pinching dischargeM. Vrbova et alEUV radiation of pulse high-current proximity-wall-stabilized dischargesK. Kolacek et alPart 7: X-Ray Laser ApplicationsProbing high energy density plasmas with EUV and X-ray lasersG J Tallents et alMeasuring the electron density gradients of dense plasmas by X-ray laser deflectometryJ. Nejdl, M. Kozlová, T. Mocek, and B. RusLaser-matter interaction studies using X-ray laser and double Lloyd’s mirror interferometerM. Kozlova et alApplication of laser plasma x-ray beam in radiation biologyMasaharu Nishikino et alEnergy spectra of photo- and Auger electrons generated by a soft x ray laser and Xe cluster interactionS. Namba et alObservation of phase transition dynamics in BaTiO3 by X-ray laser speckle techniqueK. Namikawa et alSingle-shot nanometer-scale Fourier transform hologram using Ni-like Ag X-ray LaserH. T. Kim et alTheory and computations towards coherent reflection imaging of tilted objectsI. A. Artyukov et alHighly efficient soft X-ray microscope using PMMA phase-reversal zone plateKyoung Hwan Lee et alSingle-photon ionization soft-X-ray laser mass spectrometry of potential hydrogen storage materialsF. Dong , E.R. Bernstein and J.J. RoccaDevelopment of the x-ray interferometer and the method of spatial and temporal synchronization of XRL and optical pulseN. Hasegawa et al

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Book SynopsisNew biotechnologies have propelled the question of what it means to be human – or posthuman – to the forefront of societal and scientific consideration. This volume provides an accessible, critical overview of the main approaches in the debate on posthumanism, and argues that they do not adequately address the question of what it means to be human in an age of biotechnology. Not because they belong to rival political camps, but because they are grounded in a humanist ontology that presupposes a radical separation between human subjects and technological objects.The volume offers a comprehensive mapping of posthumanist discourse divided into four broad approaches—two humanist-based approaches: dystopic and liberal posthumanism, and two non-humanist approaches: radical and methodological posthumanism. The author compares and contrasts these models via an exploration of key issues, from human enhancement, to eugenics, to new configurations of biopower, questioning what role technology plays in defining the boundaries of the human, the subject and nature for each. Building on the contributions and limitations of radical and methodological posthumanism, the author develops a novel perspective, mediated posthumanism, that brings together insights in the philosophy of technology, the sociology of biomedicine, and Michel Foucault’s work on ethical subject constitution. In this framework, technology is neither a neutral tool nor a force that alienates humanity from itself, but something that is always already part of the experience of being human, and subjectivity is viewed as an emergent property that is constantly being shaped and transformed by its engagements with biotechnologies. Mediated posthumanism becomes a tool for identifying novel ethical modes of human experience that are richer and more multifaceted than current posthumanist perspectives allow for.The book will be essential reading for students and scholars working on ethics and technology, philosophy of technology, poststructuralism, technology and the body, and medical ethics.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. A Cartography of the Posthuman.- Chapter 3. The Human Enhancement Debate: For, Against and from Human Nature.- Chapter 4. Towards a Non-Humanist Posthumanism: The Originary Prostheticity of Radical and Methodological Posthumanism.- Chapter 5. From Molar to Molecular Bodies: Posthumanist Frameworks in Contemporary Biology.- Chapter 6. Posthuman Subjectivity: Beyond Modern Metaphysics.- Chapter 7. Technologically Produced Nature: Nature Beyond Schizophrenia and Paranoia.- Chapter 8. New Modes of Ethical Selfhood: Geneticization and Genetically Responsible Subjectivity.- Chapter 9. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides an inter-disciplinary introduction to the theory of random fields and its applications. Spatial models and spatial data analysis are integral parts of many scientific and engineering disciplines. Random fields provide a general theoretical framework for the development of spatial models and their applications in data analysis. The contents of the book include topics from classical statistics and random field theory (regression models, Gaussian random fields, stationarity, correlation functions) spatial statistics (variogram estimation, model inference, kriging-based prediction) and statistical physics (fractals, Ising model, simulated annealing, maximum entropy, functional integral representations, perturbation and variational methods). The book also explores links between random fields, Gaussian processes and neural networks used in machine learning. Connections with applied mathematics are highlighted by means of models based on stochastic partial differential equations. An interlude on autoregressive time series provides useful lower-dimensional analogies and a connection with the classical linear harmonic oscillator. Other chapters focus on non-Gaussian random fields and stochastic simulation methods. The book also presents results based on the author’s research on Spartan random fields that were inspired by statistical field theories originating in physics. The equivalence of the one-dimensional Spartan random field model with the classical, linear, damped harmonic oscillator driven by white noise is highlighted. Ideas with potentially significant computational gains for the processing of big spatial data are presented and discussed. The final chapter concludes with a description of the Karhunen-Loève expansion of the Spartan model. The book will appeal to engineers, physicists, and geoscientists whose research involves spatial models or spatial data analysis. Anyone with background in probability and statistics can read at least parts of the book. Some chapters will be easier to understand by readers familiar with differential equations and Fourier transforms.Trade Review“I would say … that the author’s use of an interdisciplinary approach in presenting the field of spatial data modeling is what makes this book truly unique. … I believe anyone who is willing to learn about and understand concepts, assumptions and methods behind spatial data modeling would benefit from having a copy of this outstanding book.” (Sandra De Iaco, Mathematical Geosciences, February 12, 2021)Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Preliminary Remarks.- Why Random Fields?.- Notation and Definitions.- Noise and Errors.- Spatial Data and Basic Processing Procedures.- A Personal Selection of Relevant Books.- Trend Models and Estimation.- Empirical Trend Estimation.- Regression Analysis.- Global Trend Models.- Local Trend Models.- Trend Estimation based on Physical Information.- Trend Based on the Laplace Equation.- Basic Notions of Random Fields.- Introduction.- Single-Point Description.- Stationarity and Statistical Homogeneity.- Variogram versus Covariance.- Permissibility of Covariance Functions.- Permissibility of Variogram Functions.- Additional Topics of Random Field Modeling.- Ergodicity.- Statistical Isotropy.- Anisotropy.- Anisotropic Spectral Densities.- Multipoint Description of Random Fields.- Geometric Properties of Random Fields.- Local Properties.- Covariance Hessian Identity and Geometric Anisotropy.- Spectral Moments.- Length Scales of Random Fields.- Fractal Dimension.- Long-Range Dependence.- Intrinsic Random Fields.- Fractional Brownian Motion.- Classification of Random Fields.- Gaussian Random Fields.- Multivariate Normal Distribution.- Field Integral Formulation.- Useful Properties of Gaussian Random Fields.- Perturbation Theory for Non-Gaussian Probability Densities.- Non-stationary Covariance Functions.- Further Reading.- Random Fields based on Local Interactions.- Spartan Spatial Random Fields.- Two-point Functions and Realizations.- Statistical and Geometric Properties.- Bessel-Lommel Covariance Functions.- Lattice Representations of Spartan Random Fields.- Introduction to Gauss-Markov Random Fields.- From Spartan Random Fields to Gauss-Markov Random Fields.- Lattice Spectral Density.- SSRF Lattice Moments.- SSRF Inverse Covariance Operator on Lattices.- Spartan Random Fields and Langevin Equations.- Introduction to Stochastic Differential Equations.- Classical Harmonic Oscillator.- Stochastic Partial Differential Equations.- Spartan Random Fields and Stochastic Partial Differential Equations.- Covariance and Green’s functions.- Whittle-Matérn Stochastic Partial Differential Equation.- Diversion in Time Series.- Spatial Prediction Fundamentals.- General Principles of Linear Prediction.- Deterministic Interpolation.- Stochastic Methods.- Simple Kriging.- Ordinary Kriging.- Properties of the Kriging Predictor.- Topics Related to the Application of Kriging.- Evaluating Model Performance.- More on Spatial Prediction.- Linear Generalizations of Kriging.- Nonlinear Extensions of Kriging.- Connections with Gaussian Process Regression.- Bayesian Kriging.- Continuum Formulation of Linear Prediction.- The “Local-Interaction” Approach.- Big Spatial Data.- Basic Concepts and Methods of Estimation.- Estimator Properties.- Estimating the Mean with Ordinary Kriging.- Variogram Estimation.- Maximum Likelihood Estimation.- Cross Validation.- More on Estimation.- The Method of Normalized Correlations.- The Method of Maximum Entropy.- Stochastic Local Interactions.- Measuring Ergodicity.- Beyond the Gaussian Models.- Trans-Gaussian Random Fields.- Gaussian Anamorphosis.- Tukey g-h Random Fields.- Transformations based on Kappa Exponentials.- Hermite Polynomials.- Multivariate Student’s t-distribution.- Copula Models.- The Replica Method.- Binary Random Fields.- The Indicator Random Field.- Ising Model.- Generalized Linear Models.- Simulations.- Introduction.- Covariance Matrix Factorization.- Spectral Simulation Methods.- Fast-Fourier-Transform Simulation.- Randomized Spectral Sampling.- Conditional Simulation based on Polarization Method.- Conditional Simulation based on Covariance Matrix Factorization.- Monte Carlo Methods.- Sequential Simulation of Random Fields.- Simulated Annealing.- Karhunen-Loève Expansion.- Karhunen-Loève Expansion of Spartan Random Fields.- Epilogue.- A Jacobi’s Transformation Theorems.- B Tables of SSRF Properties.- C Linear Algebra Facts.- D Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test.- Glossary.- References.- Index.

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Book SynopsisMail armour (commonly mislabelled 'chainmail') was used for more than two millennia on the battlefield. After its invention in the Iron Age, mail rapidly spread all over Europe and beyond. The Roman army, keen on new military technology, soon adopted mail armour and used it successfully for centuries. Its history did not stop there and mail played a vital role in warfare during the Middle Ages up to the Early Modern Period. Given its long history, one would think mail is a well-documented material, but that is not the case. For the first time, this books lays a solid foundation for the understanding of mail armour and its context through time. It applies a long-term multi-dimensional approach to extract a wealth of as yet untapped information from archaeological, iconographic and written sources. This is complemented with technical insights on the mail maker’s chaîne opératoire.Trade Review"Mail has been something of a Cinderella in the field of early martial equipment. Now, in this meticulous study, Wijnhoven has demonstrated and explored the extensive potential of the archaeological, iconographic and textual evidence. It makes a fundamental contribution to the study of ancient martial material culture, and has broader implications for the development and structuring of early European ironworking traditions." - Prof. Simon James, University of Leicester "Mail armour has been largely neglected by specialist literature, despite the important role that it played in Antiquity. This book fills in that research gap in an impressive manner. Not only does Wijnhoven pose the hardest questions about mail armour, but he also provides very satisfactory answers." - Prof. Thomas Fischer, Universität zu Köln "This excellent monograph provides a thorough and multifaceted exploration of mail in Europe from its development in the Late Iron Age into the Early Middle Ages, roughly 300 BCE to 1000 CE.[...]The production values are superb, replete with numerous high-resolution photographs and illustrations in colour, offering a close-up look at mail scattered across international collections and not always on active display. This definitive book will prove a cornerstone for pre-modern armour studies for decades to come."- Michael J. Taylor, The Classical Review (2022) "This volume is probably destined to be the ‘go-to’ standard work for European ring-mail armour. It is intelligently assembled and supported by much gathered evidence.[...]This is a superb piece of research, presented in an easily understood format, containing much useful information. I recommend it unhesitatingly to anyone who has an interest in ancient ring mail armour."- Dr. Michael Thomas, Ancient Warfare Magazine, Vol. XV, Iss. 4 “Martijn Wijnhoven’s book is a thoughtful and comprehensive investigation, long required, into early European mail armour. […] The book is well illustrated, supporting the overview of the technical details. This study traces a success story of an Iron Age technology that remained an important piece of defensive armour until the nineteenth century AD, with only minor modifications. If you want to know anything, or rather everything, about early mail armour, you need look no further!”- Marion Uckelmann, “New Book Chronicle,” Antiquity, 2023, Vol. 97 Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.1 Previous research 1.2 Research question and aims 1.3 Chaîne opératoire 1.4 A multi-dimensional approach to material studies 1.5 Scope 1.6 Mail or chain-mail? 2 The Origins of Mail Armour 2.1 Suggested precursors 2.2 Contested origins 2.3 Earliest evidence 2.4 Tracing the earliest contexts 2.5 Further dispersal 2.6 When, where and by whom 3 Distribution and Archaeological Contexts 3.1 Battlefields and accidental loss 3.2 Iron Age mail 3.3 The Roman Republic 3.4 The Roman Principate 3.5 Hybrid feathered armour 3.6 Hybrid armour beyond the roman empire 3.7 Late Antiquity 3.8 The Barbaricum and beyond 3.9 Mail for men, women and children 3.10 Social access to mail outside the Roman Empire 3.11 Centuries of archaeological evidence 4 The Iconography of Early Mail Armour 4.1 the iconographic evidence 4.2 the 3rd century bc to the end of the roman republic 4.3 early empire until the end of the 1st century ad 4.4 the 2nd century ad 4.5 the 3rd to 5th century ad 4.6 development of mail armour design in iconography 5 The Naming of Mail Armour 5.1 Classical literature on armour 5.2 Lorica hamata 5.3 Other designations 5.4 Simply lorica 6 Decoration in Mail Garments 6.1 Gold on silver 6.2 Copper alloy elements 6.3 Decorative origin 6.4 Development and distribution 6.5 Decorative trimmings 6.6 Inserted patterns 6.7 Contrasting rivets 6.8 Decoration of hybrid armour 6.9 Decoration of ‘miniature mail’ 6.10 Decorative hems 6.11 Colourful Roman army 7 Padded Garments 7.1 the advantages and disadvantages of flexible armour 7.2 himation, thoracomachus, subarmalis and cimmerian tunic 7.3 textile and leather remains 7.4 medieval analogy, gladiators and pteruges 7.5 concealed by metal armour 8 The Craft of Making Mail Rings 8.1 The mail maker’s process 8.2 The manufacture of metal wire 8.3 The manufacture of solid rings 8.4 Unravelling the use of butted rings 8.5 Loose rings 8.6 The mail making workshop 9 Weaving Patterns 9.1 Four-in-one pattern 9.2 Six-in-one pattern from tiefenau 9.3 Pinched loop-in-loop pattern from Bertoldsheim 9.4 Four-in-one pattern in hybrid armour 9.5 Favourable characteristics 10 The Construction of Mail Garments 10.1 Current knowledge based on late mail from Europe 10.2 Presence of constructional techniques in early mail 10.3 Construction of early mail by working in the flat 10.4 Construction of textile clothing and mail 10.5 Construction of the coat with shoulder guards 10.6 Mail with shoulder guards and textile clothing 10.7 The development of mail armour through the ages 10.8 Construction in cultural context 11 Ring Characteristics 11.1 The relevance of the seemingly irrelevant 11.2 Ring size 11.3 Direction of the overlap and ring types 11.4 Cross-section of riveted rings 11.5 Rivet characteristics 11.6 Shape of the overlap in riveted rings 11.7 Cross-section of solid rings 11.8 Ring characteristics typology 12 Final Considerations 12.1 Insights 12.2 Prospects 12.3 Methodological potential Bibliography Database Appendix 1. Catalogue of mail armour Appendix 2. Catalogue of hybrid armour Appendix 3. Catalogue of isolated finds of fasteners and fixtures Appendix 4. Finds excluded from the database

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThis book introduces Python programming language and fundamental concepts in algorithms and computing. Its target audience includes students and engineers with little or no background in programming, who need to master a practical programming language and learn the basic thinking in computer science/programming. The main contents come from lecture notes for engineering students from all disciplines, and has received high ratings. Its materials and ordering have been adjusted repeatedly according to classroom reception. Compared to alternative textbooks in the market, this book introduces the underlying Python implementation of number, string, list, tuple, dict, function, class, instance and module objects in a consistent and easy-to-understand way, making assignment, function definition, function call, mutability and binding environments understandable inside-out. By giving the abstraction of implementation mechanisms, this book builds a solid understanding of the Python programming language.Trade Review“There are 11 chapters, each of which has a selection of exercises at the end. The problems are well written and generally increase in complexity. … Tailored to the instructor, it provides a good foundation.” (David Bellin, Computing Reviews, October, 2015)Table of ContentsIntroduction.- The first Python program.- More mathematical power.- The need of flow control.- Loops and problem solving.- Functions and better organizing of code.- Lists, mutability and efficiency.- Solving more complex problems.- Data organization.- More on functions.- More Python syntax.- Customized types.- Summary.

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Book SynopsisThis book is intended to serve as a text on dynamics for undergraduate students of engineering. The book provides in-depth discussions of the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics, more commonly known as dynamics. Drawing on the author’s extensive experience in teaching the subject of dynamics at two Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), the book contains 498 line diagrams, 123 worked-out examples and 222 exercise problems. The answers to select exercise problems are provided at the end of the book. A wealth of detailed illustrations make the book ideally suited for both self self-study and classroom use at both introductory and secondary levels. Thus the book offers a valuable resource for both students and teachers of dynamics, addressing the main topics covered in core level courses on ‘Dynamics’ for students of civil, mechanical and aerospace engineering across the globe.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction to the Science of Motion.- Chapter 2: Kinematics of Particles.- Chapter 3: Kinetics of Particles.- Chapter 4: Work and Energy.- Chapter 5: Impulse and Momentum.- Chapter 6: Dynamics of Rigid Bodies in Plane Motion.- Chapter 7: Special Topics.- Appendix: A.- Unit Multiplies.- Important Physical Quantities.- Moment of Inertia of Rigid Bodies.Appendix B: Answers to Exercise problems.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the notion of software literacy, a key part of digital literacy which all contemporary students and citizens need to understand. Software literacy involves a critical understanding of how the affordances and conceptual approaches of everything from operating systems, creative apps and media editors, to software-based platforms and infrastructures work to inform and shape the ways we think and act. As a cultural artefact, programing code plays a role in reproducing, reinforcing, and augmenting existing cultural practices, as well as generating completely new coded practices. A proposed three-tier framework for software literacy is the focus for a two-year empirical investigation into how tertiary students become more literate about the nature and implications of software they encounter as part of their tertiary studies. Two case studies of software learning and use in university-level engineering and screen & media studies courses are presented, investigating the mapping of students’ trajectory of the learning of desktop applications against this framework for software literacy. Though the book’s focus is primarily educational, its content also has implications for any field that makes use of software and information & communication technology systems and applications. As such, the book will be of interest to all readers whose work involves the challenges and opportunities presented by software-based teaching and learning; and to those interested in how software impacts the workplace and leisure activities that make up our day-to-day lives.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: Software and other literacies.- Chapter 2 A genealogy of software applications.- Chapter 3 The learning, use and critical understanding of software in Media Studies.- Chapter 4 The learning, use and critical understanding of software in Engineering.- Chapter 5 Comparing the cases: What do they tell us about Software Literacy?.- Chapter 6 Software Literacy: Education and beyond.

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Book SynopsisGlobal yields of legumes have been relatively stagnant for the last five decades, despite the adoption of conventional and molecular breeding approaches. The use of plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria for improving agricultural production, soil and plant health has become one of the most attractive strategies for developing sustainable agriculture. Actinomycetes are bacteria that play an important role in PGP and plant protection, produce secondary metabolites of commercial interest, and their use is well documented in wheat, rice, beans, chickpeas and peas. In order to promote legumes, the general assembly of the UN recently declared 2016 the “International Year of Pulses.” In view of this development, this book illustrates how PGP actinomycetes can improve grain yield and soil fertility, improve control of insect pests and phytopathogens, and enhance host-plant resistance. It also addresses special topics of current interest, e.g. the role of PGP actinomycetes in the biofortification of legume seeds and bioremediation of heavy metals. Trade Review“The present book documents recent research, at ICRISAT and worldwide, on this fascinating subject of study. … Clearly the plant growth promoting, root-associated Actinobacteria constitute a most promising group for further study in the quest to improve the performance and yield of grain legumes, one of the world’s most important crop groups, with great potential for success in helping to strengthen international food security.” (David S. Ingram, Food Security, Vol. 9, 2017)“This work focuses on actinobacteria in soil microbiota and their role in crop production, generally pulse crops such as peas and beans. … Chapters show a consistency of style and format, all with meaningfully titled short subsections, frequent inclusion of tables, extensive cited reference … . This work is strongly recommended for institutions with programs in agriculture, especially those with research soil science or legume cultivation. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers and faculty; professionals.” (J. Cummings, Choice, Vol. 54 (4), December, 2016)Table of Contents1. Direct Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Actinobacteria in Grain Legumes.- 2. Indirect Plant Growth-Promotion in Grain Legumes: Role of Actinobacteria.- 3. Enhancing Soil Health and Plant Growth: Promotion by Actinomycetes.- 4. Recent Advancement in the Development of Bio-Pesticides by Actinomycetes for the Control of Insect Pests.- 5. Actinomycetes Bio-Inoculants: A Modern Prospectus for Plant Disease Management.- 6. Managing Pests and Diseases of Grain Legumes with Secondary Metabolites from Actinomycetes.- 7. Role of Secondary Metabolites of Actinomycetes in Crop Protection.- 8. Endophytic Actinobacteria: Nitrogen Fixation, Phytohormone Production and Antibiosis.- 9. Role of Endophytic Actinomycetes in Crop Protection: Plant Growth-Promotion and Biological Control.- 10. Synergy of Actinomycetes Co-inoculation.- 11. Role of ACC Deaminase in Stress Control of Leguminous Plants.- 12. Induction of Systemic Resistance in Crop Plants against Plant Pathogens by Plant Growth-Promoting Actinomycetes.- 13. Actinomycetes as Mitigators of Climate Change and Abiotic Stress.- 14. Perspectives of Plant Growth-Promoting Actinomycetes in Heavy Metal Phytoremediation.- 15. Role of Actinomycetes Mediated Nano-System in Agriculture.- 16. Use of Genomic Approaches in Understanding the Role of Actinomycetes as PGP in Grain Legumes.- 17. Exploration of Plant Growth-Promoting Actinomycetes for Biofortification of Mineral Nutrients.- 18. Evaluation of Plant Growth-Promoting Actinomycetes on Vigna.- 19. Plant Growth-Promoting Actinomycetes: Mass Production, Delivery Systems and Commercialization.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on sustainability in fashion retail, which is fast becoming the pivot point of future fashion retail strategies. Chapters in the book provide theoretical and practical insight on how going green may positively influence the strategy of fashion retailers and marketers, who have to react to the changing society and customer needs. Structured in four main parts, and based on distinct research questions, readers will be able to dig deep into the individual levers for possible adaptions. It thus provides a solid understanding on how to integrate green aspects into any fashion retailers business model. Table of ContentsGreen Fashion Retail.- Key Aspects of Sustainability in the Fashion Retail.- Closed Loop Production- A Literature Review.- Impact on Sustainablity: Production vs. Consumption.- Sustainable Manufacturing for Fashion Retailers.- Impact of Sustainable Manufacturing Standards for Retail Brands.- The Prosumer Concept in Fashion Retail: Potentials and Limitations.- The Second Hand Market for Fashion Products.- Collaborative Consumption 2.0: An Alternative to Fast Fashion Consumption?.- Cross Industry Learnings: What Fashion Retail can learn from the Used Car Industry?.- The Value Chain of a Branded Second Hand Store--Possible Activities to Be Integrated by a Conventional Fashion Brand.- Case Study: Loop Extension at Filippa K..- The Role of Social Media for a Sustainable Consumption.- Potentials of a Fashion FTrace App.- Case Study: Total Transparency at Honestby.com.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores novel aspects of social robotics, spoken dialogue systems, human-robot interaction, spoken language understanding, multimodal communication, and system evaluation. It offers a variety of perspectives on and solutions to the most important questions about advanced techniques for social robots and chat systems. Chapters by leading researchers address key research and development topics in the field of spoken dialogue systems, focusing in particular on three special themes: dialogue state tracking, evaluation of human-robot dialogue in social robotics, and socio-cognitive language processing. The book offers a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in both academia and industry whose work involves advanced interaction technology and who are seeking an up-to-date overview of the key topics. It also provides supplementary educational material for courses on state-of-the-art dialogue system technologies, social robotics, and related research fields.Table of ContentsDigiSami and Digital Natives: Interaction Technology for the NorthSami Language.- A Comparative Study of Text Preprocessing Techniques for Natural Language Call Routing.- Compact and Interpretable Dialogue State Representation with Genetic Sparse Distributed Memory.- Incremental Human-machine Dialogue Simulation.- Active Learning for Example-based Dialog Systems.- Question Selection based on Expected Utility to Acquire Informationthrough Dialogue.- Separating Representation, Reasoning, and Implementation forInteraction Management: Lessons from Automated Planning.- SimpleDS: A Simple Deep Reinforcement Learning Dialogue System.- Breakdown Detector for Chat-oriented Dialogue.- User Involvement in Collaborative Decision-Making Dialog Systems.- Natural Language Dialog System Considering Speaker’s EmotionCalculated from Acoustic Features.- Salient Cross-lingual Acoustic and Prosodic Features for English and German Emotion Recognition.- Entropy-Driven Dialog for Topic Classification: Detecting and Tackling Uncertainty.- Evaluation of Question-Answering System about Conversational Agent’s Personality.- Fisher Kernels on Phase-based Features for Speech Emotion Recognition.- Internationalisation and Localisation of Spoken Dialogue Systems

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Book SynopsisThese proceedings present the latest information on software reliability, industrial safety, cyber security, physical protection, testing and verification for nuclear power plants. The papers were selected from more than 80 submissions and presented at the First International Symposium on Software Reliability, Industrial Safety, Cyber Security and Physical Protection for Nuclear Power Plants, held in Yinchuan, China on May 30 - June 1, 2016. The primary aim of this symposium was to provide a platform to facilitate the discussion for comprehension, application and management of digital instrumentation, control systems and technologies in nuclear power plants. The book reflects not only the state of the art and latest trends in nuclear instrumentation and control system technologies, but also China’s increasing influence in this area. It is a valuable resource for both practitioners and academics working in the field of nuclear instrumentation, control systems and other safety-critical systems, as well as nuclear power plant managers, public officials and regulatory authorities.Table of ContentsSoftware reliability.- Industrial Safety.- Cyber Security.- Physical Protection.- Testing and Verification.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Integrated Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences 2016 (ICIPEG 2016), held under the banner of World Engineering, Science & Technology Congress (ESTCON 2016) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from August 15 to 17, 2016. It presents peer-reviewed research articles on exploration, while also exploring a new area: shale research. In this time of low oil prices, it highlights findings to maintain the exchange of knowledge between researchers, serving as a vital bridge-builder between engineers, geoscientists, academics, and industry.Table of ContentsHistory Matching Using Proxy Modeling and Multi-Objective Optimizations.- New Insight in Sand and Petrophysical Properties Prediction Using Attenuation Attributes.- Optimizing Injection Perforated Layers of Lateral Continuous Shale during Secondary Recovery; A Simulation Approach.- Sensitivity Analysis of Sandstone Rock Elastic Properties to Effective Pressure Using a New Rock Physics Workflow and Its Application for Time-Lapse Seismic Data Analysis.- Comparison of Liquid CO2 Injection with a Common Tertiary Recovery Method Using Non-Isothermal Simulations.- A Simulation Study of Foam Generation across Vertical Heterogeneity.- Pressure Transient Behavior of Injection/Falloff Tests Simulation Study Of The Effect Of Smart Water On Relative Permeability During WAG-CO2 Injection For Light Oil Reservoir.- Investigation on Performance of Cationic Polymeric Inhibitors for Mitigating Silicate Scales during ASP Flooding.

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Book SynopsisThis comprehensive volume presents a unified framework of continuum theories. It indicates that (i) microcontinuum theories (micromorphic and micropolar theories) are natural extension of classical continuum mechanics, and (ii) classical continuum mechanics is a special case of microcontinuum theories when the deformable material point is idealized as a single mathematical point. The kinematics and basic laws are rigorously derived. Based on axiomatic approach, constitutive theory is systematically derived for various kinds of materials, ranging from Stokesian fluid to thermo-visco-elastic-plastic solid. Material force and Thermomechanical-electromagnetic coupling are introduced and discussed. Moreover, general finite element methods for large-strain thermomechanical coupling physical phenomena are systematically formulated. Also, non-classical continuum theories (Nonlocal Theory, Mechanobiology, 4D printing, Poromechanics, and Non-Self-Similar Crack Propagation) are rigorously formulated with applications and demonstrated numerically.As an advanced monograph, this unique compendium can also be used as a textbook for several graduate courses, including continuum mechanics, finite element methods, and advanced engineering science theories. Extensive problems are provided to help students to better understand the topics covered.

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Book SynopsisThis volume focuses on a few renewable energy sources, viz. wind energy plus energy from water movement and natural temperature differences that in principle could provide enormous energy resources. Energy from wind has been a rapidly growing source of energy as wind turbines have grown in size and especially as wind turbines have moved offshore. Hydroelectric dams have continued to be used as energy sources particularly in developing countries. Other energy sources using water, including waves and tidal sources, are also discussed in this volume. Finally, the volume discusses differences between deep and surface ocean temperatures plus the extraction of energy from the earth's extremely large energy resource of magma deep below the surface. These latter two energy resources in particular require further development and the current book describes the latest advances coupled with pointing possible paths forward.

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Book SynopsisThis four-volume handbook gives a state-of-the-art overview of hybrid organic inorganic perovskites, both two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D), from synthesis and characterization and simulation to optoelectronic devices (such as solar cells and light emitting diodes), spintronics devices and catalysis application. The editors, coming from academia and national laboratory, are known for their didactic skills as well as their technical expertise. Coordinating the efforts of 30 expert authors in 21 chapters, they construct the story of hybrid perovskite structural and optical properties, electronic and spintronic response, laser action, and catalysis from varied viewpoints: materials science, chemical engineering, and energy engineering. The four volumes are arranged according to the focus material properties. Volume 1 is focused on the material physical properties including structure, deposition characteristic and the structure of the electronic bands and excitons of these compounds. Volume 2 covers the hybrid perovskite optical properties including the ultrafast optical response, photoluminescence and laser action. Volume 3 contains the spin response of these compounds including application such as spin valves, photogalvanic effect, and magnetic response of light emitting diodes and solar cell devices. Finally, and highly relevant to tomorrow's energy challenges, volume 4 is focused on the physics and device properties of the most relevant applications of the hybrid perovskites, namely photovoltaic solar cells. The text contains many high-quality colorful illustrations and examples, as well as thousands of up-to-date references to peer-reviewed articles, reports and websites for further reading. This comprehensive and well-written handbook is a must-have reference for universities, research groups and companies working with the hybrid organic inorganic perovskites.

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