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A Defeasible Logic Programming-Based Framework to Support Argumentation in Semantic Web Applications (Springer Theses)
by Naeem Khalid JanjuaThis book reports on the development and validation of a generic defeasible logic programming framework for carrying out argumentative reasoning in Semantic Web applications (GF@SWA). The proposed methodology is unique in providing a solution for representing incomplete and/or contradictory information coming from different sources, and reasoning with it. GF@SWA is able to represent this type of information, perform argumentation-driven hybrid reasoning to resolve conflicts, and generate graphical representations of the integrated information, thus assisting decision makers in decision making processes. GF@SWA represents the first argumentative reasoning engine for carrying out automated reasoning in the Semantic Web context and is expected to have a significant impact on future business applications. The book provides the readers with a detailed and clear exposition of different argumentation-based reasoning techniques, and of their importance and use in Semantic Web applications. It addresses both academics and professionals, and will be of primary interest to researchers, students and practitioners in the area of Web-based intelligent decision support systems and their application in various domains.
Defect Prevention: Use of Simple Statistical Tools
by 0 Kane,This book discusses statistical process control (SPC) concepts, emphasizing the need to establish stability of work processes. It gives the elements required to develop a defect prevention system (DPS), and integrates the application of process control and problem analysis tools.
Defective Bosses: Working for the ”Dysfunctional Dozen”
by William Winston Kerry D Carson Paula P CarsonIf you're one of the billions of people in the world who work for someone else, you'll definitely want to see what's inside Defective Bosses: Working for the “Dysfunctional Dozen.” This how-to, how-not-to, why, and why-not tour guide is packed to the hilt with a bevy of tested and proven survival skills and coping techniques for those of you who are trapped in that daily labyrinth of mind games and self-defeating work rituals--and all because of that slightly off-center superior you have to answer to every day. You'll find twelve of the most common defects presented to you in clear and understandable terms so you can detect the defect, protect state of mind, and correct the problem before your life at the office becomes a complete wreck.Firmly grounded in psychiatric literature, Defective Bosses takes you to levels of workplace happiness that other similar publications fail to reach. In contrast to other books that lack a solid theoretical base, this comprehensive, systematic look at dysfunctional bosses takes an in-depth look at twelve of the most prevalent disorders managers and superiors inflict on their employees in the workplace, giving equal treatment to each category and providing you with equal strategies for each situation you might encounter. These and other areas will help you turn your dead-end job into a dream occupation:an overview of why we have defective bossesdealing with self-centered bosses (narcissistic, sociopathic, paranoid, and histrionic)handling controlling bosses (authoritarian, obsessive-compulsive, explosive, and passive-aggressive)living with neurotic bosses (masochistic, dependent, depressive, anxious)end-of-the-chapter quizzes to help you diagnose your own boss “I need it yesterday!” “Can you handle this for me? I've got the company lunch.” “If you don't get this in, it's your job!” If these are all-too-common phrases in your workplace, then you need to make a memo to yourself to order Defective Bosses. Its thorough psychological base and examples gleaned from real-life scenarios will give you so much guidance, advice, and direction for positive change, you'll find that you're the boss when it comes to good departmental relationships and a more mutually enjoyable work environment.
Defence Acquisition and Procurement: How (Not) to Buy Weapons (Elements in Defence Economics)
by Ron P. SmithThe acquisition and procurement of major weapons systems is fraught with difficulties. They tend to be delivered late, over budget and unable to meet requirements. This Element provides an economic analysis of why this happens. Market structure, demand by the military and supply by the arms firms, shapes the conduct of the agents and generates the poor performance observed. The military are trying to counter an evolving threat, subject to a budget constraint, high R&D costs and new technologies. The interaction between a government made up of warring tribes and arms firms with considerable market and political power is further complicated by a set of what economists call 'principal-agent' problems, which are examined. While the poor performance has prompted many countries to propose reforms, the difficulty of the task and the institutional incentives faced by the actors mean that the reforms rarely solve the problem.
Defence Economics: Achievements and Challenges (Elements in Defence Economics)
by Keith HartleyThis Element introduces students, policy-makers, politicians, governments and business-people to this new discipline within economics. It presents the recent history of the subject and its range of coverage. Traditional topics covered include models of arms races, alliances, procurement and contracting, as well as personnel policies, industrial policies and disarmament. Newer areas covered include terrorism and the economics of war and conflict. A non-technical approach is used and the material will be accessible to both economists and general readers.
Defence Economics and Innovation (Elements in Defence Economics)
by Gustavo Fornari Dall'AgnolThis Element presents an analytical model for assessing the success or failure of innovative large-scale defence projects. To achieve this goal, it constructs a theoretical model based on a three-angle analysis: the International System, the innovative potential, and the domestic political arena. Each angle of analysis generates an independent variable, namely: level of threat, technological feasibility, and political consensus. It is held that technological feasibility and political consensus are necessary and conjointly sufficient conditions to explain the success or failure of large-scale defence projects. The success of the innovative defence projects is strongly and positively related to the level of external threat. The initial hypothesis is tested by scrutinizing three specific projects in the United States (Future Combat Systems, The B-2 Stealth Bomber and the F-35). The conclusion is that the model is sound and might be generalized to analyse the prospects of success or failure of other large-scale defence projects.
Defence Logistics: Enabling and Sustaining Successful Military Operations
by Jeremy SmithThe management of logistics and supply chain operations is of vital importance in the defence sector. Defence Logistics looks at established theories and their practical utility, providing insights into current thinking for postgraduate students and professionals through real-life case studies. Defence Logistics focuses on key areas of logistics and supply chain management in context, such as sustainability, inventory management, resilience, procurement, information systems and crisis response. This new edited collection includes contributions from international academics from a selection of universities, academies and defence schools, along with practitioners who are currently working in the field of defence logistics.
Defence Offsets and the Global Arms Trade: Explaining Cross-National Variations (Routledge Advances in Defence Studies)
by Jonata AnicettiThis book offers the first comprehensive study of defence offsets and its economic, security, political and theoretical implications.Originating in the second half of the 19th century, defence offsets - additional economic, industrial and technological benefits to states for buying foreign weapons - have since been a key feature of the global arms trade and defence industry. And yet, offsets are an under-researched and under-theorised phenomenon. This book fills this gap in the literature by offering the first general theory of defence offsets, as well as the first systematic analysis of the offset phenomenon. By building on the insights of scholars of defence economics and drawing from the International Relations liberal paradigm, as well as reviving and adapting Robert Putnam’s two-level game framework, the book proposes a liberal-rationalist theory of defence offsets. It then proves the worth of such a theory through Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) of fifty-four fighter aircraft transfers from 1992 to 2021 inclusive, and three in-depth case studies addressing offsets negotiated and agreed to as part of fighter aircraft competitions in Brazil, India, and South Korea.This book will be of interest to students of defence studies, defence economics, security studies and international relations.
Defence Procurement and Industry Policy: A small country perspective (Routledge Studies in Defence and Peace Economics)
by Peter Hall Stefan Markowski Robert WylieArms purchases are among the most expensive, technologically challenging and politically controversial decisions made by modern-day governments. Superpower spending on weapons systems is widely analysed and discussed. But defence procurement in smaller industrial countries involves different issues which receive less attention. This volume presents a general framework for understanding smaller country defence procurement supported by country, industry and project studies. Part I provides a general framework for analysing smaller country defence procurement, focusing on the formation of national defence capabilities. The framework is then used to analyse issues around the development of procurement demand, the characteristics of defence industry supply, contracts and relationships between buyers and sellers, and government policy for defence procurement and industry development. Part II focuses on defence procurement in seven smaller industrial nations with widely varying historical and political settings (Australia, Canada, Israel, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and The Netherlands). Part III consists of two Australian case studies of the procurement issues raised in, respectively, the naval shipbuilding industry and in a major, complex defence project. The book addresses the needs of public and private sector managers, military planners, procurement specialists, industry policy-makers, and defence procurement and industry educators. It presents general principles in an accessible manner and points to real-world experience to illustrate the principles at work. Therefore it will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in defence economics, strategic procurement, public sector procurement, and defence industry policy.
Defend Yourself!: How to Protect Your Health, Your Money, And Your Rights in 10 Key Areas of Your Life
by Mark J. GreenTalk Back / Fight BackPatient, client, employee, small business owner, taxpayer, investor, consumer—it's time to defend yourself! Why should anyone tolerate an HMO not paying for his emergency surgery because he didn't give notice beforehand or accept a higher auto insurance rate because she lives in a low-income community? A large body of laws and regulations exists to give average workers and consumers the tools to talk back and fight back.
The Defenders of Liberty: Human Nature, Individualism, and Property Rights
by Neema ParviniThe Defenders of Liberty presents a history of economic liberalism from the Renaissance to the present. It chronicles the tradition of thought that sees human nature as social yet self-interested, methodological individualism as its key analytical tool, and property rights as foundational to a civilised society. In the development of this way of thinking, it considers the contributions of many key thinkers including Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Richard Cantillon, A.J.R. Turgot, David Hume, Adam Smith, Nassau William Senior, Richard Cobden, Herbert Spencer, Jean-Baptiste Say, Carl Menger, William Stanley Jevons, Gaetano Mosca, Eugen Böhm-Bawerk, Vilfredo Pareto, Phillip Wicksteed, Edwin Cannan, Ludwig von Mises, Lionel Robbins, F.A. Hayek, W.H. Hutt, Milton Friedman, George Stigler, Murray N. Rothbard, James M. Buchanan, and Thomas Sowell. The book contends that liberalism needs to be grounded in realism, and that it has been derailed whenever economists have deviated from an explicitly realist understanding of human nature, individualism and property rights. It argues that the cause of liberalism was compromised by errors in economic reasoning by such major figures as David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Alfred Marshall, A.C. Pigou, and John Maynard Keynes. In diagnosing what has gone wrong for liberalism in the twenty-first century, The Defenders of Liberty argues against substituting mathematical abstraction for causal realism; it opposes interventionist central banking; it seeks to recover economic liberalism from social and political liberalism, which are somewhat unrelated schools of thought; it resists a view of human nature rooted in selfishness or atomised individualism; and finally alerts defenders of freedom to the ruthless but effective language games played by their opponents. This book will be of interest to the educated general reader as well as undergraduates and postgraduates in disciplines such as economics, political theory and philosophy.
Defending Beef: The Case for Sustainable Meat Production
by Nicolette Hahn NimanFor decades it has been nearly universal dogma among environmentalists and health advocates that cattle and beef are public enemy number one. But is the matter really so clear cut? Hardly, argues environmental lawyer turned rancher Nicolette Hahn Niman in her new book, Defending Beef. The public has long been led to believe that livestock, especially cattle, erode soils, pollute air and water, damage riparian areas, and decimate wildlife populations. In Defending Beef, Hahn Niman argues that cattle are not inherently bad for either the Earth or our own nutritional health. In fact, properly managed livestock play an essential role in maintaining grassland ecosystems by functioning as surrogates for herds of wild ruminants that once covered the globe. Hahn Niman argues that dispersed, grass-fed, small-scale farms can and should become the basis for American food production, replacing the factory farms that harm animals and the environment. The author--a longtime vegetarian--goes on to dispel popular myths about how eating beef is bad for our bodies. She methodically evaluates health claims made against beef, demonstrating that such claims have proven false. She shows how foods from cattle--milk and meat, particularly when raised entirely on grass--are healthful, extremely nutritious, and an irreplaceable part of the world's food system. Grounded in empirical scientific data and with living examples from around the world, Defending Beef builds a comprehensive argument that cattle can help to build carbon-sequestering soils to mitigate climate change, enhance biodiversity, help prevent desertification, and provide invaluable nutrition. Defending Beef is simultaneously a book about big ideas and the author's own personal tale--she starts out as a skeptical vegetarian and eventually becomes an enthusiastic participant in environmentally sustainable ranching. While no single book can definitively answer the thorny question of how to feed the Earth's growing population, Defending Beef makes the case that, whatever the world's future food system looks like, cattle and beef can and must be part of the solution.
Defending Diversity
by Patricia Gurin Jeffrey S. Lehman Earl LewisEven as lawsuits challenging its admissions policies made their way through the courts, the University of Michigan carried the torch for affirmative action in higher education. In June 2003, the Supreme Court vindicated UM's position on affirmative action when it ruled that race may be used as a factor for universities in their admissions programs, thus confirming what the UM had argued all along: diversity in the classroom translates to a beneficial and wide-ranging social value. With the green light given to the law school's admissions policies, Defending Diversity validates the positive benefits gained by students in a diverse educational setting. Written by prominent University of Michigan faculty, Defending Diversity is a timely response to the court's ruling. Providing factual background, historical setting, and the psychosocial implications of affirmative action, the book illuminates the many benefits of a diverse higher educational setting -- including preparing students to be full participants in a pluralistic democracy -- and demonstrates why affirmative action is necessary to achieve that diversity. Defending Diversity is a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion on affirmative action in higher education. Perhaps more important, it is a valuable record of the history, events, arguments, and issues surrounding the original lawsuits and the Supreme Court's subsequent ruling, and helps reclaim the debate from those forces opposed to affirmative action.
Defending Legal Freedoms in Indonesia: The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation and Cause Lawyering in an Age of Democratic Decline (Routledge Law in Asia)
by Tim MannDefending Legal Freedoms in Indonesia provides fresh insights into how cause lawyers navigate political and institutional change, by presenting and analysing the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the oldest and most influential legal and human rights organisation in Indonesia.Based on rich ethnographic research, this book charts the developments of the organisation since its founding in 1970, its contribution to the ending of the authoritarian, military-backed New Order (1966-1998), its relative decline in the years following Indonesia’s democratisation and its revival in recent years as Indonesian democracy and human rights come under threat. The author examines the tactics the organisation has used, including show trials and working alongside grassroots communities, organising them and educating them about their rights. It highlights how this organisation flourished more under an authoritarian regime than under democracy and how its present, prominent, adversarial-political version of cause lawyering is playing a leading role in civil society resisting further erosion of democracy and human rights. The book addresses recent democratic erosion under President Joko Widodo, and documents pivotal moments in Indonesia’s contemporary history, such as the ‘Reform Corrupted’ mass demonstrations in 2019, illuminating how democracy shrinks, and how lawyers push back.The first book on Indonesia’s crucially important cause lawyering, activist lawyers’ group, this book will be of interest to researchers in Asian Law, Indonesian Studies. It is also an essential point of reference for future research in public lawyering in Asia.
Defending Maritime Assets: Approaches to Critical Infrastructure Protection (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security)
by George Scutaru Murman MargvelashviliThe conflict in Ukraine has thrust the Black Sea into the center of the largest European dispute since 1945, leading to significant consequences for both the Alliance and the countries neighboring the Black Sea. The Kremlin's strategic use of energy resources has disrupted the flow of hydrocarbons, which remained untouched even during the tensest moments of the Cold War. Simultaneously, the potential for offshore energy sources in the Black Sea presents an opportunity for the region to achieve greater energy independence. This could be realized in the short term through oil and gas, as well as in the long term through the development of renewable energy sources. These prospects coincide with a volatile security environment in the Black Sea region. While military actions have escalated in the Northern Black Sea, countries along the coast such as Georgia and Romania have been confronted with Russian New Generation Warfare tactics since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Since 2017, Russian military exercises have effectively blocked access to the Black Sea, employing legal strategies as part of their approach. This has led to a blurring of the lines between traditional notions of hot and cold wars. The Gerasimov doctrine and incidents like the Nord Stream sabotage have underscored the fact that critical energy infrastructure is no longer off-limits, and the unique characteristics of maritime infrastructure have turned it into a new arena in the realm of hybrid warfare
Defending the National Interest: Raw Materials Investments and U.S. Foreign Policy (Center for International Affairs, Harvard University #1)
by Stephen D. KrasnerStephen Krasner's assumption of a distinction between state and society is the root of his argument for the superiority of a statist interpretation of American foreign policy. Here he challenges the two dominant and rival interpretations of the relationship between state and society: interest group liberalism and Marxism. He contends that the state is an autonomous entity acting on behalf of the national interest, and that state behavior cannot be explained by group or class interest.On the basis of fifteen case studies drawn from extensive public records and published literature on American raw materials policy in the twentieth-century, Professor Krasner provides empirical substance to the debate about the meaning of the "national interest," the importance of bureaucratic politics, and the influence of business on American foreign policy.
Defending The Undefendable: The Pimp, Prostitute, Scab, Slumlord, Libeler, Moneylender, and Other Scapegoats in the Rogue's Gallery of American Society
by Walter BlockProfessor Block's book is in a new edition from the Mises Institute, completely reset and beautifully laid out in an edition worthy of its contents. <P><P>It is among the most famous of the great defenses of victimless crimes and controversial economic practices, from profiteering and gouging to bribery and blackmail. However, beneath the surface, this book is also an outstanding work of microeconomic theory that explains the workings of economic forces in everyday events and affairs. <P><P>Murray Rothbard explains why: "Defending the Undefendable performs the service of highlighting, the fullest and starkest terms, the essential nature of the productive services performed by all people in the free market. By taking the most extreme examples and showing how the Smithian principles work even in these cases, the book does far more to demonstrate the workability and morality of the free market than a dozen sober tomes on more respectable industries and activities. <P><P> By testing and proving the extreme cases, he all the more illustrates and vindicates the theory." F.A. Hayek agreed, writing the author as follows: "Looking through Defending the Undefendable made me feel that I was once more exposed to the shock therapy by which, more than fifty years ago, the late Ludwig von Mises converted me to a consistent free market position. ...
Defense against the Black Arts: How Hackers Do What They Do and How to Protect against It
by Jesse Varsalone Matthew McFaddenExposing hacker methodology with concrete examples, this volume shows readers how to outwit computer predators. With screenshots and step by step instructions, the book discusses how to get into a Windows operating system without a username or password and how to hide an IP address to avoid detection. It explains how to find virtually anything on the Internet and explores techniques that hackers can use to exploit physical access, network access, and wireless vectors. The book profiles a variety of attack tools and examines how Facebook and other sites can be used to conduct social networking attacks.
Defense Economics: An Institutional Perspective
by Marcus Matthias KeuppThis textbook examines the economic problems of military organizations from an institutional perspective. It discusses the efficiency and effectiveness of military performance, using a capability-based conceptualization. Constitutional, historical and economic considerations complement the analysis. Neither the analysis nor the conclusions depend on any specific armed force, culture, organization, or language. On the contrary, the challenge of defense economics analysis and armed forces management is reduced to a fundamental economic problem, and solutions to this problem are offered. This book is a must-read for students, scholars and practitioners interested in a better understanding of defense economics.
The Defense Industrial Base: Strategies for a Changing World
by Nayantara HenselThe US and international defense industrial sectors have faced many challenges over the last twenty years, including cycles of growth and shrinkage in defense budgets, shifts in strategic defense priorities, and macroeconomic volatility. In the current environment, the defense sector faces a combination of these challenges and must struggle with the need to maintain critical aspects of the defense industrial base as defense priorities change and as defense budgets reduce or plateau. Moreover, the defense sector in the US is interconnected both with defense sectors in other countries and with other industry sectors in the US and global economies. As a result, strategic decisions made in one defense sector impact the defense sectors of other countries, as well as other areas of the economy. Given her academic, corporate, and Department of Defense experience as a leading economist and policy-maker, Dr. Nayantara Hensel is perfectly positioned to examine the interrelationship between these forces both historically and in the current environment, and to assess the implications for the future global defense industrial base.
Defense Logistics Agency: Dynamic Vaccine Distribution at Scale
by Gary P. Pisano Hise Gibson Michael Norris Pettis KentCase
Defense Management Reform: How to Make the Pentagon Work Better and Cost Less
by Peter LevinePentagon spending has been the target of decades of criticism and reform efforts. Billions of dollars are spent on weapons programs that are later abandoned. State-of-the-art data centers are underutilized and overstaffed. New business systems are built at great expense but fail to meet the needs of their users. Every Secretary of Defense for the last five Administrations has made it a priority to address perceived bloat and inefficiency by making management reform a major priority. The congressional defense committees have been just as active, enacting hundreds of legislative provisions. Yet few of these initiatives produce significant results, and the Pentagon appears to go on, as wasteful as ever. In this book, Peter Levine addresses why, despite a long history of attempted reform, the Pentagon continues to struggle to reduce waste and inefficiency. The heart of Defense Management Reform is three case studies covering civilian personnel, acquisitions, and financial management. Narrated with the insight of an insider, the result is a clear understanding of what went wrong in the past and a set of concrete guidelines to plot a better future.
The Defense of Hill 781: An Allegory of Modern Mechanized Combat
by James R. Mcdonough John R. GalvinIn the tradition of the humorous classic Defense of Duffer's Drift, our hero's escape lies in completing a successful mission.
Defense, Peace, and War Economics (Elements in Austrian Economics)
by Christopher J. CoyneThis Element surveys the field of defense, peace, and war economics with particular emphasis on the contributions made by Austrian economists. I first review treatments of defense, peace, and war by the classical economists. I then discuss the rise of a distinct and systematic defense, peace, and war economics field of study starting in the 1960s. Next, I consider the contributions by Austrian economists to the field. This includes the economic analysis of the nature of the war economy, problems with the public good justification for the state-provision of defense, the seen and unseen costs of war, the idea of the liberal peace, and the realities and limitations of foreign intervention. I conclude with a discussion of some open areas for future research.
Defense Spending And Economic Growth
by James E. Payne Anandi P. SahuThis book examines the impact defense spending has on economic growth. While defense spending was not deliberately invented as a fiscal policy instrument, its importance in the composition of overall government spending and thus in determining employment is now easily recognized. In light of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent reduction in the threat to the security of the United States, maintaining defense spending at the old level seems indefensible. The media has concentrated on the so-called peace dividend. However, as soon as the federal government is faced with defense cuts, it realizes the macroeconomic ramifications of such a step. Based on studies included in this volume, we examine the effects of defense spending on economic growth and investigate how the changed world political climate is likely to alter the importance and pattern of defense spending both for developed and developing countries.