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Pseudo-Bosoni e Loro Stati Coerenti

by Fabio Bagarello

L'analisi proposta in questo libro si focalizza su particolari deformazioni delle regole di commutazione canoniche suggerite dal recente, e sempre crescente, interesse per la meccanica quantistica PT-simmetrica. Se ne considerano diverse conseguenze di natura matematica, ma anche loro possibili applicazioni alla fisica. Queste includono l'analisi di diverse Hamiltoniane non autoaggiunte, il calcolo di integrali di cammino associati a tali Hamiltoniane per mezzo di stati bi-coerenti, ed una nuovo punto di vista sugli operatori posizione e momento. Il libro è prevalentemente destinato ai ricercatori ma è anche pensato per essere fruibile da studenti di magistrale e di dottorato. Fornisce inoltre una introduzione ad alcuni aspetti delicati dell'analisi funzionale e della meccanica quantistica per osservabili non autoaggiunte.

Pseudo-Hermitian Random Matrices

by Mauricio Porto Pato

This book is a comprehensive guide to pseudo-Hermitian random matrices, their properties, and their role in many models that are relevant to physical processes. The book starts by showing how the concept of pseudo-Hermiticity emerged from studies of PT-symmetric systems which aroused the interest of the random matrix theory community. The chapters that follow discuss the consequences of the pseudo-Hermitian condition to the eigen-decomposition of non-Hermitian matrices, and an investigation of pseudo-Hermitian random matrices in tridiagonal form, discussing the scenario with real eigenvalues, and the appearance of complex eigenvalues generated by unbound and non-positive metrics. Subsequently, the author introduces pseudo-Hermitian Gaussian matrices and their properties including characteristic polynomials, and statistical properties of their eigenvalues. Finally, in the last chapter, the time invariance of the metric is upended and a pseudo-Hermitian model with a time dependent metricis constructed to discuss the time evolution of entangled states.

The Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe

by Michael D. Gordin

Properly analyzed, the collective mythological and religious writings of humanity reveal that around 1500 BC, a comet swept perilously close to Earth, triggering widespread natural disasters and threatening the destruction of all life before settling into solar orbit as Venus, our nearest planetary neighbor. Sound implausible? Well, from 1950 until the late 1970s, a huge number of people begged to differ, as they devoured Immanuel Velikovsky’s major best-seller, Worlds in Collision, insisting that perhaps this polymathic thinker held the key to a new science and a new history. Scientists, on the other hand, assaulted Velikovsky’s book, his followers, and his press mercilessly from the get-go. In The Pseudoscience Wars, Michael D. Gordin resurrects the largely forgotten figure of Velikovsky and uses his strange career and surprisingly influential writings to explore the changing definitions of the line that separates legitimate scientific inquiry from what is deemed bunk, and to show how vital this question remains to us today. Drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished material from Velikovsky’s personal archives, Gordin presents a behind-the-scenes history of the writer’s career, from his initial burst of success through his growing influence on the counterculture, heated public battles with such luminaries as Carl Sagan, and eventual eclipse. Along the way, he offers fascinating glimpses into the histories and effects of other fringe doctrines, including creationism, Lysenkoism, parapsychology, and more—all of which have surprising connections to Velikovsky’s theories. Science today is hardly universally secure, and scientists seem themselves beset by critics, denialists, and those they label “pseudoscientists”—as seen all too clearly in battles over evolution and climate change. The Pseudoscience Wars simultaneously reveals the surprising Cold War roots of our contemporary dilemma and points readers to a different approach to drawing the line between knowledge and nonsense.

Psychoanalysis and Ecology at the Edge of Chaos: Complexity Theory, Deleuze,Guattari and Psychoanalysis for a Climate in Crisis

by Joseph Dodds

This book argues that psychoanalysis has a unique role to play in the climate change debate through its placing emphasis on the unconscious dimensions of our mental and social lives. Exploring contributions from Freudian, Kleinian, Object Relations, Self Psychology, Jungian, and Lacanian traditions, the book discusses how psychoanalysis can help to unmask the anxieties, deficits, conflicts, phantasies and defences crucial in understanding the human dimension of the ecological crisis. Yet despite being essential to studying environmentalism and its discontents, psychoanalysis still remains largely a 'psychology without ecology.' The philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari, combined with new developments in the sciences of complexity, help us to build upon the best of these perspectives, providing a framework able to integrate Guattari's 'three ecologies' of mind, nature and society. This book thus constitutes a timely attempt to contribute towards a critical dialogue between psychoanalysis and ecology. Further topics of discussion include: ecopsychology and the greening of psychotherapy our ambivalent relationship to nature and the non-human complexity theory in psychoanalysis and ecology defence mechanisms against eco-anxiety and eco-grief Deleuze|Guattari and the three ecologies becoming-animal in horror and eco-apocalypse in science fiction films nonlinear ecopsychoanalysis. In our era of anxiety, denial, paranoia, apathy, guilt, hope, and despair in the face of climate change, this book offers a fresh and insightful psychoanalytic perspective on the ecological crisis. As such this book will be of great interest to all those in the fields of psychoanalysis, psychology, philosophy, and ecology, as well as all who are concerned with the global environmental challenges affecting our planet's future.

Psychoanalytic Ecology: The Talking Cure for Environmental Illness and Health (Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability)

by Rod Giblett

Psychoanalytic Ecology applies Freudian concepts, beginning with the uncanny, to environmental issues, such as wetlands and their loss, to alligators and crocodiles as inhabitants of wetlands, and to the urban underside. It also applies other Freudian concepts, such as sublimation, symptom, mourning and melancholia, to environmental issues and concerns. Mourning and melancholia can be experienced in relation to wetlands and to their loss. The city is a symptom of the will to fill or drain wetlands. This book engages in a talking cure of psychogeopathology (environmental psychopathology; mental land illness; environ-mental illness) manifested also in industries, such as mining and pastoralism, that practice greed and gluttony. Psychoanalytic Ecology promotes gratitude for generosity as a way of nurturing environ-mental health to prevent the manifestation of these psychogeopathological symptoms in the first place. Melanie Klein’s work on anal sadism is applied to mining and Karl Abraham’s work on oral sadism to pastoralism. Finally, Margaret Mahler’s and Jessica Benjamin’s work on psycho-symbiosis is drawn on to nurture bio- and psycho-symbiotic livelihoods in bioregional home habitats of the living earth in the symbiocene, the hoped-for age superseding the Anthropocene. Psychoanalytic Ecology demonstrates the power of psychoanalytic concepts and the pertinence of the work of several psychoanalytic thinkers for analysing a range of environmental issues and concerns. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental psychology, psychoanalysis and the environmental humanities.

Psychological Governance and Public Policy: Governing the mind, brain and behaviour (Routledge Research in Place, Space and Politics)

by Rhys Jones Mark Whitehead Jessica Pykett

There have been significant developments in the state of psychological, neuroscientific and behavioural scientific knowledge relating to the human mind, brain, action and decision-making over the past two decades. These developments have influenced public policy making and popular culture in the UK and elsewhere – through policies and emerging social practices focussed on behavioural change, happiness, wellbeing, therapy, resilience and character. Yet little attention has been paid to examining the wider political and ethical significance of the widespread use of psychological governance techniques. There is a pressing and recognised need to address the behaviour change agenda in relation to how our cultural ideas about the brain, mind, behaviour and self are changing. This book provides a critical account of existing forms of psychological governance in relation to public policy. It asks whether we can speak of a co-ordinated and novel shift in governance or, rather, whether these trends are more simply pragmatic policy tools based on advances in scientific evidence. With contributions from leading scholars across the social sciences from the UK, the USA and Canada, chapters identify practical, political and research challenges posed by the current policy enthusiasm for particular branches of affective neuroscience, behavioural economics, positive psychology and happiness economics. The core focus of this book is to investigate the ways in which knowledge about the mind, brain and behaviour has informed the methods and techniques of governance and to explore the implications of this for shaping citizen identity and social practice. This groundbreaking book will be of interest to students, scholars and policy-makers interested and working within geography, economics, sociology, psychology, politics and cultural studies.

Psychology and Environmental Change

by Raymond S. Nickerson

This book will present the argument that psychologists have much to offer to the goal of stemming environmental change by reviewing the evidence on the prob of environmental deterioration as well as human behavior's contribution to the problem.

Psychology of Aid (Routledge Studies in Development and Society #10)

by Stuart Carr Mac MacLachlan Eilish McAuliffe

Psychology of Aid provides an original, psychological approach to development studies, focusing as it does on the social aspects of aid and the motivational foundations. Designed as a practical tool for looking at development projects in a new and structured way, the authors bring many of the social apsects of development and aid together in one book; from the needs of the Northern donor to the public tensions between Third World host and foreign development agencies.

The Psychology of Pro-Environmental Communication: Beyond Standard Information Strategies

by Christian A. Klöckner

The environment is part of everyone's life but there are difficulties in communicating complex environmental problems, such as climate change, to a lay audience. In this book Klöckner defines environmental communication, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the issues involved in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour.

Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development in Organizations

by Annamaria Di Fabio Cary L. Cooper

This volume answers calls for improving sustainability and sustainable development in organizations from a psychological point of view. It offers a range of perspectives on the current research in the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development to highlight effective ways of improving well-being and healthy sustainable development in organizations. Section 1 introduces the concept of the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development as well as macro topics of related issues in organizations. Section 2 focuses on themes traditionally recognized in organizational psychology literature, such as performance, negotiation, leadership, resistance to change, innovation, and digital transformation. Section 3 presents variables to enhance sustainability and sustainable development in organizations and considers levels of prevention. Topics include humor awareness as a primary prevention resource in organizations, intrapreneurial self-capital as an individual preventative strength, compassion within organizations, perfectionism as an inhibitor in organizational contexts, and job crafting from individual to collaborative to organizational, meaningfulness and sustainable careers. With a clear psychological focus on the topic of leading sustainability efforts, this book will be of great interest to students and academics who want to learn more about corporate sustainability. It is also a useful resource for business executives, team leaders and managers.

The Ptarmigan's Dilemma: An Ecological Exploration into the Mysteries of Life

by Mary Theberge John Theberge

Drawing on breakthrough research in evolution, genetics, and on their extensive work in the field and lab, wildlife biologists John and Mary Theberge explain for non-scientists the real facts of life. Birds that suddenly grow gall bladders, when their species has none. Moose with antlers so big they encumber their movement through the forest. Butterflies that risk extinction by overwintering en masse. These are just a few stories the Theberges tell in their examination of what the mechanisms of evolution are and how they work. With examples from the very latest discoveries in genetics and ones they have made in their own field work, The Ptarmigan's Dilemma is a ground-breaking explanation of evolution for non-scientists. By marrying the separate sciences of ecology and genetics, the Theberges paint a picture far richer than either discipline can alone of how, for almost 4 billion years, life on Earth has evolved into the rich diversity that's under threat today. Along the way, they explain just what "the survival of the fittest" really means, how dramatic evolutionary changes can take place in just one generation, and how our too-little knowledge of or interest in how life on Earth organizes and supports itself is rapidly making us a danger to ourselves.

Public Deliberation on Climate Change: Lessons from Alberta Climate Dialogue

by Lorelei L. Hanson David Kahane

There exists in both academic and political circles a growing interest in public deliberation as an alternative to the sometimes adversarial and polarizing public engagement activities that result in the pitting of experts against lay people. Proponents of public deliberation claim that a more deliberative process can engage a diversity of participants in a more guided process that better balances expert knowledge and citizen inclusion. Such an approach holds particular promise where citizens and governments engage in discussions of the most complex and intractable issues like climate change. Given the host of challenges climate governance presents and the global consequences of our response to them, the experience and knowledge shared by Hanson and the contributors to Public Deliberation on Climate Change provide an important framework for advancing public conversations and processes on this and other wicked problems. The lessons contained in the volume were gained as a result of a five year multidisciplinary, community, university research project called Alberta Climate Dialogue (ABCD), which drew together scholars, practitioners, citizens, civil society members, and government officials from across Alberta at four public deliberations. By highlighting the value tensions and trade-offs and examining the impact that the design of the deliberations has on policy and the creation of conditions that encourage exchange, the contributors aim to build capacity within our institutions and society to find new ways to discuss and solve complex problems.

The Public Economy of Urban Communities: Papers Presented At The 2nd Conference On Urban Public Expenditures, Feb. 21-22, 1964 (Routledge Revivals)

by Julius Margolis

Originally published in 1965, Margolis brings together a wide variety of papers on a multitude of subjects relating to the urban public economy presented at the second conference on urban public expenditures in 1964. This collection covers issues such as criteria for decision-making in urban public spending, public and private supply and the political and voting behaviour of urban economies in order to contribute to the development of new analytical models and techniques as well as to disseminate findings of research results to a larger audience. This title will be of interest to those studying Environmental studies and Economics as well as professionals.

Public Expenditure Decisions in the Urban Community (Routledge Revivals)

by Howard G. Schaller

In 1962, the Committee on Urban Economics held a conference on public expenditure decisions in order to promote analysis of the issues facing the public sector of the urban economy. Originally published in 1965, this report pulls together key papers presented at this conference discussing issues such as urban services, the patterns of public expenditure and the quality of government services in urban areas to draw conclusions on the difficulties of analysis and how economic tools could be utilised more effectively to solve these difficulties. This title will be of interest to students of environmental studies and economics.

Public Health and Disasters: Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management in Asia (Disaster Risk Reduction)

by Rajib Shaw Emily Ying Yang Chan

This book presents the health emergency and disaster risk management (H-EDRM) research landscape, with examples from Asia. In recent years, the intersection of health and disaster risk reduction (DRR) has emerged as an important interdisciplinary field. In several landmark UN agreements adopted in 2015–2016, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris climate agreement, and the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III), health is acknowledged as an inevitable outcome and a natural goal of disaster risk reduction, and the cross-over of the two fields is essential for the successful implementation of the Sendai Framework. H-EDRM has emerged as an umbrella field that encompasses emergency and disaster medicine, DRR, humanitarian response, community health resilience, and health system resilience. However, this fragmented, nascent field has yet to be developed into a coherent discipline. Key challenges include redundant research, lack of a strategic research agenda, limited development of multisectoral and interdisciplinary approaches, deficiencies in the science–policy–practice nexus, absence of standardized terminology, and insufficient coordination among stakeholders. This book provides a timely and invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, scholars, and frontline practitioners as well as policymakers from across the component domains of H-EDRM.

Public Health Humanitarian Responses to Natural Disasters (Routledge Humanitarian Studies)

by Emily Ying Chan

The pressure of climate change, environmental degradation, and urbanisation, as well as the widening of socio- economic disparities have rendered the global population increasingly vulnerable to the impact of natural disasters. With a primary focus on medical and public health humanitarian response to disasters, Public Health Humanitarian Responses to Natural Disasters provides a timely critical analysis of public health responses to natural disasters. Using a number of case studies and examples of innovative disaster response measures developed by international agencies and stakeholders, this book illustrates how theoretical understanding of public health issues can be practically applied in the context of humanitarian relief response. Starting with an introduction to public health principles within the context of medical and public health disaster and humanitarian response, the book goes on to explore key trends, threats and challenges in contemporary disaster medical response. This book provides a comprehensive overview of an emergent discipline and offers a unique multidisciplinary perspective across a range of relevant topics including the concepts of disaster preparedness and resilience, and key challenges in human health needs for the twenty-first century. This book will be of interest to students of public health, disaster and emergency medicine and development studies, as well as to development and medical practitioners working within NGOs, development agencies, health authorities and public administration.

Public Health Risks of Disasters: Communication, Infrastructure, and Preparedness

by William H. Hooke Paul G. Rogers

A report on Public Health Risks of Disasters

Public Interest Design Education Guidebook: Curricula, Strategies, and SEED Academic Case Studies (Public Interest Design Guidebooks)

by Lisa M. Abendroth Bryan Bell

Public Interest Design Education Guidebook: Curricula, Strategies, and SEED Academic Case Studies presents the pedagogical framework and collective curriculum necessary to teach public interest designers. The second book in Routledge’s Public Interest Design Guidebook series, the editors and contributors feature a range of learning competencies supported by distinct teaching strategies where educational and community-originated goals unite. Written in a guidebook format that includes projects from across design disciplines, this book describes the learning deemed most critical to pursuing an inclusive, informed design practice that meets the diverse needs of both students and community partners. Featured chapter themes include Fundamental Skills, Intercultural Competencies, Engaging the Field Experience, Inclusive Iteration, and Evaluating Student Learning. The book consists of practice-based and applied learning constructs that bridge community-based research with engaged learning and design practice. SEED (Social Economic Environmental Design) academic case studies introduce teaching strategies that reinforce project-specific learning objectives where solving social, economic, and environmental issues unites the efforts of communities, student designers, and educators. This comprehensive publication also contains indices devoted to learning objectives cross-referenced from within the book as well as considerations for educational program development in public interest design. Whether you are a student of design, an educator, or a designer, the breadth of projects and teaching strategies provided here will empower you to excel in your pursuit of public interest design.

Public Interest Design Practice Guidebook: SEED Methodology, Case Studies, and Critical Issues (Public Interest Design Guidebooks #1)

by Lisa M. Abendroth and Bryan Bell

Public Interest Design Practice Guidebook: Seed Methodology, Case Studies, and Critical Issues is the first book to demonstrate that public interest design has emerged as a distinct profession. It provides clear professional standards of practice following SEED (Social Economic Environmental Design) methodology, the first step-by-step process supporting public interest designers. The book features an Issues Index composed of ninety critical social, economic, and environmental issues, illustrated with thirty case study projects representing eighteen countries and four continents, all cross-referenced, to show you how every human issue is a design issue. Contributions from Thomas Fisher, Heather Fleming and David Kaisel, Michael Cohen, Michael P. Murphy Jr. and Alan Ricks, and over twenty others cover topics such as professional responsibility, public interest design business development, design evaluation, and capacity building through scaling, along with many more. Themes including public participation, issue-based design, and assessment are referenced throughout the book and provide benchmarks toward an informed practice. This comprehensive manual also contains a glossary, an appendix of engagement methods, a case study locator atlas, and a reading list. Whether you are working in the field of architecture, urban planning, industrial design, landscape architecture, or communication design, this book empowers you to create community-centered environments, products, and systems.

Public Participation Process in Urban Planning: Evaluation Approaches of Fairness and Effectiveness Criteria of Planning Advisory Committees (Routledge Studies in Urbanism and the City)

by Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan Monwar Alam

This book critically examines the public participation processes in urban planning and development by evaluating the operations of Planning Advisory Committees (PACs) through two meta-criteria of fairness and effectiveness. Traditional models of public participation in planning have long been criticized for separating planners from the public. This book proposes a novel conceptual model to address the gaps in existing practices in order to encourage greater public involvement in planning decisions and policymaking. It assesses the application of the evaluative framework for PACs as a new approach to public participation evaluation in urban planning. With a case study focused on the PACs in Inner City area of Canberra, Australia, the book offers a conceptual framework for evaluating fairness and effectiveness of the public participation processes that can also be extended to other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Scandinavian countries, the European Union, and some Asian countries such as India. Offering valuable insights on how operational processes of PACs can be re-configured, this book will be a useful guide for students and academics of planning and public policy analysis, as well as the planning professionals in both developed and developing countries.

Public Perception of Climate Change: Policy and Communication (Routledge Studies in Environmental Communication and Media)

by Bjoern Hagen

Despite the findings on global climate change presented by the scientific community, there remains a significant gap between its recommendations and the actions of the public and policy makers. So far scientists and the media have failed to successfully communicate the urgency of the climate change situation in such a way that long-term, comprehensive, and legally binding policy commitments are being made on the national and international level. This book examines the way the public processes information, how they perceive threats and other perceptual factors that have a significant effect on how and to what degree climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies are supported. Understanding public risk perception plays a vital role in communicating the challenges of global climate change. Using a diverse range of international case studies, this book explores the nature of public perceptions of climate change and identifies the perception factors which have a significant impact on the public’s willingness to support global climate change policies or commit to behavioral changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve urban resiliency. The comparative study of social and cultural factors, beliefs, attitudes and trust provides an international overview of best practices regarding the design, implementation and generation of public support for climate change policies at a global level. Offering valuable insight into climate change and risk communication, the book should be of interest to students and scholars of environment studies, politics, urban planning, and media and cultural studies.

Public Perceptions of Radiation Effects on Health Risks and Well-Being: A Case of RFEMF Risk Perceptions in Malaysia (SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace #33)

by Yusniza Kamarulzaman Farrah Dina Yusop Noorhidawati Abdullah Azian Madun Kwan-Hoong Ng

This book reports on the investigation of the public’s perception of Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) radiation effects on health and well-being, in Malaysia. It elaborates on how understanding the impact of perceived risk is essential in order to investigate the explanatory value and effectiveness of interventions influencing these beliefs. The book expands on the knowledge and understanding of different risk perception related to radiation in order to explain the gap in literature regarding the relationship between risk perceptions that lead to public behaviors. In doing so, the book presents empirical findings of a national study that unveils two key factors affecting public risk perceptions: psycho-graphic and personal factors. It offers a more collective and cultural understanding of public perceptions on radiation risks via a systematic mixed-method research approach. Research in the book also show that while the radiation risk is recognizable and unavoidable, the relevant stakeholders should be more proactive and committed to communicate and rectify the perception of radiation. The book thus serves as a valuable source of reference to understand the debate and to invite more participatory dialogues on radiation risk perceptions among public.

Public Personnel Administration and Labor Relations

by Norma M Riccucci

The readings in this volume will enlighten and enliven the contents of any standard public administration text covering human resource management. Selected mainly from the pages of Public Administration Review and Review of Public Personnel Administration, these classic articles trace the historical and evolutionary development of the fields of public personnel administration and labor relations from the point at which the first civil service law was passed - the Pendelton Act in 1883 - through the 21st century. The collection covers everything from the seminal concerns of civil service (e.g., keeping spoils out) to topics that early reformers would never have envisioned (e.g., affirmative action and drug testing). These works continue to inform the theory and practice of public personnel and labor relations. To facilitate an instructor's ability to assign readings that illuminate lectures and course material, a correlation matrix on the M.E. Sharpe website shows how this book can be used easily alongside eight leading textbooks.

Public Policies for Environmental Protection (Routledge Revivals)

by Paul R. Portney

Originally published in 1990, this study tracks the issues, progress and problems in environmental issues in the United States from the 1980’s. Improvements in air and water quality as well as regulation of hazardous waste and toxic substances has led to new policies such as the Superfund Act and a general increase in awareness about environmental issues on a federal level. Placing an emphasis on economics, these papers analyse the effectiveness of environmental policy and progress made in relation to air pollution, water quality, hazardous wastes, toxic substances and enforcement of regulations. This title will be of interest to students of environmental studies.

Public Policies for Territorial Cohesion (The Urban Book Series)

by Eduardo Medeiros

This book introduces a comprehensive and updated analysis of the role of public policies to promote territorial cohesion processes and trends in a given territory. By being the first book taking a reflective and holistic approach on how public policies can lead to more cohesive and balanced territories, it advances theoretical avenues for academics and showcases current academic research to policymakers and practitioners by focusing on how public policies, being implemented in different territorial scales (urban, local, regional, national, and European), can actively contribute to foster territorial cohesion trends in a given territory. This reflective approach provides an opportunity for thinking about what lessons can be learned from past and ongoing experiences and how they can improve future implementation of public policies more effectively and efficiently toward territorial cohesion, since all existing analyses show that at the national level, no European country has achieved territorial cohesion trends over the past decades. As such, this book acts as a valid and useful policy manual that effectively contributes to inverting current territorial exclusion trends at the national level, by highlighting best policy practices and a comprehensive introduction to contemporary thinking about how public policies can play a decisive role in boosting territorial cohesion processes in a given territory.

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