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Facets of Combinatorial Optimization: Festschrift for Martin Grötschel
by Michael Jünger Gerhard ReineltMartin Grötschel is one of the most influential mathematicians of our time. He has received numerous honors and holds a number of key positions in the international mathematical community. He celebrated his 65th birthday on September 10, 2013. Martin Grötschel's doctoral descendant tree 1983-2012, i.e., the first 30 years, features 39 children, 74 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren, a total of 139 doctoral descendants. This book starts with a personal tribute to Martin Grötschel by the editors (Part I), a contribution by his very special "predecessor" Manfred Padberg on "Facets and Rank of Integer Polyhedra" (Part II), and the doctoral descendant tree 1983-2012 (Part III). The core of this book (Part IV) contains 16 contributions, each of which is coauthored by at least one doctoral descendant. The sequence of the articles starts with contributions to the theory of mathematical optimization, including polyhedral combinatorics, extended formulations, mixed-integer convex optimization, superclasses of perfect graphs, efficient algorithms for subtree-telecenters, junctions in acyclic graphs, and preemptive restricted strip covering, as well as efficient approximation of non-preemptive restricted strip covering. Combinations of new theoretical insights with algorithms and experiments deal with network design problems, combinatorial optimization problems with submodular objective functions, and more general mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problems. Applications include VLSI layout design, systems biology, wireless network design, mean-risk optimization, and gas network optimization. Computational studies include a semidefinite branch and cut approach for the max k-cut problem, mixed-integer nonlinear optimal control, and mixed-integer linear optimization for scheduling and routing of fly-in safari planes. The two closing articles are devoted to computational advances in general mixed integer linear optimization, the first by scientists working in industry, the second by scientists working in academia. These articles reflect the "scientific facets" of Martin Grötschel who has set standards in theory, computation, and applications.
Facets of Noise: Effects in Classical and Quantum Systems (Fundamental Theories of Physics #214)
by Debraj Das Shamik GuptaThis book provides a captivating journey through the realms of classical and quantum systems as it unravels the profound influence that noise may have on their static and dynamic properties. The first part of the book offers succinct yet enlightening discussions on foundational topics related to noise. The second part focuses on a variety of applications, where a diverse spectrum of noise effects in physical systems comes to life, meticulously presented and thoughtfully analyzed. Whether you are a curious student or a dedicated researcher, this book is your key to gaining invaluable insights into noise effects in physical systems. “The book has the merit of presenting several topics scattered in the literature and could become a very useful reference.” Giovanni Jona-Lasinio, Sapienza – Università di Roma, Italy
Facets of Uncertainties and Applications
by Mihir K. Chakraborty Andrzej Skowron Manoranjan Maiti Samarjit KarSince the emergence of the formal concept of probability theory in the seventeenth century, uncertainty has been perceived solely in terms of probability theory. However, this apparently unique link between uncertainty and probability theory has come under investigation a few decades back. Uncertainties are nowadays accepted to be of various kinds. Uncertainty in general could refer to different sense like not certainly known, questionable, problematic, vague, not definite or determined, ambiguous, liable to change, not reliable. In Indian languages, particularly in Sanskrit-based languages, there are other higher levels of uncertainties. It has been shown that several mathematical concepts such as the theory of fuzzy sets, theory of rough sets, evidence theory, possibility theory, theory of complex systems and complex network, theory of fuzzy measures and uncertainty theory can also successfully model uncertainty.
Fachdidaktischverbindendes Forschen und Lehren in der Mathematiklehrer*innenbildung: Neue Perspektiven auf das Lehren und Lernen von Mathematik (und Physik) (MINTUS – Beiträge zur mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Bildung)
by Kathrin HoltenDas generelle Forschungsinteresse der vorliegenden Dissertationsschrift, mit einem besonderen Schwerpunkt auf die Lehrerbildung, orientiert sich am Siegener mathematikdidaktischen Forschungsparadigma empirischer Theorien im Mathematikunterricht. Ziel ist die Entwicklung und Anwendung eines Konzepts zur Eröffnung verschiedener fachdidaktischer Perspektiven aus Mathematik- und Physikdidaktik auf das Lehren und Lernen von Mathematik. Entsprechend wird eine Arbeitsdefinition des sog. fachdidaktischverbindenden Forschens und Lehrens theoretisch entwickelt und dann empirisch erprobt. Eine dazu entwickelte Lehrveranstaltung ermöglicht es den Studierenden, Chancen und Herausforderungen der Thematisierung physikalischer Kontexte im Mathematikunterricht zu identifizieren und einzuschätzen, indem sie eine entsprechende Unterrichtsstunde planen, durchführen und analysieren. Die im Seminar auftretenden Reflexionsphasen liefern die wesentliche Datenbasis zur Konstruktion einer Grounded Theory über fachdidaktischverbindendes Forschen und Lehren.
Fachkräftemangel und Maßnahmen-Champions (Demografie und Wirtschaft)
by Hendrik BudligerDer demografische Wandel stellt die Unternehmen vor große Herausforderungen. Neben strukturellen, zyklischen und unternehmensinternen Zusammenhängen ist er eine der Kernursachen für den zunehmenden Mangel an Arbeitskräften, insbesondere an gut ausgebildeten Fachkräften. Dieses Herausgeberwerk gibt einen Einblick in den aktuellen Fachkräftemangel und zeitgleich stellen Maßnahmen-Champions vor, wie sie in ihren Organisationen erfolgreiche Konzepte gegen den Fachkräftemangel umgesetzt haben. Die Leserinnen und Leser sollen von der Vielfalt der beschriebenen Maßnahmen gegen den Fachkräftemangel Ideen und Anregungen erhalten, um selbst in ihrer Organisation dem Fachkräftemangel entgegenzuwirken. Der Inhalt Grundzüge und Konzepte einer Organisationsdemografie Generationenmanagement – Theorie und Praxis Förderung der Arbeitsmarktfähigkeit und Arbeitsfähigkeit Gelebte HR-Strategie im Change-Prozess Digitales Workforce-Management HR Analytics als strategisches Instrument Maßnahmen gegen den Fachkräftemangel: Senior Talents fördern, Vereinbarkeit Familie und Beruf, Integration von Arbeitskräften aus Drittstaaten Praxisbeiträge aus Baugewerbe, Hotelbranche und Tech-Industrie
Facility Location Under Uncertainty: Models, Algorithms and Applications (International Series in Operations Research & Management Science #356)
by Shuming Wang Francisco Saldanha-da-GamaThis textbook provides researchers, post-graduate students, and practitioners with a systematic framework for coping with uncertainty when making facility location decisions. In addition to in-depth coverage of models and solution techniques, application areas are discussed. The book guides readers through the field, showing how to successfully analyze new problems and handle new applications. Initially, the focus is on base models and concepts. Then, gradually, more comprehensive models and more involved solution algorithms are discussed. Throughout the book, two perspectives are intertwined: the paradigm for capturing uncertainty, and the facility location problem at hand. The former includes stochastic programming, robust optimization, chance-constrained programming, and distributional robust optimization; the latter includes classical facility location problems and those arising in many real-world applications such as hub location, location routing, andlocation inventory.
Factfulness Illustrated: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - Why Things are Better than You Think
by Hans Rosling Ola Rosling Anna Rosling RönnlundThe international best-selling phenomenon loved by BARACK OBAMA and BILL GATES in a new and updated illustrated edition'A hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.' BARACK OBAMA'One of the most important books I've ever read - an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.' BILL GATES*#1 Sunday Times bestseller * instant New York Times bestseller * Observer 'best brainy book of the decade' * #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller * Irish Times bestseller * Audio bestseller * Guardian bestseller * FACTFULNESS: the stress-reducing habit of only having opinions for which there are strong supporting facts.Things aren't as bad as we think. Fact.When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.In Factfulness, legendary statisticians Hans, Anna and Ola Rosling offer a radical new explanation of why this happens, and reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. But when we let the bad news take on outsize proportions instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.
Factor Analysis: Classic Edition (Psychology Press & Routledge Classic Editions)
by Richard L. GorsuchComprehensive and comprehensible, this classic text covers the basic and advanced topics essential for using factor analysis as a scientific tool in psychology, education, sociology, and related areas. Emphasizing the usefulness of the techniques, it presents sufficient mathematical background for understanding and applying its use. This includes the theory as well as the empirical evaluations. The overall goal is to show readers how to use factor analysis in their substantive research by highlighting when the differences in mathematical procedures have a major impact on the substantive conclusions, when the differences are not relevant, and when factor analysis might not be the best procedure to use. Although the original version was written years ago, the book maintains its relevance today by providing readers with a thorough understanding of the basic mathematical models so they can easily apply these models to their own research. Readers are presented with a very complete picture of the "inner workings" of these methods. The new Introduction highlights the remarkably few changes that the author would make if he were writing the book today. An ideal text for courses on factor analysis or as a supplement for multivariate analysis, structural equation modeling, or advanced quantitative techniques taught in psychology, education, and other social and behavioral sciences, researchers who use these techniques also appreciate this book’s thorough review of the basic models. Prerequisites include a graduate level course on statistics and a basic understanding of algebra. Sections with an asterisk can be skipped entirely if preferred.
Factor Analysis at 100: Historical Developments and Future Directions
by Robert C. MacCallum Robert CudeckFactor analysis is one of the success stories of statistics in the social sciences. The reason for its wide appeal is that it provides a way to investigate latent variables, the fundamental traits and concepts in the study of individual differences. Because of its importance, a conference was held to mark the centennial of the publication of Charle
A Factor Model Approach to Derivative Pricing
by James A. PrimbsWritten in a highly accessible style, A Factor Model Approach to Derivative Pricing lays a clear and structured foundation for the pricing of derivative securities based upon simple factor model related absence of arbitrage ideas. This unique and unifying approach provides for a broad treatment of topics and models, including equity, interest-rate, and credit derivatives, as well as hedging and tree-based computational methods, but without reliance on the heavy prerequisites that often accompany such topics. Key features A single fundamental absence of arbitrage relationship based on factor models is used to motivate all the results in the book A structured three-step procedure is used to guide the derivation of absence of arbitrage equations and illuminate core underlying concepts Brownian motion and Poisson process driven models are treated together, allowing for a broad and cohesive presentation of topics The final chapter provides a new approach to risk neutral pricing that introduces the topic as a seamless and natural extension of the factor model approach Whether being used as text for an intermediate level course in derivatives, or by researchers and practitioners who are seeking a better understanding of the fundamental ideas that underlie derivative pricing, readers will appreciate the book’s ability to unify many disparate topics and models under a single conceptual theme. James A Primbs is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton.
Factoring Ideals in Integral Domains
by Evan Houston Marco Fontana Thomas LucasThis volume provides a wide-ranging survey of, and many new results on, various important types of ideal factorization actively investigated by several authors in recent years. Examples of domains studied include (1) those with weak factorization, in which each nonzero, nondivisorial ideal can be factored as the product of its divisorial closure and a product of maximal ideals and (2) those with pseudo-Dedekind factorization, in which each nonzero, noninvertible ideal can be factored as the product of an invertible ideal with a product of pairwise comaximal prime ideals. Prüfer domains play a central role in our study, but many non-Prüfer examples are considered as well.
Factorization: Unique and Otherwise
by null Steven H. WeintraubThe concept of factorization, familiar in the ordinary system of whole numbers that can be written as a unique product of prime numbers, plays a central role in modern mathematics and its applications. This exposition of the classic theory leads the reader to an understanding of the current knowledge of the subject and its connections to other math
Factorization in Integral Domains (Lecture Notes In Pure And Applied Mathematics Ser. #189)
by Daniel AndersonThe contents in this work are taken from both the University of Iowa's Conference on Factorization in Integral Domains, and the 909th Meeting of the American Mathematical Society's Special Session in Commutative Ring Theory held in Iowa City. The text gathers current work on factorization in integral domains and monoids, and the theory of divisibility, emphasizing possible different lengths of factorization into irreducible elements.
Facts and Factors (Mathematics in Context)
by Meike Abels Jan De Lange Margaret A. PliggeThe numbers we use today are widely used by people all over the world. This might surprise you since there are about 190 independent countries in the world, speaking over 5,000 different languages! This was not always the case. In the unit Facts and Factors, you will investigate how ancient civilizations wrote numbers and performed number computations.
Fading and Shadowing in Wireless Systems
by P. Mohana ShankarThe study of signal transmission and deterioration in signal characteristics as the signal propagates through wireless channels is of great significance. The book presents a comprehensive view of channel degradation arising from fading and shadowing. Various statistical models including simple, hybrid, compound, complex and cascaded ones are presented with detailed derivations along with measures to quantify the deterioration such as the amount of fading, error rates and outage probabilities. The models range from the Rayleigh and Rician through Suzuki, generalized K, cascaded and alpha-mu and similar ones. This is followed by the analysis of mitigation of fading and shadowing through diversity (simple, hybrid, micro- and macro- level) and combining algorithms. The density and distribution functions, error rates and outages are derived and results analyzed to quantify the improvements. The effects of co-channel interference before and after the implementation of diversity are also analyzed. To facilitate easy understanding of the models and analysis, the background information in terms of probability and random variables is presented with relevant derivations of densities of linear and nonlinear transformation of random variables, the sums, products, ratios as well as order statistics of random variables of all types. The book also provides material on digital modems of interest in wireless systems. Thus, the book with 1100+ equations and 350+ Matlab generated figures and tables is an ideal source for students, educators, researchers and professionals in wireless communications allowing access to information currently unavailable.
The Failure of Risk Management
by Hubbard Douglas W.An essential guide to the calibrated risk analysis approach The Failure of Risk Management takes a close look at misused and misapplied basic analysis methods and shows how some of the most popular "risk management" methods are no better than astrology! Using examples from the 2008 credit crisis, natural disasters, outsourcing to China, engineering disasters, and more, Hubbard reveals critical flaws in risk management methods-and shows how all of these problems can be fixed. The solutions involve combinations of scientifically proven and frequently used methods from nuclear power, exploratory oil, and other areas of business and government. Finally, Hubbard explains how new forms of collaboration across all industries and government can improve risk management in every field. Douglas W. Hubbard (Glen Ellyn, IL) is the inventor of Applied Information Economics (AIE) and the author of Wiley's How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business (978-0-470-11012-6), the #1 bestseller in business math on Amazon. He has applied innovative risk assessment and risk management methods in government and corporations since 1994. "Doug Hubbard, a recognized expert among experts in the field of risk management, covers the entire spectrum of risk management in this invaluable guide. There are specific value-added take aways in each chapter that are sure to enrich all readers including IT, business management, students, and academics alike" -Peter Julian, former chief-information officer of the New York Metro Transit Authority. President of Alliance Group consulting "In his trademark style, Doug asks the tough questions on risk management. A must-read not only for analysts, but also for the executive who is making critical business decisions. " -Jim Franklin, VP Enterprise Performance Management and General Manager, Crystal Ball Global Business Unit, Oracle Corporation.
Fair Queueing
by Youngsub ChunThis monograph provides a detailed analysis on fair queueing rules from a normative, a strategic, and a non-cooperative viewpoint. The queueing problem is concerned with the following situation: There is a group of agents who must be served in a facility. The facility can handle only one agent at a time and agents incur waiting costs. The problem is to find the order in which to serve agents and monetary transfers they should receive. The queueing problem has been studied extensively in the recent literature.
Fair Share: 111 Problems from Ahmes to Aumann
by Isaac ElishakoffKofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, argued that “We need to create a world that is equitable, that is stable and a world where we bear in mind the needs of others, and not only what we need immediately. We are all in the same boat.”American businessman, John Landgraf stated: “I hope that most of us believe that we actually would all benefit from living in a more equitable society. If that's not happening, we're squandering human potential.” For the world to be fair, one needs to know how to divide. Without the mathematics of division, humankind cannot function…Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (infamously) said “If people have no bread, let them eat cake,” and while Ahmes ― the scribe of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus ― dealt with loaves of bread, prosperous people in the twentieth century dealt with cake division, although bread is also uniformly available. You’ll be surprised, but there are at least four books and over 200 scientific (not gastronomical!) papers on cake division. Those authors were not overly concerned with obesity, one can guess, but whether distributing loaves, cakes, chores, or dividends, one needs to master division.This book deals with a wide spectrum of division problems, and provides the historical background, giving a sense of how pervasive division is in our lives. In particular, the second part focuses on a problem that remained open until 1985, when Professor Robert John Aumann (Nobel laureate in Economics, 2005) and Professor Michael Maschler solved it using game-theoretic techniques. Simple alternative solutions are given, which are suitable for high schools and other educational institutions.
Fakt oder Fake? Wie Ihnen Statistik bei der Unterscheidung helfen kann
by Werner G. Müller Andreas Quatember„Alternative Wahrheiten“ beeinträchtigen jeden faktenbasierten Diskurs – egal ob im Fernsehen, in Zeitungen oder in den sozialen Medien. Oft werden dafür datengestützte (Schein-)Argumente vorgebracht und es stellt sich ganz automatisch die Frage nach der Qualität dieser Informationen. Dieses Buch zeigt anhand vieler Beispiele, wie Sie mit einer grundlegenden Statistical Literacy sowohl bewusste statistische Fälschungen als auch unbewusste Irrtümer aufdecken können. Denn beides hat denselben Effekt: Sie werden fehlinformiert, wo Sie sich informiert glauben. Begleiten Sie die Autoren auf einem Ausflug in die spannende Welt der Daten und trainieren Sie Ihre statistischen Kompetenzen im kritischen Umgang mit diesen: Hinterfragen Sie Statistiken, bewerten Sie deren Qualität, lernen Sie das korrekte Interpretieren und faktengerechte Argumentieren mit Daten. Die zu beschreitenden Pfade sind gut beschildert; die Autoren demonstrieren eindrücklich, dass sich eine Basismethodenkompetenz auch mit überschaubaren Mathematikkenntnissen erreichen lässt. Die abwechslungsreichen Themen und Darstellungen bieten auch Anregungen für weitere eigene Exkursionen.
Falling Liquid Films
by C. Ruyer-Quil M. G. Velarde B. Scheid S. KalliadasisFalling Liquid Films gives a detailed review of state-of-the-art theoretical, analytical and numerical methodologies, for the analysis of dissipative wave dynamics and pattern formation on the surface of a film falling down a planar inclined substrate. This prototype is an open-flow hydrodynamic instability, that represents an excellent paradigm for the study of complexity in active nonlinear media with energy supply, dissipation and dispersion. It will also be of use for a more general understanding of specific events characterizing the transition to spatio-temporal chaos and weak/dissipative turbulence. Particular emphasis is given to low-dimensional approximations for such flows through a hierarchy of modeling approaches, including equations of the boundary-layer type, averaged formulations based on weighted residuals approaches and long-wave expansions. Whenever possible the link between theory and experiment is illustrated, and, as a further bridge between the two, the development of order-of-magnitude estimates and scaling arguments is used to facilitate the understanding of basic, underlying physics. This monograph will appeal to advanced graduate students in applied mathematics, science or engineering undertaking research on interfacial fluid mechanics or studying fluid mechanics as part of their program. It will also be of use to researchers working on both applied, fundamental theoretical and experimental aspects of thin film flows, as well as engineers and technologists dealing with processes involving isothermal or heated films. This monograph is largely self-contained and no background on interfacial fluid mechanics is assumed.
Fallzahlberechnung in der medizinischen Forschung: Eine Einführung für Mediziner und Biostatistiker (essentials)
by Meinhard KieserMeinhard Kieser vermittelt anhand realer Beispiele die grundlegenden Prinzipien der Fallzahlberechnung und demonstriert deren Anwendung. F#65533;r die h#65533;ufigsten Anwendungssituationen werden die entsprechenden Fallzahlberechnungsformeln hergeleitet. Einsteiger haben somit die M#65533;glichkeit, die Grundlagen der Fallzahlplanung zu erlernen und einzu#65533;ben. Es werden au#65533;erdem die statistischen Hintergr#65533;nde der Formeln und allgemeinere Zusammenh#65533;nge erl#65533;utert und Hinweise gegeben, was bei jeder Fallzahlberechnung beachtet werden sollte. Damit geht das essential deutlich #65533;ber eine reine Formelsammlung hinaus und ist eine wertvolle Erg#65533;nzung f#65533;r Personen, die bereits in der medizinischen Forschung t#65533;tig sind und Erfahrung bei der Fallzahlberechnung gesammelt haben.
The False Discovery Rate: Its Meaning, Interpretation and Application in Data Science (Statistics in Practice)
by N. W. GalweyThe False Discovery Rate An essential tool for statisticians and data scientists seeking to interpret the vast troves of data that increasingly power our world First developed in the 1990s, the False Discovery Rate (FDR) is a way of describing the rate at which null hypothesis testing produces errors. It has since become an essential tool for interpreting large datasets. In recent years, as datasets have become ever larger, and as the importance of ‘big data’ to scientific research has grown, the significance of the FDR has grown correspondingly. The False Discovery Rate provides an analysis of the FDR’s value as a tool, including why it should generally be preferred to the Bonferroni correction and other methods by which multiplicity can be accounted for. It offers a systematic overview of the FDR, its core claims, and its applications. Readers of The False Discovery Rate will also find: Case studies throughout, rooted in real and simulated data sets Detailed discussion of topics including representation of the FDR on a Q–Q plot, consequences of non-monotonicity, and many more Wide-ranging analysis suited for a broad readership The False Discovery Rate is ideal for Statistics and Data Science courses, and short courses associated with conferences. It is also useful as supplementary reading in courses in other disciplines that require the statistical interpretation of ‘big data’. The book will also be of great value to statisticians and researchers looking to learn more about the FDR. STATISTICS IN PRACTICE A series of practical books outlining the use of statistical techniques in a wide range of applications areas: HUMAN AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES INDUSTRY, COMMERCE AND FINANCE
False Feedback in Economics: The Case for Replication (Routledge Studies in Economic Theory, Method and Philosophy)
by Andrin SpeschaThis book investigates why economics makes less visible progress over time than scientific fields with a strong practical component, where interactions with physical technologies play a key role. The thesis of the book is that the main impediment to progress in economics is "false feedback", which it defines as the false result of an empirical study, such as empirical evidence produced by a statistical model that violates some of its assumptions. In contrast to scientific fields that work with physical technologies, false feedback is hard to recognize in economics. Economists thus have difficulties knowing where they stand in their inquiries, and false feedback will regularly lead them in the wrong directions. The book searches for the reasons behind the emergence of false feedback. It thereby contributes to a wider discussion in the field of metascience about the practices of researchers when pursuing their daily business. The book thus offers a case study of metascience for the field of empirical economics. The main strength of the book are the numerous smaller insights it provides throughout. The book delves into deep discussions of various theoretical issues, which it illustrates by many applied examples and a wide array of references, especially to philosophy of science. The book puts flesh on complicated and often abstract subjects, particularly when it comes to controversial topics such as p-hacking. The reader gains an understanding of the main challenges present in empirical economic research and also the possible solutions. The main audience of the book are all applied researchers working with data and, in particular, those who have found certain aspects of their research practice problematic.
Familia: Migration and Adaptation in Baja and Alta California, 1880-1975
by Robert R. Alvarez Jr.Anthropologists, historians, and sociologists will find here a striking challenge to accepted explanations of the northward movement of migrants from Mexico into the United States. Alvarez investigates the life histories of pioneer migrants and their offspring, finding a human dimension to migration which centers on the family. Spanish, American, and English exploits paved the way for exchange between Baja and Alta California. Alvarez shows how cultural stability actually increased as migrants settled in new locations, bringing their common values and memories with them.
Families in Global Perspective
by Jaipaul L. RoopnarineHistorians and anthropologists teach that throughout recorded history and in all present-day societies, families have formed the basic cells of the social fabric of society. No other institution, it seems, is similarly adapted to fulfill the combined economic, emotional, and sexual needs of adults while simultaneously responding to the fundamental requirements of infants, children, and adolescents for sustenance, nurturance, and guidance. At the same time, a wealth of family forms that, additionally, are rapidly changing in the face of worldwide economic and technological transformations, has evolved within societies. It is the purpose of this book to document and explain family life in all its varieties from a global and dynamic point of view.