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Toward a More Natural Science: Biology and Human Affairs
by Leon R. KassKass shows how the promise and the peril of our time are inextricably linked with the promise and the peril of modern science.<P><P> The relation between the pursuit of knowledge and the conduct of life — between science and ethics, each broadly conceived — has in recent years been greatly complicated by developments in the science of life. This book examines the ethical questions involved in prenatal screening, in vitro fertilization, artificial life forms, and medical care, and discusses the role of human beings in nature.
Toward a Science Campus in Milan: A Snapshot Of Current Research At The Physics Department Aldo Pontremoli
by Pier Francesco Bortignon Giuseppe Lodato Emanuela Meroni Laura Perini Alessandro Vicini Matteo G.A. ParisThis book is a collection of multidisciplinary papers presented at the Department of Physics of Milan University's congress on 28 and 29 June 2017, which was also intended as a kick-off meeting for the design of a novel science campus at the Expo site in Milan. The congress presented a snapshot of the department's research to the academic community, the media, policymakers and authorities as well as the public at large, and also provided an opportunity to strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations between the members of the department and other communities. This book is a valuable resource for scientists looking for synergetic projects, policymakers wanting to grasp scientists' points of view and for prospective graduate students seeking expanding areas of research.
Toward a Theory of Neuroplasticity
by Christopher A. Shaw Jill C. McEachernThis book provides a broad survey of many of the major areas in neuroplasticity research by leading investigators in the field. The topics considered range across all levels of nervous system organization from the molecular to behavioral levels for species ranging from C. elegans to humans. In addition, the effects of development and neuropathological events are discussed. A final summary chapter synthesizes the data gathered in this volume in order to provide the basis for a general theory of neuroplasticity.
Toward a Unified Ecology (Complexity in Ecological Systems)
by Timothy Allen Thomas HoekstraThe first edition of Toward a Unified Ecology was ahead of its time. For the second edition, the authors present a new synthesis of their core ideas on evaluating communities, organisms, populations, biomes, models, and management. The book now places greater emphasis on post-normal critiques, cognizant of ever-present observer values in the system. The problem it addresses is how to work holistically on complex things that cannot be defined, and this book continues to build an approach to the problem of scaling in ecosystems. Provoked by complexity theory, the authors add a whole new chapter on the central role of narrative in science and how models improve them. The book takes data and modeling seriously, with a sophisticated philosophy of science.
Towards Autonomous Soft Matter Systems: Experiments on Membranes and Active Emulsions
by Shashi ThutupalliThis book focuses on the assembly, organization and resultant collective dynamics of soft matter systems maintained away from equilibrium by an energy flux. Living matter is the ultimate example of such systems, which are comprised of different constituents on very different scales (ions, nucleic acids, proteins, cells). The result of their diverse interactions, maintained using the energy from physiological processes, is a fantastically well-organized and dynamic whole. This work describes results from minimal, biomimetic systems and primarily investigates membranes and active emulsions, as well as key aspects of both soft matter and non-equilibrium phenomena. It is shown that these minimal reconstitutions are already capable of a range of complex behaviour such as nonlinear electric responses, chemical communication and locomotion. These studies will bring us closer to a fundamental understanding of complex systems by reconstituting key aspects of their form and function in simple model systems. Further, they may also serve as the first technological steps towards artificial soft functional matter.
Towards Critical Environmental Education: Current and Future Perspectives (Critical Studies of Education #14)
by Aristotelis S. Gkiolmas Constantine D. SkordoulisThis volume discusses theory, philosophy, praxis and methods in Environmental and Ecological education, and considers the junction with the main visions and issues of Critical Pedagogy. The volume and its separate chapters address four axes, which can also be seen as the guidelines of the content as well as the central objectives of the book.The first axis concerns the missing theoretical and practical pieces at this point in time. The volume considers the issues that are not included in contemporary Environmental Education, and thus, deprive it from critical orientations. This implies that in Environmental Education, very little discussion exists about the political, economic, racial, gender and class issues that in most cases govern the actions of leaders and stake-holders. The second axis concerns what has been done so far and in what directions. This involves descriptions of theoretical approaches or actual applied methodologies in the classroom, such as curricula or syllabus used or the kind of actions certain educators have taken to infuse the issues of justice and critical reflection within the Environmental Education teaching agenda. The third axis examines proposals. It looks at ways to enrich domains of Environmental Education with the argumentations of Critical Pedagogy. The fourth axis concerns the way in which proposals can be effectuated. This part contains specific methodologies and teaching sequences, depicting ways of including major aspects of Critical Pedagogy and Critical Education in Environmental Education. Examples are: Non-anthropocentric ecological approaches in the classroom, political activism in the Curricula, mixture of field activities and political activities.
Towards Digital Enlightenment: Essays on the Dark and Light Sides of the Digital Revolution
by Dirk HelbingThis new collection of essays follows in the footsteps of the successful volume Thinking Ahead - Essays on Big Data, Digital Revolution, and Participatory Market Society, published at a time when our societies were on a path to technological totalitarianism, as exemplified by mass surveillance reported by Edward Snowden and others. Meanwhile the threats have diversified and tech companies have gathered enough data to create detailed profiles about almost everyone living in the modern world - profiles that can predict our behavior better than our friends, families, or even partners. This is not only used to manipulate peoples’ opinions and voting behaviors, but more generally to influence consumer behavior at all levels. It is becoming increasingly clear that we are rapidly heading towards a cybernetic society, in which algorithms and social bots aim to control both the societal dynamics and individual behaviors. However there are also silver linings: most of the threats that have accumulated over the past years have been identified and regulations are on the way to being introduced. Furthermore, entirely novel approaches based on blockchain technology and other developments derived from complexity science offer the possibility of entirely redefining collective trust and building platforms to support our core societal values.
Towards Efficient Regulation of Air Pollution from Coal-Fired Power Plants
by Robert O. MendelsohnOriginally published in 1979, this book discusses the model developed to deal with air pollution from coal fired power plants, but it broadly also illustrates how available scientific information can be organized to improve our understanding of pollution control. This information enables economists to discuss the relevant consequences of specific air pollution abatement strategies. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of a computer based environmental model, the model is applied to a specific case study. The object of the case study is the control of air pollution from a coal-fired, electrical generating station in New Haven, USA. The research contained in this volume advances applied risk analysis by combining the insights of economics and environmental sciences.
Towards Estimating Entrainment Fraction for Dust Layers
by Erdem A. UralTowards Estimating Entrainment Fraction for Dust Layers closely examines the factors that can affect the assessment of a dust hazard, and outlines a new strawman method designed to help practitioners estimate the fraction of the dust accumulations that can become airborne. This book also aims to provide aid in the removal of aerodynamic disturbances of dust particles or agglomerates from layers or piles of cohesive and non-cohesive dusts. Towards Estimating Entrainment Fraction for Dust Layers is designed for practitioners as a reference guide for improving dust hazard assessment. Researchers working in a related field will also find the book valuable.
Towards Global Interpretation of LHC Data: SM and EFT Couplings from Jet and Top-Quark Measurements at CMS (Springer Theses)
by Toni MäkeläThis book presents the first global interpretation of measurements of jet and top quark production at the Large Hadron Collider, including a simultaneous extraction of the standard model parameters together with constraints on new physics, unbiased from the assumptions on the standard model parameters. As a long-standing problem, any hadron collider search for new physics depends on parton distribution functions, which cannot be predicted but are extracted experimentally. However, performing the extraction in the same kinematic region where physics beyond the standard model is expected to manifest causes the risk of absorbing the new physics effects into the parton distributions. In this book, the issue is addressed by extending the standard model by effective contributions from quark contact interactions describing new physics and extracting the parton distributions and standard model parameters simultaneously with setting limits on the contact interactions. In the process, the most precise single measurement of the strong coupling constant at the LHC is performed, to date. Furthermore, the book details the first investigation of the mass renormalization scale dependence of the top quark mass, highlighting the importance of a proper scale choice for obtaining robust predictions and improving the precision of experimental analyses. The initial chapters provide the reader with a succinct yet accessible introduction to the relevant theoretical and experimental topics. The presented investigations are at the edge of precision in the phenomenology of high-energy physics and serve to pave the road toward a global interpretation of LHC data.
Towards Green Campus Operations: Energy, Climate And Sustainable Development Initiatives At Universities (World Sustainability Series)
by Walter Leal Filho Fernanda Frankenberger Patricia Iglecias Roberta Consentino Kronka MülfarthMatters related to sustainable development, albeit global in nature, are best handled at the local level. This line of thinking is particularly true to the higher education context, where the design and implementation of sustainability initiatives on campuses can demonstrate how a given university translates the principles of sustainable development into practice, at the institutional level. Yet, there is a paucity of specific events where a dialogue among sustainability academics and practitioners concerned with a) research, projects b) teaching and c) planning and infra-structure leading to campus greening takes place, so as to allow a transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral exchange of ideas and experiences on the issues, matters and problems at hand. It is against this background that this book has been prepared. It is one of the outcomes of the “First Symposium on Sustainability in University Campuses” (SSUC-2017) organised by the University of São Paulo in Brazil, Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), the Research and Transfer Centre “Applications of Life Sciences” of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), and the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP). This book showcases examples of campus-based research and teaching projects, regenerative campus design, low-carbon and zero carbon buildings, waste prevention, and resilient transport, among others. It also demonstrates the role of campuses as platforms for transformative social learning and research, and explores the means via which university campuses can be made more sustainable. The aims of this publication are as follows: i. to provide universities with an opportunity to obtain information on campus greening and sustainable campus development initiatives from round the world; ii. to document and promote information, ideas and experiences acquired in the execution of research, teaching and projects on campus greening and design, especially successful initiatives and good practice; iii. to introduce methodological approaches and projects which aim to integrate the topic of sustainable development in campus design and operations. This book entails contributions from researchers and practitioners in the field of campus greening and sustainable development in the widest sense, from business and economics, to arts, administration and environment.
Towards Green ICT (River Publishers Series In Communications Ser.)
by Homayoun Nikookar Peter Koch Ramjee Prasad Peter Gorm Larsen Peter Jung Masanori Hariyama Petar Popovski Dina Šimunić Yariv Taran Hiroyuki Morikawa Peter Lindgren Leo P. Ligthart Knud Erik Skouby Shingo Ohmori Dina Šimunic L. E. Mägi M. G. Gustafsson A. Kramers Hideaki Imaizumi Takeshi Mizuike Keizo Sugiyama Kishore Ramareddy Parag Pruthi Iwona Windekilde Christoph Spiegel Sebastian Rickers Woojin Shim Rami Lee Jae Hwang Yu Rasmus Krigslund Iskra Dukovska-Popovska Gert F. Pedersen Boris Manev Rasmus Hjorth Nielsen Albena Mihovska Ole Brun Madsen Alberto Nannarelli Nobuo Nakajima L. Jorguseski R. Litjens J. Oostveen H. Zhang John Rohde Sune Wolff Thomas Skjødeberg Toftegaard Kenneth Lausdahl Augusto Ribeiro Poul Ejnar Rovsing Masahide Sasaki Atsushi Waseda Masahiro Takeoka Mikio Fujiwara Hidema Tanaka Masahiro Umehira Michitaka Kameyama Hideaki Furukawa Naoya Wada Xiaohua Lian Kristin Saughaug Subria ClemensenICT is playing an increasingly important role in both business and individual's private life. It has increased international interconnectedness and speed up the process of globalization. But on the other side the total energy consumption by the communication and networking devices and the relevant global CO emission is increasing exponentially. ICT has, in many ways, a vital role to play. It accounts for about two percent of global CO emissions. Telecommunications applications can have a direct, tangible impact on lowering greenhouse gas emissions, power consumption, and achieve efficient recycling of equipment waste.This book is the outcome of the special session on Green Communications at 'The 12th International Symposium on Wireless Personal Multimedia Communications' (WPMC) held in September '09 in Sendai, Japan. To the best of the editors' knowledge this is the first book on the Green Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and can be considered a milestone and a key-tool aimed at driving the industrial, scientific and academic efforts of the international community to guarantee a greener future to the whole planet.
Towards Green Lubrication in Machining
by Willey Liew Yun HsienThe book gives an overview of environmental friendly gaseous and vapour, refrigerated compressed gas, solid lubricant, mist lubrication, minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) and vegetable oils that can be used as lubricants and additives in industrial machining applications. This book introduces vegetable oils as viable and good alternative resources because of their environmental friendly, non-toxic and readily biodegradable nature. The effectiveness of various types of vegetables oils as lubricants and additives in reducing wear and friction is discussed in this book. Engineers and scientist working in the field of lubrication and machining will find this book useful.
Towards Healthy and Sustainable Diets: Perspectives And Policy To Promote The Health Of People And The Planet (Springerbriefs In Public Health)
by Sirpa SarlioThis clear-sighted volume synthesizes wide-ranging knowledge of human food consumption, food production systems, and sustainability to offer methods of improving the impact of food choices on people and the environment. The comprehensive coverage addresses myriad challenges and paradoxes (e.g., health-conscious food choices that put greater stress on the planet, hunger amidst plenty) associated with the production of sustainable, nutritious food. Direct and complex links between local and global issues are highlighted in innovative approaches to transforming food production from the farm to the table and from the policy desk to the real world. Chapters identify, examine, and offer realistic recommendations for achieving critical goals, among them: Supporting healthy people and communities within planetary boundaries Reduction and prevention of food waste Combining health and sustainability on the plate "Serving sustainable and healthy food to consumers and decision makers": from commitment to action. Investing in healthier and more sustainable production. Ensuring a healthy sustainable diet is a goal of all public policies. Towards Healthy and Sustainable Diets is geared toward professionals and policymakers dealing with food, nutrition, and environmental topics seeking new perspectives on longstanding issues in these interrelated areas. It also makes a suitable reference for students studying and conducting research in these areas.
Towards Holistic Medicine
by Bing YuanHolistic medicine is: • A clinical discipline that integrates both Eastern and Western medical methods and knowledge systems into one;• An evidence-based medicine that simultaneously embodies both a holistic approach and personalized principles;• The most straightforward form of medicine that adheres to scientific standards and effectively meets the needs of humanity.In recent years, the integrated research on living organisms initiated by systems biology, along with the efforts of precision medicine to tailor treatment plans based on the individual characteristics of each patient, have opened up the process of modern biology and medicine returning to the ideas of Chinese medical traditions. Under the larger perspective of the development and evolution of Eastern and Western medicine, biology, and even natural science for hundreds of years, this book follows the evolution of modern scientific methods and reveals the inevitable trend of future medicine—holistic medicine. Holistic medicine is a medical system that fully integrates Chinese and Western medical methods and knowledge systems and conforms to scientific norms. It is an evidence-based medicine that embodies the holistic concept and individualized principles. This book outlines the method and theoretical framework of holistic medicine, and provides the method of constructing the theoretical system and using it to achieve the best regulation of diseases. It can be expected that holistic medicine will become the mainstream medicine in the 21st century.
Towards Implementation of Sustainability Concepts in Developing Countries (Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation)
by Chaham Alalouch Cristina Piselli Francesco CappaThis book focuses on sustainability concepts in architecture and urban design, environmental issues, and natural resources. Today it has become essential to reduce carbon emissions, protect habitats, and preserve the delicate ecosystems of our planet. Accordingly, sustainable development has to be improved by decreasing the consumption of non-renewable resources, in order to help nature replenish itself.Further, it highlights the efforts that have been made by architects, environmentalists, engineers, students, planners and everyone in between in order to improve sustainability in various developing communities and countries.
Towards Infrared Finite S-matrix in Quantum Field Theory (Springer Theses)
by Hayato HiraiThis book presents the better understanding of infrared structures of particle scattering processes in quantum electrodynamics (QED) in four-dimensional spacetime. An S-matrix is the fundamental quantity in scattering theory. However, if a theory involves massless particles, such as QED and gravity, the conventional S-matrix has not been well defined due to the infrared divergence, and infrared dynamics thus needs to be understood in-depth to figure out the S-matrix. The book begins with introducing fundamental nature of the charge conservation law associated with asymptotic symmetry, and explaining its relations to soft theorems and memory effect. Subsequently it looks into an appropriate asymptotic state of the S-matrix without infrared divergences. The Faddeev-Kulish dressed state is known as a candidate of such a state, and its gauge invariant condition and its relation to the asymptotic symmetry are discussed. It offers an important building blocks for constructing the S-matrix without infrared divergences.
Towards Integrating Control and Information Theories
by Jie Chen Song Fang Hideaki IshiiThis book investigates the performance limitation issues in networked feedback systems. The fact that networked feedback systems consist of control and communication devices and systems calls for the integration of control theory and information theory. The primary contributions of this book lie in two aspects: the newly-proposed information-theoretic measures and the newly-discovered control performance limitations. We first propose a number of information notions to facilitate the analysis. Using those notions, classes of performance limitations of networked feedback systems, as well as state estimation systems, are then investigated. In general, the book presents a unique, cohesive treatment of performance limitation issues of networked feedback systems via an information-theoretic approach. This book is believed to be the first to treat the aforementioned subjects systematically and in a unified manner, offering a unique perspective differing from existing books.
Towards Interoperable Research Infrastructures for Environmental and Earth Sciences: A Reference Model Guided Approach for Common Challenges (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #12003)
by Zhiming Zhao Margareta HellströmThis open access book summarises the latest developments on data management in the EU H2020 ENVRIplus project, which brought together more than 20 environmental and Earth science research infrastructures into a single community. It provides readers with a systematic overview of the common challenges faced by research infrastructures and how a ‘reference model guided’ engineering approach can be used to achieve greater interoperability among such infrastructures in the environmental and earth sciences. The 20 contributions in this book are structured in 5 parts on the design, development, deployment, operation and use of research infrastructures. Part one provides an overview of the state of the art of research infrastructure and relevant e-Infrastructure technologies, part two discusses the reference model guided engineering approach, the third part presents the software and tools developed for common data management challenges, the fourth part demonstrates the software via several use cases, and the last part discusses the sustainability and future directions.
Towards Low and Positive Energy Buildings: Thermal Comfort, Climate Change, and Energy Efficiency Approaches (Green Energy and Technology)
by Marta Torres González Carlos Rubio BellidoThis book evaluates the impact of climate conditions on adaptive strategies, diagnoses prosumers' energy patterns in Positive Energy Buildings, and assesses the social and global dimensions of energy poverty. Addressing the pressing challenges of energy efficiency and climate change adaptation, the book investigates the intricate realm of low and positive energy buildings, demonstrating innovative approaches essential for an environmentally inclusive society. With a focus on thermal comfort, climate change effects, and energy efficiency, the chapters present a diverse array of studies from tropical and Mediterranean climates to worldwide practical cases. By merging dynamic and adaptive energy measures, this book pioneers an holistic approach, crucial for policymakers, stakeholders, academics, and researchers in propelling the transition toward sustainable energy solutions.
Towards Mesoscience
by Jinghai Li Wenlai HuangThis brief is devoted to providing a complete outline of meso-science by briefing the relevant contents from the published book and by updating evidences and concepts of meso-science. The importance of meso-science in solving various problems in energy, resource, and the environment is introduced. The whole evolutionary development of the EMMS principle is reviewed to show how a simple idea on the customized modeling of particle clustering in gas-solid systems was developed, verified, extended, and finally generalized into the common principle of compromise in competition between dominant mechanisms for all mesoscale phenomena in science and engineering, leading to the proposition of meso-science. More importantly, updates on the concept of meso-science and perspectives are presented, along with new insights and findings from after the publication of the original book. In this way, we hope to help readers more easily familiarize themselves with meso-science, and to trigger interest and attention to this interdisciplinary field. Application areas include: multiphase flow and fluid dynamics chemical, biochemical and process engineering mineral processing and metallurgical engineering energy and resources material science and engineering Jinghai Li is vice president of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), professor at Institute of Process Engineering of CAS. Wenlai Huang is associate professor at Institute of Process Engineering of CAS. This book has been translated into Chinese and published by Science Press, please visit here for the Chinese version: http://www. sciencep. com/s_single. php'id=35751
Towards Net-Zero Targets: Usage of Data Science for Long-Term Sustainability Pathways (Advances in Sustainability Science and Technology)
by Neha Sharma Prithwis Kumar DeThis book discusses the use of technology, data science and open data to achieve the net-zero carbon emissions target set up by the Paris Agreement on climate change. There have been many discussions around sustainability and climate change solutions to mitigate the negative impact. However, using technology levers to tackle climate challenges is rarely seen as the most significant catalyst. The available research in this field is generally qualitative in nature, where technology and data have not yet been leveraged. By using AI/ML, the book predicts the climate change consequences arising due to investment in fossil fuel sectors, estimates CO2 emissions from the transport sector, forecasts average land temperature due to non-renewable sources of energy, and segments Indian states on the basis of household carbon emissions. The researchers, policymakers, students, teachers, educational institutions, governments, regulators, companies, international organizations, etc., will benefit immensely by referring to this book. Moreover, the endeavour of this book is to provide a decarbonized environment and a better tomorrow to the next generation.
Towards Next Generation Energy Storage Technologies: From Fundamentals to Commercial Applications
by Minghua ChenDevelop the clean technologies of the future with these novel energy storage technologies Energy storage is a crucial component of the broader battle to develop clean energy sources and transform the power grid in light of advancing climate change. Numerous new energy storage technologies based on electrochemical redox reactions have recently been developed or proposed, promising to reduce costs and enable energy-dense devices and applications of many kinds. This urgent work demands to be incorporated into chemistry, materials science, and industry at every level. Towards Next Generation Energy Storage Technologies offers a comprehensive overview of these novel technologies and their applications. Beginning with an introduction to the fundamentals of electrochemistry and energy storage, it offers current and future research questions, design strategies, and much more. It is a must-own for scientists and engineers looking to develop the energy grid of the future. Towards Next Generation Energy Storage Technologies readers will also find: Summaries of state-of-the-art research and open challengesDetailed discussion of technologies including lithium-ion batteries, all-solid-state batteries, aqueous multi-valence energy storage systems, and moreDiscussion of applications including electric vehicles, aerospace devices, and many others Towards Next Generation Energy Storage Technologies is ideal for materials scientists, inorganic chemists, electrochemists, electronics engineers, and anyone working on the clean energy grid or electrical devices.
Towards Practical Brain-Computer Interfaces
by Anton Nijholt Brendan Z. Allison Robert Leeb Stephen Dunne José Del R. MillánBrain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are devices that enable people to communicate via thought alone. Brain signals can be directly translated into messages or commands. Until recently, these devices were used primarily to help people who could not move. However, BCIs are now becoming practical tools for a wide variety of people, in many different situations. What will BCIs in the future be like? Who will use them, and why? This book, written by many of the top BCI researchers and developers, reviews the latest progress in the different components of BCIs. Chapters also discuss practical issues in an emerging BCI enabled community. The book is intended both for professionals and for interested laypeople who are not experts in BCI research.
Towards Process Safety 4.0 in the Factory of the Future
by André LaurentThe rapid development of new technologies in the industry of the future implies a major evolution in the industrial safety measures needed to be met, such as societal requirements. Towards Process Safety 4.0 in the Factory of the Future presents the concept of Safety 4.0 from the point of view of process safety, occupational safety and health, as well as systems’ cyber security. Numerous examples illustrate the different approaches of the identified methods and techniques of Safety 4.0. Their concepts, paradigms, structural bases, couplings, complexities and flaws are systematically analyzed. This comprehensive approach to Safety 4.0 is aimed at the wide variety of actors working in the industry of the future.