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Sociocultural Perspectives on Youth Ethical Consumerism (Cultural Studies of Science Education #16)

by Giuliano Reis Michael Mueller Rachel Gisewhite Luiz Siveres Renato Brito

This exciting new book advances current practice-based and theoretical knowledge around how youth defines and engages with consumerism to provoke a larger conversation within science and environmental education. It is also geared towards unveiling those literacy praxes that can assist youth to adopt more ethically-oriented consumerist habits. More specifically, this book studies how youth’s participation in the global consumer market intersects with media technologies, new literacies, as well as science and the environment from sociocultural perspectives. In addition, it considers how school science has mediated youth participation in hyper-consumerism, from food and technology to shelter and transportation. This important and timely book is a must-read for those interested in topics such as critical youth studies, critical media literacy, STEM, arts-based research, STSE education, citizenship education, cultural studies, policy studies, curriculum studies, socio-scientific issues, technology, sustainability, food studies, social justice, poverty, and consumer behaviour.A wide range of science, technology and environmental educators from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Netherlands and the United States have combined their perspectives to produce this exciting, innovative, timely and important book. It should be essential reading for all teachers, teacher educators and curriculum developers keen to address key issues raised by a commitment to assist students in refining their understanding of what constitutes socially, culturally, ethically and politically responsible consumer practices and supporting them in formulating and engaging in effective individual and collective action.Derek Hodson, Emeritus Professor of Science Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, Professor of Science Education at The University of Auckland (New Zealand), and Founding Editor of the Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education (CJSMTE).The authors in the book deconstruct and analyse intricate economic, sociopolitical and affective networks that are behind the cycles of production, distribution and consumption of objects that are present in youngsters' daily lives and their attitudes towards them. Apart from breaking new ground by proposing and discussing socioculturally informed research about the topic, the book connects with pedagogical approaches that value critical perspectives on the nature of the relationship between science, technology, society and environment. It is a must-read for both researchers and practitioners interested in issues related to sustainability and citizenship education. Isabel Martins, Professor of Science Education, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

Concept Invention: Foundations, Implementation, Social Aspects and Applications (Computational Synthesis and Creative Systems)

by Roberto Confalonieri Alison Pease Marco Schorlemmer Tarek R. Besold Oliver Kutz Ewen Maclean Maximos Kaliakatsos-Papakostas

This book introduces a computationally feasible, cognitively inspired formal model of concept invention, drawing on Fauconnier and Turner's theory of conceptual blending, a fundamental cognitive operation. The chapters present the mathematical and computational foundations of concept invention, discuss cognitive and social aspects, and further describe concrete implementations and applications in the fields of musical and mathematical creativity. Featuring contributions from leading researchers in formal systems, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, computational creativity, mathematical reasoning and cognitive musicology, the book will appeal to readers interested in how conceptual blending can be precisely characterized and implemented for the development of creative computational systems.

Four Pillars of Radio Astronomy: Mills, Christiansen, Wild, Bracewell (Astronomers' Universe)

by R. H. Frater W. M. Goss H. W. Wendt

This is the story of Bernie Mills, Chris Christiansen, Paul Wild and Ron Bracewell, members of a team of radio astronomers that would lead Australia, and the world, into this new field of research. Each of the four is remembered for his remarkable work: Mills for the development the cross type instrument that now bears his name; Christiansen for the application of rotational synthesis techniques; Wild for the masterful joining of observations and theory to elicit the nature of the solar atmosphere; Bracewell for his contribution to imaging theory. As well, these Four Pillars are remembered for creating a remarkable environment for scientific discovery and for influencing the careers of future generations. Their pursuit of basic science helped pave the way for technological developments in areas ranging from Wi-Fi to sonar to medical imaging to air navigation, and for underpinning the foundations of modern cosmology and astrophysics.

Algorithmic Intelligence: Towards an Algorithmic Foundation for Artificial Intelligence

by Stefan Edelkamp

In this book the author argues that the basis of what we consider computer intelligence has algorithmic roots, and he presents this with a holistic view, showing examples and explaining approaches that encompass theoretical computer science and machine learning via engineered algorithmic solutions.Part I of the book introduces the basics. The author starts with a hands-on programming primer for solving combinatorial problems, with an emphasis on recursive solutions. The other chapters in the first part of the book explain shortest paths, sorting, deep learning, and Monte Carlo search. A key function of computational tools is processing Big Data efficiently, and the chapters in Part II of the book examine traditional graph problems such as finding cliques, colorings, independent sets, vertex covers, and hitting sets, and the subsequent chapters cover multimedia, network, image, and navigation data. The highly topical research areas detailed in Part III are machine learning, problem solving, action planning, general game playing, multiagent systems, and recommendation and configuration. Finally, in Part IV the author uses application areas such as model checking, computational biology, logistics, additive manufacturing, robot motion planning, and industrial production to explain how the techniques described may be exploited in modern settings.The book is supported with a comprehensive index and references, and it will be of value to researchers, practitioners, and students in the areas of artificial intelligence and computational intelligence.

Quantum Theory from a Nonlinear Perspective: Riccati Equations in Fundamental Physics (Fundamental Theories of Physics #191)

by Dieter Schuch

This book provides a unique survey displaying the power of Riccati equations to describe reversible and irreversible processes in physics and, in particular, quantum physics. Quantum mechanics is supposedly linear, invariant under time-reversal, conserving energy and, in contrast to classical theories, essentially based on the use of complex quantities. However, on a macroscopic level, processes apparently obey nonlinear irreversible evolution equations and dissipate energy. The Riccati equation, a nonlinear equation that can be linearized, has the potential to link these two worlds when applied to complex quantities. The nonlinearity can provide information about the phase-amplitude correlations of the complex quantities that cannot be obtained from the linearized form. As revealed in this wide ranging treatment, Riccati equations can also be found in many diverse fields of physics from Bose-Einstein-condensates to cosmology. The book will appeal to graduate students and theoretical physicists interested in a consistent mathematical description of physical laws.

Elements of Neurogeometry: Functional Architectures of Vision (Lecture Notes in Morphogenesis)

by Jean Petitot

This book describes several mathematical models of the primary visual cortex, referring them to a vast ensemble of experimental data and putting forward an original geometrical model for its functional architecture, that is, the highly specific organization of its neural connections. The book spells out the geometrical algorithms implemented by this functional architecture, or put another way, the “neurogeometry” immanent in visual perception. Focusing on the neural origins of our spatial representations, it demonstrates three things: firstly, the way the visual neurons filter the optical signal is closely related to a wavelet analysis; secondly, the contact structure of the 1-jets of the curves in the plane (the retinal plane here) is implemented by the cortical functional architecture; and lastly, the visual algorithms for integrating contours from what may be rather incomplete sensory data can be modelled by the sub-Riemannian geometry associated with this contact structure. As such, it provides readers with the first systematic interpretation of a number of important neurophysiological observations in a well-defined mathematical framework. The book’s neuromathematical exploration appeals to graduate students and researchers in integrative-functional-cognitive neuroscience with a good mathematical background, as well as those in applied mathematics with an interest in neurophysiology.

Coupling and Decoupling of Diverse Molecular Units in Glycosciences

by Zbigniew J. Witczak Roman Bielski

This unique book covers the latest developments in coupling and decoupling of biomolecules containing functionalized carbohydrate components, being one of the first collections in this important area of applied medicinal chemistry.Connecting molecules, often referred as bio-conjugation, has become one of the most often performed procedures in modern medicinal chemistry. Sometimes, when the connected molecules are not useful anymore, they must be disconnected. The molecules that must be connected (coupled) may belong to both small and large molecules and include such constructs as glycoproteins, glycopeptides and glycans. In this work, more than 15 experts address a comprehensive range of potential and current uses of in vitro and in vivo bio-conjugation methodologies, leading to a variety of glycoconjugates. The analytical aspects of bio-conjugation are also here discussed. Medicinal and organic chemists from graduate level onwards will understand the appeal of this important book.

Communicative Figurations: Transforming Communications in Times of Deep Mediatization

by Andreas Hepp Andreas Breiter Uwe Hasebrink

This open access volume assesses the influence of our changing media environment. Today, there is not one single medium that is the driving force of change. With the spread of various technical communication media such as mobile phones and internet platforms, we are confronted with a media manifold of deep mediatization. But how can we investigate its transformative capability? This book answers this question by taking a non-media-centric perspective, researching the various figurations of collectivities and organizations humans are involved in. The first part of the book outlines a fundamental understanding of the changing media environment of deep mediatization and its transformative capacity. The second part focuses on collectivities and movements: communities in the city, critical social movements, maker, online gaming groups and networked groups of young people. The third part moves institutions and organizations into the foreground, discussing the transformation of journalism, religion, politics, and education, whilst the fourth and final part is dedicated to methodologies and perspectives.

Communicative Figurations: Transforming Communications in Times of Deep Mediatization

by Andreas Hepp Andreas Breiter Uwe Hasebrink

This open access volume assesses the influence of our changing media environment. Today, there is not one single medium that is the driving force of change. With the spread of various technical communication media such as mobile phones and internet platforms, we are confronted with a media manifold of deep mediatization. But how can we investigate its transformative capability? This book answers this question by taking a non-media-centric perspective, researching the various figurations of collectivities and organizations humans are involved in. The first part of the book outlines a fundamental understanding of the changing media environment of deep mediatization and its transformative capacity. The second part focuses on collectivities and movements: communities in the city, critical social movements, maker, online gaming groups and networked groups of young people. The third part moves institutions and organizations into the foreground, discussing the transformation of journalism, religion, politics, and education, whilst the fourth and final part is dedicated to methodologies and perspectives.

Quality of Life in Urban Landscapes: In Search of a Decision Support System (The Urban Book Series)

by Roberta Cocci Grifoni Rosalba D'Onofrio Massimo Sargolini

This volume introduces an innovative tool for the development of sustainable cities and the promotion of the quality of life of city inhabitants. It presents a decision-support system to orient public administrations in identifying development scenarios for sustainable urban and territorial transformations. The authors have split the volume into five parts, which respectively describe the theoretical basis of the book, the policies in question and indicators that influence them, the decision-support system that connects indicators to policies, the case study of Ancona, Italy, and potential future directions for this work. This volume is based on transdisciplinary research completed in May 2016 that involved about 40 researchers at The University of Camerino, Italy and other European universities. With purchase of this book, readers will also have access to Electronic Supplementary Material that contains a database with groups of indicators of assessment of urban quality of life and a toolkit containing the data processing system and management information system used in the book’s case study.

Scaling OpenMP for Exascale Performance and Portability: 13th International Workshop on OpenMP, IWOMP 2017, Stony Brook, NY, USA, September 20–22, 2017, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #10468)

by Bronis R. de Supinski Stephen L. Olivier Christian Terboven Barbara M. Chapman Matthias S. Müller

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 13th International Workshop on OpenMP, IWOMP 2017, held in Stony Brook, NY, USA, in September 2017. The 23 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 28 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: Advanced Implementations and Extensions; OpenMP Application Studies; Analyzing and Extending Tasking; OpenMP 4 Application Evaluation; Extended Parallelism Models: Performance Analysis and Tools; and Advanced Data Management with OpenMP.

Researching Emotions in International Relations: Methodological Perspectives on the Emotional Turn

by Maéva Clément Eric Sangar

This edited volume is the first to discuss the methodological implications of the ‘emotional turn’ in International Relations. While emotions have become of increasing interest to IR theory, methodological challenges have yet to receive proper attention. Acknowledging the pluralityof ontological positions, concepts and theories about the role of emotions in world politics, this volume presents and discusses various ways to research emotions empirically. Based on concrete research projects, the chapters demonstrate how social-scientific and humanitiesoriented methodological approaches can be successfully adapted to the study of emotions in IR. The volume covers a diverse set of both well-established and innovative methods, including discourse analysis, ethnography, narrative, and visual analysis. Through a hands-on approach, each chapter sheds light on practical challenges and opportunities, as well as lessons learnt for future research. The volume is an invaluable resource for advanced graduate and postgraduate students as well as scholars interested in developing their own empirical research on the role of emotions.

Researching Emotions in International Relations: Methodological Perspectives on the Emotional Turn

by Maéva Clément Eric Sangar

This edited volume is the first to discuss the methodological implications of the ‘emotional turn’ in International Relations. While emotions have become of increasing interest to IR theory, methodological challenges have yet to receive proper attention. Acknowledging the pluralityof ontological positions, concepts and theories about the role of emotions in world politics, this volume presents and discusses various ways to research emotions empirically. Based on concrete research projects, the chapters demonstrate how social-scientific and humanitiesoriented methodological approaches can be successfully adapted to the study of emotions in IR. The volume covers a diverse set of both well-established and innovative methods, including discourse analysis, ethnography, narrative, and visual analysis. Through a hands-on approach, each chapter sheds light on practical challenges and opportunities, as well as lessons learnt for future research. The volume is an invaluable resource for advanced graduate and postgraduate students as well as scholars interested in developing their own empirical research on the role of emotions.

Introduction to Turkish Labour Law

by Tankut Centel

This book provides essential information on the legal rights of employers and employees in Turkey, plus up-to-date sections on wages, working hours, employment contracts, discrimination laws, and unions. The work mainly consists of three parts: introduction, individual labour law, and collective labour law in Turkey. The extensive material and numerous court decisions presented in each chapter will introduce readers to the major current debates in labour law and encourage them to engage in critical and independent assessment. As such, the book offers an engaging and accessible overview of the development and status quo of labour law and industrial relations issues in Turkey.

Franchised States and the Bureaucracy of Peace (Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies)

by Niels Nagelhus Schia

This book examines a new type of state formation evoked by the rise of transnational rule, what Schia calls franchised states. Drawing on anthropological studying-through fieldwork within the UN organization, he demonstrates how peacebuilding activities turned Liberia into an object of governing, whereby the UN, in seeking to build the state, also became the state. The sovereign state of Liberia here emerges as a franchise rather than a self-contained entity. Two implications follow: First, that international peacebuilding turns post-conflict countries into clients of the international community. Second, that “sovereignty” is no longer exclusively associated with the state: it is organized in and through specific practices of governing where a state actor is only one among a range of actors. With these findings, the book moves beyond previous work on peacebuilding by focusing on the unbundling of sovereignty. It contributes to the literature on the changing forms of sovereignty by showing the specific ways in which sovereignty is organized, packaged and enacted, often by actors working under international auspices. This book will be of interest to practitioners and students interested in international organizations, international relations, the study of international practices, UN, and peacebuilding.

Franchised States and the Bureaucracy of Peace (Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies)

by Niels Nagelhus Schia

This book examines a new type of state formation evoked by the rise of transnational rule, what Schia calls franchised states. Drawing on anthropological studying-through fieldwork within the UN organization, he demonstrates how peacebuilding activities turned Liberia into an object of governing, whereby the UN, in seeking to build the state, also became the state. The sovereign state of Liberia here emerges as a franchise rather than a self-contained entity. Two implications follow: First, that international peacebuilding turns post-conflict countries into clients of the international community. Second, that “sovereignty” is no longer exclusively associated with the state: it is organized in and through specific practices of governing where a state actor is only one among a range of actors. With these findings, the book moves beyond previous work on peacebuilding by focusing on the unbundling of sovereignty. It contributes to the literature on the changing forms of sovereignty by showing the specific ways in which sovereignty is organized, packaged and enacted, often by actors working under international auspices. This book will be of interest to practitioners and students interested in international organizations, international relations, the study of international practices, UN, and peacebuilding.

Expressions of Radicalization: Global Politics, Processes and Practices

by Kristian Steiner Andreas Önnerfors

This edited collection considers whether it is possible to discern how the level of ideology is affected by radicalization. In other words: what happens in the minds of people before they decide to use political violence as means to attain their goals? Also this book asks: what has to happen in the minds of people in order to preclude them from using political violence as a way of attaining their goals? This volume unites scholars from several disciplines and perspectives from a number of different geographical, social and cultural contexts with the overarching aim to refine our understanding of what ‘radicalization’ actually implies.

Expressions of Radicalization: Global Politics, Processes and Practices

by Kristian Steiner Andreas Önnerfors

This edited collection considers whether it is possible to discern how the level of ideology is affected by radicalization. In other words: what happens in the minds of people before they decide to use political violence as means to attain their goals? Also this book asks: what has to happen in the minds of people in order to preclude them from using political violence as a way of attaining their goals? This volume unites scholars from several disciplines and perspectives from a number of different geographical, social and cultural contexts with the overarching aim to refine our understanding of what ‘radicalization’ actually implies.

Ethnographic Peace Research: Approaches and Tensions

by Gearoid Millar

This volume calls for an empirical extension of the “local turn” within peace research. Building on insights from conflict transformation, gender studies, critical International Relations and Anthropology, the contributions critique existing peace research methods as affirming unequal power, marginalizing local communities, and stripping the peace kept of substantive agency and voice. By incorporating scholars from these various fields the volume pushes for more locally grounded, ethnographic and potentially participatory approaches. While recognizing that any Ethnographic Peace Research (EPR) agenda must incorporate a variety of methodologies, the volume nonetheless paves a clear path for the much needed empirical turn within the local turn literature.

Ethnographic Peace Research: Approaches and Tensions

by Gearoid Millar

This volume calls for an empirical extension of the “local turn” within peace research. Building on insights from conflict transformation, gender studies, critical International Relations and Anthropology, the contributions critique existing peace research methods as affirming unequal power, marginalizing local communities, and stripping the peace kept of substantive agency and voice. By incorporating scholars from these various fields the volume pushes for more locally grounded, ethnographic and potentially participatory approaches. While recognizing that any Ethnographic Peace Research (EPR) agenda must incorporate a variety of methodologies, the volume nonetheless paves a clear path for the much needed empirical turn within the local turn literature.

Networks, Movements and Technopolitics in Latin America: Critical Analysis and Current Challenges (PDF)

by Francisco Sierra Caballero Tommaso Gravante

This edited collection presents original and compelling research about contemporary experiences of Latin American movements and politics in several countries. The book proposes a theoretical framework that conceptualises different mediation processes that emerge between cyberdemocracy and the emancipation practices of new social movements. Additionally, this volume presents some Latin American practices and experiences that are autonomously and by using self-management–creating other identities and social spaces on the margins of and against the neoliberal system through the use of digital technology. This book will be of great interest to scholars of media and social movements studies as well as of contemporary politics.

Networks, Movements and Technopolitics in Latin America

by Francisco Sierra Caballero Tommaso Gravante

This edited collection presents original and compelling research about contemporary experiences of Latin American movements and politics in several countries. The book proposes a theoretical framework that conceptualises different mediation processes that emerge between cyberdemocracy and the emancipation practices of new social movements. Additionally, this volume presents some Latin American practices and experiences that are - autonomously and by using self-management - creating other identities and social spaces on the margins of and against the neoliberal system through the use of digital technology. This book will be of great interest to scholars of media and social movements studies as well as of contemporary politics.

Probabilistic Cellular Automata: Theory, Applications and Future Perspectives (Emergence, Complexity and Computation #27)

by Pierre-Yves Louis Francesca R. Nardi

This book explores Probabilistic Cellular Automata (PCA) from the perspectives of statistical mechanics, probability theory, computational biology and computer science. PCA are extensions of the well-known Cellular Automata models of complex systems, characterized by random updating rules. Thanks to their probabilistic component, PCA offer flexible computing tools for complex numerical constructions, and realistic simulation tools for phenomena driven by interactions among a large number of neighboring structures. PCA are currently being used in various fields, ranging from pure probability to the social sciences and including a wealth of scientific and technological applications. This situation has produced a highly diversified pool of theoreticians, developers and practitioners whose interaction is highly desirable but can be hampered by differences in jargon and focus. This book – just as the workshop on which it is based – is an attempt to overcome these difference and foster interest among newcomers and interaction between practitioners from different fields. It is not intended as a treatise, but rather as a gentle introduction to the role and relevance of PCA technology, illustrated with a number of applications in probability, statistical mechanics, computer science, the natural sciences and dynamical systems. As such, it will be of interest to students and non-specialists looking to enter the field and to explore its challenges and open issues.

Tales of Research Misconduct: A Lacanian Diagnostics of Integrity Challenges in Science Novels (Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy #36)

by Hub Zwart

This monograph contributes to the scientific misconduct debate from an oblique perspective, by analysing seven novels devoted to this issue, namely: Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (1925), The affair by C.P. Snow (1960), Cantor’s Dilemma by Carl Djerassi (1989), Perlmann’s Silence by Pascal Mercier (1995), Intuition by Allegra Goodman (2006), Solar by Ian McEwan (2010) and Derailment by Diederik Stapel (2012). Scientific misconduct, i.e. fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, but also other questionable research practices, have become a focus of concern for academic communities worldwide, but also for managers, funders and publishers of research. The aforementioned novels offer intriguing windows into integrity challenges emerging in contemporary research practices. They are analysed from a continental philosophical perspective, providing a stage where various voices, positions and modes of discourse are mutually exposed to one another, so that they critically address and question one another. They force us to start from the admission that we do not really know what misconduct is. Subsequently, by providing case histories of misconduct, they address integrity challenges not only in terms of individual deviance but also in terms of systemic crisis, due to current transformations in the ways in which knowledge is produced. Rather than functioning as moral vignettes, the author argues that misconduct novels challenge us to reconsider some of the basic conceptual building blocks of integrity discourse.Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Creativity in Intelligent Technologies and Data Science: Second Conference, CIT&DS 2017, Volgograd, Russia, September 12-14, 2017, Proceedings (Communications in Computer and Information Science #754)

by Alla Kravets Maxim Shcherbakov Marina Kultsova Peter Groumpos

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second Conference on Creativity in Intelligent Technologies and Data Science, CIT&DS 2017, held in Volgograd, Russia, in September 2017. The 58 revised full papers and two keynote papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 194 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on Knowledge Discovery in Patent and Open Sources for Creative Tasks; Open Science Semantic Technologies; Computer Vision and Knowledge-Based Control; Pro-Active Modeling in Intelligent Decision Making Support; Data Science in Energy Management and Urban Computing; Design Creativity in CASE/CAI/CAD/PDM; Intelligent Internet of Services and Internet of Things; Data Science in Social Networks Analysis; Creativity and Game-Based Learning; Intelligent Assistive Technologies: Software Design and Application.

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