Giants of Eclipse: The Aurigae Stars and Other Binary Systems

Giants of Eclipse: The Aurigae Stars and Other Binary Systems

The zeta Aurigae stars are the rare but illustrious sub-group of binary stars that undergo the dramatic phenomenon of ‘chromospheric eclipse’. This book provides detailed descriptions of the ten known systemsillustrates them richly with examples of new spectraand places them in the context of stellar structure and evolution.Comprised of a large cool giant plus a small hot dwarfthese key eclipsing binaries reveal fascinating changes in their spectra very close to total eclipsewhen the hot star shines through differing heights of the ‘chromosphere’or outer atmosphereof the giant star. The phenomenon provides astrophysics with the means of analyzing the outer atmosphere of a giant star and how that material is shed into space. The physics of these critical events can be explained qualitativelybut it is more challenging to extract hard facts from the observationsand tough to model the chromosphere in any detail.The book offers current thinking on mechanisms for heating a star’s chromosphere and on how a star loses massand relates this science synergistically to studies of other stars and binariesand to the increasing relevance of contributions from new techniques in interferometry and asteroseismology. It also includes a detailed discussion of the enigmatic star epsilon Aurigaewhich had recently undergone one of its very infrequent and very baffling eclipses. Though not a zeta Aurigae systemepsilon Aurigae is a true ‘Giant’ among eclipsing stars.The 7 chapters of this bookwritten by a group of expertshave been carefully edited to form a coherent volume that offers a thorough overview of the subject to both professional and student.

For many years Dr Griffin pursued research into stellar spectraprincipally of composite-spectrum binariesat Cambridge (UK)supporting it with observations acquired at major telescopes overseas. She now continues those interests in Canadaat the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory near Victoriaand makes her observations there. The prime research objectives are to determine the masses and other fundamental parameters of both component starsand to examine their evolutionary status. She also champions initiatives to recover the information in pre-digital (photographic) observations through programmes of appropriate digitization.Dr. Ake is a Program Director at Computer Sciences Corporation supporting the Hubble Space Telescopethe James Webb Space Telescopethe Milkulski Archive for Space Telescopesand the Kepler Data Management Center projects at Space Telescope Science Institute. His research interests center on evolved stars and binary systemsparticularly UV and FUV spectroscopic investigations from space of red giants and supergiants with hot secondary companions. He is currently studying the evolutionary status of cool stars with main sequence B- and A-type secondaries to refine the fundamental stellar parameters of the evolved components.,

Giants of Eclipse: The Aurigae Stars and Other Binary Systems

Mathematics and Art

Mathematics and Art

Recent progress in research, teaching and communication has arisen from the use of new tools in visualization. To be fruitful, visualization needs precision and beauty. This book is a source of mathematical illustrations by mathematicians as well as artists. It offers examples in many basic mathematical fields including polyhedra theory, group theory, solving polynomial equations, dynamical systems and differential topology. For a long time, arts, architecture, music and painting have been the source of new developments in mathematics. And vice versa, artists have often found new techniques, themes and inspiration within mathematics. Here, while mathematicians provide mathematical tools for the analysis of musical creations, the contributions from sculptors emphasize the role of mathematics in their work. This book emphasizes and renews the deep relation between Mathematics and Art. The Forum Discussion suggests to develop a deeper interpenetration between these two cultural fields, notably in the teaching of both Mathematics and Art.

Mathematics and Art

The Edge of Reason?

The Edge of Reason?

inspire spiritual wonder? Confrontation between science and religion has defined much public debate about religion in recent years, most lately in bestsellers portraying a clash between scientists and religious believers, such as Richard Dawkins’ ‘The God Delusion ‘and Sam Harris’s ‘The End of Faith ‘or ‘Letter to a Christian Nation.’ But what does this ‘us versus them’ divide mean for society? This collection of essays gives voice to social scientists, natural scientists and theologians whose experience holds direct relevance on these major issues, and clarifies the position of science in the modern debate. Includes contributions by Mary Midgley (University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK), Denis Alexander (Cambridge University, UK), Richard Roberts (Lancaster University, UK), Bob Layton (Durham University, UK), Simon Coleman (Sussex University, UK), Michael Shermer (Executive Director of the Sceptics Society and monthly columnist for ‘Scientific American’), Lewis Wolpert (University College London, UK), Andrew Newberg (University of Pennsylvania), Timothy Taylor (University of Bradford, UK), Steven Mithen (University of Reading, UK), David Sloan Wilson (Binghamton University), Herbert Maschner (Idaho State University), Ian Reader (University of Manchester, UK), Hiroko Kawanami (Lancaster University, UK), Andrian Kreye (Suddeutsche Zeitung), John Hedley Brooke (Oxford University, UK), Gordy Slack (Author of ‘The Battle Over The Meaning Of Everything’), Seth Shostak (Seti Institute), William Calvin (University Of Washington), and David Wilkinson (Durham University, UK).

The Edge of Reason?

The Cloning Sourcebook

The Cloning Sourcebook

Animal cloning has developed quickly since the birth of Dolly the sheep. Yet many of the first questions to be raised still need to be answered. What do Dolly and her fellow mouse, cow, pig, goat and monkey clones mean for science? And for society? Why do so many people respond so fearfully to cloning? What are the ethical issues raised by cloning animals, and in the future, humans? How are the makers of public policy coping with the stunning fact that an entire animal can be reconstructed from a single adult cell? And that humans might well be next? The Cloning Source Book addresses all of these questions in a way that is unique in the cloning literature, by grounding what is effectively an interdisciplinary conversation in solid science. In the first section of the book, the key scientists responsible for the early and crucial developments in cloning speak to us directly, and other scientists evaluate and comment on these developments. The second section explores the context of cloning and includes sociological, mythological, and historical perspectives on science, ethics, and policy. The authors also examine the media’s treatment of the Dolly story and its aftermath, both in the United States and in Britain. The third section, on ethics, contains a broad range of papers written by some of the major commentators in the field. The fourth section addresses legal and policy issues. It features individual and collective contributions by those who have actually shaped public policy on reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning, and similarly contentious bioethical issues in the United States, Britain, and the European Union. Animal cloning continues for agricultural and medicinal purposes, the latter in combination with transgenics. Human cloning for therapeutic purposes has recently been made legal in Britain. The goal is to produce an early embryo and then derive stem cells that are immunologically matched to the donor. Two human reproductive cloning projects have been announced, and there are almost certainly others about which we know nothing. Sooner or later a cloned human will be born. Many lessons can be learned from the cloning experience. Most importantly, there needs to be a public conversation about the permissible uses of new and morally murky technologies. Scientists, journalists, ethicists and policy makers all have roles to play, but cutting-edge science is everybody’s business. The Cloning Sourcebook provides the tools required for us to participate in shaping our own futures.

The Cloning Sourcebook

The Future of EMU

The Future of EMU

‘This book brings together the most established experts in the area to provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary perspective on the issues expected to face EMU over the next few decades, and to propose solutions to the challenges which may arise. As well as offering new and insightful contributions to the integration debate, the book is also policy-oriented, and aims to assess the future impact of EMU on various EU policy areas, such as trade policy and fiscal policy, and also its impact on political union and labour markets. With a wealth of fresh and innovative interdisciplinary perspectives on the future of EMU and on the EU integration process as a whole, this fascinating book is an essential companion for all wishing to gain a greater understanding of the challenges facing European integration in the decades to come, and the part which EMU will play in the future of Europe.’

The Future of EMU

The Evolution of Violence

The Evolution of Violence

This volume is an interdisciplinary exploration of our understanding of the causes and consequences of violence. Represented in its chapters are noted scholars from a variety of fields including psychology, anthropology, law, and literature. The contributions reflect a broad scope of inquiry and diverse levels of analysis. With an underlying evolutionary theme each of the contributors invoke their separate areas of expertise, offering empirical and theoretical insights to this complex subject. The multi-faceted aspect of the book is meant to engender new perspectives that will synthesize current knowledge and lead to a more nuanced understanding of an ever timely issue in human behavior. Of additional interest, is a foreword written by world renowned psychologist, Steven Pinker, and an afterword by noted evolutionary scholar, Richard Dawkins.

The Evolution of Violence

Eaten alive!

Eaten alive!

From the 1970s to the 1990s, Italian moviemakers produced the goriest exploitation films ever made, using recurring plot devices of cannibalism and putrefied zombie flesh eaters. Eaten Alive! dissects this outrageous period, setting it within its cultural and cinematic context. With an introduction explaining the origins of the gruesome genre, the book charts every bloody step, from the renowned Pasolini, who employed cannibalism as a satirical metaphor, to shocking ‘documentaries’ such as Cannibal Holocaust, an acknowledged influence on The Blair Witch Project. Informed, irreverent contributions from legends of the modern horror scene round out this fascinating book.

Eaten alive!

Agent-Based Models of Geographical Systems

Agent-Based Models of Geographical Systems

This unique book brings together a comprehensive set of papers on the background, theory, technical issues and applications of agent-based modelling (ABM) within geographical systems. This collection of papers is an invaluable reference point for the experienced agent-based modeller as well those new to the area. Specific geographical issues such as handling scale and space are dealt with as well as practical advice from leading experts about designing and creating ABMs, handling complexity, visualising and validating model outputs. With contributions from many of the world s leading research institutions, the latest applied research (micro and macro applications) from around the globe exemplify what can be achieved in geographical context. This book is relevant to researchers, postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students, and professionals in the areas of quantitative geography, spatial analysis, spatial modelling, social simulation modelling and geographical information sciences.

Agent-Based Models of Geographical Systems

Disinfection and Decontamination

Disinfection and Decontamination

In the battle between humans and microbes, knowledge may be not only the best weapon but also the best defense. Pulling contributions from 34 experts into a unified presentation, Disinfection and Decontamination: Principles, Applications, and Related Issues provides coverage that is both sophisticated and practical. The book reviews the fundamentals, explores the interdisciplinary nature of the science, and includes discussions of regulatory and legal issues. While the chapters present in depth coverage of infections in hospitals, they also widen their scope to include laboratories outside the healthcare environment.

Disinfection and Decontamination

Photosynthesis, Energy from the Sun - Volume I

Photosynthesis, Energy from the Sun - Volume I

The Proceedings of the 14th International Congress on Photosynthesis is a record of the most recent advances and emerging themes in the discipline. This volume contains over 350 contributions from some 800 participants attending the meeting in Glasgow, UK in July 2007. These range from summary overview presentations from plenary speakers to expanded content of posters presented by students and their supervisors featuring the most recent achievements in photosynthesis research. In the words of Professor Eva-Mari Aro, President of the international Society of Photosynthesis Research 2004-7, Having been taken for granted for centuries, research in photosynthesis has now become a matter of utmost importance for the future of planet Earth Major initiatives are underway that will use research into natural and artificial photosynthesis for sustainable energy production . . These volumes thus provide a glimpse of the future, from the molecule to the biosphere

Photosynthesis, Energy from the Sun - Volume I

Ruthenium in Organic Synthesis

Ruthenium in Organic Synthesis

In this comprehensive book, one of the leading experts, Shun-Ichi Murahashi, presents all the important facets of modern synthetic chemistry using Ruthenium, ranging from hydrogenation to metathesis. In 14 contributions, written by an international authorship, readers will find all the information they need about this fascinating and extraordinary chemistry. The result is a high quality information source and a indispensable reading for everyone working in organometallic chemistry.

Ruthenium in Organic Synthesis

Analysis, Geometry and Topology of Elliptic Operators

Analysis, Geometry and Topology of Elliptic Operators

Modern theory of elliptic operators, or simply elliptic theory, has been shaped by the Atiyah?Singer Index Theorem created 40 years ago. Reviewing elliptic theory over a broad range, 32 leading scientists from 14 different countries present recent developments in topology; heat kernel techniques; spectral invariants and cutting and pasting; noncommutative geometry; and theoretical particle, string and membrane physics, and Hamiltonian dynamics. The first of its kind, this volume is ideally suited to graduate students and researchers interested in careful expositions of newly-evolved achievements and perspectives in elliptic theory. The contributions are based on lectures presented at a workshop acknowledging Krzysztof P Wojciechowski’s work in the theory of elliptic operators.

Analysis, Geometry and Topology of Elliptic Operators

Markov Networks in Evolutionary Computation

Markov Networks in Evolutionary Computation

Markov networks and other probabilistic graphical modes have recently received an upsurge in attention from Evolutionary computation community, particularly in the area of Estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs). EDAs have arisen as one of the most successful experiences in the application of machine learning methods in optimization, mainly due to their efficiency to solve complex real-world optimization problems and their suitability for theoretical analysis.This book focuses on the different steps involved in the conception, implementation and application of EDAs that use Markov networks, and undirected models in general. It can serve as a general introduction to EDAs but covers also an important current void in the study of these algorithms by explaining the specificities and benefits of modeling optimization problems by means of undirected probabilistic models. All major developments to date in the progressive introduction of Markov networks based EDAs are reviewed in the book. Hot current research trends and future perspectives in the enhancement and applicability of EDAs are also covered. The contributions included in the book address topics as relevant as the application of probabilistic-based fitness models, the use of belief propagation algorithms in EDAs and the application of Markov network based EDAs to real-world optimization problems. The book should be of interest to researchers and practitioners from areas such as optimization, evolutionary computation, and machine learning.

Markov Networks in Evolutionary Computation

Advances in Autonomous Mini Robots

Advances in Autonomous Mini Robots

Autonomous robots must carry out useful tasks all by themselves relying entirely on their own perceptions of their environment. The cognitive abilities required for autonomous action are largely independent of robot size, which makes mini robots attractive as artefacts for research, education and entertainment. Autonomous mini robots must be small enough for experimentation on a desktop or a small laboratory. They must be easy to carry and safe for interaction with humans. They must not be expensive. Mini robot designers have to work at the leading edge of technology so that their creations can carry out purposeful autonomic action under these constraints. Since 2001 researchers have met every two years for an international symposium to report on the advances achieved in Autonomous Mini Robots for Research and Edutainment (AMiRE). The AMiRE Symposium is a single track conference that offers ample opportunities for discussion and exchange of ideas. This volume contains the contributed papers of the 2011 AMiRE Symposium held from 23 to 25 May 2011 at Bielefeld University, Germany. The contributions in this volume represent the state-of-the-art of autonomous mini robots; they demonstrate what is currently technically feasible and show some of the applications for autonomous mini robots.

Advances in Autonomous Mini Robots

Cambridge Handbook of Culture, Organizations and Work

Cambridge Handbook of Culture, Organizations and Work

It is now widely recognized that countries around the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, and that both public and private organizations are of necessity becoming increasingly global. As political, legal, and economic barriers recede in this environment, cultural barriers emerge as a principal challenge to organizational survival and success. It is not yet clear whether these global realities will cause cultures to converge, harmonize, and seek common ground or to retrench, resist, and accentuate their differences. In either case, it is of paramount importance for both managers and organizational scholars to understand the cultural crosscurrents underlying these changes. With contributions from an international team of scholars, this 2009 book reviews, analyzes, and integrates available theory and research to give the best information possible concerning the role of culture and cultural differences in organizational dynamics.

Cambridge Handbook of Culture, Organizations and Work

Sex and Gender in Biomedicine

Sex and Gender in Biomedicine

Sex and gender in biomedicine are innovative research concepts of theoretical and clinical medicine that enable a better understanding of health and disease, evidence-based knowledge, effective therapies, and better health outcomes for women and men. Gender Medicine stimulates new ways of doing research: that is to consider sex and gender at all levels of research, from basic research into gene polymorphisms to health behaviour. New research questions have been put forward that focus not on differences per se but on the development of differences. In this book, contributions from the field of neuroscience, addiction research, and organ transplantation exemplify concepts, approaches, methods and results in the field.

Sex and Gender in Biomedicine

Minimal Submanifolds and Related Topics

Minimal Submanifolds and Related Topics

The Bernstein problem and the Plateau problem are central topics in the theory of minimal submanifolds. This important book presents the Douglas-Rado solution to the Plateau problem, but the main emphasis is on the Bernstein problem and its new developments in various directions: the value distribution of the Gauss image of a minimal surface in Euclidean 3-space, Simons’ work for minimal graphic hypersurfaces, and author’s own contributions to Bernstein type theorems for higher codimensions. The author also introduces some related topics, such as submanifolds with parallel mean curvature, Weierstrass type representation for surfaces of mean curvature 1 in hyperbolic 3-space, and special Lagrangian submanifolds.

Minimal Submanifolds and Related Topics

A Taste for Corpora

A Taste for Corpora

The eleven contributions to this volume, written by expert corpus linguists, tackle corpora from a wide range of perspectives and aim to shed light on the numerous linguistic and pedagogical uses to which corpora can be put. They present cutting-edge research in the authors respective domain of expertise and suggest directions for future research. The main focus of the book is on learner corpora, but it also includes reflections on the role of other types of corpora, such as native corpora, expert users corpora, parallel corpora or corpora of New Englishes. For readers who are already familiar with corpora, this volume offers an informed account of the key role that corpus data play in applied linguistics today. As for readers who are new to corpus linguistics, the overview of approaches, methods and domains of applications presented will undoubtedly help them develop their own taste for corpora. This volume has been edited in honour of Sylviane Granger, who has been one of the pioneers of learner corpus research.

A Taste for Corpora

The Wit and Wisdom of G K Chesterton

The Wit and Wisdom of G K Chesterton

G.K. Chesterton was a consummately witty man. In this new collection, Bevis Hillier draws on his most humorous epigrams and more serious extracts not only from his most popular works, the Father Brown stories, but also his contributions to the Illustrated London News and GK’s Weekly, as well as his numerous novels, poems, essays and tracts on a vast array of subjects. These pieces shine a light into the margins of Chesterton’s work and give a sense of the distinctive flavour of his mind. Hillier, the acclaimed biographer of John Betjeman, considers what it was that made Chesterton such a complex and fascinating character. Some of Chesterton’s remarkable drawings (he trained as an artist at the Slade) are included, among them a hitherto unpublished caricature of Winston Churchill, c. 1919. This is a book for Chesterton fans everywhere.

The Wit and Wisdom of G K Chesterton

World Christianity in Local Context

World Christianity in Local Context

Global Christianity in Local Context is the first volume of a unique collection of essays in honour of David A. Kerr, well-known for his contributions in the areas of Christian-Muslim dialogue, Ecumenical Studies and Missions. With contributions from recognized experts in these fields, the book provides a platform for examining contemporary Christian-Muslim relations and critical issues facing twenty-first century Christianity.

World Christianity in Local Context