The Challenge of Chance

The Challenge of Chance PDF

Author: Klaas Landsman

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-06-09

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 3319263005

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This book presents a multidisciplinary perspective on chance, with contributions from distinguished researchers in the areas of biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, genetics, general history, law, linguistics, logic, mathematical physics, statistics, theology and philosophy. The individual chapters are bound together by a general introduction followed by an opening chapter that surveys 2500 years of linguistic, philosophical, and scientific reflections on chance, coincidence, fortune, randomness, luck and related concepts. A main conclusion that can be drawn is that, even after all this time, we still cannot be sure whether chance is a truly fundamental and irreducible phenomenon, in that certain events are simply uncaused and could have been otherwise, or whether it is always simply a reflection of our ignorance. Other challenges that emerge from this book include a better understanding of the contextuality and perspectival character of chance (including its scale-dependence), and the curious fact that, throughout history (including contemporary science), chance has been used both as an explanation and as a hallmark of the absence of explanation. As such, this book challenges the reader to think about chance in a new way and to come to grips with this endlessly fascinating phenomenon.

Meeting the Challenges of Existential Threats through Educational Innovation

Meeting the Challenges of Existential Threats through Educational Innovation PDF

Author: Herner Saeverot

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-22

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 100046783X

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Meeting the Challenges of Existential Threats through Educational Innovation is the first book of its kind to provide an educational and systematic analysis of problems and solutions regarding the most pressing threats that humankind is facing. The book makes a case for the importance of education responding to significant threats; including climate change, pandemics, decline in global biodiversity, overpopulation, egoism, ideologies, nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, inequality, artificial intelligence, and ignorance and the distortion of truth. Written by leading experts in their field based on cutting-edge research, the chapters explore these issues and offer suggestions for how education can address these problems in the future. This groundbreaking and highly topical book will be an essential reading for academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of education research, environmental studies, educational politics and organizational management.

Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s

Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s PDF

Author: Yanek Mieczkowski

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2005-04-22

Total Pages: 664

ISBN-13: 0813138477

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A reappraisal of the brief presidency of Gerald Ford, called to leadership in the midst of scandal, stagflation, and an energy crisis. For many Americans, Gerald Ford evokes an image of either an unelected president who abruptly pardoned his corrupt predecessor or an accident-prone klutz spoofed on Saturday Night Live. In this book, Yanek Mieczkowski reexamines Ford’s two and a half years in office, showing that his presidency successfully confronted the most vexing crisis of the postwar era. Viewing the 1970s primarily through the lens of economic events, Mieczkowski argues that Ford’s understanding of the national economy was better than any modern president’s; that he oversaw a dramatic reduction of inflation; and that he attempted to solve the energy crisis with judicious policies. Throughout his presidency, Ford labored under the legacy of Watergate. Democrats scored landslide victories in the 1974 midterm elections, and within an anemic Republican Party, the right wing challenged Ford’s leadership, even as pundits predicted the GOP’s death. Yet Ford reinvigorated the party and fashioned a 1976 campaign strategy against Jimmy Carter that brought him from thirty points behind to a dead heat on election day. Drawing on numerous personal interviews with former President Ford, cabinet officials, and members of the Ninety-fourth Congress, Mieczkowski presents the first major work on Ford in more than a decade, combining the best of biography and presidential history to paint an intriguing portrait of a president, his times, and his legacy. “This ambitious work calls for a reexamination of the Ford presidency in light of the formidable challenges he faced upon taking office. A welcome and important addition to the literature on the Ford presidency.” ―Library Journal

The SARS Epidemic

The SARS Epidemic PDF

Author: John Wong

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2004-07-29

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9814482080

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In the first half of 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) struck China (including Hong Kong), causing panic and claiming many lives. The unknown nature of SARS at that time also jolted the economic growth of China and Hong Kong, disrupted the social life of their citizens and created much stress and strain for their political systems and governance. Like other major crises, the management of the SARS crisis provides a good opportunity to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the political systems in China and Hong Kong. From the outset, scholars at the East Asian Institute (EAI) followed closely the unfolding of the disease in China, particularly how each of the two societies coped with this random external shock. SARS may or may not recur in the near future, but the episode has offered a glimpse into the extent of resilience of the two societies, the quality of their political leadership, the effectiveness of their political and institutional mobilization, the crisis-management capability of their respective bureaucracies, and the viability of their governance systems. This volume is the result of an EAI workshop on “SARS in China: Crises and Responses”. This book has been selected for coverage in: • Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings® (ISTP® / ISI Proceedings) • Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings) • Index to Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings® (ISSHP® / ISI Proceedings) • Index to Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings (ISSHP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings) • CC Proceedings — Biomedical, Biological & Agricultural Sciences Contents: The Impact of SARS on Greater China Economies (J Wong et al.)SARS and China's Political System (Y Zheng & L F Lye)Local Management of SARS in China: Guangdong and Beijing (H Lai)SARS and the Rule of Law in China (K Zou)Healthcare Regime Change and the SARS Outbreak in China (X Gu)“Chinese Scientists Were Defeated by SARS” (C Cao)SARS and Freedom of Press: Has the Chinese Government Learnt a Lesson? (B He)The Hong Kong SAR Government, Civil Society and SARS (E Thomson & C H Yow) Readership: General. Keywords:SARS;Political Systems;Political Governance;China;Hong Kong;Crisis Management

The Many Faces of Coincidence

The Many Faces of Coincidence PDF

Author: Laurence Browne

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2017-11-10

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1845409531

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Although much has been said and written about coincidences, there is a marked absence when it comes to the development of a comprehensive model that incorporates the many different ways in which they can be understood and explained. One reason for this omission is undoubtedly the sharp divide that exists between those who find coincidences meaningful and those who do not, with the result that the conclusions of the many books and articles on the subject have tended to fall into distinct camps. The Many Faces of Coincidence attempts to remedy this impasse by proposing an inclusive categorisation for coincidences of all shapes and sizes. At the same time, some of the implications arising from the various explanations are explored, including the possibility of an underlying unity of mind and matter constituting the ground of being.

Operational Research Applied to Sports

Operational Research Applied to Sports PDF

Author: Mike Wright

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-29

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1137534672

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Through key research papers from Palgrave's Journal of Operational Research, this book showcases how Operational Research can be applied to sports in a variety of ways, including: timetabling fixtures; scheduling officials; forecasting outcomes; optimizing tactics and strategy; analyzing the effects of rules and laws; planning issues, and performance measurement. The introductory chapter provides a broad overview with an examination of how this area has developed over time, and a look at its wide ranging applications to sports including football, tennis and cricket etc.

Innovations and Challenges of the Energy Transition in Smart City Districts

Innovations and Challenges of the Energy Transition in Smart City Districts PDF

Author: Sven Leonhardt

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2023-12-31

Total Pages: 730

ISBN-13: 3110777568

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Das Energiekonzept und die Beschlüsse der Bundesregierung zur Energiewende sind wichtige Weichenstellungen für die Gestaltung des zukünftigen Energiesystems. So soll u. a. die Energieeffizienz in dem Maße gesteigert werden, dass bis zum Jahr 2050 nur noch die Hälfte des Primärenergieverbrauchs im Vergleich zum Jahr 2008 benötigt wird. In Deutschland leben rund 75 % der Menschen in Städten. Daher sind Städte und Agglomerationen besondere Lebens-, Wirtschafts- und Kulturräume. Als solche verlangen sie nach einem zukunftsfähigen Energiesystem und müssen in hohem Maße energieeffizient ausgestaltet sein. Besonders relevant für die Steigerung der Energieeffizienz ist der Gebäudesektor: In den Wohn- und Nichtwohngebäuden bundesweit entstehen rund 35 % des Endenergieverbrauchs, etwa drei Viertel davon in Form von Wärme. Die von der Bundesregierung beschlossene Energiewende, also der Umbau der deutschen Energieversorgung auf Basis hoher Effizienz und mit weitgehender Nutzung erneuerbarer Energien, kann deshalb nur gelingen, wenn diese Wende nicht nur im Strom-, sondern auch im Wärmemarkt umgesetzt wird (sogenannte "Wärmewende"). Mit Blick auf das energie- und klimapolitische Ziel eines nahezu klimaneutralen Gebäudebestands bis zum Jahr 2050 sind neben einer gesteigerten Energieeffizienz die erneuerbaren Energien in weit größerem Maße in den Wärmesektor zu integrieren. Städte und Agglomerationen bieten aufgrund der großen Hebelwirkung die Möglichkeit, technologische und gesellschaftliche Innovationen ungleich schneller und wirksamer in die Praxis umzusetzen und damit die energiepolitischen Ziele der Bundesregierung zu erfüllen.