Over the last fifty-plus years, the increased complexity and speed of integrated circuits have radically changed our world. Today, semiconductor manufacturing is perhaps the most important segment of the global manufacturing sector. As the semiconductor industry has become more competitive, improving planning and control has become a key factor for business success. This book is devoted to production planning and control problems in semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities. It is the first book that takes a comprehensive look at the role of modeling, analysis, and related information systems for such manufacturing systems. The book provides an operations research- and computer science-based introduction into this important field of semiconductor manufacturing-related research.
Randomness is an active element relevant to all scientific activities. The book explores the way in which randomness suffuses the human experience, starting with everyday chance events, followed by developments into modern probability theory, statistical mechanics, scientific data analysis, quantum mechanics, and quantum gravity. An accessible introduction to these theories is provided as a basis for going into deeper topics.Fowler unveils the influence of randomness in the two pillars of science, measurement and theory. Some emphasis is placed on the need and methods for optimal characterization of uncertainty. An example of the cost of neglecting this is the St. Petersburg Paradox, a theoretical game of chance with an infinite expected payoff value. The role of randomness in quantum mechanics reveals another particularly interesting finding: that in order for the physical universe to function as it does and permit conscious beings within it to enjoy sanity, irreducible randomness is necessary at the quantum level.The book employs a certain level of mathematics to describe physical reality in a more precise way that avoids the tendency of nonmathematical descriptions to be occasionally misleading. Thus, it is most readily digested by young students who have taken at least a class in introductory calculus, or professional scientists and engineers curious about the book's topics as a result of hearing about them in popular media. Readers not inclined to savor equations should be able to skip certain technical sections without losing the general flow of ideas. Still, it is hoped that even readers who usually avoid equations will give those within these pages a chance, as they may be surprised at how potentially foreboding concepts fall into line when one makes a legitimate attempt to follow a succession of mathematical implications.
Sir John French had been appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) in March 1912 and was promoted Field Marshal in June 1913. Following the Curragh incident in March 1914 he was forced to resign, nevertheless when war broke out he was given command of the BEF; he was nearly sixty-two years of age. Critics have argued that French's military experience, ability, acumen and temperament showed he was unfitted for such a command. Certainly his moods swung like a pendulum from over-optimism to deepest gloom. He was convinced during the retreat from Mons that disaster was inevitable, to the point that Kitchener had to come out and stiffen his resolve. In May 1915 he sacked Smith-Dorrien, commanding Second Army, among other things for making a stand at Le Cateau, (26/27 August 1914) having previously commended him for his action (see Despatch dated 7 Sep 1914). Following the unsuccessful attack on Aubers Ridge in May 1915, as a means of bringing pressure to bear on the government he revealed details of what he held to be the scandal of ammunition shortages to the military correspondent of The Times, and the ensuing article played a significant part in the decision to form a coalition government. The failure of the Loos offensive, the culmination of a year of failures, was the final nail in the coffin, especially as there was a sharp disagreement between French and Haig (commanding First Army which fought the battle) about the former's handling of the reserve. French claimed in his despatch dated 15 Oct 1915 that he had put the 21st and 24th Divisions from GHQ reserve at Haig's disposal at 0930 25th September and the Guards Division on the morning of the 26th. Haig formally protested that these statements were incorrect, that these divisions did not come under his command till later than stated and he wished that fact to be placed on record. In December 1915 This book contains eight despatches. The first, dated 7th Sep covers the arrival of the BEF in France, the Battle of Mons and the retreat to 28th Aug. The second takes the story on to 10th Sep describing the Battle of the Marne and the advance to the Aisne. The next despatch deals with the Battle of the Aisne and, of especial interest to medallists, is accompanied by the complete list, by regiments, of all Mentioned in Despatches since the beginning of the war. Subsequent despatches cover 1st Ypres, the Winter Campaign, Neuve Chapelle, 2nd Ypres (German gas attack) and Loos with three more lists of MiD awards totalling some 360 pages.
John Perkins Reynolds, a member of the "Salem Zouaves" (Company I, Eighth Massachusetts Infantry), left behind a unique record of one company's service during the early months of the Civil War. His diary documents his company's hourly activities each day, forming a rare chronicle of a Union "three-month" unit. Reynolds was a talented and perceptive writer, and he meticulously recorded details about many events. The early mobilization of Union volunteers, Northern and border state support for the war effort, the movement of troops to defend Washington, D.C., from an expected Confederate attack, the "rescue" of the U.S.S. Constitution, raids on secessionist farms in Maryland, and life in the troubled city of Baltimore are just a few of the topics highlighted in his diary. Reynolds included many insightful details about soldier life and material culture during the period. Army discipline, religious practices, soldier-civilian encounters, training, rations, humor and numerous other aspects of the soldier's existence were deemed noteworthy.
Amid the ongoing acceleration of cultural interaction that accompanies globalization, it is more important than ever that practical theology be freed from cultural bias and united in a common christological understanding. In Practical Theology and the One Body of Christ Thomas John Hastings draws on decades of his own cross-cultural teaching and on current transformational models to develop a "missional-ecumenical model" of practical theology. By studying in detail the life and ministry of first-generation Japanese Protestant pastor Tamura Naomi, Hastings generates a real-life example of the practicality of his original model and offers a more global, alternative perspective on the religious education movement than what is common in Western societies.
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