The goal of this book is to gather in a single work the most relevant concepts related in optimization methods, showing how such theories and methods can be addressed using the open source, multi-platform R tool. Modern optimization methods, also known as metaheuristics, are particularly useful for solving complex problems for which no specialized optimization algorithm has been developed. These methods often yield high quality solutions with a more reasonable use of computational resources (e.g. memory and processing effort). Examples of popular modern methods discussed in this book are: simulated annealing; tabu search; genetic algorithms; differential evolution; and particle swarm optimization. This book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students in computer science, information technology, and related areas, as well as data analysts interested in exploring modern optimization methods using R. This new edition integrates the latest R packages through text and code examples. It also discusses new topics, such as: the impact of artificial intelligence and business analytics in modern optimization tasks; the creation of interactive Web applications; usage of parallel computing; and more modern optimization algorithms (e.g., iterated racing, ant colony optimization, grammatical evolution).
The Zahir', Paulo Coelho's new novel available in paperback for the first time, incorporates exclusive new content including an extra section containing interviews with Paulo and plenty of information for those for whom the book just wasn't enough.
A collection of insightful philosophical thoughts and stories, in which Paulo Coehlo offers inspiring answers to profound questions to delight spiritual seekers everywhere. It has proved to be a perfect gift-book in the few countries in which it has been published so far. This will be the first English translation. This book is a jewel for all of us who look for meaning in our daily lives as we struggle along the spiritual path. Within each of us is a Warrior of Light. Each of us capable of listening to the silence of the heart, of accepting failure without letting it get us down and of holding onto hope even in the face of weariness and depression. Values like love for all things, discipline, friendship and learning to listen to our own hearts are the arms with which this warrior confronts the battles we face in the name of personal growth and in the defence of the light. On every page there is an inspirational thought, which can be read as part of Paulo Coelho's whole philosophy or used form the basis of a daily meditation. The Manual of the Warrior of Light is a handbook that shows human beings how to live as spiritual beings in the material world."--Publisher's description.
Rigorous and comprehensive, this textbook introduces undergraduate students to simulation methods in statistical physics. The book covers a number of topics, including the thermodynamics of magnetic and electric systems; the quantum-mechanical basis of magnetism; ferrimagnetism, antiferromagnetism, spin waves and magnons; liquid crystals as a non-ideal system of technological relevance; and diffusion in an external potential. It also covers hot topics such as cosmic microwave background, magnetic cooling and Bose–Einstein condensation. The book provides an elementary introduction to simulation methods through algorithms in pseudocode for random walks, the 2D Ising model, and a model liquid crystal. Any formalism is kept simple and derivations are worked out in detail to ensure the material is accessible to students from subjects other than physics.
Published in 2008 and winner of the 2011 Thomas E. Skidmore Prize, Paulo Fontes's Migration and the Making of Industrial São Paulo is a detailed social history of São Paulo's extraordinary urban and industrial expansion. Fontes focuses on those migrants who settled in the suburb of São Miguel Paulista, which grew from 7,000 residents in the 1940s to over 140,000 two decades later. Reconstructing these migrants' everyday lives within a broad social context, Fontes examines the economic conditions that prompted their migration, their creation of an integrated identity and community, and their efforts to gain worker rights. Fontes challenges the stereotypes of Northeasterners as culturally backward, uneducated, violent, and unreliable, instead seeing them as a resourceful population with considerable social and political resolve. Fontes's investigations into Northeastern life in São Miguel Paulista yield a fresh understanding of São Paulo's incredible and difficult growth while outlining how a marginalized population exercised its political agency.
In this second volume, present articles differentiated, with the aim to carry to the reader scientific articles published in periódics and of weight to the operators of the Right, but, also, of weight to the citizen. This that by signal has to know the laws of his Country, and compreênde-the to end to do cost his right. The reality is only. The village that desconoce the laws of his country, leaving them in the hands of representatives will be slave of the invisible currents of the power. In one of the present articles will perceive that the existent democracy, and the power of popular participation is of this side of the that expects of a country like the Brazil, of tamaña greatness and wealth. At last, it subtracts in the say that we find us in a democracy aristocrata. It does not exist independence between the powers, but yes a game of appearances and suitabilities. Good reading!
This book reveals how the critique of the domination of capitalism inaugurated by the Frankfurt School becomes pluriversal, motivating the historical Critical Theory of Coloniality (CTC) dialogue between the Global South and the Global North. CTC expresses the emergence and historical actuality of a set of intellectual fields aimed at denouncing domination and promoting emancipatory ideas at the borders of colonial capitalism. The book argues that the actuality of the CTC relies on the importance of valuing theoretical and methodological pluralism in the context of the necessary redefinition of the directions of global society. It reveals a plural reflection of scientific, moral, and aesthetic character in different areas of former planetary colonisation such as Asia, Africa, and America but also on the borders of Europe. This book is aimed at researchers and students in the social sciences as well as in interdisciplinary studies. It is attractive to those who are interested in the plural development of theoretical criticism outside the European universe and who seek to understand how capitalist power has metamorphosed with planetary coloniality. Considering this book implies important reflections on topics such as development, modernity, tradition, imperialism, dependency, and democracy, it is interesting to specialists in development issues, international relations, and policymakers.
Famous for his advocacy of 'critical pedagogy', Paulo Freire was Latin America's foremost educationalist, a thinker and writer whose work and ideas continue to exert enormous influence in education throughout the world today. Education for Critical Consciousness is the main statement of Freire's revolutionary method of education. It takes the life situation of the learner as its starting point and the raising of consciousness and the overcoming of obstacles as its goals. For Freire, man's striving for his own humanity requires the changing of structures which dehumanize both the oppressor and the oppressed. This edition includes a substantial new introduction by Carlos Alberto Torres, Distinguished Professor and Founding Director of the Paulo Freire Institute, UCLA, USA. Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos.
This book displays the striking creativity and profound insight that characterized Freire's work to the very end of his life-an uplifting and provocative exploration not only for educators, but also for all that learn and live.
This book contains letters that show why a teacher's success depends on a permanent commitment to learning and training, as part of an ongoing appraisal of classroom practice. It challenges all teachers to reflect critically on the meaning of the act of teaching as well as the meaning of learning.
Public policy discussions are, at any time, a major issue in any government, since they are a fundamental part of government agendas and the main mechanism for the realization of human and social rights. Brazil is a country that has a growing importance in the international arena, especially for its environmental and cultural riches, making it a country of extreme geopolitical relevance. Nevertheless, issues such as security, hunger, education, health, transportation, and democracy are constantly put to the test in the face of its development, size, and conflicts.Therefore, this work aims to bring important reflections on this theme, analyzing the public policies regarding labor and human rights. And in the midst of this, social policies must function as tools to realize human rights and restore balance. It is a great book for understanding better the labor environment in Brazil and how it is affecting human rights safeguard.
This book studies how technological solutions can be used to alleviate the current state of legal systems, with their clogged up courtrooms and inefficient conflict resolution methods. It reviews the shortcomings and disadvantages of traditional and alternative conflict resolution methods and turns to Artificial Intelligence for problem-solving techniques and solutions. The book is divided into four parts. The first part presents a general and systematic analysis of the current state of the legal systems, identifying the main problems and their causes. It then moves on to present UM Court: a framework for testing and prototyping conflict resolution services. This framework was developed with the objective of using Artificial Intelligence techniques to build a service environment for conflict resolution. The third part of the book takes a step into the future by analyzing the use of Intelligent Environments in the support of conflict management and resolution. It describes the approach taken and the experiments performed in the Intelligent Systems Lab of the University of Minho. The final part of the book contains the conclusions and shows the potential advantages of the use of Intelligent Environments as a way to implement better conflict resolution procedures (virtual or real), in which all the participants have access to more and better information and are able to take better informed decisions.
In this book, the history of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform is told by one of its main protagonists. In the early 1980s, there were about 80 thousand people admitted to psychiatric hospitals in Brazil, with average lengths of hospital stay of approximately 25 years. The psychiatric reform process that took place in the country was responsible for closing more than 60 thousand beds in mental asylums, most of them characterized by conditions of violence and abandonment. The Brazilian Psychiatric Reform was inspired by the psychosocial care model introduced by psychiatrist Franco Basaglia in Italy and was marked by the broad participation of social movements, such as the anti-asylum movement and other human rights movements. This process gave rise to a model of mental health care based on open-door territorial mental health services, guided by the principle of treatment in liberty, in addition to other strategies of deinstitutionalization. More than a proposal to restructure or modernize the mental health care model, the objective of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform was the construction of a new social place for the diverse and singular subjective experience of madness. By intending to produce new imaginaries, new social representations and new meanings for these experiences, the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform led to one of the larger experiences of deinstitutionalization in the world and to the large scale implementation of a new model of mental health care in which the old asylum-centric paradigm was replaced by a new democratic psychosocial care model.
With the publication of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire established himself as one of the most important and radical educational thinkers of his time. In Pedagogy of Hope, Freire revisits the themes of his masterpiece, the real world contexts that inspired them and their impact in that very world. Freire's abiding concern for social justice and education in the developing world remains as timely and as inspiring as ever, and is shaped by both his rigorous intellect and his boundless compassion. Pedagogy of Hope is a testimonial to the inner vitality of generations denied prosperity and to the often-silent, generous strength of millions throughout the world who refuse to let hope be extinguished. This edition includes a substantial new introduction by Henry A. Giroux, University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest and the Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in Critical Pedagogy at McMaster University, Canada. Translated by Robert R. Barr.
This volume presents 10 reviews contributed by eminent researchers around the world on chitosan based materials. The introductory chapters present information on general characteristics of chitosan and various types of materials which are based on it such as nanofibers, nanoparticles, nanocapsules and other chemically modified chitosans. This is followed by an explanation of chitosan characterization and extraction techniques. Concluding chapters describe the applications of chitosan products in water treatment, drug delivery, edible films and pervaporation membranes. Readers will therefore gain an understanding about chitosan and materials derived from this polymer and their practical applications. The volume serves as a simple reference for chemical engineering students and professionals interested in the basic and applied chemistry of chitosan and chitosan-derived products.
This unique work presents one of the most significant organ failure condition – cardiocirculatory shock – and the prominent role of Methylene Blue (MB). Through their extensive experience, the authors’ consider that the lifesaving feature of MB is still underestimated. For this reason they outline key concepts of MB, mentioning essential experimental data, yet focusing mainly on its application in the care of critically ill patients. In an easy-to-read format, the 18 chapters were organized in a didactically structured order, distributed in four parts. The first part introduces the general conceptual aspects and physiology of the endothelium. The second part presents the particularities of endothelial dysfunction in different types of shock. Methylene blue is discussed in detail in the third part. In the fourth part, particular situations of endothelial dysfunction, such as heart surgery and organ transplantation, are described. Additionally, the two complementary subjects of acid-base balance and the therapeutic use of inhaled nitric oxide are mentioned. Finally, looking for therapeutic alternatives for what we classify as "vasoplegic endothelial dysfunction", MB remains promising as an adjuvant to sympathomimetic amines. The combination of three recently proposed concepts may be useful in obtaining better results against the high mortality rates in critically ill patients. These three concepts are "wide-spectrum vasopressors", vasopressor economy strategies, and microcirculation protection against the harmful effects of using high concentrations of amines. This book ́s translational approach will appeal to a variety of readers within the health specialties of medicine, biomedicine, physiotherapy, nursing, odontology, and basic science.
This book presents the view that human dignity and human rights need to be brought to the centre of the current debate on globalisation. Indeed, whereas human dignity is the core and the foundation of human rights, it is through the implementation of rights that dignity is protected. The contributors to this volume belong to different (inter)national networks in the field of human rights. All were present at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre and all are committed to the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights. Their contributions capture the dynamism and richness of the dialogues. Fundamental and operational issues are taken up, global alternatives and practical recommendations are presented. Co-publication with Intersentia and the Asser Press Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.
Torrefaction of Biomass for Energy Applications: From Fundamentals to Industrial Scale explores the processes, technology, end-use, and economics involved in torrefaction at the industrial scale for heat and power generation. Its authors combine their industry experience with their academic expertise to provide a thorough overview of the topic. Starting at feedstock pretreatment, followed by torrefaction processes, the book includes plant design and operation, safety aspects, and case studies focusing on the needs and challenges of the industrial scale. Commercially available technologies are examined and compared, and their economical evaluation and life cycle assessment are covered as well. Attention is also given to non-woody feedstock, alternative applications, derived fuels, recent advances, and expected future developments. For its practical approach, this book is ideal for professionals in the biomass industry, including those in heat and power generation. It is also a useful reference for researchers and graduate students in the area of biomass and biofuels, and for decision makers, policy makers, and analysts in the energy field. Compares efficiency and performance of different commercially available technologies from the practical aspects of daily operation in an industrial scale plant Presents a cost analysis of the production, logistics, and storage of torrefied biomass Includes case studies addressing challenges that may occur in the daily operation in an industrial scale plant Covers other associated technologies, the densification of torrefied biomass, and non-woody feedstock
The goal of this book is to gather in a single work the most relevant concepts related in optimization methods, showing how such theories and methods can be addressed using the open source, multi-platform R tool. Modern optimization methods, also known as metaheuristics, are particularly useful for solving complex problems for which no specialized optimization algorithm has been developed. These methods often yield high quality solutions with a more reasonable use of computational resources (e.g. memory and processing effort). Examples of popular modern methods discussed in this book are: simulated annealing; tabu search; genetic algorithms; differential evolution; and particle swarm optimization. This book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students in computer science, information technology, and related areas, as well as data analysts interested in exploring modern optimization methods using R. This new edition integrates the latest R packages through text and code examples. It also discusses new topics, such as: the impact of artificial intelligence and business analytics in modern optimization tasks; the creation of interactive Web applications; usage of parallel computing; and more modern optimization algorithms (e.g., iterated racing, ant colony optimization, grammatical evolution).
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