Wishing to ingratiate himself with Rome, Herod the Great built theaters, amphitheaters, and hippodromes to bring pagan entertainments of all sorts to Palestine. Zeev Weiss explores how the indigenous Jewish and Christian populations responded, as both spectators and performers, to these cultural imports, which left a lasting imprint on the region.
The study of ancient Judaism has enjoyed a steep rise in interest and publications in recent decades, although the focus has often been on the ideas and beliefs represented in ancient Jewish texts rather than on the daily lives and the material culture of Jews/Judaeans and their communities. The nascent institution of the synagogue formed an increasingly important venue for communal gathering and daily or weekly practice. This collection of essays brings together a broad spectrum of new archaeological and textual data with various emergent theories and interpretative methods in order to address the need to understand the place of the synagogue in the daily and weekly procedures, community frameworks, and theological structures in which Judaeans, Galileans, and Jewish people in the Diaspora lived and gathered. The interdisciplinary studies will be of great significance for anyone studying ancient Jewish belief, practice, and community formation.
This book brings together leading experts in the field of ancient synagogue studies to discuss the current issues and emerging trends in the study of synagogues in ancient Palestine. Divided into four thematic units, the different contributions apply archaeological, textual, historical and art historical methodologies to questions related to ancient synagogues. Part One addresses issues related to the origins and early development of synagogues up to 200 CE. The contributions provide different explanations to the alleged lack of evidence for synagogues built in the second and third centuries CE and ask how much continuity or change there is between the late Second Temple and late Roman/early Byzantine synagogues. Part Two deals with architecture and dating of ancient synagogues. It gives an overview of all synagogues found so far, approaches the dating of Galilean synagogues in the light of the recently-exposed synagogue at Huqoq, and provides a stylistic re-evaluation of the Capernaum synagogue decoration. Part three examines leadership, power and daily life in late antique synagogue contexts, illustrating non-monumental inscriptions, amulets and dining in synagogue contexts as well as the role of individual benefactors. Section four contextualizes synagogue art. An overview of synagogue mosaics in late antique Palestine is complemented with reinterpretations of the mosaics two synagogues. The section also offers a discussion of the appearance of the menorah.
My greatest fear? To get to the end of my life only to realize that I blew it. I missed the whole point of life entirely. Assuming, of course, there is one... One day, I realized that I have to come to an informed decision about life’s most fundamental questions: Does G-d Exist? Is there meaning and purpose to life? If yes, what is it? Otherwise, I would be making my greatest fear a reality. This book is about the most fundamental question of all: Does G-d exist? It is the product of well over 20 years of research and slow, methodical analysis. The claims for and against, the rebuttals, and the counterclaims. All of it. If you, like me, are afraid you may be missing the point - then get this book! Take a journey with me to investigate life’s most fundamental question. See if you agree with my assessment of the evidence and my conclusions. Fear no more.
Wishing to ingratiate himself with Rome, Herod the Great built theaters, amphitheaters, and hippodromes to bring pagan entertainments of all sorts to Palestine. Zeev Weiss explores how the indigenous Jewish and Christian populations responded, as both spectators and performers, to these cultural imports, which left a lasting imprint on the region.
In the fields of data mining and control, the huge amount of unstructured data and the presence of uncertainty in system descriptions have always been critical issues. The book Randomized Algorithms in Automatic Control and Data Mining introduces the readers to the fundamentals of randomized algorithm applications in data mining (especially clustering) and in automatic control synthesis. The methods proposed in this book guarantee that the computational complexity of classical algorithms and the conservativeness of standard robust control techniques will be reduced. It is shown that when a problem requires "brute force" in selecting among options, algorithms based on random selection of alternatives offer good results with certain probability for a restricted time and significantly reduce the volume of operations.
This book examines the local and global political and institutional processes that have led to the strengthening of the Israeli central bank within the context of the now predominant neoliberal regime. Using Israel as a case study to identify broader patterns around the world, the authors examine the strengthening of central banks as a key dimension of the institutionalisation of the global regime. Drawing on an in-depth analysis of the political economy of the Israeli central bank since the mid-1980s, the authors show how the Bank of Israel mobilized global logics in order to strengthen its position vis-à-vis competing actors, especially the Ministry of Finance, and to promote the institutionalisation of the neoliberal regime. Employing a conflict-centered theoretical perspective, the authors elucidate the character of this institutional transformation and the mechanisms that were involved. Chapters examine the different phases of the process of central bank strengthening, focusing on the actors involved, the interactions between them, and the political strategies they employed, and analyse the consequences of the process for the shift in macro-economic management and in the mode of state involvement in the economy. Addressing the political and institutional processes that have led to the fundamental transformation of Israeli political economy, this book is a valuable addition to the existing literature on the Israeli banking system, political economy and globalisation.
Accurate determination of trace elements is critical in various fields of science and technology. Direct measurement of trace elements in samples with complex matrices is often impractical, either due to analytical sensitivity limitations or matrix interferences. Preconcentration procedures are generally needed to eliminate matrix interferences and/or enrich minute amounts of analytes to a level for reliable measurements. Preconcentration Techniques for Trace Elements provides up-to-date information on various preconcentration techniques and detailed discussions regarding such topics as the dissolution of matrices, coprecipitation, solvent extraction, electrochemical means, ion exchange, sorption, chromatographic methods, flotation, membranes, volatization, polymer foam sorbents, fire assay, isotachophoresis, and filter papers. This comprehensive volume, featuring contributions from 21 experts from nine countries, will provide valuable reference material for all scientists and technicians dealing with trace analysis of real-world samples.
Brownian dynamics serve as mathematical models for the diffusive motion of microscopic particles of various shapes in gaseous, liquid, or solid environments. The renewed interest in Brownian dynamics is due primarily to their key role in molecular and cellular biophysics: diffusion of ions and molecules is the driver of all life. Brownian dynamics simulations are the numerical realizations of stochastic differential equations that model the functions of biological micro devices such as protein ionic channels of biological membranes, cardiac myocytes, neuronal synapses, and many more. Stochastic differential equations are ubiquitous models in computational physics, chemistry, biophysics, computer science, communications theory, mathematical finance theory, and many other disciplines. Brownian dynamics simulations of the random motion of particles, be it molecules or stock prices, give rise to mathematical problems that neither the kinetic theory of Maxwell and Boltzmann, nor Einstein’s and Langevin’s theories of Brownian motion could predict. This book takes the readers on a journey that starts with the rigorous definition of mathematical Brownian motion, and ends with the explicit solution of a series of complex problems that have immediate applications. It is aimed at applied mathematicians, physicists, theoretical chemists, and physiologists who are interested in modeling, analysis, and simulation of micro devices of microbiology. The book contains exercises and worked out examples throughout.
Zeev Gries’s analysis of what books were being published and where shows the importance of the printed book in disseminating religious and secular ideas, creating a new class of Jewish intellectuals, and making knowledge of the world available to women. This unique perspective on Jewish intellectual history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the history of book-publishing throws light on many of the key Jewish cultural issues of the time.
Few books on European history in recent memory have caused such controversy and commotion," wrote Robert Wohl in 1991 in a major review of Neither Right nor Left. Listed by Le Monde as one of the forty most important books published in France during the 1980s, this explosive work asserts that fascism was an important part of the mainstream of European history, not just a temporary development in Germany and Italy but a significant aspect of French culture as well. Neither right nor left, fascism united antibourgeois, antiliberal nationalism, and revolutionary syndicalist thought, each of which joined in reflecting the political culture inherited from eighteenth-century France. From the first, Sternhell's argument generated strong feelings among people who wished to forget the Vichy years, and his themes drew enormous public attention in 1994, as Paul Touvier was condemned for crimes against humanity and a new biography probed President Mitterand's Vichy connections. The author's new preface speaks to the debates of 1994 and reinforces the necessity of acknowledging the past, as President Chirac has recently done on France's behalf.
A concise, yet in-depth exploration of life's most fundamental question. This book is the product of over 20 years of investigation, reading hundreds of books and articles, and hundreds of hours of organization and editing until it was fine-tuned into a tool for anyone who wants to know and understand the true reality of life. Is there G-d?
This timely publication covers prompt measurements as well as delayed activation measurements used in chemical analysis of the elements. It describes the various possibilities of activation: neutrons, charged ions, and photons. Also discussed are the advantages and disadvantages of each activation method. These volumes are important for those in geology, archaeology, biology, analytical chemistry, radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry, the semiconductor industry, and others.
Stochastic processes and diffusion theory are the mathematical underpinnings of many scientific disciplines, including statistical physics, physical chemistry, molecular biophysics, communications theory and many more. Many books, reviews and research articles have been published on this topic, from the purely mathematical to the most practical. This book offers an analytical approach to stochastic processes that are most common in the physical and life sciences, as well as in optimal control and in the theory of filltering of signals from noisy measurements. Its aim is to make probability theory in function space readily accessible to scientists trained in the traditional methods of applied mathematics, such as integral, ordinary, and partial differential equations and asymptotic methods, rather than in probability and measure theory.
This is the remarkable story of the 250,000 Holocaust survivors who converged on the American Zone of Occupied Germany from 1945 to 1948. They envisaged themselves as the living bridge between destruction and rebirth, the last remnants of a world destroyed and the active agents of its return to life. Much of what has been written elsewhere looks at the Surviving Remnant through the eyes of others and thus has often failed to disclose the tragic complexity of their lives together with their remarkable political and social achievements. Despite having lost everyone and everything, they got on with their lives, they married, had children and worked for a better future. They did not surrender to the deformities of suffering and managed to preserve their humanity intact. Mankowitz uses largely inaccessible archival material to give a moving and sensitive account of this neglected area in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
New Approaches to Image Processing Based Failure Analysis of Nano-Scale ULSI Devices introduces the reader to transmission and scanning microscope image processing for metal and non-metallic microstructures. Engineers and scientists face the pressing problem in ULSI development and quality assurance: microscopy methods can’t keep pace with the continuous shrinking of feature size in microelectronics. Nanometer scale sizes are below the resolution of light, and imaging these features is nearly impossible even with electron microscopes, due to image noise. This book presents novel "smart" image processing methods, applications, and case studies concerning quality improvement of microscope images of microelectronic chips and process optimization. It explains an approach for high-resolution imaging of advanced metallization for micro- and nanoelectronics. This approach obviates the time-consuming preparation and selection of microscope measurement and sample conditions, enabling not only better electron-microscopic resolution, but also more efficient testing and quality control. This in turn leads to productivity gains in design and development of nano-scale ULSI chips. The authors also present several approaches for super-resolving low-resolution images to improve failure analysis of microelectronic chips. Acquaints users with new software-based approaches to enhance high-resolution microscope imaging of microchip structures Demonstrates how these methods lead to productivity gains in the development of ULSI chips Presents several techniques for the superresolution of images, enabling engineers and scientists to improve their results in failure analysis of microelectronic chips
Examines the combat experience of Israel’s ground forces in the Al-Aqsa Intifada in order to offer a set of innovative concepts for understanding irregular warfare.
This book covers recent developments in the non-standard asymptotics of the mathematical narrow escape problem in stochastic theory, as well as applications of the narrow escape problem in cell biology. The first part of the book concentrates on mathematical methods, including advanced asymptotic methods in partial equations, and is aimed primarily at applied mathematicians and theoretical physicists who are interested in biological applications. The second part of the book is intended for computational biologists, theoretical chemists, biochemists, biophysicists, and physiologists. It includes a summary of output formulas from the mathematical portion of the book and concentrates on their applications in modeling specific problems in theoretical molecular and cellular biology. Critical biological processes, such as synaptic plasticity and transmission, activation of genes by transcription factors, or double-strained DNA break repair, are controlled by diffusion in structures that have both large and small spatial scales. These may be small binding sites inside or on the surface of the cell, or narrow passages between subcellular compartments. The great disparity in spatial scales is the key to controlling cell function by structure. This volume reports recent progress on resolving analytical and numerical difficulties in extracting properties from experimental data, biophysical models, and from Brownian dynamics simulations of diffusion in multi-scale structures.
Nanophotonics is a newly developing and exciting field, with two main areas of interest: imaging/computer vision and data transport. The technologies developed in the field of nanophotonics have far reaching implications with a wide range of potential applications from faster computing power to medical applications, and "smart" eyeglasses to national security. Integrated Nanophotonic Devices explores one of the key technologies emerging within nanophotonics: that of nano-integrated photonic modulation devices and sensors. The authors introduce the scientific principles of these devices and provide a practical, applications-based approach to recent developments in the design, fabrication and experimentation of integrated photonic modulation circuits. For this second edition, all chapters have been expanded and updated to reflect this rapidly advancing field, and an entirely new chapter has been added to cover liquid crystals integrated with nanostructures. Unlocks the technologies that will turn the rapidly growing research area of nanophotonics into a major area of commercial development, with applications in telecommunications, computing, security, and sensing Nano-integrated photonic modulation devices and sensors are the components that will see nanophotonics moving out of the lab into a new generation of products and services By covering the scientific fundamentals alongside technological applications, the authors open up this important multidisciplinary subject to readers from a range of scientific backgrounds
The Byzantine period is one of the less known periods in the history of Palestine. On the one hand, there is a wealth of archaeological evidence, albeit not in a final form; while, on the other hand, there are few historical sources. There is evidence of prosperity, but also testimonies of economic and demographic deterioration. The book offers a comprehensive historical framework describing the period, based on all the available material. In the absence of historical sources, full use must be made of the archaeological data; until the present, however, chronological definitions have not been determined for "Byzantine" pottery vessels. The book makes use of a new methodological tool: quantitative numismatic data.
Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Technologies is a truly comprehensive manual for the whole team at the IVF clinic. Information is presented in a highly visual manner, allowing both methods and protocols to be consulted easily. The text provides clinical and scientific teams with the A to Zs of setting up an embryology laboratory, gives research fellows insight into technical developments, and supplies seasoned professionals with a review of the latest techniques and advances. New to the Third Edition: fully revised and expanded chapters, with new information on: single embryo transfer artificial gametes pharmacogenetics
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.