This textbook focuses on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and its potential impact on society at large. It aims to offer a detailed and self-contained introduction to the founding principles behind DLT accessible to a well-educated but not necessarily mathematically oriented audience. DLT allows solving many complicated problems arising in economics, banking, and finance, industry, trade, and other fields. However, to reap the ultimate benefits, one has to overcome some of its inherent limitations and use it judiciously. Not surprisingly, amid increasing applications of DLT, misconceptions are formed over its use. The book thoroughly dispels these misconceptions via an impartial assessment of the arguments rooted in scientific reasoning.Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers: Mathematics, Technology, and Economics offers a detailed and self-contained introduction to DLT, blockchains, and cryptocurrencies and seeks to equip the reader with an ability to participate in the crypto economy meaningfully.

What causes one system to break down and another to rebound? Are we merely subject to the whim of forces beyond our control? Or, in the face of constant disruption, can we build better shock absorbers--for ourselves, our communities, our economies, and for the planet as a whole?
Reporting firsthand from the coral reefs of Palau to the back streets of Palestine, Andrew Zolli and Ann Marie Healy relate breakthrough scientific discoveries, pioneering social and ecological innovations, and important new approaches to constructing a more resilient world. Zolli and Healy show how this new concept of resilience is a powerful lens through which we can assess major issues afresh: from business planning to social develop-ment, from urban planning to national energy security--circumstances that affect us all.
Provocative, optimistic, and eye-opening, Resilience sheds light on why some systems, people, and communities fall apart in the face of disruption and, ultimately, how they can learn to bounce back.

Evolution, Chance, and God looks at the relationship between religion and evolution from a philosophical perspective. This relationship is fascinating, complex and often very controversial, involving myriad issues that are difficult to keep separate from each other. Evolution, Chance, and God introduces the reader to the main themes of this debate and to the theory of evolution, while arguing for a particular viewpoint, namely that evolution and religion are compatible, and that, contrary to the views of some influential thinkers, there is no chance operating in the theory of evolution, a conclusion that has great significance for teleology. One of the main aims of this book is not simply to critique one influential contemporary view that evolution and religion are incompatible, but to explore specific ways of how we might understand their compatibility, as well as the implications of evolution for religious belief. This involves an exploration of how and why God might have created by means of evolution, and what the consequences in particular are for the status of human beings in creation, and for issues such as free will, the objectivity of morality, and the problem of evil. By probing how the theory of evolution and religion could be reconciled, Sweetman says that we can address more deeply key foundational questions concerning chance, design, suffering and morality, and God's way of acting in and through creation.

This book provides an overview of the emerging smart connected world, and discusses the roles and the usage of underlying semantic computing and Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies. The book comprises ten chapters overall, grouped in two parts. Part I "Smart Connected World: Overview and Technologies" consists of seven chapters and provides a holistic overview of the smart connected world and its supporting tools and technologies. Part II "Applications and Case Studies" consists of three chapters that describe applications and case studies in manufacturing, smart cities, health, and more. Each chapter is self-contained and can be read independently; taken together, readers get a bigger picture of the technological and application landscape of the smart connected world. This book is of interest for researchers, lecturers, and practitioners in Semantic Web, IoT and related fields. It can serve as a reference for instructors and students taking courses in hybrid computing getting abreast of cutting edge and future directions of a connected ecosystem. It will also benefit industry professionals like software engineers or data scientists, by providing a synergy between Web technologies and applications. This book covers the most important topics on the emerging field of the smart connected world. The contributions from leading active researchers and practitioners in the field are thought provoking and can help in learning and further research. The book is a valuable resource that will benefit academics and industry. It will lead to further research and advancement of the field. Bharat K. Bhargava, Professor of Computer Science, Purdue University, United States

More than ever, emerging technology is assisting individuals with autism in a variety of ways. However, many parents, schools, and special education professionals are not aware of the recent technological developments that are available to assist these individuals. Innovative Technologies to Benefit Children on the Autism Spectrum brings together relevant theoretical frameworks and empirical research concerning the emerging technologies that benefit individuals living with autism. This book is an essential reference source for parents, teachers, special educators, researchers, academics, and other professionals seeking relevant information on the emerging technological advances available for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.

How Nations Innovate compares how affluent capitalist economies differ in their patterns of technological innovation. Building on the 'varieties of capitalism' literature, this book goes beyond the traditional focus on 'radical versus incremental innovation' in existing scholarship, and takes the comparison of capitalism to an entirely new set of questions around technological innovation. For example, which type of capitalism engages in job-threatening innovation? Whose innovation widens income inequality? Whose innovation raises productivity? Which type of capitalism has more effective financial markets for innovation? Whose innovators emphasize 'control' rather than 'flexibility' during innovation? By addressing these questions, the author demonstrates that the way nations innovate often has deep, and sometimes counter-intuitive, implications for how they compare in many areas of socio-economic performance. For example, although venture capital is most active in Anglo-Saxon economies, it seems that venture-capital performance in stimulating innovation is also poorest in precisely these countries. On the issue of employment, the author argues that, whilst technological innovation in Anglo-Saxon economies creates jobs, innovation in European economies destroys jobs. Nations also differ in the nature of income inequality driven by innovation. While innovation pushes top earners further ahead of median earners in Anglo-Saxon economies, it drags bottom earners further behind the median in European economies. Finally, varieties of capitalism also differ in their ability to cope with the volatilities of innovation. While Anglo-Saxon economies face a trade-off between low volatility and high innovation output, these two goals seem jointly achievable in European economies.

Despite the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan, a growing number of countries are interested in expanding or introducing nuclear energy. However, nuclear energy production and nuclear waste disposal give rise to pressing ethical questions that society needs to face. This book takes up this challenge with essays by an international team of scholars focusing on the key issues of risk, justice, and democracy. The essays consider a range of ethical issues, including radiological protection, the influence of gender in the acceptability of nuclear risk, and environmental, international, and intergenerational justice in the context of nuclear energy. They also address the question of when, and under which conditions, nuclear energy should play a role in the world's future supply of electricity, looking at both developing and industrialized countries. The book will interest readers in ethics and political philosophy, social and political sciences, nuclear engineering, and policy studies.

In this important and original interdisciplinary work, well-known environmental philosopher Eric Katz explores technology's role in dominating both nature and humanity. He argues that technology dominates, and hence destroys, the natural world; it dominates, and hence destroys, critical aspects of human life and society. Technology causes an estrangement from nature, and thus a loss of meaning in human life. As a result, humans lose the power to make moral and social choices; they lose the power to control their lives. Katz's argument innovatively connects two distinct areas of thought: the fundamental goal of the Holocaust, including Nazi environmental policy, to heal the degenerate elements of society; and the plan to heal degraded natural systems that informs the contemporary environmental policy of 'ecological restoration'. In both arenas of 'healing,' Katz argues that technological forces drive action, while domination emerges as the prevailing ideology. Katz's work is a plea for the development of a technology that does not dominate and destroy but instead promotes autonomy and freedom.Anne Frank, a victim of Nazi ideology and action, saw the titular tree behind her secret annex as a symbol of freedom and moral goodness. In Katz's argument, the tree represents a free and autonomous nature, resistant to human control and domination. Anne Frank's Tree is rooted in an empirical approach to philosophy, seating complex ethical ideas in an accessible and powerful narrative of historical fact and deeply personal lived experience.

Despite the upsurge in public interest in science-and-religion provoked by the so-called ""new atheist"" attacks on religion, there has been surprisingly little publically accessible informed discussion of the central issues at stake in contemporary work at the interface of science and religion. This book fills this gap by providing a snapshot of what is really at stake in contemporary interactions and debates between scientists and theologians. What the collection shows, above all, is the vibrant complexity of discussions in science-and-religion. Old models of conflict between the two disciplines no longer hold; but neither do the alternative comprehensive models of independence, dialogue or integration. What emerges instead is a complex set of relations between science and religion in the twenty-first century. Contributors include Keith Ward, Jurgen Moltmann, John Hedley Brooke, Celia Deane-Drummond and John Polkinghorne.

Adolf Grunbaum is one of the giants of 20th century philosophy of science. This volume is the first of three collecting his most essential and highly influential work. The essays collected in this first volume focus on three related areas. They discuss scientific rationality-the problem of what it takes for a theory to be called scientific, and ask whether it is plausible to draw a clear distinction between science and non-science as was famously proposed by Karl Popper. They delve into the debate between determinism and indeterminism, in both science and in the humanities. Grunbaum defends the position of the Humane Determinist, which then leads to a thorough criticism of the current theological approaches to ethics and morality-where Grunbaum defends an explicit Secular Humanism-as well as of prominent theistic interpretations of twentieth century physical cosmologies. The second volume is devoted to Grunbaum's writings on the Philosophy of Physics and Space-Time, and the third to his lectures on the Philosophy of Psychology and Psychoanalysis, including his 1985 Gifford Lectures, which are to be published for the first time.

'Overall, this collection of case studies provides an outstanding starting point for understanding the ethics of chemistry. It is an extremely important contribution to the study of chemical ethics ... Ethics of Chemistry is a key resource for educators interested in integrating ethics instruction into their chemistry curricula ... an important foundation for equipping students with the moral judgement and analytical skills necessary to contend with the ethical issues they are likely to face in their professional lives.'Nature Chemistry'... the book offers a general introduction to many relevant topics concerning the values, responsibilities, and judgements in (and of) chemistry. The volume could be helpful for university students and teachers or even general readers interested in the ethics of chemistry.' [Read Full Review]Jose Ramon Bertomeu-SanchezAmbixAlthough chemistry has been the target of numerous public moral debates for over a century, there is still no academic field of ethics of chemistry to develop an ethically balanced view of the discipline. And while ethics courses are increasingly demanded for science and engineering students in many countries, chemistry is still lagging behind because of a lack of appropriate teaching material. This volume fills both gaps by establishing the scope of ethics of chemistry and providing a cased-based approach to teaching, thereby also narrating a cultural history of chemistry.From poison gas in WWI to climate engineering of the future, this volume covers the most important historical cases of chemistry. It draws lesson from major disasters of the past, such as in Bhopal and Love Canal, or from thalidomide, Agent Orange, and DDT. It further introduces to ethical arguments pro and con by discussing issues about bisphenol-A, polyvinyl chloride, and rare earth elements; as well as of contested chemical projects such as human enhancement, the creation of artificial life, and patents on human DNA. Moreover, it illustrates chemical engagements in preventing hazards, from the prediction of ozone depletion, to Green Chemistry, and research in recycling, industrial substance substitution, and clean-up. Students also learn about codes of conduct and chemical regulations.An international team of experts narrate the historical cases and analyse their ethical dimensions. All cases are suitable for undergraduate teaching, either in classes of ethics, history of chemistry, or in chemistry classes proper.

The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology is the first collection to consider the full breadth of natural theology from both historical and contemporary perspectives and to bring together leading scholars to offer accessible high-level accounts of the major themes. The volume embodies and develops the recent revival of interest in natural theology as a topic of serious critical engagement. Frequently misunderstood or polemicized, natural theology is an under-studied yet persistent and pervasive presence throughout the history of thought about ultimate reality - from the classical Greek theology of the philosophers to twenty-first century debates in science and religion. Of interest to students and scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this authoritative handbook draws on the very best of contemporary scholarship to present a critical overview of the subject area. Thirty eight new essays trace the transformations of natural theology in different historical and religious contexts, the place of natural theology in different philosophical traditions and diverse scientific disciplines, and the various cultural and aesthetic approaches to natural theology to reveal a rich seam of multi-faceted theological reflection rooted in human nature and the environments within which we find ourselves.

The subject of Christology has been a struggle for the church from the very beginning. It has resulted in divisions, crusades, inquisitions, persecutions, and a wide range of creeds. Each group claims it possesses the truth-a truth revealed to them, a particular turn on belief they alone rightly proclaim. In "And Jacob Digged a Well," author Pastor Theodore M. Snider provides a commentary on religion-where it's been, where it's headed, and how it fits in the modern world. He seeks to answer this question: why do we believe what we believe?

Snider discusses how scientific and technological discoveries have changed not only our worldviews but also our Godviews and how consciousness and brain research are altering the way we understand each other and how beliefs are formed. He compiles a diverse amount of information on topics relevant to both secular and religious audiences, including creationism, evolution, intelligent design, and artificial intelligence through historical, scientific, cognitive, and psychological avenues.

And Jacob Digged a Well reminds us that "natural" may not be as clear as we once thought. Faith in the twenty-first century needs to look quite different from the past century.