Since the 1970s, the field of industrial reliability has evolved significantly, in part due to the design and early operation of the first generation nuclear power plants. Indeed, the needs of this sector have led to the development of specific and innovative reliability methods, which have since been taken up and adapted by other industrial sectors, leading to the development of the management of uncertainties and Health and Usage Monitoring Systems. In this industry, reliability assessment approaches have matured. There are now methods, data and tools available that can be used with confidence for many industrial applications. The purpose of this book is to present and illustrate them with real study cases. The book addresses the evolution of reliability methods, experience feedback and expertise (as data is essential for estimating reliability), the reliability of socio-technical systems and probabilistic safety assessments, the structural reliability and probabilistic models in mechanics, the reliability of equipment and the impact of maintenance on their behavior, human and organizational factors and the impact of big data on reliability. Finally, some R&D perspectives that can be developed in the future are presented. Written by several engineers, statisticians and human and organizational factors specialists in the nuclear sector, this book is intended for all those who are faced with a reliability assessment of their installations or equipment: decision-makers, engineers, designers, operation or maintenance engineers, project managers, human and organizational factors specialists, experts and regulatory authority inspectors, teachers, researchers and doctoral students.

This monograph studies the professionalization of History of religions as an academic discipline in late 19th and early 20th century France and Europe. Its common thread is the work of the French Modernist priest and later Professor of History of religions at the College de France, Alfred Loisy (1857-1940), who participated in many of the most topical debates among French and international historians of religions. Unlike his well-studied Modernist theology, Loisy's writings on comparative religion, and his rich interactions with famous scholars like F. Cumont, M. Mauss, or J.G. Frazer, remain largely unknown. This monograph is the first to paint a comprehensive picture of his career as a historian of religions before and after his excommunication in 1908. Through a contextual analysis of publications by Loisy and contemporaries, and a large corpus of private correspondence, it illuminates the scientification of the discipline between 1890-1920, and its deep entanglement with religion, politics, and society. Particular attention is also given to the role of national and transnational scholarly networks, and the way they controlled the theoretical and institutional frameworks for studying the history of religions.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Why do people gesture while speaking? What role does this activity play in verbal exchanges? Which kind of relationship does it exhibit between the verbal and the gestural domains? This 1991 book attempts to answer these questions by surveying research on gestures carried out from various perspectives: psycho- and sociolinguistic, ethological, social, cognitive, and developmental psychological, and neuropsychological. This large coverage makes it unique in the field. Furthermore, the delineation of several approaches to the topic yields a clearer picture of their respective contributions than a commitment to a single view.

Urban lifestyles characterized by high consumption levels, exuberant use of natural resources, excessive production of waste, a widening gap between rich and poor, and a rapid growth of the human population pose a major problem for the future of the species. Therefore urban development must meet the needs of present generations without compromising the needs of future generations. This work introduces "sustainability assessment", a concept that aims to help in steering societies in a more sustainable direction, and applies this concept to cities.

A gripping tale of hope and survival in a world spiraling out of control. Mother of Darkness is the story of Tyll-an elven princess in the land of Rincon who battles secrets and abandonment and the forces of evil bent on the destruction of the world. Elandil, Tyll's father, is prepared to do anything to save her and they go forward together against overwhelming odds to vanquish the Mother of Darkness. But Elandil can't stop the coming tide and Tyll is left alone with nothing but her grit and the knowledge that she holds the key to the survival of the Rincon.

Lewis Thompson's journals allow the reader access to a man of action and a poet deeply committed to his search for the highest realization of Truth in and through Hindu spiritual practice. 2009 marks the centennial of the birth of English poet, Lewis Thompson, and the sixtieth anniversary of his untimely death in India in 1949 at the age of forty. As such, Integral Realist is a commemorative event that will surely place Lewis Thompson in a league with powerful spiritual figures of the twentieth century, and establish him among the great English writers and poets whom he admired. This very private companion to Lewis Thompson, Journals of an Integral Poet, Volume One 1932-1944, reveals a mature Thompson at the height of his commitment to Absolute Perfection - an ideal by which every object is completed as symbol in all domains by resolving the antithesis of Sensuality and Intellect within the context of integral, flexible, incalculable and organic Poetry.

Volume One of Lewis Thompson's journals takes us into the everyday world of India's sub-continent in the 1930's and 40's through the prism of a fierce spiritual aspirant and intellect. "The whole in this atmosphere," he writes, "suggests a superhuman discipline and dignity, a passion, a sensuality, for what is prior to Being and Non-being-astringent like the taste of iron." We share his meetings with Sri Aurobindo, Sri Ramana Maharshi, J. Krishnamurti, Anandamayi Ma and Sri Krishna Menon.. We experience his attempts to integrate a Western heritage-Christ, Blake, Yeats, Rimbaud, Pascal-with the exigencies of Indian gnosis. We marvel at his self-invented writing yoga, whose bold vocabulary juxtaposes many levels of consciousness - waking, dreaming, visionary, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, tantra and vedanta. This is a jewel of a book for those interested in "the power which consecrates us beyond ourselves." For the intimate context these journals provide, this book is a must for readers of Thompson's aphorisms (Mirror to the Light) and poetry (Black Sun). Edited with an introduction and commentary by Richard Lannoy. Foreword by Dr. Harry Oldmeadow, LaTrobe University.