Open access to information resources and technology can have a profound impact on the economic development of a region as well as society in general. In recent years, reaction against proprietary knowledge and technology has led to tremendous debate both in academic and professional circles. Societal Benefits of Freely Accessible Technologies and Knowledge Resources analyzes current perspectives on the advantages of unrestricted access to information resources and technology intended to advance the prospect for knowledge, innovation, and development across the globe. Touching on topics of relevance to the private and public sectors, this publication is ideally designed for use by policy makers, business managers, academicians, researchers, students, IT practitioners, and legal professionals.

Modern engineering processes and tasks are highly complex, multi- and interdisciplinary, requiring the cooperative effort of different specialists from engineering, mathematics, computer science and even social sciences. Optimization methodologies are fundamental instruments to tackle this complexity, giving the possibility to unite synergistically team members' inputs and thus decisively contribute to solving new engineering technological challenges. With this context in mind, the main goal of Engineering Optimization 2014 is to unite engineers, applied mathematicians, computer and other applied scientists working on research, development and practical application of optimization methods applied to all engineering disciplines, in a common scientific forum to present, analyze and discuss the latest developments in this area. Engineering Optimization 2014 contains the edited papers presented at the 4th International Conference on Engineering Optimization (ENGOPT2014, Lisbon, Portugal, 8-11 September 2014). ENGOPT2014 is the fourth edition of the biennial "International Conference on Engineering Optimization". The first conference took place in 2008 in Rio de Janeiro, the second in Lisbon in 2010 and the third in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. The contributing papers are organized around the following major themes: - Numerical Optimization Techniques - Design Optimization and Inverse Problems - Effi cient Analysis and Reanalysis Techniques - Sensitivity Analysis - Industrial Applications - Topology Optimization For Structural Static and Dynamic Failures - Optimization in Oil and Gas Industries - New Advances in Derivative-Free Optimization Methods for Engineering Optimization - Optimization Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering - Optimization of Laminated Composite Materials - Inverse Problems in Engineering Engineering Optimization 2014 will be of great interest to engineers and academics in engineering, mathematics and computer science.