Engineering Rock Mechanics Part II: Illustrative Worked Examples can be used as an independent book or alternatively it complements an earlier publication called Engineering Rock Mechanics: An Introduction to the Principles by the same authors.
It contains illustrative worked examples of engineering rock mechanics in action as the subject applies to civil, mining, petroleum and environmental engineering. The book covers the necessary understanding and the key techniques supporting the rock engineering design of structural foundations, dams, rock slopes, wellbores, tunnels, caverns, hydroelectric schemes and mines. There is a question and worked answer presentation with the question and answer sets collated into twenty chapters which match the subject matter of the first book.

Many books that challenge religious belief from a skeptical point of view take a combative tone that is almost guaranteed to alienate believers or they present complex philosophical or scientific arguments that fail to reach the average reader. This is undoubtably an ineffective way of encouraging people to develop critical thinking about religion. This unique approach to skepticism presents fifty commonly heard reasons people often give for believing in a God and then raises legitimate questions regarding these reasons, showing in each case that there is much room for doubt. Whether you're a believer, a complete skeptic, or somewhere in between, you'll find this review of traditional and more recent arguments for the existence of God refreshing, approachable, and enlightening. From religion as the foundation of morality to the authority of sacred books, the compelling religious testimony of influential people, near-death experiences, arguments from Intelligent Design, and much more, Harrison respectfully describes each rationale for belief and then politely shows the deficiencies that any good skeptic would point out. As a journalist who has traveled widely and interviewed many highly accomplished people, quite a number of whom are believers, the author appreciates the variety of belief and the ways in which people seek to make religion compatible with scientific thought. Nonetheless, he shows that, despite the prevalence of belief in God or religious belief in intelligent people, in the end there are no unassailable reasons for believing in a God. For skeptics looking for appealing ways to approach their believing friends or believers who are not afraid to consider a skeptical challenge, this book makes for very stimulating reading.

Terahertz technology has moved on from being a useful but expensive circuit technique, applied largely in astronomy and space science, to become a subject in its own right, with important applications - terahertz imaging in particular. Indeed, the driving force in terahertz technology is currently imaging and spectroscopy. We now have the means to obtain images and chemical information in this frequency band. The images reproduced in this volume are striking and, not surprisingly, the clinical and analytical uses are the subject of intense activity. There is still, however, no complete range of active THz electronic components, but an encouraging conclusion of the book is that THz electronics will become necessary in communications systems in the foreseeable future. Terahertz technology has come of age, and the future lies open to new, exciting science and vital applications.

For over a decade, there has been an increasing interest in the use of supply chain methods to improve performance across the entire business enterprise. Numerous industries have recognized the importance of efficient supply chain integration, and, as a result, supply chain management has become a standard part of business practice.

The Practice of Supply Chain Management: Where Theory and Application Converge is a must-have volume for users of supply chain management methods, supply chain management researchers, and students in supply chain management. The objective of the book is to provide an overview of this important practice-research cycle, and it is organized into three sections: Core Concepts and Practices; Emerging Supply Chain Practices; and Supply Chain in Action. The focus of the book is on supply chain practice, but supply chain practice that has been heavily influenced by supply chain research. It is this synergy between research and practice that continues to simulate new directions for research.

Developing countries undergoing economic crises have traditionally followed economic restructuring programs that are based on the premise that private investment recovery is assured once the market is allowed to prevail. There is little regard for the micro-level unit - the 'investing-firm' - in this process, the conditions that characterize the product and factor markets and the positioning of the firm at the outset of adjustment. This book focuses on the firm and its experience in the restructuring process within the context of a heterogeneous private sector.

The concept of race has had a powerful impact on history and continues to shape the world today in profound ways. Most people derive their attitudes about race from their family, culture, and education. Very few, however, are aware that there are vast differences between the popular notions of race and the scientific view of human diversity. Yet even among scientists, who understand the current evidence, there is great controversy regarding the definition of the term race or even the usefulness of thinking in terms of race at all.
Drawing on research from diverse sources and interviews with key scientists, award-winning journalist Guy P. Harrison surveys the current state of a volatile, important, and confusing subject. Harrison's thorough approach explores all sides of the issue, including such questions as these:
- If analysis of the human genome reveals that all human beings are 99.9% alike, how meaningful are racial differences?
- Is the concept of race merely a cultural invention?
- If race distinctions are at least partially based in biological reality, how do we decide the number of races? Are there just three or maybe 3 million?
- What do studies of racial attitudes reveal? Are we all, in one way or another, racists?
- How does race correlate with environmental and geographical differences?
- Are race-based drugs a good idea?
- How does race influence intelligence, athletic ability, and love interests?
Harrison delves into these and many more intriguing, controversial, and important questions in this enlightening book. After reading "Race and Reality," you will never think about race in the same way again.

Engineering rock mechanics is the discipline used to design structures built in rock. These structures encompass building foundations, dams, slopes, shafts, tunnels, caverns, hydroelectric schemes, mines, radioactive waste repositories and geothermal energy projects: in short, any structure built on or in a rock mass. Despite the variety of projects that use rock engineering, the principles remain the same. Engineering Rock Mechanics clearly and systematically explains the key principles behind rock engineering.
The book covers the basic rock mechanics principles; how to study the interactions between these principles and a discussion on the fundamentals of excavation and support and the application of these in the design of surface and underground structures. Engineering Rock Mechanics is recommended as an across-the-board source of information for the benefit of anyone involved in rock mechanics and rock engineering.

Science fiction has hosted some of the greatest minds and most innovative thinkers in human history. From Orson Wells to Octavia Butler, Star Trek to Star Wars, in books, on television, and at the movies, science fiction has shaped our future, pushed the limits of human imagination, and guided us within ourselves to examine the universal truths of life. In this smartly curated book, author Guy P. Harrison collects 1,001 of the most influential and transformative quotations over the centuries of sci-fi. “Better to make a good future than predict a bad one.” ― Isaac Asimov, Prelude to Foundation, 1988 novel “Hope clouds observation.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965 novel “All men, however highly educated, retain some superstitious inklings. ― H. G. Wells,The Invisible Man, 1897 novel “No amount of money ever bought a second of time.” ― Avengers: Endgame, 2019 film, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely Whether you are a Dr. Who superfan, a diehard sci-fi reader, or an outer space film buff – or are simply curious about the cosmos – Damn You, Entropy! is an essentialaddition to every science fiction fan’s library.

Written in a respectful and conversational style, this unique book is designed to promote constructive dialogue and foster mutual understanding between Christians and non-Christians. The author, a skeptic and journalist, asks basic questions about Christian belief. What is the born-again experience? Why would God want to sacrifice his only son for the world? Do miracles really happen? How reliable is the Bible? What is the rapture? Why isn't everyone a Christian? Each question is followed by commentary and analysis that is skeptical and tough but never argumentative or condescending. Christians will find the book useful as a basis for developing their apologetics, while skeptics will welcome Harrison's probing rational analysis of religious claims.

Thomas P. Harrison here combines a lifelong interest in birds with a professional study of literature. This book, a study of birds as they are presented by four great English poets, inquires into the extent and sources of their knowledge of birds and analyzes the methods by which they adapted that knowledge for poetic purposes. The interrelationships of their poetry are also discussed, providing a new basis for comparison of four poets whose work is closely linked on other grounds remote from natural history. The first chapter reviews representative figures and works of the centuries preceding the Renaissance and illustrates the medieval poetic conventions about birds that influenced the four poets. The remaining chapters treat each poet and his works in detail, comparing their use of this area of the natural world. The book concludes with an index of bird allusions in the works of the four poets, with occasional quotations illustrating the manner in which the traditional or observed habits of particular birds were put to poetic use. The book is illustrated with medieval and Renaissance illustrations of birds. In this careful treatment of an important element of the poets' works, Harrison has indicated the larger picture of their attitudes toward and use of the natural world about them. Accordingly, it might be said to constitute a chapter on the relationship of poetry and science at a crucial period in the history of thought. For much of his material, Harrison journeyed to England, where, among other research activities, he visited museums of natural history and bird sanctuaries throughout the country. Primarily intended for students of literature, They Tell of Birds will also be of interest to ornithologists in its presentation of the beliefs of antiquity and the Middle Ages about particular birds. For, as the distinguished ornithologist E. M. Nicholson has said: "We owe to poets a wealth of records of living wild birds long before scientific ornithology had started."

Quantum Wells, Wires and Dots provides all the essential information, both theoretical and computational, to develop an understanding of the electronic, optical and transport properties of these semiconductor nanostructures. The book will lead the reader through comprehensive explanations and mathematical derivations to the point where they can design semiconductor nanostructures with the required electronic and optical properties for exploitation in these technologies. This fully revised and updated 4th edition features new sections that incorporate modern techniques and extensive new material including: * Properties of non-parabolic energy bands * Matrix solutions of the Poisson and Schrodinger equations * Critical thickness of strained materials * Carrier scattering by interface roughness, alloy disorder and impurities * Density matrix transport modelling * Thermal modelling Written by well-known authors in the field of semiconductor nanostructures and quantum optoelectronics, this user-friendly guide is presented in a lucid style with easy to follow steps, illustrative examples and questions and computational problems in each chapter to help the reader build solid foundations of understanding to a level where they can initiate their own theoretical investigations. Suitable for postgraduate students of semiconductor and condensed matter physics, the book is essential to all those researching in academic and industrial laboratories worldwide. Instructors can contact the authors directly ([email protected] / [email protected]) for Solutions to the problems.

The contributors to this book pursue three important lines of inquiry into parable study, in order to illustrate how these lessons have been received throughout the millennia. The contributors consider not only the historical and material world of the parables’ composition, and focusing on the social, political, economic, and material reality of that world, but also seek to connect how the parables may have been seen and heard in ancient contexts with how they have been, and continue to be, seen and heard. Intentionally allowing for a “bounded openness” of approach and interpretation, these essays explore numerous contexts, encounters and responses. Examining topics ranging from ancient harvest imagery and dependency relations to contemporary experience with the narratives and lessons of the parables, this volume seeks to link those very real ancient contexts with our own varied modern contexts.

Economic and environmental requirements for advanced power generating systems demand the removal of corrosive and other sulfurous compounds from hot coal gas. After a brief account of the world energy resources and an overview of clean coal technologies, a review of regenerable metal oxide sorbents for cleaning the hot gas is provided. Zinc oxide, copper oxide, calcium oxide, manganese oxide based as well as supported and mixed metal oxide sorbents are treated. Performance analysis of these sorbents, effects of various parameters on the desulfurization efficiency, kinetics of sulfidation and regeneration reactions, sulfiding and regeneration mechanisms are discussed. Two chapters present recent results in the direct production of elemental sulfur from regeneration or SO2-rich gases.

Economic and environmental requirements for advanced power generating systems demand the removal of corrosive and other sulfurous compounds from hot coal gas. After a brief account of the world energy resources and an overview of clean coal technologies, a review of regenerable metal oxide sorbents for cleaning the hot gas is provided. Zinc oxide, copper oxide, calcium oxide, manganese oxide based as well as supported and mixed metal oxide sorbents are treated. Performance analysis of these sorbents, effects of various parameters on the desulfurization efficiency, kinetics of sulfidation and regeneration reactions, sulfiding and regeneration mechanisms are discussed. Two chapters present recent results in the direct production of elemental sulfur from regeneration or SO2-rich gases.

For over a decade, there has been an increasing interest in the use of supply chain methods to improve performance across the entire business enterprise. Numerous industries have recognized the importance of efficient supply chain integration, and, as a result, supply chain management has become a standard part of business practice.

The Practice of Supply Chain Management: Where Theory and Application Converge is a must-have volume for users of supply chain management methods, supply chain management researchers, and students in supply chain management. The objective of the book is to provide an overview of this important practice-research cycle, and it is organized into three sections: Core Concepts and Practices; Emerging Supply Chain Practices; and Supply Chain in Action. The focus of the book is on supply chain practice, but supply chain practice that has been heavily influenced by supply chain research. It is this synergy between research and practice that continues to simulate new directions for research.

Think more critically, learn to question everything, and don't let your own brain trip you up.
This fresh and exciting approach to science, skepticism, and critical thinking will enlighten and inspire readers of all ages. With a mix of wit and wisdom, it challenges everyone to think like a scientist, embrace the skeptical life, and improve their critical thinking skills.
"Think" shows you how to better navigate through the maze of biases and traps that are standard features of every human brain. These innate pitfalls threaten to trick us into seeing, hearing, thinking, remembering, and believing things that are not real or true. Guy Harrison's straightforward text will help you trim away the nonsense, deflect bad ideas, and keep both feet firmly planted in reality.
With an upbeat and friendly tone, Harrison shows how it's in everyone's best interest to question everything. He brands skepticism as a constructive and optimistic attitude--a way of life that anyone can embrace. An antidote to nonsense and delusion, this accessible guide to critical thinking is the perfect book for anyone seeking a jolt of inspiration.

Terahertz technology has moved on from being a useful but expensive circuit technique, applied largely in astronomy and space science, to become a subject in its own right, with important applications - terahertz imaging in particular. Indeed, the driving force in terahertz technology is currently imaging and spectroscopy. We now have the means to obtain images and chemical information in this frequency band. The images reproduced in this volume are striking and, not surprisingly, the clinical and analytical uses are the subject of intense activity. There is still, however, no complete range of active THz electronic components, but an encouraging conclusion of the book is that THz electronics will become necessary in communications systems in the foreseeable future. Terahertz technology has come of age, and the future lies open to new, exciting science and vital applications.

Maybe you know someone who swears by the reliability of psychics or who is in regular contact with angels. Or perhaps you're trying to find a nice way of dissuading someone from wasting money on a homeopathy cure. Or you met someone at a party who insisted the Holocaust never happened or that no one ever walked on the moon. How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like?
This down-to-earth, entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims will help you set the record straight. The author, a veteran journalist, has not only surveyed a vast body of literature, but has also interviewed leading scientists, explored "the most haunted house in America," frolicked in the inviting waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and even talked to a "contrite Roswell alien." He is not out simply to debunk unfounded beliefs. Wherever possible, he presents alternative scientific explanations, which in most cases are even more fascinating than the wildest speculation.
For example, stories about UFOs and alien abductions lack good evidence, but science gives us plenty of reasons to keep exploring outer space for evidence that life exists elsewhere in the vast universe. The proof for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may be nonexistent, but scientists are regularly discovering new species, some of which are truly stranger than fiction.
Stressing the excitement of scientific discovery and the legitimate mysteries and wonder inherent in reality, this book invites readers to share the joys of rational thinking and the skeptical approach to evaluating our extraordinary world.

In this book we present a largely biochemical look at the metals of life and their functions, which we hope will be of interest to chemists and biologists as well as biochemists. The field of 'inorganic bio chemistry' is one of rapid change. Recent developments in our know ledge of the activity of calcium, and of the iron-sulphur proteins, are two examples, and increasing attention is being paid to non-metals as well 3]. For reasons of space, we shall restrict ourselves to the normal biological activities of metals. We must ignore, on the one hand, the gross physiological effects of metal deficiency or toxicity, and on the other, the many model studies which have been stimulated by the unusual properties of metals in biological systems. Usually the synthesis of model metal compounds follows rather than anticipates the dis covery of novel biological configurations. However, such studies give us a firm basis for an understanding of the biological systems, and sometimes answer questions that cannot be tackled any other way (for instance, what is the net charge on an iron-sulphur cluster?). As a result, we can refer to new and interesting information on the metals oflife at a chemical level. We gratefully acknowledge the help of Professor P. Banks and Dr D. Fenton who have read and criticized the manuscript, though any errors or misconceptions remain our own responsibility. We thank Mr P. Elliot for preparing Fig. 5.2."

Critical-thinking skills are essential for life in the 21st century. In this follow-up to his introductory guide Think, and continuing his trademark of hopeful skepticism, Guy Harrison demonstrates in a detailed fashion how to sort through bad ideas, unfounded claims, and bogus information to drill down to the most salient facts. By explaining how the human brain works, and outing its most irrational processes, this book provides the thinking tools that will help you make better decisions, ask the right questions (at the right time), know what to look for when evaluating information, and understand how your own brain subconsciously clouds your judgment. Think you're too smart to be easily misled? Harrison summarizes scientific research showing how easily even intelligent and well-educated people can be fooled. We all suffer from cognitive biases, embellished memories, and the tendency to kowtow to authority figures or be duped by dubious 'truths' packaged in appealing stories. And as primates we are naturally status seekers, so we are prone to irrational beliefs that seem to enhance our sense of belonging and ranking. Emotional impulses and stress also all too often lead us into traps of misperception and bad judgment. Understanding what science has discovered about the brain makes you better equipped to cope with its built-in pitfalls. Good Thinking--the book and the practice-- makes clear that with knowledge and the right thinking skills, anyone can lead a safer, wiser, more efficient, and productive life.

Computational Methods in Physics, Chemistry and Biology offers an accessible introduction to key computational techniques used within science, including quantum mechanics, dynamics, evolutionary methods and molecular dynamics. Assuming only a limited background in computational methods, this book provides the reader with a series of comprehensive examples, problems and practical-based tasks from the basics through to more complex ideas and techniques.

Beginning with an introduction to a numerical solution of Schrödinger's Equation the text moves on to discuss perturbation theory, variational calculations, diffusion, dynamics, Monte Carlo simulations and genetic algorithms. Aimed at those new to the field, the book will enable the reader to develop and implement computational methods for the solutions of a range of problems in science.

Features:

• An accessible introduction covering a range of essential techniques applicable to key problems
• Numerous examples, problems and practical-based exercises.
• A supplementary website including solutions

This book is devoted to recent and important research results in high energy physics which includes the following areas of theoretical and experimental physics: Collider Physics, Underground and Large Array Physics, Astroparticles, Gauge Field Theories, General Relativity and Gravitation, Mathematical Methods of Physics, Solvable Models, Strong Interactions, Weak Interactions, Quantum Field Theory, Statistical Field Theories, String Theory, Supersymmetry, Duality, Branes.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Medical Optical Imaging and Virtual Microscopy Image Analysis, MOVI 2022, held in conjunction with the 25th International Conference on Medical Imaging and Computer-Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2022, in Singapore, Singapore, in September 2022. The 18 papers presented at MOVI 2022 were carefully reviewed and selected from 25 submissions. The objective of the MOVI workshop is to promote novel scalable and resource-efficient medical image analysis algorithms for high-dimensional image data analy-sis, from optical imaging to virtual microscopy.