This volume presents a comprehensive perspective on the global scientific, technological, and societal impact of nanotechnology since 2000, and explores the opportunities and research directions in the next decade to 2020. The vision for the future of nanotechnology presented here draws on scientific insights from U.S. experts in the field, examinations of lessons learned, and international perspectives shared by participants from 35 countries in a series of high-level workshops organized by Mike Roco of the National Science Foundation (NSF), along with a team of American co-hosts that includes Chad Mirkin, Mark Hersam, Evelyn Hu, and several other eminent U.S. scientists. The study performed in support of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) aims to redefine the R&D goals for nanoscale science and engineering integration and to establish nanotechnology as a general-purpose technology in the next decade. It intends to provide decision makers in academia, industry, and government with a nanotechnology community perspective of productive and responsible paths forward for nanotechnology R&D.

This book describes the vast opportunity created by unifying science and integrating technology, and recommends transforming ideas for individuals and society. We stand at the threshold of a new renaissance in knowledge based on the structure and behavior of matter from the nanoscale up to the most complex system yet discovered, the human brain. Unification of science based on unity in nature and its holistic investigation will lead to technological convergence and a more efficient societal structure for reaching human goals. In the early decades of the twenty-first century, concentrated effort can bring together nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and new humane technologies based in cognitive science. With proper attention to ethical issues and societal needs, rapid advances in convergent technologies have the potential to enhance both human performance and productivity. Examples of payoffs will include improving work efficiency and learning, enhancing individual sensory and cognitive capabilities, revolutionary changes in healthcare, improving both individual and group efficiency, highly effective communication techniques including brain to brain interaction, perfecting human-machine interfaces, enhancing human capabilities for defense purposes, reaching sustainable development using NBIC tools, and ameliorating the physical and cognitive decline that is common to the aging mind.

This is the first book addressing the convergence of technologies in coherence with social sciences, with a focus on people. Science and technology will increasingly dominate the world, as population, resource exploitation, and potential social conflict grow. Therefore, the successof this convergent technologies priority area is seen as crucial to the future of humanity.

This volume aims to document the most important worldwide accomplishments in converging knowledge and technology, including converging platforms, methods of convergence, societal implications, and governance in the last ten years. Convergence in knowledge, technology, and society is the accelerating, transformative interaction among seemingly distinct scientific disciplines, technologies, and communities to achieve mutual compatibility, synergism, and integration, and through this process to create added value for societal benefit. It is a movement that is recognized by scientists and thought leaders around the world as having the potential to provide far-reaching solutions to many of today's complex knowledge, technology, and human development challenges. Four essential and interdependent convergence platforms of human activity are defined in the first part of this report: nanotechnology-biotechnology-information technology and cognitive science ("NBIC") foundational tools; Earth-scale environmental systems; human-scale activities; and convergence methods for societal-scale activities. The report then presents the main implications of convergence for human physical potential, cognition and communication, productivity and societal outcomes, education and physical infrastructure, sustainability, and innovative and responsible governance. As a whole, the report presents a new model for convergence. To effectively take advantage of this potential, a proactive governance approach is suggested. The study identifies an international opportunity to develop and apply convergence for technological, economic, environmental, and societal benefits. The panel also suggests an opportunity in the United States for implementing a program aimed at focusing disparate R and D energies into a coherent activity - a "Societal Convergence Initiative". This study received input from leading academic, industry, government, and NGO experts from the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Human Resource Development is a very important scientific topic in the world today and due to the globalization process, it will only become more important in the next decades. This happens because the effort to develop in a sustained way the world will need more and more talent. In this context, we do not believe robots or Artificial Intelligence and digitalization will decrease the need for Humans in organizations; quite on the contrary we consider that the so-called 4.0 revolution will only increase the need for more highly developed human potential. It is within this context that we believe a Handbook of Research on Human Resource Development will be important because it will help individuals, organization managers, and national deciders to invest in HRD. The book is needed because it fills a gap given that many disperse publications exist but no one that really covers in 25 chapters the essence of the topic. Researchers from all disciplines covering business sciences and social and human sciences working on a range possible topic of the project. This project will emphasize the importance of HRD in the current and future context. Learning and development are fundamental to the digital and technological world. Researchers will be encouraged to push the boundaries of their respective disciplines and to see how theories and methodologies can be used to design rich research projects to study the complex dynamics and interactions of HRD. This project is an opportunity to involve several stakeholders, including professionals from public and private companies, human resources professionals, specialists, academics, and researchers from several countries.

A major concern of island power systems is frequency stability. A power system is said to be frequency stable if its generators are able to supply their loads at a frequency within acceptable limits after a disturbance. Frequency instability occurs if load-generation imbalances are not corrected in appropriate manner and time. Since island power systems are more sensitive to frequency instability than large ones due to the smaller number of generators online and the lower inertia, they require a larger amount of primary reserve per generator. This book provides a worldwide overview of island power systems, describing their main features and issues. Split into two parts, the first part examines the technical operation, and in particular, frequency stability of island power systems and its technical solutions, including more efficient underfrequency load-shedding schemes. The chapters explore both conventional and advanced load-shedding schemes and consider the improvement of these schemes by making them more robust and efficient. Advanced devices are modelled and analyzed to enhance frequency stability and reduce the need for load shedding. In the second part, the economic operation of island power systems is explored in detail. For that purpose, regulations and economic operations (centralized vs. market scheme) are reviewed by the authors. The authors discuss models for renewable energy sources and for advanced devices and systems such as demand-side management, energy storage systems, and electric vehicles. This book will be critical reading to all researchers and professionals in power system planning and engineering, electrical/power delivery, RES and control engineering. It will also be of interest to researchers in signal processing and telecommunications and renewable energy, as well as power system utility providers.

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.

M. C. Roco and W.S. Bainbridge In the early decades of the 21st century, concentrated efforts can unify science based on the unity of nature, thereby advancing the combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and new technologies based in cognitive science. With proper attention to ethical issues and societal needs, converging in human abilities, societal technologies could achieve a tremendous improvement outcomes, the nation's productivity, and the quality of life. This is a broad, cross cutting, emerging and timely opportunity of interest to individuals, society and humanity in the long term. The phrase "convergent technologies" refers to the synergistic combination of four major "NBIC" (nano-bio-info-cogno) provinces of science and technology, each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate: (a) nanoscience and nanotechnology; (b) biotechnology and biomedicine, including genetic engineering; (c) information technology, including advanced computing and communications; (d) cognitive science, including cognitive neuroscience. Timely and Broad Opportunity. Convergence of diverse technologies is based on material unity at the nanoscale and on technology integration from that scale."

Life with a potted plant is undeniably better. And better yet is the ability to grow and replicate new, healthy houseplants without ever having to visit a garden centre again. Learn to share, swap and celebrate the miraculous methods of multiplying all of your favourites at almost no cost at all.

And here's the secret: it's really, really easy.

Plants are designed to multiply. They spread their roots, send off inquisitive shoots, and regenerate themselves in all sorts of exciting and unexpected ways without any help. Even for the beginner indoor gardener, a single leaf can hold enough life to be successfully grown into a brand new plant.

With Root, Nurture, Grow, you'll quickly discover how to propagate any houseplant, take cuttings, cultivate runners and offsets, divide plants at the roots and even grow brand new root systems in the air. You'll learn pruning methods that produce no waste, organic rooting medium recipes, and eventually enjoy gifting and swapping newly grown greenery with friends, family and other houseplant hoarders you'll meet along the way.

As well as myriad propagation methods, the book includes practical DIY projects to better nurture and display your plant family, including a homemade propagation chamber and simple self-watering planters.

Innovations in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology summarizes the state of the art in nano-sized materials. The authors focus on innovation aspects and highlight potentials for future developments and applications in health care, including pharmaceutics, dentistry, and cosmetics; information and communications; energy; and chemical engineering. The chapters are written by leading researchers in nanoscience, chemistry, pharmacy, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, medicine, and social science. The authors come from a range of backgrounds including academia, industry, and national and international laboratories around the world. This book is ideally suited for researchers and students in chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, materials science, and medicine and is a useful guide for industrialists. It aims to provide inspiration for scientists, new ideas for developers and innovators in industry, and guidelines for toxicologists. It also provides guidelines for agencies and government authorities to establish safe working conditions.

Learn how to care for your succulents, cacti and air plants with this beautiful but practical guide to indoor plants. These gorgeous, fashionable plants are handsome, hardy and perfect for urban living and this comprehensive companion is all you need to learn how to nurture and enjoy them, as well as how to stylishly arrange them in your home. House plant specialists Caro Langton and Rose Ray offer up their encyclopedicknowledge of house plants and their care in this beautiful and stylishly illustrated guide. Explaining how to look after individual plants, running through the soil, watering, light, food and more, this stylish go-to guide also shows you how to take cuttings to share with friends, make gifts,terrariums and displays, and other ways to make these fantastic plants part of your life. Whether you are looking for a first house plant to decorate a new space, or are a veteran indoor gardener seeking new design inspiration, this book will give you everything you need to grow a rich and verdant array of indoor plants.

FORGOTTEN The story of a family in the Philippines whose origins took over 25 years of research to uncover. Its most prominent son was the late Sen. Raul S. Roco, former Education Secretary of the Republic of the Philippines. Using genealogical research tools, DNA tests, and extensive use of the internet, the author has been able to trace the roots of the Roco Family to Makhir Theuderic, Duc d Autun, in Septimania, a former Roman province located in southern France today, during the reign of Peppin the Short, King of the Franks in 752 AD Discover how the Roco family was scattered all over the world during the past 1300 years and how the Nazis exterminated the entire Roco family in Amsterdam during WW II. And how the rest "forgot" that they are descendants of the House of David, of Judah, and of Israel of the Bible.

Ayn Rand (San Petersburgo, 1905 - Nueva York, 1982) es, sin lugar a dudas, una de las pensadoras mas relevantes del siglo XX. La solidez de sus ideas esta presente a lo largo de toda su obra literaria, que supone uno de los mas brillantes analisis que existen acerca del valor del hombre como un bien en si mismo. Sus novelas resultan inconfundibles por la realidad que incorporan sus protagonistas, individuos que rebasan por meritos propios la categoria de personajes literarios.
"Himno (Anthem)" es su segundo libro publicado. Se trata de una novela corta publicada en 1938 que presenta la batalla de un hombre por sobrevivir en una sociedad que ha proscrito el pensamiento individual hasta olvidar su significado. En ella se apuntan temas que mas tarde desarrollaria en sus dos obras de plenitud: "El Manantial" y "La Rebelion de Atlas," con las que tiene en comun el concepto del hombre como "un ser heroico, con su propia felicidad como el proposito moral de su vida, con el logro productivo como su mas noble actividad y la razon como su unico absoluto," en palabras de la propia autora.
"Dentro de mil anos se recordara un solo nombre del siglo XX por haber sido, en la forma mas sorprendente y positiva posible, el unico cerebro que tuvo un pensamiento filosofico original en este siglo: AYN RAND."
Editorial del "Los Angeles Times" a la muerte de la autora.

Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) fue uno de los principales defensores del libre comercio en la Francia del siglo XIX, y su labor divulgativa gozo en su momento de amplio reconocimiento en toda Europa. Como economista, su trabajo ha continuado siendo objeto de estudio, especialmente en Estados Unidos, y en los ultimos anos tambien en Europa se viene observando una progresiva rehabilitacion de la validez de sus escritos de economia politica.

"La Ley," la obra que se presenta en esta edicion, aborda otro aspecto fundamental de su ideario: la definicion de las atribuciones de la ley con respecto a la esfera de autonomia del individuo. Fue publicada en 1850, el ano en que termino de redactar sus "Armonias Economicas," y puede considerarse, a todos los efectos, como su testamento politico.
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