Bücher veröffentlicht von Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Despite numerous publications on the philosophy of technology, little attention has been paid to the relationship between being and value in technology, two aspects which are usually treated separately. This volume addresses this issue by drawing connections between the ontology of technology on the one hand and technology¿s ethical and aesthetic significance on the other. The book first considers what technology is and what kind of entities it produces. Then it examines the moral implications of technology. Finally, it explores the connections between technology and the arts.

This advanced textbook explores small area estimation techniques, covers the underlying mathematical and statistical theory and offers hands-on support with their implementation.

This non-technical biography of Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn (1851-1922) presents to the general reader the scientific life of the astronomer who pioneered the studies of the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy. In telling KapteynΓÇÖs story the author weaves in astronomy basics and uses modern astronomical images to show the developments of astronomical research from KapteynΓÇÖs times to the present. In particular the study of the distribution of stars in space has now culminated with spectacular new insights coming from the astrometric satellite GAIA, which is receiving much public attention today.The biography shows how KapteynΓÇÖs ideas influenced prominent astronomers worldwide. He is prominent as designer of the Kapteyn Universe, the alternative to the large system found by Harlow Shapley. He is the discoverer of KapteynΓÇÖs Star, still the second fastest moving star in the sky, which is now one of the nearest stars with a planet in the habitable zone. This fascinating hybrid of astronomy history and popular astronomy tells the story of the astronomy professor without an observatory who founded the first astronomical laboratory specializing in measuring photographic plates exposed elsewhere. Kapteyn took astronomy out of cataloguing stars to measuring distances and velocities in order to study their spatial distribution, systematic motions (KapteynΓÇÖs Star Streams) and the equilibrium between their gravity and motions. His legacy includes, in addition to the first application of Galactic structure and dynamics, Jan Hendrik Oort, the famous astronomer from Leiden, who as a student was so impressed by KapteynΓÇÖs lectures that he decided to become an astronomer.

This book proposes a novel approach to the design of accessible and inclusive sailing yachts, inspired by the principles of ΓÇ£Design for All.ΓÇ¥  The goal is to allow anyone, including users with disabilities and individuals belonging to the weaker segments, to sail without barriers. Starting from an analysis of existing pleasure boats, the author identifies a series of factors limiting the accessibility or usability of external and internal spaces. In turn, he discusses the most suitable solutions to each. By proposing an extensive set of design solutions applicable to the confined spaces on yachts, and which comply with the relevant anthropometric and dimensional rules, the book offers a timely snapshot of the potential benefits and applicability of an inclusive approach to yacht design, setting a new reference standard for inclusive and accessible nautical design.  

This book is devoted to the last part of Aristotle¿s collection of short treatises known today as the Parva Naturalia, i.e. the treatise On Youth and Old Age, on Life and Death, on Respiration. In the three main sections of the book, the author offers a translation, a commentary and a thorough analysis of this work. The author argues in favour of the unity of the work and contextualises its ideas within Aristotle¿s corpus and the medical tradition of his time. After an Introduction to the nature of the work and its significance for the history of natural philosophy and science, a new English translation follows, along with a detailed commentary of Chapters 1-6, which combines philosophical discussion with philological observations. The book includes four interpretive essays, which tackle problems related to the whole treatise on a more philosophical basis, including questions about the structure and unity ofthe work, the organisation of the material, Aristotle¿s methodological principles, his aims and target audience as well as the relevance of his selected themes to the thematic agenda of some Hippocratic writings. This book is of interest to students and researchers in Aristotle¿s psychophysiology, and his views about the embodied mind, as well as to anyone concerned with the history of natural philosophy and science more generally.

Criminology has until recently neglected the nature and levels of crime outside the urban realm. This is not a surprise as crime tends to concentrate in urban areas and the police directs resources where the problems are. Yet, there are many reasons why scholars, decision-makers and society as a whole should care about crime and safety in rural areas. First, low crime rates in rural areas are mistakenly taken as a sign that crime is not a problem for those living there (Yarwood, 2001). Second, we argue that crime is not simply an urban phenomenon; it embodies the very same characteristics of the environment it is embedded, in certain cases, crime commission is only possible at those situational rural contexts (e.g., Stassen and Ceccato, 2020). Finally, crime in rural areas are in constant transformation given local and global influences, imposing challenges for policing and not least, for the long term sustainability of rural areas.This book highlights 20 reasons why crime and safety in rural areas is a topic of relevance. We attempt to untangle currently simplistic views of the rural by discussing a number of facets of the countryside as both safe and criminogenic, and more importantly, a hybrid place worth to be examined in its own right. Then, the book critically reviews a rich body of English-language literature in rural criminology that extends over more than five decades¿a scholarship that has engaged researchers and practitioners in all continents. The books finishes with a discussion of the emergent research questions of the field, and offers suggestions for further reading. This is an open access book.

This open access book applies insights from the network perspective in health research to explain the reproduction of health inequalities. It discusses the extant literature in this field that strongly correlates differences in social status with health behaviours and outcomes, and add to this literature by providing a coherent theoretical explanation for the causes of these health inequalities. It also shows that much research is needed on the precise factors and the social and socio-psychological mechanisms that are at play in creating and cementing social inequalities in health behaviours. While social support and social relations have received considerable attention within social and behavioural science research on health inequalities, this book considers the whole network of interpersonal relations, structures and influence mechanisms. This is the perspective of the social network analytical approach which has recently gained much attention in health research. The chapters of thisbook cover state-of-the-art research, open research questions, and perspectives for future research. The book provides network analyses on health inequalities from the perspective of sociology, psychology, and public health and is of interest to a wide range of scholars, students and practitioners trying to understand how health inequalities are reproduced across generations.

This book deals with some aspects of the future shape of the socio-economic order which would be founded on sustainability principles and the role of law therein, instead of on the prevailing capitalist economic order. The volume elaborates in particular on how innovation, a crucial aspect of free-market capitalism and its laws which constitute the current socio-economic order, could result in a more sustainable economy which, in turn, could lead to a more sustainable society. Moreover, the book analyses current developments in financial and economic law and evaluates their perks, risks and sustainability levels.The book contains no less than 11 chapters in which a variety of experts share their state-of-the-art insights regarding specific domains of socio-economic life. As such, the book deals with topics that are at present fully under debate in societies, such as student credit and the dangers it entails, crypto­currencies and how the law tries to regulate this basically privatelaw instrument, groups of companies under Belgian (company) law, a proposal for improving the international monetary system, and seeds and intellectual property rights, besides various other similar themes.The book forms the latest volume of the book series Economic and Financial Law & Policy ¿ Shifting Insights & Values, and fully complies with the series¿ goal of critically exa­mining the legal methods and mechanisms that shape the global free markets and proposing alternatives to them. The book will hereby prove a valuable instru­ment for all researchers investigating these matters, besides policymakers and their ad­visers as well as all lawyers active in the field of economic law who look for a new per­spective on the subject matters dealt with.

This volume celebrates the life and career of Gordon Rausser, pioneer and leader in natural resource economics, while critically overviewing the emerging literature in the field. As the chair of the Agriculture and Resource Economics department at UC Berkeley, Rausser led the transformation of the department from a traditional agricultural economics department to a diverse resource economics department addressing issues of agriculture, food, natural resources, environmental economics, energy, and development. This book builds on this theme, showcasing not only the scope of Rausser's work but also key developments in the field.The volume is organized into two parts. The first part speaks about the lessons of Gordon Rausser's career, in particular, his role as a leader in different spheres, his capacity to integrate teaching and entrepreneurship, and his impact on the world food system. The second part will address some of thesignificant developments in the field he contributed to and how it relates to his work. The chapters include contributions from modern leaders in the economics field and cover diverse topics from many subfields including public policy, public finance, law, econometrics, macroeconomics, and water resources.Providing an excellent reference, as well as a celebration of a pivotal figure in the field, this volume will be useful for practitioners and scholars in agricultural and resource economics, especially the many individuals familiar with Gordon Rausser and his career.