bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Free Will and Moral Responsibility
Authors: Mele Alfred R.
Published: May 2017

This chapter explores the conceptual connections between free action and action for which an agent is morally responsible. Questions addressed include the following: Can agents be morally responsible for actions of theirs that they do not freely perform? Can agents freely do something without being morally responsible for doing it? Can agents who are never morally responsible for anything sometimes act freely? Can agents who never act freely be morally responsible for some of their actions? Various compatibilist and incompatibilist responses to these questions are discussed, as is the control over their behavior that ordinary agents attribute to themselves. Various positions on free will are introduced and the importance of free will is explored.
Is What You Decide Ever up to You?
Authors: Mele Alfred R.
Published: May 2017

This chapter explores an objection to the following thesis: (LDF) Even if the difference between what an agent does at t in one possible world and what he does at t in another possible world with the same past up to t and the same laws of nature is just a matter of luck, the agent may perform a directly free action at t in both worlds. The objection is that LDF is false because (1) if a difference of the kind LDF specifies is just a matter of luck, then it is not up to the agent what he does at t in either world and (2) if it is not up to one what one does at t, one does not perform a directly free action at t. The objection is rebutted and light is shed on what it is for something to be up to an agent.
Arbitrary Decisions and the Problem of Present Luck
Authors: Mele Alfred R.
Published: May 2017

This chapter focuses on a positive element of a typical libertarian view: namely, the thesis (LFT) that there are indeterministic agents who sometimes act freely when their actions—and decisions in particular—are not deterministically caused by proximal causes. LFT is the target of the problem of present luck—indeterministic luck at the time of decision. The bearing of such luck on LFT is explored, and two control-featuring arguments against event-causal libertarianism are rebutted: the same-control argument and the more-control argument. In addition, the freedom of some arbitrary decisions is explored, a mistaken reading of Alfred Mele’s work on luck is corrected, and skepticism about agent causation is discussed.
Radical Skepticism Concerning the External World
Authors: Johnsen Bredo
Published: May 2017

Many contemporary philosophers take very seriously such inferences as “It is possible that I am being massively deceived by a Demon; hence, I do not know that I am not.” This is because such inferences appear to be sound. Thus, they must be refuted or otherwise disposed of, since skepticism is a non-starter. However, these philosophers reject the idea that knowledge requires absolute certainty. This means they should consider the inference invalid.
Karl Popper
Authors: Johnsen Bredo
Published: May 2017

Due to Sir Karl Popper’s slashing style, his writings are full of tensions and inconsistencies. However, they can be resolved by a sufficiently sympathetic reading. In this chapter the author offers such a reading. The author argues that Popper’s endorsement of Hume’s “skeptical” argument leads him to a version of reflective equilibrium theory. He, Goodman, and Quine reject the idea of a principled distinction between facts and theories and take all beliefs about the world to be theoretical and fallible.
Willard van Orman Quine
Authors: Johnsen Bredo
Published: May 2017

In this chapter the author corrects other misunderstandings of Quine’s epistemology and focuses on five of Quine’s conceptions. The first is the roles of our sensory experiences, our observations and the stimulations of our sensory organs in our cognitive economies. The second is the nature of our evidence about the world. The third is the epistemological importance of some introspective judgments. The fourth is observation sentences (which include both objective [“a is F”] and subjective [“a looks F”] sentences). The fifth is naturalized epistemology. The chapter concludes with a concise outline of his epistemology, which Quine himself never provided.
The Many Faces of Meiji Buddhist Enlightenment
Authors: Shields James Mark
Published: May 2017

Chapter 1, “The Many Faces of Meiji Buddhist Enlightenment,” provides the historical and philosophical context for the emergence of Buddhist reform in the mid- to late-Meiji period by examining a variety of new ideas brought about by the profound social, political, economic, and religious transformations that shaped Japan in the two decades following the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Particularly important are the impact of Western thought, including Christianity, the emergence (in theory if not yet practice) of State Shinto, and the brief but traumatizing attempt to disestablish Buddhism by the state—i.e., the so-called haibutsu kishaku廃‎仏‎希‎釈‎ movement of the early 1870s. The chapter examines the various responses to these currents via the writings and activities of paradigm scholars and scholar-priests representing the so-called “Buddhist Enlightenment” of the late 1880s and 1890s.
Searching the Past
Authors: Ragsdale Lyn , Rusk Jerrold G.
Published: May 2017

Abstract: This chapter begins the historical analysis of American elections across four political periods: the government expansion period (1920–1944), the post-war period (1946–1972), the government reassessment period (1974–1990), and the Internet technology period (1992–2012). In the first period, the Great Depression and the advent of radio notably reduce nonvoting. When the economy stabilizes and most people have radios in their homes, nonvoting increases. The chapter also explores the effect of women’s suffrage on nonvoting and finds that women did not enter the electorate in large numbers in the first elections for which they were eligible to vote. However, by the 1940s, their nonvoting rates are much lower than men’s in presidential elections, although not in midterm elections.
Conclusion
Authors: Dallmayr Fred
Published: May 2017

These remarks reiterate the view articulated in the book that the rise of modern democracy signifies more than just the expansion of the number of rulers, but rather a basic “paradigm shift” involving multiple dimensions of life and thought (comprising political, metaphysical, and even theological dimensions). By comparison, the remarks stress a more holistic breakthrough: the emergence of a new spirituality coupled with the deepening of a lateral or horizontal humanism under the aegis of a relational democracy. The constitutive elements of democracy—whose relationship has to be continuously renegotiated—are mainly three: the people as a whole (potentia), the political rulers or agents (potestas), and the goal or basic orientation of the community (telos, bonum commune). In our time, democratic rule has to be promoted not only domestically, but globally (without violence) to avoid the autocratic domination of some societies or people by others.
Borrowed Belonging
Authors: Phelan Helen
Published: May 2017

Chapter 1 commences with a discussion of the changing cultural and social landscape of Ireland at the turn of the century, particularly in the context of religion and migration. It explores two ritual case studies based on fieldwork with a Russian Orthodox and Nigerian Pentecostal ritual community in Limerick city, Ireland. It looks at the characteristic of resonance through an examination of the relationship between sound and space. In the face of ritual “absences” often experienced by migrant communities unable to ritualize in their own space or with ritually specific artifacts or vestments, singing is shown to exhibit a compensatory ritual “authority.” Through the metaphor of pilgrimage, it examines how new migrant communities are contributing to a reimagining of traditional Irish Catholicism as a more inclusive space of belonging.
Conclusion
Authors: Phelan Helen
Published: May 2017

The conclusion summarizes the characteristics of ritual singing that facilitate a sense of belonging as they have been proposed throughout this book. These include aspects of resonance, somatics, performance, temporality, and tacitness. These five characteristics point toward three important ways in which ritually framed singing is well positioned to promote a sense of belonging. Singing plays an important role in helping us structure experience. It has an essentially relational character. As a performed activity, singing also has agency. The ethnographic studies of religious, educational, community, and civic rituals presented throughout the book highlight ways in which the changing religious and cultural landscape of Ireland is being negotiated and transformed through sung ritual practices. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the “weakness” of singing, proposing that it is this very characteristic that allows it to function so hospitably in experiences of fragility, vulnerability, and change.
‘Jus Gentium’ and the Law of Nature in Asia (1956)
Authors: Alexandrowicz C. H.
Published: May 2017

This chapter discusses the development of the law of nations in Asia. China, for instance, developed their own notions of inter-state law and practice with a strong emphasis on the institution of vassal states who acknowledged the supreme authority of the imperial suzerain. There seems to have been legal equality among these mutually independent states in the Chinese Commonwealth. Diplomatic intercourse was well known and envoys enjoyed immunity, though to a lesser degree than in the West. In India, the relations between rulers led to the development of principles of an international or quasi-international character. Kautilya’s Arthashastra bears witness to the existence of a well-defined set of rules which prevailed in the various ‘circles’ of states. Interstate law in India knew humanitarian rules of warfare, the inviolability of envoys, the vassal–suzerain relationship, and principles relating to maritime intercourse.
Some Problems in the History of the Law of Nations in Asia (1963)
Authors: Alexandrowicz C. H.
Published: May 2017

This chapter considers problems in the study of the history of the law of nations in Asia. It argues that international lawyers have focused their attention on the legal aspects of contemporary problems of international relations and politics, and on the operation of tribunals and quasi-tribunals and the case law they produce. Writers of present day treatises of international law devote just a few introductory pages to the history of the subject and these short chapters are often based on similar introductions in nineteenth-century treatises. The chapter discusses some of the elements of legal change in which European–Asian relations played a significant role; the gradual elimination of the natural law outlook by growing European positivism; the principle of universality of the law of nations and the principle of identity of de facto and de jure State sovereignty; and the use of capitulations to delay the ‘entry’ of Asian States into the family of nations.
Freitas Versus Grotius (1959)
Authors: Alexandrowicz C. H.
Published: May 2017

This chapter considers the work of Franciscus Seraphin de Freitas, a professor at the University of Valadolid, in particular his treatise entitled De Justo Imperio Lusitanorum Asiatico, and compares his influence to that of Hugo Grotius. Freitas and Grotius were participants in a case that arose from the seizure of a Portuguese vessel in the Straits of Malacca by a Dutch Admiral employed by the Dutch East India Company. Its capture was questioned by some Company members who opposed the adjudication of the prize by the Dutch Admiralty Court. Grotius defended the case and Freitas was chosen to state a case for the King of Spain who was also then the sovereign of Portugal. The chapter argues that Freitas deserves his due place among the writers of the seventeenth century who contributed to the clarification of problems relating to the legal status of the sea and to European–Asian inter-state relations.
The Discriminatory Clause in South Asian Treaties in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (1957)
Authors: Alexandrowicz C. H.
Published: May 2017

The division of Indian and other South Asian markets among the various European nationalities led to vital changes of territorial sovereignty. The corresponding process of commercial, political, and military manoeuvering was accompanied by treaty making which formalised the initial power positions, and the relevant clauses and stipulations reflected the consecutive stages of the struggle. As soon as some of the European powers or agencies obtained from their Asian counterparts preferential treatment coupled with prohibitions directed against other European nationalities, all of them plunged into retaliatory practices, each attempting to secure the maximum of concessions or the establishment of a monopoly for itself. This chapter examines the various discriminatory or prohibitory clauses included in some treaties and the type or pattern of stipulation adopted by the contracting parties.
Introduction
Authors: Marmodoro Anna , Viltanioti Irini-Fotini
Published: May 2017

This volume explores how some of the most prominent philosophers and theologians of late antiquity conceptualize the idea that the divine is powerful. The period under consideration spans roughly four centuries (from the first to the fifth CE), which are of particular interest because they ‘witness’ the successive development and mutual influence of two major strands in the history of Western thought: Neoplatonism on the one hand, and early Christian thought on the other. Representatives of Neoplatonism considered in this volume are Plotinus (...
Policy Impact: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Authors: Galab S. , Reddy M. Gopinath
Published: May 2017

This chapter discusses research to policy linkages at state level with a case study of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. The study used the research done by the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) located at Hyderabad to assess the linkages of the research it had done in the policies of the state, and also the possible impact in actual policymaking in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The policy research of the CESS is broadly categorized into two types, viz., research-driven policy; and policy-driven research. The study found that in both cases, the CESS research had a significant impact on framing of state policies. The study shows that research by a dedicated and autonomous research institute can play a useful role in giving direction to the policies of the state and help in bringing about changes in the lives of people.
Social Science Policy in India
Authors: Dutta Swarup , Narayanan S.V.
Published: May 2017

This chapter discusses the policy related to social science research (SSR) in India since independence. Several committees have recognized the importance of social sciences and made numerous recommendations regarding the need to encourage and promote SSR as well as its use in public policymaking. The study shows that the policymaking in relation to SSR in India is in a precarious situation. Various education policies insisted more on science education and research and pitched for giving enhanced support for the scientific research in universities for national development, largely bypassing SSR. The study shows that although there is institutional infrastructure, the goal of the SSR in India is ambiguous as there is no clear strategy for the promotion of SSR. Moreover, there is no funding policy and no serious effort to identify the gaps in SSR in India.
The king’s revenues
Authors: Gunn Steven
Published: May 2017

The new men were active throughout Henry’s financial administration, aiming to increase the king’s revenues and the precision of his financial management. They collected and drove up the crown’s landed revenues and the customs on trade. They assessed taxation, oversaw the coinage, and managed the king’s feudal revenues from wardship and livery. They administered the bonds through which Henry bound his subjects to pay him money and which he used to exert political control over individuals. They helped the king audit accounts, took stock of royal possessions, and managed the financial transition from his reign to his son’s.
Subject Matter of Music
Authors: Browning Birch P.
Published: May 2017

The chapter surveys the variety of important roles that music plays in society and for members of society. At its core, music is sound that is organized around five basic components: rhythm, timbre, melody, harmony, and form. These various components are perceived from the environment, and then the mind extracts and applies meaning to the sounds. The concept of the sound envelope, consisting of attack, decay, sustain, and release, is illustrated. Effective musical artists understand this meaning-making process and consciously design musical experiences to communicate meaning to listeners.
Landmark Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds of the Past and Present
Authors: Patisaul Heather B. , Belcher Scott M.
Published: May 2017

This chapter focuses on four of the best known and most well characterized EDCs: the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), diethylstilbestrol (DES), and bisphenol A (BPA) as prototypical EDCs. For each compound, historical information regarding use, sources of contamination, descriptions of toxic effects, nature of endocrine disruptive mechanisms, and detailed summaries of critical research findings are highlighted. Each of these chemicals are seminal illustrative examples of EDCs that came to be recognized, defined, and considered seriously by the general public and the regulatory community. Continuing work with these well-studied chemicals continues to reveal new mechanisms of EDC action and identifying new potential health outcomes and effects, and have become important “positive control chemicals” for toxicity and chemical testing strategies and identification of emerging EDCs.
Receptor and Enzyme Mechanisms as Targets for Endocrine Disruptors
Authors: Patisaul Heather B. , Belcher Scott M.
Published: May 2017

In this chapter, the current understanding of the mechanisms of endocrine disruption on the brain and nervous system are presented. Because the overwhelming majority of mechanistic studies on EDCs have focused on the actions mediated by nuclear hormone receptors, this mechanisms is described in detail. The chapter also discusses the classic transcriptional mechanisms of steroid action and the impact of EDCs on rapid signaling (non-genomic) mechanisms. It presents an overview of the enzymes and pathways involved in the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, which are critical to proper functioning of the HPA and HPG axis, and the neuroactive steroids synthesized and active in the mammalian brain. The potential for EDCs to alter metabolic enzymes, with a focus on possible targets in the metabolic blood-brain barrier, is presented as a potential, though largely unexplored, mode of EDC action in the brain.
The Transformation of American Liberalism
Authors: Klosko George
Published: May 2017

With passage of the Social Security Act, in 1935, the American government took on new social welfare functions, which have expanded ever since. As a work of political theory “on the ground,” The Transformation of American Liberalism explores the arguments American political leaders used to justify and defend social welfare programs since the Social Security Act. Students of political theory note the evolution of liberal political theory between its origins and major contemporary theorists who justify the values and social policies of the welfare state. But the transformation of liberalism in American political culture is incomplete. Beginning with Franklin Roosevelt, the arguments of America’s political leaders fall well short of values of equality and human dignity that are often thought to underlie the welfare state. Individualist—“Lockean”—values and beliefs have exerted a continuing hold on America’s leaders, constraining their justificatory arguments. The paradoxical result may be described as continuing attempts to justify new social programs without acknowledging incompatibility between the arguments necessary to do so and individualist assumptions inherent in American political culture. The American welfare state is notably ungenerous in its social welfare programs. To some extent this may be attributed to the shortcomings of public justifications. An important reason for the striking absence of strong and widely recognized arguments for social welfare programs in America’s political culture is that its political leaders did not provide them.
Introduction
Authors: Klosko George
Published: May 2017

With passage of the Social Security Act, in 1935, the American government took on new social welfare functions, which have expanded ever since. The Transformation of American Liberalism explores the arguments American political leaders used to justify and defend social welfare programs since 1935. Students of political theory note the evolution of liberal political theory between its origins and major contemporary theorists who justify the values and social policies of the welfare state. But the transformation of liberalism in American political culture is incomplete. Beginning with Franklin Roosevelt, the arguments of America’s political leaders fall well short of values of equality and human dignity that are often thought to underlie the welfare state. Individualist—“Lockean”—values and beliefs have exerted a continuing hold on America’s leaders, constraining their justificatory arguments. The paradoxical result may be described as continuing attempts to justify new social programs without acknowledging incompatibility between the arguments necessary to do so and individualist assumptions inherent in American political culture. The American welfare state is notably ungenerous in its social welfare programs. To some extent this may be attributed to the shortcomings of public justifications. An important reason for the striking absence of strong and widely recognized arguments for these programs in America’s political culture is that its political leaders did not provide them.
Individualism and Progressivism
Authors: Klosko George
Published: May 2017

The influence of strict laissez faire ideas in American politics around the turn of the twentieth century, and responses by thinkers in the Progressive movement, especially members of the Social Gospel. Theodore Roosevelt’s similar political ideas.
Universal Health Insurance
Authors: Klosko George
Published: May 2017

Continuation of the struggle for national health insurance. Bill Clinton’s attempt to reform national health insurance, a cause taken up by Barack Obama, who in large part succeeded with his Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010. A major theme of the chapter is how the aim of universal health insurance, and so serving the poor, came to be overshadowed by the need to address abuses in the health insurance system and the concerns of the middle class.
Stereotactic Radiosurgery for the Treatment of Chronic Intractable Pain: A Systematic Review
Authors: Roberts Dustin G. , Pouratian Nader
Published: May 2017

BACKGROUND: Since the advent of neuromodulation, the role and efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for chronic pain has not been carefully scrutinized.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review to evaluate the clinical efficacy, both short- and long-term, of SRS for the treatment of chronic intractable pain.

METHODS: A systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO was performed using keywords and controlled vocabulary. The search included peer-reviewed articles reporting clinical outcomes of SRS for chronic pain with a minimum 3-mo follow-up for nonmalignant and 1 mo for malignant pain.

RESULTS: Six articles (113 patients) were evaluated on the basis of radiation target (thalamus vs pituitary) and pain etiology (malignant vs nonmalignant). Across studies, at least 35% of patients were reported to have lasting significant pain relief. By cohort, clinical success was achieved in 51% of pituitary SRS, at least 23% of thalamic SRS, 39% of nonmalignant, and at least 33% of malignant pain patients. Adverse events were noted in 21% of patients; the majority related to hormonal deficits from pituitary SRS.

CONCLUSION: Despite decreased utilization, SRS is effective for select patients with chronic pain and is associated with an acceptable complication rate. Pituitary SRS is superior in patients with cancer-related pain (87% success), while thalamic SRS is superior in patients with nonmalignant pain (65% success). Because reports of SRS for pain largely stem from a period before the common use of neuromodulatory and intrathecal therapies, the efficacy in patients who fail such therapies remains unclear and requires further characterization.
Forecasting
Authors: McCleary Richard , McDowall David , Bartos Bradley J.
Published: May 2017

Chapter 4 downplays forecasting’s role in the design and analysis of time series experiments and emphasizes its potential abuses. While the “best” ARIMA model will outperform other forecasting models in the short and medium-run, long-horizon ARIMA forecasts grow increasingly inaccurate with diminished utility to the forecaster. Although the principles of forecasting help provide deeper insight into the nature of ARIMA models and modeling, the forecasts themselves are ordinarily of limited practical value. Forecasting can provide useful guidance to analysts choosing between two competing univariate models. While forecasting accuracy is only one of many criteria that might be considered, other things being equal, it is fair to say that a statistically adequate model of a process should provide reasonable forecasts of the future. Forecast accuracy depends on a host of factors, many of which lie outside the grasp of model adequacy. More important, forecast accuracy has no universally accepted metric.
Statistical Conclusion Validity
Authors: McCleary Richard , McDowall David , Bartos Bradley J.
Published: May 2017

Chapter 6 addresses the sub-category of internal validity defined by Shadish et al., as statistical conclusion validity, or “validity of inferences about the correlation (covariance) between treatment and outcome.” The common threats to statistical conclusion validity can arise, or become plausible through either model misspecification or through hypothesis testing. The risk of a serious model misspecification is inversely proportional to the length of the time series, for example, and so is the risk of mistating the Type I and Type II error rates. Threats to statistical conclusion validity arise from the classical and modern hybrid significance testing structures, the serious threats that weigh heavily in p-value tests are shown to be undefined in Beyesian tests. While the particularly vexing threats raised by modern null hypothesis testing are resolved through the elimination of the modern null hypothesis test, threats to statistical conclusion validity would inevitably persist and new threats would arise.
External Validity
Authors: McCleary Richard , McDowall David , Bartos Bradley J.
Published: May 2017

A threat to external validity is any factor that limits the generalizability of an observed result. Unlike all threats to statistical conclusion and internal validities and some threats to construct validity, threats to external validity cannot ordinarily be controlled by design. Nor is there any disagreement on how threats to external validity should be controlled. In most instances, it can only be controlled by replication?—across subjects, situations and time frames. This seldom happens, unfortunately, because the academic incentive structure discourages replication. The contemporary “reproducibility crisis” was spurred by a collaborative group of social scientists attempting to replicate one hundred experimental and correlational studies published in three mainstream psychology journals. Sixty percent of replications failed to reproduce the published effect. Failures to control for threats to external validity that stem from uncontrolled variations in persons, situations, and time frames, parsimosniously explain the failure rate in this replication study.
Justice and Natural Resources
Authors: Armstrong Chris
Published: May 2017

Our world is increasingly marked by climate change, environmental degradation, and conflict over precious resources such as oil, water, and land. In each case, access to valuable resources is at stake. We require a normative account of how to share the benefits and burdens natural resources provide. But to date we have no comprehensive account of the demands of justice when it comes to natural resources. This book fills that gap. It provides a systematic account of how to think about natural resources, and the conflicting claims people have over them. It also sets out the concrete implications of that account. It criticizes the status quo in world politics, according to which resources themselves, and decisions about how to use them, are the preserve of individual states. Instead it shows that justice requires a more equal sharing of the benefits and burdens that flow from the world’s resources, and shared management of many of the world’s resources. Along the way it addresses important real-world questions such as: how should access to the resources of the oceans be shared? How good are national claims to the enormous resource wealth found in Sovereign Wealth Funds? Should we stop buying natural resources from dictators? And who should pay for conservation of valuable resources such as the world’s rainforests?
Conclusion
Authors: Jones Geoffrey
Published: May 2017

This chapter lays out the principal aims of the book and its contribution. It shows that business drove unprecedented wealth creation over the last two hundred years but the cost was unprecedented environmental pollution resulting in new geological era known as the Anthropocene Age. Already in the nineteenth century there was resistance which mostly took the form of elite conservation movements. Overlooked has been the advent of green entrepreneurs who sought to create new firms to facilitate sustainability. Today there is much discussion about green entrepreneurship, but these figures predate today’s green entrepreneurs by a century. The book breaks new ground in business history by looking at these many small and marginal entrepreneurial figures, who were often highly unconventional. The book will explore what has motivated green entrepreneurs in each generation, how they built businesses, and whether they achieved their goals.
Generating Random Networks and Graphs
Authors: Coolen Ton , Annibale Alessia , Roberts Ekaterina
Published: May 2017

This book supports researchers who need to generate random networks, or who are interested in the theoretical study of random graphs. The coverage includes exponential random graphs (where the targeted probability of each network appearing in the ensemble is specified), growth algorithms (i.e. preferential attachment and the stub-joining configuration model), special constructions (e.g. geometric graphs and Watts Strogatz models) and graphs on structured spaces (e.g. multiplex networks). The presentation aims to be a complete starting point, including details of both theory and implementation, as well as discussions of the main strengths and weaknesses of each approach. It includes extensive references for readers wishing to go further. The material is carefully structured to be accessible to researchers from all disciplines while also containing rigorous mathematical analysis (largely based on the techniques of statistical mechanics) to support those wishing to further develop or implement the theory of random graph generation. This book is aimed at the graduate student or advanced undergraduate. It includes many worked examples, numerical simulations and exercises making it suitable for use in teaching. Explicit pseudocode algorithms are included to make the ideas easy to apply. Datasets are becoming increasingly large and network applications wider and more sophisticated. Testing hypotheses against properly specified control cases (null models) is at the heart of the ‘scientific method’. Knowledge on how to generate controlled and unbiased random graph ensembles is vital for anybody wishing to apply network science in their research.
Ensembles with hard constraints
Authors: Coolen A.C.C. , Annibale A. , Roberts E.S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter introduces random graph ensembles involving hard constraints such as setting a fixed total number of links or fixed degree sequence, including properties of the partition function. It continues on from the previous chapter’s investigation of ensembles with soft-constrained numbers of two-stars (two-step paths) and soft-constrained total number of triangles, but now combined with a hard constraint on the total number of links. This illustrates phase transitions in a mixed-constrained ensemble – which in this case is shown to be a condensation transition, where the network becomes clumped. This is investigated in detail using techniques from statistical mechanics and also looking at the averaged eigenvalue spectrum of the ensemble. These phase transition phenomena have important implications for the design of graph generation algorithms. Although hard constraints can (by force) impose required values of observables, difficult-to-reconcile constraints can lead to graphs being generated with unexpected and unphysical overall topologies.
Applications of random graphs
Authors: Coolen A.C.C. , Annibale A. , Roberts E.S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter reviews graph generation techniques in the context of applications. The first case study is power grids, where proposed strategies to prevent blackouts have been tested on tailored random graphs. The second case study is in social networks. Applications of random graphs to social networks are extremely wide ranging – the particular aspect looked at here is modelling the spread of disease on a social network – and how a particular construction based on projecting from a bipartite graph successfully captures some of the clustering observed in real social networks. The third case study is on null models of food webs, discussing the specific constraints relevant to this application, and the topological features which may contribute to the stability of an ecosystem. The final case study is taken from molecular biology, discussing the importance of unbiased graph sampling when considering if motifs are over-represented in a protein–protein interaction network.
Species of the Upper Pleistocene
Authors: Ayala Francisco J. , Cela-Conde Camilo J.
Published: May 2017

This chapter analyzes the two taxa of the Upper Pleistocene: Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. The first one is explored starting with the Feldhofer discovery and the early interpretations of that specimen. The next issue is the evolutionary model of the Neanderthals and their geographic range. The ensuing questions are the Neanderthal morphology, its ontogenetic development, and the relationship between its traits and its adaptive strategy. The morphological differences between Neanderthals and modern humans make it difficult to understand the relationships between the two taxa, which will be settled in Chapter 11 by means of molecular methods. But the present chapter already deals with the origin of modern humans by considering the coalescence of mitochondrial DNA and other factors facilitated by molecular genetics, in order to characterize the origin of our species. Finally, there is consideration of the fossil and archaeological evidence concerning the earliest modern humans from South African sediments.
Real-Estate Derivatives
Authors: Tunaru Radu S.
Published: May 2017

This book brings together the latest concepts and models in real-estate derivatives, the new frontier in financial markets. The importance of real-estate derivatives in managing property price risk that has destabilized economies frequently in the last hundred years has been brought into the limelight by Robert Shiller over the last three decades. In spite of his masterful campaign for the introduction of real-estate derivatives, these financial instruments are still in a state of infancy. This book aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview of real-estate derivatives at this moment in time, covering the description of these financial products, their applications, and the most important models proposed in the literature in this area. In order to facilitate a better understanding of the situations when these products can be successfully used, ancillary topics such as real-estate indices, mortgages, securitization, and equity release mortgages are also discussed. The book is designed to pay attention to the econometric aspects of realestate index prices, time series, and also to financial engineering no-arbitrage principles governing pricing of derivatives. The emphasis is on understanding the financial instruments through their mechanics and comparative description. The examples are based on real-world data from exchanges or frommajor investment banks or financial houses in London. The numerical analysis is easily replicable with Excel and Matlab. This is the most advanced published book in this area, combining practical relevance with intellectual rigour. Real-estate derivatives will become important for managing macro risks in order to pass stress tests imposed by regulators.
An Overview of Real-Estate Prices
Authors: Tunaru Radu S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter provides a brief overview of real-estate prices, describing the importance of this asset class for the economies worldwide, from the US and the UK to Asian and Pacific countries. The difference between residential and commercial real-estate is emphasized early on in this introductory chapter. The chapter ends with some discussion of empirical characteristics of real-estate prices time series through some models, highlighting the different nature of this asset class as compared with other established financial asset classes such as equity, foreign exchange, or fixed income.
Financial Modelling for Mortgages
Authors: Tunaru Radu S.
Published: May 2017

The purpose of this chapter is to familiarize the reader with the concept of mortgages and to describe the behavioural factors behind decisions to prepay and default on mortgages that ultimately influence the evolution of real-estate markets. The other scope of this chapter is to highlight the complexity of the financial modelling related to the real-estate area, and to mortgages in general. Mortgage loans are contracts carrying real-estate risk. They represent a large part of the assets in the banking systemsworldwide and banks find it difficult to hedge this asset class against real-estate risk. Prepayments and default models are essential to any risk management enterprise looking to contain this type of risk, and they are reviewed in this chapter. There are many models proposed in the academic and practitioner literature, but there is not a single model that is widely accepted.
Mortgage Securitization; Pricing and Risk Management
Authors: Tunaru Radu S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter captures an overview of how real-estate risk is transferred to investors through securitization channels. A large part is dedicated to a less known financial instrument called balance guaranteed swap, which is a type of multi-period derivative contingent on cash-flows generated by a pool of mortgage loans. Emphasis is placed on the problems arising from modelling cash-flows and also revealed is the difficult task of dynamically managing the risk of the balance guaranteed swaps.
Financial Applications of Real-Estate Derivatives
Authors: Tunaru Radu S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter shows some applications of real-estate derivatives. These include trading strategies and also an extensive arbitrage detection analysis. The linkages between the over-the-counter markets in real-estate derivatives and the similar markets on exchanges is likely to play a crucial role in the future.
Real-Estate Derivatives Models
Authors: Tunaru Radu S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter describes some of the best models proposed in relation to realestate derivatives. They range from equilibrium models such as Geltner- Fisher and Cao-Wei to no-arbitrage models such as Bjork-Clapham, BFSP, and Fabozzi-Shiller-Tunaru. Shiller-Weiss and Syz models are also discussed given their large appeal in terms of simplicity and the important role they played in the development of real-estate derivatives.
Equity Release Mortgages
Authors: Tunaru Radu S.
Published: May 2017

This chapter is dedicated to equity reversemortgages,which are greatly affected by negative equity so implicitly by real-estate risk. For reverse mortgages negative equity is not a trigger for defaults as with standard mortgages. The lenders may be able to overcome negative equity situations if the loans are not terminated during a period of negative equity. Reversemortgages open a new frontier for applications of real-estate derivatives. They are an important asset class for the future and they will facilitate a better distribution of risks in society, helping elderly people to overcome cash provision problems and also helping governments to reduce the burden of increasing costs for long-term care.
Nuclear Politics in France
Authors: Brouard Sylvain , Guinaudeau Isabelle
Published: May 2017

This chapter covers French nuclear policy since 1945. It emphasizes that, although public opinion had been consistently more anti-nuclear than pro-nuclear, there has been a pro-nuclear consensus among the French governing parties and therefore a low salience of the nuclear energy issue in political competition. The chapter shows that the Greens, founded in 1984, became the first relevant party opposing nuclear energy and paying more attention to nuclear energy in their manifestos than any other party. The chapter argues that, since they became a relevant player, the issue has become important in defining the difference between the parties of the left and right. New policy proposals and eventually also real policy changes were introduced. France still is the country relying most on nuclear energy, but the growth of the French nuclear programme has been stopped. The chapter concludes that the future development of nuclear energy in France is uncertain.
Nuclear Power and Politics in the Netherlands
Authors: Aarts Kees , Arentsen Maarten
Published: May 2017

Nuclear power accounts for a low share only of electricity generation in the Netherlands. Plans for further expansion came to a halt due to a high-intensity nuclear energy debate and the Chernobyl accident. After a short resurgence in the early 2000s, political parties and voters shifted towards the anti-nuclear position after the Fukushima disaster. The chapter underlines the importance of path dependency in energy policy and concludes that government policies in consensus democracies with many political parties and coalition government are relatively unresponsive to public opinion and changes in the electoral performance of parties, because there is continuity in parts of the government’s composition in most cases.
Greek Tragedy on the Move
Authors: Stewart Edmund
Published: May 2017

This work is one of the first full studies of the dissemination of Greek tragedy in the archaic and classical periods. Drawing on recent research in network theory, it seeks to reinterpret classical tragedy as a Panhellenic art form. It thereby offers a radically new perspective on the interpretation of the extant tragic texts, which have often been seen as the product of the fifth-century Athenian democracy. Tragedy grew out of, and became part of, a common Greek (or Panhellenic) culture, which was itself sustained by frequent travel and exchange. This book shows how Athens was a major Panhellenic centre within a wider and, by the fifth century, well-established network of festivals and patrons. The part played by non-Athenians in the festival culture of Attica is fully reassessed and it is estimated that as much as a quarter of all tragic poets who produced plays in Athens during the classical period were non-citizens. In addition, the book re-examines the evidence for tragedies that were probably or certainly performed outside Athens and shows how and why they were calculated to appeal to a broad Panhellenic audience. The stories they contained were themselves tales of travel. Together the works of the tragedians told and reworked the history of the Greek peoples and showed how they were connected through the wanderings of their ancestors. Tragedy, like the poets and their creations, was meant to travel and this is the first full study of tragedy on the move in the archaic and classical periods.
Morpheme contiguity
Authors: Zimmermann Eva
Published: May 2017

One new constraint family argued for in this book are constraints ensuring a ‘morph-contiguous’ projection of prosodic nodes. It is argued that the phonological representation of a morpheme strives to be contiguous across different tiers, i.e. phonological elements affiliated with one morpheme avoid being dominated by a phonological element that is affiliated with another morpheme. It is shown how different patterns of phonologically predictable allomorphy involving MLM follow from such a preference. This constraint type also allows the solution of a general opacity problem that OT-accounts assuming floating prosodic nodes face. The relevant constraint demanding morph-contiguous mora licensing ensures that an epenthetic mora is inserted in contexts where a vowel would otherwise only be dominated by a mora with a different morphological affiliation. This constraint predicts an interesting typology of languages where all or only some vowels undergo morphological lengthening. As is shown with several examples, this typology is indeed borne out.
Conclusion
Authors: Zimmermann Eva
Published: May 2017

The main argumentations in this book are summarized. The theory of PDM was proposed that can account for all attested patterns of MLM. The most challenging empirical area where PDM offers a new insight is subtractive length manipulation: the prosodically defective integration of morpheme representations might result in non-realization of underlying phonological elements. Prosodic nodes either collaterally cause non-realization since they remain unrealized but need to dominate some amount of base material or elements can ’usurp’ a prosodic node from their base that they lack underlyingly. It was shown that these mechanisms suffice to predict the wide variety of attested subtractive MLM patterns. Another area where PDM offers new insights are instances of exceptions to MLM or lexical allomorphy in the domain of MLM. The main solution PDM offers for such instances is briefly summarized: the assumption of different prosodic specification for different morphemes.
The stage
Authors: Champollion Lucas
Published: May 2017

This chapter presents a distilled picture of the crucial issues in the theoretical background assumptions and develops the framework on which strata theory is built. This framework is essentially a synthesis of the work by Lønning (1987), Link (1998), Krifka (1998), Landman (2000), and others. Its mathematical foundation is classical extensional mereology, which is presented and discussed at length. The overview in this chapter is intended as a reference point for future researchers, and spells out the relevant background assumptions as explicitly as possible, especially in the case of points where the literature has not yet reached consensus on a preferred analysis. Issues discussed in this chapter include the meaning of the plural morpheme, the question whether the meanings of verbs are inherently pluralized, the formal properties of thematic roles, and the compositional process.