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This open access monograph offers a detailed study and a systematic defense of a key intuition we typically have, as human beings, with respect to the nature of time: the intuition that the future is open, whereas the past is fixed. For example, whereas it seems unsettled whether there will be a fourth world war, it is settled that there was a first world war.The book contributes, in particular, three major and original insights. First, it provides a coherent, non-metaphorical, and metaphysically illuminating elucidation of the intuition. Second, it determines which model of the temporal structure of the world is most appropriate to accommodate the intuition, and settles on a specific version of the Growing Block Theory of time (GBT). Third, it puts forward a naturalistic foundation for GBT, by exploiting recent results of our best physics (viz. General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and Quantum Gravity).Three main challenges are addressed: the dismissal of temporal asymmetries as non-fundamental phenomena only (e.g., thermodynamic or causal phenomena), the epistemic objection against GBT, and the apparent tension between GBT and relativistic physics. It is argued that the asymmetry between the open future and the fixed past must be grounded in the temporal structure of the world, and that this is neither precluded by our epistemic device, nor by the latest approaches to Quantum Gravity (¿e.g., the Causal Set Theory).Aiming at reconciling time as we find it in ordinary experience and time as physics describes it, this ¿innovative book ¿will raise the interest of both academic researchers and ¿graduate students working on the philosophy of time. More generally, it ¿presents contents of interest for all metaphysicians and non-dogmatic philosophers of physics.This is an open access book.

This handbook is the first of its kind to provide a general and comprehensive overview of virtually every aspect of International Large Scale Assessment (ILSA). It includes historical, economic, and policy perspectives, theoretical foundations, methodology, and reviews of findings from analyses of ILSA data. After decades, during which ILSAs have generated knowledge within central areas of education research and gained increased and substantial impact on educational policy, practice and research, such a broad overview for a wide-ranging audience is much needed. With contributions from authors and editors from all continents, this handbook appeals to an international audience and keeps a neutral perspective, not favoring one ILSA over another.The handbook is suitable to be read by politicians, researchers and stakeholders who are seeking an overview of ILSAs, their history and development, and both potential benefits and limitations with regard to policy implications. The reviews offindings from studies analyzing ILSA data will be of interest to stakeholders, teachers, researchers, and policymakers.Considering that the reviews extend to all fields pertaining to educational research, the book will be valuable to all researchers interested in education. Students may use the book to learn about ILSAs in the context of policy, theoretical underpinnings, or research. Moreover, the methodology section is written in a manner that is understandable and accessible for students, stakeholders, or researchers not familiar with these data. This methodology part, however, is also a valuable resource for researchers who are familiar with ILSA data, as it provides overviews of the design and sampling procedures of several ILSAs, and includes advice on methods of analysis.Even the owners of the ILSAs may find the book valuable, as it contains overviews and insights into a number of ILSAs, provides information how the data is used by the research community, and includes recommendations for future instruments.

This book presents computationally efficient MPC solutions. The classical model predictive control (MPC) approach to control dynamical systems described by the Wiener model uses an inverse static block to cancel the influence of process nonlinearity. Unfortunately, the model's structure is limited, and it gives poor control quality in the case of an imperfect model and disturbances. An alternative is to use the computationally demanding MPC scheme with on-line nonlinear optimisation repeated at each sampling instant.A linear approximation of the Wiener model or the predicted trajectory is found on-line. As a result, quadratic optimisation tasks are obtained. Furthermore, parameterisation using Laguerre functions is possible to reduce the number of decision variables. Simulation results for ten benchmark processes show that the discussed MPC algorithms lead to excellent control quality. For a neutralisation reactor and a fuel cell, essential advantages ofneural Wiener models are demonstrated.

This book examines the Irish experience of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic through a detailed study of the disease in the most industrialised region of the country, the province of Ulster. By exploring the different themes of dispersion of the disease; mortality; gender; medical response and politics - and through case studies of different towns in the province of Ulster - it builds up a picture of the social, economic and political impact of influenza in Ireland. The Ulster experience of the pandemic is examined by constructing micro-histories of industrial cities and towns, along with provincial market towns and a naval port, to provide a basis for comparison of the differing approaches taken to combat the influenza outbreaks throughout Ulster. Contemporary opinion was that Ireland was considerably less affected by the war than the rest of the UK but, this book shows that the war did have a significant influenceon how the influenza pandemic impacted on the Irish population from an economic, social and medical point of view. The book also explores the immediate aftermath of the pandemic and how it influenced the Irish response to the influenza scare of 1920 and the viral pandemic of Encephalitis Lethargica which was prevalent for ten years after 1918, as well as discussing what if any lessons learnt from 1918 have been applied to the present-day outbreak of Covid 19. This book will be of interest to academics in economic history, social history, Irish history and pandemic history, and those studying the effects of pandemics on the economy, health provision and pandemic preparedness.

This book focuses on the connection between Brazil and Antarctica, two regions that can be seen as distant and contrasting, but are physically, culturally and politically associated. Relying on archival material and previous literature, the book offers a thorough account of Brazil¿s involvement with one of the most significant regions in the global environment. The author explores the place of Antarctica in geopolitical works and in the first initiatives involving Brazil and the continent, from the rise of geopolitical thought in Brazil in the 1930s up to the present day. He argues that the connection between Brazil and Antarctica is not without its difficulties, but it has been structured in many enduring ways. The book covers causes for the delay and eventual adoption of a now active foreign policy regarding the region, the policy¿s early performance in Antarctica, its evolution as a consequence of domestic and international changes, the increasing interest in the environment, andfurther recent developments.