scholarly journals Introductory Chapter: Open Problems and Enabling Methodologies for Smart Grids

Author(s):  
Alfredo Vaccaro ◽  
Antonio Pepiciello ◽  
Ahmed Faheem Zobaa
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Lance Fortnow

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the P versus NP problem. The P versus NP problem asks, among other things, whether one can quickly find the shortest route for a traveling salesman. P and NP are named after their technical definitions, but it is best not to think of them as mathematical objects but as concepts. “NP” is the collection of problems that have a solution that one wants to find. “P” consists of the problems to which one can find a solution quickly. “P = NP” means one can always quickly compute these solutions, like finding the shortest route for a traveling salesman. “P ≠ NP” means one cannot. Ultimately, the P versus NP problem has achieved the status of one of the great open problems in all of mathematics.


Author(s):  
John Marmysz

This introductory chapter examines the “problem” of nihilism, beginning with its philosophical origins in the ideas of Plato, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger. It is argued that film is an inherently nihilistic medium involving the evocation of illusory worlds cut loose from objective reality. This nihilism of film is distinguished from nihilism in film; the nihilistic content also present in some (but not all) movies. Criticisms of media nihilism by authors such as Thomas Hibbs and Darren Ambrose are examined. It is then argued, contrary to such critics, that cinematic nihilism is not necessarily degrading or destructive. Because the nihilism of film encourages audiences to linger in the presence of nihilism in film, cinematic nihilism potentially trains audiences to learn the positive lessons of nihilism while remaining safely detached from the sorts of dangers depicted on screen.


Author(s):  
Pål Kolstø ◽  
Helge Blakkisrud

Russian societal nationalism comes in various guises, both ethnic and imperialist. Also Putin’s rhetoric is marked by the tensions between ethnic and state-focused, imperialist thinking. Noting the complex interplay of state nationalism and societal nationalism, this introductory chapter examines the mental framework within which Russian politicians were acting prior to the decision to annex Crimea. The chapter develops a typology of Russian nationalisms, surveys recent developments, and presents the three-part structure of this book: official nationalism, radical and other societal nationalisms, and identities/otherings. It concludes that after the annexation of Crimea, when the state took over the agenda of both ethnic and imperialist nationalists in Russia, societal nationalism finds itself at low ebb.


Author(s):  
Patricio G. Donato ◽  
Alvaro Hernandez ◽  
Marcos A. Funes ◽  
Ignacio Carugati ◽  
Ruben Nieto ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Nancy Woloch

This introductory chapter provides an overview of single-sex protective laws. The longevity of protective laws rests in part on reformers' bifocal defense. The goal of such laws, their proponents claimed, was to compensate for women's disadvantages in the labor market and to serve as the linchpin of a larger plan to achieve wage-and-hour standards for all employees. This double-planked rationale—though contradictory—proved versatile and enduring; it suited constituents with varied priorities. Protective laws' longevity also rested on effective social feminist organization and, after 1920, on the federal Women's Bureau. In retrospect, single-sex protective laws were an unwieldy means to achieve egalitarian ends—or what women reformers of the 1920s called “industrial equality.” However, critics charged that the laws failed to redress disadvantage and even compounded it. Protection's supporters also confronted developments they could not anticipate and shifts in attitude they could not foresee.


Author(s):  
Justin Farrell

This introductory chapter briefly presents the conflict in Yellowstone, elaborates on the book's theoretical argument, and specifies its substantive and theoretical contributions to the social scientific study of environment, culture, religion, and morality. The chapter argues that the environmental conflict in Yellowstone is not—as it would appear on the surface—ultimately all about scientific, economic, legal, or other technical evidence and arguments, but an underlying struggle over deeply held “faith” commitments, feelings, and desires that define what people find sacred, good, and meaningful in life at a most basic level. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.


Author(s):  
Biancamaria Fontana

This introductory chapter provides an account of Germaine de Staël's approach to politics that brings out the independence and originality of her contribution. Its main focus is the evolution of her views in the years 1789 to 1800, when she had the opportunity to take part (albeit intermittently) in French political life, and to set forth projects and strategies connected with it. The chapter touches only on Staël's best-known—and more widely studied—fictional and literary works, though naturally these do also have some political relevance. It has been suggested that the protracted exile into which she was forced during the empire was at the origin of Staël's major literary achievements, as it provided her with both the opportunity and the incentive to develop her true potential as a writer.


Author(s):  
Leiba Rodman

Quaternions are a number system that has become increasingly useful for representing the rotations of objects in three-dimensional space and has important applications in theoretical and applied mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. This is the first book to provide a systematic, accessible, and self-contained exposition of quaternion linear algebra. It features previously unpublished research results with complete proofs and many open problems at various levels, as well as more than 200 exercises to facilitate use by students and instructors. Applications presented in the book include numerical ranges, invariant semidefinite subspaces, differential equations with symmetries, and matrix equations. Designed for researchers and students across a variety of disciplines, the book can be read by anyone with a background in linear algebra, rudimentary complex analysis, and some multivariable calculus. Instructors will find it useful as a complementary text for undergraduate linear algebra courses or as a basis for a graduate course in linear algebra. The open problems can serve as research projects for undergraduates, topics for graduate students, or problems to be tackled by professional research mathematicians. The book is also an invaluable reference tool for researchers in fields where techniques based on quaternion analysis are used.


Author(s):  
Alan L. Mittleman

This introductory chapter first considers the concept of human nature, raising questions such as how human nature and nature as such are related, and how are both related to person. It then turns to what the Jewish tradition says about human nature. It sets out the book's focus, namely a dialogue between contemporary perspectives and traditional Jewish thoughts on human nature. Both sides have something to gain from the dialogue; both have something to lose from shunning it. Judaism risks intellectual irrelevance by failing to engage with the challenges of contemporary thought. Contemporary thought risks attenuating its moral seriousness if it ignores one of the sources of Western civilization. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.


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