These twenty-eight contributions report advances in one of the most active research areas in artificial intellgence. Qualitative modeling techniques are an essential part of building second generation knowledge-based systems. This book provides a timely overview of the field while also giving some indications about applications that appear to be feasible now or in the near future. Chapters are organized into sections covering modeling and simulation, ontologies, computational issues, and qualitative analysis. Modeling a physical system in order to simulate it or solve particular problems regarding the system is an important motivation of qualitative physics, involving formal procedures and concepts. The chapters in the section on modeling address the problem of how to set up and structure qualitative models, particularly for use in simulation. Ontology, or the science of being, is the basis for all modeling. Accordingly, chapters on ontologies discuss problems fundamental for finding representational formalism and inference mechanisms appropriate for different aspects of reasoning about physical systems. Computational issues arising from attempts to turn qualitative theories into practical software are then taken up. In addition to simulation and modeling, qualitative physics can be used to solve particular problems dealing with physical systems, and the concluding chapters present techniques for tasks ranging from the analysis of behavior to conceptual design.

The book provides a survey about the field of Qualitative Reasoning, it contrasts and classifies its approaches and puts them into a common framework. Qualitative Reasoning represents an approach of Artificial Intelligence to model dynamic systems, about which little information is available, and to derive statements about the potential behavior of these systems, putting emphasis on a causal explanation of the behavior. Both variables and relationships between variables are described by means of qualitative terms such as small and large or positive and negative. Since this approach also takes into consideration the way how humans reason about physical systems, it can be stated that Qualitative Reasoning participates in the creation of a cognitive theory of non-numerical process descriptions which can be mapped onto a digital computer. This approach can be used for simulation, diagnosis, design, structure identification and interpretation. Areas of application are physics, medicine, the field of ecology, process control, etc. In addition to the classification of existing methods, the book presents a new approach based on fuzzy sets. And the work relates Qualitative Reasoning with such fields of Expert Systems, System Theory and Cognitive Science.

Over the last three decades the process industries have grown very rapidly, with corresponding increases in the quantities of hazardous materials in process, storage or transport. Plants have become larger and are often situated in or close to densely populated areas. Increased hazard of loss of life or property is continually highlighted with incidents such as Flixborough, Bhopal, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, the Phillips 66 incident, and Piper Alpha to name but a few. The field of Loss Prevention is, and continues to, be of supreme importance to countless companies, municipalities and governments around the world, because of the trend for processing plants to become larger and often be situated in or close to densely populated areas, thus increasing the hazard of loss of life or property. This book is a detailed guidebook to defending against these, and many other, hazards. It could without exaggeration be referred to as the "bible" for the process industries. This is THE standard reference work for chemical and process engineering safety professionals. For years, it has been the most complete collection of information on the theory, practice, design elements, equipment, regulations and laws covering the field of process safety. An entire library of alternative books (and cross-referencing systems) would be needed to replace or improve upon it, but everything of importance to safety professionals, engineers and managers can be found in this all-encompassing reference instead. Frank Lees' world renowned work has been fully revised and expanded by a team of leading chemical and process engineers working under the guidance of one of the world’s chief experts in this field. Sam Mannan is professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University, and heads the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M. He received his MS and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and joined the chemical engineering department at Texas A&M University as a professor in 1997. He has over 20 years of experience as an engineer, working both in industry and academia. New detail is added to chapters on fire safety, engineering, explosion hazards, analysis and suppression, and new appendices feature more recent disasters. The many thousands of references have been updated along with standards and codes of practice issued by authorities in the US, UK/Europe and internationally. In addition to all this, more regulatory relevance and case studies have been included in this edition. Written in a clear and concise style, Loss Prevention in the Process Industries covers traditional areas of personal safety as well as the more technological aspects and thus provides balanced and in-depth coverage of the whole field of safety and loss prevention. * A must-have standard reference for chemical and process engineering safety professionals * The most complete collection of information on the theory, practice, design elements, equipment and laws that pertain to process safety * Only single work to provide everything; principles, practice, codes, standards, data and references needed by those practicing in the field

This thoroughly refereed and well organized collection of papers is largely based on papers originally presented at the IJCAI'95 Workshop on Fuzzy Logic in AI, held in Montreal, Canada, in August 1995. Additionally, a few papers were invited in order to round off the scope and competent coverage of relevant topics. The 20 revised full papers included are organized in sections on hybrid and novel architectures, machine learning and data mining, image processing and computer vision, and theoretical developments. Focusing on the most pressing problems of AI, the volume supports the view that fuzzy systems combined with traditional AI leads the move towards the next generation of intelligent systems.

Metadecisions: Rehabilitating Epistemology constitutes an epistemological inquiry about the foundations of knowledge of a scientific discipline. This text warns contemporary scientific disciplines that neglecting epistemological issues threatens the viability of their pronouncements and designs. It shows that the processes by which complex artefacts are created require a pluralistic approach to artefact design. It argues that viable solutions to fundamental problems in each discipline require cooperation, creativity and respect for contributions from all walks of life, all levels of logic and all standards of rigor - be they in the natural sciences, the social sciences, engineering sciences, management, the law or political sciences. Several true cases, obtained from different walks of life are used to illustrate logic levels in problems and how the application of the process of modeling/metamodeling helps to conceptualize problem dysfunctions and to convert decisions into metadecisions. Ten cases spanning subjects like Doctor Assisted Suicides (DASs), Advising Women on The Risks of Mammograms, a Deregulation Crusade, The Crash of TWA Flight 800, The Control of The World Wide Web, The Creation of the US Department of Homeland Security, among others, are used to illustrate the application of the metasystem framework to increase knowledge and meaning of fundamental problems. The design of any human activity requires the intervention of several inquiring systems where the manager, the engineer, the scientist, the lawyer, the epistemologist, the ethicist and even the artist contribute to shape how problems in the real-world are formulated, how decisions/metadecisions to solve problems are taken, and finally, how actions are implemented.

Geometrical Dynamics of Complex Systems is a graduate?level monographic textbook. Itrepresentsacomprehensiveintroductionintorigorousgeometrical dynamicsofcomplexsystemsofvariousnatures. By?complexsystems?,inthis book are meant high?dimensional nonlinear systems, which can be (but not necessarily are) adaptive. This monograph proposes a uni?ed geometrical - proachtodynamicsofcomplexsystemsofvariouskinds:engineering,physical, biophysical, psychophysical, sociophysical, econophysical, etc. As their names suggest, all these multi?input multi?output (MIMO) systems have something in common: the underlying physics. However, instead of dealing with the pop- 1 ular ?soft complexity philosophy?, we rather propose a rigorous geometrical and topological approach. We believe that our rigorous approach has much greater predictive power than the soft one. We argue that science and te- nology is all about prediction and control. Observation, understanding and explanation are important in education at undergraduate level, but after that it should be all prediction and control. The main objective of this book is to show that high?dimensional nonlinear systems and processes of ?real life? can be modelled and analyzed using rigorous mathematics, which enables their complete predictability and controllability, as if they were linear systems. It is well?known that linear systems, which are completely predictable and controllable by de?nition ? live only in Euclidean spaces (of various - mensions). They are as simple as possible, mathematically elegant and fully elaborated from either scienti?c or engineering side. However, in nature, no- ing is linear. In reality, everything has a certain degree of nonlinearity, which means: unpredictability, with subsequent uncontrollability.

A comprehensive assessment of the methodologies of thermodynamic optimization, exergy analysis and thermoeconomics, and their application to the design of efficient and environmentally sound energy systems. The chapters are organized in a sequence that begins with pure thermodynamics and progresses towards the blending of thermodynamics with other disciplines, such as heat transfer and cost accounting. Three methods of analysis stand out: entropy generation minimization, exergy (or availability) analysis, and thermoeconomics. The book reviews current directions in a field that is both extremely important and intellectually alive. Additionally, new directions for research on thermodynamics and optimization are revealed.

Intelligent systems are required to enhance the capacities being made available to us by the internet and other computer based technologies. The theory necessary to help providing solutions to difficult problems in the construction of intelligent systems are discussed. In particular, attention is paid to situations in which the available information and data may be imprecise, uncertain, incomplete or of a linguistic nature. Various methodologies to manage such information are discussed. Among these are the probabilistic, possibilistic, fuzzy, logical, evidential and network-based frameworks.One purpose of the book is not to consider these methodologies separately, but rather to consider how they can be used cooperatively to better represent the multiplicity of modes of information. Topics in the book include representation of imperfect knowledge, fundamental issues in uncertainty, reasoning, information retrieval, learning and mining, as well as various applications.Key Features:• Tools for construction of intelligent systems • Contributions by world leading experts • Fundamental issues and applications • New technologies for web searching • Methods for modeling uncertain information • Future directions in web technologies • Transversal to methods and domains

Informatics and the Foundations of Legal Reasoning represents a close collaboration between a wide range of disciplines and countries. Fourteen papers, together with a long analytical introduction by the editors, were selected from the contributions of legal theorists, computer scientists, philosophers and logicians who were members of an International Working Group supported by the European Commission. The Group was mandated to work towards determining how far the law is amenable to formal modeling, and in what ways computers might assist legal thinking and practice. The book is the result of discussions held by the Group over two and half years. It will help students and researchers from different backgrounds to focus on a common set of topics of increasing general interest. It embodies the results of work in progress and suggests many issues for further discussion. A stimulating text for undergraduate and graduate courses in law, philosophy and computer science departments, as well as for those interested in the place of computers in legal practice, especially at the international level.