SURFING THE INTERNET, THEN, NOW, LATER.


Book Description

This book describes the prospects of the Internet and the Web as a system, covering: Surfing in Cyberspace, Fiction and Reality, Cyber-ethics, Social Interactions, other subjects related to the Internet and the World Wide Web. It covers the history of the Internet, its current functions and the possible growth of the Internet in the future. It includes the Internet as a hybrid medium, combining aspects of the printing press, the telephone, the public bulletin board, and the private letter. It also covers transmission without the physical plant required by conventional broadcasting. Also, the prediction of super-speed and a possible successor network, that of an 'information superhighway', a term which refers to a unified, interactive system of electronic communication.




Social Sciences and Philology


Book Description

This tome consists of three books which deal with Social Sciences, Philology and their various branches pertaining to the study of human society and social relationships. The disciplines encompassed are: anthropology, demography, economics, geography, political science, psychology, sociology, philology, epistemology, and philosophy. In the case of philology, the book includes the literary contributions of the main European countries from the ancient times through to the current geographical and political divisions. The countries included in the write-up are: Portugal, Spain, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Greece. Also included in this write-up are the subjects of history, education, and law, as these disciplines are regarded by many as social sciences.




Instincts and Mechanism of Behaviour


Book Description

An instinct is the mechanism by which animals and humans can perform complex behaviour patterns without learning or conscious effort. Instinctive behaviours are inherited and have evolved to be adaptive, fitting the organism to its particular role. Instinct is of particular importance in animal behaviours such as courtship, mating, and other reproductive activities. More general behaviours such as feeding and defence may have an instinctive base. Many birds, some grasshoppers, frogs, and a number of other animals have song or call patterns that attract mates and are based upon instinct. Instinctive behaviours often require a stimulus or releaser to initiate them. The herring-gull chick pecks the red spot on the adult's bill, releasing its instinctive feeding behaviour. A releaser will operate only if conditions, both internal and external to the organism, are suitable.




PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS


Book Description

Philosophy and Politics have many different areas, classified according to the subject-matter of the problems being addressed. Thus, this volume includes eight books on: Epistemology, British Philosophers (Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Burke, Bentham, and Mill), about Machiavelli, Hegel, Rousseau, Marxism, Plato, and Aristotle. This tome of the eight books attempts to describe the use of reason and argument in the search for truth and the nature of reality, especially of the causes and nature of things and of the principles governing existence, perception, human behaviour, political systems, and the material universe. The contents of this title explain the philosophical activities, directed at understanding and clarifying the concepts, methods, and doctrines of other disciplines, or at reasoning itself and the concepts, methods, and doctrines of such general notions as truth, possibility, knowledge (epistemology), necessity, existence (ontology and metaphysics), and proof.




PROCESSES OF THINKING, CREATIVITY AND IDEOLOGIES


Book Description

Although creativity is considered a rare personality attribute, found only in gifted individuals, worthwhile innovations are often produced by 'ordinary' people. Thought is a philosophical method used for the analysis of concepts (most notably the concept of personal identity). It works by testing our intuitions in an imagined situation. Thought experiments are also used in the natural sciences: Isaac Newton used them when considering the nature of light, and Albert Einstein relied on them for the development of his theories of relativity. Ideology is a form of social or political philosophy in which practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones. It is a system of ideas that aspires both to explain the world and to change it. A distinction is often drawn between the ideological and the pragmatic approach to politics, the latter being understood as the approach that treats particular issues and problems purely on their merits and does not attempt to apply




INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT


Book Description

The 436 pages of six books (integrated into one tome) include Information Technology, Management, Artificial Intelligence, Internet, Expert Systems, Systems Analysis, Computing, Risk Management, and Change Management. In writing this volume, the author took into consideration the advance of today's information technology and computing in general, the principles of work and leisure alike, factory and business operations, networking, defence, medicine, education and the domestic environment. Also, the social concerns that computers and their systems influence our attitudes to privacy, and employment. Although the world of computing became smaller with new ultra-small computing systems, equipped with wireless networking systems worldwide, the reader can appreciate that the construction of such systems is as complex as a house built in a swamp. It does, therefore, require careful planning and design. Just as a house must have an architect's plan, so does a system.




RELATIONAL DATABASES AND DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS


Book Description

A database is a logically organised collection of related data, generally accessed by a set of programs known as a Database Management System (DBMS), which oversees the creation and use of the database and controls access to the data. The organisation of a database obviates the need to duplicate information to meet the various requirements of different groups of users, and ensures that the data always remains consistent. A large database requires extensive storage facilities. In some organisations and services, databases can be accessed over networks from microcomputers or as videotex. 'Relational' databases and hypertext techniques include extensive and complex cross-reference facilities so that information on related items may be retrieved. Many database programs have been designed to run on micro-computers. Some of these contain computer languages that enable users to change the operation of the database to suit their requirements.




Philosophy and Science of Eschatology


Book Description

This book deals with Eschatology as a philosophical, scientific, technological, political, religious, mythological, astronomical, biochemical and a philological concept or belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humankind. Specifically, any of the various religions, cultures and Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, reincarnation or the Last Judgment. For many readers the term eschatology is considered, mainly, as an established branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind.




Management Science and Business


Book Description

Management is the science used for the application of quantitative techniques to business decision-making. Business Management covers the whole range of decision-making by management, for example, information technology, operations research, production management, marketing, personnel management, and cost accounting. Management methods operate by forming a quantitative representation of a business problem that is by putting a numerical value on the factors involved. This modelling process enables the major elements of the decision to be identified and considered in relation to the whole problem. Alternative solutions can be put forward, evaluated and an optimum solution found. There is always a need to balance the quantitative approach with behavioural considerations, keeping in mind that business decisions involve people. Whilst experience can be used to suggest how people might react in the future, conditions change and consequently people's future reactions are not always predictable.




Interactive Systems


Book Description

Interactive systems respond to instructions from users fast enough to allow transactions to be completed almost immediately. While the precise structure of the future interactive systems is not yet clear, many directions of growth seem apparent. The current designs and organisation of databases obviate the need to duplicate information in order to meet the various requirements of different groups of users, thus ensuring that the data always remain consistent. Additionally, the use of relational databases enable the Internet users a number of essential services; including data transfer, electronic mail and the ability to access information in remote databases. Integrated systems, therefore, are connected services making it possible for users to communicate with each other anywhere on the network. The safe running of systems needs to keep information protected from harm, theft, vandalism, fraud and invasion of privacy, which means continuous security development of software and hardware devices.