New Releases by Leszek

The systematic study of existence, uniqueness, and properties of solutions to stochastic differential equations in infinite dimensions arising from practical problems characterizes this volume that is intended for graduate students and for pure and applied mathematicians, physicists, engineers, professionals working with mathematical models of finance. Major methods include compactness, coercivity, monotonicity, in a variety of set-ups. The authors emphasize the fundamental work of Gikhman and Skorokhod on the existence and uniqueness of solutions to stochastic differential equations and present its extension to infinite dimension. They also generalize the work of Khasminskii on stability and stationary distributions of solutions. New results, applications, and examples of stochastic partial differential equations are included. This clear and detailed presentation gives the basics of the infinite dimensional version of the classic books of Gikhman and Skorokhod and of Khasminskii in one concise volume that covers the main topics in infinite dimensional stochastic PDE’s. By appropriate selection of material, the volume can be adapted for a 1- or 2-semester course, and can prepare the reader for research in this rapidly expanding area.

This quite simply superb book focuses on various techniques of computational intelligence, both single ones and those which form hybrid methods. These techniques are today commonly applied to issues of artificial intelligence. The book presents methods of knowledge representation using different techniques, namely the rough sets, type-1 fuzzy sets and type-2 fuzzy sets. Next up, various neural network architectures are presented and their learning algorithms are derived. Then, the family of evolutionary algorithms is discussed, including connections between these techniques and neural networks and fuzzy systems. Finally, various methods of data partitioning and algorithms of automatic data clustering are given and new neuro-fuzzy architectures are studied and compared.

This study finds that pension reforms in recent years have improved the efficiency and sustainability of pension systems in the new member states of the European Union and Croatia. However, for many countries, these probably have not gone far enough to ensure long-term sustainability, given the aging of the population. Reforms have included changes to Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) systems, including increases in retirement ages (not at least for women), new benefit formulas, and new indexation mechanism. Some countries (Latvia and Poland) have further strengthened the link of contributions and benefits to the sustainability of the PAYG system through the introduction of national defined contribution accounts. The link is strengthened also by moving to a point system, which has been adopted by many of the countries. Several countries have introduced a second, private, pension pillar, funded through diversion of part of the pension contributions, thereby diversifying risk. However, some countries (in particular the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Romania) will need to do more to safeguard the long-term viability of their pension systems, while others face challenges to ensure equitable pension systems and adequate living standards for all elderly people.

What has really happened in Poland since the election of 2005? After such spectacular events as the practice of lustration and the questioning of solidarity with the European Union, one has to ask: what is the nature of this newly emerging society? As with many of the recent developments in former communist countries that seem to be mysterious and irrational, the situation and ensuing problems are complex and the answers neither trivial nor easy. This book, by the distinguished Polish philosopher, addresses these complexities through the role of the communist past in post-communist Poland. It describes the events that led to the collapse of the Solidarity program and the growing influence of the nationalistic and religious parties in the government. The author investigates the nature of social and political temporality and develops a theoretical framework that allows him to apply his conclusions not only to Poland but also to other formerly communist countries.

Leszek Kolakowski’s masterpiece, one of the twentieth century’s most important books—for the first time in a one-volume paperback. Renowned philosopher Leszek Kolakowski was one of the first scholars to reveal both the shortcomings and the dangers posed by communist regimes. He now presents, for the first time in one paperback volume, his definitive Main Currents of Marxism: “A prophetic work,” according to the Library of Congress, that provides “the most lucid and comprehensive history of the origins, structure, and posthumous development of the system of thought that had the greatest impact on the 20th century.”

Do we have free will? How can we know anything? What is justice? Why is there evil in the world? What is the source of truth? Is it possible for God not to exist? Can we really believe what we see? These are some of the questions that have intrigued the world''s greatest thinkers over the ages. They are questions that make us think about the way we live, work, relate to each other, and see the world. In elegant and accessible prose, the eminent philosopher Leszek Kolakowski explores the essence of these ideas and their ongoing relevance as he introduces us to the great figures of Western thought: from Socrates to St. Augustine, Descartes to Nietzsche, and beyond. Reflecting on the great issues that animate our lives -- good and evil, truth and beauty, faith and the soul, free will and consciousness -- Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? offers a guided tour of Western philosophy by one of the world''s greatest living experts.

This study analyzes the performance of social assistance and family benefit programs in eight new member states of the European Union from the perspective of fiscal impact and effectiveness. It is based on household survey data for six of the countries, as well as budget data and information on program design collected at the national level. The paper finds that, although social assistance programs in the new member states are small in terms of coverage and expenditure levels (reaching 2 to 5 percent of the population), the programs are an important safety net for the poor. Programs are relatively well targeted, with between 30 and 60 percent of resources going to the poorest quintile of the population. For those who receive them, benefits can make up as much as 37 percent of average consumption of the poor.

Offering the only existing finite element (FE) codes for Maxwell equations that support hp refinements on irregular meshes, Computing with hp-ADAPTIVE FINITE ELEMENTS: Volume 1. One- and Two-Dimensional Elliptic and Maxwell Problems presents 1D and 2D codes and automatic hp adaptivity. This self-contained source discusses the theory and implementat

Nonlinear analysis is a broad, interdisciplinary field characterized by a remarkable mixture of analysis, topology, and applications. Its concepts and techniques provide the tools for developing more realistic and accurate models for a variety of phenomena encountered in fields ranging from engineering and chemistry to economics and biology. Thi

"This book is the ideal companion for undergraduates studying: systems analysis; systems design; software engineering; software projects; and databases and object technology. It would also be an reference for any practitioners wishing to get up to speed with the latest developments in this area."--BOOK JACKET.

Starting in the early 1980s, people using the tools of nonsmooth analysis developed some remarkable nonsmooth extensions of the existing critical point theory. Until now, however, no one had gathered these tools and results together into a unified, systematic survey of these advances. This book fills that gap. It provides a complete presentation of nonsmooth critical point theory, then goes beyond it to study nonlinear second order boundary value problems. The authors do not limit their treatment to problems in variational form. They also examine in detail equations driven by the p-Laplacian, its generalizations, and their spectral properties, studying a wide variety of problems and illustrating the powerful tools of modern nonlinear analysis. The presentation includes many recent results, including some that were previously unpublished. Detailed appendices outline the fundamental mathematical tools used in the book, and a rich bibliography forms a guide to the relevant literature. Most books addressing critical point theory deal only with smooth problems, linear or semilinear problems, or consider only variational methods or the tools of nonlinear operators. Nonsmooth Critical Point Theory and Nonlinear Boundary Value Problems offers a comprehensive treatment of the subject that is up-to-date, self-contained, and rich in methods for a wide variety of problems.

The main theme of this book is that security is not just about defence from external attack, but embraces the protection of identity and values which cultures regard as important, and which they may regard as worth fighting for. It examines Asia Pacific security from the perspective of the values and identities of the major actors in the region - C

Known in the English-speaking world mainly as the author of Main Currents of Marxism (1976), and in France as the author of the monumental study Chrétiens sans Eglise (1966), in his Two Eyes of Spinoza and Other Essays on Philosophers Leszek Kolakowski offers the English-speaking reader for the first time a significant selection of his early writings. Originally written in Polish, German, and French, this collection is his first book ever in English on seventeenth-century thought, which subject he has been writing on since "Individual and Infinity: Freedom and Antinomies of Freedom in the Philosophy of Spinoza" was published in 1957. Included in Two Eyes of Spinoza are essays on "The Philosophical Role of the Reformation" and the "Mystical Heresy," on Uriel da Costa, Spinoza, Gassendi, and Pierre Bayle, but also on Freud, Marx, Avenarius, and Heidegger. Also included is Kolakowski''s well-known essay "The Priest and the Jester," in which he considers the question of the theological heritage in contemporary thought.

This volume presents new trends and developments in soft computing techniques. Topics include: neural networks, fuzzy systems, evolutionary computation, knowledge discovery, rough sets, and hybrid methods. It also covers various applications of soft computing techniques in economics, mechanics, medicine, automatics and image processing. The book contains contributions from internationally recognized scientists, such as Zadeh, Bubnicki, Pawlak, Amari, Batyrshin, Hirota, Koczy, Kosinski, Novák, S.-Y. Lee, Pedrycz, Raudys, Setiono, Sincak, Strumillo, Takagi, Usui, Wilamowski and Zurada. An excellent overview of soft computing methods and their applications.

The post-communist transition in Europe and the former Soviet Union is one of the most important transformations in modern history. Changes were exceptionally large and it was not only political and economic systems which were affected: there were changes in social structures, new territorial boundaries in some cases had to be established and new institutions had to be constructed. Moreover, market-oriented reforms were introduced under democratic regimes. Leszek Balcerowicz, President of the National Bank of Poland and former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, one of the leading reformers in eastern Europe, discusses the varying outcomes of transitions in different countries, showing that it was policies, more than initial conditions, which produced the differences. He argues that the larger the scope of market-oriented reforms the better the performance in terms of growth, low inflation and environmental improvement. The presence of competent and determined reformers has also been a crucial factor in successful transformations.

Contents: Preface. - Introduction. - Science as a caricature of reality. - Three methodological revolutions. - The method of idealization. - Explanations and applications. - Truth and idealization. - A generalization of idealization. - References.

How do we reconcile the existence of evil in the world with the goodness of an omnipotent God, and how does God''s omnipotence relate to people''s responsibility for their own salvation or damnation? Sociologist Leszek Kolakowski reflects on a centuries-long debate in Christianity. "Several books a year wrestle with that hoary conundrum, but few so dazzlingly as the Polish philosopher''s latest".--Carlin Romano, WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD.

Leszek Kolakowski delves into some of the most intellectually vigorous questions of our time in this remarkable collection of essays garnished with his characteristic wit. Ten of the essays have never appeared before in English. "Exemplary. . . . It should be celebrated." —Arthur C. Danto, New York Times Book Review "This book . . . express[es] Kolakowski''s thought on God, man, reason, history, moral truth and original sin, prompted by observation of the dramatic struggle among Christianity, the Enlightenment and modern totalitarianism. It is a wonderful collection of topics." —Thomas Nagel, Times Literary Supplement "No better antidote to bumper-sticker thinking exists than this collection of 24 ''appeals for moderation in consistency,'' and never has such an antidote been needed more than it is now." —Joseph Coates, Chicago Tribune "Whether learned or humorous, these essays offer gems in prose of diamond hardness, precision, and brilliance." —Thomas D''Evelyn, The Christian Science Monitor A "Notable Books of the Year 1991" selection, New York Times Book Review—a "Noted with Pleasure" selection, New York Times Book Review—a "Summer Reading 1991" selection, New York Times Book Review—a "Books of the Year" selection, The Times.

This important new study, drawing primarily on Russian sources, analyzes Russian foreign policy in the context of an ongoing national identity crisis. The work examines Russia''s foreign policy in terms of two salient factors: (1) political and economic reform, given that foreign policy has been strongly influenced by reactions—positive and negative—to Yeltsin''s reform agenda; and (2) Russia''s geopolitical predicament between Europe and Asia, between East and West, which requires it to reconcile various strategic imperatives with regard to NATO, China, and the Islamic world. Buszynski''s study reveals current Russian foreign policy as a process of interaction between these two factors, the result being considerable vacillation between support for the West and opposition to it. An important analysis that will be of interest to foreign policy and international relations experts in academia and government.

In this volume, which was originally published in 1996, noisy information is studied in the context of computational complexity; in other words the text deals with the computational complexity of mathematical problems for which information is partial, noisy and priced.