There is an ongoing perception that public accountability inmodern-day governance is in 'crisis', caused by globalization andthe increasing power of private economic interests. This bookresponds to that idea, providing the most comprehensive survey todate of how different organizations hold persons acting in thepublic interest to account, and the various problems they face. Thebook shows how key issues, such as public-mindedness, democracy andresponsibility, and structures, such as bureaucracy, markets andtransparency, adopt radically different and sometimes contradictoryinterpretations when viewed from different experientialperspectives. It also demonstrates how underlying all this are corecommunities of experiences that bind these diverse interpretationsand perspectives into a complex web of mutual interaction andinfluence. The book includes studies not only of Anglo-Americanexperiences, but also of the experiences of foreign andtransnational organizations: NGOs, transnational resistancemovements, th
Based on the author's graduate course taught over many years inseveral physics departments, this book takes a 'reductionist' viewof statistical mechanics, while describing the main ideas andmethods underlying its applications. It implicitly assumes that thephysics of complex systems as observed is connected to fundamentalphysical laws represented at the molecular level by Newtonianmechanics or quantum mechanics. Organised into three parts, thefirst section describes the fundamental principles of equilibriumstatistical mechanics. The next section describes applications tophases of increasing density and order: gases, liquids and solids;it also treats phase transitions. The final section deals withdynamics, including a careful account of hydrodynamic theories andlinear response theory. This textbook is suitable for a one yeargraduate course in statistical mechanics for physicists, chemistsand chemical engineers. Problems are included following eachchapter, with solutions to selected problems provided.
In mainstream economic theory money functions as an instrumentfor the circulation of commodities or for keeping a stock of liquidwealth. In neither case is it considered fundamental to theproduction of goods or the distribution of income. Augusto Grazianichallenges traditional theories of monetary production, arguingthat a modern economy based on credit cannot be understood withouta focus on the administration of credit flows. He argues thatmarket asset configuration depends not upon consumer preferencesand available technologies but on how money and credit are managed.A strong exponent of the circulation theory of monetary production,Graziani presents an original and perhaps controversial argumentthat will stimulate debate on the topic.
This 2006 textbook discusses the fundamentals and applicationsof statistical thermodynamics for beginning graduate students inthe physical and engineering sciences. Building on the prototypicalMaxwell–Boltzmann method and maintaining a step-by-step developmentof the subject, this book assumes the reader has no previousexposure to statistics, quantum mechanics or spectroscopy. The bookbegins with the essentials of statistical thermodynamics, pauses torecover needed knowledge from quantum mechanics and spectroscopy,and then moves on to applications involving ideal gases, the solidstate and radiation. A full introduction to kinetic theory isprovided, including its applications to transport phenomena andchemical kinetics. A highlight of the textbook is its discussion ofmodern applications, such as laser-based diagnostics. The bookconcludes with a thorough presentation of the ensemble method,featuring its use for real gases. Numerous examples and promptedhomework problems enrich the text.