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Devices of the Soul: Battling for Our Selves in an Age of Machines
by Steve Talbott"Self-forgetfulness is the reigning temptation of the technological era. This is why we so readily give our assent to the absurd proposition that a computer can add two plus two, despite the obvious fact that it can do nothing of the sort--not if we have in mind anything remotely resembling what we do when we add numbers. In the computer's case, the mechanics of addition involve no motivation, no consciousness of the task, no mobilization of the will, no metabolic activity, no imagination. And its performance brings neither the satisfaction of accomplishment nor the strengthening of practical skills and cognitive capacities."In this insightful book, author Steve Talbott, software programmer and technical writer turned researcher and editor for The Nature Institute, challenges us to step back and take an objective look at the technology driving our lives. At a time when 65 percent of American consumers spend more time with their PCs than they do with their significant others, according to a recent study, Talbott illustrates that we're forgetting one important thing--our Selves, the human spirit from which technology stems.Whether we're surrendering intimate details to yet another database, eschewing our physical communities for online social networks, or calculating our net worth, we freely give our power over to technology until, he says, "we arrive at a computer's-eye view of the entire world of industry, commerce, and society at large...an ever more closely woven web of programmed logic."Digital technology certainly makes us more efficient. But when efficiency is the only goal, we have no way to know whether we're going in the right or wrong direction. Businesses replace guiding vision with a spreadsheet's bottom line. Schoolteachers are replaced by the computer's dataflow. Indigenous peoples give up traditional skills for the dazzle and ease of new gadgets. Even the Pentagon's zeal to replace "boots on the ground" with technology has led to the mess in Iraq. And on it goes.The ultimate danger is that, in our willingness to adapt ourselves to technology, "we will descend to the level of the computational devices we have engineered--not merely imagining ever new and more sophisticated automatons, but reducing ourselves to automatons."To transform our situation, we need to see it in a new and unaccustomed light, and that's what Talbott provides by examining the deceiving virtues of technology--how we're killing education, socializing our machines, and mechanizing our society.Once you take this eye-opening journey, you will think more clearly about how you consume technology and how you allow it to consume you."Nothing is as rare or sorely needed in our tech-enchanted culture right now as intelligent criticism of technology, and Steve Talbott is exactly the critic we've been waiting for: trenchant, sophisticated, and completely original. Devices of the Soul is an urgent and important book."--Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World"Steve Talbott is a rare voice of clarity, humanity, and passion in a world enthralled by machines and calculation. His new book, Devices of the Soul, lays out a frightening and at the same time inspiring analysis of what computers and computer-like thinking are doing to us, our children, and the future of our planet. Talbott is no Luddite. He fully understands and appreciates the stunning power of technology for both good and evil. His cool and precise skewering of the fuzzy thinking and mindless enthusiasm of the technology true believers is tempered by his modesty, the elegance of his writing, and his abiding love for the world of nature and our capacity for communion with it. "--Edward Miller, Former editor, Harvard Education Letter"Those who care about the healthy and wholesome lives of children can gain much from Steve Talbott's wisdom. He examines the need to help children spe
Dew Computing: The Sustainable IoT Perspectives (Internet of Things)
by Debashis De Samarjit RoyThis book discusses the dew computing paradigm with the evolution of future-generation technologies through the cloud and the Internet of Things in the scope of machine intelligence. Dew computing is an emerging paradigm that inherits a flexible and super-hybrid methodology to afford personal information to users with self-regulating internetwork connectivity. The contents conceptualize how the end-users can benefit from data analytics through intelligent data sensing, computing, analytics, and distributed scenarios using a dew-cloud computational framework over the Internet of Things environment. The main focus of this book is to bring all the related technologies into a single platform so that undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academicians, and the industry can easily understand dew computing, future generations of cloud computing, machine intelligence, and representation learning in IoT-enabled technologies.
Diabetic Foot Ulcers Grand Challenge: 4th Challenge, DFUC 2024, Held in Conjunction with MICCAI 2024, Marrakesh, Morocco, October 6, 2024, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #15335)
by Moi Hoon Yap Connah Kendrick Raphael BrüngelThis book constitutes the 4th Challenge on Diabetic Foot Ulcers, DFUC2024, held in conjunction with the 27th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2024, in Marrakesh, Morocco, on October 6, 2024. The 8 full papers presented in this book together with 2 invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 11 submissions. The task of DFUC 2024 was on self-supervised learning in ulcer segmentation, for the purpose of supporting research towards more advanced methods to overcome data deficiency and unlabelled data.
Diabetic Foot Ulcers Grand Challenge: Second Challenge, DFUC 2021, Held in Conjunction with MICCAI 2021, Strasbourg, France, September 27, 2021, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #13183)
by Moi Hoon Yap Bill Cassidy Connah KendrickThis book constitutes the Second Diabetic Foot Ulcers Grand Challenge, DFUC 2021, which was held on September 27, 2021, in conjunction with the 24th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2021. The challenge took place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The 6 full papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 14 submissions. There is also an overview paper on the challenge and datasets and one summary paper of DFUC 2021.
Diabetic Foot Ulcers Grand Challenge: Third Challenge, DFUC 2022, Held in Conjunction with MICCAI 2022, Singapore, September 22, 2022, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #13797)
by Moi Hoon Yap Bill Cassidy Connah KendrickThis book constitutes the Third Diabetic Foot Ulcers Grand Challenge, DFUC 2022, which was held on September 2022, in conjunction with the 25th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2022 in Singapore. The 8 full papers presented together with 5 challenge papers and 3 post-challenge papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 19 submissions.The DFU challenges aim to motivate the health care domain to share datasets, participate in ground truth annotation, and enable data-innovation in computer algorithm development. In the longer term, it will lead to improved patient care.
Diablo III: Heroes Rise, Darkness Falls
by Blizzard EntertainmentA collection of terrifying tales based on the award-winning video game! A bold demon hunter risks becoming her own worst enemy while tracking down her sinister prey...A haunted barbarian returns to his shattered homeland to face a harrowing past...A lone monk scours evil from an ancient forest where the line between friend and foe has vanished...A gifted but impetuous wizard finds out that great knowledge and power come with a price...A proud young witch doctor makes a chilling discovery that shakes his faith to its core...A desperate playwright embarks down a dark path of madness and depravity in his quest for fame...An unscrupulous wagon driver learns that his sole passenger is harboring a terrifying secret... These are stories from the world of Sanctuary, a land of mystery and dread that serves as the backdrop for Blizzard Entertainment's award-winning Diablo video game series. Although these narratives focus on different characters and settings, they are bound together by the web of horror and suspense that is intrinsic to the Diablo universe. In this gothic fantasy realm, terror is a constant. It comes in many forms, from grotesque horned demons to the deepest fears of mortal hearts and minds. Brace yourself for this collection of exciting and frightening tales that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Diablo III: Morbed
by Micky NeilsonAn original e-novella based on the bestselling video game!Morbed is a thief and a survivor, and his skills in both roles are about to be put to the ultimate test. Joining together with a wizard, a druid, a necromancer, and a crusader, Morbed has arrived at a remote island to track down an elusive vagabond andreclaim valuable items pilfered from the city of Westmarch. But there is something loose on the island, something that has killed and is very close to killing again. In order to leave the island alive, Morbed will be forced to confront not only the terrifying creature that stalks the forests, but the darkest corners of his own spirit as well.
Diablo III: Storm of Light (Diablo III)
by Nate KenyonThe High Heavens are healing after the fall of the Prime Evil. The Angiris Council has recovered the Black Soulstone and now stands vigil over the cursed artifact deep within the glimmering Silver City.Amid these momentous events, Tyrael struggles with his position as the new Aspect of Wisdom, feeling out of place as a mortal among his angelic brethren and doubting his ability to fully embody his role. As he searches within himself and the Heavens for reassurance, he senses the Black Soulstone's grim influence on his home. Where harmony of light and sound once reigned, a mounting discord is threatening to shroud the realm in darkness. Imperius and the other archangels vehemently oppose moving or destroying the crystal, leading Tyrael to put Heaven’s fate in the hands of humankind...Drawing powerful humans to his side from the far ends of Sanctuary, Tyrael reforges the ancient Horadrim and charges the order with an impossible task: to steal the Soulstone from the heart of Heaven. Among the champions entrustedwith this burden are Jacob of Staalbreak, former avatar of Justice and guardian of the angelic blade El'druin; Shanar, a wizard with phenomenal powers; Mikulov, a lithe and reverent monk; Gynvir, a fearless and battle-hardened barbarian; and Zayl, a mysterious necromancer. With time and the forces of both good and evil against them, can these heroes unite as one and complete their perilous mission before Heaven falls to ruin?
Diablo: Demonsbane
by Robert B. MarksSince the beginning of time, the angelic hosts of the High Heavens and the demonic hordes of the Burning Hells have been locked in a struggle for the fate of all creation. That struggle has now come to the mortal realm...and neither Man nor Demon nor Angel will be left unscathed.... What was to have been a victorious last stand against the demonic invasion of Entsteig has instead become a massacre. Only Siggard remains, a warrior unable to remember the final hours of the battle, driven by the carnage he experienced and the void in his mind to avenge those slain by the army of darkness. As he hunts the demon lord who butchered everything dear to him, Siggard also pieces together the truth of that terrible battle...and finds that his nightmare is only just beginning. An original tale of swords, sorcery, and timeless struggle based on the bestselling, award-winning M-rated electronic game from Blizzard Entertainment. Intended for mature readers.
Diablo: Recipes and Tales from the Inns of Sanctuary
by Rick Barba Andy LuniqueTake a culinary journey through the dark fantasy world of Sanctuary with Diablo: The Official Cookbook, a flavorful compilation of recipes inspired by Blizzard Entertainment&’s iconic series.Journey through Sanctuary and prepare to feast on over 60 unique culinary delights inspired by Diablo in this one-of-a-kind cookbook experience. From the humble town of Tristram to the towering Mount Arreat, you will learn how to survive the horrors of this dark, nightmarish fantasy world by enjoying delicious dishes from the Burning Hells to the High Heavens. Each immersive recipe features straightforward step-by-step instructions, mouthwatering full-color photos, and pairing suggestions, as well as numerous substitution tips. Whether you&’re cooking up a lavish banquet spread fit for a countess or some vittles for a solo quest, Diablo: The Official Cookbook brings the flavors of Sanctuary to your table. 60+ RECIPES: From hearty bites in the mists of Scosglen to feasts straight from the banquet tables of Khanduras, Diablo: The Official Cookbook includes recipes from every zone for every occasion. BRING THE GAME TO LIFE: Explore delectable dishes inspired by iconic locations such as Khejistan, Westmarch, and The Dreadlands, fan-favorite monsters and enemies, and beloved characters such as The Butcher, Diablo, Deckard Cain, and Archangel Tyrael. DISHES FOR EVERY SKILL LEVEL: With step-by-step instructions and beautiful photographs, learn to make incredible dishes to satisfy even the hungriest Barbarian.
Diablo: The Sin War Box Set
by Richard A. KnaakSince the beginning of time, the angelic forces of the High Heavens and the demonic hordes of the Burning Hells have been locked in an eternal conflict for the fate of all Creation. That struggle has now spilled over into Sanctuary -- the world of men. Determined to win mankind over to their respective causes, the forces of good and evil wage a secret war for mortal souls. This is the tale of the Sin War -- the conflict that would forever change the destiny of man. Three thousand years before the darkening of Tristram, Uldyssian, son of Diomedes, was a simple farmer from the village of Seram. Content with his quiet, idyllic life, Uldyssian is shocked as dark events rapidly unfold around him. Mistakenly blamed for the grisly murders of two traveling missionaries, Uldyssian is forced to flee his homeland and set out on a perilous quest to redeem his good name. To his horror, he has begun to manifest strange new powers -- powers no mortal man has ever dreamed of. Now, Uldyssian must grapple with the energies building within him -- lest they consume the last vestiges of his humanity.
Diagnosability, Security and Safety of Hybrid Dynamic and Cyber-Physical Systems
by Moamar Sayed-MouchawehCyber-physical systems (CPS) are characterized as a combination of physical (physical plant, process, network) and cyber (software, algorithm, computation) components whose operations are monitored, controlled, coordinated, and integrated by a computing and communicating core. The interaction between both physical and cyber components requires tools allowing analyzing and modeling both the discrete and continuous dynamics. Therefore, many CPS can be modeled as hybrid dynamic systems in order to take into account both discrete and continuous behaviors as well as the interactions between them. Guaranteeing the security and safety of CPS is a challenging task because of the inherent interconnected and heterogeneous combination of behaviors (cyber/physical, discrete/continuous) in these systems. This book presents recent and advanced approaches and tech-niques that address the complex problem of analyzing the diagnosability property of cyber physical systems and ensuring their security and safety against faults and attacks. The CPS are modeled as hybrid dynamic systems using different model-based and data-driven approaches in different application domains (electric transmission networks, wireless communication networks, intrusions in industrial control systems, intrusions in production systems, wind farms etc.). These approaches handle the problem of ensuring the security of CPS in presence of attacks and verifying their diagnosability in presence of different kinds of uncertainty (uncertainty related to the event occurrences, to their order of occurrence, to their value etc.).
Diagnosis and Fault-tolerant Control 1: Data-driven and Model-based Fault Diagnosis Techniques
by Vicenç Puig Silvio SimaniThis book presents recent advances in fault diagnosis strategies for complex dynamic systems. Its impetus derives from the need for an overview of the challenges of the fault diagnosis technique, especially for those demanding systems that require reliability, availability, maintainability and safety to ensure efficient operations. Moreover, the need for a high degree of tolerance with respect to possible faults represents a further key point, primarily for complex systems, as modeling and control are inherently challenging, and maintenance is both expensive and safety-critical.Diagnosis and Fault-tolerant Control 1 also presents and compares different diagnosis schemes using established case studies that are widely used in related literature. The main features of this book regard the analysis, design and implementation of proper solutions for the problems of fault diagnosis in safety critical systems. The design of the considered solutions involves robust data-driven, model-based approaches.
Diagnosis and Fault-tolerant Control Volume 2: From Fault Diagnosis to Fault-tolerant Control
by Vicenç Puig Silvio SimaniThis book presents recent advances in fault diagnosis and fault-tolerant control of dynamic processes. Its impetus derives from the need for an overview of the challenges of the fault diagnosis technique and sustainable control, especially for those demanding systems that require reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety to ensure efficient operations. Moreover, the need for a high degree of tolerance with respect to possible faults represents a further key point, primarily for complex systems, as modeling and control are inherently challenging, and maintenance is both expensive and safety-critical.Diagnosis and Fault-tolerant Control 2 also presents and compares different fault diagnosis and fault-tolerant schemes, using well established, innovative strategies for modeling the behavior of the dynamic process under investigation. An updated treatise of diagnosis and fault-tolerant control is addressed with the use of essential and advanced methods including signal-based, model-based and data-driven techniques. Another key feature is the application of these methods for dealing with robustness and reliability.
Diagnosis of Neurological Disorders Based on Deep Learning Techniques
by Jyotismita ChakiThis book is based on deep learning approaches used for the diagnosis of neurological disorders, including basics of deep learning algorithms using diagrams, data tables, and practical examples, for diagnosis of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. It includes application of feed-forward neural networks, deep generative models, convolutional neural networks, graph convolutional networks, and recurrent neural networks in the field of diagnosis of neurological disorders. Along with this, data preprocessing including scaling, correction, trimming, and normalization is also included. Offers a detailed description of the deep learning approaches used for the diagnosis of neurological disorders. Demonstrates concepts of deep learning algorithms using diagrams, data tables, and examples for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric disorders. Helps build, train, and deploy different types of deep architectures for diagnosis. Explores data preprocessing techniques involved in diagnosis. Includes real-time case studies and examples. This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in biomedical imaging and machine learning.
Diagnostics in Ocular Imaging: Cornea, Retina, Glaucoma and Orbit
by Mehrdad MohammadpourThis book presents a new avenue in the field of ophthalmology and sheds light on the field of eye imaging. With the increasing availability of electronic devices and their important role in both personal and professional aspects of human life, there is a growing need for perfect vision. Ophthalmic imaging is a major tool for screening and documenting eye diseases in both medical and surgical fields of ophthalmology and is also of use for ophthalmologists around the globe. The number of eye-imaging devices has increased dramatically, however undiagnosed or poorly managed eye diseases remain a significant cause of ocular and visual problems worldwide. This essential guide addresses the need for a book that is dedicated to ophthalmic imaging, covering the cornea, glaucoma, retina and orbital imaging with updates on medical and surgical aspects of the topic.
Diagnostics of Mechatronic Systems (Studies in Systems, Decision and Control #345)
by Tibor Krenický Pavol Božek Yury NikitinThis book provides novel approach to the diagnosis of complex technical systems that are widely used in various kinds of transportation, energy, metallurgy, metalworking, fuels, mining, chemical, paper industries, etc.Effective diagnostic systems are necessary for the early detection of errors in mechatronic systems, for the organization of maintenance and for the assessment of the performed service quality. Unfortunately, the practical use of AI in the diagnosis of mechatronic systems is still quite limited and the inability to build effective mechatronic systems leads to significant economic losses and dangers. The main aim of this book is to contribute to knowledge within the topic of diagnostics of mechatronic systems by the analysis of the elements reliability characteristics, using methods, models and algorithms for diagnostics and by studying examples of model diagnostic systems using AI methods based on neural networks, fuzzy inference systems and genetic algorithms.
Diagrammatic Representation and Inference
by Mateja Jamnik Yuri Uesaka Stephanie Elzer SchwartzThe 6th International Conference on the Theory and Application of Diagrams - Diagrams 2010 - was held in Portland, USA in August 2010. Diagrams is an international and interdisciplinary conference series, which continues to present the very best work in all aspects of research on the theory and application of diagrams. Some key questions that researchers are tackling concern gaining an insight into how diagrams are used, how they are rep- sented, which types are available and when it is appropriate to use them. The use of diagrammatic notations is studied for a variety of purposes including communication, cognition, creative thought, computation and problem-solving. Clearly, this must be pursued as an interdisciplinary endeavor, and Diagrams is the only conference series that provides such a united forum for all areas that are concerned with the study of diagrams: for example, architecture, arti?cial intelligence,cartography,cognitivescience,computer science,education,graphic design, history of science, human-computer interaction, linguistics, logic, ma- ematics, philosophy, psychology, and software modelling. The articles in this volume re?ect this variety and interdisciplinarity of the ?eld.
Diagrammatic Representation and Inference: 10th International Conference, Diagrams 2018, Edinburgh, UK, June 18-22, 2018, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #10871)
by Peter Chapman Amirouche Moktefi Gem Stapleton Sarah Perez-Kriz Francesco BellucciThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on the Theory and Application of Diagrams, Diagrams 2018, held in Edinburgh, UK, in June 2018.The 26 revised full papers and 28 short papers presented together with 32 posters were carefully reviewed and selected from 124 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: generating and drawing Euler diagrams; diagrams in mathematics; diagram design, principles and classification; reasoning with diagrams; Euler and Venn diagrams; empirical studies and cognition; Peirce and existential graphs; and logic and diagrams.
Diagrammatic Representation and Inference: 11th International Conference, Diagrams 2020, Tallinn, Estonia, August 24–28, 2020, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #12169)
by Peter Chapman Ahti-Veikko Pietarinen Leonie Bosveld-de Smet Valeria Giardino James Corter Sven LinkerThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on the Theory and Application of Diagrams, Diagrams 2020, held in Tallinn, Estonia, in August 2020.*The 20 full papers and 16 short papers presented together with 18 posters were carefully reviewed and selected from 82 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: diagrams in mathematics; diagram design, principles, and classification; reasoning with diagrams; Euler and Venn diagrams; empirical studies and cognition; logic and diagrams; and posters. *The conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapters ‘Modality and Uncertainty in Data Visualization: A Corpus Approach to the Use of Connecting Lines,’ ‘On Effects of Changing Multi-Attribute Table Design on Decision Making: An Eye Tracking Study,’ ‘Truth Graph: A Novel Method for Minimizing Boolean Algebra Expressions by Using Graphs,’ ‘The DNA Framework of Visualization’ and ‘Visualizing Curricula’ are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Diagrammatic Representation and Inference: 12th International Conference, Diagrams 2021, Virtual, September 28–30, 2021, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #12909)
by Amrita Basu Gem Stapleton Emmanuel Manalo Sven Linker Catherine Legg Petrucio VianaThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Theory and Application of Diagrams, Diagrams 2021, held virtually in September 2021. The 16 full papers and 25 short papers presented together with 16 posters were carefully reviewed and selected from 94 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: design of concrete diagrams; theory of diagrams; diagrams and mathematics; diagrams and logic; new representation systems; analysis of diagrams; diagrams and computation; cognitive analysis; diagrams as structural tools; formal diagrams; and understanding thought processes. 10 chapters are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Diagrammatic Representation and Inference: 13th International Conference, Diagrams 2022, Rome, Italy, September 14–16, 2022, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #13462)
by Richard Burns Francesco Bellucci Valeria Giardino Sven Linker Petrucio Viana Jean-Michel BoucheixThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on the Theory and Application of Diagrams, Diagrams 2022, held in Rome, Italy, in September 2022. The 11 full papers and 19 short papers presented together with 5 posters were carefully reviewed and selected from 58 submissions. 8 chapters are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Diagrammatic Representation and Inference: 14th International Conference, Diagrams 2024, Münster, Germany, September 27 – October 1, 2024, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #14981)
by Richard Burns Emmanuel Manalo Jens Lemanski Petrucio Viana Mikkel Willum Johansen Reetu BhattacharjeeThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Theory and Application of Diagrams, Diagrams 2024, held in Münster, Germany, during September 27–October 1, 2024. The 17 full papers, 19 short papers and 11 papers of other types included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 69 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: Keynote Talks; Analysis of Diagrams; Euler and Venn Diagrams; Diagrams in Logic; Diagrams and Applications; Diagram Tools; Historical Aspects of Diagrams; and Posters.
Dialect Accent Features for Establishing Speaker Identity
by Manisha Kulshreshtha Ramkumar MathurDialect Accent Features for Establishing Speaker Identity: A Case Study discusses the subject of forensic voice identification and speaker profiling. Specifically focusing on speaker profiling and using dialects of the Hindi language, widely used in India, the authors have contributed to the body of research on speaker identification by using accent feature as the discriminating factor. This case study contributes to the understanding of the speaker identification process in a situation where unknown speech samples are in different language/dialect than the recording of a suspect. The authors' data establishes that vowel quality, quantity, intonation and tone of a speaker as compared to Khariboli (standard Hindi) could be the potential features for identification of dialect accent.
Dialog Systems: A Perspective from Language, Logic and Computation (Logic, Argumentation & Reasoning #22)
by Teresa Lopez-SotoThis book focuses on dialog from a varied combination of fields: Linguistics, Philosophy of Language and Computation. It builds on the hypothesis that meaning in human communication arises at the discourse level rather than at the word level. The book offers a complex analytical framework and integration of the central areas of research around human communication. The content revolves around meaning but it also gives evidence of the connection among different points of view. Besides discussing issues of general interest to the field, the book triggers theoretical argumentation that is currently under scientific discussion. It examines such topics as immanent reasoning joined with Recanati's lekta and free enrichment, challenges of internet conversation, inner dialogs, cognition and language, and the relation between assertion and denial. It proposes a dialogical framework for intra-negotiation and gives a geolinguistic perspective on spoken discourse. Finally, it examines dialog and abduction and sheds light on a generation of dialog contexts by means of multimodal logic applied to speech acts.