Human brains can be seen as knowledge processors in a distributed system. Each of them can achieve, conscious or not, a small part of a treatment too important to be done by one. These are also "hunter / gatherers" of knowledge.  Provided that the number of contributors is large enough, the results are usually better quality than if they were the result of the activity of a single person, even if it is a domain expert.  This type of activity is done via online games.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 14th biennial ParCo conference, ParCo2011, held in Ghent Belgium. Keynote papers address the future of high performance computing in Europe, comparison of admission control policies for service provision in public clouds, program execution models for massively parallel computing, and advances in physarum machines gates, hulls, mazes, and routing with slime mould. Subsequent contributions are arranged in sections on algorithms, automatic parallelization, cloud computing, GPU applications, heterogeneous computing, high performance applications, languages, multicores, and performance modeling, among other topics. Indexing is by author. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Antelopes leap! Elephants roam! Lions stalk and zebras gallop! Wild creatures from all over the African continent scamper through the pages of this delightful book, giving beginning readers a fascinating way to learn the alphabet while discovering some of their favorite animals. Award-winning filmmakers and photographers Dereck and Beverly Joubert bring their vivid images of African wildlife to this superbly engaging alphabet book.

Readers will find brief that text offers basic information about each animal alongside each letter and the corresponding wildlife photo. In some cases, more than one creature represents a particular letter. In a market filled with animal books, this high-interest choice stands out for the power of its photography, the track record of its authors who have won critical acclaim for previous children's titles, the tremendous kid-appeal of African animals, and the proven reliability of the National Geographic brand.

Antelopes leap! Elephants roam! Lions stalk and zebras gallop! Wild creatures from all over the African continent scamper through the pages of this delightful book, giving beginning readers a fascinating way to learn the alphabet while discovering some of their favorite animals. Award-winning filmmakers and photographers Dereck and Beverly Joubert bring their vivid images of African wildlife to this superbly engaging alphabet book.

Readers will find brief that text offers basic information about each animal alongside each letter and the corresponding wildlife photo. In some cases, more than one creature represents a particular letter. In a market filled with animal books, this high-interest choice stands out for the power of its photography, the track record of its authors who have won critical acclaim for previous childrenÕs titles, the tremendous kid-appeal of African animals, and the proven reliability of the National Geographic brand.

A symbol of mythic potency, the African lion has ruled the human imagination for millennia. But in Botswana's Okavango Delta, the world's most awe-inspiring hunters are challenged not only by their waterlogged territory, but also by their formidable prey—the buffalo—who wield their massive horns with deadly accuracy. Pulsing with ancient rhythms of wild Africa, this harsh and eternal struggle is compelling, powerful, and poignant. Award-winning filmmakers and National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Beverly and Dereck Joubert, give us an unforgettable glimpse of this iconic drama in the official companion book to their feature film, The Last Lions, and warn that due to declining numbers of lions in the wild, it may soon end forever.
 
In fascinating text and breathtaking images, the Jouberts reveal both the beauty and danger of the Okavango Delta and its inhabitants. We follow a lone lioness, Ma di Tau—Mother of Lions—and three newborns as they flee a ferocious rival pride. Braving the Delta, despite their instinctive hatred of water, the lioness and her cubs head for an island lost in a labyrinth of streams. She and two cubs escape successfully; a lurking crocodile snatches the third.
 
Soon, their refuge is invaded by a vast buffalo herd—aggressive, unafraid, a constant threat, yet the lions' only prey. But even as Ma di Tau hones her tactics and stalking skills, she is trapped between throngs of buffalo and a rival lion pride. So she does what all of her kind must—adapt or die.
 
The Last Lions is a story of family and hope in a world of wild beauty and relentless predation that is a superbly photographed, sharply detailed intimate portrait of one dauntless mother struggling to protect her young and preserve her bloodline. It is a vivid, universal vision of the fate of lions everywhere, isolated on tiny islands amid a sea of humanity. Can we rescue them, or have we already, heedlessly, met the last lions?
 
For decades the Jouberts have lived among great cats in the wild, observing, documenting, and often discovering unsuspected facets of lion behavior. A key message is that the inexorably rising tide of human population will soon drown what remains of that world unless we act now. The book draws attention to the numbers (500,000 in the 1950s to only 25,000 lions today) and highlights projects that have been enacted to help preserve wilderness for lion habitat.

You look straight ahead. You try to breathe normally. You can smell the scent of the huge cat that is staring back. You are a cameraman. He is the King of Beasts. Your only thought is 'I hope he has eaten today.'

Let National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert bring you closer to the power and majesty of the regal African lion. With fewer than 25,000 wild lions now left on Earth, the authors make a passionate plea to young readers to take an active role in securing a future for these magnificent creatures.

'If the eye expresses life and soul and what lives inside, leopards are the eye of Africa, linked through a connective nerve directly to what this continent means and symbolizes.' —Dereck Joubert National Geographic filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert have worked with dangerous wildlife in Africa for years. They have produced more than 20 award-winning films, as well as some of the most beautiful wildlife photography in existence, and their conservation efforts have included establishing game reserves and regrowing rain forests. Eye of the Leopard is a visual celebration of these beautiful cats, the country they call home, and two photographers with a lifelong passion for photographing them. Upon finding a mother leopard and her three-day-old cub, the Jouberts capture the remarkable beauty of one leopard's life and follow her gripping story as she battles to survive and complete her own life's journey into motherhood. Their documentary of the same title won them their fifth Emmy Award for Best Achievement in Science, Nature, and Technology.

You’re crouched in the African brush, camera at the ready. You’re waiting on one of nature’s loners. It’s dark. It’s scary. Then silently, he appears; the ever-elusive leopard. You have seconds to capture on film this wonder of the wild, with its exotic spotted fur, so prized by hunters. National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert take you closer to the mystery of the magnificent leopard and make a passionate plea to young readers to help secure a future for these feline treasures.

You’re in the Land Rover, observing elephants from a safe, respectful distance. It’s a hot, hot day in the African bush, and the windows are down. But what’s this? Suddenly, you’ve got company! An elephant trunk is nosing around in your luggage for some water. Nothing new to Beverly and Dereck Joubert, the wildlife writers and filmmakers who get up close and personal with elephants of all sizes, experience their complex social structure, and witness first-hand their deepest emotions. Through Beverly’s stunning photographs and Dereck’s engaging narration, readers can follow the plight of a trapped baby elephant, discover the compassion of these gentle giants, and learn of the threats they face. The Jouberts take readers face to face with the elephants as they come under attack from lions...and from mankind. Learn how to help protect these animals and prevent shrinking herds being driven into ever smaller parcels of land.

You're in the Land Rover, observing elephants from a safe, respectful distance. It's a hot, hot day in the African bush, and the windows are down. But what's this? Suddenly, you've got company! An elephant trunk is nosing around in your luggage for some water. Nothing new to Beverly and Dereck Joubert, the wildlife writers and filmmakers who get up close and personal with elephants of all sizes, experience their complex social structure, and witness first-hand their deepest emotions. Through Beverly's stunning photographs and Dereck's engaging narration, readers can follow the plight of a trapped baby elephant, discover the compassion of these gentle giants, and learn of the threats they face. The Jouberts take readers face to face with the elephants as they come under attack from lions...and from mankind. Learn how to help protect these animals and prevent shrinking herds being driven into ever smaller parcels of land.

Written by leaders in a wide range of creative fields and from all corners of the Asian region, this collection of essays presents arts and education programs which reflect traditional and contemporary practices. The volume aims to encourage the use of the arts in developing international understanding, celebrating cultural diversity, building cultural bridges and creating cross-cultural dialogue throughout the Asian region.

You look straight ahead. You try to breathe normally. You can smell the scent of the huge cat that is staring back. You are a cameraman. He is the King of Beasts. Your only thought is 'I hope he has already eaten today.' Let National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert bring you closer to the power and majesty of the regal African lion. With fewer than 25,000 wild lions now left on Earth, the award-winning filmmakers and naturalists make a passionate plea to readers to take an active role in securing a future for these magnificent creatures.

You look straight ahead. You try to breathe normally. You can smell the scent of the huge cat that is staring back. You are a cameraman. He is the King of Beasts. Your only thought is 'I hope he has already eaten today.' Let National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert bring you closer to the power and majesty of the regal African lion. With fewer than 25,000 wild lions now left on Earth, the award-winning filmmakers and naturalists make a passionate plea to readers to take an active role in securing a future for these magnificent creatures.

Terzo volume della Storia di Twenty. Questa saga si svolge in un prossimo futuro, quando tutte le malattie sessualmente trasmissibili saranno state debellate ed ha inizio una nuova grande rivoluzione sessuale.

In tutti i passaggi cruciali della storia vi sono stati uomini che hanno preferito rinunciare all'azione, per ritirarsi a riflettere sul loro tempo, sulla vita, l'arte, la bellezza, Dio. E che, con la loro opera, hanno ottenuto quanto nessuna rivoluzione potrebbe mai sperare: parlare a ogni uomo, in ogni tempo. I Quaderni diJoseph Joubert, di cui Gavino Manca ha curato una selezione, suonano ancor oggi come una straordinaria testimonianza di libertà intellettuale. Assertore in gioventù degli ideali dell'Illuminismo, Joubert divenne un lucido critico delle sue derive ideologiche. Pensatore controcorrente, non dimenticò mai i limiti della ragione di fronte alla trascendenza. Discepolo dei classici, coltivò a un tempo una sensibilità affine, come avverte Gianfranco Dioguardi, a quella di noi contemporanei. Virtuoso dell'aforisma, inseguì il miraggio di una 'poesia di idee', in cui la forza dell'osservazione si fonde con la sintesi dello stile. Pensiero dopo pensiero, Joubert affonda il bisturi nel groviglio di speranze e certezze che è la vita umana: quell'esistenza 'intera e assoluta' in cui egli indica il segreto della felicità.

'Quando vediamo un leone che insegue e poi mette in ginocchio un fortissimo bufalo, forse cogliamo un barlume della complessità del sistema in cui siamo nati e da cui ci siamo allontanati. E così facendo sappiamo che, dentro di noi, sopravvive qualcosa di quella condizione capace di spaventarci'. Così Dereck e Beverly Joubert, giornalisti e naturalisti, introducono la loro ricerca: uno studio unico, fatto di fotografie crudeli e di riflessioni profonde, un reportage che li ha spinti su un'isola nel delta dell'Okawango, in un ambiente eccezionale, alla scoperta dei meccanismi evolutivi più complessi e del senso finale della lotta per sopravvivere.

The tawny lion slinks through golden grass, stealthy and sinuous, utterly concentrated on the hunt, a perfect predator awaiting only the instant when pure instinct triggers the rush, the spring, the ferocious slash of sharp claws and merciless fangs that will bring down her prey. It's a scene as old as Africa itself, yet its sudden, violent drama is always new.

Dereck and Beverly Joubert know it well. For decades they've lived among lions, winning international acclaim for their unique photographs and pioneering documentaries, which record lions' previously unknown behavior such as nocturnal forays and a willingness to stalk their quarry through water. Of all their long experience, the Jouberts consider their two years with the lions of Duba the most exciting, important research they have done?here presented in fascinating text and 100 gripping images.

Month after month, they battled floods, hardship, and danger to capture these spectacular shots of the relentless blood rivalry played out on the Okavanga Delta every day as three separate lion prides harry a huge herd of buffalo. These massive beasts are challenging prey; they fight back fiercely, aggressively seeking out the big cats and attacking them with deadly thrusts of their sharp, sweeping horns. The lions leap and dodge, but not always swiftly enough to escape?and so the ancient struggle goes on.

The companion volume to a new National Geographic film airing in 2006, this is an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of the world's most awe-inspiring hunters, the lethal and beautiful lions of Duba.

The elusive French luminary Joseph Joubert is a great explorer of the mind's open spaces. Edited and translated by Paul Auster, this selection from Joubert's notebooks introduces a master of the enigmatic who seeks "to call everything by its true name" while asking us to "remember everything is double." "Joubert speaks in whispers," Auster writes. "One must draw very close to hear what he is saying."