This chapter considers how Plutarch, a Platonic philosopher and priest of Apollo, used the language of pistis (‘faith’) and pisteuein (‘to believe’). It rejects the view that Plutarch was the first to introduce a ‘fideistic’, proto-Christian concept of religious faith as opposed to reason, or that his faith was only a way to inscribe himself into ‘tradition’. Crucial for our understanding of Plutarch’s pistis is his initiation into the Dionysiac mysteries, which prevented him from ‘believing’ the Epicureans’ denial of immortality, as he deemed that the Platonists’ view of the immortality of the soul ‘is harder to disbelieve than to believe’. The chapter emphasises the convergence between Plutarch’s experience of the mysteries and his Platonic philosophy. Plutarch’s notion of faith is not fideistic and anti-philosophical but belongs to the domain of philosophy: unfounded faith must be criticised when it misrepresents the gods and strengthened when it aligns with sound philosophical doctrines. Not only can philosophical doctrines confirm expressions of pistis, but particular philosophical views are also the object of faith and are, conversely, reinforced by initiation into the mysteries. Throughout the chapter, it is intimated that Plutarch’s concept of pistis is not fundamentally different from that of Paul.

In this chapter, we briefly describe methods for performing training in a fast and cost-effective manner. This book has primarily focused on accelerating inference. Techniques for inference, such as low-precision methods and fast architectures, can also be employed to accelerate training. In this chapter, we discuss issues that are unique to training.

Most students and even faculty in psychology receive little or no formal training in how to communicate in psychology. Nor do they necessarily learn how to write grant and contract proposals, book proposals, or talks and lectures. Many people believe that writers receive sufficient training in writing through informal channels and thus will acquire the necessary skills on their own. Do students learn the writing techniques for psychology on their own? Our experience reading psychology papers suggests that often they do not. Moreover, this experience is shared by other psychology professors and by professors in other disciplines, as well. Psychologists also need excellent speaking skills.

This chapter concerns the law of the sea, tracing its historical development. The various parts of the seas are discussed, commencing with internal waters and the territorial sea and proceeding through the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. The extent of these zones and the identification of the relevant baselines are analysed, together with the notions of bays and islands, archipelagic states and the juridical nature of the respective zones. The rights of innocent passage and transit passage are discussed, followed by an examination of international straits. The important question of maritime delimitation of the various zones as between adjacent or opposite states is then examined, and the relevant principles as revealed in case law are analysed, including the situation as to delimitation beyond the 200-mile zones. The chapter then deals with the legal regime over the high seas, with jurisdictional issues being noted with the principle of flag state exclusivity and the exceptions thereto. The legal position as to the international seabed is then discussed with the International Seabed Authority and its organs are noted. The chapter concludes with an examination of dispute settlement mechanisms, especially the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

This chapter concerns state responsibility. Responsibility is based upon the existence of an international legal obligation in force between the states in question and a violation of that obligation imputable to the state responsible, with consequential loss or damage. The nature of the fault is discussed, as are issues as to the identity of offending persons or organs, as well as the existence of direction or control by the state. A variety of circumstances may preclude wrongfulness and thus responsibility. For example, consent or the existence of a lawful act causing the damage, such as the exercise of self-defence, or where the act constitutes a lawful countermeasure where the other state has committed a prior unlawful act. Force majeure constitutes a further example. The consequences of internationally wrongful acts include cessation or reparation. The question of serious breaches of peremptory norms (jus cogens) is also noted and the nationality of claims is analysed. The need for exhaustion of local remedies is discussed, as is the treatment of aliens and foreign property in this context.

This chapter concerns international environmental law. It commences with a consideration of an argued human right to a clean environment and the increasing case law on this issue. The relationship between economic development and environmental protection is also addressed, before the key question of state responsibility is surveyed. The appropriate standard, whether or not actual damage is caused, the question of transboundary harm arising from hazardous activities, environmental impact assessments, the precautionary and polluter-pays principles are examined before turning to the range of international treaties on this topic. The question of atmospheric pollution is addressed before the chapter turns to a consideration of climate change and the various international instruments concerning this, including the important Paris Agreement of 2015. Environmental issues and outer space are then discussed, followed by a section on international watercourses and one on ultra-hazardous activities. Questions as to the requirements for the provision of information and assistance are covered.

Chapter 9 is the last of four chapters to consider one element of the Dominican liturgy, focussing here on the melodic and modal qualities of Dominican chant before and after the mid-thirteenth-century liturgical revision. The chapter opens with a consideration of the melodic characteristics of Dominican chant; Cistercian melodies were clearly an initial source of inspiration for the Dominican mass chants. A comparison of the melodies of a twelfth-century Cistercian gradual (Paris, BnF, lat. 17328) with key thirteenth-century Dominican mass books reveals that the Dominican revision maintained many Cistercian characteristics (such as abbreviated melismas and a preference for minor thirds over major seconds), while reducing the incidence of repetition and reversing the Cistercian transposition of the modes of alleluias. To close, the chapter investigates cases of palaeographical anomalies at points of melodic revision in the first authoritative ‘exemplar’ of the revised liturgy (Rome, Santa Sabina XIV L 1), and considers what these reveal about both the production and revision process.

This chapter provides comprehensive guidance on creating and presenting effective academic posters in both traditional and digital formats. It details essential elements of poster design, from crafting compelling titles to organizing content sections like abstracts, methods, and results. The chapter emphasizes the importance of visual storytelling, offering practical strategies for maintaining simplicity, readability, and professional presentation. Special attention is given to digital poster considerations, including interactive features and multimedia integration. It addresses crucial aspects of poster presentation etiquette, such as developing an effective elevator speech, engaging with viewers appropriately, and managing both in-person and online interactions.