The book offers a critical evaluation of Qatar's path from oil- and gas-based industries to a knowledge-based economy. This book gives basic information about the region and the country, including the geographic and demographic data, the culture, the politics and the economy, the health care conditions and the education system. It introduces the concepts of knowledge society and knowledge-based development and adds factual details about Qatar by interpreting indicators of the development status. Subsequently, the research methods that underlie the study are described, which offers information on the eGovernment study analyzing the government-citizen relationship, higher education institutions and systems, its students and the students' way into the labor market. This book has an audience with economists, sociologists, political scientists, geographers, information scientists and other researchers on the knowledge society, but also all researchers and practitioners interested in the Arab Oil States and their future.

Asian Popular Culture: New, Hybrid, and Alternate Media, edited by John A. Lent and Lorna Fitzsimmons, is an interdisciplinary study of popular culture practices in Asia, including regional and national studies of Japan, China, South Korea, and Australia. The contributors explore the evolution and intersection of popular forms (gaming, manga, anime, film, music, fiction, YouTube videos) and explicate the changing cultural meanings of these media in historical and contemporary contexts. At this study's core are the roles popular culture plays in the construction of national and regional identity. Common themes in this text include the impact of new information technology, whether it be on gaming in East Asia, music in 1960s' Japan, or candlelight vigils in South Korea; hybridity, of old and new versions of the Chinese game Weiqi, of online and hand-held gaming in South Korea and Japan that developed localized expressions, or of United States culture transplanted to Japan in post-World War II, leading to the current otaku (fan boy) culture; and the roles that nationalism and grassroots and alternative media of expression play in contemporary Asian popular culture. This is an essential study in understanding the role of popular culture in Asia's national and regional identity.

This book reports on the EU-funded 7th Framework project, Go4Hybrid (Grey Area Mitigation for Hybrid RANS-LES Methods). It presents new findings concerning the accuracy and reliability of current hybrid RANS-LES methods. It describes improved formulations of both non-zonal and embedded hybrid strategies, together with their validation in a broad range of flow cases, and highlighting some key industrial applications. The book provides students, researchers and professionals in the field of applied computational fluid dynamics with a timely, practice-oriented reference guide.

This volume provides descriptions and interpretations of social and cognitive phenomena as well as processes that emerge at the interface of languages and cultures in the context of contrastive and contact linguistics and media discourse. Different contexts are explored with rich empirical findings and authentic exemplifying materials. The book includes fifteen papers, divided into three parts. Part 1 addresses conceptual reflection on languages and cultures in contact and contrast, while Part 2 focuses on contact linguistics and borrowing. Part 3 discusses cultural and linguistic aspects of media discourses.

As management theory is critical to understanding decision-making and formal leadership in organizations, comprehension of their creation, structure, and application greatly benefits and furthers the development of management systems. Cybernetics and Systems Theory in Management: Tools, Views, and Advancements provides new models and insights into how to develop, test, and apply more effective decision-making and ethical practices in an organizational setting. This critical mass of sought after knowledge with expert international contributions presents a cornerstone publication inspiring new directions of research and theory building.

Pearl Jephcott (1900–1980) was a pioneer of sociological research, largely forgotten in recent times, her works paved the way for many of the subsequent developments that were to come in the sociology of gender, women’s’ studies, urban sociology, leisure studies and the sociology of youth. An originator and an early adopter of many research methods, Pearl Jephcott, deserves to be rediscovered. This collection of 5 books, each with a new foreword, were originally published between 1954 and 1971. Including one previously unpublished work from 1954, they are a selection of her most important work and a fascinating record of sociological research in action.

Historically, the major Library and Information Science (LIS) research-producing centers of the world have largely been the universities and information institutions of North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe. This is changing with the growth of Asian economies, universities, and information industries. Library and Information Science Research in Asia-Oceania: Theory and Practice presents evolving and emerging research and development in the field of library and information science (LIS) in diverse countries in Asia-Oceania as the region continues to develop. This book is intended as a useful resource for LIS researchers, scholars, students, professionals, and practitioners, and is an appropriate text for courses in LIS. In addition, anyone interested in understanding the LIS field in the region will find this book a fascinating and enlightening read.

Becoming Metric-Wise: A Bibliometric Guide for Researchers aims to inform researchers about metrics so that they become aware of the evaluative techniques being applied to their scientific output. Understanding these concepts will help them during their funding initiatives, and in hiring and tenure. The book not only describes what indicators do (or are designed to do, which is not always the same thing), but also gives precise mathematical formulae so that indicators can be properly understood and evaluated. Metrics have become a critical issue in science, with widespread international discussion taking place on the subject across scientific journals and organizations. As researchers should know the publication-citation context, the mathematical formulae of indicators being used by evaluating committees and their consequences, and how such indicators might be misused, this book provides an ideal tome on the topic.

The terrorist attacks on the United States that occurred on September 11 marked the end of an historical era known as the post-Cold War period. During this time, the U.S. government produced no clear media guidelines for dealing with world crises, and media coverage increasingly came to be focused on domestic conflicts rather than international ones. In the absence of a clearly defined threat, no dominant media frame replaced the time-worn Cold War in media reporting. Mass media has been recognized as an important intermediary between the government and the population. In this context, this study examines network coverage of seven post-Cold War crises, ranging from Cuba to Mexico, occurring in the Caribbean Basin between 1990 and 1996 to evaluate the framing of these events by the various media covering them.

In providing context for understanding these crises, this examination reviews U.S. policy in each case and discovers a strong correlation between the level of U.S. involvement in the crisis and the amount of media attention generated. By appearing on the news or not, the president along with key Cabinet members were able to define whether an event constituted a crisis for the United States. In instances where the media received little guidance from Washington officials on the implications for the United States, the media did attempt to provide explanations of events, however, coverage tended to be minimal. Case studies include the recording and coding of language used as positive, negative, and neutral/ambiguous.

This book contains the proceedings of the Seventh National Conference of the Italian Systems Society. The title, Systemics of Incompleteness and Quasi-Systems, aims to underline the need for Systemics and Systems Science to deal with the concepts of incompleteness and quasiness. Classical models of Systemics are intended to represent comprehensive aspects of phenomena and processes. They consider the phenomena in their temporal and spatial completeness. In these cases, possible incompleteness in the modelling is assumed to have a provisional or practical nature, which is still under study, and because there is no theoretical reason why the modelling cannot be complete. In principle, this is a matter of non-complex phenomena, to be considered using the concepts of the First Systemics. When dealing with emergence, there are phenomena which must be modelled by systems having multiple models, depending on the aspects being taken into consideration. Here, incompleteness in the modelling is intrinsic, theoretically relating changes in properties, structures, and status of system. Rather than consider the same system parametrically changing over time, we consider sequences of systems coherently. We consider contexts and processes for which modelling is incomplete, being related to only some properties, as well as those for which such modelling is theoretically incomplete-as in the case of processes of emergence and for approaches considered by the Second Systemics. In this regard, we consider here the generic concept of quasi explicating such incompleteness. The concept of quasi is used in various disciplines including quasi-crystals, quasi-particles, quasi-electric fields, and quasi-periodicity. In general, the concept of quasiness for systems concerns their continuous structural changes which are always meta-stable, waiting for events to collapse over other configurations and possible forms of stability; whose equivalence depends on the type of phenomenon under study. Interest in the concept of quasiness is not related to its meaning of rough approximation, but because it indicates an incompleteness which is structurally sufficient to accommodate processes of emergence and sustain coherence or generate new, equivalent or non-equivalent, levels. The conference was devoted to identifying, discussing and understanding possible interrelationships of theoretical disciplinary improvements, recognised as having prospective fundamental roles for a new Quasi-Systemics. The latter should be able to deal with problems related to complexity in more general and realistic ways, when a system is not always a system and not always the same system. In this context, the inter-disciplinarity should consist, for instance, of a constructionist, incomplete, non-ideological, multiple, contradiction-tolerant, Systemics, always in progress, and in its turn, emergent.

This book reflects the latest developments in variable structure systems (VSS) and sliding mode control (SMC), highlighting advances in various branches of the VSS/SMC field, e.g., from conventional SMC to high-order SMC, from the continuous-time domain to the discrete-time domain, from theories to applications, etc. The book consists of three parts and 16 chapters: in the first part, new VSS/SMC algorithms are proposed and their properties are analyzed, while the second focuses on the use of VSS/SMC techniques to solve a variety of control problems; the third part examines the applications of VSS/SMC to real-time systems. The book introduces postgraduates and researchers to the state-of-the-art in VSS/SMC field, including the theory, methodology, and applications. Relative academic disciplines include Automation, Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Instrument Science and Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, Transportation Engineering, Energy and Power Engineering, etc.

This book traces the pedagogical evolution of technical communication in America as it grew out of Engineering English requirements from roughly the turn of the century to 1950. This study examines specific curricular patterns, texts, and writers on the subject of technical communication, while also tracing engineering educational patterns as they emerge from the proceedings of the society for the promotion of engineering education. Unique to the second edition of the book is a new preface by the recent past ATTW series editor, Jimmie Killingsworth, a new introduction by Elizabeth Tebeaux, and an epilogue by Katherine Staples. Writing in a Milieu of Utility concludes that technical writing, as we teach it today, likely found its roots in engineering composition pedagogy, when, at approximately the turn of the century, engineering educators recognized that writing about science and technology not only made sense in an academic milieu that emphasized utility, but that such writing could also contribute to the professional success of engineering students. Existing somewhat tenuously as engineering itself sought academic status, technical communication emerged ultimately as a re-conceptualized composition course, after early to mid twentieth century calls for English and engineering cooperation made traditional composition offerings less relevant. Academic writing on environmental communication proliferated in the 1990's. A few of us had been calling for such work and making initial investigations throughout the 1980's, but the momentum in the field built slowly. Spurred by coverage in the mass media, academic publishers finally caught the wave of interest. In this exciting new volume, the editors demonstrate more fully than ever before how environmental rhetoric and technical communication go hand in hand. The key link that they and their distinguished group of contributors have discovered is the ancient concern of communication scholars with public deliberation. Environmental issues present technical communicators with some of their greatest challenges, above all, how to make the highly specialized and inscrutably difficult technical information generated by environmental scientists and engineers usable in public decision making. The editors encourage us to accept the challenge of contributing to environmentally conscious decision making by integrating technical knowledge and human values. For technical communicators who accept the challenge of working toward solutions by opening access to crucial information and by engaging in critical thinking on ecological issues, the research and theory offered in this volume provide a strong foundation for future practice.

A staggering number of post-World War II White House and agency records pertaining to national security are stored in repositories nationwide, but researchers often find it impossible to locate and access these records. This book provides considerable detail on the quantity, nature, and public accessibility of the records at the National Archives, Federal records centers, the agencies themselves, presidential libraries, and smaller repositories. The author also discusses the critical importance of federal records management policies, classification and declassification policies, and the need for improved compliance with these policies.

The public has never had a comprehensive guide to assist in identifying, locating, and gaining access to agency and White House national security records. The author tells the reader where national security-related records are located, which ones are accessible to the public, and which ones are not. He also discusses the vital role of federal records management policies in determining the ultimate disposition of records and where the records are stored. In addition, he sets forth the policies governing the classification and declassification of records and the reasons the vast majority of records are still inaccessible to the public. Both beginning and experienced researchers will find this work to be of great assistance.

The relationship between the media and government and the influence that relationship has on democracy and national development is explored in this book. The study provides a succinct descriptive review of scholarly research works on communication and its implications for freedom, democracy, and development. The book lists the most frequently cited works in political communication (specifically regarding media-government relationships and press-freedom issues) and development communication. Following a general introduction, Part One examines press-freedom issues and research worldwide, and Part Two presents the relevant literature on development communication issues and provides insights into why the concept is popular with the developing world's journalists. Students, scholars, and policymakers in political communication, development communication, and international development will find this an invaluable tool for their research endeavors.

The systems approach to the study of organizational communication is undergoing a renaissance. This volume brings together several essays from this emerging perspective from communication and systems analysts.

Moffitt provides the strategies, decision-making approaches, and the message composition techniques needed to conduct successful public communication campaigns. The book is a practical guide to the step-by-step process of conceptualizing, planning, and executing a public relations, marketing/advertising, political, or social issue campaign.

How do professionals plan and execute a public communications campaign? Moffitt provides a detailed step-by-step examination of the conceptualizing, planning, and execution of a public relations, marketing/advertising, political, or social issue campaign. She provides basic theories, concepts, and issues to understand before one can even begin to conduct a campaign, and she examines the research tools and skills needed to investigate the organization, the industry, and the targeted audiences for a campaign. Basic strategies for setting a campaign's goals and objectives are analyzed as are message strategies which determine correct wording and visualization factors. Lastly, Moffitt examines communication selection strategies for choosing the appropriate personal and media channels for delivering the messages.

Since the public campaign has emerged as a key model for business communication, professionals as well as students in advertising, marketing, and management will also find the business end of the topic useful. Individuals involved with public relations, speech communication, broadcast and print media will benefit from the strategies and skills applicable to campaign communication.

Most physical systems lose or gain stability through bifurcation behavior. This book explains a series of experimentally found bifurcation phenomena by means of the methods of static bifurcation theory.

This book demonstrates that the disciplinary boundaries present within international relations approaches to security studies are redundant when examining social media, and inter- and multi-disciplinary analysis is key. A key result of the analysis undertaken is that when examining the social media sphere security scholars need to "expect the unexpected". This is because social media enables users to subvert, contest and create security narratives with symbols and idioms of their choice which can take into account "traditional" security themes, but also unexpected and under explored themes such as narratives from the local context of the users' towns and cities, and the symbolism of football clubs. The book also explores the complex topography of social media when considering constructions of security. The highly dynamic topography of social media is neither elite dominated and hierarchical as the Copenhagen School conceptualises security speak. However, neither is it completely flat and egalitarian as suggested by the vernacular security studies' non-elite approach. Rather, social media's topography is shifting and dynamic, with individuals gaining influence in security debates in unpredictable ways. In examining social media this book engages with the emancipatory burden of critical security studies. This book argues that it remains unfulfilled on social media and rather presents a "thin" notion of discursive emancipation where social media does provide the ability for previously excluded voices to participate in security debates, even if this does not result in their direct emancipation from power hierarchies and structures offline.

The classic serial, invented by BBC Radio Drama sixty years ago, survived and adapted itself to television, the arrival of colour and the global market in what has become a flood of classics with all channels competing for ratings and overseas sales. This richly detailed book traces these developments and analyses the genre's response to social, economic, technical and cultural changes, which have re-shaped it into the form we recognise today. The book contains considerable interview material with performers and media professionals.

This book concisely presents a broad range of models and theories on social systems. Because of the huge spectrum of topics involving social systems, various issues related to Mathematics, Statistics, Teaching, Social Science, and Economics are discussed. In an effort to introduce the subject to a wider audience, this volume, part of the series "Studies in Systems, Decision and Control", equally addresses the needs of mathematicians, statisticians, sociologists and philosophers. The studies examined here are divided into four parts. The first part, "Perusing the Minds Behind Scientific Discoveries", traces the winding path of Syamal K. Sen and Ravi P. Agarwal's scholarship throughout history, and most importantly, the thought processes that allowed each of them to master their subject. The second part covers "Theories in Social Systems" and the third discusses "Models in Social Systems", while the fourth and final part is dedicated to "Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences". Given its breadth of coverage, the book will offer inquisitive readers a valuable point of departure for exploring these rich, vast, and ever-expanding fields of knowledge.

Social Media has transformed the ways in which individuals keep in touch with family and friends. Likewise, businesses have identified the profound opportunities present for customer engagement and understanding through the massive data available on social media channels, in addition to the customer reach of such sites. Social Media Listening and Monitoring for Business Applications explores research-based solutions for businesses of all types interested in an understanding of emerging concepts and technologies for engaging customers online. Providing insight into the currently available social media tools and practices for various business applications, this publication is an essential resource for business professionals, graduate-level students, technology developers, and researchers.

This self-contained book presents a framework for solving a general class of linear systems with coefficients being continuous functions of parameters varying within prescribed intervals. It also provides a comprehensive overview of the theory related to solving parametric interval linear systems and the basic properties of parametric interval matrices. In particular, it develops several new algorithms delivering sharp rigorous bounds for the solutions of such systems with full mathematical rigor. The framework employs the arithmetic of revised affine forms that enables the readers to handle dependent data. The book is intended not only for researchers interested in developing rigorous methods of numerical linear algebra, but also for engineers dealing with problems involving uncertain data. The theory discussed is also useful in various other fields of numerical analysis, in computer graphics, economics, computational geometry, computer-aided design, computer-assisted proofs, computer graphics, control theory, solving constraint satisfaction problems, and global optimization.