Perhaps the most sophisticated and complex of shows in HBO's recent history, Deadwood has surprisingly little coverage in our current scholarship. Grounding contemporary anxieties about race and class, domesticity and American exceptionalism in its nineteenth-century setting, Deadwood revises our understanding of a formative period for the American nation through a re-examination of one of the main genres through which this national story has been transmitted: the Western. With contributions from scholars in American studies, literature, and film and television studies, The Last Western situates Deadwood in the context of both its nineteenth-century setting and its twenty-first-century audience. Together, these essays argue for the series as a provocative meditation on both the state and historical formation of U.S. empire, examining its treatment of sovereign power and political legitimacy, capital accumulation and dispossession, racial and gender identities, and social and family structures, while attending to the series' peculiar and evocative aesthetic forms. What emerges from this collection is the impressive range of Deadwood's often contradictory engagement with both nineteenth and twenty-first century America.

This book presents up-to-date research developments and novel methodologies on semi-Markovian jump systems (S-MJS). It presents solutions to a series of problems with new approaches for the control and filtering of S-MJS, including stability analysis, sliding mode control, dynamic output feedback control, robust filter design, and fault detection. A set of newly developed techniques such as piecewise analysis method, positively invariant set approach, event-triggered method, and cone complementary linearization approaches are presented. Control and Filtering for Semi-Markovian Jump Systems is a comprehensive reference for researcher and practitioners working in control engineering, system sciences and applied mathematics, and is also a useful source of information for senior undergraduates and graduates in these areas. The readers will benefit from some new concepts, new models and new methodologies with practical significance in control engineering and signal processing.

Making a new contribution to the developing field of multimodal critical discourse studies, Ian Roderick's book demonstrates how technologies that tend to be widely represented as innovative, or as simple pragmatic solutions, are always anchored in power relations and are therefore deeply ideological. A series of examples analysing technologies such as robotics, smart phones or bio-medicine, their functioning and uses, as well as their representations in the media, show that these are embedded within discourses that tell us about social and power relations, identities and political values. The book takes a tour of everyday technologies and how they are represented in different settings. A Disney theme park attraction showing how technology has improved family life makes many assumptions about what is natural in terms of interpersonal relations, pleasure and satisfaction. Advertisements that represent robot workers inform us about the kinds of worker-management relations now characterising work places. Roderick looks at the way that technologies, while often represented as divorced from their production and maintenance, as objects of wonder, need to be seen within a fabric of social relations that tends to be supressed from how we see them as part of a wider technological fetishism. Engaging with existing theories of technology, the book argues that we must take a more interdisciplinary approach to avoid the pitfalls of social constructivism and technological determinism. Our experiences of technologies are shaped through the relationship between knowledge, practices and institutional forms.

The school library media center is a relatively recent phenomenon. Its development throughout the 20th century has not always been predictable or peaceful, but neither has it been static or dull. Through personal and objective perspectives, this book relates the often turbulent history of the school library movement to times of rapid change. The authors address the mission of the school library program and how its realization has been shaped by professional organizations, standards and guidelines, accreditation associations, the education of library media specialists, collection development, evaluation, instruction, research, and technology applications. The relationship of the program to educational paradigms and to local, national, and international partnerships is also discussed. Students and instructors in school library media programs will find this work essential, and practicing library media specialists will find it a fascinating professional read.

This book deals with a combination of two main problems for the first time. They are saturation on control and on the rate (or increment) of the control, and the solution of unsymmetrical saturation on the control by LMIs. It treats linear systems in state space form, in both the continuous- and discrete-time domains. Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for autonomous linear systems with constrained state increment or rate, such that the system evolves respecting incremental or rate constraints if any. A pole assignment technique is then used to solve the problem, giving stabilizing state feedback controllers that respect non-symmetrical constraints on control alone or on both control and its increment or rate. Illustrative examples show the application of these methods on academic examples or on such real plant models as the double integrator system. This problem is then extended to various others including: systems with constraints and perturbations; singular systems with constrained control; systems with unsymmetrical saturations; saturated systems with delay, and 2-D systems with saturations. The solutions obtained are of two types: necessary and sufficient conditions solved with linear programming techniques; and sufficient conditions under LMIs. A new approach extends existing techniques for dealing with symmetrical saturations to take direct account of unsymmetrical saturations into account with LMIs. This tool enables the authors to obtain new results on continuous- and discrete-time systems. The book uses illustrative examples and figures and provides many comparisons with existing results. Systems theoreticians interested in multidimensional systems and practitioners working with saturated and constrained controllers will find the research and background presented in Saturated Control of Linear Systems to be of considerable interest in helping them overcome problems with their plant and in stimulating further research.

Decision-Making Management: A Tutorial and Applications provides practical guidance for researchers seeking to optimizing business-critical decisions employing Logical Decision Trees thus saving time and money. The book focuses on decision-making and resource allocation across and between the manufacturing, product design and logistical functions. It demonstrates key results for each sector with diverse real-world case studies drawn primarily from EU projects. Theory is accompanied by relevant analysis techniques, with a progressional approach building from simple theory to complex and dynamic decisions with multiple data points, including big data and lot of data. Binary Decision Diagrams are presented as the operating approach for evaluating large Logical Decision Trees, helping readers identify Boolean equations for quantitative analysis of multifaceted problem sets. Computational techniques, dynamic analysis, probabilistic methods, and mathematical optimization techniques are expertly blended to support analysis of multi-criteria decision-making problems with defined constraints and requirements. The final objective is to optimize dynamic decisions with original approaches employing useful tools, including Big Data analysis. Extensive annexes provide useful supplementary information for readers to follow methods contained in the book.

How is affective experience produced in the cinema? And how can we write a history of this experience? By asking these questions, this study by Hauke Lehmann aims at rethinking our conception of a critical period in US film history - the New Hollywood: as a moment of crisis that can neither be reduced to economic processes of adaption nor to a collection of masterpieces. Rather, the fine-grained analysis of core films reveals the power of cinematic images to affect their audiences - to confront them with the new. The films of the New Hollywood redefine the divisions of the classical genre system in a radical way and thereby transform the way spectators are addressed affectively in the cinema. The study describes a complex interplay between three modes of affectivity: suspense, paranoia, and melancholy. All three, each in their own way, implicate spectators in the deep-seated contradictions of their own feelings and their ways of being in the world: their relations to history, to society, and to cultural fantasy. On this basis, Affect Poetics of the New Hollywood projects an original conception of film history: as an affective history which can be re-written up to the present day.

Atlantic Communications examines the historical development of communications technology and its impact on German-American relations from the 17th to the 20th century. Chronologically organized, the book is divided into five parts, each scrutinizing one or two central themes connected to the specific time period and technology involved. The book starts with speech as a dominant medium of the 17th and 18th centuries, when cultural brokers played a significant role in producing and spreading knowledge about America. During the 19th century, the technological competition between the old and the new world became a driving force for the history of transatlantic relations. This competition developed new dimensions with the invention of the telegraph and the emergence of news agencies. Information became commercialized. technologically possible. Print media, daily journals and especially weekly magazines became the medium of a critical style of journalism. The Muckrakers, representatives of a political and intellectual elite, criticized the social and cultural consequences of technological progress, thereby highlighting the negative effects of modernization. During the 1920s and 1930s, radio developed as a new mass medium, the first one to be used widely for political purposes. Not only did Josef Goebbels recognize the political possibilities of reaching the people directly via radio, Franklin Roosevelt used the radio as well to transmit his political messages in the form of fireside chats. to communicate the past, especially the historical experience of the Holocaust. Specific cultures of memory developed in both America and Germany. The demand to tackle the psychological and social problems stemming from the experiences during the Third Reich, advocated especially by the student movement, was most successfully taken up by the media. The television miniseries Holocaust had a far more profound impact on the public than efforts taken by school teachers, history professors or the institutions for political education who were officially in charge of Vergangenheitsbewaltigung.

This open access book provides a detailed exploration of the British media coverage of the press reform debate that arose from the News of the World phone hacking scandal and the Leveson Inquiry. Gathering data from a content analysis of 870 news articles, Ogbebor shows how journalists cover debates on media policy and illustrates the impact of their coverage on democracy. Through this analysis, the book contributes to knowledge of paradigm repair strategies; public sphere; gatekeeping theory; the concept of journalism as an interpretive community; political economy of the press; as well as the neoliberal and social democratic interpretations of press freedom. Providing insight into factors inhibiting and aiding the role of the news media as a democratic public sphere, it will be a valuable resource for the press, media reform activists, members of the public, and academics in the fields of journalism, politics and law.

This volume includes a variety of first-hand case studies, critical analyses, action research and reflective practice in the digital humanities which ranges from digital literature, library science, online games, museum studies, information literacy to corpus linguistics in the 21st century. It informs readers of the latest developments in the digital humanities and their influence on learning and teaching. With the growing advancement of digital technology, humanistic inquiries have expanded and transformed in unfathomable complexity as new content is being rapidly created. The emergence of electronic archiving, digital scholarship, digitized pedagogy, textual digitization and software creation has brought about huge impacts on both humanities subjects and the university curricula in terms of nature, scope and design. This volume provides insights into what these technological changes mean for all the stakeholders involved and for the ways in which humanities subjects are understood. Part 1 of this volume begins with a broad perspective on digital humanities and discusses the current status of the field in Asia, Canada and Europe. Then, with a special focus on new literacies, educational implications, and innovative research in the digital humanities, Parts 2-4 explore how digital technology revolutionizes art forms, curricula, and pedagogy, revealing the current practices and latest trends in the digital humanities. Written by experts and researchers across Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe, this volume brings global insights into the digital humanities, particularly in the education aspect. It is of interest to researchers and students of cultural studies, literature, education, and technology studies. The strongest point of this collection of work is that, it brings important concepts to the study of digital literacies, for example, looking at it from the perspective of new literacies, languages and education. Daniel Churchill, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong With a rapidly growing advancement in digital tools, this book has made a relevant contribution by informing readers what the latest development of these tools are, and discusses how they can aid research, libraries, education and even poets across different continents. Samuel Kai-wah Chu, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

This book analyzes the impact of social media on democracy and politics at the sub-national level in developed and developing countries. Over the last decade or so, social media has transformed politics. Offering political actors opportunities to organize, mobilize, and connect with constituents, voters, and supporters, social media has become an important tool in global politics as well as a force for democracy. Most of the available research literature focuses on the impact of social media at the national level; this book fills that gap by analyzing the political uses of social media at the sub-national level. The book is divided into two parts. Part One, "Social Media for Democracy" includes chapters that analyze potential contributions of social media tools to the realizing of basic values of democracy, such as public engagement, transparency, accountability, participation and collaboration at the sub-national level. Part Two, "Social Media in Politics" focuses on the use of social media tools by political actors in political processes and activities (online campaigns, protests etc.) at the local, regional and state government levels during election and non-election periods. Combining theoretical and empirical analysis, each chapter provides evaluations of overarching issues, questions, and problems as well as real-world experiences with social media, politics, and democracy in a diverse sample of municipalities. This volume will be of use to graduate students, academicians, and researchers, in several disciplines and fields, such as public administration, political science, ICT, sociology, communication studies and public policy as well as politicians and practitioners.

Your organization functions and grows through conversations–face-to-face and electronic, from the mailroom to the boardroom. The quality of those conversations determines how smart your organization is. This revelatory book shows you how the Round Table of Arthurian legend can help foster collaboration and transform today’s world of business, nonprofits, and government.

"When I want a group to work effectively, I turn immediately to my colleague of thirty-five years, David Perkins. This book is a distillation of his knowledge and wisdom."
–Howard Gardner
author of Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Intelligence Reframed

"David Perkins applies his wit and inventive mind to create a fresh perspective on the world of collaboration in organizations. His archetypes and toolboxes offer valuable insights to anyone facing the challenges of collaborative problem solving."
–David Straus
author of How to Make Collaboration Work

Logos - the international journal of the publishing community - celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2015. Since its first publication it has gained a reputation for publishing insightful and clear-headed articles about publishing, and this tradition continues to the present day, with the addition in recent years of academic articles reflecting the growth in the discipline of publishing studies. The present collection provides the opportunity to mark this milestone in the journal's history by reprinting over thirty articles in book form.

Despite continued public interest in issues relating to gender and computing, there exists a relative scarcity of texts on this topic. Gender and Social Computing: Interactions, Differences and Relationships provides an overview of the major questions that researchers and practitioners are addressing, outlining possible future directions for theory development and empirical research on gender and computing. This comprehensive reference focuses on three areas of research on gender and computing: gender and computing in the work arena, gender and computing in cyberspace, and gender in eDating.

New forms of digitalization and digital media technologies are positively and negatively disrupting the free flow of information preservation. These new technologies are revolutionizing the way messages are transmitted and breaking the traditional monopolization of information by well-established institutions. Exploring the Relationship Between Media, Libraries, and Archives provides emerging research on new digital trends in information preservation, origination, and sharing. While highlighting the current shift in information sharing from institutional archives to digital platforms, readers will learn how media, librarians, and archivists reinvent their processes to meet the ever-progressing needs of users. This book is an ideal resource for librarians, archivists, information preservers, and media professionals aiming to find a balance among the use of media, new digital technologies, libraries, and archives in preserving and furthering information sharing.

Since the dawn of human speech and interaction, there have been conflicts among individuals, regions, and whole nations. Disagreements, miscommunications, no matter the name they take; conflicts will continue to be present in every field of work or study. New technologies such as social media have extended people's ability to communicate, and therefore dispute, making additional research and practical solutions for resolving conflict all the more necessary.Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Contemporary Conflict Resolution presents theoretical perspectives on the causes of diverse conflicts, approaches novel disputes and the technology associated therein, and provides readers with multifaceted solutions to the myriad of potential arguments and disagreements that arise as part of the human condition. This interdisciplinary publication is a critical resource for researchers, legal practitioners, policy makers, government officials, and students and educators in the fields of political science, communication studies, and business.

In Voices on Birchbark Jos Schaeken explores the major role that writing on birchbark - an ephemeral, even 'throw-away' form of correspondence and administration - played in the vibrant medieval merchant city of Novgorod and other cities in the Russian Northwest. Birchbark literacy was crucial to the organization of Novgorodian society; it was integrated into a huge variety of activities and had a broad social basis; it was used extensively by the laity, by women as well as men, by villagers as well as landlords. Voices on Birchbark is the first book-length study of this unique corpus in English. By examining a representative selection of birchbark texts, Jos Schaeken presents fascinating vignettes of daily medieval life and a holistic picture of the pragmatics of communication in pre-modern societies.

Ce volume presente vingt-trois essais consacres a l'art francais et francophone des vingt-cinq dernieres annees et propose des analyses critiques d'une cinquantaine d'artistes majeurs qui travaillent sur des modes richement varies. The volume offers 23 new critical essays on contemporary French and francophone art, dealing with some fifty major artists working in a wide range of mediums.

Media and Information Literacy: An Integrated Approach for the 21st Century provides a novel rationale for the integration of media and information literacy and gives direction to contemporary media and information literacy education. The book takes a synthetic approach to these two areas, presenting critical histories of both. The book explores the influence of political forces and educational practice on media literacy and the contemporary media environment, focusing on computing and mobile technology as a platform for existing and non-computational media. The final section considers a new rationale for the adjustment of content and activities into a combined project, building on a range of skills from contemporary media, reconsidering the mission of media literacy, and advocating that media and information literacy be expanded out of the classroom and positioned as a 'public pedagogy'.

Michael Suman has brought together wide-ranging viewpoints of media advocates, media lawyers, academics, and entertainment industry representatives who examine the important public policy issue of how advocacy groups affect the entertainment industry.

In the first part of the book, representatives from media advocacy groups, including Action for Children's Television and Population Communications International, look at their efforts to utilize the media for policy purposes. In the second part, attorneys specializing in communications look at the ways advocacy groups have been aided as well as hindered by changes in the laws and public policy. Changes in advocacy groups as well as the entertainment industry in general are examined by various scholars in the third section. Representatives of the entertainment industry look at the impact of advocacy groups in the fourth section of the book. Scholars as well as public policy makers and those involved in entertainment oversight will find this a provocative analysis.