Poststructuralism, and its implications for something called 'postmodernism, ' is a major topic of discussion in social theory and research generally, including educational research. The works of the major authors in this tradition (Foucault, Lyotard, Cixous, Derrida, Haraway, to name a few) are challenging and difficult. Yet more and more theorists and researchers in educational scholarship use this term to describe their work. What does poststructuralism mean for these authors, and what significance does it have for educational inquiry? This book takes on these central questions and explores the impact of poststructuralism in language that makes the basic issues at stake accessible for a broad readership. Michael Peters and Nicholas C. Burbules highlight the implications of a poststructuralist stance for the conception of the research subject and examine its standards of validity and methods of investigation. They also lay out the distinguishing characteristics of this approach to educational inquiry, using as examples the particular ways in which writers (including Giroux, McLaren, Lather, and Ball) have tried to incorporate the poststructuralist perspective into their investigations of educational issues. The emphasis throughout this book will be on making these complex theoretical issues tangible and salient for the educational researcher.

Published to coincide with Black History Month and the opening of the new Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati, Fleeing for Freedom includes selected narratives from the two most important contemporary chroniclers of the Underground Railroad, Levi Coffin and William Still. Here are firsthand descriptions of the experiences of escaped slaves making their way to freedom in the North and in Canada in the years before the Civil War. George and Willene Hendrick have chosen a broad range of stories to reflect the strategies, tactics, heartbreak, and dangers for both the slaves and the "conductors" of the secret network. In their Introduction, they provide basic information about the scope and workings of the Underground Railroad and its impact on slaves, slaveholders, and the Northern abolitionist societies that were so heavily involved. Fleeing for Freedom offers gripping personal accounts of one of the great collaborations between whites and blacks in American history. With 15 black-and-white engravings and line drawings."

Experiments are the most effective way to learn about the world. By cleverly interfering with something to see how it reacts we are able to find out how it works. In contrast to passive observation, experimenting provides us with data relevant to our research and thus less time and effort is spent separating relevant from irrelevant information.

The art of experimentation is often learnt by doing, so an intuitive understanding of the experimental method usually evolves gradually through years of trial and error. This book speeds up the journey for the reader to becoming a proficient experimenter.

Organized in two parts, this unique text begins by providing a general introduction to the scientific approach to experimentation. It then describes the processes and tools required, including the relevant statistical and experimental methods. Towards the end of the book a methodology is presented, which leads the reader through the three phases of an experiment: 'Planning', 'Data Collection', and 'Analysis and Synthesis'.

Experiment Provides an excellent introduction to the methodology and implementation of experimentation in the natural, engineering and medical sciencesPuts practical tools into scientific contextFeatures a number of selected actual experiments to explore what are the key characteristics of good experimentsIncludes examples and exercises in every chapter

This book focuses on general research skills, such as adopting a scientific mindset, learning how to plan meaningful experiments and understanding the fundamentals of collecting and interpreting data. It is directed to anyone engaged in experiments, especially Ph.D. and masters students just starting to create and develop their own experiments.

Hugh Goddard investigates the history of the relationships between Christians and Muslims over the centuries.

This open access Brief introduces the basic principles of control theory in a concise self-study guide. It complements the classic texts by emphasizing the simple conceptual unity of the subject. A novice can quickly see how and why the different parts fit together. The concepts build slowly and naturally one after another, until the reader soon has a view of the whole. Each concept is illustrated by detailed examples and graphics. The full software code for each example is available, providing the basis for experimenting with various assumptions, learning how to write programs for control analysis, and setting the stage for future research projects. The topics focus on robustness, design trade-offs, and optimality. Most of the book develops classical linear theory. The last part of the book considers robustness with respect to nonlinearity and explicitly nonlinear extensions, as well as advanced topics such as adaptive control and model predictive control. New students, as well as scientists from other backgrounds who want a concise and easy-to-grasp coverage of control theory, will benefit from the emphasis on concepts and broad understanding of the various approaches.

‘A gripping thriller from the man on the inside. You need to read this.’ Andy McNab ‘Tom Fletcher was the ultimate Downing Street operator’ David Cameron A global conspiracy. A man on the run. What happens when diplomacy fails?An unputdownable thriller, written with unique insight into the highest levels of diplomacy. From the former ambassador and No.10 foreign policy advisor Tom Fletcher, an urgent 21st-century thriller. In the aftermath of a global pandemic, a beautiful and charismatic human rights activist is murdered, live on the internet, at the British Embassy in Paris. It is a mystery that no one wants solved. But, when governments refuse to investigate, Ambassador Ed Barnes is determined to find out the truth himself. The quest for answers plunges Barnes into a world of cyber terrorists and warlords, taking him to Oxford, Copenhagen, the mountains of Snowdonia and Lebanon, where he picks up the trail of a shocking conspiracy. This is an international crisis – but also a personal one. Only Barnes can save his family, his diplomatic service and even his country. But can he save himself? Perfect for readers of Robert Peston’s The Whistleblower, Tom Bradby or Frank Gardner. Praise for The Ambassador ‘As one long convinced the truth is very often stranger than fiction I enjoyed Tom Fletcher’s debut novel The Ambassador. The author can draw authenticity from a career spent at the coal face of diplomacy and intelligence, which is why it is a page turner’ Frederick Forsyth ‘A diplomatic genius’ Gordon Brown ‘A terrific read that blends fact, fiction and fantasy. And a call for all of us to reflect on friendship, family and trust. What do we stand for, and what will we do to defend it?’ Sir Graeme Lamb, former Commander of the SAS ‘A week is a long time in diplomacy: intrigue, betrayal, comradeship and reconciliation! A great read!’ Mark Sedwill, Former National Security Adviser ‘A very good novel… recommended’ Alastair Campbell ‘Vivid and atmospheric, [The Ambassador] rockets around the world with intoxicating verve … Hugely engaging’ Daily Mail ‘A compelling tale of cyber-crime, terrorism and assassination… A real page-turner’ Tortoise

Completely revised and updated, this book is a comprehensive guide to the vastly complex records for this major urban area. Thousands of immigrants around the world arriving in the U.S. found the rapidly growing Chicago city a new-found home. Chances are, you can find a branch of your family tree in the Chicago area. This friendly guide to the vital records of Chicago and Cook County is just waiting to help you find your ancestors

The Alpine Journal is the oldest publication of its kind, this year celebrating its 151st anniversary. It was created as a record of mountain exploration and has maintained that tradition.This edition, Volume 118, contains accounts of rock climbing, mountaineering and exploration in the high and wild places across the continents from the Antarctic to Canada, Europe to High Asia.The remit of the Journal is broader than just climbing action, with in-depth articles on mountain science, politics, environment, art and history. So augmenting the astonishing tales of adventure by the likes of Leo Houlding and Alastair Lee in Antarctica and records of Alpine Club members' ground-breaking achievements worldwide, we have stunning paintings by mountain artist Tim Pollard, a history of filming in the harshest of environments by John Cleare and a fascinating explanation of the recent geological history of the Himalaya and Tibet from eminent geologist Mike Searle.An essential element of the Alpine Journal has always been the record of achievements in the high mountains and the Area Notes section is, as usual, packed with vital information for the mountaineer. This year Simon Richardson has provided an extensive report on two remarkable winter seasons' worth of first ascents by the country's top activists.Climbing's unrivalled literature is catered for in an extensive book review section

Presenting the digital humanities as both a domain of practice and as a set of methodological approaches to be applied to corpus linguistics and translation, chapters in this volume provide a novel and original framework to triangulate research for pursuing both scientific and educational goals within the digital humanities. They also highlight more broadly the importance of data triangulation in corpus linguistics and translation studies. Putting forward practical applications for digging into data, this book is a detailed examination of how to integrate quantitative and qualitative approaches through case studies, sample analysis and practical examples.

This book presents collaborative research works carried out by experimentalists and theorists around the world in the field of nonlinear dynamical systems. It provides a forum for applications of nonlinear systems while solving practical problems in science and engineering. Topics include: Applied Nonlinear Optics, Sensor, Radar & Communication Signal Processing, Nano Devices, Nonlinear Biomedical Applications, Circuits & Systems, Coupled Nonlinear Oscillator, Precision Timing Devices, Networks, and other contemporary topics in the general field of Nonlinear Science. This book provides a comprehensive report of the various research projects presented at the International Conference on Applications in Nonlinear Dynamics (ICAND 2016) held in Denver, Colorado, 2016. It can be a valuable tool for scientists and engineering interested in connecting ideas and methods in nonlinear dynamics with actual design, fabrication and implementation of engineering applications or devices.>

This book presents a treatise on the theory and modeling of second-order stationary processes, including an exposition on selected application areas that are important in the engineering and applied sciences. The foundational issues regarding stationary processes dealt with in the beginning of the book have a long history, starting in the 1940s with the work of Kolmogorov, Wiener, Cramér and his students, in particular Wold, and have since been refined and complemented by many others. Problems concerning the filtering and modeling of stationary random signals and systems have also been addressed and studied, fostered by the advent of modern digital computers, since the fundamental work of R.E. Kalman in the early 1960s. The book offers a unified and logically consistent view of the subject based on simple ideas from Hilbert space geometry and coordinate-free thinking. In this framework, the concepts of stochastic state space and state space modeling, based on the notion of the conditional independence of past and future flows of the relevant signals, are revealed to be fundamentally unifying ideas. The book, based on over 30 years of original research, represents a valuable contribution that will inform the fields of stochastic modeling, estimation, system identification, and time series analysis for decades to come. It also provides the mathematical tools needed to grasp and analyze the structures of algorithms in stochastic systems theory.

This book is conceived as a comprehensive and detailed text-book on non-linear dynamical systems with particular emphasis on the exploration of chaotic phenomena. The self-contained introductory presentation is addressed both to those who wish to study the physics of chaotic systems and non-linear dynamics intensively as well as those who are curious to learn more about the fascinating world of chaotic phenomena. Basic concepts like Poincaré section, iterated mappings, Hamiltonian chaos and KAM theory, strange attractors, fractal dimensions, Lyapunov exponents, bifurcation theory, self-similarity and renormalisation and transitions to chaos are thoroughly explained. To facilitate comprehension, mathematical concepts and tools are introduced in short sub-sections. The text is supported by numerous computer experiments and a multitude of graphical illustrations and colour plates emphasising the geometrical and topological characteristics of the underlying dynamics. This volume is a completely revised and enlarged second edition which comprises recently obtained research results of topical interest, and has been extended to include a new section on the basic concepts of probability theory. A completely new chapter on fully developed turbulence presents the successes of chaos theory, its limitations as well as future trends in the development of complex spatio-temporal structures. "This book will be of valuable help for my lectures"  Hermann Haken, Stuttgart "This text-book should not be missing in any introductory lecture on non-linear systems and deterministic chaos" Wolfgang Kinzel, Würzburg “This well written book represents a comprehensive treatise on dynamical systems. It may serve as reference book for the whole field of nonlinear and chaotic systems and reports in a unique way on scientific developments of recent decades as well as important applications.� Joachim Peinke, Institute of Physics, Carl-von-Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany

 This volume is devoted to presentation of new results of research on systems of non-integer order, called also fractional systems. Their analysis and practical implementation have been the object of spontaneous development for a few last decades. The fractional order models can depict a physical plant better than the classical integer order ones. This covers different research fields such as insulator properties, visco-elastic materials, electrodynamic, electrothermal, electrochemical, economic processes modelling etc. On the other hand fractional controllers often outperform their integer order counterparts. This volume contains new ideas and examples of implementation, theoretical and pure practical aspects of using a non-integer order calculus. It is divided into four parts covering: mathematical fundamentals, modeling and approximations, controllability, observability and stability problems and practical applications of fractional control systems. The first part expands the base of tools and methods of the mathematical basis for non-integer order calculus. Part two focuses on new methods and developments in process modeling and fractional derivatives approximations. In the third part a bunch of papers which raise problems of controllability, observability and stability of non-integer order systems is provided. Part four is devoted to presentation of different fractional order control applications. This book was created thanks to many experts in the field of fractional calculus: authors, anonymous referees whose comments allowed us to improve the final form of the papers and active and inspiring discussion of the participants of RRNR'2015, the 7th Conference on Non-Integer Order Calculus and Its Applications that was organized by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Poland.

The aim of this book is to advocate and promote network models of linguistic systems that are both based on thorough mathematical models and substantiated in terms of linguistics. In this way, the book contributes first steps towards establishing a statistical network theory as a theoretical basis of linguistic network analysis the boarder of the natural sciences and the humanities. This book addresses researchers who want to get familiar with theoretical developments, computational models and their empirical evaluation in the field of complex linguistic networks. It is intended to all those who are interested in statistical models of linguistic systems from the point of view of network research. This includes all relevant areas of linguistics ranging from phonological, morphological and lexical networks on the one hand and syntactic, semantic and pragmatic networks on the other. In this sense, the volume concerns readers from many disciplines such as physics, linguistics, computer science and information science. It may also be of interest for the upcoming area of systems biology with which the chapters collected here share the view on systems from the point of view of network analysis.

The purpose of this introductory book is to couple the teaching of chaotic circuit and systems theory with the use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). As such, it differs from other texts on chaos: first, it puts emphasis on combining theoretical methods, simulation tools and physical realization to help the reader gain an intuitive understanding of the properties of chaotic systems. Second, the "medium" used for physical realization is the FPGA. These devices are massively parallel architectures that can be configured to realize a variety of logic functions. Hence, FPGAs can be configured to emulate systems of differential equations. Nevertheless maximizing the capabilities of an FPGA requires the user to understand the underlying hardware and also FPGA design software. This is achieved by the third distinctive feature of this book: a lab component in each chapter. Here, readers are asked to experiment with computer simulations and FPGA designs, to further their understanding of concepts covered in the book. This text is intended for graduate students in science and engineering interested in exploring implementation of nonlinear dynamical (chaotic) systems on FPGAs.

This book presents up-to-date results on abstract evolution equations and differential inclusions in infinite dimensional spaces. It covers equations with time delay and with impulses, and complements the existing literature in functional differential equations and inclusions. The exposition is devoted to both local and global mild solutions for some classes of functional differential evolution equations and inclusions, and other densely and non-densely defined functional differential equations and inclusions in separable Banach spaces or in Fréchet spaces. The tools used include classical fixed points theorems and the measure-of non-compactness, and each chapter concludes with a section devoted to notes and bibliographical remarks. This monograph is particularly useful for researchers and graduate students studying pure and applied mathematics, engineering, biology and all other applied sciences.

Collaboration in highly distributed organizations of people, robots, and autonomous systems is and must be revolutionized by engineering augmentation. The aim is to augment humans’ abilities at work and, through this augmentation, improve organizations’ abilities to accomplish their missions. This book establishes the theoretical foundations and design principles of collaborative e-Work, e-Business and e-Service, their models and applications, design and implementation techniques. The fundamental premise is that without effective e-Work and e-Services, the potential of emerging activities, such as e-Commerce, virtual manufacturing, tele-robotic medicine, automated construction, smart energy grid, cyber-supported agriculture, and intelligent transportation cannot be fully materialized. Typically, workers and managers of such value networks are frustrated with complex information systems, originally designed and built to simplify and improve performance. Even if the human-computer interface for such systems is well designed, the information and task overloads can be overwhelming. Effective delivery of expected outcomes may not occur. Challenges and emerging solutions in the context of the recently developed CCT, Collaborative Control Theory, are described, with emphasis on issues of computer-supported and communication-enabled integration, coordination and augmented collaboration. Research results and analyses of engineering design methods and complex systems management techniques are explained and illustrated.

This volume collects recent advances in nonlinear delay systems, with an emphasis on constructive generalized Lyapunov and predictive approaches that certify stability properties. The book is written by experts in the field and includes two chapters by Miroslav Krstic, to whom this volume is dedicated.  This volume is suitable for all researchers in mathematics and engineering who deal with nonlinear delay control problems and students who would like to understand the current state of the art in the control of nonlinear delay systems.

This book will help readers gain a solid understanding of non-functional requirements inherent in systems design endeavors. It contains essential information for those who design, use and maintain complex engineered systems, including experienced designers, teachers of design, system stakeholders and practicing engineers. Coverage approaches non-functional requirements in a novel way by presenting a framework of four systems concerns into which the 27 major non-functional requirements fall: sustainment, design, adaptation and viability. Within this model, the text proceeds to define each non-functional requirement, to specify how each is treated as an element of the system design process and to develop an associated metric for their evaluation. Systems are designed to meet specific functional needs. Because non-functional requirements are not directly related to tasks that satisfy these proposed needs, designers and stakeholders often fail to recognize the importance of such attributes as availability, survivability, and robustness. This book gives readers the tools and knowledge they need to both recognize the importance of these non-functional requirements and incorporate them in the design process.

The topics covered in this book, written by researchers at the forefront of their field, represent some of the most relevant research areas in modern coding theory: codes and combinatorial structures, algebraic geometric codes, group codes, quantum codes, convolutional codes, network coding and cryptography. The book includes a survey paper on the interconnections of coding theory with constrained systems, written by an invited speaker, as well as 37 cutting-edge research communications presented at the 4th International Castle Meeting on Coding Theory and Applications (4ICMCTA), held at the Castle of Palmela in September 2014. The event’s scientific program consisted of four invited talks and 39 regular talks by authors from 24 different countries. This conference provided an ideal opportunity for communicating new results, exchanging ideas, strengthening international cooperation, and introducing young researchers into the coding theory community.

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology—and even well beyond. Wherever quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena is required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. his fourth volume concentrates on reviewing further relevant contemporary applications of chaotic and nonlinear dynamics as they apply to the various cuttingedge branches of science and engineering. This encompasses, but is not limited to, topics such as synchronization in complex networks and chaotic circuits, time series analysis, ecological and biological patterns, stochastic control theory and vibrations in mechanical systems. Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference and as a ‘recipe book’ full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications.

This book is a systematic summary of some new advances in the area of nonlinear analysis and design in the frequency domain, focusing on the application oriented theory and methods based on the GFRF concept, which is mainly done by the author in the past 8 years. The main results are formulated uniformly with a parametric characteristic approach, which provides a convenient and novel insight into nonlinear influence on system output response in terms of characteristic parameters and thus facilitate nonlinear analysis and design in the frequency domain.  The book starts with a brief introduction to the background of nonlinear analysis in the frequency domain, followed by recursive algorithms for computation of GFRFs for different parametric models, and nonlinear output frequency properties. Thereafter the parametric characteristic analysis method is introduced, which leads to the new understanding and formulation of the GFRFs, and nonlinear characteristic output spectrum (nCOS) and the nCOS based analysis and design method. Based on the parametric characteristic approach, nonlinear influence in the frequency domain can be investigated with a novel insight, i.e., alternating series, which is followed by some application results in vibration control. Magnitude bounds of frequency response functions of nonlinear systems can also be studied with a parametric characteristic approach, which result in novel parametric convergence criteria for any given parametric nonlinear model whose input-output relationship allows a convergent Volterra series expansion. This book targets those readers who are working in the areas related to nonlinear analysis and design, nonlinear signal processing, nonlinear system identification, nonlinear vibration control, and so on. It particularly serves as a good reference for those who are studying frequency domain methods for nonlinear systems.

This book covers a wide spectrum of systems such as linear and nonlinear multivariable systems as well as control problems such as disturbance, uncertainty and time-delays. The purpose of this book is to provide researchers and practitioners a manual for the design and application of advanced discrete-time controllers. The book presents six different control approaches depending on the type of system and control problem. The first and second approaches are based on Sliding Mode control (SMC) theory and are intended for linear systems with exogenous disturbances. The third and fourth approaches are based on adaptive control theory and are aimed at linear/nonlinear systems with periodically varying parametric uncertainty or systems with input delay. The fifth approach is based on Iterative learning control (ILC) theory and is aimed at uncertain linear/nonlinear systems with repeatable tasks and the final approach is based on fuzzy logic control (FLC) and is intended for highly uncertain systems with heuristic control knowledge. Detailed numerical examples are provided in each chapter to illustrate the design procedure for each control method. A number of practical control applications are also presented to show the problem solving process and effectiveness with the advanced discrete-time control approaches introduced in this book.

This book, along with its companion volume, Nonlinear Dynamics New Directions: Models and Applications, covers topics ranging from fractal analysis to very specific applications of the theory of dynamical systems to biology. This first volume is devoted to fundamental aspects and includes a number of important new contributions as well as some review articles that emphasize new development prospects. The second volume contains mostly new applications of the theory of dynamical systems to both engineering and biology. The topics addressed in the two volumes include a rigorous treatment of fluctuations in dynamical systems, topics in fractal analysis, studies of the transient dynamics in biological networks, synchronization in lasers, and control of chaotic systems, among others. This book also: · Presents a rigorous treatment of fluctuations in dynamical systems and explores a range of topics in fractal analysis, among other fundamental topics · Features recent developments on large deviations for higher-dimensional maps, a study of measures resisting multifractal analysis and a overview of complex Kleninan groups · Includes thorough review of recent findings that emphasize new development prospects