This book offers a comprehensive view on resilience based upon state-of-the-science theories and methodological applications that resilience may fill. Specifically, this text provides a compendium of knowledge on the theory, methods, and practice of resilience across a variety of country and case contexts, and demonstrates how a resilience-based approach can help further improved infrastructure, vibrant societies, and sustainable environments and ecologies, among many others. Resilience is a term with thousands of years of history. Only recently has resilience been applied to the management of complex interconnected systems, yet its impact as a governing philosophy and an engineering practice has been pronounced. Colloquially, resilience has been used as a synonym for 'bouncing back'. Philosophically and methodologically, however, it is much more. In a world defined by interconnected and interdependent systems such as water, food, energy, transportation, and the internet, a sudden and unexpected disruption to one critical system can lead to significant challenges for many others. The Science and Practice of Resilience is beneficial for those seeking to gain a rich knowledge of the resilience world, as well as for practitioners looking for methods and tools by which resilience may be applied in real-world contexts.

This work is motivated by the ongoing open question of how information in the outside world is represented and processed by the brain. Consequently, several novel methods are developed. A new mathematical formulation is proposed for the encoding and decoding of analog signals using integrate-and-fire neuron models. Based on this formulation, a novel algorithm, significantly faster than the state-of-the-art method, is proposed for reconstructing the input of the neuron. Two new identification methods are proposed for neural circuits comprising a filter in series with a spiking neuron model. These methods reduce the number of assumptions made by the state-of-the-art identification framework, allowing for a wider range of models of sensory processing circuits to be inferred directly from input-output observations. A third contribution is an algorithm that computes the spike time sequence generated by an integrate-and-fire neuron model in response to the output of a linear filter, given the input of the filter encoded with the same neuron model.

This book describes a unified framework for networked teleoperation systems involving multiple research fields: networked control systems for linear and nonlinear forms, bilateral teleoperation, trilateral teleoperation, multilateral teleoperation and cooperative teleoperation. It closely examines networked control as a field at the intersection of systems & control and robotics and presents a number of experimental case studies on testbeds for robotic systems, including networked haptic devices, robotic network systems and sensor network systems. The concepts and results outlined are easy to understand, even for readers fairly new to the subject. As such, the book offers a valuable reference work for researchers and engineers in the fields of systems & control and robotics.

< b=""> The book provides a concise description of the physical processes and mathematical models for explosions and formation of blast waves from explosions. The contents focus on quantitatively determining the energy released in the different types of explosions and the destructive blast waves that are generated. The contribution of flames, detonations and other physical processes to the explosion phenomenon is dealt with in detail. Gaseous and condensed phase explosions are discussed and the yield of explosions with their TNT equivalence is determined. Time scales involved in the explosion process and the scaling procedure are ascertained. Explosions over the ground, in water, and the interaction of explosions with objects are examined. In order to keep the text easily readable, the detailed derivation of the mathematical equations is given in the seven appendices at the end of the book. Case studies of various explosions are investigated and simple problems and their solutions are provided for the different topics to assist the reader in internalizing the explosion process. The book is a useful reference for professionals and academics in aeronautics, mechanical, civil and chemical engineering and for personnel working in explosive manufacture and high-energy materials, armaments, space, defense, and industrial and fire safety.

This book provides a state-of-the-art overview on the dynamics and coevolution in multi-level strategic interaction games. As such it summarizes the results of the European CONGAS project, which developed new mathematical models and tools for the analysis, prediction and control of dynamical processes in systems possessing a rich multi-level structure and a web of interwoven interactions among elements with autonomous decision-making capabilities. The framework is built around game theoretical concepts, in particular evolutionary and multi-resolution games, and includes also techniques drawn from graph theory, statistical mechanics, control and optimization theory. Specific attention is devoted to systems that are prone to intermittency and catastrophic events due to the effect of collective dynamics.

This book provides a synthesis of recent developments in Axiomatic Design theory and its application in large complex systems. Introductory chapters provide concise tutorial materials for graduate students and new practitioners, presenting the fundamentals of Axiomatic Design and relating its key concepts to those of model-based systems engineering. A mathematical exposition of design axioms is also provided. The main body of the book, which represents a concentrated treatment of several applications, is divided into three parts covering work on: complex products; buildings; and manufacturing systems. The book shows how design work in these areas can benefit from the scientific and systematic underpinning provided by Axiomatic Design, and in so doing effectively combines the state of the art in design research with practice. All contributions were written by an international group of leading proponents of Axiomatic Design. The book concludes with a call to action motivating further research into the engineering design of large complex systems.

This book presents basic research on delta operator systems (DOS) with actuator saturation. It proposes null controllable regions of delta operator systems, introduces the enlarging of the domain of attraction and analyzes the performance of DOSs subject to actuator saturation. It also discusses the domain of attraction on different systems in delta domain, and investigates the applications in complicated systems using delta operator approaches.

This book provides an outline of theoretical concepts and their experimental verification in studies of self-organization phenomena in chemical systems, as they emerged in the mid-20th century and have evolved since. Presenting essays on selected topics, it was prepared by authors who have made profound contributions to the field. Traditionally, physical chemistry has been concerned with interactions between atoms and molecules that produce a variety of equilibrium structures - or the 'dead' order - in a stationary state. But biological cells exhibit a different 'living' kind of order, prompting E. Schroedinger to pose his famous question "What is life?" in 1943. Through an unprecedented theoretical and experimental development, it was later revealed that biological self-organization phenomena are in complete agreement with the laws of physics, once they are applied to a special class of thermodynamically open systems and non-equilibrium states. This knowledge has in turn led to the design and synthesis of simple inorganic systems capable of self-organization effects. These artificial 'living organisms' are able to operate on macroscopic to microscopic scales, even down to single-molecule machines. In the future, such research could provide a basis for a technological breakthrough, comparable in its impact with the invention of lasers and semiconductors. Its results can be used to control natural chemical processes, and to design artificial complex chemical processes with various functionalities. The book offers an extensive discussion of the history of research on complex chemical systems and its future prospects.

The papers collected in this volume focus on new perspectives on individuals, society, and science, specifically in the field of socio-economic systems. The book is the result of a scientific collaboration among experts from "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iasi (Romania), "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy), "University of Defence" of Brno (Czech Republic), and "Pablo de Olavide" University of Sevilla (Spain). The heterogeneity of the contributions presented in this volume reflects the variety and complexity of social phenomena. The book is divided in four Sections as follows. The first Section deals with recent trends in social decisions. Specifically, it aims to understand which are the driving forces of social decisions. The second Section focuses on the social and public sphere. Indeed, it is oriented on recent developments in social systems and control. Trends in quantitative theories and models are described in Section 3, where many new formal, mathematical-statistical tools for modelling complex social phenomena are presented. Finally, Section 4 shows integrative theories and models; particularly, it deals with the ethical, cultural and political approaches to social science, the pedagogical methods, and the relationship between literature, politics, religion and society. The book is addressed to sociologists, philosophers, mathematicians, statisticians, people interested in ethics, and specialists in the fields of communication, social, and political sciences.

This book contains the proceedings of the Sixth National Conference of the Italian Systems Society. The title, Towards a post-Bertalanffy Systemics, aims to underline the need for Systemics and Systems Science to generalize theoretically concepts related to complexity (the great enemy of Bertalanffy Systemics). Hopefully this goal should be achieved by working in an inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary fashion, using systemic concepts arising from various disciplines and from the original, or Bertalanffy Systemics, as well. The interdisciplinary nature of the original Systemics and its power of generalization were given, overall, by the fact that the problems and solutions of one discipline become problems and solutions for another. Today, the modeling and interpretation of multidisciplinary approaches and representations makes easier to recognize these interconnections. The context, however, has changed dramatically. Of course, the challenge is still to find theoretical generalizations and applications, even where we have a lot of specificities, but we know very little on how to combine them. We cannot, however, simply replace the old with the new, but we must introduce strategies to recognize, represent, model and act on new levels, combining multiple representations, functions and emergence. In many disciplines this has been already done, and inevitably well, since targets and projects are well specified and oriented. The challenge is to do it for Systemics, with the vocations of cultural and theoretical generalization. Examples of new issues introduced by such theoretical disciplinary improvements, dealt with by many disciplines, include the study of mesoscopic or middle-way level, of multiple and dynamic coherence, of equivalence/non-equivalence, of fractality, of networks, of non-causality, of non-invasiveness, of non-prescribability, of non-separability, of quasi properties, of symmetry properties, of topological dynamics, as well as of quantum theories and concepts. The conference was devoted to identifying, discussing and understanding possible interrelationships of theoretical disciplinary improvements, recognized as having prospective fundamental roles for a new post-Bertalanffy Systemics. The latter should be able to deal with problems related to complexity in a generalized way. In this context the inter-disciplinarity should consists, for instance, in a disciplinary reformulation of problems, as from algebraic to geometrical, from military to political, from biological to chemical, while the trans-disciplinarity should be related to the study of such reformulations and their properties. The Italian Systems Society (AIRS) was founded in the 1996. The AIRS is a network of academicians, scientists, researchers and professionals involved in Systemics. A partial list of disciplines represented is: Architecture Biology Economics Education Engineering Mathematics Neurosciences Medicine Music Philosophy Psychology Physics. Previous conferences had as open lecturers professors Arecchi, Haken, Klir, and Kauffman. The proceedings have been published as: 1. Minati, G., (ed.), (1998), Proceedings of the first Italian Conference on Systemics, Apogeo Scientifica, Milan, Italy. 2. Minati, G., and Pessa, E., (eds.) (2002), Emergence in Complex Cognitive, Social and Biological Systems. Kluwer, New York. 3. Minati, G., Pessa, E., and Abram, M., (eds.), (2006), Systemics of Emergence: Research and Applications. Springer, New York. 4. Minati, G., Abram, M. and Pessa, E., (eds.), (2009), Processes of emergence of systems and systemic properties. Towards a general theory of emergence. World Scientific, Singapore. 5. Minati, G., Abram, M. and Pessa, E., (eds.), (2012), Methods, Models, simulations and approaches - towards a general theory of change. World Scientific, Singapore.

"Impulsive Control in Continuous and Discrete-Continuous Systems" is an up-to-date introduction to the theory of impulsive control in nonlinear systems. This is a new branch of the Optimal Control Theory, which is tightly connected to the Theory of Hybrid Systems. The text introduces the reader to the interesting area of optimal control problems with discontinuous solutions, discussing the application of a new and effective method of discontinuous time-transformation. With a large number of examples, illustrations, and applied problems arising in the area of observation control, this book is excellent as a textbook or reference for a senior or graduate-level course on the subject, as well as a reference for researchers in related fields.

This comprehensive text presents cutting-edge advances in the theory and methodology of modeling and simulation (M&S) and reveals how this work has been influenced by the fundamental contributions of Prof. Tuncer OEren to this field. Exploring the synergies among the domains of M&S and systems engineering (SE), the book describes how M&S and SE can help to address the complex problems identified as "Grand Challenges" more effectively under a model-driven and simulation-directed systems engineering framework. Features: examines frameworks for the development of advanced simulation methodologies; presents a focus on advanced modeling methodologies; reviews the reliability and quality assurance of models; discusses the specification and simulation of human and social behavior, including models of personality, emotions, conflict management, perception and anticipation; provides a survey of the body of knowledge in M highlights the foundations established by the pioneering work of Prof. Tuncer OEren.

This book focuses on filtering, control and model-reduction problems for two-dimensional (2-D) systems with imperfect information. The time-delayed 2-D systems covered have system parameters subject to uncertain, stochastic and parameter-varying changes. After an initial introduction of 2-D systems and the ideas of linear repetitive processes, the text is divided into two parts detailing: * General theory and methods of analysis and optimal synthesis for 2-D systems; and * Application of the general theory to the particular case of differential/discrete linear repetitive processes. The methods developed provide a framework for stability and performance analysis, optimal and robust controller and filter design and model approximation for the systems considered. Solutions to the design problems are couched in terms of linear matrix inequalities. For readers interested in the state of the art in linear filtering, control and model reduction, Filtering and Control for Classes of Two-Dimensional Systems will be a useful reference for exploring the field of 2-D systems either from a purely theoretical research perspective or from the point of view of a multitude of potential applications including image processing, and the study of seismographic data or thermal processes.

This volume collects contributions written by different experts in honor of Prof. Jaime Munoz Masque. It covers a wide variety of research topics, from differential geometry to algebra, but particularly focuses on the geometric formulation of variational calculus; geometric mechanics and field theories; symmetries and conservation laws of differential equations, and pseudo-Riemannian geometry of homogeneous spaces. It also discusses algebraic applications to cryptography and number theory. It offers state-of-the-art contributions in the context of current research trends. The final result is a challenging panoramic view of connecting problems that initially appear distant.

This volume presents selected aspects of non-integer, or fractional order systems, whose analysis, synthesis and applications have increasingly become a real challenge for various research communities, ranging from science to engineering. The spectrum of applications of the fractional order calculus has incredibly expanded, in fact it would be hard to find a science/engineering-related subject area where the fractional calculus had not been incorporated. The content of the fractional calculus is ranged from pure mathematics to engineering implementations and so is the content of this volume. The volume is subdivided into six parts, reflecting particular aspects of the fractional order calculus. The first part contains a single invited paper on a new formulation of fractional-order descriptor observers for fractional-order descriptor continous LTI systems. The second part provides new elements to the mathematical theory of fractional-order systems. In the third part of this volume, a bunch of new results in approximation, modeling and simulations of fractional-order systems is given. The fourth part presents new solutions to some problems in controllability and control of non-integer order systems, in particular fractional PID-like control. The fifth part analyzes the stability of non-integer order systems and some new results are offered in this important respect, in particular for discrete-time systems. The final, sixth part of this volume presents a spectrum of applications of the noninteger order calculus, ranging from bi-fractional filtering, in particular of electromyographic signals, through the thermal diffusion and advection diffusion processes to the SIEMENS platform implementation. This volume's papers were all subjected to stimulating comments and discussions from the active audience of the RRNR'2014, the 6th Conference on Non-integer Order Calculus and Its Applications that was organized by the Department of Electrical, Control and Computer Engineering, Opole University of Technology, Opole, Poland.

This monograph bridges the gap between the nonlinear predictor as a concept and as a practical tool, presenting a complete theory of the application of predictor feedback to time-invariant, uncertain systems with constant input delays and/or measurement delays. It supplies several methods for generating the necessary real-time solutions to the systems' nonlinear differential equations, which the authors refer to as approximate predictors. Predictor feedback for linear time-invariant (LTI) systems is presented in Part I to provide a solid foundation on the necessary concepts, as LTI systems pose fewer technical difficulties than nonlinear systems. Part II extends all of the concepts to nonlinear time-invariant systems. Finally, Part III explores extensions of predictor feedback to systems described by integral delay equations and to discrete-time systems. The book's core is the design of control and observer algorithms with which global stabilization, guaranteed in the previous literature with idealized (but non-implementable) predictors, is preserved with approximate predictors developed in the book. An applications-driven engineer will find a large number of explicit formulae, which are given throughout the book to assist in the application of the theory to a variety of control problems. A mathematician will find sophisticated new proof techniques, which are developed for the purpose of providing global stability guarantees for the nonlinear infinite-dimensional delay system under feedback laws employing practically implementable approximate predictors. Researchers working on global stabilization problems for time-delay systems will find this monograph to be a helpful summary of the state of the art, while graduate students in the broad field of systems and control will advance their skills in nonlinear control design and the analysis of nonlinear delay systems.

Industrial Process Identification brings together the latest advances in perturbation signal design. It describes the approaches to the design process that are relevant to industries. The authors' discussion of several software packages (Frequency Domain System Identification Toolbox, prs, GALOIS, multilev_new, and Input-Signal-Creator) will allow readers to understand the different designs in industries and begin designing common classes of signals. The authors include two case studies that provide a balance between the theory and practice of these designs: the identification of a direction-dependent electronic nose system; and the identification of a multivariable cooling system with time-varying delay. Major aspects of signal design such as the formulation of suitable specifications in the face of practical constraints, the classes of designs available, the various objectives necessitating separate treatments when dealing with nonlinear systems, and extension to multi-input scenarios, are discussed. Codes, including some that will produce simulated data, are included to help readers replicate the results described. Industrial Process Identification is a powerful source of information for control engineers working in the process and communications industries seeking guidance on choosing identification software tools for use in practical experiments and case studies. The book will also be of interest to academic researchers and students working in electrical, mechanical and communications engineering and the application of perturbation signal design. Advances in Industrial Control reports and encourages the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

This book presents up-to-date research developments and novel methodologies to solve various stability and control problems of dynamic systems with time delays. First, it provides the new introduction of integral and summation inequalities for stability analysis of nominal time-delay systems in continuous and discrete time domain, and presents corresponding stability conditions for the nominal system and an applicable nonlinear system. Next, it investigates several control problems for dynamic systems with delays including H(infinity) control problem Event-triggered control problems; Dynamic output feedback control problems; Reliable sampled-data control problems. Finally, some application topics covering filtering, state estimation, and synchronization are considered. The book will be a valuable resource and guide for graduate students, scientists, and engineers in the system sciences and control communities.

This book develops original results regarding singular dynamic systems following two different paths. The first consists of generalizing results from classical state-space cases to linear descriptor systems, such as dilated linear matrix inequality (LMI) characterizations for descriptor systems and performance control under regulation constraints. The second is a new path, which considers descriptor systems as a powerful tool for conceiving new control laws, understanding and deciphering some controller's architecture and even homogenizing different-existing-ways of obtaining some new and/or known results for state-space systems. The book also highlights the comprehensive control problem for descriptor systems as an example of using the descriptor framework in order to transform a non-standard control problem into a classic stabilization control problem. In another section, an accurate solution is derived for the sensitivity constrained linear optimal control also using the descriptor framework. The book is intended for graduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers in the field of systems and control theory.

This monograph develops a framework for time-optimal control problems, focusing on minimal and maximal time-optimal controls for linear-controlled evolution equations. Its use in optimal control provides a welcome update to Fattorini's work on time-optimal and norm-optimal control problems. By discussing the best way of representing various control problems and equivalence among them, this systematic study gives readers the tools they need to solve practical problems in control. After introducing preliminaries in functional analysis, evolution equations, and controllability and observability estimates, the authors present their time-optimal control framework, which consists of four elements: a controlled system, a control constraint set, a starting set, and an ending set. From there, they use their framework to address areas of recent development in time-optimal control, including the existence of admissible controls and optimal controls, Pontryagin's maximum principle for optimal controls, the equivalence of different optimal control problems, and bang-bang properties. This monograph will appeal to researchers and graduate students in time-optimal control theory, as well as related areas of controllability and dynamic programming. For ease of reference, the text itself is self-contained on the topic of time-optimal control. Frequent examples throughout clarify the applications of theorems and definitions, although experience with functional analysis and differential equations will be useful.

This book describes a set of novel statistical algorithms designed to infer functional connectivity of large-scale neural assemblies. The algorithms are developed with the aim of maximizing computational accuracy and efficiency, while faithfully reconstructing both the inhibitory and excitatory functional links. The book reports on statistical methods to compute the most significant functional connectivity graph, and shows how to use graph theory to extract the topological features of the computed network. A particular feature is that the methods used and extended at the purpose of this work are reported in a fairly completed, yet concise manner, together with the necessary mathematical fundamentals and explanations to understand their application. Furthermore, all these methods have been embedded in the user-friendly open source software named SpiCoDyn, which is also introduced here. All in all, this book provides researchers and graduate students in bioengineering, neurophysiology and computer science, with a set of simplified and reduced models for studying functional connectivity in in silico biological neuronal networks, thus overcoming the complexity of brain circuits.

Cyber environments have become a fundamental part of educational institutions, causing a need for understanding the impact and general principles of ethical computer use in academia. With the rapid increase in the use of digital technologies in classrooms and workplaces worldwide, it is important that part of the training that takes place for students is how to be good cyber citizens, who are ethical in the decisions that they make and in their interactions with others across digital platforms. Emerging Trends in Cyber Ethics and Education is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the application of ethics and education within online environments. While highlighting topics such as computer simulation, corporate e-learning, and plagiarism detection, this publication explores effective ways of utilizing digital landscapes for online education, as well as the methods of improving cyber security frameworks. This book is ideally designed for educators, IT developers, education professionals, education administrators, researchers, and upper-level graduate students seeking current research on secure and educational interactions in digital landscapes.

This book demonstrates the theoretical value and practical significance of systems science and its logic of thinking by presenting a rigorously developed foundation-a tool for intuitive reasoning, which is supported by both theory and empirical evidence, as well as practical applications in business decision making. Following a foundation of general systems theory, the book presents an applied method to intuitively learn system-sciences fundamentals. The third and final part examines applications of the yoyo model and the theoretical results developed earlier within the context of problems facing business decision makers by organically combining methods of traditional science, the first dimension of science, with those of systems science, the second dimension, as argued by George Klir in the 1990s. This text would benefit graduate students, researchers, or practitioners in the areas of mathematics, systems science or engineering, economics, and business decision science.

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.