This monograph is a slightly revised version of my PhD thesis [86], com pleted in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Edin burgh in June 1988, with an additional chapter summarising more recent developments. Some of the material has appeared in the form of papers [50,88]. The underlying theme of the monograph is the study of two classical problems: counting the elements of a finite set of combinatorial structures, and generating them uniformly at random. In their exact form, these prob lems appear to be intractable for many important structures, so interest has focused on finding efficient randomised algorithms that solve them ap proxim~ly, with a small probability of error. For most natural structures the two problems are intimately connected at this level of approximation, so it is natural to study them together. At the heart of the monograph is a single algorithmic paradigm: sim ulate a Markov chain whose states are combinatorial structures and which converges to a known probability distribution over them. This technique has applications not only in combinatorial counting and generation, but also in several other areas such as statistical physics and combinatorial optimi sation. The efficiency of the technique in any application depends crucially on the rate of convergence of the Markov chain.

This monograph is a slightly revised version of my PhD thesis [86], com pleted in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Edin burgh in June 1988, with an additional chapter summarising more recent developments. Some of the material has appeared in the form of papers [50,88]. The underlying theme of the monograph is the study of two classical problems: counting the elements of a finite set of combinatorial structures, and generating them uniformly at random. In their exact form, these prob lems appear to be intractable for many important structures, so interest has focused on finding efficient randomised algorithms that solve them ap proxim~ly, with a small probability of error. For most natural structures the two problems are intimately connected at this level of approximation, so it is natural to study them together. At the heart of the monograph is a single algorithmic paradigm: sim ulate a Markov chain whose states are combinatorial structures and which converges to a known probability distribution over them. This technique has applications not only in combinatorial counting and generation, but also in several other areas such as statistical physics and combinatorial optimi sation. The efficiency of the technique in any application depends crucially on the rate of convergence of the Markov chain.

It is obvious that the growing child manifests an increasing understanding of his language and facility to use it. A major part of the child lan guage literature is concerned with the child's developing linguistic and communicative competence. Scattered evidence also shows, however, that children become progressively more aware of language as Zanguage. It is interesting to consider in what ways the internal structure and mechanisms of language become more accessible. Little is known about linguistic aware ness of this kind, the role it plays, or how it develops. When the new Projektgruppe fUr Psycholinguistik of the Max-Planck Gesellschaft was founded, "the child's conception .of language," in analogy to Piaget's "child's conception of the physical world," become one of the research unit's topics of study. As previous work on linguistic awareness was largely amorphous, we first organized a kind of conference workshop with some of those who had worked in the area. The aims of this meeting were to map out the field of study, detail the phenomena of interest, and define major theoretical issues. The meeting took place just after the creation of the project group, on May 3-7, 1977. The participants were psychologists and linguists who had either published work on metalinguistic issues in child language, or who could be expected to contribute substantially to the discussion. This book is a direct outcome of that conference, though it is not a complete reflection of the papers presented, or of the discussion that took place."

The aim of this study is to provide evidence of the relevance of functional programming for software engineering, both from a research and from a practical point of view. The software development process is studied and a brief introduction to functional programming and languages is provided. Functional programming tends to promote locality which makes it possible to reason about a component of a program, independent of the rest of the program. The significance of the functional approach for formal program manipulation is illustrated by two important techniques, abstract interpretation and program transformation. Abstract interpretation is applied to the compilation of memory management and program transformation is illustrated with many applications such as program correctness proofs, program analysis and compilation. A correct compiler is described entirely in terms of program transformations. Regarding program construction, it is shown that input/output and state-oriented problems can be described in a purely functional framework.

- A Brief Introduction to the Lives of Henry VIII and His Successors for Novices of Tudor History - Who was Henry VIII? What led him to marry six women? Who were they? Who were his successors? Kristin Sinclair answers these questions in this brief and informative account of the life of England's most famous king and the lives of those who succeeded him - Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth I. A BOOK FOR BEGINNERS Also provided in the book are presentations of some key figures, a description of Tudor society, a chronology, a glossary and links to images and further information, making this an ideal book for students or others who are just beginning their explorations of Tudor history. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING This is an excellent introduction to the vast subject of Henry VIII and the Tudors. History buffs who are often discouraged by the usual weighty tomes one is typically confronted with when reading up on the Tudors will love this book. From start to finish this book is a fast-paced and delightful primer for anyone seeking to learn more about Henry VIII and the reign of the Tudors. Sinclair's book covers the life of Henry and his wives and so much more. It is a great resource for the amatuer historian or just for the casual reader who loves history. In fact, even if you hated history in school, but wished it was more understandable or interesting, this book may be just what you are looking for. If you have had your imagination tweaked by film and television, this book will provide an easily accessible and readable introduction to Henry VIII. This is a popular period of history and much has been written over the years, but the vast academic tomes are often not what the casual reader wants to wade through. Kristin has risen to the challenge and provided a great starting point for the Tudor history novice. * The Kindle ebook also includes links in the text to glossary terms, as well as a weblink section with links to images and further information.

On the eighth day, before He cut out for vacation, God formed a covenant with the birds. This covenant entitled the birds to winter vacations in warm climates in exchange for protecting humans from themselves. God spoke a word, deyo, which is Hebrew for ink, and explained that while deyo is powerless, deyo plus human thought is Quintessence. The Earth is destined for dissolution when it is discovered that God lied on his application with the Universal Planet and Creature Ownership and Licensing Association (UPCOLA) not to enter into any covenants which would impact his creations. Earth's destiny rests in either the hands of God's evil son or the management at the UPCOLA; both of which have no qualms ending the insignificant planet's existence. The only person that can save Earth is the hapless Mookie, a government official who has stumbled upon the Tree of Life and all the secrets it holds. After escaping a group of rogue ninjas headed by the President, and aided by a dreaded killer pigeon and an unbearably large bear, Mookie backs himself into the role of hero.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

William Albert Sinclair, born a slave in 1858, grew up in South Carolina during the tumultuous years of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Influenced by his childhood experiences, Sinclair spent his life fighting for the rights of African Americans and was an active member of the Constitution League, and their successor, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Inspired by the scholarship and activism of T. Thomas Fortune and W. E. B. Du Bois, Sinclair published The Aftermath of Slavery: A Study of the Condition and Environment of the American Negro, one of the most complete analyses of slavery and the years immediately following emancipation.
First published in 1905, The Aftermath of Slavery provided a historical analysis of the late nineteenth century that underscored the existence of black resistance to white domination during slavery and Reconstruction. This Southern Classics edition includes a new introduction by Shawn Leigh Alexander, which emphasizes the importance of this book as a tool to understanding the meanings of peace and citizenship, as well as violence and terror, in the years directly following emancipation.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

From the Preface to "I'm Faithful, But I'm Not Religious": "Some of my opinions have some basis. Most are my opinions just because they are my opinions, and I'm not particularly concerned with whether or not they have any basis." that having been said, Ed Sinclair offers opinions on just about anything and everything. For example: "Doing silly things only becomes problematic when doing so ceases to be a tribute to a good memory and, instead, becomes religiously institutionalized, routinized, regulated. I've said it before, and I'll say it again-religion has no place among the spiritually faithful. At least, that's my opinion."

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.