This book presents a coherent framework for understanding the dynamics of piecewise-smooth and hybrid systems. An informal introduction expounds the ubiquity of such models via numerous. The results are presented in an informal style, and illustrated with many examples. The book is aimed at a wide audience of applied mathematicians, engineers and scientists at the beginning postgraduate level. Almost no mathematical background is assumed other than basic calculus and algebra.

The question of 'what happens when I want to step away from all this?' is one that keeps many business owners awake at night. 'How does my entrepreneur story end in a way that preserves the good I've built up, and looks after the employees and clients?' For the owner who has spent a big chunk of his or her working life building up a business they passionately believe in, and nurturing staff they care about, traditional succession planning doesn't work. Employee ownership is the new and better way of preserving your achievement. Done the right way, you can leave a legacy and pass on control without employees having to raise finance. Financial expert, podcaster and author Chris Budd recently sold his own business to its employees through the UK's Employee Ownership Trust. But the movement for employee ownership is global - and interest in this alternative succession route is growing fast.

One of the biggest enemies of our general wellbeing is stress; and one of the biggest causes of stress is concern about money. This book provides a simple and practical guide to planning your daily and long-term finances by understanding your objectives and motivations. In doing so, it offers respite from the anxiety and stress caused by money problems. The author, an experienced financial adviser, argues that the key to financial wellbeing is to “know thyself” in order to allow decisions to be made, and to ensure those decisions are the rights ones for you. This is underpinned by having control of your daily finances, the ability to cope with a financial shock, to be able to have options in life, to have identifiable goals and a clear path to achieve them, and to ensure clarity and security for those we leave behind.

Mathematical models are very much in the news now, as they are used to make decisions about our response to such vital areas as COVID-19 and climate change. Frequently, they are blamed for a series of dubious decisions, creating much concern amongst the general public. However, without mathematical models, we would have none of the modern technology that we take for granted, nor would we have modern health care, be able to forecast the climate, cook a potato, have electricity to power our home, or go into space.By explaining technical mathematical concepts in a way that everyone can understand and appreciate, Climate, Chaos and COVID: How Mathematical Models Describe the Universe sets the record straight and lifts the lid off the mystery of mathematical models. It shows why they work, how good they can be, the advantages and disadvantages of using them and how they make the modern world possible. The readers will be able to see the impact that the use of these models has on their lives, and will be able to appreciate both their power and their limitations.The book includes a very large number of both short and long case studies, many of which are taken directly from the author's own experiences of working as a mathematical modeller in academia, in industry, and between the two. These include COVID-19 and climate and how maths saves the whales, powers our home, gives us the material we need to live, and takes us into space.

Elliott Harmison has had a tough year. As well as his own troubles, it seems the world is just not in a good place right now. Somebody really should do something about it.Fate hands Elliott an opportunity to make a small difference in a big way. But can he complete his project before he is discovered?