W.D. and Jesse, cousins from the back hills of Tennessee, head to Missouri "just to pick some cotton." Swimming the Mississippi River and being caught in a hailstorm turns out to be the easiest part of their life-changing trip.The old sea captain they find in a pool of blood aboard the Tiptonville ferry is alive, but barely! He's been robbed of a magnificent diamond necklace. As his life hangs in the balance, the sheriff treats the Two From Tennessee like suspects.They soon find work at the R.G. Billings' Plantation, but get far more than they bargained for as a U.S. Air Force T-6 "Texan" crashes in the cotton field where they're working. Disregarding their own safety, they attempt a daring rescue of the trapped pilot.In the meantime, Jesse falls head over heels in love with the sea captain's niece, Angel Steffelow, while W.D. gets involved with Kerri Lynn Carlisle, a young girl from New Madrid, Missouri who has psychic powers that intrigue and frighten him.

It is true, they don't make things the way they used to, they don't do things the way they used to, and the times are not what they used to be. This book is a journey back to the days of my early childhood through high school. What was like to be raised in Indiana basketball country? It was an exciting time with over 700 high school teams from every corner of the state of Indiana competing each year in a single elimination tournament for the Indiana State Basketball Championship. One small school triumphed in a miracle over the great odds against them. It is still for me to imagine what those hundreds of Indiana basketball heroes experienced by having family, friends, classmates, cheerleaders, teachers, community fans for all kinds of reasons, even stranger bystanders, cheering and shouting them on with encouragement. (www.garyleesmith.com)

The international conference on Automation and Robotics-ICAR2011 is held during December 12-13, 2011 in Dubai, UAE. The proceedings of ICAR2011 have been published by Springer Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, which include 163 excellent papers selected from more than 400 submitted papers.

The conference is intended to bring together the researchers and engineers/technologists working in different aspects of intelligent control systems and optimization, robotics and automation, signal processing, sensors, systems modeling and control, industrial engineering, production and management.

This part of proceedings includes 81 papers contributed by many researchers in relevant topic areas covered at ICAR2011 from various countries such as France, Japan, USA, Korea and China etc.

Many papers introduced their advanced research work recently; some of them gave a new solution to problems in the field, with powerful evidence and detail demonstration. Others stated the application of their designed and realized systems. The session topic of this proceeding is intelligent control and robotics and automation, which includes papers about Distributed Control Systems, Intelligent Fault Detection and Identification, Machine Learning in Control, Neural Networks based Control Systems, Fuzzy Control, Genetic Algorithms, Robot Design, Human-robots Interfaces, Network Robotics, and Autonomous Systems, Industrial Networks and Automation, Modeling, Simulation and Architectures, Vision, Recognition and Reconstruction, Virtual Reality, Image Processing, and so on.

All of papers here involved the authors' numerous time and energy, will be proved valuable in their research field. Sincere thanks to the committee and all the authors, moreover anonymous reviewers from many fields and organizations. That is a power for all of us to go on research work for the world."

The international conference on Automation and Robotics-ICAR2011 is held during December 12-13, 2011 in Dubai, UAE. The proceedings of ICAR2011 have been published by Springer Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, which include 163 excellent papers selected from more than 400 submitted papers.

The conference is intended to bring together the researchers and engineers/technologists working in different aspects of intelligent control systems and optimization, robotics and automation, signal processing, sensors, systems modeling and control, industrial engineering, production and management.

This part of proceedings includes 82 papers contributed by many researchers in relevant topic areas covered at ICAR2011 from various countries such as France, Japan, USA, Korea and China etc.

The session topic of this proceeding is signal processing and industrial engineering, production and management, which includes papers about signal reconstruction, mechanical sensors, real-time systems control system identification, change detection problems, business process modeling, production planning, scheduling and control, computer-based manufacturing technologies, systems modeling and simulation, facilities planning and management, quality control and management, precision engineering, intelligent design and manufacturing.

The papers in this proceedings focus on industry engineering to promote efficiency and affect for the world, which typically showed their advanced research work recently in their various field. I am sure that discussing with many colleagues will give much more creative idea for each other on ICAR2011.

All of papers with powerful evidence and detail demonstration involved the authors' numerous time and energy will be proved valuable by their unexhausted exploring sprit. Sincere thanks to the committee and all the authors, in additionally, including anonymous reviewers from many fields and organizations. They pointed out us direction to go on research work for the world.

"

This work will provide an authoritative and illuminating overview of the U.S. Congress, from the history of the Senate and the House of Representatives to the rules, procedures, and traditions that govern its operations and lawmaking. This volume provides a comprehensive survey of the history and inner workings of the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. It will explain its relationship to the other two branches of government (executive and judicial), detail the unique structures, responsibilities, and procedures of both houses of Congress, discuss major historical events and controversies, highlight particularly influential leaders in Congress from the earliest days of the Republic to the present, and show readers how the priorities of the U.S. Congress shift depending on whether it is held by the Democratic or Republican party. This book is part of ABC-CLIO's Student Guides to American Government and Politics series. Each volume in the series provides a student-friendly introduction to a distinct component of American governmental institutions and processes and shows how it pertains to American politics and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Offers a complete and authoritative overview of how Congress works, from distinct responsibilities of the Senate and House of Representatives to how committee assignments are distributed Explains how Congress functions in the wider world of American politics, including in campaigns and elections Details important events and developments in the history of Congress in a chronology Includes a bibliography of valuable and student-friendly resources for further study

With a large volume of ultrasound images and teaching videos, Pleural Ultrasound for Clinicians: A Text and E-book is a print and interactive digital resource that provides practical guidance for all those undertaking pleural ultrasound investigations and procedures. With clear, precise instructions for clinical practice, it will help clinicians: Recognise normal anatomy as well as common pleural pathologies Perfect techniques for ultrasound-guided pleural procedures Learn how to choose the correct ultrasound equipment for their department Test their knowledge through the self-assessment and revision sections

Grace Lee calls her granddaughter, Judith, with a dying wish...for Judith to travel from Los Angeles to Nashville to come visit her. But there's a catch. Judith must make the journey by bus. The award-winning novel Finding Grace shares Judith Lee's transformative, cross-country journey, revealing what truly matters. Each day of Judith's journey becomes a story on its own, as the people she meets and places she visits along the way challenge her to rethink her life. Finding Grace is about Judith's transformation back into the real world during this journey as a result of the people she meets on the bus, how she deals with the imminent passing of her grandmother, and how all this changes her life's future plans. There are tears and laughter throughout, with interesting characters whom readers would recognize from their own lives. Today, more people are reflecting on what is and is not important. Finding Grace provides food for thought on many levels.

Contemporary members of Congress routinely use the media to advance their professional goals. Today, virtually every aspect of their professional legislative life unfolds in front of cameras and microphones and, increasingly, online. The Public Congress explores how the media moved from being a peripheral to a central force in U.S. congressional politics. The authors show that understanding why this happened allows us to see the constellation of forces that combined over the last fifty years to transform the American political order. Malecha and Reagan's keen analysis links the new "public" Congress and the forces that are shaping political parties, the Presidency, interest groups, and the media. They conclude by asking whether the kind of discourse that this "new media" environment fosters encourages Congress to make its distinctive deliberative contribution to the American polity. This text brings historical depth as well as coverage of the most current cutting edge trends in new media environment and provides an exhaustive treatment of how the U.S. Congress uses the media in the governing process today.

In his remarkable ethnography of computer engineers, Gary Downey investigates the interface between the human body and the machine. Drawing on interviews, observations and personal interaction with engineers, Downey documents the everyday power of technologys dominant image in our society.
Downey argues that we need to appreciate how deeply connected we are to The Machine, and that it would be hugely beneficial if we could understand ourselves and machines as partially configured of the other - we as part machines, machines as part humans. In this way, we can begin to see both the power and the limitations of technology.

In his remarkable ethnography of computer engineers, Gary Downey investigates the interface between the human body and the machine. Drawing on interviews, observations and personal interaction with engineers, Downey documents the everyday power of technologys dominant image in our society.
Downey argues that we need to appreciate how deeply connected we are to The Machine, and that it would be hugely beneficial if we could understand ourselves and machines as partially configured of the other - we as part machines, machines as part humans. In this way, we can begin to see both the power and the limitations of technology.

Concise yet comprehensive, this textbook of clinical pulmonology provides pulmonologists and respiratory disease physicians with all the key information that they need to know to manage the patient through the diagnosis and treatment journeys. From the most common condition to the rarest, each disease is consistently presented and comprehensively covered giving the reader just the key facts. Building upon the basic sciences and integrating these with clinical practice, each chapter has a consistent approach, is highly designed and visually appealing. Numerous illustrations, colour photographs, scans, bullet points, tables and algorithms ensure that the key information is available at a glance. The keynote sections serve as a useful revision aid as do the multiple choice questions. A truly international and highly experienced editorship with expert contributors from around the world ensure that the book remains a trusted source of information. Set at the level between the definitive reference work and the clinical manual, Essentials of Clinical Pulmonology is an invaluable cornerstone for all pulmonologists whether trainees or experienced clinicians.

The international conference on Automation and Robotics-ICAR2011 is held during December 12-13, 2011 in Dubai, UAE. The proceedings of ICAR2011 have been published by Springer Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, which include 163 excellent papers selected from more than 400 submitted papers.

The conference is intended to bring together the researchers and engineers/technologists working in different aspects of intelligent control systems and optimization, robotics and automation, signal processing, sensors, systems modeling and control, industrial engineering, production and management.

This part of proceedings includes 82 papers contributed by many researchers in relevant topic areas covered at ICAR2011 from various countries such as France, Japan, USA, Korea and China etc.

The session topic of this proceeding is signal processing and industrial engineering, production and management, which includes papers about signal reconstruction, mechanical sensors, real-time systems control system identification, change detection problems, business process modeling, production planning, scheduling and control, computer-based manufacturing technologies, systems modeling and simulation, facilities planning and management, quality control and management, precision engineering, intelligent design and manufacturing.

The papers in this proceedings focus on industry engineering to promote efficiency and affect for the world, which typically showed their advanced research work recently in their various field. I am sure that discussing with many colleagues will give much more creative idea for each other on ICAR2011.

All of papers with powerful evidence and detail demonstration involved the authors' numerous time and energy will be proved valuable by their unexhausted exploring sprit. Sincere thanks to the committee and all the authors, in additionally, including anonymous reviewers from many fields and organizations. They pointed out us direction to go on research work for the world.

"

The international conference on Automation and Robotics-ICAR2011 is held during December 12-13, 2011 in Dubai, UAE. The proceedings of ICAR2011 have been published by Springer Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, which include 163 excellent papers selected from more than 400 submitted papers.

The conference is intended to bring together the researchers and engineers/technologists working in different aspects of intelligent control systems and optimization, robotics and automation, signal processing, sensors, systems modeling and control, industrial engineering, production and management.

This part of proceedings includes 81 papers contributed by many researchers in relevant topic areas covered at ICAR2011 from various countries such as France, Japan, USA, Korea and China etc.

Many papers introduced their advanced research work recently; some of them gave a new solution to problems in the field, with powerful evidence and detail demonstration. Others stated the application of their designed and realized systems. The session topic of this proceeding is intelligent control and robotics and automation, which includes papers about Distributed Control Systems, Intelligent Fault Detection and Identification, Machine Learning in Control, Neural Networks based Control Systems, Fuzzy Control, Genetic Algorithms, Robot Design, Human-robots Interfaces, Network Robotics, and Autonomous Systems, Industrial Networks and Automation, Modeling, Simulation and Architectures, Vision, Recognition and Reconstruction, Virtual Reality, Image Processing, and so on.

All of papers here involved the authors' numerous time and energy, will be proved valuable in their research field. Sincere thanks to the committee and all the authors, moreover anonymous reviewers from many fields and organizations. That is a power for all of us to go on research work for the world."

Contemporary members of Congress routinely use the media to advance their professional goals. Today, virtually every aspect of their professional legislative life unfolds in front of cameras and microphones and, increasingly, online. The Public Congress explores how the media moved from being a peripheral to a central force in U.S. congressional politics. The authors show that understanding why this happened allows us to see the constellation of forces that combined over the last fifty years to transform the American political order. Malecha and Reagan's keen analysis links the new "public" Congress and the forces that are shaping political parties, the Presidency, interest groups, and the media. They conclude by asking whether the kind of discourse that this "new media" environment fosters encourages Congress to make its distinctive deliberative contribution to the American polity. This text brings historical depth as well as coverage of the most current cutting edge trends in new media environment and provides an exhaustive treatment of how the U.S. Congress uses the media in the governing process today.

This book follows the fraught attempts of engineers to identify with Korea as a whole. It is for engineers, both Korean and non-Korean, who seek to become better critical analysts of their own expertise, identities, and commitments. It is for non-engineers who encounter or are affected by Korean engineers and engineering, and want to understand and engage them. It is for researchers who serve as critical participants in the making of engineers and puzzle over the contents and effects of techno-national formation.

2012 International Conference on Environment Science and 2012 International Conference on Computer Science (ICES 2012/ICCS 2012) will be held in Australia, Melbourne, 15 16 March, 2012.Volume 2 contains some topics in intelligent system. There are 51 papers were selected as the regular paper in this volume. It contains the latest developments and reflects the experience of many researchers working in different environments (universities, research centers or even industries), publishing new theories and solving new technological problems.

The purpose of volume 2 is interconnection of diverse scientific fields, the cultivation of every possible scientific collaboration, the exchange of views and the promotion of new research targets as well as the further dissemination, the diffusion of intelligent system, including but not limited to Intelligent System, Neural networks, Machine Learning, Multimedia System and Applications, Speech Processing, Image & video Signal Processing and Computer Aided Network Design the dispersion.

We are sure that the efforts of the authors as well as the reviewers to provide high level contributions will be appreciated by the relevant scientific community. We are convinced that presented volume will be a source of knowledge and inspiration for all academic members, researchers and practitioners working in a field of the topic covered by the book."

2012 International Conference on Environment Science and 2012 International Conference on Computer Science (ICES 2012/ICCS 2012) will be held in Australia, Melbourne, 15-16 March, 2012.Volume 1 contains some new results in computational environment science. There are 47 papers were selected as the regular paper in this volume. It contains the latest developments and reflects the experience of many researchers working in different environments (universities, research centers or even industries), publishing new theories and solving new technological problems on computational environment science. The purpose of volume 1 is interconnection of diverse scientific fields, the cultivation of every possible scientific collaboration, the exchange of views and the promotion of new research targets as well as the further dissemination, the dispersion, the diffusion of the environment science, including but not limited to Ecology, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Soil Science, Geology, Atmospheric Science and Geography We are sure that the efforts of the authors as well as the reviewers to provide high level contributions will be appreciated by the relevant scientific community. We are convinced that presented volume will be a source of knowledge and inspiration for all academic members, researchers and practitioners working in a field of the topic covered by the book.