The first book ever written on the new topic of strategic communication and how Usama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are attempting to win the hearts and minds of the world-through fear, religion or admiration. "A chilling but insightful analysis of the words and ideas of the most determined - and dangerous -- ideologues of our times. Important reading for anyone trying to understand what we are up against in the movement of Usama bin Laden." Ashton B. Carter, Chair of the International and Global Affairs faculty, Harvard Kennedy School, and former Assistant Secretary of Defense "William Parker and Heidi Bridges force observers and analysts alike to step outside of their innate prejudices and visceral response to the words and ideas of the perpetrators of 9/11, and innumerable ongoing atrocities, to think strategically and to develop a clear real-time picture of the evolution of a hostile political movement. Parker & Bridges have successfully embedded the writings and statements of Usama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri within the theory, practice, and tradition of strategic communication to yield an invaluable contribution to the intellectual tool kit so critical to the development of the situational awareness vital to recognize and combat the current Jihadist threat. This book is a must read for analysts, policymakers and students in the intelligence, counterterrorism, and homeland security fields." Peter Leitner, President, Higgins Counterterrorism Research Center

This book, originally published in 1975, is an attempt to bridge the gap between economic theory and business practice by relating the tools of economic analysis to the decision making process itself. It is written from a decision making systems analysis viewpoint. This approach enables the reader to perceive the integrative nature of the subject matter in relation to the functioning of the business enterprise. Although the unifying theme of 'decision making' is at the heart of the book, where necessary some of the theoretical underpinnings of traditional neo-classical theory of the firm are covered.

This book, originally published in 1975, is an attempt to bridge the gap between economic theory and business practice by relating the tools of economic analysis to the decision making process itself. It is written from a decision making systems analysis viewpoint. This approach enables the reader to perceive the integrative nature of the subject matter in relation to the functioning of the business enterprise. Although the unifying theme of 'decision making' is at the heart of the book, where necessary some of the theoretical underpinnings of traditional neo-classical theory of the firm are covered.

This book explores the nuances of how discriminatory events are viewed by people of color. Based on the authors' research, it seeks to illuminate the contextual and relational variables that influence perception of discrimination. The research suggests that: Ingroup members can perpetuate racist discrimination; Consistent with attribution theory, discrimination by White people is more often attributed to trait rather than situational causes; Consistent with cultural betrayal trauma theory, perceived racist discrimination by ingroup members can be more acutely distressing because it is unexpected. Filling a gap in the microaggression literature, this book provides an in-depth picture of discrimination and what individuals can do to offset the insidious effects of White supremacy. It highlights the importance of centering the experiences of people of color in describing ambiguous social interactions, with greater attention to the context, background, and relationships between perpetrators and targets of racist discrimination. It presents a clear next step in advancing our understanding of the attributes of discrimination. The benefits of comprehensive education and critical consciousness development are emphasized.

Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). It regulates normal CNS function, is a major participant in pathology, and serves learning, memory, and higher cognitive functions. The 12 chapters of this book provide the first comprehensive coverage of all the major features of glutamate as excitatory neurotransmitter. The book begins with a valuable historical backdrop. Building from a chapter on the common structure of glutamate receptors, several others cover the major ionotropic receptors, their structure, function, and pharmacology. A follow-up chapter discusses the metabotropic receptors that are directly coupled to second messenger metabolism. A central theme of the book is the capacity of the excitatory amino acid system to contribute to the diverse array of signaling systems in the CNS as a direct result of the large assortment of receptors (including, for the ionotropic receptors, various subunits) the combination of which determine distinct functional properties. A recent development in the field discussed in several chapters is the biochemical characterization of a supermolecular protein complex, the post-synaptic density, that makes the unique structure of excitatory synapses. This complex subserves the experience-dependent modulation of synaptic strength and synaptic plasticity, and gives the synapse the capacity to change dynamically in both structure and receptor composition. Drawing on the individual properties of the receptors, transporters, and functional architecture of the synapse, the concluding chapters describe the functional integration of these components in the more complex physiological processes of plasticity and pathology. Recognition that the regulation of excitatory amino acid receptor activity underlies the pathology of many neurological diseases, including stroke, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, has opened up an exciting frontier that will allow the translation of our understanding of these basic mechanisms into new concepts of pathology and new therapeutic strategies. This book will be invaluable for neuroscientists, pharmacologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists, and for their students and trainees.

The monograph is a study of the local bifurcations of multiparameter symplectic maps of arbitrary dimension in the neighborhood of a fixed point.The problem is reduced to a study of critical points of an equivariant gradient bifurcation problem, using the correspondence between orbits ofa symplectic map and critical points of an action functional. New results onsingularity theory for equivariant gradient bifurcation problems are obtained and then used to classify singularities of bifurcating period-q points. Of particular interest is that a general framework for analyzing group-theoretic aspects and singularities of symplectic maps (particularly period-q points) is presented. Topics include: bifurcations when the symplectic map has spatial symmetry and a theory for the collision of multipliers near rational points with and without spatial symmetry. The monograph also includes 11 self-contained appendices each with a basic result on symplectic maps. The monograph will appeal to researchers and graduate students in the areas of symplectic maps, Hamiltonian systems, singularity theory and equivariant bifurcation theory.

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!

Synopsis: "In this dark, when we all talk at once, some of us must learn to whistle." In this comprehensive collection of his work, Craig Keen's voice emerges as that of a theologian who has indeed learned to whistle. In a day when much of what passes for academic "theology" is careful to maintain a safe distance from any determinate act of faith or work of praise, Keen evinces a single-minded determination to think and to speak, to write and to live doxologically. And whether writing or lecturing, teaching or conversing, Keen understands theology to be nothing less than an invitation to work out one's faith with fear and trembling. Throughout this volume Keen argues that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus disrupt all metaphysical attempts to determine the reality of "God," and suggests instead that theology is to be done liturgically and eucharistically-as the work of a people whose labor is carried out with open hands, free from all attempts to grasp and control. Keen discusses doctrinal issues-the Trinity, incarnation, creation-as well as a number of critical theological concerns-church and culture, justice, holiness, Christian education-in this light. The result is a profound set of reflections on the ways in which the word of the cross simultaneously transgresses our constructions of "God" and gives us to live transgressively in love. Endorsements: "We've come to expect from Craig Keen that he will make things theological more difficult and complex than we thought they were. Then, after inviting us to accompany him in several unfamiliar paths, he makes us more trusting of the gospel without insisting that we eschew the complexity or arrive at a presumptuous conclusion. Masterful teacher that he is, he proffers only accompaniment, in all the richness of that term, knowing that each one will find the way only by being found by the Way. This is the method of these essays. What they also reveal is a writer whose humility and deference to God's grace is palpable holiness. Would that this holy way could spread among theologians." -M. Douglas Meeks Cal Turner Chancellor Professor of Theology and Wesleyan Studies Vanderbilt Divinity School "Talk of self-involving knowledge and performative speech has become so widespread in recent years that I almost hesitate to use it. But in relation to Craig Keen's work, there is really no alternative. Keen's writing is animated by a deep personal desire for an authentically kenotic existence, and a longing for the coming of a community of women and men who understand that they cannot live until they die. There is pain and anguish in these essays but there is also well-founded hope. I cannot read them without being reminded very forcibly of the crisis theology of the young Karl Barth. This is a book to be read and savored-and read again." -Bruce McCormack Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology Princeton Theological Seminary Author Biography: Craig Keen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California. He is the author of the forthcoming After Crucifixion (Cascade Books).