The last two decades have witnessed considerable progress in the study of underactuated robotic systems (URSs). "C""ontrol"" Design and Analysis ""for ""U""nderactuated ""R""obotic ""S""yste""ms" presents a unified treatment of control design and analysis for a class of URSs, which include systems with multiple-degree-of-freedom and/or with underactuation degree two. It presents novel notions, features, design techniques and strictly global motion analysis results for these systems. These new materials are shown to be vital in studying the control design and stability analysis of URSs.

"Control Design and Analysis for Underactuated Robotic Systems" includes the modelling, control design and analysis presented in a systematic way particularly for the following examples:

l directly and remotely driven Acrobots

l Pendubot

l rotational pendulum

l counter-weighted Acrobot

2-link underactuated robot with flexible elbow joint

l variable-length pendulum

l 3-link gymnastic robot with passive first joint

l n-link planar robot with passive first joint

l n-link planar robot with passive single joint

double, or two parallel pendulums on a cart

l 3-link planar robots with underactuation degree two

2-link free flying robot

The theoretical developments are validated by experimental results for the remotely driven Acrobot and the rotational pendulum.

"C""ontrol"" Design and Analysis ""for ""U""nderactuated ""R""obotic ""S""yste""ms" is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in the area of control systems, mechanical and robotics systems, nonlinear systems and oscillation. This text will not only enable the reader to gain a better understanding of the power and fundamental limitations of linear and nonlinear control theory for the control design and analysis for these URSs, but also inspire the reader to address the challenges of more complex URSs."

This book provides a critical account of the transformations, both structural and in terms of journalism practice, undergone by Xinhua, the top Party organ of the Communist regime in China, since the start of the reform age in the late 1970s. It sets out to answer a number of key questions: 1.How far has the most influential news organization in China been marketized? 2.How far has the marketization process changed the way in which Xinhua practices journalism? 3.What has the impact of marketization been on Xinhua's relationship with central, local and global actors? 4.What does the case of Xinhua tell us about the transformation of Chinese media more generally? The book draws on a wealth of empirical data derived from a combination of documentary research at Xinhua and Reuters together with more than100 semi-structured interviews with news executives, journalists, officials and academics in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Macau, Hong Kong and London. This book also offers: 1.A critical review of theories of globalization, as they relate to media and communication studies, as well as Chinese studies; 2.A discussion of the historical roots of Party journalism in China; 3.An authoritative guide to China's contemporary media and political environment. The book will be an invaluable reference for students and academics in communication and media studies, Chinese studies, Asian studies, international studies and development studies.

Drawing on the authors' use of the Hadamard-related theory in several successful engineering projects, Theory and Applications of Higher-Dimensional Hadamard Matrices, Second Edition explores the applications and dimensions of Hadamard matrices. This edition contains a new section on the applications of higher-dimensional Hadamard matrices to the areas of telecommunications and information security.

The first part of the book presents fast algorithms, updated constructions, existence results, and generalized forms for Walsh and Hadamard matrices. The second section smoothly transitions from two-dimensional cases to three-, four-, and six-dimensional Walsh and Hadamard matrices and transforms. In the third part, the authors discuss how the n-dimensional Hadamard matrices of order 2 are applied to feed-forward networking, stream ciphers, bent functions, and error correcting codes. They also cover the Boolean approach of Hadamard matrices. The final part provides examples of applications of Hadamard-related ideas to the design and analysis of one-dimensional sequences and two-dimensional arrays.

The theory and ideas of Hadamard matrices can be used in many areas of communications and information security. Through the research problems found in this book, readers can further explore the fascinating issues and applications of the theory of higher-dimensional Hadamard matrices.

Drawing on the authors' use of the Hadamard-related theory in several successful engineering projects, Theory and Applications of Higher-Dimensional Hadamard Matrices, Second Edition explores the applications and dimensions of Hadamard matrices. This edition contains a new section on the applications of higher-dimensional Hadamard matrices to the areas of telecommunications and information security. The first part of the book presents fast algorithms, updated constructions, existence results, and generalized forms for Walsh and Hadamard matrices. The second section smoothly transitions from two-dimensional cases to three-, four-, and six-dimensional Walsh and Hadamard matrices and transforms. In the third part, the authors discuss how the n-dimensional Hadamard matrices of order 2 are applied to feed-forward networking, stream ciphers, bent functions, and error correcting codes. They also cover the Boolean approach of Hadamard matrices. The final part provides examples of applications of Hadamard-related ideas to the design and analysis of one-dimensional sequences and two-dimensional arrays. The theory and ideas of Hadamard matrices can be used in many areas of communications and information security. Through the research problems found in this book, readers can further explore the fascinating issues and applications of the theory of higher-dimensional Hadamard matrices.

Can a brother ever get a break? Ron Jenkins a successful accountant, quite the numbers man understands the dynamics of balancing any budget but can't seem to place his personal life in place. Money can solve many things but finding his mother fighting breast cancer and his sister's mysterious disappearance under the secret hands of domestic violence does he really have the strength to pull it all together while trying to sooth sweetness into a fed up bitter black woman?