Ebook Library

Elastomers are found in many applications ranging from technology to daily life applications for example in tires, drive systems, sealings and print rollers. Dynamical operation conditions put extremely high demands on the performance and stability of these materials and their elastic and flow properties can be easily adjusted by simple manipulations on their elastic and viscous properties. However, the required service life suffers often from material damage as a result of wear processes such as abrasion and wear fatigue, mostly caused by crack formation and propagation. This book covers interdisciplinary research between physics, physical chemistry, material sciences and engineering of elastomers within the range from nanometres to millimetres and connects these aspects with the constitutive material properties. The different chapters describe reliable lifetime and durability predictions based on new fracture mechanical testing concepts and advanced material-theoretical methods which...

Properties of systems with long range interactions are still poorly understood despite being of importance in most areas of physics. The present volume introduces and reviews the effort of constructing a coherent thermodynamic treatment of such systems by combining tools from statistical mechanics with concepts and methods from dynamical systems. Analogies and differences between various systems are examined by considering a large range of applications, with emphasis on Bose--Einstein condensates. Written as a set of tutorial reviews, the book will be useful for both the experienced researcher as well as the nonexpert scientist or postgraduate student. Product details Format Hardback | 492 pages ...

This is a biography of Frantz Fanon. It presents an absorbing and careful ac- count of several impressive themes. First is the review and assessment of Fanon's life. Second is a theory of psychology, by the author, which will aug- ment and prove useful to theorists and practitioners who focus on Third World people. And lastly there is a broad and systematic integration of many areas of scholarship including philosophy, anthropology, political science, history, so- ciology, mythology, public health, and economics. Bulhan's writing is lucid, creative, and persuasive. It demonstrates that all these scholarly areas must be handled with erudition in order to build a baseline for understanding both Fanon and the psychology of oppression. Readers of Fanon will be familiar with the psychology of oppression which he presented so forcefully. How life events and experiences led to the formula- tion of this psychology is the chief emphasis of the author. Yet the book also gives scintillat...

H-infinity control theory deals with the minimization of the H-norm of the transfer matrix from an exogenous disturbance to a pertinent controlled output of a given plant. This comprehensive book examines both the theoretical and practical aspects of H-infinity control from the angle of the structural properties of linear systems. Product details Format Hardback | 446 pages Dimensions 156 x 234 x 32.26mm | 1,830g ...

The primary aim of this volume is to provide researchers and engineers from both academic and industry with up-to-date coverage of new results in the field of robotic welding, intelligent systems and automation. The book is mainly based on papers selected from the 2014 International Conference on Robotic Welding, Intelligence and Automation (RWIA'2014), held Oct. 25-27, 2014, at Shanghai, China. The articles show that the intelligentized welding manufacturing (IWM) is becoming an inevitable trend with the intelligentized robotic welding as the key technology. The volume is divided into four logical parts: Intelligent Techniques for Robotic Welding, Sensing of Arc Welding Processing, Modeling and Intelligent Control of Welding Processing, as well as Intelligent Control and its Applications in Engineering. Product details Format ...

H-infinity control theory deals with the minimization of the H-norm of the transfer matrix from an exogenous disturbance to a pertinent controlled output of a given plant. This comprehensive book examines both the theoretical and practical aspects of H-infinity control from the angle of the structural properties of linear systems. Product details Format Paperback | 446 pages Dimensions 155 x 235 x 23.62mm | 700g ...

How are students in Asia and the Pacific taught to be effective citizens? Following two successful volumes previously published in this series, Citizenship Education in Asia and the Pacific: Concepts and Issues and Citizenship Curriculum in Asia and the Pacific, this volume focuses on citizenship pedagogies that are promoted by governments in the region, advocated by scholars, and adapted in the schools and classrooms where citizenship education takes place every day. Thirteen case studies from diverse societies in Asia and the Pacific highlight the ways in which teachers and students think about, experience or plan for citizenship teaching and learning. Different methods - vignettes, student surveys, case studies and literature reviews - are used to portray these experiences, from both macro- and micro-analytic perspectives. The wide array of case studies provides rich information and insights into the realities and possibilities of pedagogies for citizenship across the region. ...

Unmanned Rotorcraft Systems explores the research and development of fully-functional miniature UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) rotorcraft, and provides a complete treatment of the design of autonomous miniature rotorcraft UAVs. The unmanned system is an integration of advanced technologies developed in communications, computing, and control areas, and is an excellent testing ground for trialing and implementing modern control techniques. Included are detailed expositions of systematic hardware construction, software systems integration, aerodynamic modeling; and automatic flight control system design. Emphasis is placed on the cooperative control and flight formation of multiple UAVs, vision-based ground target tracking, and landing on moving platforms. Other issues such as the development of GPS-less indoor micro aerial vehicles and vision-based navigation are also discussed in depth: utilizing the vision-based system for accomplishing ground target tracking, attacking and landing, coo...

The second edition of this monograph provides a systematic treatment of the design of modern hard disk drive servo systems updated with the latest research results to reflect recent improvements in spindle speed and bit density and other changes in this fast-moving field. In particular, it focuses on the applications of some newly developed results in control theory, i.e., robust and perfect tracking control and composite non-linear feedback control which are suitable for track following and seeking respectively. Emphasis is placed on hard disk drive servo systems with single- or dual-stage actuation using a voice-coil-motor actuator enhanced in the latter case by the addition of a micro-actuator providing faster responses and therefore higher bandwidth in track following. Other issues such as modeling and compensation of nonlinearities and friction in microdrives, disturbance rejection and resonance compensation are also addressed. The techniques and applications involved include: tim...

Based on case studies of 11 societies in the world's most dynamic region, this book signals a new direction of study at the intersection of citizenship education and the curriculum. Following their successful volume, Citizenship Education in Asia and the Pacific: Concepts and Issues (published as No. 14 in this series), the editors, widely regarded as leaders in the field in the Asia-Pacific region, have gone beyond broad citizenship education frameworks to examine the realities, tensions and pressures that influence the formation of the citizenship curriculum. Chapter authors from different societies have addressed two fundamental questions: (1) how is citizenship education featured in the current curriculum reform agenda in terms of both policy contexts and values; and (2) to what extent do the reforms in citizenship education reflect current debates within the society? From comparative analysis of these 11 case studies the editors have found a complex picture of curriculum refor...

This handbook aims to be a comprehensive and up-to-date reference tool for students, scientists, engineers and industrial practitioners who are working in an area of the optical fiber field. The book includes five sections that cover the following subtopics as follows: * Optical Fiber Fundamentals including fiber materials and characteristics, fiber design, analysis, fabrication, test, etc; * Optical Fibers including all conventional and special fibers; * Optical Fiber Devices including all passive and active fiber devices and components, such as fiber couplers, fiber connectors, fiber gratings, fiber amplifiers and fiber lasers; * Optical Fiber Communication including main optical fiber communication techniques and systems * Optical Fiber Sensing including main optical fiber sensing and systems Product details Format ...

This book presents innovative instructional interventions designed to support inquiry project-based learning as an approach to equip students with 21st century skills. Instructional techniques include collaborative team-based teaching, social constructivist game design and game play, and productive uses of social media such as wikis and other online communication affordances. The book will be of interest to researchers seeking a summary of recent empirical studies in the inquiry project-based learning domain that employ new technologies as constructive media for student synthesis and creation. The book also bridges the gap between empirical works and a range of national- and international-level educational standards frameworks such as the P21, the OECD framework, AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner, and the Common Core State Standards in the US. Of particular interest to education practitioners, the book offers detailed descriptions of inquiry project-based learning interventio...

I am pleased to introduce this volume on Myoblast Transfer Therapy on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and all of its Advisory Committees. The international conference which led to this volume brought together leading basic scientists and clinical investigators for the purpose of coordinating the development of this new field in the fight against muscular dystrophy. The Muscular Dystrophy Association is the nation's most rapidly growing voluntary health agency in terms of its programs of patient care, research, and professional and public education. Success is attributable to its National Chairman, Jerry Lewis, to its effective corporate membership, and to the many physicians and scientists who give their time freely to advise on policies, to review grant applications, and to participate in meetings such as this. I should like to acknowledge a large number of other individuals to whom we are indebted: the broad segment of the American public which continually and genero...

A fully-updated and reworked version of the classic book by Stephen Kemmis and Robin McTaggart, now joined by Rhonda Nixon, The Action Research Planner is a detailed guide to developing and conducting a critical participatory action research project. The authors outline new views on 'participation' (based on Jurgen Habermas's notion of a 'public sphere'), 'practice' (as shaped by practice architectures), and 'research' (as research within practice traditions). They provide five extended examples of critical participatory action research studies. The book includes a range of resources for people planning a critical participatory research initiative, providing guidance on how to establish an action research group and identify a shared concern, research ethics, principles of procedure for action researchers, protocols for collaborative work, keeping a journal, gathering evidence, reporting, and choosing academic partners. Unlike earlier editions...

Over the last few decades, there are increasing public awareness of adverse events involving engineering failures that not only led to monetary losses but also more importantly, human injuries and deaths. Whilst it is vital for an engineering professional or student to acquire the necessary technical knowledge and skills in their respective field, they must also understand the ethical essences that are relevant to their profession. Engineering professionals like biomedical engineers, need to appreciate the fundamentals of best practices and recognise how any derivation from such practices can have undesirable impacts on human lives. Through this book, it is hoped that readers would draw the relevance between the study of ethics and biomedical engineering. The book would be a useful source and reference for college-level and university-level students. Moreover, the contents are written so as to also provide valuable insights even for existing biomedical engineers and those enrolled in c...