This book is suitable as a first course for undergraduate students. Matrices and Linear Systems presents the fundamentals of linear algebra. It focuses on the computational part of the linear algebra course. It helps students to have sufficient proficiency to overcome their initial anxiety in reading and writing simple mathematical proofs in a more theoretical part of the course later. Basic concepts are presented along with sufficient computational examples which allow students to follow through the step-by-step solutions at their own pace. Supplementary exercises are included at the end of most chapters, so that students can assess their understanding for the entire corresponding chapter. There is also a guidance in the use of the Microsoft EXCEL software in solving the computational exercises in the last chapter. As a whole, this book serves as an additional self-study aid and will extend students’ learning process beyond the limitations of a classroom.
This book is suitable as a first course for undergraduate students. Matrices and Linear Systems presents the fundamentals of linear algebra. It focuses on the computational part of the linear algebra course. It helps students to have sufficient proficiency to overcome their initial anxiety in reading and writing simple mathematical proofs in a more theoretical part of the course later. Basic concepts are presented along with sufficient computational examples which allow students to follow through the step-by-step solutions at their own pace. Supplementary exercises are included at the end of most chapters, so that students can assess their understanding for the entire corresponding chapter. There is also a guidance in the use of the Microsoft EXCEL software in solving the computational exercises in the last chapter. As a whole, this book serves as an additional self-study aid and will extend students’ learning process beyond the limitations of a classroom.
This book focuses on the involvement of some Kenyans in al-Shabaab, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda based in Somalia, despite their country’s relative stability compared to Somalia. It discusses the origin of the Kenyan state and how colonization created social stratification that benefited elites closer to the center, while excluding marginalized groups at the periphery. The argument is that this pattern still prevails, despite attempts to enhance equality, such as the adoption of a new constitution in 2010 promoting the devolution of power and resources. The persistence of this condition, it is argued, is what initially handed al-Qaeda and later al-Shabaab opportunities for mobilization, enabled by its creative politicization of religion. The heavy-handed tactics employed by security forces under the auspices of the ‘War on Terror’ further catalyzed this process, resulting in more Kenyan individuals joining the group. Using an historical and political process approach, the book shows how the interplay of structural conditions and al-Shabaab’s mobilization strategy linked with individuals’ motivations for joining the group. Based on individuals’ own narratives about their participation, the latter is empirically demonstrated to be non-linear, incorporating motivations beyond rational ones, contrary to the overemphasis on ideology in the literature on participation in groups similar to al-Shabaab. This book will of much interest to students of political violence, African politics, Islamic studies and International Relations.
This book discusses the idea that Arab cultural and political identity has been suppressed by centuries of dominance by imperial outsiders and by religious and nationalist ideologies with the result that present day Arab societies are characterised by a crisis of identity where fundamentalism or chaos seem to be the only available choices. Tracing developments from pre-Islamic times through to the present, the book analyses the evolution of Arab political identity through a multi-layered lens, including memory and forgetting, social and cultural norms, local laws, poetry, dance, attitudes to women, foreigners and animals, ancient historical narratives and more. It argues that Arab societies have much to gain by recovering the "happy memory" of Arab culture as it was before being distorted.
This book explores the long history of the evolution of Arab political identity, which predates the time of the Prophet Muhammad and is characterized by tolerance, compassion, generosity, hospitality, self-control, correct behaviour, equality and consensus. The author argues that present-day struggles in many Arab countries to redefine polities and politics are related to the fact that the underlying political culture of the Arabs has been overridden for centuries by successive political regimes which have deviated from the original political culture that the Prophet adhered to. The book outlines the political culture that existed before Islam, examines how the Conquests and the rule of the early dynasties (Umayyad and Abbasid) of the Islamic world found it necessary to override it, and analyses the effect of rule by non-Arabs – successively Mamluks, Ottoman Turks and Western colonial powers. It discusses the impact of these distortions on present day politics in the Arab world, and concludes by appealing for a reawakening of, and respect for, the cultural elements underlying the origins of Arab political identity.
Kisah seorang guru yang mengajar di pendalaman Sabah. Dia mula mengenal erti ketabahan dan cinta. Diarinya menjadi perakan suka dan duka. Ingin kenali guru sebagai insan seni, inilah rahsianya.
The moving memoir of one brave woman who, along with her daughters, has kept 90,000 of her fellow citizens safe, healthy, and educated for over 20 years in Somalia. Dr. Hawa Abdi, "the Mother Teresa of Somalia" and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is the founder of a massive camp for internally displaced people located a few miles from war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia. Since 1991, when the Somali government collapsed, famine struck, and aid groups fled, she has dedicated herself to providing help for people whose lives have been shattered by violence and poverty. She turned her 1300 acres of farmland into a camp that has numbered up to 90,000 displaced people, ignoring the clan lines that have often served to divide the country. She inspired her daughters, Deqo and Amina, to become doctors. Together, they have saved tens of thousands of lives in her hospital, while providing an education to hundreds of displaced children. In 2010, Dr. Abdi was kidnapped by radical insurgents, who also destroyed much of her hospital, simply because she was a woman. She, along with media pressure, convinced the rebels to let her go, and she demanded and received a written apology. Dr. Abdi's story of incomprehensible bravery and perseverance will inspire readers everywhere.
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