Mathematics of Autonomy provides solid mathematical foundations for building useful Autonomous Systems. It clarifies what makes a system autonomous rather than simply automated, and reveals the inherent limitations of systems currently incorrectly labeled as autonomous in reference to the specific and strong uncertainty that characterizes the environments they operate in. Such complex real-world environments demand truly autonomous solutions to provide the flexibility and robustness needed to operate well within them.This volume embraces hybrid solutions to demonstrate extending the classes of uncertainty autonomous systems can handle. In particular, it combines physical-autonomy (robots), cyber-autonomy (agents) and cognitive-autonomy (cyber and embodied cognition) to produce a rigorous subset of trusted autonomy: Cyber-Physical-Cognitive autonomy (CPC-autonomy).The body of the book alternates between underlying theory and applications of CPC-autonomy including 'Autonomous Supervision of a Swarm of Robots' , 'Using Wind Turbulence against a Swarm of UAVs' and 'Unique Super-Dynamics for All Kinds of Robots (UAVs, UGVs, UUVs and USVs)' to illustrate how to effectively construct Autonomous Systems using this model. It avoids the wishful thinking that characterizes much discussion related to autonomy, discussing the hard limits and challenges of real autonomous systems. In so doing, it clarifies where more work is needed, and also provides a rigorous set of tools to tackle some of the problem space.
Combustion has played a central role in the development of our civilization which it maintains today as its predominant source of energy. The aim of this book is to provide an understanding of both fundamental and applied aspects of low-temperature combustion chemistry and autoignition. The topic is rooted in classical observational science and has grown, through an increasing understanding of the linkage of the phenomenology to coupled chemical reactions, to quite profound advances in the chemical kinetics of both complex and elementary reactions. The driving force has been both the intrinsic interest of an old and intriguing phenomenon and the centrality of its applications to our economic prosperity. The volume provides a coherent view of the subject while, at the same time, each chapter is self-contained.
Chemistry is widely considered to be the central science: it encompasses concepts on which all other branches of science are developed. Yet, for many students entering university, gaining a firm grounding in chemistry is a real challenge. Chemistry3 responds to this challenge, providingstudents with a full understanding of the fundamental principles of chemistry on which to build later studies.Uniquely amongst the introductory chemistry texts currently available, Chemistry3's author team brings together experts in each of organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry with specialists in chemistry education to provide balanced coverage of the fundamentals of chemistry in a way that studentsboth enjoy and understand.The result is a text that builds on what students know already from school and tackles their misunderstandings and misconceptions, thereby providing a seamless transition from school to undergraduate study. Written with unrivalled clarity, students are encouraged to engage with the text andappreciate the central role that chemistry plays in our lives through the unique use of real-world context and photographs.Chemistry3 tackles head-on two issues pervading chemistry education: students' mathematical skills, and their ability to see the subject as a single, unified discipline. Instead of avoiding the maths, Chemistry3 provides structured support, in the form of careful explanations, reminders of keymathematical concepts, step-by-step calculations in worked examples, and a Maths Toolkit, to help students get to grips with the essential mathematical element of chemistry. Frequent cross-references highlight the connections between each strand of chemistry and explain the relationship between thetopics, so students can develop an understanding of the subject as a whole.Digital formats and resourcesChemistry3 is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources.The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features, and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooksThe e-book also features interactive animations of molecular structures, screencasts in which authors talk step-by-step through selected examples and key reaction mechanisms, and self-assessment activities for each chapter. The accompanying online resources will also include, for students:DT Chapter 1 as an open-access PDF;DT Chapter summaries and key equations to download, to support revision;DT Worked solutions to the questions in the book.The following online resources are also provided for lecturers:DT Test bank of ready-made assessments for each chapter with which to test your studentsDT Problem-solving workshop activities for each chapter for you to use in classDT Case-studies showing how instructors are successfully using Chemistry3 in digital learning environments and to support innovative teaching practicesDT Figures and tables from the book
Prepared by an international team of eminent atmospheric scientists, Mechanisms of Atmospheric Oxidation of the Oxygenates is an authoritative source of information on the role of oxygenates in the chemistry of the atmosphere. The oxygenates, including the many different alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, acids, esters, and nitrogen-atom containing oxygenates, are of special interest today due to their increased use as alternative fuels and fuel additives. This book describes the physical properties of oxygenates, as well as the chemical and photochemical parameters that determine their reaction pathways in the atmosphere. Quantitative descriptions of the pathways of the oxygenates from release or formation in the atmosphere to final products are provided, as is a comprehensive review and evaluation of the extensive kinetic literature on the atmospheric chemistry of the different oxygenates and their many halogen-atom substituted analogues. This book will be of interest to modelers of atmospheric chemistry, environmental scientists and engineers, and air quality planning agencies as a useful input for development of realistic modules designed to simulate the atmospheric chemistry of the oxygenates, their major oxidation products, and their influence on ozone and other trace gases within the troposhere.
This is the most complete chronological account of Samuel Beckett's life and work, with full details of how, when and where each work by him came to be written, many details of which have only recently come to light and are often not known to scholars working in the field.
What is the human mind? What is its template? The mind reveals itself in what it does. Do not to ask what the mind is but ask what it does and be not preoccupied how it does it. A piece of wood with metal attach to one end does not tell us the nature of the hammer. But driving a nail with such a metal/wood object reveals the nature of the hammer. So it is with the mind. Its nature is revealed in what it does. But who is the human mind? Is it your being or your features? Three hundred an fifty stories bring us closer to the answer. The mind is put to work because we are drawn inexorably into the future and always with a degree of uncertainty: sometimes watchful, other times unaware of what will happen next and many times not wanting to know. The purpose of the mind is to know what will happen next.
The late 13th century witnessed the conquest of Wales after two hundred years of conflict between Welsh princes and the English crown. In 1282 Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the only native Prince of Wales to be formally acknowledged by a King of England, was slain by English forces. His brother Dafydd continued the fight, but was eventually captured and executed. Further revolts followed under Rhys ap Maredudd, a former crown ally, and Madog ap Llywelyn, a kinsman of the defeated lords of Gwynedd. The Welsh wars were a massive undertaking for the crown, and required the mobilization of all resources. Edward’s willingness to direct the combined power of the English state and church against the Prince of Wales, to an unprecedented degree, resulted in a victory that had eluded all of his predecessors. This latest study of the Welsh wars of Edward I will draw upon recently translated archive material, allowing a fresh insight into military and political events. Edward’s personal relationship with Welsh leaders is also reconsidered. Traditionally, the conquest is dated to the fall of Llywelyn in December 1282, but this book will argue that Edward was not truly the master of Wales until 1294. In the years between those two dates he broke the power of the great Marcher lords and crushed two further large-scale revolts against crown authority. After 1294 he was able to exploit Welsh manpower on a massive scale. His successors followed the same policy during the Scottish wars and the Hundred Years War. Edward enjoyed considerable support among the ‘uchelwyr’ or Welsh gentry class, many of whom served him as diplomats and spies as well as military captains. This aspect of the king’s complex relationship with the Welsh will also feature.
Originally published in 1981. This book looks at the autobiographical work of nine twentieth-century writers – Henry Adams, Henry James, W. B. Yeats, Boris Pasternak, Leiris, Jean-Paul Sartre, Vladimir Nabokov, Henry Green and Adrian Stokes. The author argues that often the writer has shaped his life through his craft, coming to understand the pattern of his own existence through the formalism of language. In each case the writer stamps his personality on the work by mean of a distinctive verbal surface whose discipline enables him to evade narrow egotism and forces both reader and writer into an act of collaboration and corroboration. Written at a time when criticism was turning to focus on the relation between the reader and the text, this study added a provocative dimension to the debate and is still an important read today.
Geoff Pilling’s work shows that Marxist theory is relevant to those struggling to understand the problems of capitalist society today, and that the work not only of Marx and Engels but that of later Marxist theorists, including Lenin is worth studying. It also shows that to understand the problems of today’s society needs more than narrow specialist economic analysis, but a deep awareness of current developments in society.
A provocative critique of the pieties and fallacies of our obsession with economic growth We live in a society in which a priesthood of economists, wielding impenetrable mathematical formulas, set the framework for public debate. Ultimately, it is the perceived health of the economy which determines how much we can spend on our schools, highways, and defense; economists decide how much unemployment is acceptable and whether it is right to print money or bail out profligate banks. The backlash we are currently witnessing suggests that people are turning against the experts and their faulty understanding of our lives. Despite decades of steady economic growth, many citizens feel more pessimistic than ever, and are voting for candidates who voice undisguised contempt for the technocratic elite. For too long, economics has relied on a language which fails to resonate with people's actual experience, and we are now living with the consequences. In this powerful, incisive book, David Pilling reveals the hidden biases of economic orthodoxy and explores the alternatives to GDP, from measures of wealth, equality, and sustainability to measures of subjective wellbeing. Authoritative, provocative, and eye-opening, The Growth Delusion offers witty and unexpected insights into how our society can respond to the needs of real people instead of pursuing growth at any cost.
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