This book presents the concerns, concepts and methodologies of Ecological Discourse Analysis (EDA) based on the shared positions and practices of previous undertakings of discourse analysis. EDA is regarded as an emerging paradigm in discourse studies which undertakes ecologically motivated study of discourses that influences ecological relations.The authors propose a multifaceted ecosophy that incorporates Chinese ethical and philosophical traditions and ecological...

Comprehensive treatment of several representative flexible systems, ranging from dynamic modeling and intelligent control design through to stability analysisFully illustrated throughout, Dynamic Modeling and Neural Network-Based Intelligent Control of Flexible Systems proposes high-efficiency modeling methods and novel intelligent control strategies for several representative flexible systems developed by means of neural networks. It discusses tracking co...

This book introduces the fundamentals of materials science and is intended to be used by undergraduate students in materials-related majors mainly in China. The book focusses on the basic theories of the three primary types of solid state materials (metals, ceramics and polymers) and composites and emphasizes the relationships between the structures and properties of materials. In addition, it presents the crystal structure, imperfections, microstructure, material processing and performanc...

This book presents the proceedings of the ‘3rd International Conference on Advanced Surface Enhancement’, INCASE 2023. It compiles the papers presented by researchers in surface engineering field at INCASE 2023 conference. The book presents a comprehensive review of the state of the art in surface engineering-related techniques and strategies, with a focus towards sustainability. The main topics include ‘Advanced techniques for surface engineering towards enhanced performance’, ‘Surface an...

This book presents iterative learning control (ILC) to address practical issues of flexible structures. It is divided into four parts: Part I provides a general introduction to ILC and flexible structures, while Part II proposes various types of ILC for simple flexible structures to address issues such as vibration, input saturation, input dead-zone, input backlash, external disturbances, and trajectory tracking. It also includes simple partial differential equations to deal with the commo...

The book investigates fundamental issues in flexible manipulator systems, including distributed parameter modeling and boundary controller design. It presents theoretical explorations of several fundamental problems concerning the dynamics and control of these systems. By integrating fresh concepts and results to form a systematic approach to control, it also provides a basic theoretical framework.In turn, the book offers a comprehensive treatment of flexible manipulator systems, a...

Dynamics and Control of Mechanical Systems in Offshore Engineering is a comprehensive treatment of marine mechanical systems (MMS) involved in processes of great importance such as oil drilling and mineral recovery. Ranging from nonlinear dynamic modeling and stability analysis of flexible riser systems, through advanced control design for an installation system with a single rigid payload attached by thrusters, to robust adaptive control for mooring systems, it is an authoritativ...

This book presents theoretical explorations of several fundamental problems in the dynamics and control of flexible beam systems. By integrating fresh concepts and results to form a systematic approach to control, it establishes a basic theoretical framework. It includes typical control design examples verified using MATLAB simulation, which in turn illustrate the successful practical applications of active vibration control theory for flexible beam systems. The book is primarily intended ...

This book coins the term “Networked Public” to describe the active social actors in new media ecology. The author argues that, in today’s network society, Networked Public Communication is different than, yet has similarities with, mass communication and interpersonal communication. As such it is the emergent paradigm for research. The book reviews the historical, technological and social context for the rising of Networked Public, analyzes its constituents and characteristics, and discuss...

Contains a foreword by Jens Blauert!This book systematically details the basic principles and applications of head-related transfer function (HRTF) and virtual auditory display (VAD), and reviews the latest developments in the field, especially those from the author's own state-of-the-art research group. Head-Related Transfer Function and Virtual Auditory Display covers binaural hearing and the basic principles, experimental measurements, computation, physical characteristics analyses, fil...

Social media penetrate our lives: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and many other platforms define daily habits of communication and creative production. This book studies the rise of social media, providing both a historical and a critical analysis of the emergence of major platforms in the context of a rapidly changing ecosystem of connective media. Author Jose van Dijck offers an analytical prism that can be used to view techno-cultural as well as socio-economic aspects of this transformation...

Offering complete and comprehensive coverage of modern sonar spectrum system analysis, Underwater Acoustics: Analysis, Design and Performance of Sonar provides a state-of-the-art introduction to the subject and has been carefully structured to offer a much-needed update to the classic text by Urick. Expanded to included computational approaches to the topic, this book treads the line between the highly theoretical and mathematical texts and the more populist, non-mathematical book...