Beyond Redundancy

Introduces a revolutionary, quadratic-programming based approach to solving long-standing problems in motion planning and control of redundant manipulators This book describes a novel quadratic programming approach to solving redundancy resolutions problems with redundant manipulators. Known as ``QP-unified motion planning and control of redundant manipulators'' theory, it systematically solves difficult optimization problems of inequality-constrained motion planning and control of redundant manipulators that have plagued robotics engineers and systems designers for more than a quarter century. An example of redundancy resolution could involve a robotic limb with six joints, or degrees of freedom (DOFs), with which to position an object. As only five numbers are required to specify the position and orientation of the object, the robot can move with one remaining DOF through practically infinite poses while performing a specified task. In this case redundancy resolution refers to the process of choosing an optimal pose from among that infinite set. A critical issue in robotic systems control, the redundancy resolution problem has been widely studied for decades, and numerous solutions have been proposed. This book investigates various approaches to motion planning and control of redundant robot manipulators and describes the most successful strategy thus far developed for resolving redundancy resolution problems. Provides a fully connected, systematic, methodological, consecutive, and easy approach to solving redundancy resolution problems Describes a new approach to the time-varying Jacobian matrix pseudoinversion, applied to the redundant-manipulator kinematic control Introduces The QP-based unification of robots' redundancy resolution Illustrates the effectiveness of the methods presented using a large number of computer simulation results based on PUMA560, PA10, and planar robot manipulators Provides technical details for all schemes and solvers presented, for readers to adopt and customize them for specific industrial applications Robot Manipulator Redundancy Resolution is must-reading for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of robotics, mechatronics, mechanical engineering, tracking control, neural dynamics/neural networks, numerical algorithms, computation and optimization, simulation and modelling, analog, and digital circuits. It is also a valuable working resource for practicing robotics engineers and systems designers and industrial researchers.

Beyond Technology offers a challenging new analysis of learning, young people and digital media. Disputing both utopian fantasies about the transformation of education and exaggerated fears about the corruption of childhood innocence, it offers a level-headed analysis of the impact of these new media on learning, drawing on a wide range of critical research. Buckingham argues that there is now a growing divide between the media-rich world of childrens lives outside school and their experiences of technology in the classroom. Bridging this divide, he suggests, will require more than superficial attempts to import technology into schools, or to combine education with digital entertainment. While debunking such fantasies of technological change, Buckingham also provides a constructive alternative, arguing that young people need to be equipped with a new form of digital literacy that is both critical and creative. Beyond Technology will be essential reading for all students of the media or education, as well as for teachers and other education professionals.

Following a series of corporate scandals, legislators have company executives in their sights, and are arming themselves with ever-greater regulatory firepower. All agree that good governance is essential – but must not be allowed to stifle business performance. Beyond Governance develops the concept of Enterprise Governance, an emerging framework which unites Performance, Conformance and Corporate Responsibility and shows how addressing all of these areas in a concerted, coordinated fashion will deliver value to the organisation and its stakeholders. In particular, it focuses on the skills, processes and systems that are required to deliver excellence in each of these areas, giving readers a practical insight into the issues and an understanding of best practice in each area. Many firms are rethinking their finance activities in the light of e-commerce, shared service centres, business intelligence technology and cost pressures. Beyond Governance explores the challenge of building a modern, flexible finance function, describing the emerging role of the new CFO and how finance professionals should respond to this new business environment.

The second edition of Beyond Diagnosis is a fully updated and expanded examination of Vic Meyer’s pioneering case formulation approach and its application to cognitive behavioral therapy. Recommends dynamic, individualized assessment over standard diagnostic classification for complex individual problems Presents detailed analysis of advanced cases that are relevant for clinical practice Features a foreword by Ira Turkat, as well as discussion of the most up-to-date clinical procedures from a world-wide group of case formulation experts

Sharpen advising expertise by exploring critical issues affecting the field Beyond Foundations, a core resource for experienced academic advisors, gives practitioners insight into important issues affecting academic advising. In addition to gaining understanding of foundational concepts and pressing concerns, master advisors engage with case studies to clarify their roles as educators of students, as thought leaders in institutions, and as advocates for the profession. Pillar documents—the NACADA Core Values, NACADA Concept of Academic Advising, and CAS Standards—serve as sources of both information and inspiration for those seeking to improve advising. New strategies inform advisors helping a diverse student population delineate meaningful educational goals. Each chapter prompts productive discussions with fellow advisors interested in cultivating advising excellence. To promote advisor influence in higher education, experienced contributors explain new trends—including the impact of external forces and legal issues on postsecondary institutions—and the evolution of advising as a profession and a field of inquiry. Expert insight and practical focus contribute to the development of experienced advisors. Use existing resources in new ways to master advising roles and encourage student success Apply theory to advance advising practice Create and optimize professional development opportunities Establish recognition for the contributions of academic advisors to the institution and higher education Face challenges created by the changing higher education landscape Advisors must meet the expectations of students, parents, faculty members, administrators, and outside agencies, all while navigating an increasingly complex range of issues presented by a student population unlike any that has come before. Beyond Foundations provides the insight and clarity advisors need to help students achieve their educational goals and to advance the field.

This book explains the mechanisms that cause pain, the impact pain has on patients and their families, and the different approaches that can be used to help people with ongoing pain. The contributors are all leading nurse specialists in the field, and topics covered include the effects of nutrition on pain, massage, acupuncture and other complementary therapies, pain in older people and future developments. Learning points are included throughout the book.

Pierre Bourdieu is arguably the most influential sociologist of the twentieth century, especially since the once common criticisms of his determinism and reproductionism have receded. Now, however, his intellectual enterprise faces a new set of challenges unearthed by decades of sympathetic research: how to conceive the relationship between society and place, particularly in an increasingly global world; how to recognize the individual as a product of multiple forces and pressures; how to make sense of family relations and gender domination; and, ultimately, how to grasp how we each come to be the unique beings we are. This book tackles these challenges head on, starting from the philosophical core of Bourdieu's sociology and taking in hints and suggestions across his corpus, to propose a range of novel concepts and arguments. In the process it outlines a new way of looking at the world to complement Bourdieu's own – one in which the focus is on the multiple social structures shaping individuals' everyday lives, not the multiple individuals comprising a single social structure.