Modeling and Using Context

A practical and authoritative guide to conducting focus group discussions in health and social science research, with particular emphasis on using focus groups in developing country settings. Monique M. Hennink describes the procedures and challenges of each stage of international focus group research. This book demonstrates how to balance scientific rigour with the challenges of the research context, and guides readers to make informed research decisions. It includes unique field perspectives and case study examples of research in practice. Topics covered include: planning international field research; developing a fieldwork timetable and budget; seeking research permissions; translating research instruments; training a field team; developing a culturally appropriate discussion guide; participant recruitment strategies; conducting focus groups in another language; managing discussions in outdoor locations; group size and composition issues; transcription and translation of the group d

Prophetic words early in the millennium are updated in historical context of what has come to pass. The Lord is still calling His people to advance God's kingdom, using worship, prayer, and spiritual

Using data sets consisting of cross-sectional surveys drawn from nationally representative samples of adolescents in the US and official sources of crime statistics, a portrait of aggression and violence among adolescents is presented. Fluctuations in self-reported and official sources of data are examined by year, gender, grade, and race. Both distal and contemporary risk factors for aggression and violence are discussed. Distal risk factors for violence in adolescence are presented using longitudinal studies. The General Aggression Model provides the framework for exploring which contemporary personal and situational factors increase or decrease risk for aggression and violence. Dating aggression in adolescence is placed in the context of normal development and variable according to individual partner and relationship factors. This book presents rigorously tested scientific prevention programs for adolescents with violent and aggressive behavior.

Phase diagrams are used in materials research and engineering to understand the interrelationship between composition, microstructure and process conditions. In complex systems, computational methods such as CALPHAD are employed to model thermodynamic properties for each phase and simulate multicomponent phase behavior. Written by recognized experts in the field, this is an introductory guide to the CALPHAD method, providing a theoretical and practical approach. Building on core thermodynamic principles, this 2007 book applies crystallography, first principles methods and experimental data to computational phase behavior modeling using the CALPHAD method. With a chapter dedicated to creating thermodynamic databases, the reader will be confident in assessing, optimizing and validating complex thermodynamic systems alongside database construction and manipulation. Several case studies put the methods into a practical context, making this suitable for use on advanced materials design and

Using data sets consisting of cross-sectional surveys drawn from nationally representative samples of adolescents in the US and official sources of crime statistics, a portrait of aggression and violence among adolescents is presented. Fluctuations in self-reported and official sources of data are examined by year, gender, grade, and race. Both distal and contemporary risk factors for aggression and violence are discussed. Distal risk factors for violence in adolescence are presented using longitudinal studies. The General Aggression Model provides the framework for exploring which contemporary personal and situational factors increase or decrease risk for aggression and violence. Dating aggression in adolescence is placed in the context of normal development and variable according to individual partner and relationship factors. This book presents rigorously tested scientific prevention programs for adolescents with violent and aggressive behavior.

Using the unique Learners in Context framework, top literacy researcher Mark Conley sets the new standard for content area reading textbooks. This new and much-awaited text provides teachers with too

Since the days of Montesquieu and Jefferson, political decentralization has been seen as a force for better government and economic performance. It is thought to bring government 'closer to the people', nurture civic virtue, protect liberty, exploit local information, stimulate policy innovation, and alleviate ethnic tensions. Inspired by such arguments, and generously funded by the major development agencies, countries across the globe have been racing to devolve power to local governments. This book re-examines the arguments that underlie the modern faith in decentralization. Using logical analysis and formal modeling, and appealing to numerous examples, it shows that most are based on vague intuitions or partial views that do not withstand scrutiny. A review of empirical studies of decentralization finds these as inconclusive and mutually contradictory as the theories they set out to test.

Since the days of Montesquieu and Jefferson, political decentralization has been seen as a force for better government and economic performance. It is thought to bring government 'closer to the people', nurture civic virtue, protect liberty, exploit local information, stimulate policy innovation, and alleviate ethnic tensions. Inspired by such arguments, and generously funded by the major development agencies, countries across the globe have been racing to devolve power to local governments. This book re-examines the arguments that underlie the modern faith in decentralization. Using logical analysis and formal modeling, and appealing to numerous examples, it shows that most are based on vague intuitions or partial views that do not withstand scrutiny. A review of empirical studies of decentralization finds these as inconclusive and mutually contradictory as the theories they set out to test.

Model order reduction (MOR) techniques reduce the complexity of VLSI designs, paving the way to higher operating speeds and smaller feature sizes. This book presents a systematic introduction to, and treatment of, the key MOR methods employed in general linear circuits, using real-world examples to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each algorithm. Following a review of traditional projection-based techniques, coverage progresses to more advanced MOR methods for VLSI design, including HMOR, passive truncated balanced realization (TBR) methods, efficient inductance modeling via the VPEC model, and structure-preserving MOR techniques. Where possible, numerical methods are approached from the CAD engineer's perspective, avoiding complex mathematics and allowing the reader to take on real design problems and develop more effective tools. With practical examples and over 100 illustrations, this book is suitable for researchers and graduate students of electrical and computer eng

In this fascinating study, architect and Egyptologist Corinna Rossi analyses the relationship between mathematics and architecture in ancient Egypt by exploring the use of numbers and geometrical figures in ancient architectural projects and buildings. While previous architectural studies have searched for abstract 'universal rules' to explain the history of Egyptian architecture, Rossi attempts to reconcile the different approaches of archaeologists, architects and historians of mathematics into a single coherent picture. Using a study of a specific group of monuments, the pyramids, and placing them in the context of their cultural and historical background, Rossi argues that theory and practice of construction must be considered as a continuum, not as two separated fields, in order to allow the original planning process of a building to re-emerge. Highly illustrated with plans, diagrams and figures, this book is essential reading for all scholars of Ancient Egypt and the architecture

The Neuroscience of Psychological Therapies summarizes knowledge of brain function and brain behavior relationships within the context of psychotherapy implementation. It describes how specific locations in the brain carry out specific activities, how the different activities are combined to yield normal and pathological behavior, and how knowledge of brain activities can guide psychological assessment and intervention. Specific topics include the influence of neural networks on discovery and change, the therapist's neuroscience, communicating with patients using the brain as reference, and using neuroscience concepts to compare and integrate traditional schools of psychotherapy. Applying a neuroscience framework to conceptualization and treatment of depression is offered as an example, and specific issues associated with trauma and false memories are discussed. The book is aimed at anyone working within a psychotherapy framework and who wishes to discover more about brain function and

The field of cognitive modeling has progressed beyond modeling cognition in the context of simple laboratory tasks and begun to attack the problem of modeling it in more complex, realistic environment

Research Ethics in Exercise, Health and Sports Sciences puts ethics at the centre of research in these rapidly expanding fields of knowledge. Placing the issues in historical context, and using inform

Let this in-depth professional book be your guide to Blender, the powerful open-source 3D modeling and animation software that will bring your ideas to life. Using clear step-by-step instruction and p

This book explores contemporary maritime piracy in Southeast Asia, demonstrating the utility of using historical context in developing policy approaches that will address the roots of this resurgent p

This book examines several contentious and under-studied criminal career issues using one of the world's most important longitudinal studies, the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD), a longitudinal study of 411 South London boys followed in criminal records to age 40. The analysis reported in the book explores issues related to prevalence, offending frequency, specialization, onset sequences, co-offending, chronicity, career length, and trajectory estimation. The results of the study are considered in the context of developmental/life-course theories, and the authors outline an agenda for criminal career research generally, and within the context of the CSDD specifically.

This book examines several contentious and under-studied criminal career issues using one of the world's most important longitudinal studies, the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD), a longitudinal study of 411 South London boys followed in criminal records to age 40. The analysis reported in the book explores issues related to prevalence, offending frequency, specialization, onset sequences, co-offending, chronicity, career length, and trajectory estimation. The results of the study are considered in the context of developmental/life-course theories, and the authors outline an agenda for criminal career research generally, and within the context of the CSDD specifically.

In the sixteenth century the modern meaning of courtship - 'wooing someone' - developed from an older sense - 'being at court'. The Rhetoric of Courtship takes this semantic shift as the starting point for an incisive account of the practice and meanings of courtship at the court of Elizabeth I, where 'being at court' pre-eminently came to mean the same as 'wooing' the Queen. Exploring the wider context of social anthropology, philology, cultural and literary history, Catherine Bates presents courtship as a judicious, sensitive and rhetorically conscious understanding of public and private relations. Gascoigne, Lyly, Sidney, Leicester, Essex, and Spenser are shown to reflect in the fictional courtships of their poetry and prose the vulnerabilities of court life that were created by the system of patronage. The Rhetoric of Courtship thus makes an important contribution to Renaissance cultural history, using the court of Elizabeth I as a test case for representations of the courtier's ro

This book explores the revivals of Shakespeare's history plays during the Victorian period, as staged by the famous actor-manager Charles Kean. Between 1852 and 1859, Kean produced celebrated productions of Henry V, Henry VIII, King John, Macbeth and Richard II, renowned for their unprecendented attention to antiquarian detail in sets, costumes, and properties (many of which are shown in the book's illustrations). These productions provided audiences with an unparalleled opportunity to participate in the Victorian obsession with history, especially of the medieval period. Using valuable primary sources, including promptbooks, scenic designs, costume sketches and contemporary reviews, Richard Schoch places mid-Victorian attitudes towards the theatre in the context of major intellectual and political movements of the age. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of theatre history, Shakespeare studies and Victorian culture.

In this exploration of the social context of reading and writing in pre-industrial England, David Cressy tackles important questions about the limits of participation in the mainstream of early modern society. To what extent could people at different social levels share in political, religious, literary and cultural life; how vital was the ability to read and write; and how widely distributed were these skills? Using a combination of humanist and social-scientific methods, Dr Cressy provides a detailed reconstruction of the profile of literacy in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England, looking forward to the eighteenth century and also making comparisons with other European societies.

Adaptive signal processing (ASP) and iterative signal processing (ISP) are important techniques in improving receiver performance in communication systems. Using examples from practical transceiver designs, this 2006 book describes the fundamental theory and practical aspects of both methods, providing a link between the two where possible. The first two parts of the book deal with ASP and ISP respectively, each in the context of receiver design over intersymbol interference (ISI) channels. In the third part, the applications of ASP and ISP to receiver design in other interference-limited channels, including CDMA and MIMO, are considered; the author attempts to illustrate how the two techniques can be used to solve problems in channels that have inherent uncertainty. Containing illustrations and worked examples, this book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in electrical engineering, as well as practitioners in the telecommunications industry.

This study has a double focus: in the first place, it seeks to chart the parallel re-evaluation of both formalism and psychology in twentieth-century literary theory by using the work and career of the French literary critic, Charles Mauron (1899–1966) as a scaffolding. Using a structure of biography and literary history, it investigates Mauron's rather odd position, both inside and outside two different critical contexts, the French and the English, a position that makes his work a particularly revealing reflection of the diverse critical trends and tensions of our age. The second focus of this study is suggested in the tension in Mauron's work created by his need to objectivise the subjective. The recent conflicts between continental and British criticism or, more generally, between the new formalism (represented by structuralism and semiotics) and the liberal humanist tradition raise an important contemporary issue prefigured in Mauron. The broader context of his work is that of the

Path integrals provide a powerful method for describing quantum phenomena. This book introduces the quantum mechanics of particles that move in curved space by employing path integrals and then using them to compute anomalies in quantum field theories. The authors start by deriving path integrals for particles moving in curved space and their supersymmetric generalizations. They then discuss the regularization schemes essential to constructing and computing these path integrals. This topic is used to introduce regularization and renormalization in quantum field theories in a wider context. These methods are then applied to discuss and calculate anomalies in quantum field theory. Such anomalies provide enormous constraints in the search for physical theories of elementary particles, quantum gravity and string theories. An advanced text for researchers and graduate students of quantum field theory and string theory, the first part is also a stand-alone introduction to path integrals in q

By using social-psychological literature and sociological theory to examine infancy through later adulthood, this text challenges students to probe the larger social context when viewing the complexit

Most large herbivores require some type of management within their habitats. Some populations of large herbivores are at the brink of extinction, some are under discussion for reintroduction, whilst others already occur in dense populations causing conflicts with other land use. Large herbivores are the major drivers for forming the shape and function of terrestrial ecosystems. This 2006 book addresses the scientifically based action plans to manage both the large herbivore populations and their habitats worldwide. It covers the processes by which large herbivores not only affect their environment (e.g. grazing) but are affected by it (e.g. nutrient cycling) and the management strategies required. Also discussed are new modeling techniques, which help assess integration processes in a landscape context, as well as assessing the consequences of new developments in the processes of conservation. This book will be essential reading for all involved in the management of both large herbivor

Geographical Information Systems has moved from the domain of the computer specialist into the wider archaeological community, providing it with an exciting new research method. This clearly written but rigorous book provides a comprehensive guide to that use. Topics covered include: the theoretical context and the basics of GIS; data acquisition including database design; interpolation of elevation models; exploratory data analysis including spatial queries; statistical spatial analysis; map algebra; spatial operations including the calculation of slope and aspect, filtering and erosion modeling; methods for analysing regions; visibility analysis; network analysis including hydrological modeling; the production of high quality output for paper and electronic publication; and the use and production of metadata. Offering an extensive range of archaeological examples, it is an invaluable source of practical information for all archaeologists, whether engaged in cultural resource manageme

Primate and Human Evolution provides a synthesis of the evolution and adaptive significance of human anatomical, physiological and behavioral traits. Using paleontology and modern human variation and biology, it compares hominid traits to those of other catarrhine primates both living and extinct, presenting a new hominization model that does not depend solely on global climate change, but on predictable trends observed in catarrhines. Dealing with the origins of hominid tool use and tool manufacture, it compares tool behavior in other animals and incorporates information from the earliest archaeological record. Examining the use of non-human primates and other mammals in modeling the origins of early human social behavior, Susan Cachel argues that human intelligence does not arise from complex social interactions, but from attentiveness to the natural world. This book will be a rich source of inspiration for all those interested in the evolution of all primates, including ourselves.

Machine tools are vital to our industrial, metal-using society. This book is the first history of the British machine-tool industry during an important period of its development, a time when it played a crucial part in the transformation of the British economy. The author discusses the structure of the industry, its performance in international trade, and, through an analysis of the voluminous records of one firm, its efficiency and productivity. This discussion is placed within the wider context of current controversies about the behaviour of the British economy during the 'Great Depression' of the later nineteenth century, and its conclusions do not support pessimistic views of the performance of British industry. The book is also intended as a contribution to the explanation of the process of technological change, a problem of increasing interest to economists and economic historians.

When it was published in 1996 Bioarchaeology of Southeast Asia was the first book to examine the biology and lives of the prehistoric people of this region. Bringing together the most active researchers in late Pleistocene/Holocene Southeast Asian human osteology, the book deals with major approaches to studying human skeletal remains. Using analysis of the physical appearance of the region's past peoples, the first section explores issues such as the first inhabitants of the region, the evidence for subsequent migratory patterns (particularly between Southeast and Northeast Asia) and counter arguments centering on in situ microevolutionary change. This second section reconstructs the health of these people, in the context of major economic and demographic changes over time, including those caused by the adoption or intensification of agriculture. Written for archaeologists, bioarchaeologists and biological anthropologists, it is a fascinating insight into the bioarchaeology of this im

Charles Withers' book brings together work on the history of geography and the history of science with extensive archival analysis to explore how geographical knowledge has been used to shape an understanding of the nation. Using Scotland as an exemplar, the author places geographical knowledge in its wider intellectual context to afford insights into perspectives of empire, national identity and the geographies of science. In so doing, he advances a new area of geographical enquiry, the historical geography of geographical knowledge, and demonstrates how and why different forms of geographical knowledge have been used in the past to constitute national identity, and where those forms were constructed and received. The book will make an important contribution to the study of nationhood and empire and will therefore interest historians, as well as students of historical geography and historians of science. It is theoretically engaging, empirically rich and beautifully illustrated.

Using an unbiased, balanced approach, the 8th edition of this text puts religion in its social context by discussing the impact of society on religion while helpg readers understand the role and funct

Using oral histories with African American activists and community leaders, Kim Lacy Rogers explores the civil rights movement in several Mississippi communities in the context of the region's history

"This book provides an overview of why geography is important in the investigation of health, the importance of the main components of a GIS, how important neighborhood context is when using a GIS, an

Do you have data that is not normally distributed and don't know how to analyze it using generalized linear models (GLM)? Beginning with a discussion of fundamental statistical modeling concepts in a

Computer vision is a rapidly growing field which aims to make computers 'see' as effectively as humans. In this book Dr Shapiro presents a new computer vision framework for interpreting time-varying imagery. This is an important task, since movement reveals valuable information about the environment. The fully-automated system operates on long, monocular image sequences containing multiple, independently-moving objects, and demonstrates the practical feasibility of recovering scene structure and motion in a bottom-up fashion. Real and synthetic examples are given throughout, with particular emphasis on image coding applications. Novel theory is derived in the context of the affine camera, a generalisation of the familiar scaled orthographic model. Analysis proceeds by tracking 'corner features' through successive frames and grouping the resulting trajectories into rigid objects using new clustering and outlier rejection techniques. The three-dimensional motion parameters are then compu

This unique publication summarises fifty years of Russian research on shock compression of condensed matter using chemical and nuclear explosions. This information, and the equations of state derived from it, have important applications in physics, materials science and engineering. An introductory chapter describes the importance of Russian experiments in a global context. The second chapter describes the experimental devices used. Following chapters summarise the results of experiments on pure metals, metal alloys and compounds, minerals, rocks, organic solids and liquids. The book covers experiments with pressures ranging from 2.5 GPa to 1 TPa using chemical explosives in laboratory conditions and to 10 TPa in underground nuclear tests. Attention is given to theoretical aspects, experimental problems, and data analysis. The data in this book are quite unique as, with the cessation of large scale underground nuclear tests, it will be some time before similar pressures can be generate

This book presents studies of complexity in the context of nonequilibrium phenomena using theory, modeling, simulations, and experiments, both in the laboratory and in nature.

Language is a system of communication in which grammatical structures function to express meaning in context. While all languages can achieve the same basic communicative ends, they each use different means to achieve them, particularly in the divergent ways that syntax, semantics and pragmatics interact across languages. This book looks in detail at how structure, meaning, and communicative function interact in human languages. Working within the framework of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG), Van Valin proposes a set of rules, called the 'linking algorithm', which relates syntactic and semantic representations to each other, with discourse-pragmatics playing a role in the linking. Using this model, he discusses the full range of grammatical phenomena, including the structures of simple and complex sentences, verb and argument structure, voice, reflexivization and extraction restrictions. Clearly written and comprehensive, this book will be welcomed by all those working on the interfac

This book arises from an experience common to many behavioral professionals: Practitioners from different disciplines carrying out the same procedures using different language and labels, with no one

This is the first book presenting a stochastic extension of process algebra, PEPA; this is shown to be suitable for specifying a Markov process, which can then be applied to performance modelling. The method, which is illustrated with case studies taken from the area of communication systems, can readily be used to construct a variety of models that can be analysed using standard numerical techniques. One of the major advantages of PEPA over the standard methods for specifying stochastic performance models is the inherent apparatus for reasoning about the structure and behaviour of models. In the later chapters this apparatus is exploited to define four equivalence relations over PEPA components. Each of these notions of equivalence has intrinsic interest from a process algebra perspective. However, they are also demonstrated to be useful in a performance modelling context. To conclude the book, a section has been added surveying recent results in the area and discussing open questions