Title search results
Showing 1 - 20 of 973 items
Churchill's Navigator
By Air Commodore John Mitchell, Sean Feast. 2010
An RAF pilot who flew around the world with Winston Churchill during World War II tells his story. An…
RAF Volunteer Reserve officer, John Mitchell was mobilized on the outbreak of war—and just missed going to join a Battle Squadron in France where he would have undoubtedly been killed. Instead, he was posted to No. 58 Squadron flying Whitleys, surviving a tour of operations in 1940–41 that included ditching in the North Sea. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, he was sent to the US, becoming involved in the development of the first navigation training simulators with the famous Link Trainer factory. There, he was awarded the US Legion of Merit, signed by Harry S. Truman. Then, returning to the UK in 1942, he was personally selected to join the crew of Winston Churchill&’s private aircraft, one of the early prototype Avro Yorks called Ascalon. For two years he navigated Churchill to conferences around the world—from North Africa to Italy, the Middle East to Moscow, including the famous Teheran and Yalta conferences. He also flew &“General Lyon&” (aka His Majesty George VI) on several occasions. After the war, he enjoyed an eventful career as an air attaché, including an intelligence posting to Moscow, and was senior navigation officer for the long range exercises over the Pole in the converted Lincoln, Aries III. His is an exceptional story, told with wit and verve to military aviation historian Sean Feast, who adds authoritative and informed insights.Fuzzy Learning and Applications (International Series on Computational Intelligence)
By Marco Russo. 2000
With low computational complexity and relatively short development time, Fuzzy Logic is an indispensable tool for engineering applications. The field…
is growing at an unprecedented rate, and there is a need for a book that describes essential tools, applications, examples, and perspectives in the field of fuzzy learning. The editors of Fuzzy LearniResponsible Use of AI in Military Systems (Chapman & Hall/CRC Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Series)
By Jan Maarten Schraagen. 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely used in society today. The (mis)use of biased data sets in machine learning applications is…
well‑known, resulting in discrimination and exclusion of citizens. Another example is the use of non‑transparent algorithms that can’t explain themselves to users, resulting in the AI not being trusted and therefore not being used when it might be beneficial to use it.Responsible Use of AI in Military Systems lays out what is required to develop and use AI in military systems in a responsible manner. Current developments in the emerging field of Responsible AI as applied to military systems in general (not merely weapons systems) are discussed. The book takes a broad and transdisciplinary scope by including contributions from the fields of philosophy, law, human factors, AI, systems engineering, and policy development.Divided into five sections, Section I covers various practical models and approaches to implementing military AI responsibly; Section II focuses on liability and accountability of individuals and states; Section III deals with human control in human‑AI military teams; Section IV addresses policy aspects such as multilateral security negotiations; and Section V focuses on ‘autonomy’ and ‘meaningful human control’ in weapons systems.Key Features: Takes a broad transdisciplinary approach to responsible AI Examines military systems in the broad sense of the word Focuses on the practical development and use of responsible AI Presents a coherent set of chapters, as all authors spent two days discussing each other’s work This book provides the reader with a broad overview of all relevant aspects involved with the responsible development, deployment and use of AI in military systems. It stresses both the advantages of AI as well as the potential downsides of including AI in military systems.Learn R: As a Language (Chapman & Hall/CRC The R Series)
By Pedro J. Aphalo. 2024
Learning a computer language like R can be either frustrating, fun or boring. Having fun requires challenges that wake up…
the learner’s curiosity but also provide an emotional reward for overcoming them. The book is designed so that it includes smaller and bigger challenges, in what I call playgrounds, in the hope that all readers will enjoy their path to R fluency. Fluency in the use of a language is a skill that is acquired through practice and exploration. For students and professionals in the biological sciences, humanities and many applied fields, recognizing the parallels between R and natural languages should help them feel at home with R. The approach I use is similar to that of a travel guide, encouraging exploration and describing the available alternatives and how to reach them. The intention is to guide the reader through the R landscape of 2024 and beyond.What is new in the second edition? Text expanded by more than 25% to include additional R features and gentler and more detailed explanations Contains 24 new diagrams and flowcharts, seven new tables, and revised text and code examples for clarity All three indexes were expanded, and answers to 28 frequently asked questions added What will you find in this book? Programming concepts explained as they apply to current R Emphasis on the role of abstractions in programming Few prescriptive rules—mostly the author’s preferences together with alternatives Presentation of the R language emphasizing the “R way of doing things” Tutoring for “programming in the small” using scripts for data analysis Explanation of the differences between R proper and extensions for data wrangling The grammar of graphics is described as a language for the construction of data visualisations Examples of data exchange between R and the foreign world using common file formats Coaching to become an independent R user, capable of writing original scripts and solving future challengesBuilding China into a Cyber Superpower: Desires, Drivers, and Devices
By Munish Sharma. 2024
This book provides a comprehensive look into China’s emerging cyberspace strategy. It highlights the prime drivers of China’s desire to…
be a cyber superpower and discusses the ways in which China is turning resources into cyber power.The book analyses China’s domestic cyber policy initiatives, strategy documents, censorship measures, and the rationale behind its strong advocacy for sovereignty in cyberspace. It examines China’s position on the prominent issues of cyberspace governance, norms and security in cyberspace, and key diplomatic initiatives. The book also discusses next-generation networks, artificial intelligence, quantum information sciences, and cyber warfare.An important contribution to the study of China’s cyber policy, the book will be of interest to students and researchers of international relations,Chinese digitalisation, security studies, Chinese politics, international security, Chinese foreign policy, and Chinese economy. It will also be useful to the policymakers and corporate professionals engaged with China’s digital sphere.Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography
By Billy Connolly. 2021
In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting…
life.Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of 4, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds.Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart.As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness too. His startling, hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his appeal.It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50 years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings... and writing.Windswept and Interesting is Billy's story in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend.'I didn't know I was Windswept and Interesting until somebody told me. It was a friend who was startlingly exotic himself. He'd just come back from Kashmir and was all billowy shirt and Indian beads. I had long hair and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue flairs.He said: "Look at you - all windswept and interesting!"I just said: "Exactly!"After that, I simply had to maintain my reputation...'Transformative Artificial Intelligence provides a comprehensive overview of the latest trends, challenges, applications, and opportunities in the field of Artificial…
Intelligence. The book covers the state of the art in AI research, including machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics, and explores how these technologies are transforming various industries and domains, such as healthcare, finance, education, and entertainment.The book also addresses the challenges that come with the widespread adoption of AI, including ethical concerns, bias, and the impact on jobs and society. It provides insights into how to mitigate these challenges and how to design AI systems that are responsible, transparent, and trustworthy.The book offers a forward-looking perspective on the future of AI, exploring the emerging trends and applications that are likely to shape the next decade of AI innovation. It also provides practical guidance for businesses and individuals on how to leverage the power of AI to create new products, services, and opportunities.Overall, the book is an essential read for anyone who wants to stay ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving field of Artificial Intelligence and understand the impact that this transformative technology will have on our lives in the coming years.Advancement of Data Processing Methods for Artificial and Computing Intelligence (River Publishers Series in Computing and Information Science and Technology)
By Seema Rawat, V. Ajantha Devi, Praveen Kumar. 2024
This book emphasizes the applications of advances in data processing methods for Artificial Intelligence in today's fast-changing world, as well…
as to serve society through research, innovation, and development in this field. This book is applicable to a wide range of data that contribute to data science concerns and can be used to promote research in this high-potential new field. People's perceptions of the world and how they conduct their lives have changed dramatically as a result of technological advancements. The world has been gripped by technology, and the advances that are being made every day are undeniably transforming the planet. In the domains of Big Data, engineering, and data science, this cutting-edge technology is ready to support us.Artificial intelligence (AI) is a current research topic because it can be applied to a wide range of applications and disciplines to solve complicated problems and find optimal solutions. In research, medicine, technology, and the social sciences, the benefits of AI have already been proven. Data science, also known as pattern analytics and mining, is a technique for extracting useful and relevant information from databases, enabling better decision-making and strategy formulation in a range of fields. As a result of the exponential growth of data in recent years, the combined notions of big data and AI have given rise to many study areas, such as scale-up behaviour from classical algorithms. Furthermore, combining numerous AI technologies from other areas (such as vision, security, control, and biology) in order to build efficient and durable systems that interact in the real world is a new problem. Despite recent improvements in fundamental AI technologies, the integration of these skills into larger, trustworthy, transparent, and maintainable systems is still in its development. Both conceptually and practically, there are a number of unanswered issues.Model-Driven Software Systems Development Using the Meta-Artifact Process
By Wayne O'Brien. 2024
The importance of architecture for software systems is widely accepted, but the role of architecture in the overall development process…
is not so clear. Presenting an architecture-centric process, Model-Driven Software Systems Development Using the Meta-Artifact Process makes the role of architecture clear. At its core, this book is about developing software systems and, more specifically, software code. It describes three major innovations for making software, which are combined with five widely used enabling technologies, to provide a complete, hypothesis-driven software development process known as Meta-Artifact Process (MAP). Having complete requirements is essential for making good software and supports the hypothesis-driven MAP.MAP offers properties, qualities, and capabilities that help stakeholders and developers understand and reason about a domain and target systems of interest. MAP, through the central role of the Meta-Artifact and incorporating the view that a computer program is a hypothesis about the requirements, offers new ways to look at systems and their development, even changing the roles of developers and stakeholders.Recommending agile methods wherever appropriate while supporting the OMG Essence standard and working within an overarching architecture, MAP presents ways to ensure that the requirements are complete and correct. It helps to identify likely points during development to form alternative hypotheses about them. Because MAP requires an underlying software development process, it can provide that clarity to existing processes in which the organization’s developers are already proficient.This book provides concrete examples from two broad but diverse areas—Accounting Information Systems in the commercial area and a military command and control system—to show the wide applicability of MAP in both commercial and defense domains.This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Music, Sound, Art and Design,…
EvoMUSART 2024, held as part of EvoStar 2024, in Aberystwyth, UK, April 3–5, 2024. The 17 full papers and 8 short papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 55 submissions. The main purpose of this conference proceedings was to bring together practitioners who are using Artificial Intelligence techniques for artistic tasks, providing the opportunity to promote, present, and discuss ongoing work in the area.Girls Like Us
By Rachel Lloyd. 2011
"Powerfully raw, deeply moving, and utterly authentic. Rachel Lloyd has turned a personal atrocity into triumph and is nothing less…
than a true hero.... Never again will you look at young girls on the street as one of 'those' women—you will only see little girls that are girls just like us." —Demi Moore, actress and activist With the power and verity of First They Killed My Father and A Long Way Gone, Rachel Lloyd’s riveting survivor story is the true tale of her hard-won escape from the commercial sex industry and her bold founding of GEMS, New York City’s Girls Education and Mentoring Service, to help countless other young girls escape "the life." Lloyd’s unflinchingly honest memoir is a powerful and unforgettable story of inhuman abuse, enduring hope, and the promise of redemption.Yes Sister, No Sister: My Life as a Trainee Nurse in 1950s Yorkshire
By Jennifer Craig. 2011
'What is your name?' she asks, staring at me.'Jennifer Ross.''Jennifer Ross, Sister. Well, Nurse Ross, you are dressed in the…
uniform of a nurse from the Leeds General Infirmary. Such a uniform is not worn with a cardigan. Take it off at once.''Yes Sister.' I can feel my face turn red.A trainee nurse in the 1950s had a lot to bear. In Jennifer Craig's enchanting memoir, we meet these warm-hearted yet naïve young girls as they get to grips with strict discipline, long hours and bodily fluids. But we also see the camaraderie that develops in evening study sessions, sneaked trips to the cinema and mischievous escapades with the young trainee doctors. The harsh conditions prove too much for some girls, but the opportunity to help her patients in their time of need is too much of a pull for Jenny. As she commits to her vocation and knuckles down to her exams, she is determined that when she reaches the heights of Ward Sister herself she will not become the frightening matron that struck fear into her student heart ...Rich in period detail, and told with a good dose of Yorkshire humour, Yes Sister, No Sister is a life-affirming true story of a life long past.Yeah, But Where Are You Really From?: A story of overcoming the odds
By Marguerite Penrose. 2022
'An engrossing, urgent, and entertaining read. I couldn't put it down' Roddy Doyle______Marguerite Penrose's is an extraordinary story of making…
a great life from complicated beginnings. Marguerite was born in a Dublin mother-and-baby home in 1974, the daughter of an Irish mother and a Zambian father. Severe scoliosis indicated a future of difficult medical procedures. She was a little girl who needed a break. And she got it at three when she was fostered - and later adopted - by a young couple, Mick and Noeline, and acquired a mam, dad, sister, Ciara, and loving extended family. Growing up, Marguerite's appearance was occasionally remarked on by strangers, but it wasn't until her teens that she understood that her skin colour was a provocation for some. The progressive city that she knew was revealed to have an unpleasant undercurrent. So, she became an expert in shaping her life around anything that marked her out as 'different'.Marguerite's story is one of facing some big questions - Who am I? How do I live in world made for people with bodies different to mine? Why does anyone care about my skin colour? - with intelligence, humour, courage and common-sense. She writes about coming to terms with the circumstances of her birth and, like so many in her position, looking for answers. About navigating the world as an active woman with a disability. About what it means to be both Irish and Black, particularly at a moment when the conversation is becoming mainstream in Ireland and she is thinking about it in new ways herself. Mostly, she writes about embracing life in a spirit of openness and positivity.Yeah, But Where Are You Really From? is a captivating, wise and inspiring memoir by a truly remarkable woman.___________'Beautiful, moving, tender and informative' SINÉAD MORIARTY'Wonderful' MIRIAM O'CALLAGHANWork Remotely (Penguin Business Experts Series)
By Anastasia Tohmé, Martin Worner. 2021
Remote working makes us happier, more productive and more profitable, but it can bring its own set of challenges. How…
do we manage our work-life balance; communicate and collaborate effectively as teams; and ensure our technology is efficient?In Work Remotely, Penguin Business Experts Anastasia Tohmé and Martin Worner explain everything you need to know:- Set your own targets and monitor productivity- Establish boundaries between working hours and free time- Manage effective communication and decision-making at a distanceIncluding case studies from the companies around the world who are innovating and revolutionizing the way we work, Work Remotely shares useful advice and practical tips to ensure you get the most out of working away from the office environment.If there's one thing that everyone has an opinion about it's how to bring up a child - especially your…
child. Kate Konopicky found herself an embattled mother, knowing that however hard she worked everything was wrong. If she went back to full-time employment she was neglecting her child. If she stayed at home the child would be clingy and shy. So, she became a combination of teacher, nurse, nutritionist, psychologist, entertainer and mind reader. She didn't get weekends off and never phoned in sick when she wanted a lie-in. The boss was illogical, demanding, incapable of undertaking the simplest task. Yes, we've all had jobs like that but at least we got paid for them. Kate Konopicky is an anarchic voice in the face of regimented parenting books. With brilliant humour, she'll make you believe you're not a failure when your fairy cakes don't rise, and you'll slowly come to realise that you may not be perfect but that you are doing your best.'A wildly irreverent look at the parenting game. This riotous look back over her first five years of motherhood will come as a relief to imperfect parents everywhere - in other words, to all parents.' You MagazineThe Wilderness Family
By Kobie Kruger. 2001
When Kobie Krüger, her game-ranger husband and their three young daughters moved to one of the most isolated corners of…
the world - a remote ranger station in the Mahlangeni region of South Africa's vast Kruger National Park - she might have worried that she would become engulfed with loneliness and boredom. Yet, for Kobie and her family, the seventeen years spent in this spectacularly beautiful park proved to be the most magical - and occasionally the most hair-raising - of their lives.Kobie recounts their enchanting adventures and extraordinary experiences in this vast reserve - a place where, bathed in golden sunlight, hippos basked in the glittering waters of the Letaba River, storks and herons perched along the shoreline, and fruit bats hung in the sausage trees.But as the Krugers settled in, they discovered that not all was peace and harmony. They soon became accustomed to living with the unexpected: the sneaky hyenas who stole blankets and cooking pots, the sinister-looking pythons that slithered into the house, and the usually placid elephants who grew foul-tempered in the violent heat of the summer. And one terrible day, a lion attacked Kobus in the bush and nearly killed him.Yet nothing prepared the Krugers for their greatest adventure of all, the raising of an orphaned prince, a lion cub who, when they found him, was only a few days old and on the verge of death. Reared on a cocktail of love and bottles of fat-enriched milk, Leo soon became an affectionate, rambunctious and adored member of the fmaily. It is the rearing of this young king, and the hilarious endeavours to teach him to become a 'real' lion who could survive with his own kind in the wild, that lie at the heart of this endearing memoir. It is a memoir of a magical place and time that can never be recaptured.Whispering Back: Tales From A Stable in the English Countryside
By Adam Goodfellow, Nicole Golding. 2003
Adam Goodfellow and Nicole Golding run a stable in the Cotswolds and specialise in curing problem horses. It's never an…
easy task, and often requires changing the habits of the owner as much as the horse. The pair have travelled a long way to get where they are today - but they've been united by a common passion. After a chance meeting with Monty Roberts, they gave up everything to live out their dreams and show that it's possible for ordinary people to become 'horse whisperers'. Their world is extraordinary, particularly through their unusual methods of teaching, and as you meet the cast of characters, both animals and humans, that surround them, you'll find it impossible not to be won over by their life.Where Have I Gone?
By Pauline Quirke. 2012
Pauline Quirke was a skinny child, a slim teenager, a curvy woman, then - according to her bathroom scales (curse…
them) - just plain fat. Yes, the 'F' word. Tipping the scales at nearly 20 stone, with creaking knees and a dodgy ankle to boot, at the beginning of 2011 Pauline had reached a crisis point. Something had to change, and fast. It was never going to be an easy ride, but with her trademark warmth and sense of humour, Pauline recounts the highs and lows of the rollercoaster year in which she whips herself, and her life, into shape - with a fair few tales from her celebrated forty-year acting career thrown into the bargain. She reveals all: from the strain of working long hours away from home on one of Britain's most popular soaps to renewing her wedding vows and reuniting with her Birds of a Feather co-stars; from battling the bulge and facing the naysayers to rediscovering the joys of airline travel . . . without a seatbelt extension.Honest and revealing, Where Have I Gone? is brimming with brilliantly funny anecdotes and truly moving moments. So put your feet up and join Pauline as she embarks on the most incredible year of her life.The Villain: The Life of Don Whillans
By Jim Perrin. 2005
Don Whillans has an iconic significance for generations of climbers. His epoch-making first ascent of Annapurna's South Face, achieved with…
Dougal Haston in 1970, remains one of the most impressive climbs ever made - but behind this and all his other formidable achievements lies a tough, recalcitrant reality: the character of the man himself.Whillans carried within himself a sense of personal invincibility, forceful, direct and uncompromising. It gave him sporting superstar status - the flawed heroism of a Best, a McEnroe, an Ali. In his own circle, his image was the working-class hero on the rock-face, laconic and bellicose, ready to go to war with the elements or with any human who crossed his path on a bad day.Whatever Happened to Margo?
By Margaret Durrell. 1995
In 1947, returning to the UK with two young children to support, Margaret Durrell starts a boarding house in Bournemouth.…
But any hopes of respectability are dashed as the tenants reveal themselves to be a host of eccentrics: from a painter of nudes to a pair of glamorous young nurses whose late-night shifts combined with an ever-revolving roster of gentleman callers leading to a neighbourhood rumour that Margo is running a brothel. Margo's own two sons, Gerry and Nicholas, prove to be every bit as mischievous as their famous Uncle Gerald - and he himself returns periodically with weird and wonderful animals, from marmosets to monkeys, that are quite unsuitable for life in a Bournemouth garden.