This class examines the relationship between a number of mind-altering substances and cultural processes. We look at the relationship between drugs and such phenomena as poverty, religion, technology, inter-generational conflict, colonialism, and global capitalism. We read about the physiological and psychological effects of these substances – ranging from alcohol to LSD, cocaine and ecstasy – and ask why different societies prohibit and sanction different drugs. We examine the use of mind-altering substances in a number of “traditional” societies, and follow the development of a global trade in such substances as sugar, coffee, tea, nicotine, cocaine, and marijuana concurrent with the evolution of global capitalism. We look at the use of LSD as a mind-control substance by the CIA and as a mind-altering substance in the 1960’s counter-culture, and we look at the rise of Prozac® and Viagra® as popular, if controversial, pharmaceutical products in recent years. Finally, we evaluate America’s current drug laws.

This class is a multidisciplinary introduction to pharmacology, neurotransmitters, drug mechanisms, and brain diseases from addiction to schizophrenia.
From Abilify® to Zyrtec®, the world is full of fascinating drugs. If you are poisoned by sarin nerve gas, you may be able to save your life by huffing some BZ nerve gas. This class will explain that chemical curiosity, along with a host of other interesting tidbits of pharmacology. The structure of the class interleaves basic concepts with specific examples and entertaining tangents, so it is not loaded with boring abstract theory. In the first class you will learn what a neurotransmitter is, and you will immediately apply that knowledge when we discuss the mechanism of caffeine. The class is highly multidisciplinary, including topics such as patent law, medical ethics, history, and the physics of crack pipes.

The Course book presents the basics of drugs quality control in accordance with regulatory documents (pharmacopoeia of Europe, USA, Japan, Russia) and new data from current scientific periodicals, monographs The features of the physical, spectral and chemical quality control of medicines according to the indicators «identification», «tests» and «assay» are described in detail. Part II presents a workbook, which includes questions for the self-control of the material studied and tasks for a laboratory workshop. The Course book contains reference material and samples of pharmacopoeial articles. The Course book is designed for students of the specialty «Pharmacy».

What is this book? This book is designed as a quick introduction to authoring metadata using basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative.

L’énergie solaire au Sénégal : un droit, des droits, une histoire

Long Description:
L’énergie solaire est une promesse de développement et de prospérité pour l’Afrique. Elle a été annoncée et expérimentée sur le continent dans un esprit de science ouverte et de « communs » technologiques et énergétiques il y a déjà près de soixante ans. Séchoirs et chauffe-eaux, pompes solaires et centrales électriques thermodynamiques : des pionniers ont développé et installé, dès la fin des années 1950, des techniques et des matériels en Afrique de l’Ouest et en particulier au Sénégal.

Le présent ouvrage, issu de deux journées d’études organisées à Dakar en mai 2016, rend compte pour la première fois, de manière particulièrement symbolique, de cette histoire et du futur de l’énergie solaire en Afrique. Il rassemble, dans une première partie, des témoignages d’acteurs et une mise en perspective sociohistorique large des politiques de l’énergie solaire en Afrique de l’Ouest sur un demi-siècle. Ce regard est complété par la réédition d’un texte de référence du professeur Abdou Moumouni Dioffo, pionnier nigérien de l’énergie solaire dès 1964.

Dans une seconde partie, cet ouvrage interroge également les prolongements actuels de l’énergie solaire en France et au Sénégal, en particulier son encadrement juridique et réglementaire. L’énergie solaire peut-elle ou doit-elle être considérée comme un « commun » ou un droit humain fondamental? Quels sont aujourd’hui les droits associés à l’énergie solaire au Sénégal? Quels enseignements tirer d’une comparaison avec le corpus juridique en la matière tel qu’il existe en France?

Associant juristes français et sénégalais, et spécialistes de la sociologie et des politiques de l’énergie, cet ouvrage se veut au final une invitation et un outil pour poursuivre les recherches sur l’histoire et le droit de l’énergie solaire en Afrique.

(Compléments vidéos, entretiens et témoignages sur le blog de recherche : https://afrisol.hypotheses.org)

Word Count: 96883

ISBN: 978-2-924661-34-5

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

The unifying theme of this course is best captured by the title of our main reference book: “Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics”. We start by covering deterministic and stochastic dynamic optimization using dynamic programming analysis. We then study the properties of the resulting dynamic systems. Finally, we will go over a recursive method for repeated games that has proven useful in contract theory and macroeconomics. We shall stress applications and examples of all these techniques throughout the course.

This course focuses on dynamic optimization methods, both in discrete and in continuous time. We approach these problems from a dynamic programming and optimal control perspective. We also study the dynamic systems that come from the solutions to these problems. The course will illustrate how these techniques are useful in various applications, drawing on many economic examples. However, the focus will remain on gaining a general command of the tools so that they can be applied later in other classes.

The course covers the basic models and solution techniques for problems of sequential decision making under uncertainty (stochastic control). We will consider optimal control of a dynamical system over both a finite and an infinite number of stages. This includes systems with finite or infinite state spaces, as well as perfectly or imperfectly observed systems. We will also discuss approximation methods for problems involving large state spaces. Applications of dynamic programming in a variety of fields will be covered in recitations.

The course addresses dynamic systems, i.e., systems that evolve with time. Typically these systems have inputs and outputs; it is of interest to understand how the input affects the output (or, vice-versa, what inputs should be given to generate a desired output). In particular, we will concentrate on systems that can be modeled by Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs), and that satisfy certain linearity and time-invariance conditions.
We will analyze the response of these systems to inputs and initial conditions. It is of particular interest to analyze systems obtained as interconnections (e.g., feedback) of two or more other systems. We will learn how to design (control) systems that ensure desirable properties (e.g., stability, performance) of the interconnection with a given dynamic system.

This book is a follow-up on Adjustment theory. It extends the theory to the case of time-varying parameters with an emphasis on their recursive determination. Least-squares estimation will be the leading principle used. A least-squares solution is said to be recursive when the method of computation enables sequential, rather than batch, processing of the measurement data. The recursive equations enable the updating of parameter estimates for new observations without the need to store all past observations. Methods of recursive least-squares estimation are therefore particularly useful for applications in which the time-varying parameters need to be instantly determined. Important examples of such applications can be found in the fields of real-time kinematic positioning, navigation and guidance, or multivariate time series analysis. The goal of this book is therefore to convey the necessary knowledge to be able to process sequentially collected measurements for the purpose of estimating time-varying parameters.

When determining time-varying parameters from sequentially collected measurement data, one can discriminate between three types of estimation problems: filtering, prediction and smoothing. Filtering aims at the determination of current parameter values, while smoothing and prediction aim at the determination of respectively past and future parameter values. The emphasis in this book will be on recursive least-squares filtering. The theory is worked out for the important case of linear(ized) models. The measurement-update and time-update equations of recursive least-squares are discussed in detail. Models with sequentially collected data, but time-invariant parameters are treated first.

In this case only the measurement-update equations apply. State-space models for dynamic systems are discussed so as to include time-varying parameters. This includes their linearization and the construction of the state transition matrix. Elements from the theory of random functions are used to describe the propagation laws for linear dynamic systems. The theory is illustrated by means of many worked out examples. They are drawn from applications such as kinematic positioning, satellite orbit determination and inertial navigation.

This course covers the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics, including kinematics, motion relative to accelerated reference frames, work and energy, impulse and momentum, 2D and 3D rigid body dynamics. The course pays special attention to applications in aerospace engineering including introductory topics in orbital mechanics, flight dynamics, inertial navigation and attitude dynamics. By the end of the semester, students should be able to construct idealized (particle and rigid body) dynamical models and predict model response to applied forces using Newtonian mechanics.

This course reviews momentum and energy principles, and then covers the following topics: Hamilton’s principle and Lagrange’s equations; three-dimensional kinematics and dynamics of rigid bodies; steady motions and small deviations therefrom, gyroscopic effects, and causes of instability; free and forced vibrations of lumped-parameter and continuous systems; nonlinear oscillations and the phase plane; nonholonomic systems; and an introduction to wave propagation in continuous systems.
This course was originally developed by Professor T. Akylas.

Introduction to the dynamics and vibrations of lumped-parameter models of mechanical systems. Kinematics. Force-momentum formulation for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion. Work-energy concepts. Virtual displacements and virtual work. Lagrange’s equations for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion. Linearization of equations of motion. Linear stability analysis of mechanical systems. Free and forced vibration of linear multi-degree of freedom models of mechanical systems; matrix eigenvalue problems. Introduction to numerical methods and MATLAB® to solve dynamics and vibrations problems.

This class is an introduction to the dynamics and vibrations of lumped-parameter models of mechanical systems. Topics include kinematics; force-momentum formulation for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion; work-energy concepts; virtual displacements and virtual work; Lagrange’s equations for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion; linearization of equations of motion; linear stability analysis of mechanical systems; free and forced vibration of linear multi-degree of freedom models of mechanical systems; and matrix eigenvalue problems. The class includes an introduction to numerical methods and using MATLAB® to solve dynamics and vibrations problems.
This version of the class stresses kinematics and builds around a strict but powerful approach to kinematic formulation which is different from the approach presented in Spring 2007. Our notation was adapted from that of Professor Kane of Stanford University.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Create lumped parameter models (expressed as ODEs) of simple dynamic systems in the electrical and mechanical energy domains
Make quantitative estimates of model parameters from experimental measurements
Obtain the time-domain response of linear systems to initial conditions and/or common forcing functions (specifically; impulse, step and ramp input) by both analytical and computational methods
Obtain the frequency-domain response of linear systems to sinusoidal inputs
Compensate the transient response of dynamic systems using feedback techniques
Design, implement and test an active control system to achieve a desired performance measure

Mastery of these topics will be assessed via homework, quizzes/exams, and lab assignments.

Introduction to dynamics and vibration of lumped-parameter models of mechanical systems. Three-dimensional particle kinematics. Force-momentum formulation for systems of particles and for rigid bodies (direct method). Newton-Euler equations. Work-energy (variational) formulation for systems particles and for rigid bodies (indirect method). Virtual displacements and work. Lagrange’s equations for systems of particles and for rigid bodies. Linearization of equations of motion. Linear stability analysis of mechanical systems. Free and forced vibration of linear damped lumped parameter multi-degree of freedom models of mechanical systems. Application to the design of ocean and civil engineering structures such as tension leg platforms.
This subject was originally offered in Course 13 (Department of Ocean Engineering) as 13.013J. In 2005, ocean engineering became part of Course 2 (Department of Mechanical Engineering), and this subject merged with 2.003.

These dynamics course notes were authored by Dr. Elizabeth Croft (currently at Monash University (elizabeth.croft@monash.edu) in 2004, and converted for open licensing (including figure creation) in 2019 by Dr. Agnes d'Entremont (adentremont@mech.ubc.ca) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (https://mech.ubc.ca).

The notes (are designed to be used for a second-year dynamics course in Mechanical Engineering, and cover planar rigid-body dynamics and an introduction to one degree-of-freedom vibrations. The order of topics has vibrations earlier in the series than typical, due to their use in an integrated course. This order matches the course timing of related ordinary differential equation solutions in the integrated mathematics and electric circuits courses.

These notes are intended to be skeleton notes, with substantial portions (diagrams, derivations, solutions) written in by students along with their instructor. Completed notes are included. PDF notes plus original LaTeX code and editable images (Powerpoint) are available at the link.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

In this class we will critically review both classical works and recent literature on complexity in ecology. The emphasis will be on developing quantitative theories in the context of experimental and observational data. We will meet twice weekly for roundtable discussions.

In this class we will critically review both classical works and recent literature on ecological theory. Emphasis will be on providing a theoretical and phenomenological foundation for the study of computational models. We will meet twice weekly for roundtable discussions.