David Middleton

Deeply rooted in personal and regional history, David Middleton's The Fiddler of Driskill Hill celebrates a particular place and the universal human experience. While evoking distinctive Louisiana landscapes, both north and south, these poems address the great philosophical and theological questions of the ages. In the title poem, a mysterious fiddler climbs Driskill Hill -- the highest point of elevation in Louisiana -- under the cover of darkness to practice his craft: "I sing what is and ought to be / And will until I die: // For that's what bow and strings are for, / To raise things up in song / Between The Fall and Paradise / And urge the world along." Other poems contemplate loneliness and loss -- a father mourning the death of his ten-year-old daughter, a soldier's recollections of war, and a woman who, in bidding farewell to the only home she and her husband ever owned, says that she "Must walk one final time these rooms I share / With ghosts that speak and breathe in memory's breathless air." This collection reflects on the agrarian way of life, southern historical events, family, racial reconciliation, the relation between language and things, becoming and being a poet, and the experience of tragedy, death, and love.

Poems

The Fiddler of Driskill Hill

This IEEE Classic Reissue provides at an advanced level, a uniquely fundamental exposition of the applications of Statistical Communication Theory to a vast spectrum of important physical problems. Included are general analysis of signal detection, estimation, measurement, and related topics involving information transfer. Using the statistical Bayesian viewpoint, renowned author David Middleton employs statistical decision theory specifically tailored for the general tasks of signal processing. Dr. Middleton also provides a special focus on physical modeling of the canonical channel with real-world examples relating to radar, sonar, and general telecommunications. This book offers a detailed treatment and an array of problems and results spanning an exceptionally broad range of technical subjects in the communications field. Complete with special functions, integrals, solutions of integral equations, and an extensive, updated bibliography by chapter, An Introduction to Statistical Communication Theory is a seminal reference, particularly for anyone working in the field of communications, as well as in other areas of statistical physics. (Originally published in 1960.)

An IEEE Press Classic Reissue

An Introduction to Statistical Communication Theory

The book is based on the observation that communication is the central operation of discovery in all the sciences. In its "active mode" we use it to "interrogate" the physical world, sending appropriate "signals" and receiving nature's "reply". In the "passive mode" we receive nature's signals directly. Since we never know a prioriwhat particular return signal will be forthcoming, we must necessarily adopt a probabilistic model of communication. This has developed over the approximately seventy years since it's beginning, into a Statistical Communication Theory (or SCT). Here it is the set or ensemble of possible results which is meaningful. From this ensemble we attempt to construct in the appropriate model format, based on our understanding of the observed physical data and on the associated statistical mechanism, analytically represented by suitable probability measures. Since its inception in the late '30's of the last century, and in particular subsequent to World War II, SCT has grown into a major field of study. As we have noted above, SCT is applicable to all branches of science. The latter itself is inherently and ultimately probabilistic at all levels. Moreover, in the natural world there is always a random background "noise" as well as an inherent a priori uncertainty in the presentation of deterministic observations, i.e. those which are specifically obtained, a posteriori. The purpose of the book is to introduce Non-Gaussian statistical communication theory and demonstrate how the theory improves probabilistic model. The book was originally planed to include 24 chapters as seen in the table of preface. Dr. Middleton completed first 10 chapters prior to his passing in 2008. Bibliography which represents remaining chapters are put together by the author's close colleagues; Drs. Vincent Poor, Leon Cohen and John Anderson. email pressbooks@ieee.org to request Ch.10

Non-Gaussian Statistical Communication Theory

pt.1. First-order probability models of the instantaneous amplitude.--pt.2. First order probability models of the envelope and phase.

Statistical-physical Models of Man-made and Natural Radio Noise

Yrjo Engeström

This book brings together contributions from researchers within various social science disciplines who seek to redefine the methods and topics that constitute the study of work. They investigate work activity in ways that do not reduce it to a 'psychology' of individual cognition nor to a 'sociology' of societal structures and communication. A key theme in the material is the relationship between theory and practice. This is not an abstract problem of interest merely to social scientists. Rather, it is discussed as an issue that working people address when they attempt to understand a task and communicate its demands. Mindful practices and communicative interaction are examined as situated issues at work in the reproduction of communities of practice in a variety of settings including: courts of law, computer software design, the piloting of airliners, the coordination of air traffic control, and traffic management in underground railway systems.

Cognition and Communication at Work

As their argument unfolds, the authors reveal that memories do not solely reside in a linear passage of time, linking past, present and future, nor do they soley rest within the individual's conciousness, but that memory sits at the very heart of 'lived experience'; whether collective or individual, the vehicle for how we remember or forget is linked to social interaction, object interaction and the different durations of living that we all have. It is very much connected to the social psychology of experience.

Studies in Remembering and Forgetting

The Social Psychology of Experience

Steve D Brown

`A smart, thoughtful, and well-written book that takes social memory studies in a bold new direction and will attract an audience from across the social sciences for years to come' - Theory & Psychology What informs the process of remembering and forgetting? Is it merely about our capability to store and retrieve experiences in a purely functional sense? What about 'collective memories', not just those of the individual - how do these manifest themselves in the passages of time? The authors present a new, fascinating insight into the social psychology of experience drawing upon a number of classic works (particularly by Frederick Bartlett, Maurice Halbwachs & Henri Bergson) to help develop their argument. The significance of their ideas for developing a contemporary psychology of experience is illustrated with material from studies focused on settings at home and at work, in public and commercial organizations where remembering and forgetting are matters of concern, involving language and text based communication, objects and place. As their argument unfolds, the authors reveal that memories do not solely reside in a linear passage of time, linking past, present and future, nor do they solely rest within the indidvidual's conciousness, but that memory sits at the very heart of 'lived experience'; whether collective or individual, the vehicle for how we remember or forget is linked to social interaction, object interaction and the different durations of living that we all have. It is very much connected to the social psychology of experience. This book is written for advanced undergraduate, masters and doctoral students in social psychology. However, it will also be of particular value on courses that deal with conceptual and historical issues in psychology (in cognate disciplines as well) and supplmentary reading in cognitive science.

David Middleton

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