Smart Ball

Smart Ball follows Major League Baseball's history as a sport, a domestic monopoly, a neocolonial power, and an international business. MLB's challenge has been to market its popular mythology as the national pastime with pastoral, populist roots while addressing the management challenges of competing with other sports and diversions in a burgeoning global economy. Baseball researcher Robert F. Lewis II argues that MLB for years abused its legal insulation and monopoly status through arrogant treatment of its fans and players and static management of its business. As its privileged position eroded eroded in the face of increased competition from other sports and union resistance, it awakened to its perilous predicament and began aggressively courting athletes and fans at home and abroad. Using a detailed marketing analysis and applying the principles of a "smart power" model, the author assesses MLB's progression as a global business brand that continues to appeal to a consumer's sense of an idyllic past in the midst of a fast-paced, and often violent, present.

The book is about user interfaces to applications that have been designed for social and physical interaction. The interfaces are ‘playful’, that is, users feel challenged to engage in social and physical interaction because that will be fun. The topics that will be present in this book are interactive playgrounds, urban games using mobiles, sensor-equipped environments for playing, child-computer interaction, tangible game interfaces, interactive tabletop technology and applications, full-body interaction, exertion games, persuasion, engagement, evaluation and user experience. Readers of the book will not only get a survey of state-of-the-art research in these areas, but the chapters in this book will also provide a vision of the future where playful interfaces will be ubiquitous, that is, present and integrated in home, office, recreational, sports and urban environments, emphasizing that in the future in these environments game elements will be integrated and welcomed.

This book highlights the state-of-the-art with regard to inline pipe investigation and structural health monitoring of pipes. The book begins with applications of pipe inspection robots, and goes on to discuss. robots that are developed for a mobile platform, various sensors employed to sense defects, and different data storage/communication systems employed for damage prognosis. The book also introduces smart materials and smart sensors for use in pipe inspection robots. The contents of this book will be useful to researchers and professionals alike. The structure of the book enables its use as a text in professional training and development coursework.

"'Dominion' is an ecological-dystopian-police procdedural adventure/comedy"--Back cover

The application of technology in classroom settings has equipped educators with innovative tools and techniques for effective teaching practice. Integrating digital technologies at the elementary and secondary levels helps to enrich the students’ learning experience and maximize competency in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Improving K-12 STEM Education Outcomes through Technological Integration focuses on current research surrounding the effectiveness, performance, and benefits of incorporating various technological tools within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classrooms. Focusing on evidence-based approaches and current educational innovations, this book is an essential reference source for teachers, teacher educators, and professionals interested in how emerging technologies are benefiting teaching and/or learning efficacy.

Nonlinear Pedagogy is a powerful paradigm for understanding human movement and for designing effective teaching, coaching and training programmes in sport, exercise and physical education (PE). It addresses the inherent complexity in learning movement skills, viewing the learner, the learning environment and the teacher or coach as a complex interacting system. The constraints of individual practice tasks provide the platform for functional movement behaviours to emerge during practice and performance. The second edition includes new materials, of practical, theoretical and empirical relevance, to enhance understanding of how to implement a Nonlinear Pedagogy to support learning in sport, PE and physical activity. There is updated, in-depth discussion on the various pedagogical principles that support Nonlinear Pedagogy and how these principles are applicable in learning designs in sports and physical education. There is further emphasis on examining how transfer of learning is implicated in practice, highlighting its relevance on skill adaptation and talent development. The first part of the book updates the general theoretical framework to explain processes of skill acquisition and motor learning. This edition draws clearer links between skill acquisition, expertise and talent development, focusing on how specificity and generality of transfer have a role to play in the development of learners. The book defines Nonlinear Pedagogy and outlines its key principles of practice. It offers a thorough and critical appraisal of the functional use of instructional constraints and practice design. It discusses methods for creating challenging and supportive individualised learning environments at developmental, sub-elite and elite levels of performance. The second part focuses on the application of Nonlinear Pedagogy in sports and PE. There is a greater emphasis on helping applied scientists and practitioners understand the impact of Nonlinear Pedagogy on transfer of learning. Every chapter is updated to provide relevant contemporary cases and examples from sport and exercise contexts, providing guidance on practice activities and lessons. Nonlinear Pedagogy in Skill Acquisition is an essential companion for any degree-level course in skill acquisition, motor learning, sport science, sport pedagogy, sports coaching practice, or pedagogy or curriculum design in physical education.

From carbon fibre racing bikes to ‘sharkskin’ swimsuits, the application of cutting-edge design, technology and engineering has proved to be a vital ingredient in enhanced sports performance. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive survey of contemporary sports technology and engineering, providing a complete overview of academic, professional and industrial knowledge and technique. The book is divided into eight sections covering the following topics : Sustainable Sports Engineering Instrumentation Technology Summer Mobility Sports Winter Mobility Sports Apparel and Protection Equipment Sports Implements (racquets, clubs, bats, sticks) Sports Balls Sports Surfaces and Facilities Written by an international team of leading experts from industry, academia and commercial research institutes, the emphasis throughout the book is on innovation, the relationship between business and science, and the improvement of sports performance. This is an essential reference for anybody working in sports technology, sports product design, sports engineering, biomechanics, ergonomics, sports business or applied sport science.

He's out there, working in the lives of those who will soon no longer be among us. Many will try to buy their way out, some will even beg, and a few will outright refuse, but in the end, he always wins. His ways are mysterious to humans, but now he has let us into his world. He has offered up a few of his most interesting cases for us to see. What is his purpose, you may ask. You might be surprised to find out. One thing is clear, no matter how many Angels you may come in contact with, he is surely the last.