Genetic algorithms for adaptive real-time control in space systems

Genetic Algorithms that are used for learning as one way to control the combinational explosion associated with the generation of new rules are discussed. The Genetic Algorithm approach tends to work best when it can be applied to a domain independent knowledge representation. Applications to real time control in space systems are discussed

Activist research for education and social movement mobilization

Abstract in Portuguese by Aziz Choudry included.The role of social movements and social and political activism as educative processes and milieus is often overlooked by scholars of social movements and those working in the field of adult education. Yet social movements are not only significant sites of struggle for social and political change but also important – albeit contested and contradictory- terrains of learning, knowledge production and research. Grounded in insights from the author’s longstanding involvement in multi-scalar social movement organizing, education and research, this article draws primarily from his current research on activist research practice in social movements and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which work closely with them. It traces the dialectical relations between informal and non-formal learning and education in social action, research, education and action. Drawing on interviews conducted in 2012-2013 in the Philippines, South Africa, Canada and the UK, the article focuses on the ways in which research is carried out by movement research activists “in the struggle”, located outside of university institutional contexts or partnerships. Emphasizing the social character of all knowledge production, it argues that everyday struggles are not only the means to build movements, alliances, and counter-power but are generative of, and in turn informed by the learning/knowledge aspects of this activity.peer-reviewe

Dip Kapoor and Steven Jordan (Eds.). (2009). Education, Participatory Action Research, and Social Change: International Perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

A book review for Dip Kapoor and Steven Jordan (Eds.). (2009). Education, Participatory Action Research, and Social Change: International Perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmilla

Activist Research Practice: Exploring Research and Knowledge Production for Social Action

Research is a major aspect and fundamental component of many social struggles and movements for change. Understanding social movement networks as significant sites of knowledge production, this article situates and discusses processes and practice of activist research produced outside of academia in these milieus in the broader context of the ‘knowledge-practice’ of social movements. In dialogue with scholarly literature on activist research, it draws from the author’s work as an activist researcher, and a current study of small activist research non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with examples from movement research on transnational corporate power and resistance to capitalist globalization.. It explicates research processes arising from, and embedded in, relationships and dialogue with other activists and organizations that develop through collaboration in formal and informal networks; it contends that building relationships is central to effective activist research practice. In addition to examining how activist researchers practice, understand and validate their research, this paper also shows how this knowledge is constructed, disseminated and mobilized as a tool for effective social action/organizing

Brazil as an Emerging Economic Power: Dynamics

There would only be few countries on face of the earth as rich in natural resources as Brazil These natural resources ranging from minerals beneath the ground to waters on ground along with dynamic and charismatic political leadership have paved the way for the rise of Brazil as an economic power within the region as well as in the globe This rising economic power has facilitated Brazil to acquire enhanced political influence both regionally and globally The last decade has witnessed an obvious transformation in the stature and character of Brazil and has ushered in an opportunity for this state to emerge as a global economic and political power This article juxtaposes the dynamics and implications of Brazilian economy with the help of existing literature to highlight the relationship of various factors in the Brazilian economy that plays significant role in the rise of politically powerful Brazi

Transnational Activist Coalition Politics and the De/Colonization of Pedagogies of Mobilization: Learning from Anti-Neoliberal Indigenous Movement Articulations

Part of a special issue on international perspectives on education and decolonization. The writer discusses indigenous movements, networks, and activism that critique and oppose neoliberalism, within the context of anticolonial struggles for self-determination

From struggle knowledge and movement learning to the university classroom

There is renewed interest in illuminating ways in which collective social struggles can be key sites of learning and knowledge production, analysis, tools for social change – and theory. While it should not be contentious for adult educators to acknowledge the various forms of significant learning that occur in such contexts, there has often been a disconnect between scholarly literature and the learning in the movement spaces which they theorize. This article draws from the author’s organizing and education work in social movements, activist groups and non-governmental organization (NGO) networks and from his research and teaching as an academic engaged with the dynamics, tensions and possibilities of learning in social and political activist contexts, critical adult education and social change. Further, in reflecting upon learning and knowledge in social movements, it discusses the place of such struggle knowledge in non-formal adult education/popular education milieus and university classrooms.peer-reviewe