Search results for ""Springer-Verlag New York Inc.""

In this book, the genetic and molecular basis of cardiovascular aging is examined in detail and a comprehensive assessment given of the bioenergetics changes occurring in human and animal models of cardiac aging. Both current diagnostic and future therapeutic modalities are presented, giving this book a dual-pronged approach. Cardiac aging, like aging in general, is a complex process involving numerous cellular and molecular changes. This book sheds new light on the phenomenon.

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A completely reworked new edition of this superb textbook. This key work is geared to the needs of the graduate student. It covers, with proofs, the usual major branches of groups, rings, fields, and modules. Its inclusive approach means that all of the necessary areas are explored, while the level of detail is ideal for the intended readership. The text tries to promote the conceptual understanding of algebra as a whole, doing so with a masterful grasp of methodology. Despite the abstract subject matter, the author includes a careful selection of important examples, together with a detailed elaboration of the more sophisticated, abstract theories.

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This is a concise, up-to-date book that covers a wide range of important ceramic materials used in modern technology. Chapters provide essential information on the nature of these key ceramic raw materials including their structure, properties, processing methods and applications in engineering and technology. Treatment is provided on materials such as alumina, aluminates, Andalusite, kyanite, and sillimanite. The chapter authors are leading experts in the field of ceramic materials. An ideal text for graduate students and practising engineers in ceramic engineering, metallurgy, and materials science and engineering.

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During the last 20 years interest in high-resolution x-ray diffractometry and reflectivity has grown as a result of the development of the semiconductor industry and the increasing interest in material research of thin layers of magnetic, organic, and other materials. For example, optoelectronics requires a subsequent epitaxy of thin layers of different semiconductor materials. Here, the individuallayer thicknesses are scaled down to a few atomic layers in order to exploit quantum effects. For reasons of electronic and optical confinement, these thin layers are embedded within much thicker cladding layers or stacks of multilayers of slightly different chemical composition. It is evident that the interface quality of those quantum weHs is quite important for the function of devices. Thin metallic layers often show magnetic properties which do not ap­ pear for thick layers or in bulk material. The investigation of the mutual interaction of magnetic and non-magnetic layers leads to the discovery of colossal magnetoresistance, for example. This property is strongly related to the thickness and interface roughness of covered layers.

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Providing a systematic and comprehensive treatment of recent developments in efficiency analysis, this book makes available an intuitive yet rigorous presentation of advanced nonparametric and robust methods, with applications for the analysis of economies of scale and scope, trade-offs in production and service activities, and explanations of efficiency differentials.

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Graduate mathematics students will find this book an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to the subject. Rotman’s book gives a treatment of homological algebra which approaches the subject in terms of its origins in algebraic topology. In this new edition the book has been updated and revised throughout and new material on sheaves and cup products has been added. The author has also included material about homotopical algebra, alias K-theory. Learning homological algebra is a two-stage affair. First, one must learn the language of Ext and Tor. Second, one must be able to compute these things with spectral sequences. Here is a work that combines the two.

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This text presenting the mathematical theory of finite elements is organized into three main sections. The first part develops the theoretical basis for the finite element methods, emphasizing inf-sup conditions over the more conventional Lax-Milgrim paradigm. The second and third parts address various applications and practical implementations of the method, respectively. It contains numerous examples and exercises.

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For over three decades, this best-selling classic has been used by thousands of students in the United States and abroad as a must-have textbook for a transitional course from calculus to analysis. It has proven to be very useful for mathematics majors who have no previous experience with rigorous proofs. Its friendly style unlocks the mystery of writing proofs, while carefully examining the theoretical basis for calculus. Proofs are given in full, and the large number of well-chosen examples and exercises range from routine to challenging.The second edition preserves the book’s clear and concise style, illuminating discussions, and simple, well-motivated proofs. New topics include material on the irrationality of pi, the Baire category theorem, Newton's method and the secant method, and continuous nowhere-differentiable functions.

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This well-developed, accessible text details the historical development of the subject throughout. It also provides wide-ranging coverage of significant results with comparatively elementary proofs, some of them new. This second edition contains two new chapters that provide a complete proof of the Mordel-Weil theorem for elliptic curves over the rational numbers and an overview of recent progress on the arithmetic of elliptic curves.

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Thomas Kellaghan Educational Research Centre, St. Patrick's College, Dublin, Ireland Daniel L. Stufflebeam The Evaluation Center, Western Michigan University, Ml, USA Lori A. Wingate The Evaluation Center, Western Michigan University, Ml, USA Educational evaluation encompasses a wide array of activities, including student assessment, measurement, testing, program evaluation, school personnel evalua­ tion, school accreditation, and curriculum evaluation. It occurs at all levels of education systems, from the individual student evaluations carried out by class­ room teachers, to evaluations of schools and districts, to district-wide program evaluations, to national assessments, to cross-national comparisons of student achievement. As in any area of scholarship and practice, the field is constantly evolving, as a result of advances in theory, methodology, and technology; increasing globalization; emerging needs and pressures; and cross-fertilization from other disciplines. The beginning of a new century would seem an appropriate time to provide a portrait of the current state of the theory and practice of educational evaluation across the globe. It is the purpose of this handbook to attempt to do this, to sketch the international landscape of educational evaluation - its conceptual­ izations, practice, methodology, and background, and the functions it serves. The book's 43 chapters, grouped in 10 sections, provide detailed accounts of major components of the educational evaluation enterprise. Together, they provide a panoramic view of an evolving field.

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This book helps salespeople decode jargon and doublespeak commonly heard during the selling process and offers tips on how to move beyond ambiguous terminology and close the deal. Sorted into sales, marketing and management sections, Sales on the Go breaks each area down into five easy Q & A segments that highlight the most common and easily misunderstood phrases, comments, statements, and questions that salespeople hear every day. What to do when you encounter these phrases is spelled out in a simple to find, and easy to follow format which makes this book appealing to everyone with a sales job, whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience.

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This edited volume provides up-to-date information on recent advancements in efforts to enhance microbiological safety and quality in the field of food preservation. Chapters from experts in the field cover new and emerging alternative food preservation techniques and highlight their potential applications in food processing. A variety of different natural antimicrobials are discussed, including their source, isolation, industrial applications, and the dosage needed for use as food preservatives. In addition, the efficacy of each type of antimicrobial, used alone or in combination with other food preservation methods, is considered. Factors that limit the use of antimicrobials as food preservatives, such as moisture, temperature, and the ingredients comprising foods, are also discussed. Finally, consumer perspectives related to the acceptance of various preservation approaches for processed foods are described.

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This thoroughly revised and updated Fourth Edition of a time-honored text provides the reader with a comprehensive introduction to the field of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) for elemental microanalysis, electron backscatter diffraction analysis (EBSD) for micro-crystallography, and focused ion beams. Students and academic researchers will find the text to be an authoritative and scholarly resource, while SEM operators and a diversity of practitioners — engineers, technicians, physical and biological scientists, clinicians, and technical managers — will find that every chapter has been overhauled to meet the more practical needs of the technologist and working professional. In a break with the past, this Fourth Edition de-emphasizes the design and physical operating basis of the instrumentation, including the electron sources, lenses, detectors, etc. In the modern SEM, many of the low level instrument parameters are now controlled and optimized by the microscope’s software, and user access is restricted. Although the software control system provides efficient and reproducible microscopy and microanalysis, the user must understand the parameter space wherein choices are made to achieve effective and meaningful microscopy, microanalysis, and micro-crystallography. Therefore, special emphasis is placed on beam energy, beam current, electron detector characteristics and controls, and ancillary techniques such as energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD).With 13 years between the publication of the third and fourth editions, new coverage reflects the many improvements in the instrument and analysis techniques. The SEM has evolved into a powerful and versatile characterization platform in which morphology, elemental composition, and crystal structure can be evaluated simultaneously. Extension of the SEM into a "dual beam" platform incorporating both electron and ion columns allows precision modification of the specimen by focused ion beam milling. New coverage in the Fourth Edition includes the increasing use of field emission guns and SEM instruments with high resolution capabilities, variable pressure SEM operation, theory, and measurement of x-rays with high throughput silicon drift detector (SDD-EDS) x-ray spectrometers. In addition to powerful vendor- supplied software to support data collection and processing, the microscopist can access advanced capabilities available in free, open source software platforms, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ImageJ-Fiji for image processing and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) DTSA II for quantitative EDS x-ray microanalysis and spectral simulation, both of which are extensively used in this work. However, the user has a responsibility to bring intellect, curiosity, and a proper skepticism to information on a computer screen and to the entire measurement process. This book helps you to achieve this goal. Realigns the text with the needs of a diverse audience from researchers and graduate students to SEM operators and technical managers Emphasizes practical, hands-on operation of the microscope, particularly user selection of the critical operating parameters to achieve meaningful results Provides step-by-step overviews of SEM, EDS, and EBSD and checklists of critical issues for SEM imaging, EDS x-ray microanalysis, and EBSD crystallographic measurements Makes extensive use of open source software: NIH ImageJ-FIJI for image processing and NIST DTSA II for quantitative EDS x-ray microanalysis and EDS spectral simulation. Includes case studies to illustrate practical problem solving Covers Helium ion scanning microscopy Organized into relatively self-contained modules – no need to "read it all" to understand a topic Includes an online supplement—an extensive "Database of Electron–Solid Interactions"—which can be accessed on SpringerLink, in Chapter 3

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Principles of Bacterial Detection: Biosensors, Recognition Receptors and Microsystems will cover the up-to-date biosensor technologies used for the detection of bacteria. Written by the world's most renowned and learned scientists each in their own area of expertise, Principles of Bacterial Detection: Biosensors, Recognition Receptors and Microsystems is the first title to cover this expanding research field.

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This pioneering text provides a comprehensive introduction to systems structure, function, and modeling as applied in all fields of science and engineering. Systems understanding is increasingly recognized as a key to a more holistic education and greater problem solving skills, and is also reflected in the trend toward interdisciplinary approaches to research on complex phenomena. While the concepts and components of systems science will continue to be distributed throughout the various disciplines, undergraduate degree programs in systems science are also being developed, including at the authors’ own institutions. However, the subject is approached, systems science as a basis for understanding the components and drivers of phenomena at all scales should be viewed with the same importance as a traditional liberal arts education.Principles of Systems Science contains many graphs, illustrations, side bars, examples, and problems to enhance understanding. From basic principles of organization, complexity, abstract representations, and behavior (dynamics) to deeper aspects such as the relations between information, knowledge, computation, and system control, to higher order aspects such as auto-organization, emergence and evolution, the book provides an integrated perspective on the comprehensive nature of systems. It ends with practical aspects such as systems analysis, computer modeling, and systems engineering that demonstrate how the knowledge of systems can be used to solve problems in the real world. Each chapter is broken into parts beginning with qualitative descriptions that stand alone for students who have taken intermediate algebra. The second part presents quantitative descriptions that are based on pre-calculus and advanced algebra, providing a more formal treatment for students who have the necessary mathematical background. Numerous examples of systems from every realm of life, including the physical and biological sciences, humanities, social sciences, engineering, pre-med and pre-law, are based on the fundamental systems concepts of boundaries, components as subsystems, processes as flows of materials, energy, and messages, work accomplished, functions performed, hierarchical structures, and more. Understanding these basics enables further understanding both of how systems endure and how they may become increasingly complex and exhibit new properties or characteristics. Serves as a textbook for teaching systems fundamentals in any discipline or for use in an introductory course in systems science degree programs Addresses a wide range of audiences with different levels of mathematical sophistication Includes open-ended questions in special boxes intended to stimulate integrated thinking and class discussion Describes numerous examples of systems in science and society Captures the trend towards interdisciplinary research and problem solving

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China today is sexually (and in many other ways) a very repressive so­ ciety, yet ancient China was very different. Some of the earliest surviving literature of China is devoted to discussions of sexual topics, and the sexual implications of the Ym and Yang theories common in ancient China continue to influence Tantric and esoteric sexual practices today far dis­ tant from their Chinese origins. In recent years, a number of books have been written exploring the history of sexual practices and ideas in China, but most have ended the discussion with ancient China and have not continued up to the present time. Fang Fu Ruan first surveys the ancient assumptions and beliefs, then carries the story to present-day China with brief descriptions of homosexuality, lesbianism, transvestism, transsexualism, and prostitution, and ends with a chapter on changing attitudes toward sex in China today. Dr. Ruan is well qualified to give such an overview. Until he left China in the 1980s, he was a leader in attempting to change the repressive attitudes of the government toward human sexuality. He wrote a best­ selling book on sex in China, and had written to and corresponded with a number of people in China who considered him as confidant and ad­ visor about their sex problems. A physician and medical historian, Dr. Ruan's doctoral dissertation was a study of the history of sex in China.

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Glass technologists are fascinated by glass; explora­ tion as well as application of glass is expanding and the influx of documentation is bewildering. There were about 200 papers on just semi conduction in glasses in 1970 and one has to scan about 200 papers a month to sense the pulse of glass science. Yet there are many in industry and education in science or engineering who require or wish to have coher­ ent, comprehensive and contemporary information on this exciting material "glass. " The Tutorial Symposium offered as an Introduction to Glass Science in Alfred represents an earnest attempt to ful­ fill this need. It has been designed to provide both broad and technical instruction for participants and readers who are not specialists. Glass is not only a material but a condition of matter: the vitreous state. The topic, there­ fore, is introduced by a careful consideration of the nature of glass, or the vitreous state. The universality of the vitreous state is now generally recognized: not just a few, but very many structures can be obtained without appreciable crystallization. There is no restricted family of struc­ tures characteristic of glass formation: as long as crys­ tallization is avoided, every liquid will solidify to a non­ crystalline sUbstance. Structural analysis in each case is now to be postulated and has become increasingly successful. The Alfred "Introduction to Glass Science" offers a repre­ sentative overview of methods and results.

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The psychiatric view of homosexuality has undergone a fascinating evo­ lution in recent years. This includes not only the change from viewing homosexuality as a diagnosable illness, as opposed to an alternative life style, but also the development of considerable professional concern for providing appropriate mental health services to this previously under­ served minority community. There has been an increasing recognition of the need for comprehensive services including, but not limited to, counseling, individual psychotherapy, and couples therapy. This book is written for the practicing clinician, and offers a compre­ hensive survey of the important clinical issues involved in the counsel­ ing and psychotherapy of gay men and lesbian women. It is an extraor­ dinarily practical book and its breadth and depth make it appropriate for both the novice and the experienced therapist. SHERWYN M. WOODS Series Editor ix Preface We hear our mentors but do not often heed them. Freud's supportive, nonjudgmental approach to homosexuality provided an ambience with­ in which discoveries could be made, that is, the discovery that homosex­ uality was not a disease of mental degeneration and that sexuality, in the sense of a fundamental human propensity to find pleasure in social and physical attachments, was at its root directed to both sexes. The ad­ herence to a nonjudgmental approach was short-lived, suffered repres­ sion by homophobic defenses, and scientific zeal was directed toward "cure" rather than comprehension of the homosexual state.

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Sleep has recently been recognized as a critical determinant of energy balance regulating, restoration and repair of many of the physiologic and psychologic processes involved in modulating energy intake and utilization. In addition to having an impact on obesity, sleep abnormalities, both quantitative and qualitative, have now been shown to have significant effects on obesity associated comorbidities, including metabolic syndrome, premalignant lesions and cancer. Sleep problems and fatigue also constitute a significant challenge for the ever expanding group of cancer survivors. Moreover, circadian misalignment, such as that experienced by "shift workers" has been shown to be associated with an increased incidence of several malignancies including, breast, colorectal and prostate cancer, consistent with the increasing recognition of the role of clock genes in the metabolic processes. Of increasing concern is the accelerating incidence of sleep disorders in childhood, their association with childhood obesity and associated abnormalities of circulating cytokines, adipokines and metabolic factors, many of which are implicated as etiologic mediators of the connection between obesity and cancer.Extensive studies have now been initiated to investigate the mechanisms by which disturbances in sleep duration, sleep continuity and sleep related breathing affect circadian rhythm, central and peripheral tissue oxygenation and metabolism, quality and quantity of dietary intake and circulating inflammatory cytokines and regulatory hormones. This volume aims to present the latest research on sleep, sleep disturbance and its correlation to obesity and cancer.

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In the past, many tropical and parasitic infections were confined to tropical areas of the world located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. However, with the increase in air travel and tourism and the changing patterns of immigration, an increasing number of individuals are coming into contact with these infectious agents and transmission across the world has been enhanced. Tropical and Parasitic Infections in the Intensive Care Unit provides an international perspective on this topic and an overview of those infections that may cause critical illness.

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The goal of this book is to show how to build and manage a food safety department that is tasked with ensuring food safety within a food retail business. The experiences of the author as the head of Food and Product Safety at Chick-fil-A will be used as the model. Specifically, the book will discuss the specific components of a food safety program, the tactics needed to establish these components (forming the majority of the chapters), how to measure the success of each component, and how to influence the organization to ensure resources to support the program. The book will also focus on how to choose and work with the appropriate partners, validate the value to the business, and initiate the new component throughout the organization, including how to sustain the component within the program. Five features of this book that make it distinctive are: Most current “How to” book on leading a food safety department from the perspective of a respected national brand Provides the proper organization and methods to manage the work necessary to ensure food safety within the organization Provides the means to utilize risk-based decisions linked to business practices that accommodate a business analysis model Demonstrates step-by-step examples that can be used for continuous improvement in sustaining food safety responsibilities Provides examples on how to gain influence and obtain resources to support food safety responsibilities

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Management of Soft Tissue Sarcoma addresses the diagnosis and best current management of adult soft tissue sarcomas. Edited by world renowned experts, this book delineates and discusses each different sarcoma subtype individually. Both clinical and molecular diagnoses are addressed, and tumor histopathology is employed as the basis of treatment recommendations including surgery, radiation therapy, systemic therapy and novel therapeutics.

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The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) or tissue types are the products of a rapidly developing field of knowledge within the last 20 years. In the early stages of the research many investigators suspected the existence of a complex series of transplantation antigens, but it was widely believed that these antigens would not be well-defined even in this century. Yet in the last two decades as many as 124 different HLA antigens determined by at least 7 very closely linked genes located on the short arm of chromosome 6 have been identified and subsequently agreed upon by an international nomenclature committee. 1 Extensive international collaboration fueled by the potential clinical application of these antigens to clinical transplantation has advanced the field rapidly. There were nine inter­ national histocompatibility workshops held during this period. Although iden­ tification of HLA antigens was of primary clinical importance in transplantation 2 and of great basic interest in human genetics and anthropology, a rather un­ expected bonus has been the determination that HLA antigens are associated with disease susceptibility to a greater extent than any other known genetic marker in man. In the past, many genetic polymorphisms have been suspected to be associated with diseases. The most extensively studied markers are blood groups, enzymes, and serum proteins. A comprehensive account of published studies, totalling approximately 1,000, of these markers is available in a book by Mourant et al.

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Printed Organic And Molecular Electronics was compiled to create a reference that included existing knowledge from the most renowned industry, academic, and government experts in the fields of organic semiconductor technology, graphic arts printing, micro-contact printing, and molecular electronics. It is divided into sections that consist of the most critical topics required for one to develop a strong understanding of the states of these technologies and the paths for taking them from R&D to the hands of consumers on a massive scale. As such, the book provides both theory as well as technology development results and trends.

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In March 1999, New York University Salomon Center in assocIatIOn with the Department of Finance at NYU Stern held a one-day conference on the impact of real estate cycles on the real estate industry both from a domestic as well as an international perspective. The conference featured the leading research on this topic in the United States, Europe and Asia. Currendy, the real estate industry is at a critical point. New development projects around the world are being put on hold given recent developments in the international capital markets. The industry is hard hit by the decline in real estate investment trust (REIT) share prices and a shrink­ ing pool of capital for real estate ventures. This has unfortunately coincided with serious financial problems of very large hedge funds and other institutional investors in the market for commercial mortgage backed securities. There is need for new insights into the implications of U. S. and global real estate cycles on real estate secu­ rities including REITs and mortgage-backed securities as well as direct real estate investment. This global orientation is important given the high mobility of capital into the real estate, the increasing integration of real estate markets, and the proposed expan­ sion of real estate investment trusts (REIT) into international real estate. The process of globalization has resulted in increased competition between cities for the attrac­ tion of investment.

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The common experience in solving control problems shows that optimal control as a function of time proves to be piecewise analytic, having a finite number of jumps (called switches) on any finite-time interval. Meanwhile there exists an old example proposed by A.T. Fuller [1961) in which optimal control has an infinite number of switches on a finite-time interval. This phenomenon is called chattering. It has become increasingly clear that chattering is widespread. This book is devoted to its exploration. Chattering obstructs the direct use of Pontryagin's maximum principle because of the lack of a nonzero-length interval with a continuous control function. That is why the common experience appears misleading. It is the hidden symmetry of Fuller's problem that allows the explicit solution. Namely, there exists a one-parameter group which respects the optimal trajectories of the problem. When published in 1961, Fuller's example incited curiosity, but it was considered only "interesting" and soon was forgotten. The second wave of attention to chattering was raised about 12 years later when several other examples with optimal chattering trajectories were 1 found. All these examples were two-dimensional with the one-parameter group of symmetries.

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Building upon the impeccable reputation of its earlier editions, Operative Hip Arthroscopy, Third Edition has been entirely reconceived, rewritten, revised and updated to address current issues and developments in hip arthroscopy. This edition includes 18 new chapters that discuss issues like loose bodies, labral management, chondroplasty and microfracture, lesions of the acetabular fossa, synovial disease, iliopsoas release, iliotibial band release, preitrochanteric space, and capsulorrhaphy, among other topics. Every chapter includes vivid color photographs and illustrations to supplement accessible, engaging text. Dr. J.W. Thomas Byrd, a pioneer in the field, has once again assembled a group of distinguished international contributors whose chapters consititute one of the most complete and comprehensive books on the subject.

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This introduction to applied nonlinear dynamics and chaos places emphasis on teaching the techniques and ideas that will enable students to take specific dynamical systems and obtain some quantitative information about their behavior. The new edition has been updated and extended throughout, and contains a detailed glossary of terms. From the reviews: "Will serve as one of the most eminent introductions to the geometric theory of dynamical systems." --Monatshefte für Mathematik

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Multi-Modal User Interactions in Controlled Environments investigates the capture and analysis of user’s multimodal behavior (mainly eye gaze, eye fixation, eye blink and body movements) within a real controlled environment (controlled-supermarket, personal environment) in order to adapt the response of the computer/environment to the user. Such data is captured using non-intrusive sensors (for example, cameras in the stands of a supermarket) installed in the environment. This multi-modal video based behavioral data will be analyzed to infer user intentions while assisting users in their day-to-day tasks by adapting the system’s response to their requirements seamlessly. This book also focuses on the presentation of information to the user. Multi-Modal User Interactions in Controlled Environments is designed for professionals in industry, including professionals in the domains of security and interactive web television. This book is also suitable for graduate-level students in computer science and electrical engineering.

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Database marketing is at the crossroads of technology, business strategy, and customer relationship management. Enabled by sophisticated information and communication systems, today’s organizations have the capacity to analyze customer data to inform and enhance every facet of the enterprise—from branding and promotion campaigns to supply chain management to employee training to new product development. Based on decades of collective research, teaching, and application in the field, the authors present the most comprehensive treatment to date of database marketing, integrating theory and practice. Presenting rigorous models, methodologies, and techniques (including data collection, field testing, and predictive modeling), and illustrating them through dozens of examples, the authors cover the full spectrum of principles and topics related to database marketing. "This is an excellent in-depth overview of both well-known and very recent topics in customer management models. It is an absolute must for marketers who want to enrich their knowledge on customer analytics." (Peter C. Verhoef, Professor of Marketing, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen) "A marvelous combination of relevance and sophisticated yet understandable analytical material. It should be a standard reference in the area for many years." (Don Lehmann, George E. Warren Professor of Business, Columbia Business School) "The title tells a lot about the book's approach—though the cover reads, "database," the content is mostly about customers and that's where the real-world action is. Most enjoyable is the comprehensive story – in case after case – which clearly explains what the analysis and concepts really mean. This is an essential read for those interested in database marketing, customer relationship management and customer optimization." (Richard Hochhauser, President and CEO, Harte-Hanks, Inc.) "In this tour de force of careful scholarship, the authors canvass the ever expanding literature on database marketing. This book will become an invaluable reference or text for anyone practicing, researching, teaching or studying the subject." (Edward C. Malthouse, Theodore R. and Annie Laurie Sills Associate Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University)

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The modeling of item response data is governed by item response theory, also referred to as modern test theory. The eld of inquiry of item response theory has become very large and shows the enormous progress that has been made. The mainstream literature is focused on frequentist statistical methods for - timating model parameters and evaluating model t. However, the Bayesian methodology has shown great potential, particularly for making further - provements in the statistical modeling process. The Bayesian approach has two important features that make it attractive for modeling item response data. First, it enables the possibility of incorpor- ing nondata information beyond the observed responses into the analysis. The Bayesian methodology is also very clear about how additional information can be used. Second, the Bayesian approach comes with powerful simulation-based estimation methods. These methods make it possible to handle all kinds of priors and data-generating models. One of my motives for writing this book is to give an introduction to the Bayesian methodology for modeling and analyzing item response data. A Bayesian counterpart is presented to the many popular item response theory books (e.g., Baker and Kim 2004; De Boeck and Wilson, 2004; Hambleton and Swaminathan, 1985; van der Linden and Hambleton, 1997) that are mainly or completely focused on frequentist methods. The usefulness of the Bayesian methodology is illustrated by discussing and applying a range of Bayesian item response models.

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This book is a collective effort by researchers affiliated with the CERES Research School in Development Studies in the Netherlands. These experts discuss themes and concepts crucial to the overlapping fields of globalization and development research. Individual chapters examine the notions and issues of globalization, livelihood, identity, governance, transnationalism, and knowledge.

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This new edition has been completely revised to reflect the notable innovations in mining engineering and the remarkable developments in the science of rock mechanics and the practice of rock angineering taht have taken place over the last two decades. Although "Rock Mechanics for Underground Mining" addresses many of the rock mechanics issues that arise in underground mining engineering, it is not a text exclusively for mining applications. Based on extensive professional research and teaching experience, this book will provide an authoratative and comprehensive text for final year undergraduates and commencing postgraduate stydents. For profesional practitioners, not only will it be of interests to mining and geological engineers, but also to civil engineers, structural mining geologists and geophysicists as a standard work for professional reference purposes.

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Dorothy Wertz and John Fletcher pioneered the first international study of ethical and social issues in genetics in 18 nations. This book reports and discusses their second and more representative study in 36 nations. The survey focused on actual situations that occur in the practice of medical genetics, presented as case vignettes that can also be used in teaching and policy discussion. Among the issues discussed are privacy, prenatal diagnosis, patient autonomy, directiveness in counseling, sex selection, forensic DNA banking, "genetic discrimination," and "eugenics". This is Dorothy Wertz's final book, as she died in April, 2003. It is a one of a kind cross-cultural study of complex ethical issues in the uses of genetic information. No one else has attempted to look at the international aspects of medical genetics on such a broad scale. The results provide a resource for discussion both within and among nations. Much bioethical and policy discussion now occurs in an information vacuum. The survey showed that what people would do, and their reasons for doing it, differed considerably from what ethicists think they "should" do. Many will be surprised at the results, especially in nations where bioethical discussion is just beginning. Genetics and Ethics in Global Perspective is of interest to medical geneticists, genetic counselors, social scientists and anthropologists who study cross-cultural issues, bioethicists and bioethics centers and health policy makers.

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Global warming, melting polar caps, rising sea levels and intensifying wave-current action, factors responsible for the alarming phenomena of coastal erosion on the one hand and adverse environmental impacts and the high cost of 'hard' protection schemes, on the other, have created interest in the detailed examination of the potential and range of applicability of the emerging and promising category of 'soft' shore protection methods. 'Soft' methods such as beach nourishment, submerged breakwaters, artificial reefs, gravity drain systems, floating breakwaters, plantations of hydrophylous shrubs or even dry branches, applied mostly during the past 20 years, are recognised as possessing technical, environmental and financial advantageous properties deserving more attention and further developmental experimentation than has occured hitherto. On the other hand, 'hard' shore protection methods such as seawalls, groins and detached breakwaters, artefacts borrowed from port design and construction technology, no matter how well designed and well implemented they may be, can hardly avoid intensification of the consequential erosive, often devastating, effects on the down-drift shores. Moreover, they often do not constitute environmentally and financially attractive solutions for long stretches of eroding shoreline. Engineers and scientists practising design and implementation of shore defence schemes have been aware for many years of the public demand for improved shore protection technologies. They are encouraging efforts that promise enrichment of those environmentally sound and financially attractive methods that can be safely applied.

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It is arguable that most of chemistry and a large portion of atomic physics is concemed with the behaviour of the 92 naturally occurring elements in each of 3 charge states (+1, 0, -1); 276 distinct species. The world of multiply and highly charged ions provides a further 4186 species for us to study. Over 15 times as many! It is the nature of human beings to explore the unknown. This nature is par­ ticularly strong in physicists although this may not be readily apparent because theses explorations are undertaken in somewhat abstract 'spaces'. It is, then, no surprise that we have begun to explore the realm of multiply and highly charged ions. Over the past few decades, a consistent1y high quality body of work has emerged as the fruits of this exploration. This intemationally based subject, pursued in universities and research laboratories worldwide, has ex­ panded beyond its roots in atomic physics. We now see it embracing elements of surface science, nuclear physics and plasma physics as well as drawing on a wide range of technologies. This speciality offers new tests of some of our most fundamental ideas in physics and simultaneously new medical cures, new ways of fabricating electronic gadgets, a major hope for clean sustainable energy and explanations for astrophysical phenomena. It is both a deeply fundamental and a widely applicable area of investigation.

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A history of acoustics from the 19th century to the present, written by one of the pre-eminent members of the acoustical community. The book is both a review of the major scientific advances in acoustics as well as an account of famous acousticians and their discoveries, taking in the development of the Acoustical Society of America. Acoustics is distinguished by its interdisciplinary nature and the book duly explores the fields development in its relationship to other sciences. In addition to covering the history of acoustics, the book concludes with the future of acoustics. Beautifully illustrated.

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Probing matter with beams of photons, neutrons and electrons provides the main source of information about both the microscopic and macroscopic structure of materials. This is particularly true of media, such as crystals and liquid crystals, that have a periodic structure. This book discusses the interaction of waves (which may represent x-rays, gamma rays, electrons, or neutrons) with various kinds of ordered media. After two chapters dealing with exact and approximate solutions to the scattering problem in periodic media in general, the author discusses: the diffraction of Mößbauer radiation in magnetically ordered crystals; the optics of chiral liquid crystals; the radiation of fast particles in regular media (Cherenkov radiation); nonlinear optics of periodic media; neutron scattering in magnetically ordered media; polarization phenomena in x-ray optics; magnetic x-ray scattering; and Mößbauer filtration of synchrotron radiation.

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This book constructs the mathematical apparatus of classical mechanics from the beginning, examining basic problems in dynamics like the theory of oscillations and the Hamiltonian formalism. The author emphasizes geometrical considerations and includes phase spaces and flows, vector fields, and Lie groups. Discussion includes qualitative methods of the theory of dynamical systems and of asymptotic methods like averaging and adiabatic invariance.

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An introduction to complex analysis for students with some knowledge of complex numbers from high school. It contains sixteen chapters, the first eleven of which are aimed at an upper division undergraduate audience. The remaining five chapters are designed to complete the coverage of all background necessary for passing PhD qualifying exams in complex analysis. Topics studied include Julia sets and the Mandelbrot set, Dirichlet series and the prime number theorem, and the uniformization theorem for Riemann surfaces, with emphasis placed on the three geometries: spherical, euclidean, and hyperbolic. Throughout, exercises range from the very simple to the challenging. The book is based on lectures given by the author at several universities, including UCLA, Brown University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, and the Universidad Autonomo de Valencia, Spain.

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Descriptive set theory has been one of the main areas of research in set theory for almost a century. This text presents a largely balanced approach to the subject, which combines many elements of the different traditions. It includes a wide variety of examples, more than 400 exercises, and applications, in order to illustrate the general concepts and results of the theory.

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Powders have been studied extensively because they arise in a wide variety of fields, ranging from soil mechanics to manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Only recently, however, with the deepening understanding of fractals, chaos, 1/f noise, and self-organization, has it been useful to study the mechanical properties of powders from a fundamental physical perspective. This book collects articles by some of the foremost researchers in the field, including chapters on: the role of entropy in the specification of a powder, by S.F. Edwards (Cambridge); discrete mechanics, by P.K. Haff (Duke); computer simulations of granular materials, by G.C. Barker (Norwich); pattern formation and complexity in granular flow, by R.P. Behringer and G.W. Baxter (Duke); avalanches in real sand piles, by A. Mehta (Birmingham); micromechanical models of failure, by M.J. Adams (Unilever) and B.J. Briscoe (Imperial College); mixing and segregation in particle flows, by J. Bridgwater (Birmingham); and hard-sphere colloidal suspensions, by P. Bartlett (Bristol) and W. van Megen (Melbourne).

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"This book presents a basic introduction to complex analysis in both an interesting and a rigorous manner. It contains enough material for a full year's course, and the choice of material treated is reasonably standard and should be satisfactory for most first courses in complex analysis. The approach to each topic appears to be carefully thought out both as to mathematical treatment and pedagogical presentation, and the end result is a very satisfactory book." --MATHSCINET

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In this new textbook, acclaimed author John Stillwell presents a lucid introduction to Lie theory suitable for junior and senior level undergraduates. In order to achieve this, he focuses on the so-called "classical groups'' that capture the symmetries of real, complex, and quaternion spaces. These symmetry groups may be represented by matrices, which allows them to be studied by elementary methods from calculus and linear algebra. This naive approach to Lie theory is originally due to von Neumann, and it is now possible to streamline it by using standard results of undergraduate mathematics. To compensate for the limitations of the naive approach, end of chapter discussions introduce important results beyond those proved in the book, as part of an informal sketch of Lie theory and its history. John Stillwell is Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of several highly regarded books published by Springer, including The Four Pillars of Geometry (2005), Elements of Number Theory (2003), Mathematics and Its History (Second Edition, 2002), Numbers and Geometry (1998) and Elements of Algebra (1994).

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The second edition (1997) of this text was a completely rewritten version of the original text Basic Coastal Engineering published in 1978. This third edition makes several corrections, improvements and additions to the second edition. Basic Coastal Engineering is an introductory text on wave mechanics and coastal processes along with fundamentals that underline the practice of coastal engineering. This book was written for a senior or first postgraduate course in coastal engineering. It is also suitable for self study by anyone having a basic engineering or physical science background. The level of coverage does not require a math or fluid mechanics background beyond that presented in a typical undergraduate civil or mechanical engineering curriculum. The material p- sented in this text is based on the author’s lecture notes from a one-semester course at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Texas A&M University, and George Washington University, and a senior elective course at Lehigh University. The text contains examples to demonstrate the various analysis techniques that are presented and each chapter (except the first and last) has a collection of problems for the reader to solve that further demonstrate and expand upon the text material. Chapter 1 briefly describes the coastal environment and introduces the re- tively new field of coastal engineering. Chapter 2 describes the two-dimensional characteristics of surface waves and presents the small-amplitude wave theory to support this description.

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This volume opens the world of free probability to a wide variety of readers. From its roots in the theory of operator algebras, free probability has intertwined with non-crossing partitions, random matrices, applications in wireless communications, representation theory of large groups, quantum groups, the invariant subspace problem, large deviations, subfactors, and beyond. This book puts a special emphasis on the relation of free probability to random matrices, but also touches upon the operator algebraic, combinatorial, and analytic aspects of the theory. The book serves as a combination textbook/research monograph, with self-contained chapters, exercises scattered throughout the text, and coverage of important ongoing progress of the theory. It will appeal to graduate students and all mathematicians interested in random matrices and free probability from the point of view of operator algebras, combinatorics, analytic functions, or applications in engineering and statistical physics.

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The bestselling Purchasing Chessboard® concept, used by hundreds of corporations worldwide to reduce costs and increase value with suppliers, is the topic of this successful professional book now published in its third edition. The 64 squares on the Purchasing Chessboard provide a wealth of methods that can be applied either individually or in combination. And because many of these methods are not customarily used by procurement, the Purchasing Chessboard is also the perfect tool for helping procurement professionals to think and act outside the box and find new solutions. A well tested concept that works across all industries and all categories in any given situation, it is little wonder that business leaders and procurement professionals alike are excited by, and enjoy strategizing around, the Purchasing Chessboard. It encourages greater rigor and creativity and the building of world class capabilities. The explosive growth in analytics and the rise in the number of specialists in procurement practice have taken the application of the Purchasing Chessboard to new levels. This third edition of the book includes a rich assortment of case examples to reflect the lessons learned across geographies and industries. Some of the chapters have also been updated to accurately reflect these trends.

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