springer international publishing springer international publishing mär 2014 (146 résultats)

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Digital libraries (DLs) have evolved since their launch in 1991 into an important type of information system, with widespread application. This volume advances that trend further by describing new research and development in the DL field that builds upon the 5S (Societies, Scenarios, Spaces, Structures, Streams) framework, which is discussed in three other DL volumes in this series.While the 5S framework may be used to describe many types of information systems, and is likely to have even broader utility and appeal, we focus here on digital libraries. Drawing upon six (Akbar, Kozievitch, Leidig, Li, Murthy, Park) completed and two (Chen, Fouh) in-process dissertations, as well as the efforts of collaborating researchers, and scores of related publications, presentations, tutorials, and reports, this book demonstrates the applicability of 5S in five digital library application areas, that also have importance in the context of the WWW, Web 2.0, and innovative information systems. By integrating surveys of the state-of-the-art, newresearch, connections with formalization, case studies, and exercises/projects, this book can serve as a textbook for those interested in computing, information, and/or library science. Chapter 1 focuses on images, explaining how they connect with information retrieval, in the context of CBIR systems. Chapter 2 gives two case studies of DLs used in education, which is one of the most common applications of digital libraries. Chapter 3 covers social networks, which are at the heart of work onWeb 2.0, explaining the construction and use of deduced graphs, that can enhance retrieval and recommendation. Chapter 4 demonstrates the value of DLs in eScience, focusing, in particular, on cyber-infrastructure for simulation. Chapter 5 surveys geospatial information in DLs, with a case study on geocoding. Given this rich content, we trust that any interested in digital libraries, or in related systems, will find this volume to be motivating, intellectually satisfying, and useful. We hope it will help move digital libraries forward into a science as well as a practice. We hope it will help build community that will address the needs of the next generation of DLs.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 176 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Solving challenging computational problems involving time has been a critical component in the development of artificial intelligence systems almost since the inception of the field. This book provides a concise introduction to the core computational elements of temporal reasoning for use in AI systems for planning and scheduling, as well as systems that extract temporal information from data. It presents a survey of temporal frameworks based on constraints, both qualitative and quantitative, as well as of major temporal consistency techniques. The book also introduces the reader to more recent extensions to the core model that allow AI systems to explicitly represent temporal preferences and temporal uncertainty. This book is intended for students and researchers interested in constraint-based temporal reasoning. It provides a self-contained guide to the different representations of time, as well as examples of recent applications of time in AI systems.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 124 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Digital Watermarking is the art and science of embedding information in existing digital content for Digital Rights Management (DRM) and authentication. Reversible watermarking is a class of (fragile) digital watermarking that not only authenticates multimedia data content, but also helps to maintain perfect integrity of the original multimedia 'cover data.' In non-reversible watermarking schemes, after embedding and extraction of the watermark, the cover data undergoes some distortions, although perceptually negligible in most cases. In contrast, in reversible watermarking, zero-distortion of the cover data is achieved, that is the cover data is guaranteed to be restored bit-by-bit. Such a feature is desirable when highly sensitive data is watermarked, e.g., in military, medical, and legal imaging applications. This work deals with development, analysis, and evaluation of state-of-the-art reversible watermarking techniques for digital images. In this work we establish the motivation for research on reversible watermarking using a couple of case studies with medical and military images. We present a detailed review of the state-of-the-art research in this field. We investigate the various subclasses of reversible watermarking algorithms, their operating principles, and computational complexities. Along with this, to give the readers an idea about the detailed working of a reversible watermarking scheme, we present a prediction-based reversible watermarking technique, recently published by us. We discuss the major issues and challenges behind implementation of reversible watermarking techniques, and recently proposed solutions for them. Finally, we provide an overview of some open problems and scope of work for future researchers in this area.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 132 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -General game players are computer systems able to play strategy games based solely on formal game descriptions supplied at 'runtime' (n other words, they don't know the rules until the game starts). Unlike specialized game players, such as Deep Blue, general game players cannot rely on algorithms designed in advance for specific games; they must discover such algorithms themselves. General game playing expertise depends on intelligence on the part of the game player and not just intelligence of the programmer of the game player. GGP is an interesting application in its own right. It is intellectually engaging and more than a little fun. But it is much more than that. It provides a theoretical framework for modeling discrete dynamic systems and defining rationality in a way that takes into account problem representation and complexities like incompleteness of information and resource bounds. It has practical applications in areas where these features are important, e.g., in business andlaw. More fundamentally, it raises questions about the nature of intelligence and serves as a laboratory in which to evaluate competing approaches to artificial intelligence. This book is an elementary introduction to General Game Playing (GGP). (1) It presents the theory of General Game Playing and leading GGP technologies. (2) It shows how to create GGP programs capable of competing against other programs and humans. (3) It offers a glimpse of some of the real-world applications of General Game Playing.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Judgment aggregation is a mathematical theory of collective decision-making. It concerns the methods whereby individual opinions about logically interconnected issues of interest can, or cannot, be aggregated into one collective stance. Aggregation problems have traditionally been of interest for disciplines like economics and the political sciences, as well as philosophy, where judgment aggregation itself originates from, but have recently captured the attention of disciplines like computer science, artificial intelligence and multi-agent systems. Judgment aggregation has emerged in the last decade as a unifying paradigm for the formalization and understanding of aggregation problems. Still, no comprehensive presentation of the theory is available to date. This Synthesis Lecture aims at filling this gap presenting the key motivations, results, abstractions and techniques underpinning it. Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Logic Meets Social Choice Theory / Basic Concepts /Impossibility / Coping with Impossibility / Manipulability / Aggregation Rules / Deliberation / Bibliography / Authors' Biographies / IndexSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -It has been estimated that over a billion people are using or learning English as a second or foreign language, and the numbers are growing not only for English but for other languages as well. These language learners provide a burgeoning market for tools that help identify and correct learners' writing errors. Unfortunately, the errors targeted by typical commercial proofreading tools do not include those aspects of a second language that are hardest to learn. This volume describes the types of constructions English language learners find most difficult: constructions containing prepositions, articles, and collocations. It provides an overview of the automated approaches that have been developed to identify and correct these and other classes of learner errors in a number of languages. Error annotation and system evaluation are particularly important topics in grammatical error detection because there are no commonly accepted standards. Chapters in the book describe the options available to researchers, recommend best practices for reporting results, and present annotation and evaluation schemes. The final chapters explore recent innovative work that opens new directions for research. It is the authors' hope that this volume will continue to contribute to the growing interest in grammatical error detection by encouraging researchers to take a closer look at the field and its many challenging problems.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 172 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -These notes introduce a new class of algebraic curves on Hilbert modular surfaces. These curves are called twisted Teichmüller curves, because their construction is very reminiscent of Hirzebruch-Zagier cycles. These new objects are analyzed in detail and their main properties are described. In particular, the volume of twisted Teichmüller curves is calculated and their components are partially classified. The study of algebraic curves on Hilbert modular surfaces has been widely covered in the literature due to their arithmetic importance. Among these, twisted diagonals (Hirzebruch-Zagier cycles) are some of the most important examples.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -For humans, understanding a natural language sentence or discourse is so effortless that we hardly ever think about it. For machines, however, the task of interpreting natural language, especially grasping meaning beyond the literal content, has proven extremely difficult and requires a large amount of background knowledge. This book focuses on the interpretation of natural language with respect to specific domain knowledge captured in ontologies. The main contribution is an approach that puts ontologies at the center of the interpretation process. This means that ontologies not only provide a formalization of domain knowledge necessary for interpretation but also support and guide the construction of meaning representations. We start with an introduction to ontologies and demonstrate how linguistic information can be attached to them by means of the ontology lexicon model lemon. These lexica then serve as basis for the automatic generation of grammars, which we use to compositionallyconstruct meaning representations that conform with the vocabulary of an underlying ontology. As a result, the level of representational granularity is not driven by language but by the semantic distinctions made in the underlying ontology and thus by distinctions that are relevant in the context of a particular domain. We highlight some of the challenges involved in the construction of ontology-based meaning representations, and show how ontologies can be exploited for ambiguity resolution and the interpretation of temporal expressions. Finally, we present a question answering system that combines all tools and techniques introduced throughout the book in a real-world application, and sketch how the presented approach can scale to larger, multi-domain scenarios in the context of the Semantic Web. Table of Contents: List of Figures / Preface / Acknowledgments / Introduction / Ontologies / Linguistic Formalisms / Ontology Lexica / Grammar Generation / Putting Everything Together / Ontological Reasoning for Ambiguity Resolution / Temporal Interpretation / Ontology-Based Interpretation for Question Answering / Conclusion / Bibliography / Authors' BiographiesSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -¿In der Bundesrepublik Deutschland überwachen die Behörden der Länder die Einhaltung der Vorschriften, die für das Inverkehrbringen und die Anwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln gelten.Das Pflanzenschutz-Kontrollprogramm ist ein bundesweit harmonisiertes Programm zur Überwachung pflanzenschutzrechtlicher Vorschriften. Die Durchführung und Berichterstattung der Kontrollen erfolgen nach gemeinsamen Standards der Länder auf Grundlage eines abgestimmten Methoden-Handbuches. Die Festlegung von Kontrolltatbeständen und die Betriebsauswahl erfolgt durch die Länder; zusätzlich gibt es bundesweite Kontrollschwerpunkte. Der vorliegende Bericht fasst die Ergebnisse des Jahres 2012 zusammen.Bundesweit wurden in 2.482 Handelsbetrieben Verkehrskontrollen durchgeführt und in 5.059 Betrieben der Landwirtschaft, des Gartenbaus und der Forstwirtschaft Betriebs- oder Anwendungskontrollen vorgenommen. Im Rahmen der Überwachung der Verordnung über Pflanzenschutzmittel und Pflanzenschutzgeräte (Pflanzenschutzmittelverordnung) wurden des Weiteren 95.769 Pflanzenschutzgeräte von amtlichen bzw. amtlich anerkannten Kontrollstellen überprüft. 199 Pflanzenschutzmittel wurden in Hinsicht auf Zusammensetzung und physikalische, chemische und technische Eigenschaften untersucht.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 52 pp. Deutsch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Introduces hydrodynamics to undergraduate students in physics and astrophysics.Stellar winds are a common phenomenon in the life of stars, from the dwarfs like the Sun to the red giants and hot supergiants, constituting one of the basic aspects of modern astrophysics. Stellar winds are a hydrodynamic phenomenon in which circumstellar gases expand towards the interstellar medium. This book presents an elementary introduction to the fundamentals of hydrodynamics with an application to the study of stellar winds. The principles of hydrodynamics have many other applications, so that the book can be used as an introduction to hydrodynamics for students of physics, astrophysics and other related areas.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 196 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book presents a comprehensive discussion of classical ideas, core topics, currents and detailed theoretical underpinnings in medical sociology. It is a globally renowned source and reference for those interested in social dimensions of health and illness. The presentation is enriched with explanatory and illustrative styles. The design and illustration of details will shift the minds of the readers from mere classroom discourse to societal context (the space of health issues), to consider the implications of those ideas in a way that could guide health interventions. The elemental strengths are the sociological illustrations from African context, rooted in deep cultural interpretations necessitated because Africa bears a greater brunt of health problems. More so, the classical and current epistemological and theoretical discourse presented in this book are indicative of core themes in medical sociology in particular, but cut across a multidisciplinary realm including health social sciences (e.g., medical anthropology, health psychology, medical demography, medical geography and health economics) and health studies (medicine, public health, epidemiology, bioethics and medical humanities) in general. Therefore, apart from the book¿s relevance as a teaching text of medical sociology for academics, it is also meant for students at various levels and all health professionals who require a deeper understanding of social dimensions of health and illness (with illustrations from the African context) and sociological contributions to health studies in general.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 320 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on the innovative and more critical management approach adopted in the PA (Public Administration) in order to identify and describe the main models and instruments to economically evaluate the decision making process in accordance to the specific conditions such as efficiency, effectiveness, cost and equity. The manuscript pays special attention to this sector by identifying, investigating and applying the main evaluation models (logic and methods) of the decision making process, in particular in terms of investment decisions. In the recent decades, with reference to PA, several managerial approaches have been developed from a business management perspective. These managerial approaches differ in terms of variables analyzed, such as the role of governance or the specific logics and mechanisms applied, but all of them have a common goal, which is the improvement of efficiency, effectiveness, economic and equitable decision making and operations in the PA. Thisbook investigates the different mentioned frameworks adopting a wider and integrated analysis perspectiveon the evaluation of investments in the health care system.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 76 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book highlights various cutting-edge topics and approaches to cooperation and regional integration inSouth Asia. Contributions from both South Asian and EU scholars carry the distinctive flavour of differing perspectives, in order to identify possible driving factors for regional cooperation.The book is divided into four parts:Peace and Stability focuses on how to combat terrorism and ideologies of hate, looks at governance in the context of cultural diversity, and examines the role of education in achieving traditional and human security;Economic Cooperation deals with potential EU-India trade relations as well as the issue of how to transform the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) into an effective and coherent economic space;Efficient Use of Resources analyses how the region can achieve more development;EU-South Asia relations elaborates on potential areas of cooperation between the two regions.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 220 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This volume provides an important update to our current understanding of politics and the internet in a variety of new contexts, both geographically and institutionally. The subject of e-democracy has morphed over the years from speculative and optimistic accounts of a future heightened direct citizen involvement in political decision-making and an increasingly withered state apparatus, to more prosaic investigations of party and governmental website content and micro level analyses of voters¿ online activities. Rather than levelling the communications and participation playing field, most studies concluded that existing patterns of bias and power distribution were being repeated online, with the one exception of a genuine change in the potential for protest and e-activism. Across all of these accounts, the question remains whether the internet is a levelling communication tool that elevates the profile of marginalised players in the political system, or whether it is a medium that simply reinforces existing power and participatory biases. While employing case studies from various global perspectives, this book investigates the role of digital media and competitive advantage, campaigns and the effect of social media, online communication as way of fomenting nonviolent revolutions and the undeniable and important role of the internet on democracy around the world.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 160 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book explores the importance of autonomy in family law. It argues that traditional understandings of autonomy are inappropriate in the family law context and instead recommends the use of relational autonomy. The book starts by explaining how autonomy has historically been understood, before exploring the problems with its use in family law. It then sets out the model of relational autonomy which, it will be argued, is more appropriate in this context. Finally, some examples of practical application are presented. The issues raised and theoretical discussionis relevant to any jurisdiction.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 68 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -How do firms jointly develop open information infrastructures To answer this question, this book draws on the results of a longitudinal research project covering the development of the pharmaceutical distribution industry in China from 2004 to 2012, focusing on the emergence and subsequent evolution of industry-wide information infrastructures. How do firms delimit areas of proprietary innovation in open innovation projects How do firms coordinate, initiate, negotiate and implement the development of innovative infrastructures How do processes and practices within firms enable and constrain such collective efforts - This book provides answers to these questions and draws conclusions regarding the challenges and new capabilities that firms will need in a world in which participation in the building of open information infrastructures becomes a necessary task for commercial organizations.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 76 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The aim of this book is to analyze the quality of entrepreneurial management and economic development in the Latin American region from a microeconomic point of view. It seeks to explain the Latin American way of business management as well as envision ways in which Latin American businesses can increase productivity and innovation in order to successfully compete in the global market.Latin America comprises nearly 8.5% of the global population and represents over 8% of the global GDP, yet it is home to only 12 (or less than 2.5%) of the world¿s 500 largest companies. In this volume, the author analyzes the unique dynamics of Latin American corporate culture to consider the particular obstacles to more successful performance. Drawing evidence from dozens of companies across the eight largest Latin American economies, he notes that Latin American companies have evolved in the context of a highly aristocratic and oligarchic society, dominated by patriarchal families from the upper classes. Corporate structure, especially in family-owned companies, is based largely on patronage and privilege and often characterized by unnecessary hierarchy, redundant responsibilities and poor communication and information management systems.Operating in relative isolation, with little incentive to invest in innovation to compete against foreign products has reinforced this conservative culture.Taking a fresh perspective that focuses at the firm level, with an emphasis on corporate administration, the author presents a compelling explanation for Latin Americäs delay in economic development and offers insights for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, identifying promising industrial sectors and improving productivity and competitiveness on the global stage.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 172 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The analysis of the formation processes and manifestations of political culture in the domain of international relations and organization lacks a concrete theoretical and methodological framework. However, the main theoretical and methodological deficits seem to be related to the need for a clear-cut definition of the concept itself as well as to the integration of political science methodological tools into the international institutional law debate. This book considers the basic theoretical and methodological requirements for the use of political culture as a conceptual tool in the field of international organization research. Moreover, it applies the core theoretical and methodological assumptions to three case-studies, namely, the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union, which are perceived as agents of distinct political cultures in the international system.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 100 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The book analyzes the topic of judicial reforms in four countries of South-East Europe, focusing on two specific factors that have influenced the reforms in the past two decades: the role played by the European Union in light of the east Enlargement process and the legacies of the communist regimes. Specifically, the aim is to account for similarities and differences in the reform paths of Slovenia, Romania, Croatia, and Serbia. In each country, in fact, the influence of the EU policies has been differently mediated by national factors that, broadly conceived, may be considered as expressing the legacies of the past regimes. In some cases, these legacies challenged judicial reforms and inhibited the influence of the EU; in other cases, they were positively overcome by following the route suggested by the EU. Some explanatory factors for these differences will be proposed drawing from democratization studies, Europeanization literature, and comparative judicial systems.The book focuses on countries having different status vis-a` -vis the EU and differently involved, in term of timing, in the EU accession process: some of them are new member states entered in 2004 (Slovenia) or in 2007 (Romania); others were, until recently, acceding countries (Croatia) or candidates to the membership (Serbia). This comparison allows investigation of the power of EU conditionality in different phases of the EU enlargement process.vis-a` -vis the EU and differently involved, in term of timing, in the EU accession process: some of them are new member states entered in 2004 (Slovenia) or in 2007 (Romania); others were, until recently, acceding countries (Croatia) or candidates to the membership (Serbia). This comparison allows investigation of the power of EU conditionality in different phases of the EU enlargement process.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Information Theory (IT) tools, widely used in many scientific fields such as engineering, physics, genetics, neuroscience, and many others, are also useful transversal tools in image processing. In this book, we present the basic concepts of IT and how they have been used in the image processing areas of registration, segmentation, video processing, and computational aesthetics. Some of the approaches presented, such as the application of mutual information to registration, are the state of the art in the field. All techniques presented in this book have been previously published in peer-reviewed conference proceedings or international journals. We have stressed here their common aspects, and presented them in an unified way, so to make clear to the reader which problems IT tools can help to solve, which specific tools to use, and how to apply them. The IT basics are presented so as to be self-contained in the book. The intended audiences are students and practitioners of image processing and related areas such as computer graphics and visualization. In addition, students and practitioners of IT will be interested in knowing about these applications.Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Information Theory Basics / Image Registration / Image Segmentation / Video Key Frame Selection / Informational Aesthetics Measures / Bibliography / Authors' BiographiesSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 168 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This Springer Brief presents the architectures of small-cell networks and recent advances in interference management. The key challenges and values of small cells are first introduced, followed by the reviews of various small-cell architectures and interference management techniques in both heterogeneous CDMA and heterogeneous OFDMA small-cell networks. New adaptive power control and dynamic spectrum access techniques are discussed to promote a harmonized coexistence of diverse network entities in both 3G and 4G small-cell networks. Analytically devised from optimization and game theories, autonomous solutions are shown to effectively manage the intra-tier and cross-tier interferences in small cells. Informative and practical, this Springer Brief is designed for researchers and professionals working in networking and resource management. The content is also valuable for advanced-level students interested in network communications and power allocation.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 136 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Databases in Networked Information Systems, DNIS 2014, held in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, March 2014. The 21 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical section such as big data and cloud computing; astronomical data management; business data analytics and visualization; business data analytics in sciences; geo-spatial decision making and query languages; business data analytics in astronomy.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 292 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Although used with increasing frequency in many branches of physics, random matrix ensembles are not always sufficiently specific to account for important features of the physical system at hand. One refinement which retains the basic stochastic approach but allows for such features consists in the use of embedded ensembles.The present text is an exhaustive introduction to and survey of this important field. Starting with an easy-to-read introduction to general random matrix theory, the text then develops the necessary concepts from the beginning, accompanying the reader to the frontiers of present-day research. With some notable exceptions, to date these ensembles have primarily been applied in nuclear spectroscopy. A characteristic example is the use of a random two-body interaction in the framework of the nuclear shell model. Yet, topics in atomic physics, mesoscopic physics, quantum information science and statistical mechanics of isolated finite quantum systems can also be addressed using these ensembles.This book addresses graduate students and researchers with an interest in applications of random matrix theory to the modeling of more complex physical systems and interactions, with applications such as statistical spectroscopy in mind.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 420 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This is a unique book addressing the integration of risk methodology from various fields. It will stimulate intellectual debate and communication across disciplines, promote better risk management practices and contribute to the development of risk management methodologies. Individual chapters explain fundamental risk models and measurement, and address risk and security issues from diverse areas such as finance and insurance, the health sciences, life sciences, engineering and information science. Integrated Risk Sciences is an emerging discipline that considers risks in different fields, aiming at a common language, and at sharing and improving methods developed in different fields. Readers should have a Bachelor degree and have taken at least one basic university course in statistics and probability. The main goal of the book is to provide basic knowledge on risk and security in a common language; the authors have taken particular care to ensure that all content can readily be understood by doctoral students and researchers across disciplines. Each chapter provides simple case studies and examples, open research questions and discussion points, and a selected bibliography inviting readers to further study.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 488 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book takes a fresh look at biometrics and identity management, extending the dialogue beyond technical considerations, and exploring some of the broader societal and philosophical aspects surrounding the use of biometric applications. Features: presents a brief history of the development of biometrics, and describes some of the popularly held misconceptions surrounding the technology; investigates the challenges and possibilities of biometrics across third party infrastructures and on mobile computing devices; provides guidance on biometric systems design; explores the mechanisms necessary to enable identity intelligence, including logging mechanisms, data communications and data formats; discusses such usage issues as collaboration frameworks, and messaging and data translation; examines the impact of biometric technologies on society, covering issues of privacy and user factors; reviews the current situation in identity management, and predicts where these trends may take us inthe future.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 260 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -In practice, the design and architecture of a cloud varies among cloud providers. We present a generic evaluation framework for the performance, availability and reliability characteristics of various cloud platforms. We describe a generic benchmark architecture for cloud databases, specifically NoSQL database as a service. It measures the performance of replication delay and monetary cost.Service Level Agreements (SLA) represent the contract which captures the agreed upon guarantees between a service provider and its customers. The specifications of existing service level agreements (SLA) for cloud services are not designed to flexibly handle even relatively straightforward performance and technical requirements of consumer applications. We present a novel approach for SLA-based management of cloud-hosted databases from the consumer perspective and an end-to-end framework for consumer-centric SLA management of cloud-hosted databases. The framework facilitates adaptive and dynamic provisioning of the database tier of the software applications based on application-defined policies for satisfying their own SLA performance requirements, avoiding the cost of any SLA violation and controlling the monetary cost of the allocated computing resources. In this framework, the SLA of the consumer applications are declaratively defined in terms of goals which are subjected to a number of constraints that are specific to the application requirements. The framework continuously monitors the application-defined SLA and automatically triggers the execution of necessary corrective actions (scaling out/in the database tier) when required. The framework is database platform-agnostic, uses virtualization-based database replication mechanisms and requires zero source code changes of the cloud-hosted software applications.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 224 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -In recent decades, extreme rains and drought have struck urban regions in Africa like never before. Nevertheless, limited information is available on which to base development of early warning systems, identification of high-risk zones and formulation of local action plans. This book is about how to build the knowledge necessary for planning adaptation to climate change in Sub-Saharan cities. It brings together lessons learned from international development actions conducted by a number of scholars in disciplines ranging from meteorology and hydrogeology to urban planning and environmental management. Selected methods to assess the impacts of extreme weather and ecological stress are presented along with possible approaches to improve the adaptive capacity of Sub-Saharan cities through institutional measures at the local government level. The book is addressed to graduate students, researchers and practitioners interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills in order to integrate climate change into applied research and development projects in urban Africa.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 268 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 17th International GI/ITG Conference on Measurement, Modeling and Evaluation of Computing Systems and Dependability and Fault-Tolerance, MMB & DFT 2014, held in Bamberg, Germany, in March 2014. The 21 papers presented (2 invited papers, 3 tool papers and 16 full papers) were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. MMB & DFT 2014 cover all aspects of performance and dependability evaluation of systems including networks, computer architectures, distributed systems, workflow systems, software, fault-tolerant and secure systems. The conference also featured 3 satellite workshops namely the International Workshop on Demand Modeling and Quantitative Analysis of Future Generation Energy Networks and Energy-Efficient Systems, FGENET 2014; the International Workshop on Modeling, Analysis and Management of Social Networks and their Applications, SOCNET 2014 and the 2nd Workshop on Network Calculus, WoNeCa 2014.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 280 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book presents and discusses the state of the art and future trends in software engineering education. It introduces new and innovative methods, models and frameworks to focus the training towards the needs and requirements of the industry. Topics included in this book are: education models for software engineering, development of the software engineering discipline, innovation and evaluation of software engineering education, curriculum for software engineering education, requirements and cultivation of outstanding software engineers for the future and cooperation models for industries and software engineering education.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 18th Annual International Conference on Research in Computational Molecular Biology, RECOMB 2014, held in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, in April 2014. The 35 extended abstracts were carefully reviewed and selected from 154 submissions. They report on original research in all areas of computational molecular biology and bioinformatics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 480 pp. Englisch.