springer nature dez 2014 (350 résultats)

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Conducting fieldwork for investigating technology use in healthcare is a challenging undertaking, and yet there is little in the way of community support and guidance for conducting these studies. There is a need for better knowledge sharing and resources to facilitate learning. This is the second of two volumes designed as a collective graduate guidebook for conducting fieldwork in healthcare. This volume brings together thematic chapters that draw out issues and lessons learned from practical experience. Researchers who have first-hand experience of conducting healthcare fieldwork collaborated to write these chapters. This volume contains insights, tips, and tricks from studies in clinical and non-clinical environments, from hospital to home. This volume starts with an introduction to the ethics and governance procedures a researcher might encounter when conducting fieldwork in this sensitive study area. Subsequent chapters address specific aspects of conducting situated healthcare research. Chapters on readying the researcher and relationships in the medical domain break down some of the complex social aspects of this type of research. They are followed by chapters on the practicalities of collecting data and implementing interventions, which focus on domain-specific issues that may arise. Finally, we close the volume by discussing the management of impact in healthcare fieldwork. The guidance contained in these chapters enables new researchers to form their project plans and also their contingency plans in this complex and challenging domain. For more experienced researchers, it offers advice and support through familiar stories and experiences. For supervisors and teachers, it offers a source of reference and debate. Together with the first volume, Fieldwork for Healthcare: Case Studies Investigating Human Factors in Computing systems, these books provide a substantive resource on how to conduct fieldwork in healthcare. Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Ethics, Governance, and Patient and Public Involvement in Healthcare / Readying the Researcher for Fieldwork in Healthcare / Establishing and Maintaining Relationships in Healthcare Fields / Practicalities of Data Collection in Healthcare Fieldwork / Healthcare Intervention Studies ¿In the Wild¿ / Impact of Fieldwork in Healthcare: Understanding Impact on Researchers, Research, Practice, and Beyond / References / BiographiesSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 148 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Many applications in different domains need to calculate the shortest-path between two points in a graph. In this paper we describe this shortest path problem in detail, starting with the classic Dijkstra's algorithm and moving to more advanced solutions that are currently applied to road network routing, including the use of heuristics and precomputation techniques. Since several of these improvements involve subtle changes to the search space, it may be difficult to appreciate their benefits in terms of time or space requirements. To make methods more comprehensive and to facilitate their comparison, this book presents a single case study that serves as a common benchmark. The paper also compares the search spaces explored by the methods described, both from a quantitative and qualitative point of view, and including an analysis of the number of reached and settled nodes by different methods for a particular topology.Table of Contents: List of Figures / List of Tables / Acknowledgments / Introduction / Graph Theory Basics / Classical Algorithms / Hierarchical Preprocessing-Dependent Approaches / Non-Hierarchical Preprocessing-Dependent Approaches / Analysis and Comparison of Approaches / Conclusions / Bibliography / Authors' BiographiesSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 88 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Rhodri Evans tells the story of what we know about the universe, from Jacobus Kapteyn¿s Island universe at the turn of the 20th Century, and the discovery by Hubble that the nebulae were external to our own galaxy, through Gamow¿s early work on the cosmic microwavebackground (CMB)and its subsequent discovery by Penzias and Wilson, to modern day satellite-lead CMB research. Research results from the ground-based experiments DASI, BOOMERANG, and satellite missions COBE, WMAP and Planck are explained and interpreted to show how our current picture of the universe was arrived at, and the author looks at the future of CMB research and what we still need to learn.This account is enlivened by Dr Rhodri Evans' personal connections to the characters and places in the story.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 216 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book features 18 essays that explore the ways people communicate in the Arab world, from the Unites Arab Emirates to Qatar, Saudi Arabia to Oman. While there is a concentration of studies from the Gulf Arab states, the collection spans perspectives from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Sudan. Written by both Arab authors and foreign scholars who live or have lived in the region, it will help readers to better understand and communicate with Arab culture and society.The book is divided into three main sections that include studies in educational, professional, and societal contexts. Based on ethnographies, case studies, and real life experiences, the essays provide insight into the ways Arabs communicate in different situations, contexts, and settings such as business, education, politics, media, healthcare, and society at large.Drawing on current theory, research, and practice, this book will help readers better understand and, as a result, better engage with the Arab world.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 380 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book investigates small cities - cities and towns that are not well known or internationally branded, but are facing structural economic and social issues after the Global Financial Crisis. They need to invent, develop and manage new reasons for their existence. The strengths and opportunities are often underplayed when compared to larger cities. These small cities do not have the profile of New York, London, Tokyo or Cairo, or second-tier cities like San Francisco, Manchester, Osaka or Alexandria. This book traces the current state of the creative industries literature after the GFC, but with a specific focus. The specific ¿ and worsening ¿ conditions in third-tier cities are logged. The social and economic challenges within these regions are great, particularly with regard to health and health services, education, employment, social mobility and physical activity. This is not a study that merely diagnoses problems but raises strategies for third-tier cities to create both a profile and growth. The current research field is synthesized to reveal how cities are defined, constituted, developed and, in many cases, suffering decline. There is an imperative to build relationships with other urban environments. The book enters these under-discussed locations and reveal the scarred layering of injustice, signified by depopulation, dis-investment, economic decline and a reduction in public services for health, transportation and education, while also developing specific and innovative models for improvement. The vista summoned in Unique Urbanity is international, with strong attention to trans-local strategies that offer wide relevance, currency and opportunities for policy makers. While third-tier cities are often hidden, marginalized, invisible or demeaned, Unique Urbanity shows that innovation, imagination and creativity can emerge in small places.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 112 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Neoclassical growth theory is the dominant perspective for explaining economic growth. At its core are four implicit assumptions: 1) economic output can become decoupled from energy consumption; 2) economic distribution is unrelated to growth; 3) large institutions are not important for growth; and 4) labor force structure is not important for growth. Drawing on a wide range of data from the economic history of the United States, this book tests the validity of these assumptions and finds no empirical support. Instead, connections are found between the growth in energy consumption and such disparate phenomena as economic redistribution, corporate employment concentration, and changing labor force structure. The integration of energy into an economic growth model has the potential to offer insight into the future effects of fossil fuel depletion on key macroeconomic indicators, which is already manifested in stalled or diminished growth and escalating debt in many national economies. This book argues for an alternative, biophysical perspective to the study of growth, and presents a set of 'stylized facts' that such an approach must successfully explain. Aspects of biophysical analysis are combined with differential monetary analysis to arrive at a unique empirical methodology for investigating the elements and dependencies of the economic growth process.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 140 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This Study Guide accompanies Statistics for Business and Financial Economics, 3rd Ed. (Springer, 2013), which is the most definitive Business Statistics book to use Finance, Economics,and Accounting data throughout the entire book. The Study Guide contains unique chapter reviews for each chapter in the textbook, formulas, examples and additional exercises to enhance topics and their application. Solutions are included so students can evaluate their own understanding of the material. With more real-life data sets than the other books on the market, this study guide and the textbook that it accompanies, give readers all the tools they need to learn material in class and on their own.It is immediately applicable to facing uncertainty and the science of good decision making in financial analysis, econometrics, auditing, production and operations, and marketing research. Data that is analyzed may be collected by companies in the course of their business or by governmental agencies. Students in business degree programs will find this material particularly useful to their other courses and future work.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 376 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book describes in detail the multidisciplinary management of obesity, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the rationale for a multidisciplinary approach and with the tools required to implement it effectively. The emphasis is on a translational approach, starting from basic concepts and fundamental mechanisms of the pathology and clinical morbidity. Experts in the field discuss the full range of relevant topics, including the significance of physical exercise, psychological issues, nutritional strategies, pharmacological options and bariatric surgery. Put another way, the book covers all aspects from the bench to the bedside. Physicians, scientists and postgraduate students will all find it to be invaluable in understanding the causes and optimal management of obesity, which has rapidly become a major public health problem.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 360 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The book gives an overview of environmental friendly gaseous and vapour, refrigerated compressed gas, solid lubricant, mist lubrication, minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) and vegetable oils that can be used as lubricants and additives in industrial machining applications. This book introduces vegetable oils as viable and good alternative resources because of their environmental friendly, non-toxic and readily biodegradable nature. The effectiveness of various types of vegetables oils as lubricants and additives in reducing wear and friction is discussed in this book. Engineers and scientist working in the field of lubrication and machining will find this book useful.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 60 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Manifolds fall naturally into two classes depending on whether they can be fitted with a distance measuring function or not. The former, metrisable manifolds, and especially compact manifolds, have been intensively studied by topologists for over a century, whereas the latter, non-metrisable manifolds, are much more abundant but have a more modest history, having become of increasing interest only over the past 40 years or so. The first book on this topic, this book ranges from criteria for metrisability, dynamics on non-metrisable manifolds, Nyikos¿s Bagpipe Theorem and whether perfectly normal manifolds are metrisable to structures on manifolds, especially the abundance of exotic differential structures and the dearth of foliations on the long plane. A rigid foliation of the Euclidean plane is described. This book is intended for graduate students and mathematicians who are curious about manifolds beyond the metrisability wall, and especially the use of Set Theory as a tool.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 220 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book presents a method for replicating natural butterfly wing scales using a variety of metals for state-of-the-art applications requiring high surface-enhancement properties. During the past decade, three dimensional (3D) sub-micrometer structures have attracted considerable attention for optical applications. These 3D subwavelength metallic structures are, however, difficult to prepare. By contrast, the 3D superstructures of butterfly wing scales, with more than 175 000 morphologies, are efficiently engineered by nature. Natural butterfly wing scales feature 3D sub-micrometer structures that are superior to many human designs in terms of structural complexity, reproducibility, and cost. Such natural wealth offers a versatile chemical route via the replication of these structures into functional metals.A single versatile chemical route can be used to produce butterfly scales in seven different metals. These synthesized structures have the potential for catalytic (Au, Pt, Pd), thermal (Ag, Au, Cu), electrical (Au, Cu, Ag), magnetic (Co, Ni), and optical (Au, Ag, Cu) applications. Plasmon-active Au, Cu, Ag butterfly scales have exhibited excellent properties in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The Au scales as SERS substrates have ten times the analyte detection sensitivity and are one-tenth the cost of their human-designed commercial counterparts (KlariteTM). Preliminary mechanisms of these surface-enhancement phenomena are also reviewed.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This textbook is for the standard, one-semester, junior-senior course that often goes by the title 'Elementary Partial Differential Equations' or 'Boundary Value Problems'. The audience consists of students in mathematics, engineering, and the sciences. The topics include derivations of some of the standard models of mathematical physics and methods for solving those equations on unbounded and bounded domains, and applications of PDE's to biology. The text differs from other texts in its brevity; yet it provides coverage of the main topics usually studied in the standard course, as well as an introduction to using computer algebra packages to solve and understand partial differential equations.For the 3rd edition the section on numerical methods has been considerably expanded to reflecttheir central role in PDE's. A treatment of the finite element method has been included and the code for numerical calculations is now written for MATLAB. Nonetheless the brevity of the text has been maintained. To further aid the reader in mastering the material and using the book, the clarity of the exercises has been improved, more routine exercises have been included, and the entire text has been visually reformatted to improve readability.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 304 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The Lakshadweep islands are a group of 36 coral islands in the Indian Ocean. These small islands are unique for their aquatic bio-diversity and vast blue lagoons. This book presents the results of studies done by the authors during the period 1990 to 2009 that address the beach morphology, hydrodynamics, energy resources and management options with special reference to the issue of both natural and anthropogenic coastal erosion. The relatively low island elevation makes the islands more susceptible to high-wave attack and coastal flooding during adverse weather conditions. The islands are also prone to risks from episodic events like cyclones and deep depressions. This highlights the need for a comprehensive study of the wave, climate and coastal processes at work during different seasons to delineate the factors responsible for shoreline changes and also to identify the locations that need protection and the management options.This book will serve as a guide to researchers, scholars and students who are interested in the coastal processes of coral islands.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 128 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book takes an in-depth look at the theory and methods inherent in the tracing of riverine sediments. Examined tracers include multi-elemental concentration data, fallout radionuclides (e.g., 210Pb, 137Cs, 7Be), radiogenic isotopes (particularly those of Pb, Sr, and Nd), and novel (¿non-traditional¿) stable isotopes (e.g., Cd, Cu, Hg, and Zn), the latter of which owe their application to recent advances in analytical chemistry. The intended goal is not to replace more ¿traditional¿ analyses of the riverine sediment system, but to show how tracer/fingerprinting studies can be used to gain insights into system functions that would not otherwise be possible. The text, then, provides researchers and catchment managers with a summary of the strengths and limitations of the examined techniques in terms of their temporal and spatial resolution, data requirements, and the uncertainties in the generated results.The use of environmental tracers has increased significantly during the past decade because it has become clear that documentation of sediment and sediment-associated contaminant provenance and dispersal is essential to mitigate their potentially harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, the use of monitoring programs to determine the source of sediments to a water body has proven to be a costly, labor intensive, long-term process with a spatial resolution that is limited by the number of monitoring sites that can be effectively maintained. Alternative approaches, including the identification and analysis of eroded upland areas and the use of distributed modeling routines also have proven problematic. The application of tracers within riverine environments has evolved such that they focus on sediments from two general sources: upland areas and specific, localized, anthropogenic point sources. Of particular importance to the former is the development of geochemicalfingerprinting methods that quantify sediment provenance (and to a much lesser degree, sediment-associated contaminants) at the catchment scale. These methods have largely developed independently of the use of tracers to document the source and dispersal pathways of contaminated particles from point-sources of anthropogenic pollution at the reach- to river corridor-scale. Future studies are likely to begin merging the strengths of both approaches while relying on multiple tracer types to address management and regulatory issues, particularly within the context of the rapidly developing field of environmental forensics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This Brief highlights Informatics and related techniques to Computer Science Professionals, Engineers, Medical Doctors, Bioinformatics researchers and other interdisciplinary researchers. Chapters include the Bioinformatics of Diabetes and several computational algorithms and statistical analysis approach to effectively study the disorders and possible causes along with medical applications.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 156 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This collection of essays explores the philosophy of human knowledge from a multitude of perspectives, with a particular emphasis upon the justification component of the classical analysis of knowledge and with an excursion along the way to explore the role of knowledge in Texas Hold ¿Em poker.An important theme of the collection is the role of knowledge in religion, including a detailed argument for agnosticism. A number of the essays touch upon issues in philosophical logic, among them a fascinating new counter-example to Modus Ponens. The collection is rounded out with essays on causality and the philosophy of mind.The author¿s perspective on the philosophy of human knowledge is fresh and challenging, as evidenced by essays entitled ¿On Epistemic Preferability;¿ ¿On Being Unjustified;¿ ¿The Logic of ¿Unless¿¿ and ¿Is ¿This sentence is true.¿ True ¿An interesting feature of The Logic of Philosophy: Pesky Essays is the inclusion of responses to several of its key essays, contributed by such prominent contemporary philosophers as Roderick Chisholm, Ted Sider and Tomas Kapitan.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 252 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The book covers the topic of geopolymers, in particular it highlights the relationship between structural differences as a result of variations during the geopolymer synthesis and its physical and chemical properties. In particular, the book describes the optimization of the thermal properties of geopolymers by adding micro-structural modifiers such as fibres and/or fillers into the geopolymer matrix. The range of fibres and fillers used in geopolymers, their impact on the microstructure and thermal properties is described in great detail. The book content will appeal to researchers, scientists, or engineers who are interested in geopolymer science and technology and its industrial applications.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 140 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book presents the theory of integrating implification and it provides a profound evidence based study of Buurtzorg Nederland. The case itself, forming the building block of the theory, has received tremendous interest in the Netherlands and abroad. This is the first international book on Buurtzorg Nederland and the first one departing from a management multidisciplinary perspective. The book demonstrates theory building by using the Grounded Theory Methodology as a way to contribute to management theory. Integrating simplification gives room for context specific implementation of organizational innovation to different industries.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 240 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -We present an introduction to Berkovich¿s theory of non-archimedean analytic spaces that emphasizes its applications in various fields. The first part contains surveys of a foundational nature, including an introduction to Berkovich analytic spaces by M. Temkin, and to étale cohomology by A. Ducros, as well as a short note by C. Favre on the topology of some Berkovich spaces. The second part focuses on applications to geometry. A second text by A. Ducros contains a new proof of the fact that the higher direct images of a coherent sheaf under a proper map are coherent, and B. Rémy, A. Thuillier and A. Werner provide an overview of their work on the compactification of Bruhat-Tits buildings using Berkovich analytic geometry.The third and final part explores the relationship between non-archimedean geometry and dynamics. A contribution by M. Jonsson contains a thorough discussion of non-archimedean dynamical systems in dimension 1 and 2. Finally a survey by J.-P. Otal gives an account of Morgan-Shalen's theory of compactification of character varieties.This book will provide the reader with enough material on the basic concepts and constructions related to Berkovich spaces to move on to more advanced research articles on the subject. We also hope that the applications presented here will inspire the reader to discover new settings where these beautiful and intricate objects might arise.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 436 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book provides a perspective on a number of approaches to financial modelling and risk management. It examines both theoretical and practical issues. Theoretically, financial risks models are models of a real and a financial ¿uncertainty¿, based on both common and private information and economic theories defining the rules that financial markets comply to. Financial models are thus challenged by their definitions and by a changing financial system fueled by globalization, technology growth, complexity, regulation and the many factors that contribute to rendering financial processes to be continuously questioned and re-assessed. The underlying mathematical foundations of financial risks models provide future guidelines for risk modeling. The book¿s chapters provide selective insights and developments that can contribute to better understand the complexity of financial modelling and its ability to bridge financial theories and their practice.Future Perspectives in Risk Models and Finance begins with an extensive outline by Alain Bensoussan et al. of GLM estimation techniques combined with proofs of fundamental results. Applications to static and dynamic models provide a unified approach to the estimation of nonlinear risk models.A second section is concerned with the definition of risks and their management. In particular, Guegan and Hassani review a number of risk models definition emphasizing the importance of bi-modal distributions for financial regulation. An additional chapter provides a review of stress testing and their implications. Nassim Taleb and Sandis provide an anti-fragility approach based on ¿skin in the game¿. To conclude, Raphael Douady discusses the noncyclical CAR (Capital Adequacy Rule) and their effects of aversion of systemic risks.A third section emphasizes analytic financial modelling approaches and techniques. Tapiero and Vallois provide an overview of mathematical systems and their use infinancial modeling. These systems span the fundamental Arrow-Debreu framework underlying financial models of complete markets and subsequently, mathematical systems departing from this framework but yet generalizing their approach to dynamic financial models. Explicitly, models based on fractional calculus, on persistence (short memory) and on entropy-based non-extensiveness. Applications of these models are used to define a modeling approach to incomplete financial models and their potential use as a ¿measure of incompleteness¿.Subsequently Bianchi and Pianese provide an extensive overview of multi-fractional models and their important applications to Asset price modeling. Finally, Tapiero and Jinquyi consider the binomial pricing model by discussing the effects of memory on the pricing of asset prices.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 332 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book integrates socially responsible investment into modern portfolio theory from a multi-criteria perspective. Socially responsible investment is a ¿new deal¿ championed by the institutional investment and bank sectors, agents that influence mutual funds and other collective investment schemes and which fear that financial strategies without ethical constraints can harm sustainable growth and prosperity. The book shows how to combine financial criteria such as profitability and riskwith non-financial criteria such as the protection of the ecosystem, responsible consumption of energy, and healthcare campaigns. The book¿s first part presents critical issues in ethical investment, while the second explains in detail the application of goal programming techniques for SRI funds, illustrating their use inactual cases. Part three demonstrates how compromise programming can be applied in the contexts of portfolio selection and risk management. Finally, in its fourth part the book examines the application of other decision-making support methods like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework, the Reference Point Method, and soft computing techniques for portfolio selection.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 320 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The present book provides guidance to understanding complicated coupled processes based on the experimental data available and implementation of developed algorithms in numerical codes. Results of selected test cases in the fields of closed-form solutions (e.g., deformation processes), single processes (such as groundwater flow) as well as coupled processes are presented.It ispart of theOpenGeoSysinitiative - an open source project to share knowledge and experience in environmental analysis and scientific computation with the community.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This edited book contains several state-of-the-art papers devoted to econometrics of risk. Some papers provide theoretical analysis of the corresponding mathematical, statistical, computational, and economical models. Other papers describe applications of the novel risk-related econometric techniques to real-life economic situations. The book presents new methods developed just recently, in particular, methods using non-Gaussian heavy-tailed distributions, methods using non-Gaussian copulas to properly take into account dependence between different quantities, methods taking into account imprecise ('fuzzy') expert knowledge, and many other innovative techniques.This versatile volume helps practitioners to learn how to apply new techniques of econometrics of risk, and researchers to further improve the existing models and to come up with new ideas on how to best take into account economic risks.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 508 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book presents a collection of state of the art research on GPU Computing and Application. The major part of this book is selected from the work presented at the 2013 Symposium on GPU Computing and Applications held in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (Oct 9, 2013). Three major domains of GPU application are covered in the book including (1) Engineering design and simulation; (2) Biomedical Sciences; and (3) Interactive & Digital Media. The book also addresses the fundamental issues in GPU computing with a focus on big data processing. Researchers and developers in GPU Computing and Applications will benefit from this book. Training professionals and educators can also benefit from this book to learn the possible application of GPU technology in various areas.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 300 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -How did the Commodore 64 conquer the hearts of millions and become a platform people still actively develop for even today What made it so special This book will appeal to both those who like tinkering with old technology as a hobby and nostalgic readers who simply want to enjoy a trip down memory lane. It discusses in a concise but rigorous format the different areas of home gaming and personal computing where the C64 managed to innovate and push forward existing boundaries.Starting from Jack Tramiel's vision of designing computers 'for the masses, not the classes,' the book introduces the 6510, VIC-II and SID chips that made the C64 unique. It briefly discusses its Basic programming language and then proceeds to illustrate not only many of the games that are still so fondly remembered but also the first generation of game engines that made game development more approachable ¿ among other topics that are often neglected but are necessary to provide a comprehensive overview of how far reaching theC64 influence was.Written in a straightforward and accessible style, readers will relive the dawn of modern technology and gain a better understanding of the legacy that was built, bit by bit, in those pioneering days by computers that had only a tiny fraction of the power modern machines have and, yet, were used to create the technological world we are now living in.With a foreword by Michael TomczykSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 176 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book offers a detailed and fascinating picture of the astonishing astronomical knowledge on which the Roman calendar, traditionally attributed to the king Numa Pompilius (reign 715-673 B.C.), was based. This knowledge, of Mesopotamian origins, related mainly to the planetary movements and to the occurrence of eclipses in the solar system. The author explains the Numan year and cycle and illustrates clearly how astronomical phenomena exerted a powerful influence over both public and private life. A series of concise chapters examine the dates of the Roman festivals, describe the related rites and myths and place the festivals in relation to the planetary movements and astronomical events. Special reference is made to the movements of the moon and Venus, their relation to the language of myth, and the particular significance that Venus was considered to have for female fertility. The book clearly demonstrates the depth of astronomical knowledge reflected in the Roman religious calendar and the designated festive days. It will appeal both to learned connoisseurs and to amateurs with a particular interest in the subject.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 216 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book is designed to be an inclusive for the best practice approach to building maintenance management, where the processes, procedures and operational systems meet a high standard of professional and academic competence. It offers a different perspective on building maintenance management by presenting the schematic building maintenance value chain model and it¿simplementation in Malaysian university buildings. The findings show an improvement to building performance, lower maintenance cost, building sustainability and increased maintenance service user satisfaction.The learning outcomes and summaries provided for each chapter and the extensive use of tables and figures add to the readability of the text.Though the book is based on data from Malaysia, it is useful for a much wider audience, and the informal writing style makes it an interesting reference source.This book is valuablefor readers who are practitioners, professionals andfor academic institutions that offer coursesin the building field, including architecture, quantity surveying, civil engineering, building and facility management, property management, real estate. It will also be of interest to governments and others involved in the construction industry.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 364 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Hermann Haken (born 1927) is one of the ¿fathers¿ of the quantum-mechanical laser theory, formulated between 1962 and 1966, in strong competition with American researchers. Later on, he created Synergetics, the science of cooperation in multicomponent systems.The book concentrates on the development of his scientific work during the first thirty-five years of his career.In 1970 he and his doctoral student Robert Graham were able to show that the laser is an example of a nonlinear system far from thermal equilibrium that shows a phase-transition like behavior. Subsequently, this insight opened the way for the formulation of Synergetics.Synergetics is able to explain, how very large systems show the phenomenon of self-organization that can be mathematically described by only very few order parameters. The results of Haken¿s research were published in two seminal books Synergetics (1977) and Advanced Synergetics (1983).After the year 1985 Haken concentrated his research on the macroscopic foundation of Synergetics. This led him towards the application of synergetic principles in medicine, cognitive research and, finally, in psychology.A comprehensive bibliography of Hermann Haken¿s publications (nearly 600 numbers) is included in the book.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 332 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -In many computer vision applications, objects have to be learned and recognized in images or image sequences. This book presents new probabilistic hierarchical models that allow an efficient representation of multiple objects of different categories, scales, rotations, and views. The idea is to exploit similarities between objects and object parts in order to share calculations and avoid redundant information. Furthermore inference approaches for fast and robust detection are presented. These new approaches combine the idea of compositional and similarity hierarchies and overcome limitations of previous methods. Besides classical object recognition the book shows the use for detection of human poses in a project for gait analysis. The use of activity detection is presented for the design of environments for ageing, to identify activities and behavior patterns in smart homes. In a presented project for parking spot detection using an intelligent vehicle, the proposed approaches are used to hierarchically model the environment of the vehicle for an efficient and robust interpretation of the scene in real-time.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 216 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This volume draws on the ecojustice, citizen science and youth activism literature base in science education and applies the ideas to situated tensions as they are either analyzed theoretically or praxiologically within science education pedagogy. It uses ecojusticeto evaluate the holistic connections between cultural and natural systems, environmentalism, sustainability and Earth-friendly marketing trends, and introduces citizen science and youth activism as two of the pedagogical ways ecojustice philosophy can be enacted. Italso comprises evidence-based practice with international service, community embedded curriculum, teacher preparation, citizen monitoring and community activism, student-scientist partnerships, socioscientific issues, and new avenues for educational research.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 476 pp. Englisch.