springer apr 2011 (581 Ergebnisse)

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book introduces a new approach in designing E-Librarian Services. Such a system is able to retrieve multimedia resources from a digital library in a more efficient way than by browsing through an index, or by using a simple keyword search. It combines recent advances in multimedia information retrieval with aspects of human-machine interfaces. The user can enter his question in natural language. The premise is that more pertinent results would be retrieved if the search engine understood the sense of the user's query. The returned results are then logical consequences of an inference rather than of keyword matchings. An E-Librarian Service simulates a human librarian. Hence, it does not return the answer to the user's question, but it retrieves the most pertinent document(s), in which the user finds the answer to his question. Also, an E-Librarian Service always proposes a solution to the user, even if the system concludes that there is no exhaustive answer. 228 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book introduces a new approach in designing E-Librarian Services. Such a system is able to retrieve multimedia resources from a digital library in a more efficient way than by browsing through an index, or by using a simple keyword search. It combines recent advances in multimedia information retrieval with aspects of human-machine interfaces. The user can enter his question in natural language. The premise is that more pertinent results would be retrieved if the search engine understood the sense of the user's query. The returned results are then logical consequences of an inference rather than of keyword matchings. An E-Librarian Service simulates a human librarian. Hence, it does not return the answer to the user's question, but it retrieves the most pertinent document(s), in which the user finds the answer to his question. Also, an E-Librarian Service always proposes a solution to the user, even if the system concludes that there is no exhaustive answer. 228 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Science fiction is the playground of the imagination. If you are interested in science or fascinated with the future then science fiction is where you explore new ideas and let your dreams and nightmares duke it out on the safety of the page or screen. But what if we could use science fiction to do more than that What if we could use science fiction based on science fact to not only imagine our future but develop new technologies and products What if we could use stories, movies and comics as a kind of tool to explore the real world implications and uses of future technologies today Science Fiction Prototyping is a practical guide to using fiction as a way to imagine our future in a whole new way. Filled with history, real world examples and conversations with experts like best selling science fiction author Cory Doctorow, senior editor at Dark Horse Comics Chris Warner and Hollywood science expert Sidney Perkowitz, Science Fiction Prototyping will give you the tools you need tobegin designing the future with science fiction.The future is Brian David Johnson¿s business. As a futurist at Intel Corporation, his charter is to develop an actionable vision for computing in 2021. His work is called ¿future casting¿¿using ethnographic field studies, technology research, trend data, and even science fiction to create a pragmatic vision of consumers and computing. Johnson has been pioneering development in artificial intelligence, robotics, and reinventing TV. He speaks and writes extensively about future technologies in articles and scientific papers as well as science fiction short stories and novels (Fake Plastic Love and Screen Future: The Future of Entertainment, Computing and the Devices We Love). He has directed two feature films and is an illustrator and commissioned painter.Table of Contents: Preface / Foreword / Epilogue / Dedication / Acknowledgments / 1. The Future Is in Your Hands / 2. Religious Robots and Runaway Were-Tigers: A Brief Overview ofthe Science and the Fiction that Went Into Two SF Prototypes / 3. How to Build Your Own SF Prototype in Five Steps or Less / 4. I, Robot: From Asimov to Doctorow: Exploring Short Fiction as an SF Prototype and a Conversation With Cory Doctorow / 5. The Men in the Moon: Exploring Movies as an SF Prototype and a Conversation with Sidney Perkowitz / 6. Science in the Gutters: Exploring Comics as an SF Prototype and a Conversation With Chris Warner / 7. Making the Future: Now that You Have Developed Your SF Prototype, What¿s Next / 8. Einstein¿s Thought Experiments and Asimov¿s Second Dream / Appendix A: The SF Prototypes / Notes / Author BiographySpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 244 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book introduces a new approach to designing E-Librarian Services. With the help of this system, users will be able to retrieve multimedia resources from digital libraries more efficiently than they would by browsing through an index or by using a simple keyword search. E-Librarian Services combine recent advances in multimedia information retrieval with aspects of human-machine interfaces, such as the ability to ask questions in natural language; they simulate a human librarian by finding and delivering the most relevant documents that offer users potential answers to their queries. The premise is that more pertinent results can be retrieved if the search engine understands the meaning of the query; the returned results are therefore logical consequences of an inference rather than of keyword matches. Moreover, E-Librarian Services always provide users with a solution, even in situations where they are unable to offer a comprehensive answer.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book provides an overview of systems engineering, its important elements, and aspects of management that will lead in the direction of building systems with a greater likelihood of success. Emphasis is placed upon the following elements: How the systems approach is defined, and how it guides the systems engineering processes How systems thinking helps in combination with the systems approach and systems engineering Time lines that define the life cycle dimensions of a system System properties, attributes, features, measures and parameters Approaches to architecting systems Dealing with requirements, synthesis, analysis and cost effectiveness considerations Life cycle costing of systems Modeling, simulation and other analysis methods Technology and its interplay with risk and its management Systems acquisition and integration Systems of systems Thinking outside the box Success and failure factors Software engineering Standards Systems engineering managementTogether, these top-level aspects of systems engineering need to be understood and mastered in order to improve the way we build systems, as they typically become larger and more complex.Table of Contents: Definitions and Background / The Systems Approach / Systems Thinking / Key Elements of Systems Engineering / The Life Cycle Dimension / System Properties, Attributes and Features (PAFs) / Measures and Parameters / Architecting / Functional Decomposition / Requirements Engineering / Synthesis / Analysis / Cost-Effectiveness / Life Cycle Costing / Modeling and Simulation / Other Analysis Relationships / The Role of Technology / Risk Management / Testing, Verification, and Validation / Integration / Systems Engineering Management / Project Management / Software Engineering / Systems Acquisition / Systems of Systems / Thinking Outside the Box / Ten Failure Factors / A Success Audit / StandardsSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 140 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The visual recognition problem is central to computer vision research. From robotics to information retrieval, many desired applications demand the ability to identify and localize categories, places, and objects. This tutorial overviews computer vision algorithms for visual object recognition and image classification. We introduce primary representations and learning approaches, with an emphasis on recent advances in the field. The target audience consists of researchers or students working in AI, robotics, or vision who would like to understand what methods and representations are available for these problems. This lecture summarizes what is and isn't possible to do reliably today, and overviews key concepts that could be employed in systems requiring visual categorization. Table of Contents: Introduction / Overview: Recognition of Specific Objects / Local Features: Detection and Description / Matching Local Features / Geometric Verification of Matched Features / Example Systems: Specific-Object Recognition / Overview: Recognition of Generic Object Categories / Representations for Object Categories / Generic Object Detection: Finding and Scoring Candidates / Learning Generic Object Category Models / Example Systems: Generic Object Recognition / Other Considerations and Current Challenges / ConclusionsSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Pragmatic Electrical Engineering: Fundamentals introduces the fundamentals of the energy-delivery part of electrical systems. It begins with a study of basic electrical circuits and then focuses on electrical power. Three-phase power systems, transformers, induction motors, and magnetics are the major topics.All of the material in the text is illustrated with completely-worked examples to guide the student to a better understanding of the topics. This short lecture book will be of use at any level of engineering, not just electrical. Its goal is to provide the practicing engineer with a practical, applied look at the energy side of electrical systems. The author's ''pragmatic'' and applied style gives a unique and helpful ''non-idealistic, practical, opinionated'' introduction to the topic.Table of Contents: Basic Stuff / Power of the Sine / Three-Phase Power Systems / Transformers / Machines / ElectromagneticsSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 200 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -To understand why we humans are as we are, it is necessary to look at the essential building blocks thatcomprise our nature. The foundations of this structureareour evolutionary origins as primates and our social roots. Upon these rest features such as ouremotions, language and aesthetic preferences, with ourself-perceptions, self-deceptions and thirst for knowledge right at the top.The unifying force holding these blocks together is evolutionary theory. Evolution provides a deeper understanding ofhuman nature and, in particular,of thecommon roots of these different perspectives.To build a reliable and coherent model of man, leading authors from fields as diverse as primatology, anthropology, neurobiology and philosophy have joined forces to present essays each describing their own expert perspective. Together they provide a convincing and complete picture of our own humannature.Springer-Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 176 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Renewable energy technologies have been used on a small scale for many years now. Issues of intermittency and cost have prevented their widespread use and acceptance. At present, discussion and research is aimed at moving the current global fossil fuels economy to one based on hydrogen as the universal energy carrier, with fuel cells as a means of converting this chemical energy to electrical energy.Hybrid Hydrogen Systems presents an original and comprehensive approach to hybrid energy system optimization, providing a much-needed systems approach to hydrogen energy applications. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of renewable power generation, conversion and storage, including:windsolar photovoltaic powerbiomassbatteriesfuel cells, andhydrogen.As well as proposing a unique approach to minimize the cost and maximize the reliability of hybrid energy systems, Hybrid Hydrogen Systems introduces the benefits of hydrogen as an energy carrier in the context of sustainability.This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners working with hydrogen and fuel cells, as well as to policy makers and advocates of renewable energy. Hybrid Hydrogen Systems will also be a valuable tool for graduate and advanced undergraduate students studying renewable energy and the design and optimization of hydrogen energy systems, as well as for the lecturers who teach these subjects.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 144 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book considers biometric technology in a broad light, integrating the concept seamlessly into mainstream IT, while discussing the cultural attitudes and the societal impact of identity management. Features: summarizes the material covered at the beginning of every chapter, and provides chapter-ending review questions and discussion points; reviews identity verification in nature, and early historical interest in anatomical measurement; provides an overview of biometric technology, presents a focus on biometric systems and true systems integration, examines the concept of identity management, and predicts future trends; investigates performance issues in biometric systems, the management and security of biometric data, and the impact of mobile devices on biometrics technology; explains the equivalence of performance across operational nodes, introducing the APEX system; considers the legal, political and societal factors of biometric technology, in addition to user psychology and other human factors.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 216 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Now is a critical time in pediatric informatics. As information technologies¿electronic health records (EHRs), personal health records (PHRs), computerized physician order entry (CPOE)¿and standards (HL7) are developed to improve the quality of health care, it is imperative for policy makers and pediatricians to be aware of their impact on pediatric care and child health. Informed child advocates must be at the planning table as national and regional health information networks are developed to insure the unique health care needs of children are being met.Pediatric Informatics: Computer Applications in Child Health is a current digest of the important trends in pediatric informatics, written by leading experts in the field. This book explores how the management of biomedical data, information, and knowledge can optimize and advance child health. The contributors investigate the specific importance of pediatric informatics is derived from the biological, psychological, social and cultural needs that the distinguish children from other populations. These distinctions create complexities in the management of pediatric data and information that make children a vulnerable population and require the development of a new body of knowledge in pediatric informatics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 508 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 30th Annual International Conference on the Theory and Applications of Cryptographic Techniques, EUROCRYPT 2011, held in Tallinn, Estonia, in May 2011.The 31 papers, presented together with 2 invited talks, were carefully reviewed and selected from 167 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on lattice-base cryptography, implementation and side channels, homomorphic cryptography, signature schemes, information-theoretic cryptography, symmetric key cryptography, attacks and algorithms, secure computation, composability, key dependent message security, and public key encryption.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 644 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Especially in times of an economic boom following a crisis, companies have to deal with the phenomenon of the 'working capital trap,' which signifies a company's increasing need for financial liquidity in times of hindered access to debt capital, caused by the increasingly restrictive credit approval processes of financial institutions. As a consequence of cost savings, this situation is often reinforced by a low level of inventory.This book takes up the problem and shows ways of escaping the 'trap' by identifying and strengthening in-house financing potential. First, different operating ratios will be introduced. These refer to the amount of capital committed to the flow of goods and to the amount of in-house financing possible. Subsequently, methods for consolidating in-house financing that are affected by procurement processes will be presented from the company's and the supply chain's perspective.From a company's perspective, the methods for consolidating the amount of in-house financing over the following topics: The Management of Payment Terms, Inventory Management and Product Group and Supplier ManagementFrom the supply chain's perspective, the following methods for extending the possible amount of in-house financing will be discussed: Finance-Oriented Supply Chain Sourcing, Supply Chain-Oriented Supplier Financing, Collaborative Cash-to-Cash Management, Collaborative Cash Pooling and Netting, Supply Chain Financing Platforms.The conceptual models will be clarified using a practical example from the automobile industry. Finally, the 'Procurement Value Added' (PVA ) approach will be presented, a concept that measures the contribution of procurement to the company's success.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The book contains research results obtained by applying Bejan's Constructal Theory to the study and therefore the optimization of fins, focusing on T-shaped and Y-shaped ones. Heat transfer from finned surfaces is an example of combined heat transfer natural or forced convection on the external parts of the fin, and conducting along the fin. Fin's heat exchange is rather complex, because of variation of both temperature along the fin and convective heat transfer coefficient. Furthermore possible presence of more fins invested by the same fluid flow has to be considered.Classical fin theory tried to reduce the coupled heat transfer problem to a one-dimensional problem by defining an average temperature of the fin and writing equations using this parameter. However, it was shown that this approach cannot be used because of the effects of two-dimensional heat transfer, especially in the presence of short fins. CFD codes offer the possibility to consider bi-dimensional (and more generally, three-dimensional) effects and then a more real approach to the physic phenomena of finned surface's heat exchange.A commercial CFD code was used to analyse the case of heat exchange in presence of T-shaped fins, following an approach suggested by Bejan's Constructal Theory. The comparative results showed a significant agreement with previous research taken as a reference, and this result allows for the application of this approach to a wider range of systems. T-shaped optimized fin geometry is the starting point for further research.Starting from the optimal results (T-shape optimized fins), we show the trend of the assessment parameter (the dimensionless conductance) in function of the angle a between the two horizontal arms of the fin. A value for a, 90°Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 220 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The development and application of bioactive nano-structured constructs for tissue regeneration is the focus of the research summarised in this thesis. Moreover, a particular focus is the rational use of supercritical carbon dioxide foaming and electrospinning technologies which can lead to innovative polymeric bioresorbable scaffolds made of hydrolysable (both commercial and ¿ad-hoc¿ synthesized) polyesters. Mainly, the author discusses the manipulation of polymer chemical structure and composition to tune scaffold physical properties, and optimization of scaffold 3D architecture by a smart use of both fabrication techniques. The multidisciplinary nature of this research is imperative in pursuing the challenge of tissue regeneration successfully. One of the strengths of this thesis is the integration of knowledge from chemistry, physics, engineering, materials science and biomedical science which has contributed to setting up new national and international collaborations, while strengthening existing ones.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 136 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Power Conversion of Renewable Energy Systems presents an introduction to conventional energy conversion components and systems, as well as those related to renewable energy. This volume introduces systems first, and then in subsequent chapters describes the components of energy systems in detail. Readers will find examples of renewable and conventional energy and power systems, including energy conversion, variable-speed drives and power electronics, in addition to magnetic devices such as transformers and rotating machines. Applications of PSpice, MATLAB, and Mathematica are also included, along with solutions to over 100 application examples.Power Conversion of Renewable Energy Systems aims to instruct readers how to actively apply the theories discussed within. It would be an ideal volume for researchers, students and engineers working with energy systems and renewable energy.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 708 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The classical mechanistic idea of nature that prevailed in science during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was an essentially mindless conception: the physically described aspects of nature were asserted to be completely determined by prior physically described aspects alone, with our conscious experiences entering only passively. During the twentieth century the classical concepts were found to be inadequate. In the new theory, quantum mechanics, our conscious experiences enter into the dynamics in specified ways not fixed by the physically described aspects alone. Consequences of this radical change in our understanding of the connection between mind and brain are described. This second edition contains two new chapters investigating the role of quantum phenomena in the problem of free will and in the placebo effect.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 228 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post conference proceedings of the 6th IFIP WG 9.2, 9.6/11.7, 11.4, 11.6/PrimeLife International Summer School, held in Helsingborg, Sweden, in August 2010. The 27 revised papers were carefully selected from numerous submissions during two rounds of reviewing. They are organized in topical sections on terminology, privacy metrics, ethical, social, and legal aspects, data protection and identity management, eID cards and eID interoperability, emerging technologies, privacy for eGovernment and AAL applications, social networks and privacy, privacy policies, and usable privacy. 368 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -A paradigm shift is taking place in computer science: one generation ago, we learned to abstract from hardware to software, now we are abstracting from software to serviceware implemented through service-oriented computing. Yet ensuring interoperability in open, heterogeneous, and dynamically changing environments, such as the Internet, remains a major challenge for actual machine-to-machine integration. Usually significant problems in aligning data, processes, and protocols appear as soon as a specific piece of functionality is used within a different application context.The Semantic Web Services (SWS) approach is about describing services with metadata on the basis of domain ontologies as a means to enable their automatic location, execution, combination, and use. Fensel and his coauthors provide a comprehensive overview of SWS in line with actual industrial practice. They introduce the main sociotechnological components that ground the SWS vision (like Web Science, Service Science, and service-oriented architectures) and several approaches that realize it, e.g. the Web Service Modeling Framework, OWL-S, and RESTful services. The real-world relevance is emphasized through a series of case studies from large-scale R&D projects and a business-oriented proposition from the SWS technology provider Seekda.Each chapter of the book is structured according to a predefined template, covering both theoretical and practical aspects, and including walk-through examples and hands-on exercises. Additional learning material is available on the book website swsbook.org. With its additional features, the book is ideally suited as the basis for courses or self-study in this field, and it may also serve as a reference for researchers looking for a state-of-the-art overview of formalisms, methods, tools, and applications related to SWS.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 372 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Professor Hermann Mosler, former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, former Judge and Vice President of the European Court of Human Rights, Judge of the Interna tional Court of Justice from 1976 to 1985, celebrated his 80th birthday at the end of the year 1992. On 22nd January 1993, the Max Planck Institute organized a colloquium in honour of Hermann Mosler, on a topic which is of theoretical as weIl as practical interest: Interim Measures Indicated by International Courts. The participants of the colloquium were outstanding scholars and experts in the area of international dispute settlement. The present publication is based on the colloquium of January 1993. It contains four reports, namelyon the International Court of Justice (Thirl way), the Court of Justice of the European Communities (Jacobs), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Buergenthal) and the European Court of Human Rights (Bernhardt). Three of the reports were orally pre sented and discussed, and they have been revised and expanded for this publication; the report by Thomas Buergenthal could only be submitted in writing. In preparing the colloquium the authors were requested to concentrate their contributions on the following questions : 1. Legal bases for the indication of interim measures (convention, statute, rules of court). 2. Conditions for the indication of interim measures (jurisdiction, compe tence, admissibility, urgency, necessity - irreparable damage -; request of the parties andjor indication by the court proprio molu).Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 172 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Over the past two decades, the once small local Colorado Springs Mathematics Olympiad, founded by the author himself, has now become an annual state-wide competition, hosting over one-thousand high school contenders each year.This updated printing of the first edition of Colorado Mathematical Olympiad: the First Twenty Years and Further Explorations offers an interesting history of the competition as well as an outline of all the problems and solutions that have been a part of the contest over the years. Many of the essay problems were inspired by Russian mathematical folklore and written to suit the young audience; for example, the 1989 Sugar problem was writtenas a pleasant Lewis Carroll-like story. Some other entertaining problems involve old Victorian map colorings, King Arthur and the knights of the round table, rooks in space, Santa Claus and his elves painting planes, football for 23, and even the Colorado Springs subway system.The book is more than just problems, their solutions, and event statistics; it tells a compelling story involving the lives of those who have been part of the Olympiad from every perspective.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 448 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Bringing together two fundamental texts from Frédéric Pham¿s research on singular integrals, the first part of this book focuses on topological and geometrical aspects while the second explains the analytic approach. Using notions developed by J. Leray in the calculus of residues in several variables and R. Thom¿s isotopy theorems, Frédéric Pham¿s foundational study of the singularities of integrals lies at the interface between analysis and algebraic geometry, culminating in the Picard-Lefschetz formulae. These mathematical structures, enriched by the work of Nilsson, are then approached using methods from the theory of differential equations and generalized from the point of view of hyperfunction theory and microlocal analysis.Providing a ¿must-have¿ introduction to the singularities of integrals, a number of supplementary references also offer a convenient guide to the subjects covered.This book will appeal to both mathematicians and physicists with an interest in the area of singularities of integrals.Frédéric Pham, now retired, was Professor at the University of Nice. He has published several educational and research texts. His recent work concerns semi-classical analysis and resurgent functions.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This innovative text provides a much-needed critical introduction to terrorism. Cutting-edge research on contemporary issues is combined with new insights into long-debated issues such as the definition of terrorism, the nature of the terrorist threat and counter-terrorism strategies. Showing that the methods we adopt as well as the material we study are vital for a clear understanding of the subject, this text goes beyond traditional IR approaches to rethink popular beliefs and assumptions about terrorism. Taking a genuinely global and integrated approach, this book is an ideal entry into the study of terrorism. In the years since 9/11, terrorism has been transformed into an issue of global significance. Terrorism and the war on terror has affected virtually every aspect of modern life, and a precise understanding of terrorism is now more important - and contentious - than ever. This text examines the origins, perceptions of, and responses to, terrorism and counter-terrorism in the contemporary world. It takes into account recent developments on the world stage as well as within - and in response to - critical terrorism studies. This text is the ultimate companion for students studying terrorism as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. It guides students step-by-step to have a deeper understanding of terrorism and a more nuanced approach to their studies.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Integration of AI and OR Techniques in Constraint Programming for Combinatorial Optimization Problems, CPAIOR 2011, held in Berlin, Germany, in May 2011.The 13 revised full papers and 7 revised short papers presented together with 3 invited lectures were carefully reviewed and selected from 35 submissions. The papers are focused on both theoretical and practical, application-oriented issues and present current research with a special focus on the integration and hybridization of the approaches of constraint programming, artificial intelligence, and operations research technologies for solving large scale and complex real life combinatorial optimization problems.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Recent books have raised the public consciousness about the dangers of global warming and climate change. This book is intended to convey the message that there is a solution. The solution is the rapid development of hydrogen fusion energy. This energy source is inexhaustible and, although achieving fusion energy is difficult, the progress made in the past two decades has been remarkable. The physics issues are now understood well enough that serious engineering can begin.The book starts with a summary of climate change and energy sources, trying to give a concise, clear, impartial picture of the facts, separate from conjecture and sensationalism. Controlled fusion -- the difficult problems and ingenious solutions -- is then explained using many new concepts.The bottom line -- what has yet to be done, how long it will take, and how much it will cost -- may surprise you.Francis F. Chen's career in plasma has extended over five decades. His textbook Introduction to Plasma Physics has been used worldwide continuously since 1974. He is the only physicist who has published significantly in both experiment and theory and on both magnetic fusion and laser fusion. As an outdoorsman and runner, he is deeply concerned about the environment. Currently he enjoys bird photography and is a member of the Audubon Society.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 452 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - 'This second edition graduate textbook and reference guide for nurses presents a practice-focused intervention from the notable Artinian Intersystem Model. While the first edition focused largely on theory, this second editions seeks to integrate both theory and practice to ultimately help enhance the nurse-patient relationship as well as nursing practice at large.The authors offer practical care plans at various levels of expertise across the continuum of care, from acute care to long term care to resolve concerns through joint decision making and to document interventions. The text establishes exclusive care plans and scales for the Artinian Intersystem Model to document changes in health status. The book also employs evidence-based, Glaserian Grounded Theory research methods and serves as a companion to Springer's recent Glaserian Grounded Theory in Nursing Research. Key features:Uses evidence-based Grounded Theories to guide clinical nursing practice Establishes a care plan that accounts for the interaction of the biological, psychosocial, and spiritual subsystems Discusses the application of the Artinian Intersystem Model in various practice settings, including community health, cosmetic procedures, case management, and assisted living Includes a digital adjunct containing forms for applying the model at the graduate and undergraduate levels, as well as conceptual maps of research used for sample care plans'.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -A study of topology and geometry, beginning with a comprehensible account of the extraordinary and rather mysterious impact of mathematical physics, and especially gauge theory, on the study of the geometry and topology of manifolds. The focus of the book is the Yang-Mills-Higgs field and some considerable effort is expended to make clear its origin and significance in physics. Much of the mathematics developed here to study these fields is standard, but the treatment always keeps one eye on the physics and sacrifices generality in favor of clarity. This second edition has replaced a brief appendix in the first on the Seiberg-Witten equations with a much more detailed survey of Donaldson-Witten Theory and the Witten Conjecture regarding the relationship between Donaldson and Seiberg-Witten invariants.A large number of exercises are included to encourage active participation on the part of the reader.Review from first edition:'It is unusual to find a book so carefully tailored to the needs of this interdisciplinary area of mathematical physics.Naber combines a knowledge of his subject with an excellent informal writing style.'SIAM REVIEWSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 432 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Fundamentals of Combustion Processes is designed as a textbook for an upper-division undergraduate and graduate level combustion course in mechanical engineering. The authors focus on the fundamental theory of combustion and provide a simplified discussion of basic combustion parameters and processes such as thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, ignition, diffusion and pre-mixed flames. The text includes exploration of applications, example exercises, suggested homework problems and videos of laboratory demonstrationsSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book provides a systematic development of the Rubio de Francia theory of extrapolation, its many generalizations and its applications to one and two-weight norm inequalities.The book is based upon a new and elementary proof of the classical extrapolation theorem that fully develops the power of the Rubio de Francia iteration algorithm.This technique allows us to give a unified presentation of the theory and to give important generalizations to Banach function spaces and to two-weight inequalities.We provide many applications to the classical operators of harmonic analysis to illustrate our approach, giving new and simpler proofs of known results and proving new theorems.The book is intended for advanced graduate students and researchers in the area of weighted norm inequalities, as well as for mathematicians who want to apply extrapolation to other areas such as partial differential equations.Springer Basel AG in Springer Science + Business Media, Heidelberger Platz 3, 14197 Berlin 296 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The global economy is still experiencing the effects of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Over the last three years economies worldwide have slowed and international trade has declined. Most importantly, the crisis has negatively affected the lives of ordinary people, creating a sense of uncertainty about the future and thus posing a direct threat to social cohesion, thus posing new challenges to political leadership. Climate change is also forcing the developed world to formulate a common strategy that will balance growth and environmental protection. The aim of the book is to examine these international trends and comprehend the transformations that take place internationally. The multi-authored work presents several accounts on the course of vital aspects of politics and economy. As a result, the contents of the book focusses on four main subjects: 1) global economic crisis and its consequences, 2) economic governance, 3) political leadership, and 4) climate change.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 216 pp. Englisch.