Springer feb 2001 (255 Ergebnisse)

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Contributors. Acknowledgments. Foreword. Part 1: Trends and Forces Shaping the New Reality. 1. The Emerging Global Knowledge-Based Economy: Trends and Forces; S. Gera, et al. 2. The Economic Underpinnings of a Knowledge-Based Economy; R. Morck, B. Yeung. 3. The Global Information Infrastructure: From the Virtual Enterprise to the Virtual Economy; L.A. Lefebvre, et al. Part 2: Restructuring and Reorganizing INA Knowledge-Based Economy. 4. Organizational Learning and Intellectual Capital; K. Newton, S. Magun. 5. U.S. Manufacturing: Technology and Public Policy in the `Knowledge Age'; J.E. Ettlie. 6. Industry - University - Government Research Partnerships for Economic Development in the U.S.; F. Betz. 7. A Firm-Based Approach to Industry Classification: Identifying the Knowledge-Based Economy; J.R. Baldwin, G. Gellatly. 8. The Cost of Capital for Knowledge-Based Enterprises in Canada; C. Carpentier, et al. 9. Innovation, M&As and International Competition with an Application to Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology; M.-A. Oliva, L. Rivera-Batiz. Part 3: Key Governance Issues in the Knowledge-based Economy. 10. Electronic Commerce and the Information Highway; L. Soete. 11. Public Management of Positive Research Externalities; P. Cohendet, et al. 12. Intellectual Property Rights and the Transition to the Knowledge Based Economy; I.M. Cockburn, P. Chwelos. 13. Industrial Restructuring in the Knowledge-Based Economy; M. Boyer, et al. 14. Canadian Public Policy in a Knowledge-Based Economy; R. Morck, B. Yeung. Part 4: Summing-Up: What Have We Learned 15. Bringing it Together: Some Policy Challenges; E. Lefebvre, et al. Index.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Fixed-interval smoothing is a method of extracting useful information from inaccurate data. It has been applied to problems in engineering, the physical sciences, and the social sciences, in areas such as control, communications, signal processing, acoustics, geophysics, oceanography, statistics, econometrics, and structural analysis. This monograph addresses problems for which a linear stochastic state space model is available, in which case the objective is to compute the linear least-squares estimate of the state vector in a fixed interval, using observations previously collected in that interval. The author uses a geometric approach based on the method of complementary models. Using the simplest possible notation, he presents straightforward derivations of the four types of fixed-interval smoothing algorithms, and compares the algorithms in terms of efficiency and applicability. Results show that the best algorithm has received the least attention in the literature. Fixed Interval Smoothing for State Space Models: includes new material on interpolation, fast square root implementations, and boundary value models; is the first book devoted to smoothing; contains an annotated bibliography of smoothing literature; uses simple notation and clear derivations; compares algorithms from a computational perspective; identifies a best algorithm. Fixed Interval Smoothing for State Space Models will be the primary source for those wanting to understand and apply fixed-interval smoothing: academics, researchers, and graduate students in control, communications, signal processing, statistics and econometrics. …

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This book is aimed at providing a framework for African issues in the 21st century. Apart from its African-centered approach, it argues that previously marginalized areas of research require in-depth study. It also introduces new areas of interest absent in existing works. The book pays particular attention to the relative success of African countries and regions in their attempt to find solutions to Africa's problems and the changing role in African states in international relations.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Landmarks are preferred image features for a variety of computer vision tasks such as image mensuration, registration, camera calibration, motion analysis, 3D scene reconstruction, and object recognition. Main advantages of using landmarks are robustness w. r. t. lightning conditions and other radiometric vari ations as well as the ability to cope with large displacements in registration or motion analysis tasks. Also, landmark-based approaches are in general com putationally efficient, particularly when using point landmarks. Note, that the term landmark comprises both artificial and natural landmarks. Examples are comers or other characteristic points in video images, ground control points in aerial images, anatomical landmarks in medical images, prominent facial points used for biometric verification, markers at human joints used for motion capture in virtual reality applications, or in- and outdoor landmarks used for autonomous navigation of robots. This book covers the extraction oflandmarks from images as well as the use of these features for elastic image registration. Our emphasis is onmodel-based approaches, i. e. on the use of explicitly represented knowledge in image analy sis. We principally distinguish between geometric models describing the shape of objects (typically their contours) and intensity models, which directly repre sent the image intensities, i. e. ,the appearance of objects. Based on these classes of models we develop algorithms and methods for analyzing multimodality im ages such as traditional 20 video images or 3D medical tomographic images. …

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - In recent years, the contemporary social sciences have again turned their attention to space and places. The hypothesis is that these are not accidental episodes but a full-blown revolution in the way of viewing economic processes and their links with social and cultural structures. In other words, this new sensitivity to places offers the possibility of rethinking issues typical of economics in a different perspective that might be defined as local development, one of the terms most (ab)used in the contemporary scientific and political debate. In this book the authors will thus try to support more strongly, although in a necessarily simplified manner, the possibility of constructing a theory of local development. The key idea is that there is no single development model operating at a given time and valid for all places, but that it is more correct to talk of multiple development paths that co-exist in the same place at the same time (multiplicity of development paths). The central point is not to identify the succession of distinct hegemonic models (Fordism versus post-Fordism, mass production versus lean production and so on), but to show how the complexity of the contemporary economy demands new concepts to explain its apparent contradictions. In the authors' view, the conception of a theory of local development implies radical rethinking in institutionalist terms of the way of viewing the economy and production, recognising that behind economic development lies a wealth of institutional assets that make the encounter between local and global more open and varied than ever before (institutional biodiversity).…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - The present book entitled 'Novel Frontiers in the Production of Compounds for Biomedical Uses' can perhaps be placed in its best perspective by the Shakespearean character in The Tempest who exclaimed' What's past is prologue'. Indeed, this compilation of some of the outstanding presentations in the field of biomedicine made at th the 9 European Congress on Biotechnology (Brussels, Belgium, July 11-15, 1999) not only reflects the achievements of the recent past, but provides a privileged glimpse of the biotechnology that is emerging in the first decade of the new Millennium. It is becoming increasingly apparent that biotechnology is offering biomedicine novel approaches and solutions to develop a sorely needed new generation of biopharmaceuticals. This is all the more necessary because in recent years, new diseases have emerged with extraordinary lethality in all corners of the globe, while age-related chronic illnesses have filled the gap wherever biomedicine has made successful inroads. The rise of antibiotic resistance also poses major threats to public health. Thus, as disease patterns evolve, the rational development of new drugs is becoming urgent, not only for the clinical outcome of patients, but also in optimising the allocation of scarce health care resources through the use of cost-effective productions methods. It is in response to all these challenges that biotechnology offers new strategies that go beyond the more traditional approaches. By the mid-1990's, the number of recombinant products approved annually for therapeutic use reached double digits. With the advent of the genomics revolution.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - 7. 2 Element Stiffness Matrix of a Space Truss Local Coordinates 221 7. 3 Transformation of the Element Stiffness Matrix 223 7. 4 Element Axial Force 224 7. 5 Assemblage ofthe System Stiffness Matrix 225 7. 6 Problems 236 8 STATIC CONDENSATION AND SUBSTRUCTURING 8. 1 Introduction 239 8. 2 Static Condensation 239 8. 3 Substructuring 244 8. 4 Problems 259 9 INTRODUCTION TO FINITE ELEMENT MEmOD 9. 1 Introduction 261 9. 2 Plane Elasticity Problems 262 9. 3 Plate Bending 285 9. 4 Rectangular Finite Element for Plate Bending 285 9. 5 Problems 298 APPENDIX I Equivalent Nodal Forces 301 APPENDIXll Displacement Functions for Fixed-End Beams 305 GLOSSARY 309 SELECTED BmLIOGRAPHY 317 INDEX 319 ix Preface This is the first volume of a series of integrated textbooks for the analysis and design of structures. The series is projected to include a first volume in Matrix Structural Analysis to be followed by volumes in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering as well as other volumes dealing with specialized or advanced topics in the analysis and design of structures. An important objective in the preparation of these volumes is to integrate and unify the presentation using common notation, symbols and general format. Furthermore, all of these volumes will be using the same structural computer program, SAP2000, developed and maintained by Computers and Structures, Inc. , Berkeley, California.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Current debate in cognitive science, from robotics to analysis of vision, deals with problems like the perception of form, the structure and formation of mental images and their modelling, the ecological development of artificial intelligence, and cognitive analysis of natural language. It focuses in particular on the presence of a hierarchy of intellectual constructions in different formats of representation. These diverse approaches, which share a common assumption of the inner nature of representation, call for a new epistemology - even a new psychophysics - based on a theory of reference which is intrinsically cognitive. As a contribution to contemporary research, the reading presents the core of theories developed in Central Europe between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by philosophers, physicists, psychologists and semanticists who shared a dynamic approach and a pronounced concern with problems of interaction and dependence. These theories offer innovative solutions to some of the epistemological and philosophical problems currently at the centre of debate, like part-whole, theory of relations, and conceptual and linguistic categorization.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Systematic Design for Optimisation of Pipelined ADCs proposes and develops new strategies, methodologies and tools for designing low-power and low-area CMOS pipelined A/D converters. The task is tackled by following a scientifically-consistent approach. First of all, the state of the art in pipeline A/D converters is analysed with a double purpose: a) to identify the best suited among different strategies reported in literature and taking into account the objectives pursued; b) to identify the drawbacks of these strategies as a basic first step to improve them. Then, the book proposes a top-down design approach for implementing high-performance low-power and low-area CMOS pipelined A/D converters through: The conception, development and implementation of self-calibrated techniques to extend the linearity of some critical stages in the architecture of pipelined ADCs. The detailed analysis and modelling of some major non-idealities that limit the physical realisation of pipelined ADCs and the proposal, development and implementation of design methodologies to support systematic design of optimised instances of these converters which combine maximum performance with minimum power dissipation and minimum area occupation. £/LIST£ Several implementations together with consistent measured results are presented. In particular, a practical realisation of a low-power 14-bit 5MS/s CMOS pipelined ADC with background analogue self-calibration is fully described. The proposed approach is fully in line with the best practice regarding the design of mixed-signal integrated circuits. On the one hand, drawbacks of currently existing solutions are overcame through innovative strategies and, on the other hand, the expert knowledge is packaged and made available for re-usability by the community of circuit designers. Finally, feasibility of the strategies and the associated encapsulated knowledge isgranted through experimental validation of working silicon. Systematic Design for Optimisation of Pipelined ADCs serves as an excellent reference for analogue design engineers especially designers of low-power CMOS A/D converters. The book may also be used as a text for advanced reading on the subject. …

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Comparative Legal Reasoning and European Law deals with the use of comparative law in European legal adjudication. It describes the different forms of the use of comparative law in legal reasoning, argumentation and justification in several national legal orders and in European level legal institutions. The book begins with an inquiry into the nature of comparative law as a legal source. After the description of the empirical study it ends to the general theory of European law and several hard cases of European law are examined. The book is intended for students and researchers in European law but it also contains aspects to be taken into account in the practical work in European legal orders and legal institutions by judges and legal practitioners.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Rae Earnshawand John A. Vince --_. . _----- 1 Introduction The USPresident's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC)recently advised the US Senate of the strategic importance of investing in IT for the 21st century, particularlyin the areas of software,human-computer interaction, scalable information infrastructure, high-end computing and socioeconomic issues [1]. Research frontiers ofhuman-computer interaction include the desire that interac tion be more centered around human needs and capabilities, and that the human environment be considered in virtual environments and in other contextual infor mation-processing activities. The overall goal is to make users more effective in their information or communication tasks by reducing learning times, speeding performance, lowering error rates, facilitating retention and increasing subjective satisfaction. Improved designs can dramatically increase effectiveness for users, who range from novices to experts and who have diverse cultures with varying educational backgrounds. Their lives could be made more satisfying, their work safer, their learning easier and their health better.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This book presents a model-based approach to quality improvement through design of experiments. After a description of statistical methods for data analysis and design of experiments it addresses the following topics: Taguchi's approach to quality improvement; Reduction of errors transmitted from factors to the response; Robustness against errors in product/process parameters and external noise factors; Optimization procedures for product/process design; Quality improvement through mechanistic models; Quality improvement of products with both qualitative and quantitative factors; and Quality improvement based on replicated observations. The book provides systematic and detailed practical guidance to a model-based approach to quality engineering problems. All methods are illustrated by real-world examples that make them readily accessible to readers. All mathematical proofs are given in appendices to the relevant chapters. The book is written for a wide range of engineers, quality engineering professionals, engineering designers, engineering statisticians, and all those who want to apply design of experiments to solving quality improvement problems. The text is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students in engineering and statistics.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Parking Structures provides a single-source reference for parking structure designers, builders, and owners. This third edition is still the only such book. It addresses how to select the best functional and structural designs for a given situation, ensure long-term durability, design for easy maintenance, decide on the number and placement of entrances and exits, design an easily understood wayfinding system, design for ADA compliance, plan for internal auto and pedestrian traffic circulation, select the most effective and energy efficient lighting system, avoid the most common design and construction pitfalls, provide for adequate patron safety and security, carry out needed repairs, and extend the parking structure life. Parking Structures addresses all the major issues related to parking garages. It is an essential reference for parking structure owners, structural engineers, architects, contractors, and other professionals. New in the third edition: This third edition of Parking Structures includes new material on metric dimensions and recommendations for functional design globally, new research on flow capacity and queuing at parking entry/exits, an entirely new chapter on planning for a new parking structure, including cost issues and alternatives to structure construction, pedestrian considerations, safety in parking facilities, plazas above parking structures, an expanded chapter on seismic design, seismic retrofit, life cycle cost analysis, and upgrades to existing structures.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Die Sauerstofflangzeittherapie bei chronischen Lungenerkrankungen gewinnt an Bedeutung. Bisher ist diese Maßnahme eine Domäne der Pneumologen. Zunehmend begegnet diese Therapie den Allgemeinmedizinern und Internisten.Das vorliegende Buch stellt die Indikationsstellung zur und die Durchführung der Sauerstofflangzeittherapie dar. Die praxisrelevante Information wird schnörkellos, klar gegliedert, gut strukturiert und in verständlicher Sprache übermittelt. Übersichtlich werden die Grundlagen, die Diagnostik und die Wahl der optimalen Therapieform dargestellt. Mustertexte zu verschiedenen Indikationen erleichtern die Verordnung einer Sauerstofflangzeittherapie. 108 pp. Deutsch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Ist es gerecht, einen Drogenkonsumenten wegen Betäubungsmittelbesitzes zu bestrafen, der damit zunächst nur sich selbst schädigt Verdient derjenige Strafe, der einen anderen auf dessen Verlangen hin tötet oder verletzt Der Autor prüft diese grundsätzlichen Fragen anhand der Rechtsphilosophie Immanuel Kants. Er zeigt dabei auf, daß die Bestrafung eines bloß selbstschädigenden oder konsentiert fremdschädigenden Verhaltens ungerecht ist, weil dies alleine kein Unrecht darstellt, das Strafe gerechter Weise vergelten könnte. Die Folgen dieses liberalen Gehalts des Vergeltungsgedankens für die Strafrechtsdogmatik und für die Diskussion um die Legitimität 'opferloser' Delikte werden eingehend untersucht. Ein Gesetzgebungsvorschlag zu Par. 228 StGB rundet das Werk ab.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - Die Sauerstofflangzeittherapie bei chronischen Lungenerkrankungen gewinnt an Bedeutung. Bisher ist diese Maßnahme eine Domäne der Pneumologen. Zunehmend begegnet diese Therapie den Allgemeinmedizinern und Internisten.Das vorliegende Buch stellt die Indikationsstellung zur und die Durchführung der Sauerstofflangzeittherapie dar. Die praxisrelevante Information wird schnörkellos, klar gegliedert, gut strukturiert und in verständlicher Sprache übermittelt. Übersichtlich werden die Grundlagen, die Diagnostik und die Wahl der optimalen Therapieform dargestellt. Mustertexte zu verschiedenen Indikationen erleichtern die Verordnung einer Sauerstofflangzeittherapie.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This volume presents a broad range of critical essays exemplifying different approaches to Shakespeare's two comedies, The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado about Nothing. The essays approach the plays from a number of theoretical positions: feminist, historicist, deconstruction and psychoanalytic, as well as offering general commentary and a discussion of film versions and stage productions. The introduction explains the development of these critical pieces, making the two plays considered accessible to students at all levels. 272 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This volume contains updated versions of the ten papers presented at the First International Workshop on Temporal, Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Data Mining (TSDM 2000) held in conjunction with the 4th European Conference on Prin- ples and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (PKDD 2000) in Lyons, France in September, 2000. The aim of the workshop was to bring together experts in the analysis of temporal and spatial data mining and knowledge discovery in temporal, spatial or spatio-temporal database systems as well as knowledge engineers and domain experts from allied disciplines. The workshop focused on research and practice of knowledge discovery from datasets containing explicit or implicit temporal, spatial or spatio-temporal information. The ten original papers in this volume represent those accepted by peer review following an international call for papers. All papers submitted were refereed by an international team of data mining researchers listed below. We would like to thank the team for their expert and useful help with this process. Following the workshop, authors were invited to amend their papers to enable the feedback received from the conference to be included in the nal papers appearing in this volume. A workshop report was compiled by Kathleen Hornsby which also discusses the panel session that was held. 180 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -EDO2000wasthesecondinternationalworkshoponsoftwareengineeringfor distributedobjectsystems. EDO2000wasacontinuationofEDO 99,the rst workshopinthisseries,whichwasheldinconjunctionwithICSE 99. Distributedobjecttechnologies asexempli edbyCORBAandtheCORBA Services,COM+,EJB,andtheJ2EE areincreasinglybeingadoptedbyvarious enterprisesasafundamentaltechnologyfortheirITinfrastructures. Asacon- quence,extensiveindustrypracticeofusingthetechnologiesisbeinggained. At thesametime,thetechnologiescontinuetoadvanceandnewfunctionalityand servicescontinuetobeintroduced. Inordertousetheexistingandemergingfunctionsofdistributedobjectte- nologiese ectively,andtobettermeettoday sdemandingbusinessandcomp- ingrequirements,advancesinsoftwareengineeringmethodsandtechniquesfor distributedobjectsarestronglyneeded. Softwareengineeringfordistributed- jectsistheresearchareathatprovidessolutionsofprovenpracticeforissuesand problemsthatareuniquetosystemsemployingdistributedobjecttechnologies. EDOis the premierworkshopthatbringstogetherthe researchandpractice communityofsoftwareengineeringfordistributedobjects. Wereceivedabout30submissionsandtheinternationalprogramcommittee selected15papers. Weclusteredacceptedpapersintosessionsandtheauthors ofthesepaperschampionedthesessionsandtookaleadinthediscussions. The workshoporganizersselectedparticularauthorstogivebriefpresentationsthat wereaimedtokicko thediscussionineachsession. Theresultofthedi erent sessionswassummarizedattheendoftheworkshopandthesesessionsummaries areincludedintheseproceedings. Alsointraditionwiththeworkshopseries,wehadaninvitedindustrialp- sentation. ThisyearWalterSchwarztalkedaboutanenterpriseapplication- tegrationprojectinthe nancialdomainthatdeployedajudiciouscombination ofdistributedobjectmiddlewareandmarkuplanguagestoachieveintegration of nancialtradingsystems. December2000 WolfgangEmmerichandStefanTai ProgramCo-chairs EDO2000 Program Committee Organization ConferenceChair: VolkerGruhn,UniversityofDortmund,Germany ProgramCo-chairs:WolfgangEmmerich,UniversityCollegeLondon,UK StefanTai,IBMWatsonResearch,U. S. A. OrganizingChair: PremDevanbu,UniversityofCalifornia,Davis,U. S. A. Referees JeanBezivin,UniversityofNantes,France GordonBlair,LancasterUniversity,UK AlfredBro ckers,AdessoGmbH,Germany PeterCroll,UniversityofWollongong,Australia ElisabettaDiNitto,PolitecnicodiMilano,Italy AlfonsoFuggetta,PolitecnicodiMilano,Italy WilliHasselbring,UniversityofOldenburg,Germany JusukeHashimoto,NEC,Japan WalterHuersch,Zuehlke,Switzerland ArnoJacobson,INRIA,France MehdiJazayeri,TUVienna,Austria GertiKappel,UniversityofLinz,Austria WojtekKozacynski,Rational,USA BerndKr amer,FUHagen,Germany Je Magee,ImperialCollege,UK NenadMedvidovic,UniversityofSouthernCalifornia,USA NeilRoodyn,Cognitech,UK DavidRosenblum,UniversityofCaliforniaIrvine,USA IsabelleRouvellou,IBMWatsonResearch,USA WalterSchwarz,DGBank,Germany DirkSlama,ShinkaTechnologies,Germany DanielSteinmann,UBS,Switzerland AlfredStrohmeier,EPFL,Switzerland StanSutton,IBMWatsonResearch,USA Sponsoring Institutions AdessoGmbH,Germany IBMWatsonResearch,U. S. A. Z uhlkeEngineeringGmbH,Germany Table of Contents Invited Industry Presentation ApplicationIntegrationwithCORBAandXML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 WalterSchwarz MiddlewareSelection MiddlewareSelection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 StanleyM. SuttonJr. AKeyTechnologyEvaluationCaseStudy: ApplyingaNewMiddlewareArchitectureontheEnterpriseScale . . . . . . . . . . . 8 MichaelGoedickeandUweZdun AnArchitectureProposalforEnterpriseMessageBrokers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 J ornGuySu ßandMichaelMewes ResourceManagement ResourceManagement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 StoneyJacksonandPremDevanbu TheImportanceofResourceManagementin EngineeringDistributed. …

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The publication of a third edition after only five years confirms the widespread popularity of this book. Apart from the numerous additions and modifications consequent on the substantial expansion of knowledge in this field, the authors have further improved the value of this text with the excellent chapter, as men tioned in their preface, on general aspects of the problem. The advances referred to in this chapter, particularly molecular genetics and database access, have transformed the diagnosis of skeletal dysplasias. However, this basic text remains an essential starting point for anyone confronted with an unfamiliar condition. Among the references listed on page xix, Dr Kozlowski's paper 'The radiographic clues in the diagnosis of bone dysplasias', Pediatric Radiology 1985; 15: 1-3, is still essential reading. John Masel Preface to the First Edition The skeleton is involved to a significant extent in more than 500 genetic and congenital syndromes and although the majority of these are individually rare, collectively they are not uncommon. Diagnostic precision, which is crucial for accurate prognostication and effective management, is frequently dependent upon recognition of radiological stigmata. For this reason the radiologist plays a key role in the appraisal and investigation of persons with disorders of this type. With these points in mind we have written this handbook for use in the radiographic reporting room. We have endeavored to provide the essential information which will facilitate radiodiagnosis and have striven for clarity and accuracy. 284 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The paper is organized as follows: In section 2, we describe the no- orientation-discontinuity interfering model based on a Gaussian stochastic model in analyzing the properties of the interfering strokes. In section 3, we describe the improved canny edge detector with an ed- orientation constraint to detect the edges and recover the weak ones of the foreground words and characters; In section 4, we illustrate, discuss and evaluate the experimental results of the proposed method, demonstrating that our algorithm significantly improves the segmentation quality; Section 5 concludes this paper. 2. The norm-orientation-discontinuity interfering stroke model Figure 2 shows three typical samples of original image segments from the original documents and their magnitude of the detected edges respectively. The magnitude of the gradient is converted into the gray level value. The darker the edge is, the larger is the gradient magnitude. It is obvious that the topmost strong edges correspond to foreground edges. It should be noted that, while usually, the foreground writing appears darker than the background image, as shown in sample image Figure 2(a), there are cases where the foreground and background have similar intensities as shown in Figure 2(b), or worst still, the background is more prominent than the foreground as in Figure 2(c). So using only the intensity value is not enough to differentiate the foreground from the background. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) 496 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -1. 1 The Pressure on Information Technology (IT) 'In today's environment, the ability to react quickly to change by reducing the devel opment life cycle in order to be first to market will give a company an important com petitive edge. ' -James Martin The market conditions of the 21 st century put business under continual pressure. The most successful companies are those who are able to reduce their time to market, to launch initiatives before their competitors, to respond very rapidly to opportunities in the marketplace or to change direction in response to a move by the competition or a change in circumstances. All of these business initiatives rely on support from Infor mation Technology (IT). For a business to launch a new product in three months time, the supporting IT processes must be available and working in that three month time frame. In this fast moving environment, late IT delivery is not acceptable and may pose a major risk to the business. The marketplace of 21 st century business measures timescales in months, whereas in the past, timescales of two to three years were more typical. Internet related and e business projects frequently require even tighter timescales, measured in days rather than months. This need for speed puts tremendous pressure on IT departments. Pressure does not just come from the need for speed. There is also an ever-increasing rate of change within business. 304 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Africa has been noticeably absent in international relations theory. This new collection of essays by contemporary Africanists convincingly demonstrates the importance of the continent to every theoretical approach in international relations. This collection breaks new ground in how we think about both international relations and Africa, re-examining such foundational concepts as sovereignty, the state, and power; critically investigating the salience of realism, neo-liberalism, liberalism in Africa, and providing new thinking about regionalism, security and identity. 242 pp. Englisch.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Marxism's chief failing is its substitution of a labour theory of value for the struggles of the labour movement. Consequently, Marxism rests on transhistorical categories that are vulnerable to his own critique of political economy. Jurgen Habermas and Axel Honneth seek to correct this by placing critical theory on a normative foundation. Unfortunately, they restrict this to the cultural sphere. By extending their notion of intersubjectivity to the economic system it can be viewed as an inactive form of morality which social movements influence in the course of their struggles. 211 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In this book we intend to discuss economic fluctuations and growth and possible stabilizing fiscal policies. Since these topics are major preoccupa tions of economic theorists and have been extensively discussed since the classics, one may wonder why another book on these subjects. A possible defense is that we are going to do so in the framework of a two-sector model where the main featureS of each sector depend on the characteristics of the goods produced by the sector itself. The conventional wisdom suggests that the problem of (dis )aggregation in growth and business cycle theory is basically a quantitative one: the model should consider as many sectors, goods, and agents as necessary to provide a sufficiently rich picture, the upper bound obviously resulting from the tractability of the problem. In this attitude the same equilibrium (or diseqUilibrium) assumptions generally hold true throughout all sectors. Here we want to prove the relevance of an alternative approach: we look at the qualitative differences across sectors and at the peculiarities of each market as at the determinants of the economic dynamics. This tradition goes back over one hundred years to Tugan-Baranowkj and has been de veloped by Aftalion, Fanno, Spiethof, and Lowe, but has never been sys tematically formalized. 216 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Why are America and Britain wealthier than ever but millions of children live in poverty, neighbourhoods want for basic amenities and the middle classes fear for their families, jobs and futures The answer is not to be found in globalization, technological innovation, or our personal failings to adapt to changing circumstances as we are so often told. The answer lies mainly with the historical legacy of the 'golden era' and the obsession with market individualism. An obsession that the New Democrats in America and the New Labour in Britain have failed to exorcize. Yet the forces of knowledge-driven capitalism provide an unprecedented opportunity at the beginning of the twenty-first century to build societies based on the individual and collective intelligence of all. Capitalism and Social Progress shows how this can be achieved. 338 pp. Englisch.…

Buch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Africa has been noticeably absent in international relations theory. This new collection of essays by contemporary Africanists convincingly demonstrates the importance of the continent to every theoretical approach in international relations. This collection breaks new ground in how we think about both international relations and Africa, re-examining such foundational concepts as sovereignty, the state, and power; critically investigating the salience of realism, neo-liberalism, liberalism in Africa, and providing new thinking about regionalism, security and identity. 242 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In this book we present a collection of papers around the topic of Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce. Most of the papers originate from the third workshop on Agent{Mediated Electronic Commerce held in conjunction with the Autonomous Agents conference in June 2000. After two previous workshops, one during the Autonomous Agents conference in 1998 in Minneapolis and the second one in conjunction with the International Joint Conference On Arti cial Intelligence in 1999, this workshop continued the tradition of the previous ones by setting the scene for the assessment of the challenges that Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce faces as well as the opportunities it creates. By focusing on age- mediated interactions, specialists from di erent disciplines were brought together who contribute theoretical and application perspectives in the narrowly focused topic that nevertheless involves wide ranging concerns such as: agent architec- res, institutionalization, economic theory, modeling, legal frameworks and policy guidelines. The main topics for the workshop were: { Electronic negotiation models for agents { Formal issues for agents that operate in electronic market places { Virtual trading institutions and platforms { Trading strategies for interrelated transactions (respectively auctions) The workshop received 12 submissions of which 7 were selected for publication in this volume. Although the number of submissions was less then expected for an important area like agent-mediated electronic commerce there is no reason to worry that this area does not get enough attention from the agent community. 212 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware 248 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware 328 pp. Englisch.