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The Constitution of Algorithms: Ground-Truthing, Programming, Formulating (Inside Technology)
by Florian JatonA laboratory study that investigates how algorithms come into existence.Algorithms--often associated with the terms big data, machine learning, or artificial intelligence--underlie the technologies we use every day, and disputes over the consequences, actual or potential, of new algorithms arise regularly. In this book, Florian Jaton offers a new way to study computerized methods, providing an account of where algorithms come from and how they are constituted, investigating the practical activities by which algorithms are progressively assembled rather than what they may suggest or require once they are assembled.
The Construction Industry in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Proceedings of 11th Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Postgraduate Research Conference
by Clinton Aigbavboa Wellington ThwalaThis book gathers papers from the 11th Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) Postgraduate Research Conference, held on 28–30 July 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference provided an essential forum for reviewing and generating knowledge on Construction 4.0 and, consequently, highlighted processes and practices that allow us to deliver and operate built environment assets more effectively and efficiently by focusing on physical-to-digital and digital-to-physical transformation. The event addressed three broad themes: Industrial production (prefabrication, 3-D printing and assembly, offsite and advanced manufacturing);Cyber-physical systems (actuators, sensors, IoT, robots and cobots for repetitive and dangerous tasks, and drones for mapping, progress monitoring, safety and quality inspections, lifting, moving and positioning); and Technologies (digital ecosystems, digital platforms, BIM, video and laser scanning, AI and cloud computing, big data and data analytics, reality capture, blockchain, simulation, virtual and augmented reality, data standards and interoperability, and vertical and horizontal integration). Given its scope, the book will be of interest to all construction industry and architectural professionals who want to learn about cutting-edge technologies applied to construction
The Construction Technology Handbook
by Hugh SeatonTired of new software that doesn’t seem to work in the field? Ready to get your teams up to speed and productive with the latest tools? The Construction Technology Handbook takes a ground up, no jargon look at technology in the construction industry. From clear, quickly grasped explanations of how popular software actually works to how companies both large and small can efficiently try out and onboard new tools, this book unlocks new ways for construction field teams, firm owners, managers, leaders, and employees to do business. You’ll learn about: Simple frameworks for making sense of all the new options cropping up How software and data work and how they work together to make your job easier and safer What artificial intelligence really is and how it can help real companies today Tools that are just over the horizon that will, one day, make your job just a little bit easier New and practical resources to help you incorporate an attitude of innovation and technology adoption into your workplace Perfect for general contractors and subcontractors, The Construction Technology Handbook also belongs on the bookshelves of construction technology vendors and construction workers who want to better understand the needs of the construction industry and the inner workings of construction technology, respectively.
The Contemporary Art Scene in Syria: Social Critique and an Artistic Movement (Routledge Advances in Art and Visual Studies)
by Charlotte BankThis book focuses on the expanding contemporary art scene in Syria, particularly Damascus, during the first decade of the twenty-first century. The decade was characterized by a high degree of experimentation as young artists began to work with artistic media that were new in Syria, such as video, installation and performance art. They were rethinking the role of artists in society and looking for ways to reach audiences in a more direct manner and address socio-cultural and socio-political issues. The Contemporary Art Scene in Syria will be of interest to scholars of global and Middle Eastern art studies, and also to scholars interested in the recent social and cultural history of Syria and the wider Middle East.
The Contemporary Family in France
by Arnaud Régnier-LoilierThis book provides a portrait of the family in France today, revealing many of the deep-seated, demographic changes that have affected French society in recent decades. It first focuses on conjugal and family trajectories, examining union formation, types of union, entry into parenthood, influence of religion, and separation. Next, the book explores domestic organization within the couple. It looks at gender differences in attitudes to task-sharing, division of household and parenting tasks, influence of past partnership history, and changes after a birth. The book presents a series of studies based on the French version of the international Generations and Gender Survey, a major comparative research project conducted in 20 countries to collect information from individuals aged 18-79 about relationships and processes in the life course. Inside, readers will find insightful analysis of the survey results by sociologists, demographers, and economists, and come to better understand recent demographic and social developments in France as well as the factors influencing them. The book will appeal to a broad audience of students and researchers interested in family, gender, and intergenerational relations. In addition, as the survey data are comparable across countries, the book will provide researchers with ideas for further research opportunities in Europe and beyond.
The Content Pool
by Alan J. PorterAll companies, no matter what industry they are in, or what product or service they create, do four basic things. Offer something for sale, sell it, collect money for it, and create content about what they do. Product development, Marketing, Sales, and Finance are all essential to the organization and are typically managed at the VP or CXO level, yet a company's content, which contains all of its intellectual property, is often overlooked. The Content Pool: Leveraging Your Company's Largest Hidden Asset makes the case for placing content creation, management, and distribution on a par with other core strategic business activities. Inside the Book Identifying Your Content Organizing Your Content Managing Your Content Leveraging Your Content The Case for a Chief Content Officer Bibliography and Index
The Contentious Public Sphere: Law, Media, and Authoritarian Rule in China
by Ya-Wen LeiSince the mid-2000s, public opinion and debate in China have become increasingly common and consequential, despite the ongoing censorship of speech and regulation of civil society. How did this happen? In The Contentious Public Sphere, Ya-Wen Lei shows how the Chinese state drew on law, the media, and the Internet to further an authoritarian project of modernization, but in so doing, inadvertently created a nationwide public sphere in China—one the state must now endeavor to control. Lei examines the influence this unruly sphere has had on Chinese politics and the ways that the state has responded.Using interviews, newspaper articles, online texts, official documents, and national surveys, Lei shows that the development of the public sphere in China has provided an unprecedented forum for citizens to influence the public agenda, demand accountability from the government, and organize around the concepts of law and rights. She demonstrates how citizens came to understand themselves as legal subjects, how legal and media professionals began to collaborate in unexpected ways, and how existing conditions of political and economic fragmentation created unintended opportunities for political critique, particularly with the rise of the Internet. The emergence of this public sphere—and its uncertain future—is a pressing issue with important implications for the political prospects of the Chinese people.Investigating how individuals learn to use public discourse to influence politics, The Contentious Public Sphere offers new possibilities for thinking about the transformation of state-society relations.
The Contest over National Security: FDR, Conservatives, and the Struggle to Claim the Most Powerful Phrase in American Politics
by Peter RoadyA new history shows how FDR developed a vision of national security focused not just on protecting Americans against physical attack but also on ensuring their economic well-being—and how the nascent conservative movement won the battle to narrow its meaning, durably reshaping US politics.Americans take for granted that national security comprises physical defense against attacks. But the concept of national security once meant something more. Franklin Roosevelt’s vision for national security, Peter Roady argues, promised an alternate path for the United States by devoting as much attention to economic want as to foreign threats. The Contest over National Security shows how a burgeoning conservative movement and power-hungry foreign policy establishment together defeated FDR’s plans for a comprehensive national security state and inaugurated the narrower approach to national security that has dominated ever since.In the 1930s, Roosevelt and his advisors, hoping to save the United States from fascism and communism, argued that national security entailed protection from both physical attack and economic want. Roosevelt’s opponents responded by promoting a more limited national security state privileging military defense over domestic economic policy. Conservatives brought numerous concerns to bear through an enormous public relations offensive, asserting not just that Roosevelt’s plans threatened individual freedom but also that the government was less competent than the private sector and incapable of delivering economic security.This contest to define the government’s national security responsibilities in law and in the public mind, Roady reveals, explains why the United States developed separate and imbalanced national security and welfare states, with far-reaching consequences. By recovering FDR’s forgotten vision, Roady restores a more expansive understanding of national security’s meanings as Americans today face the great challenges of their times.
The Conversational Firm: Rethinking Bureaucracy in the Age of Social Media (The Middle Range Series)
by Catherine TurcoA fast-growing social media marketing company, TechCo encourages all of its employees to speak up. By promoting open dialogue across the corporate hierarchy, the firm has fostered a uniquely engaged workforce and an enviable capacity for change. Yet the path hasn't always been easy. TechCo has confronted a number of challenges, and its experience reveals the essential elements of bureaucracy that remain even when a firm sets out to discard them. Through it all, TechCo serves as a powerful new model for how firms can navigate today's rapidly changing technological and cultural climate.Catherine J. Turco was embedded within TechCo for ten months. The Conversational Firm is her ethnographic analysis of what worked at the company and what didn't. She offers multiple lessons for anyone curious about the effect of social media on the corporate environment and adds depth to debates over the new generation of employees reared on social media: Millennials who carry their technological habits and expectations into the workplace. Marshaling insights from cultural and economic sociology, organizational theory, economics, technology studies, and anthropology, The Conversational Firm offers a nuanced analysis of corporate communication, control, and culture in the social media age.
The Conversational Interface
by Zoraida Callejas Michael Mctear David GriolThis book provides a comprehensive introduction to the conversational interface, which is becoming the main mode of interaction with virtual personal assistants, smart devices, various types of wearable, and social robots. The book consists of four parts. Part I presents the background to conversational interfaces, examining past and present work on spoken language interaction with computers. Part II covers the various technologies that are required to build a conversational interface along with practical chapters and exercises using open source tools. Part III looks at interactions with smart devices, wearables, and robots, and discusses the role of emotion and personality in the conversational interface. Part IV examines methods for evaluating conversational interfaces and discusses future directions.
The Conversion Code: Capture Internet Leads, Create Quality Appointments, Close More Sales
by Chris Smith"If you need more traffic, leads and sales, you need The Conversion Code."Neil Patel co-founder Crazy Egg"We've helped 11,000+ businesses generate more than 31 million leads and consider The Conversion Code a must read."Oli Gardner co-founder Unbounce"We'd been closing 55% of our qualified appointments. We increased that to 76% as a direct result of implementing The Conversion Code."Dan Stewart CEO Happy Grasshopper"The strategies in The Conversion Code are highly effective and immediately helped our entire sales team. The book explains the science behind selling in a way that is simple to remember and easy to implement." Steve Pacinelli CMO BombBombCapture and close more Internet leads with a new sales script and powerful marketing templatesThe Conversion Code provides a step-by-step blueprint for increasing sales in the modern, Internet-driven era. Today's consumers are savvy, and they have more options than ever before. Capturing their attention and turning it into revenue requires a whole new approach to marketing and sales. This book provides clear guidance toward conquering the new paradigm shift towards online lead generation and inside sales. You'll learn how to capture those invaluable Internet leads, convert them into appointments, and close more deals. Regardless of product or industry, this proven process will increase both the quantity and quality of leads and put your sales figures on the rise.Traditional sales and marketing advice is becoming less and less relevant as today's consumers are spending much more time online, and salespeople are calling, emailing, and texting leads instead of meeting them in person. This book shows you where to find them, how to engage them, and how to position your company as the ideal solution to their needs. Engage with consumers more effectively online Leverage the strengths of social media, apps, and blogs to capture more leads for less money Convert more Internet leads into real-world prospects and sales appointments Make connections on every call and learn the exact words that close more sales The business world is moving away from "belly-to-belly" interactions and traditional advertising. Companies are forced to engage with prospective customers first online—the vast majority through social media, mobile apps, blogs, and live chat—before ever meeting in person. Yesterday's marketing advice no longer applies to today's tech savvy, mobile-first, social media-addicted consumer, and the new sales environment demands that you meet consumers where they are and close them, quickly. The Conversion Code gives you an actionable blueprint for capturing Internet leads and turning them into customers.
The Conversion Code: Stop Chasing Leads and Start Attracting Clients
by Chris SmithThe new edition of the bestselling book for real estate agents, loan officers, SaaS and small businesses. In this revision, The Conversion Code: A Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing and Sales that Will Grow Your Business Faster, Second Edition, digital marketing and lead conversion expert Chris Smith delivers the ultimate exploration of the marketing and advertising tactics that are successfully generating higher quality leads that are easier for salespeople to convert. Smith researches and tests the latest and most popular platforms, including TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, while also studying the most effective sales techniques, tools, and scripts. In this book, you'll learn to: Increase your lead conversion rate, reduce your cost per lead and improve your overall ROI from marketing and sales Generate an endless supply of high-quality leads from social media that are easy to convert into closed sales Stop chasing leads and start attracting clients with amazing marketing and clever ads Adapt to the consumer privacy changes that have made targeting ads and getting leads to answer the phone harder than ever Differentiate your brand in a way that positions you as the authority and gets people contacting you who are already sold An invaluable reference and easy to follow guide for real estate agents, loan officers, SaaS and small businessescompeting in the hyper-competitive online environment. The Conversion Code, Second Edition, is also a fantastic resource for sales leaders, marketing managers, business owners and anyone else with a team who is responsible for growing revenue.
The Cool Stuff in Premiere Pro
by Paul Murphy Jarle Leirpoll Dylan Osborn Andy EdwardsGain in-depth knowledge of Premiere Pro, and learn how the software "thinks. " You'll acquire new skills that will help you choose the best workflow for your project, and simplify and accelerate your video editing process. Learn how you can edit a lot faster with smarter workflows that automate several steps in the editing process. You'll also see how custom settings, presets, keyboard shortcuts and templates saves hours of work. By tailoring the software to your needs you save clicks on just about every task. With many traditional jobs now being done by one person, its important to understand audio smoothing, color grading, motion graphics, and advanced editing techniques. You'll learn these skills and disciplines and see how they'll enhance your project's workflow. All the authors are professional editors and want to know exactly how to cut your film as fast as possible with top quality output. There is invaluable information in The Cool Stuff in Premiere Pro that's not available anywhere else - not even in Adobe's own manuals. What You'll Learn Edit faster, no matter what the project Understand the technical stuff, like timeline settings, render codecs, color subsampling, export settings, effect controls and monitor settings Know when to send your clips to other Adobe software, and how to treat them there. Master the Premiere Pro timeline, even stacks of timelines, and edit, trim and adjust with ease Who This Book Is For Video journalists (and everyone else) will learn how to edit faster and get home in time for dinner. Bloggers will learn how to make their online video and audio "pop". Film cutters will learn how to organize, rough cut and fine tune huge amounts of material effectively and how to output for digital cinema. Experienced video editors will learn how to deal with multi-track audio and to work faster in every step of the edit. Marketing people who edit video for social media and web pages will learn simpler ways to make a faster cut. Teachers in media studies will understand the logic in Premiere Pro, and be better prepared for teaching video editing.
The Cores of Game Design: Mechanics, Economics, Narrative, and Aesthetics
by Yvens R. SerpaThis book considers the four essential cores of game design: Mechanics, the interactive elements that allow players to be part and interact with the game itself; Economy, the resources and numerical concepts that will enable players to evaluate and consider the options in the game, creating strategy, risk, and fun; Narrative, the textual features that enable players to create and generate meaning for the game and its parts; and the Aesthetics, the audiovisual elements that allow players to experience the game through their senses and feelings. This book discusses all four essential cores and how to design games by using each one as a starting point. It also discusses how each one is connected and can be understood as a valuable tool to elevate a game's design. It follows a practical approach to how we can implement the game design and development process by being prototype-focused, user-centred, and lean. This book will be of great interest to students, indie game developers, and aspiring early-career designers looking to hone their game design craft.
The Corners are Glowing: Selected Writings from the Ottawa International Animation Festival
by Chris Robinson & Tom McSorleyThe Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) began in 1976 and stands today as one of the oldest and largest animation events in the world. One of the unique features of the OIAF is the inclusion of commissioned writings that provide attendees with a more in-depth background into the festival’s special screenings. These writings have not only contextualized the festival presentations but have also contributed significantly to animation education and scholarship. The Corners are Glowing is a selection of the best writings (many unseen for decades) culled from past OIAF catalogues. These wide-ranging texts cover the spectrum of animation from the familiar (Daffy Duck, Pee Wee Herman, Bob Clampett, Joanna Quinn, Hiyao Miyazaki, Frank Tashlin) to the more esoteric (Robert Breer, Emily Pelstring, Taku Furukawa, Michael Sporn, and even the use of furniture in animation!). The Corners are Glowing is a valuable time capsule that celebrates animation’s past and present, and the styles of writing are as diverse, enlightening, and fun as the animation subjects being written about.
The Correctness-by-Construction Approach to Programming
by Bruce W. Watson Derrick G. KourieThe focus of this book is on bridging the gap between two extreme methods for developing software. On the one hand, there are texts and approaches that are so formal that they scare off all but the most dedicated theoretical computer scientists. On the other, there are some who believe that any measure of formality is a waste of time, resulting in software that is developed by following gut feelings and intuitions. Kourie and Watson advocate an approach known as "correctness-by-construction," a technique to derive algorithms that relies on formal theory, but that requires such theory to be deployed in a very systematic and pragmatic way. First they provide the key theoretical background (like first-order predicate logic or refinement laws) that is needed to understand and apply the method. They then detail a series of graded examples ranging from binary search to lattice cover graph construction and finite automata minimization in order to show how it can be applied to increasingly complex algorithmic problems. The principal purpose of this book is to change the way software developers approach their task at programming-in-the-small level, with a view to improving code quality. Thus it coheres with both the IEEE's Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) recommendations, which identifies themes covered in this book as part of the software engineer's arsenal of tools and methods, and with the goals of the Software Engineering Method and Theory (SEMAT) initiative, which aims to "refound software engineering based on a solid theory."
The Cortex and the Critical Point: Understanding the Power of Emergence
by John M. BeggsHow the cerebral cortex operates near a critical phase transition point for optimum performance.Individual neurons have limited computational powers, but when they work together, it is almost like magic. Firing synchronously and then breaking off to improvise by themselves, they can be paradoxically both independent and interdependent. This happens near the critical point: when neurons are poised between a phase where activity is damped and a phase where it is amplified, where information processing is optimized, and complex emergent activity patterns arise. The claim that neurons in the cortex work best when they operate near the critical point is known as the criticality hypothesis. In this book John Beggs—one of the pioneers of this hypothesis—offers an introduction to the critical point and its relevance to the brain.Drawing on recent experimental evidence, Beggs first explains the main ideas underlying the criticality hypotheses and emergent phenomena. He then discusses the critical point and its two main consequences—first, scale-free properties that confer optimum information processing; and second, universality, or the idea that complex emergent phenomena, like that seen near the critical point, can be explained by relatively simple models that are applicable across species and scale. Finally, Beggs considers future directions for the field, including research on homeostatic regulation, quasicriticality, and the expansion of the cortex and intelligence. An appendix provides technical material; many chapters include exercises that use freely available code and data sets.
The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning (Open And Distance Learning Ser.)
by Rumble, Greville (Lecturer, Open University)Dissecting in detail the arguments underlying the costs and economics of open and distance learning, this text should give the reader an insight and the confidence to cost their own open and distance learning projects.
The Couch Potato (The Food Group)
by Jory JohnAn Instant New York Times Bestseller * An Instant Indie Bestseller * An Indie Next List SelectionFeeling fried? Peel yourself on the couch and meet your new pal-tato! The winning fourth picture book from the #1 New York Times bestselling creators of The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, and The Cool Bean, Jory John and Pete Oswald, will get you and your kids moving!The Couch Potato has everything within reach and doesn't have to move from the sunken couch cushion. But when the electricity goes out, Couch Potato is forced to peel away from the comforts of the living room and venture outside. Could fresh air and sunshine possibly be better than the views on screen?Readers of all ages will laugh along as their new best spuddy learns that balancing screen time and playtime is the root to true happiness.Check out Jory John and Pete Oswald’s funny, bestselling books for kids 4-8 and anyone who wants a laugh:The Bad SeedThe Good EggThe Cool BeanThe Couch PotatoThe Good Egg Presents: The Great Eggscape!The Bad Seed Presents: The Good, the Bad, the Spooky!The Cool Bean Presents: As Cool as It GetsThat’s What Dinosaurs Do
The Counterfeit Coin: Videogames and Fantasies of Empowerment
by Christopher GoetzThe Counterfeit Coin argues that games and related entertainment media have become almost inseparable from fantasy. In turn, these media are making fantasy itself visible in new ways. Though apparently asocial and egocentric—an internal mental image expressing the fulfillment of some wish—fantasy has become a key term in social contestations of the emerging medium. At issue is whose fantasies are catered to, who feels powerful and gets their way, and who is left out. This book seeks to undo the monolith of commercial gaming by locating multiplicity and difference within fantasy itself. It introduces and tracks three broad fantasy traditions that dynamically connect apparently distinct strata of a game (story and play), that join games to other media, and that encircle players in pleasurable loops as they follow these connections.
The Counterterrorism Handbook: Tactics, Procedures, and Techniques, Fourth Edition (ISSN)
by David P. Schulz Frank Bolz, Jr. Kenneth J. DudonisTerrorists constantly present new challenges to law enforcement, emergency response teams, security planners, and others involved in counterterrorism. Since the last edition of this volume was published, additional atrocities have occurred and new threats have surfaced. The fourth edition of The Counterterrorism Handbook: Tactics, Procedures, and Techniques provides the latest developments and offers new insights on the War on Terror.Updated to reflect an increased focus on terrorism in public transportation, this volume provides an understanding of the strategies, tactics, and techniques required to tackle terrorism as it exists today. It illustrates essential topics such as the elements common to all terrorism, bomb threats, risk assessment, hostages, and weapons of mass destruction. It also presents case studies of some of the most notorious terrorist incidents, including both World Trade Center attacks, Oklahoma City, Centennial Olympic Park, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S.S. Cole, and attacks in Madrid, London, and Glasgow.The only way to effectively deal with terrorism is to have a thorough understanding of its present-day characteristics — who is involved and what weapons and tactics they are likely to use. In language friendly to first responders, this volume presents a comprehensive strategy of how to deal with a whole gamut of possible terrorist incidents. Covering everything from bombings and hostage-taking to nuclear terrorism, the book describes in specific detail what needs to be done before, during, and after an event. Armed with this information, those charged with protecting the public will be better equipped to face myriad threats.
The Coupling of Safety and Security: Exploring Interrelations in Theory and Practice (SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology)
by Corinne Bieder Kenneth Pettersen GouldThis open access book explores the synergies and tensions between safety and security management from a variety of perspectives and by combining input from numerous disciplines. It defines the concepts of safety and security, and discusses the methodological, organizational and institutional implications that accompany approaching them as separate entities and combining them, respectively.The book explores the coupling of safety and security from different perspectives, especially: the concepts and methods of risk, safety and security; the managerial aspects; user experiences in connection with safety and security. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the fields of safety and security, and to anyone working at a business or in an industry concerned with how safety and security should be managed.
The Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) Condition
by Carlos A. de Moura Carlos S. KubruslyThis volume comprises a carefully selected collection of articles emerging from and pertinent to the 2010 CFL-80 conference in Rio de Janeiro, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition. A major result in the field of numerical analysis, the CFL condition has influenced the research of many important mathematicians over the past eight decades, and this work is meant to take stock of its most important and current applications. The Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) Condition: 80 Years After its Discovery will be of interest to practicing mathematicians, engineers, physicists, and graduate students who work with numerical methods.
The Craft and Science of Game Design: A Video Game Designer's Manual
by Philippe O'ConnorThe Craft and Science of Game Design: A Video Game Designer’s Manual goes into the nuts and bolts of video game development from the perspective of a veteran designer with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. It covers the psychology and biology of why people play games and goes in depth on the techniques and tricks professional game designers use to be successful in game development. If you are looking to make a career in video games, or are already in the industry, the insights and hard-earned lessons contained in this book are sure to be useful at all levels of the profession. Originally from Canada, Phil O’Connor has been making video games all over the world since 1997. Phil has worked at some of the industry’s largest studios on some of the biggest projects, including Far Cry 3 and Rainbow Six Siege. With credits on nearly 20 games, Phil has shared in this book some of the less-known details of being a game designer in today’s video game industry, along with a breakdown of some of the skills to help professional designers shine.
The Craft of Model-Based Testing
by Paul C. JorgensenIn his latest work, author Paul C Jorgensen takes his well-honed craftsman’s approach to mastering model-based testing (MBT). To be expert at MBT, a software tester has to understand it as a craft rather than an art. This means a tester should have deep knowledge of the underlying subject and be well practiced in carrying out modeling and testing techniques. Judgment is needed, as well as an understanding of MBT the tools. <P><P>The first part of the book helps testers in developing that judgment. It starts with an overview of MBT and follows with an in-depth treatment of nine different testing models with a chapter dedicated to each model. These chapters are tied together by a pair of examples: a simple insurance premium calculation and an event-driven system that describes a garage door controller. The book shows how simpler models—flowcharts, decision tables, and UML Activity charts—express the important aspects of the insurance premium problem. It also shows how transition-based models—finite state machines, Petri nets, and statecharts—are necessary for the garage door controller but are overkill for the insurance premium problem. Each chapter describes the extent to which a model can support MBT. <P><P>The second part of the book gives testers a greater understanding of MBT tools. It examines six commercial MBT products, presents the salient features of each product, and demonstrates using the product on the insurance premium and the garage door controller problems. These chapters each conclude with advice on implementing MBT in an organization. The last chapter describes six Open Source tools to round out a tester’s knowledge of MBT. In addition, the book supports the International Software Testing Qualifications Board’s (ISTQB®) MBT syllabus for certification.