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Information Fusion and Geographic Information Systems
by Christophe Claramunt Manfred Schrenk Kyrill Korolenko Thomas Devogele Vasily V. PopovichThe Workshop Proceedings reflect problems of advanced geo-information science as far as they are specifically concerned with the maritime environment at large. The Proceedings incorporate papers presented by leading scientists researching in the considered professional area and by practitioners engaged in GIS and GIS applications development. They pay close attention to the problems of scientific and technological innovations and the ensuing opportunities to make seas safer and cleaner. Furthermore, they periodically measure the ground covered and new challenges with respect to economic and shipping trends as related to Artificial Intelligence; GIS ontologies; GIS data integration and modelling; Underwater acoustics; GIS data fusion; GIS and corporate information systems; GIS and real-time monitoring systems; GIS algorithms and computational issues; Novel and emerging marine GIS research areas; Monitoring of maritime terrorist threat; Maritime and environmental GIS; Navigation-based and maritime transportation GIS; Human factors in maritime GIS; Coastal and environmental GIS.
Cooperation and Efficiency in Markets (Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems #649)
by Milan HorniačekThe book deals with collusion between firms on both sides of a market that is immune to deviations by coalitions. We study this issue using an infinitely countably repeated game with discounting of future single period payoffs. A strict strong perfect equilibrium is the main solution concept that we apply. It requires that no coalition of players in no subgame can weakly Pareto improve the vector of continuation average discounted payoffs of its members by a deviation. If the sum of firms' average discounted profits is maximized along the equilibrium path then the equilibrium output of each type of good is produced with the lowest possible costs. If, in addition, all buyers are retailers (i.e., they resell the goods purchased in the analyzed market in a retail market) then the equilibrium vector of the quantities sold in the retail market is sold with the lowest possible selling costs. We specify sufficient conditions under which collusion increases consumer welfare.
Citizenship and Migration in the Era of Globalization: The Flow of Migrants and the Perception of Citizenship in Asia and Europe (Transcultural Research – Heidelberg Studies on Asia and Europe in a Global Context #5)
by Jong-Hee Lee Markus Pohlmann Jonghoe YangIn an age of globalization there is frequent migration across national borders, resulting in a reconsideration of the notion, practice and social institution of national citizenship. Addressing this phenomenon, the book focuses on the exchange between, and responses, of Korea and Germany. In particular, the book deals extensively with citizenship in Korea where the concept of citizenship is young, and thus the study of citizenship is relatively scarce. This book may be the first of its kind, bringing together eminent Korean and German scholars to analyse various aspects of citizenship in Korea. It is hoped that it will contribute to scholarship in the fields of citizenship and migration and to an understanding of the flow of people and ideas between Asia and Europe.
Financial Aspects in Energy
by André Dorsman Mehmet Baha Karan Özgür Arslan Wim WestermanEnergy production and supply, as well as sourcing and consumption, are becoming evermore important in a volatile world. In this book, attention is paid to prevalent energy issues from a finance perspective. The topics discussed cover markets, prices, regulations and firms. An international group of authors from both academia and energy practice provides in twelve chapters a state of the art of the energy markets in a finance environment. They do so by discussing the current knowledge and presenting empirical research in this quickly changing and developing field. This book is the first in a planned series on energy at a high scientific level organized by the Centre for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI).
Molecular and Functional Models in Neuropsychiatry
by Jim J. HaganThe development of more effective treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders requires scientific progress on a broad front. Animal models have a vital role to play in advancing the field. When deployed in conjunction with detailed study of these diseases in man they bring the power to make controlled experimental interventions which allow the functional consequences of genetic variations and polymorphisms to be understood in terms of their cellular, systems and behavioural effects. Further, they provide a means by which complex cognitive and behavioural phenomena may be dissected and understood. Finally, they provide a bridge to understanding the effects of drugs on the functioning of the central nervous system, thereby improving our understanding of the actions of those drugs in man.
Crisis Management in Acute Care Settings: Human Factors, Team Psychology, and Patient Safety in a High Stakes Environment
by Gesine Hofinger Cornelius Buerschaper Michael St. Pierre Robert SimonCritical situations in acute and emergency care are one of the great clinical challenges because of the uncertainty, high stakes, time pressure, and stress that are involved. This book provides a comprehensive outline of all the human factors issues relevant to patient safety during acute care. Following an initial section discussing the basic principles of human behavior and decision making, the various influences on safe patient care are discussed in depth. These are divided into three interacting groups: individual factors, team factors, and organizational factors. Relevant psychological theories are carefully examined, and case studies and descriptions of proven strategies help to ground these theories in daily practice. This newly revised edition, in which each chapter has been enlarged and updated, will help both physicians and non-physicians to better understand the principles of human behavior and decision making in critical situations and thus to provide safer treatment.
New State of MCDM in the 21st Century
by Yong Shi Gang Kou Shouyang Wang Jyrki WalleniusThis book provides cutting-edge research results and application experiences from researchers and practitioners in multiple criteria decision making areas. It consists of three parts: MCDM Foundation and Theory, MCDM Methodology, and MCDM Applications. In Part I, it covers the historical MCDM development, the influence of MCDM on technology, society and policy, Pareto optimization, and analytical hierarchy process. In Part II, the book presents different MCDM algorithms based on techniques of robust estimating, evolutionary multiobjective optimization, Choquet integrals, and genetic search. In Part III, this book demonstrates a variety of MCDM applications, including project management, financial investment, credit risk analysis, railway transportation, online advertising, transport infrastructure, environmental pollution, chemical industry, and regional economy. The 17 papers of the book have been selected out of the 121 accepted papers at the 20th International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making "New State of MCDM in 21st Century", held at Chengdu, China, in 2009. The 35 contributors of these papers stem from 10 countries.
New State of MCDM in the 21st Century: Selected Papers of the 20th International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making 2009 (Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems #648)
by Yong Shi Gang Kou Shouyang Wang Jyrki WalleniusThis book provides cutting-edge research results and application experiences from researchers and practitioners in multiple criteria decision making areas. It consists of three parts: MCDM Foundation and Theory, MCDM Methodology, and MCDM Applications. In Part I, it covers the historical MCDM development, the influence of MCDM on technology, society and policy, Pareto optimization, and analytical hierarchy process. In Part II, the book presents different MCDM algorithms based on techniques of robust estimating, evolutionary multiobjective optimization, Choquet integrals, and genetic search. In Part III, this book demonstrates a variety of MCDM applications, including project management, financial investment, credit risk analysis, railway transportation, online advertising, transport infrastructure, environmental pollution, chemical industry, and regional economy. The 17 papers of the book have been selected out of the 121 accepted papers at the 20th International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making "New State of MCDM in 21st Century", held at Chengdu, China, in 2009. The 35 contributors of these papers stem from 10 countries.
Sensing the Environment: Regulation of Local and Global Homeostasis by the Skin's Neuroendocrine System
by Cezary Skobowiat Radomir M. Slominski Andrzej T. Slominski Blazej Zbytek Michal A. Zmijewski Jeffery D. SteketeeThe skin, the body's largest organ, is strategically located at the interface with the external environment where it detects, integrates and responds to a diverse range of stressors, including solar radiation. It has already been established that the skin is an important peripheral neuroendocrine-immune organ that is closely networked with central regulatory systems. These capabilities contribute to the maintenance of peripheral homeostasis. Specifically, epidermal and dermal cells produce and respond to classical stress neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and hormones, production which is stimulated by ultraviolet radiation (UVR), biological factors (infectious and non-infectious) and other physical and chemical agents. Examples of local biologically active products are cytokines, biogenic amines (catecholamines, histamine, serotonin and N-acetyl-serotonin), melatonin, acetylocholine, neuropeptides including pituitary (proopiomelanocortin-derived ACTH, b-endorphin or MSH peptides, thyroid stimulating hormone) and hypothalamic (corticotropin-releasing factor and related urocortins, thyroid-releasing hormone) hormones, as well as enkephalins and dynorphins, thyroid hormones, steroids (glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, sex hormones, 7-δ steroids), secosteroids, opioids and endocannabinoids. The production of these molecules is hierarchical, organized along the algorithms of classical neuroendocrine axes such as the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA), hypothalamic-thyroid axis (HPT), serotoninergic, melatoninergic, catecholaminergic, cholinergic, steroid/secosteroidogenic, opioid and endocannabinoid systems. Disruptions of these axes or of communication between them may lead to skin and/or systemic diseases. These local neuroendocrine networks also serve to limit the effect of noxious environmental agents to preserve local and consequently global homeostasis. Moreover, the skin-derived factors/systems can also activate cutaneous nerve endings to alert the brain to changes in the epidermal or dermal environments, or alternatively to activate other coordinating centers by direct (spinal cord) neurotransmission without brain involvement. Furthermore, rapid and reciprocal communications between epidermal and dermal and adnexal compartments are also mediated by neurotransmission including antidromic modes of conduction. Lastly, skin cells and the skin as an organ coordinate and/or regulate not only peripheral but also global homeostasis.
Diagnostic Molecular Pathology in Practice
by Iris SchrijverThis entirely case-based book covers a broad cross-section of the practical issues frequently encountered in the day-to-day activities of a molecular genetic pathologist. The book is divided into four sections on the principal areas addressed in molecular genetic pathology (MGP): inherited diseases, hematopathology, solid tumors, and infectious diseases. The topics covered by the cases in each section include test selection, qualitative and quantitative laboratory techniques, test interpretation, prognostic and therapeutic considerations, ethical considerations, technical troubleshooting, and result reporting. This book will be ideal for trainees in MGP and clinical molecular genetics who require a practice-based preparation for board examinations. It will also be very useful for residents and fellows in medical specialties to which MGP is pertinent, and for practicing pathologists who want to learn more about the current practice of molecular diagnostics.
Coping with Climate Change: Principles And Asian Context
by Ramesha Chandrappa Sushil Gupta Umesh Chandra KulshresthaThe Environmental and climatic issues varies from continent to continent and is unique to Asia. Understanding the issues does need lot of research and study material which students may not be able to gather due to shortage of time and resources. Hence an effort is made by authors gathering there experience and academic input from renowned universities of world. Climate change is real and coping with it is major concern in coming days. Most of the books written and sold in the past need updating and customizing. The general description of climate change and world will not help the professionals and students. It needs to seen area wise as a professional will work in specific geographic area. Hence an effort is made to collect data from Asia which host most populated countries along with ecological hot spots.
Phase Transitions in Two-Dimensional Complex Plasmas
by Christina A. KnapekThe two experimental studies reported in this thesis contribute important new knowledge about phase transitions in two-dimensional complex plasmas: in one case a determination of the coupling parameter (ratio of mean potential to mean kinetic energy of the particles in an ensemble), and in the other a detailed characterization of the non-equilibrium recrystallization of a two-dimensional system. The latter results are used to establish the connection between structural order parameters and the kinetic energy, which in turn gives novel insights into the underlying physical processes determining the two-dimensional phase transition.
Wicked Problems – Social Messes: Decision Support Modelling with Morphological Analysis
by Tom RitcheyThis is the first dedicated book to be published on computer-aided General Morphological Analysis (GMA) as a non-quantified modelling method. It presents the history and theory of GMA and describes how it is used to develop interactive, non-quantified inference models. Eleven case studies are presented out of more than 100 projects carried out since 1995, illustrating how GMA has been employed for structuring complex policy and planning issues, developing scenario and strategy laboratories, and analysing organisational and stakeholder structures. Also discussed are the concepts of "wicked problems" and "social messes", their characteristics and treatment, and problems concerning the facilitation of morphological analysis workshops.
The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea: An Appraisal of the "Rotterdam Rules"
by Meltem Deniz Güner-ÖzbekThe international carriage of goods by sea has been regulated by international conventions. These include the "International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading" ("Hague Rules"); the "Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading" ("Visby Rules"); and the "UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea." They were adopted in 1924, 1968 and 1978 respectively and the transport industry's commercial needs have since substantially changed. Furthermore the advent of subsequent regimes has resulted in the uniformity in the carriage of goods by sea once provided by the Hague Rules being lost. In order to update and modernize existing regimes the "UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea" ("Rotterdam Rules") was adopted on December 11, 2008 by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature on September 23, 2009. Since then drafters of the Rotterdam Rules, academics and practitioners have been publicizing, discussing, and evaluating the Rules. This book is an effort to further explore those same goals.
Handbook of Digital Homecare
by Lodewijk Bos Adrie Dumay Kanagasingam Yogesan Leonard Goldschmidt Griet VerhennemanThis second volume of the "Handbook of Digital Homecare" reviews the attempts to develop new ICT services for digital homecare, i.e. services to deliver, maintain and improve care in the home environment using the latest ICT technology and devices. The book highlights the successful projects as well as failures of Digital homecare and provides several "lessons learned" to the wide audience of Health and ICT professionals.
Therapeutische Beziehung und die Behandlung chronischer Depressionen
by Valerija Sipos Philipp Klein Antje Demmert James P. Mccullough Jr. Ulrich SchweigerCBASP (Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy) hebt das Neutralitätsprinzip des Therapeuten auf Seit mehr als einem Jahrhundert wird die Rolle des Psychotherapeuten dominiert durch Freuds Neutralitätsregel: Ein Therapeut darf die Beziehung zu seinen Patienten nicht persönlich gestalten. James P. McCullough, Jr., hinterfragt dieses weit verbreitete Diktum mit seinem neuen Behandlungsansatz für chronische depressive Patienten: Er empfiehlt eine diszipliniert persönliche Gestaltung der therapeutischen Beziehung statt therapeutischer Neutralität. Die therapeutische Beziehung kann auf diese Weise konkret eingesetzt werden, um pathologische Verhaltensmuster chronisch depressiver Patienten zu verändern. Die neue methodische Gestaltung der persönlichen Therapiebeziehung mit chronisch depressiven Patienten In diesem Buch beschreibt James P. McCullough, Jr., detailliert und anhand zahlreicher einprägsamer Fallbeispiele, wie er eine diszipliniert persönliche Gestaltung der therapeutischen Beziehung definiert und wie sie angewendet wird. Seine psychotherapeutische Erfahrung gepaart mit seinem frischen Blick auf die therapeutische Beziehung machen das Buch zu einer spannenden Lektüre für alle praktizierenden Psychotherapeuten und Psychotherapieforscher. Übersetzt und bearbeitet von den Fachleuten der Methode im deutschsprachigen Raum
Turkey's Water Policy: National Frameworks and International Cooperation
by Annika Kramer Waltina Scheumann Aysegul KibarogluWater is a strategic natural resource of vital importance to all nations. As such it has been the cause of several international disputes. For Turkey especially, water is crucial to social and economic development. Turkey's current national water regime that emphasises water resources development and management for productive uses, however, faces growing environmental concerns and international criticism regarding transboundary water cooperation. Furthermore, EU accession requires Turkey to adopt an extensive and ambitious body of EU water law. To understand Turkey's position to international water law, the national policies and socio-economic circumstances that impact water resources management need to be considered. This book fills the existing knowledge gap through a broad perspective and analysis of the current state of Turkey's water policy and its management of both national and transboundary waters. It is a unique undertaking that brings together Turkish and international authors, practitioners and academics, covering all aspects of water management
The Transient Radio Sky
by Evan Francis KeaneThe high time-resolution radio sky represents unexplored astronomical territory. This thesis presents a study of the transient radio sky, focussing on millisecond scales. As such, the work is concerned primarily with neutron stars. In particular this research concentrates on a recently identified group of neutron stars, known as RRATs, which exhibit radio bursts every few minutes to every few hours. After analysing neutron star birthrates, a re-analysis of the Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey is described which has resulted in the discovery of 19 new transient radio sources. Of these, 12 have been seen to repeat and a follow-up campaign of observations has been undertaken. These studies have greatly increased our knowledge of the rotational properties of RRATs and enable us to conclude that they are pulsars with extreme nulling and/or pulse-to-pulse modulation. Although the evolution of neutron stars post-supernova is not yet understood, it seems that RRATs fit into the emerging picture in which pulsar magnetospheres switch between stable configurations.
Essentials of Biochemistry
by Mark Hargrove Herbert J. FrommThis textbook, Essentials of Biochemistry is aimed at chemistry and biochemistry undergraduate students and first year biochemistry graduate students. It incorporates the lectures of the authors given to students with a strong chemistry background. An emphasis is placed on metabolism and reaction mechanisms and how they are studied. As the title of the book implies, the text lays the basis for an understanding of the fundamentals of biochemistry.
Plurigaussian Simulations in Geosciences
by Margaret Armstrong Brigitte Doligez Francois Geffroy Hélène Beucher Rémi Eschard Didier Renard Gaelle Loc'H Alain GalliSimulation is the fastest developing branch of geostatistics and simulating facies inside reservoirs and orebodies is the most exciting part of this. Several methods have been developed to do this (sequential indicator simulations, Boolean simulations, Markov chains and plurigaussian simulations). This book focuses on the last type of simulations. It presents the theory required to understand the method, along practical examples of applications in mining and the oil industry as well as tutorial exercises. Demonstration software to illustrate how these simulations work is available on http://pluridemo.geosciences.mines-paristech.fr Since the publication of the first edition, enormous numbers of papers have appeared in the literature on the subject. Plurigaussian simulations are now the preferred method for simulating facies in both mining & the oil industry. The new edition contains new case studies in both mining & petroleum, together with an extensively updated theory section.
Optimal Time-Domain Noise Reduction Filters
by Jacob Benesty Jingdong ChenAdditive noise is ubiquitous in acoustics environments and can affect the intelligibility and quality of speech signals. Therefore, a so-called noise reduction algorithm is required to mitigate the effect of the noise that is picked up by the microphones. This work proposes a general framework in the time domain for the single and multiple microphone cases, from which it is very convenient to derive, study, and analyze all kind of optimal noise reduction filters. Not only that all known algorithms can be deduced from this approach, shedding more light on how they function, but new ones can be discovered as well.
Basic Concepts in Physics: From the Cosmos to Quarks (Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics)
by Masud Chaichian Anca Tureanu Hugo Perez Rojas"Basic Concepts in Physics: From the Cosmos to Quarks" is the outcome of the authors' long and varied teaching experience in different countries and for different audiences, and gives an accessible and eminently readable introduction to all the main ideas of modern physics. The book’s fresh approach, using a novel combination of historical and conceptual viewpoints, makes it ideal complementary reading to more standard textbooks. The first five chapters are devoted to classical physics, from planetary motion to special relativity, always keeping in mind its relevance to questions of contemporary interest. The next six chapters deal mainly with newer developments in physics, from quantum theory and general relativity to grand unified theories, and the book concludes by discussing the role of physics in living systems. A basic grounding in mathematics is required of the reader, but technicalities are avoided as far as possible; thus complex calculations are omitted so long as the essential ideas remain clear. The book is addressed to undergraduate and graduate students in physics and will also be appreciated by many professional physicists. It will likewise be of interest to students, researchers and teachers of other natural sciences, as well as to engineers, high-school teachers and the curious general reader, who will come to understand what physics is about and how it describes the different phenomena of Nature. Not only will readers of this book learn much about physics, they will also learn to love it.
Random Walks and Diffusions on Graphs and Databases
by Dimitri Volchenkov Philipp BlanchardMost networks and databases that humans have to deal with contain large, albeit finite number of units. Their structure, for maintaining functional consistency of the components, is essentially not random and calls for a precise quantitative description of relations between nodes (or data units) and all network components. This book is an introduction, for both graduate students and newcomers to the field, to the theory of graphs and random walks on such graphs. The methods based on random walks and diffusions for exploring the structure of finite connected graphs and databases are reviewed (Markov chain analysis). This provides the necessary basis for consistently discussing a number of applications such diverse as electric resistance networks, estimation of land prices, urban planning, linguistic databases, music, and gene expression regulatory networks.
Statistical Pronunciation Modeling for Non-Native Speech Processing
by Wolfgang Minker Rainer E. Gruhn Satoshi NakamuraIn this work, the authors present a fully statistical approach to model non--native speakers' pronunciation. Second-language speakers pronounce words in multiple different ways compared to the native speakers. Those deviations, may it be phoneme substitutions, deletions or insertions, can be modelled automatically with the new method presented here. The methods is based on a discrete hidden Markov model as a word pronunciation model, initialized on a standard pronunciation dictionary. The implementation and functionality of the methodology has been proven and verified with a test set of non-native English in the regarding accent. The book is written for researchers with a professional interest in phonetics and automatic speech and speaker recognition.
Endospore-forming Soil Bacteria
by Paul De Vos Niall A. LoganAerobic endospore-forming bacteria are found in soils of all kinds, ranging from acid to alkaline, hot to cold, and fertile to desert. It is well known that endospores confer special properties upon their owners and play dominant parts in their life cycles and dispersal, and much has been written about the spores, genetics, and economic importance of these organisms. Much has also been written about soil ecology, but there is a relative dearth of literature that brings together different aspects of the behaviour and characters of endospore-formers with their contributions to soil ecosystems. This Soil Biology volume fills that gap. Following chapters that describe the current classification of these organisms, that review methods for their detection and for studying their life cycles in soils, and that examine their dispersal, other chapters show that they are active and dynamic members of soil floras that interact widely with other soil inhabitants, with roles in nitrogen fixation, denitrification, and soil remediation.