springer international publishing mrz 2014 (142 results)

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In der Bundesrepublik Deutschland überwachen die Behörden der Länder die Einhaltung der Vorschriften, die für das Inverkehrbringen und die Anwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln gelten.Das Pflanzenschutz-Kontrollprogramm ist ein bundesweit harmonisiertes Programm zur Überwachung pflanzenschutzrechtlicher Vorschriften. Die Durchführung und Berichterstattung der Kontrollen erfolgen nach gemeinsamen Standards der Länder auf Grundlage eines abgestimmten Methoden-Handbuches. Die Festlegung von Kontrolltatbeständen und die Betriebsauswahl erfolgt durch die Länder; zusätzlich gibt es bundesweite Kontrollschwerpunkte. Der vorliegende Bericht fasst die Ergebnisse des Jahres 2012 zusammen.Bundesweit wurden in 2.482 Handelsbetrieben Verkehrskontrollen durchgeführt und in 5.059 Betrieben der Landwirtschaft, des Gartenbaus und der Forstwirtschaft Betriebs- oder Anwendungskontrollen vorgenommen. Im Rahmen der Überwachung der Verordnung über Pflanzenschutzmittel und Pflanzenschutzgeräte (Pflanzenschutzmittelverordnung) wurden des Weiteren 95.769 Pflanzenschutzgeräte von amtlichen bzw. amtlich anerkannten Kontrollstellen überprüft. 199 Pflanzenschutzmittel wurden in Hinsicht auf Zusammensetzung und physikalische, chemische und technische Eigenschaften untersucht. 52 pp. Deutsch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Zoonosen sind Krankheiten bzw. Infektionen, die auf natürlichem Weg direkt oder indirekt zwischen Menschen und Tieren übertragen werden können. Als Zoonoseerreger kommen Viren, Bakterien, Pilze, Parasiten oder Prionen in Betracht. Zoonoseerreger sind in Tierpopulationen weit verbreitet und können von Nutztieren, die in der Regel selbst keine Anzeichen einer Infektion oder Erkrankung aufweisen, z. B. während der Schlachtung und Weiterverarbeitung auf das Fleisch übertragen werden. Mit Zoonoseerregern kontaminierte Lebensmittel stellen eine wichtige Infektionsquelle für den Menschen dar. Die Kontamination mit Zoonoseerregern kann auf allen Stufen der Lebensmittelkette von der Erzeugung bis zum Verzehr erfolgen. Lebensmittelbedingte Infektionen verlaufen häufig mild. Je nach Virulenz des Erregers und Alter und Immunitätslage der infizierten Person können aber auch schwere Krankheitsverläufe mit zum Teil tödlichem Ausgang auftreten. Die Eindämmung von Zoonosen durch Kontrolle und Prävention ist ein zentrales nationales und europäisches Ziel. Um geeignete Maßnahmen zur Verringerung des Vorkommens von Zoonoseerregern bei Nutztieren und in Lebensmitteln festlegen und deren Wirksamkeit überprüfen zu können, ist die Überwachung von Zoonoseerregern auf allen Stufen der Lebensmittelkette von grundlegender Bedeutung. Hierzu leistet das Zoonosen-Monitoring einen wichtigen Beitrag, indem repräsentative Daten über das Auftreten von Zoonoseerregern in Futtermitteln, lebenden Tieren und Lebensmitteln erhoben, ausgewertet und veröffentlicht werden und somit Kenntnisse über die Bedeutung verschiedener Lebensmittel als mögliche Infektionsquellen für den Menschen gewonnen werden. Mit der regelmäßigen Erfassung von Daten zu Zoonoseerregern gibt das Zoonosen-Monitoring außerdem Aufschluss über die Ausbreitungs- und Entwicklungstendenzen von Zoonosen. Antibiotikaresistente Bakterien breiten sich immer weiter aus, wodurch die erfolgreiche Behandlung von Infektionskrankheiten zunehmend erschwert wird. Mit dem Resistenz-Monitoring als wichtigem Teil des Zoonosen-Monitorings werden repräsentative Daten für die Bewertung der aktuellen Situation sowie der Entwicklungstendenzen der Resistenz bei Zoonoseerregern und kommensalen Bakterien gegenüber antimikrobiellen Substanzen gewonnen. Eine Eindämmung der zunehmenden Resistenz von Bakterien gegenüber Antibiotika ist sowohl für den Erhalt der Gesundheit des Menschen als auch der Tiergesundheit von großer Bedeutung. 80 pp. Deutsch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Digital Watermarking is the art and science of embedding information in existing digital content for Digital Rights Management (DRM) and authentication. Reversible watermarking is a class of (fragile) digital watermarking that not only authenticates multimedia data content, but also helps to maintain perfect integrity of the original multimedia 'cover data.' In non-reversible watermarking schemes, after embedding and extraction of the watermark, the cover data undergoes some distortions, although perceptually negligible in most cases. In contrast, in reversible watermarking, zero-distortion of the cover data is achieved, that is the cover data is guaranteed to be restored bit-by-bit. Such a feature is desirable when highly sensitive data is watermarked, e.g., in military, medical, and legal imaging applications. This work deals with development, analysis, and evaluation of state-of-the-art reversible watermarking techniques for digital images. In this work we establish the motivation for research on reversible watermarking using a couple of case studies with medical and military images. We present a detailed review of the state-of-the-art research in this field. We investigate the various subclasses of reversible watermarking algorithms, their operating principles, and computational complexities. Along with this, to give the readers an idea about the detailed working of a reversible watermarking scheme, we present a prediction-based reversible watermarking technique, recently published by us. We discuss the major issues and challenges behind implementation of reversible watermarking techniques, and recently proposed solutions for them. Finally, we provide an overview of some open problems and scope of work for future researchers in this area. 132 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Digital libraries (DLs) have evolved since their launch in 1991 into an important type of information system, with widespread application. This volume advances that trend further by describing new research and development in the DL field that builds upon the 5S (Societies, Scenarios, Spaces, Structures, Streams) framework, which is discussed in three other DL volumes in this series.While the 5S framework may be used to describe many types of information systems, and is likely to have even broader utility and appeal, we focus here on digital libraries. Drawing upon six (Akbar, Kozievitch, Leidig, Li, Murthy, Park) completed and two (Chen, Fouh) in-process dissertations, as well as the efforts of collaborating researchers, and scores of related publications, presentations, tutorials, and reports, this book demonstrates the applicability of 5S in five digital library application areas, that also have importance in the context of the WWW, Web 2.0, and innovative information systems. By integrating surveys of the state-of-the-art, newresearch, connections with formalization, case studies, and exercises/projects, this book can serve as a textbook for those interested in computing, information, and/or library science. Chapter 1 focuses on images, explaining how they connect with information retrieval, in the context of CBIR systems. Chapter 2 gives two case studies of DLs used in education, which is one of the most common applications of digital libraries. Chapter 3 covers social networks, which are at the heart of work onWeb 2.0, explaining the construction and use of deduced graphs, that can enhance retrieval and recommendation. Chapter 4 demonstrates the value of DLs in eScience, focusing, in particular, on cyber-infrastructure for simulation. Chapter 5 surveys geospatial information in DLs, with a case study on geocoding. Given this rich content, we trust that any interested in digital libraries, or in related systems, will find this volume to be motivating, intellectually satisfying, and useful. We hope it will help move digital libraries forward into a science as well as a practice. We hope it will help build community that will address the needs of the next generation of DLs. 176 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Solving challenging computational problems involving time has been a critical component in the development of artificial intelligence systems almost since the inception of the field. This book provides a concise introduction to the core computational elements of temporal reasoning for use in AI systems for planning and scheduling, as well as systems that extract temporal information from data. It presents a survey of temporal frameworks based on constraints, both qualitative and quantitative, as well as of major temporal consistency techniques. The book also introduces the reader to more recent extensions to the core model that allow AI systems to explicitly represent temporal preferences and temporal uncertainty. This book is intended for students and researchers interested in constraint-based temporal reasoning. It provides a self-contained guide to the different representations of time, as well as examples of recent applications of time in AI systems. 124 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -It has been estimated that over a billion people are using or learning English as a second or foreign language, and the numbers are growing not only for English but for other languages as well. These language learners provide a burgeoning market for tools that help identify and correct learners' writing errors. Unfortunately, the errors targeted by typical commercial proofreading tools do not include those aspects of a second language that are hardest to learn. This volume describes the types of constructions English language learners find most difficult: constructions containing prepositions, articles, and collocations. It provides an overview of the automated approaches that have been developed to identify and correct these and other classes of learner errors in a number of languages. Error annotation and system evaluation are particularly important topics in grammatical error detection because there are no commonly accepted standards. Chapters in the book describe the options available to researchers, recommend best practices for reporting results, and present annotation and evaluation schemes. The final chapters explore recent innovative work that opens new directions for research. It is the authors' hope that this volume will continue to contribute to the growing interest in grammatical error detection by encouraging researchers to take a closer look at the field and its many challenging problems. 172 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Judgment aggregation is a mathematical theory of collective decision-making. It concerns the methods whereby individual opinions about logically interconnected issues of interest can, or cannot, be aggregated into one collective stance. Aggregation problems have traditionally been of interest for disciplines like economics and the political sciences, as well as philosophy, where judgment aggregation itself originates from, but have recently captured the attention of disciplines like computer science, artificial intelligence and multi-agent systems. Judgment aggregation has emerged in the last decade as a unifying paradigm for the formalization and understanding of aggregation problems. Still, no comprehensive presentation of the theory is available to date. This Synthesis Lecture aims at filling this gap presenting the key motivations, results, abstractions and techniques underpinning it. Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Logic Meets Social Choice Theory / Basic Concepts / Impossibility / Coping with Impossibility / Manipulability / Aggregation Rules / Deliberation / Bibliography / Authors' Biographies / Index 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -General game players are computer systems able to play strategy games based solely on formal game descriptions supplied at 'runtime' (n other words, they don't know the rules until the game starts). Unlike specialized game players, such as Deep Blue, general game players cannot rely on algorithms designed in advance for specific games; they must discover such algorithms themselves. General game playing expertise depends on intelligence on the part of the game player and not just intelligence of the programmer of the game player. GGP is an interesting application in its own right. It is intellectually engaging and more than a little fun. But it is much more than that. It provides a theoretical framework for modeling discrete dynamic systems and defining rationality in a way that takes into account problem representation and complexities like incompleteness of information and resource bounds. It has practical applications in areas where these features are important, e.g., in business and law. More fundamentally, it raises questions about the nature of intelligence and serves as a laboratory in which to evaluate competing approaches to artificial intelligence. This book is an elementary introduction to General Game Playing (GGP). (1) It presents the theory of General Game Playing and leading GGP technologies. (2) It shows how to create GGP programs capable of competing against other programs and humans. (3) It offers a glimpse of some of the real-world applications of General Game Playing. 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -These notes introduce a new class of algebraic curves on Hilbert modular surfaces. These curves are called twisted Teichmüller curves, because their construction is very reminiscent of Hirzebruch-Zagier cycles. These new objects are analyzed in detail and their main properties are described. In particular, the volume of twisted Teichmüller curves is calculated and their components are partially classified. The study of algebraic curves on Hilbert modular surfaces has been widely covered in the literature due to their arithmetic importance. Among these, twisted diagonals (Hirzebruch-Zagier cycles) are some of the most important examples. 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -For humans, understanding a natural language sentence or discourse is so effortless that we hardly ever think about it. For machines, however, the task of interpreting natural language, especially grasping meaning beyond the literal content, has proven extremely difficult and requires a large amount of background knowledge. This book focuses on the interpretation of natural language with respect to specific domain knowledge captured in ontologies. The main contribution is an approach that puts ontologies at the center of the interpretation process. This means that ontologies not only provide a formalization of domain knowledge necessary for interpretation but also support and guide the construction of meaning representations. We start with an introduction to ontologies and demonstrate how linguistic information can be attached to them by means of the ontology lexicon model lemon. These lexica then serve as basis for the automatic generation of grammars, which we use to compositionallyconstruct meaning representations that conform with the vocabulary of an underlying ontology. As a result, the level of representational granularity is not driven by language but by the semantic distinctions made in the underlying ontology and thus by distinctions that are relevant in the context of a particular domain. We highlight some of the challenges involved in the construction of ontology-based meaning representations, and show how ontologies can be exploited for ambiguity resolution and the interpretation of temporal expressions. Finally, we present a question answering system that combines all tools and techniques introduced throughout the book in a real-world application, and sketch how the presented approach can scale to larger, multi-domain scenarios in the context of the Semantic Web. Table of Contents: List of Figures / Preface / Acknowledgments / Introduction / Ontologies / Linguistic Formalisms / Ontology Lexica / Grammar Generation / Putting Everything Together / Ontological Reasoning for Ambiguity Resolution / Temporal Interpretation / Ontology-Based Interpretation for Question Answering / Conclusion / Bibliography / Authors' Biographies 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Introduces hydrodynamics to undergraduate students in physics and astrophysics.Stellar winds are a common phenomenon in the life of stars, from the dwarfs like the Sun to the red giants and hot supergiants, constituting one of the basic aspects of modern astrophysics. Stellar winds are a hydrodynamic phenomenon in which circumstellar gases expand towards the interstellar medium. This book presents an elementary introduction to the fundamentals of hydrodynamics with an application to the study of stellar winds. The principles of hydrodynamics have many other applications, so that the book can be used as an introduction to hydrodynamics for students of physics, astrophysics and other related areas. 196 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -NASA's Mercury astronauts were seven highly skilled professional test pilots. Each of them seemed to possess the strength of character and commitment necessary to overcome apparently insurmountable obstacles as the United States entered into a Cold War space race with the Soviet Union. This was never more evident than on the epic suborbital MR-4 flight of Liberty Bell 7 with astronaut Virgil ('Gus') Grissom piloting the spacecraft to a successful splashdown, followed by the premature blowing of the craft's explosive hatch. After a hurried exit and struggling to stay afloat, he could only watch helplessly as the recovery helicopter pilot valiantly fought a losing battle to save the sinking capsule. That day NASA not only lost a spacecraft but came perilously close to losing one of its Mercury astronauts, a decorated Korean fighter pilot from Indiana who might one day have soared to the highest goal of them all, as the first person to set foot on the Moon. For the first time, many of those closest to the flight of Liberty Bell 7 and astronaut Gus Grissom offer their stories and opinions on the dramatic events of July 21, 1961, and his later pioneering Gemini mission. They also tell of an often controversial life cut tragically and horrifically short in a launch pad fire that shocked the nation. 304 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book explores the way in which the legacy of the German occupation of the Channel Islands has been turned into heritage (or, conversely, neglected) over the last 70 years. Once seen as the 'taint of the mark of the beast', the perception of much of what the Germans left behind has slowly changed from being despised and reviled, buried underground or dumped at sea, to being reclaimed, restored, highly valued and treated as 'heritage'. This book examines the journey of various aspects of this heritage, exploring the role of each post-war generation in picking at the scar of occupation, refusing to let it heal or fade. By discovering and interpreting anew their once-hated legacy, each generation of Channel Islanders has changed the resulting collective memory of a period which is rapidly moving to the edge of living memory. It includes the first in-depth investigation into the multiple aspects of heritage of occupation of a single place and will offer comparative material for other heritage professionals who work with similar material throughout Europe and in other post-occupation areas. It will explore the complex ethical issues faced by anyone who works with the legacy or heritage of Nazism, seeking to understand how and why the Channel Islands have responded in the way that they have and asking how unique - or typical for formerly-occupied Europe - their response has been. 320 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 17th International GI/ITG Conference on Measurement, Modeling and Evaluation of Computing Systems and Dependability and Fault-Tolerance, MMB & DFT 2014, held in Bamberg, Germany, in March 2014. The 21 papers presented (2 invited papers, 3 tool papers and 16 full papers) were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. MMB & DFT 2014 cover all aspects of performance and dependability evaluation of systems including networks, computer architectures, distributed systems, workflow systems, software, fault-tolerant and secure systems. The conference also featured 3 satellite workshops namely the International Workshop on Demand Modeling and Quantitative Analysis of Future Generation Energy Networks and Energy-Efficient Systems, FGENET 2014; the International Workshop on Modeling, Analysis and Management of Social Networks and their Applications, SOCNET 2014 and the 2nd Workshop on Network Calculus, WoNeCa 2014. 280 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book shows that the introduction of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) of credit points as a new accounting unit at universities has led to increased bureaucracy and the schoolmaster-style regimentation of Bachelor's and Master's courses. It explains how, due to the pressure of having to plan every single working hour of studying in advance, a 'Sudoku Effect' is created by the necessity to combine courses, exams and modules in such a way that the points 'add up'. An unintentional side effect of the introduction of the ECTS, the Sudoku Effect has led to more classroom style teaching, an inflation of exams and fewer choices available to students. It has resulted in such complex and contradictory guidelines for the planning of the curriculum that the values attributed to the higher education reform can often only be realised if the rules for Bachelor's and Master's programmes are ignored, or at least stretched, in practice. The book describes how the reaction to this situation is the continuous further refinement of the complicated rules rather than their abolishment. 108 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This interdisciplinary work draws on research from psychology and behavioral economics to evaluate the plausibility of moral contract theory. In a compelling manner with implications for moral theory more broadly, the author's novel approach resolves a number of key contingencies in contractarianism and contractualism.Acting in accordance with principles that we could all agree to under certain conditions requires that agents are capable of taking up the perspectives of others. Research in social and developmental psychology shows just how challenging this can be. The author discusses in detail what implications findings on perspective-taking have for contract theory. He concludes with cautious optimism that, despite our limitations, it lies within our power to become better at perspective-taking and to adopt a contractarian or contractualist mode of moral thinking. This does however require us to be much more attentive to the standpoints of others than we tend to be.Contract theorists also assume that agents can be moved to comply with principles that would be the object of agreement, with some arguing they can be so moved out of their own interest. The book show that, in contrast to the suspicion of many philosophers, this idea is largely supported by research on the dynamics of trust and our ability to distinguish trustworthy from untrustworthy others. Bringing a welcome dose of realism to the debate on contract theory, the author shows the value of assessing moral theories from an empirical perspective. 244 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book focuses on the importance of using a brain-behavior relationship framework for the successful use of neuropsychological evaluations for courtroom purposes. It stresses the need to understand the offender as a unique individual assessed accordingly from cognitive and personality perspectives. The desired goal is to reach a more nuanced evaluation rather than a compilation of test scores. This book clearly explains the circumstances that prevent proper testing including batteries that are confusing or frustrating to the person being tested or those that cause fatigue thus interfering with an appropriate picture of cognitive, motor and sensory skills. Irrelevance of some tests for addressing the reason for referral is also covered as is the importance of setting and adequate time for evaluation. When dealing with court cases involving the violent offender the evaluation is critical to the establishment of the factors that motivated the crime. In most cases the issue is not insanity but rather an understanding for legal purposes of the cognitive and emotional processes that explain how a crime occurred. This book provides a concise overview of the issues involved and how to provide the best scientific information to satisfy the pursuit of justice. 64 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This volume investigates the notion of reduction. Building on the idea that philosophers employ the term 'reduction' to reconcile diversity and directionality with unity, without relying on elimination, the book offers a powerful explication of an 'ontological', notion of reduction the extension of which is (primarily) formed by properties, kinds, individuals, or processes. It argues that related notions of reduction, such as theory-reduction and functional reduction, should be defined in terms of this explication. Thereby, the book offers a coherent framework, which sheds light on the history of the various reduction debates in the philosophy of science and in the philosophy of mind, and on related topics such as reduction and unification, the notion of a scientific level, and physicalism.The book takes its point of departure in the examination of a puzzle about reduction. To illustrate, the book takes as an example the reduction of water. If water reduces to H2O, then water is identical to H2O - thus we get unity. Unity does not come at the price of elimination - claiming that water reduces to H2O, we do not thereby claim that there is no water. But what about diversity and directionality Intuitively, there should be a difference between water and H2O, such that we get diversity. This is required for there to be directionality: in a sense, if water reduces to H2O, then H2O is prior to, or more basic than water. At least, if water reduces to H2O, then H2O does not reduce to water. But how can this be, if water is identical to H2O The book shows that the application of current models of reduction does not solve this puzzle, and proposes a new coherent definition, according to which unity is tied to identity, diversity is descriptive in nature, and directionality is the directionality of explanation. 240 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In recent decades, extreme rains and drought have struck urban regions in Africa like never before. Nevertheless, limited information is available on which to base development of early warning systems, identification of high-risk zones and formulation of local action plans. This book is about how to build the knowledge necessary for planning adaptation to climate change in Sub-Saharan cities. It brings together lessons learned from international development actions conducted by a number of scholars in disciplines ranging from meteorology and hydrogeology to urban planning and environmental management. Selected methods to assess the impacts of extreme weather and ecological stress are presented along with possible approaches to improve the adaptive capacity of Sub-Saharan cities through institutional measures at the local government level. The book is addressed to graduate students, researchers and practitioners interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills in order to integrate climate change into applied research and development projects in urban Africa. 268 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In practice, the design and architecture of a cloud varies among cloud providers. We present a generic evaluation framework for the performance, availability and reliability characteristics of various cloud platforms. We describe a generic benchmark architecture for cloud databases, specifically NoSQL database as a service. It measures the performance of replication delay and monetary cost.Service Level Agreements (SLA) represent the contract which captures the agreed upon guarantees between a service provider and its customers. The specifications of existing service level agreements (SLA) for cloud services are not designed to flexibly handle even relatively straightforward performance and technical requirements of consumer applications. We present a novel approach for SLA-based management of cloud-hosted databases from the consumer perspective and an end-to-end framework for consumer-centric SLA management of cloud-hosted databases. The framework facilitates adaptive and dynamic provisioning of the database tier of the software applications based on application-defined policies for satisfying their own SLA performance requirements, avoiding the cost of any SLA violation and controlling the monetary cost of the allocated computing resources. In this framework, the SLA of the consumer applications are declaratively defined in terms of goals which are subjected to a number of constraints that are specific to the application requirements. The framework continuously monitors the application-defined SLA and automatically triggers the execution of necessary corrective actions (scaling out/in the database tier) when required. The framework is database platform-agnostic, uses virtualization-based database replication mechanisms and requires zero source code changes of the cloud-hosted software applications. 224 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This is a unique book addressing the integration of risk methodology from various fields. It will stimulate intellectual debate and communication across disciplines, promote better risk management practices and contribute to the development of risk management methodologies. Individual chapters explain fundamental risk models and measurement, and address risk and security issues from diverse areas such as finance and insurance, the health sciences, life sciences, engineering and information science. Integrated Risk Sciences is an emerging discipline that considers risks in different fields, aiming at a common language, and at sharing and improving methods developed in different fields. Readers should have a Bachelor degree and have taken at least one basic university course in statistics and probability. The main goal of the book is to provide basic knowledge on risk and security in a common language; the authors have taken particular care to ensure that all content can readily be understood by doctoral students and researchers across disciplines. Each chapter provides simple case studies and examples, open research questions and discussion points, and a selected bibliography inviting readers to further study. 488 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book takes a fresh look at biometrics and identity management, extending the dialogue beyond technical considerations, and exploring some of the broader societal and philosophical aspects surrounding the use of biometric applications. Features: presents a brief history of the development of biometrics, and describes some of the popularly held misconceptions surrounding the technology; investigates the challenges and possibilities of biometrics across third party infrastructures and on mobile computing devices; provides guidance on biometric systems design; explores the mechanisms necessary to enable identity intelligence, including logging mechanisms, data communications and data formats; discusses such usage issues as collaboration frameworks, and messaging and data translation; examines the impact of biometric technologies on society, covering issues of privacy and user factors; reviews the current situation in identity management, and predicts where these trends may take us in the future. 260 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This Springer Brief presents the architectures of small-cell networks and recent advances in interference management. The key challenges and values of small cells are first introduced, followed by the reviews of various small-cell architectures and interference management techniques in both heterogeneous CDMA and heterogeneous OFDMA small-cell networks. New adaptive power control and dynamic spectrum access techniques are discussed to promote a harmonized coexistence of diverse network entities in both 3G and 4G small-cell networks. Analytically devised from optimization and game theories, autonomous solutions are shown to effectively manage the intra-tier and cross-tier interferences in small cells. Informative and practical, this Springer Brief is designed for researchers and professionals working in networking and resource management. The content is also valuable for advanced-level students interested in network communications and power allocation. 136 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This Springer Brief discusses efficient security protocols and schemes for multi-hop wireless networks. It presents an overview of security requirements for these networks, explores challenges in securing networks and presents system models. The authors introduce mechanisms to reduce the overhead and identify malicious nodes that drop packets intentionally. Also included is a new, efficient cooperation incentive scheme to stimulate the selfish nodes to relay information packets and enforce fairness. Many examples are provided, along with predictions for future directions of the field. Security for Multi-hop Wireless Networks demonstrates recent research that enhances the efficiency and safety of these key networks. Concise and practical, it is a useful tool for researchers and professionals working in network security. It is also a valuable resource for advanced-level students interested in wireless communications and networking. 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Databases in Networked Information Systems, DNIS 2014, held in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, March 2014. The 21 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical section such as big data and cloud computing; astronomical data management; business data analytics and visualization; business data analytics in sciences; geo-spatial decision making and query languages; business data analytics in astronomy. 292 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book is among the first to address the novel process intensification technologies for biodiesel production, in particular the integrated reactive separations. It provides a comprehensive overview illustrated with many industrially relevant examples of novel reactive separation processes used in the production of biodiesel (e.g. fatty acid alkyl esters): reactive distillation, reactive absorption, reactive extraction, membrane reactors, and centrifugal contact separators. Readers will also learn about the working principles, design and control of integrated processes, while also getting a relevant and modern overview of the process intensification opportunities for biodiesel synthesis. Biodiesel is a biodegradable and renewable fuel that currently enjoys much attention. In spite of the recent advances, the existing biodiesel processes still suffer from problems associated with the use of homogeneous catalysts (e.g. salt waste streams) and the key limitations imposed by the chemical reaction equilibrium, thus leading to severe economic and environmental penalties. The integration of reaction and separation into one operating unit overcomes equilibrium limitations and provides key benefits such as low capital investment and operating costs. Many of these processes can be further enhanced by heat-integration and powered by heterogeneous catalysts, to eliminate all conventional catalyst related operations, using the raw materials efficiently and the reaction volume, while offering high conversion and selectivity, and significant energy savings. The targeted audience of this book includes both academia (students and researchers) and industry (project leaders, technology managers, researchers, biodiesel producers, and equipment suppliers). 120 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book presents and discusses the state of the art and future trends in software engineering education. It introduces new and innovative methods, models and frameworks to focus the training towards the needs and requirements of the industry. Topics included in this book are: education models for software engineering, development of the software engineering discipline, innovation and evaluation of software engineering education, curriculum for software engineering education, requirements and cultivation of outstanding software engineers for the future and cooperation models for industries and software engineering education. 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This brief presents the novel PHY layer technique, attachment transmission, which provides an extra control panel with minimum overhead. In addition to describing the basic mechanisms of this technique, this brief also illustrates the challenges, the theoretical model, implementation and numerous applications of attachment transmission. Extensive experiments demonstrate that attachment transmission is capable of exploiting and utilizing channel redundancy to deliver control information and thus it can provide significant support to numerous higher layer applications. The authors also address the critical problem of providing cost-effective coordination mechanisms for wireless design. The combination of new techniques and implementation advice makes this brief a valuable resource for researchers and professionals interested in wireless penetration and communication networks. 76 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In this book the author presents selected challenges of thermal-hydraulics modeling of two-phase flows in minichannels with change of phase. These encompass the common modeling of flow boiling and flow condensation using the same expression. Approaches to model these two respective cases show, however, that experimental data show different results to those obtained by methods of calculation of heat transfer coefficient for respective cases. Partially that can be devoted to the fact that there are non-adiabatic effects present in both types of phase change phenomena which modify the pressure drop due to friction, responsible for appropriate modelling. The modification of interface shear stresses between flow boiling and flow condensation in case of annular flow structure may be considered through incorporation of the so called blowing parameter, which differentiates between these two modes of heat transfer. On the other hand, in case of bubbly flows, the generation of bubbles also modifies the friction pressure drop by the influence of heat flux. Presented are also the results of a peculiar M-shape distribution of heat transfer coefficient specific to flow boiling in minichannels. Finally, some attention is devoted to mathematical modeling of dryout phenomena. A five equation model enabling determination of the dryout location is presented, where the mass balance equations for liquid film, droplets and gas are supplemented by momentum equations for liquid film and two-phase core. 72 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This Springer Brief presents recent research results on area coverage for intruder detection from an energy-efficient perspective. These results cover a variety of topics, including environmental surveillance and security monitoring. The authors also provide the background and range of applications for area coverage and elaborate on system models such as the formal definition of area coverage and sensing models. Several chapters focus on energy-efficient intruder detection and intruder trapping under the well-known binary sensing model, along with intruder trapping under the probabilistic sensing model. The brief illustrates efficient algorithms rotate the duty of each sensor to prolong the network lifetime and ensure intruder trapping performance. The brief concludes with future directions of the field. Designed for researchers and professionals working with wireless sensor networks, the brief also provides a wide range of applications which are also valuable for advanced-level students interested in efficiency and networking. 108 pp. Englisch.