Lap lambert academic publishing okt 2009 (616 risultati)

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book is the first full treatment of the life and cinema of American film director Paul Thomas Anderson. Beginning with his entry into filmmaking, this work spans each of his first four feature films - Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love - and follows his rise to the pinnacle of the indie circuit. As a major filmmaker in the studio independent filmmaking scene of the 1990s, Anderson has proven himself to be an exceptional storyteller and technician in the art of cinema. This work examines the continuity and similarities that exist in each of Anderson's films - his themes, his vision of life and his depiction of the self. It focuses primarily on how the filmmaker uses structural elements - e.g. cinematography, music, lighting, dialogue and tone - as methods of communicating his vision. A must-have for anyone interested in his work, and a great read for those who like independent cinema! 64 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Indonesian organizations today increasingly demand rigorous qualifications from the PR practitioners. However, old misperceptions about PR being a glamorous job that does not require much intelligence still exist. Consequently, physical attractiveness and youth are often regarded as requirements more important than education and experience for PR practitioners. Moreover, many Indonesian organizations still limit the public relations practitioner s role to that of a technician, and only in times of crisis would these organizations seek strategic public relations. This book explains the history of PR in Indonesia and analyzes its status and the various perceptions Indonesians have toward the field. This study used quantitative online surveys as well as qualitative online and face-to-face interviews as research methods. Although based on the author s Master s thesis in 2003, this book contains valuable information that is still accurate today and will be useful to PR practitioners and scholars in Indonesia and worldwide. 80 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The present work reviews and reports recent works using high specific area carbon as an electrode material for electrosorptive removal of metal ion from the waste-water. These aspects of high-area carbon electrode behaviour arise from properties of the interphasial double-layer at which electrosorption and charge accommodation can take place, with the latter observably influencing the former. For simple aromatic heterocyclic compounds, such carbon material exhibits high effectiveness for electrosorptive removal and, importantly, major changes of extents of sorption with applied potential or current, and high specific area carbon cloth electrodes exhibit large capacitance density enabling them to be used as Supercapacitor electrodes. In the present study carbon aerogel electrodes was developed to treat mercury-contaminated waters. 64 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Digital communications over bandlimited channels often encounter the problem of intersymbol interference (ISI), which can degrade signal quality down to an unacceptable level. As such, a channel equaliser is usually used at the receiving end to mitigate the ISI. This book presents study of adaptive channel equalisation based on soft- computing techniques. The main types of equalisers considered in this book are based on fuzzy neural networks (FNNs) and radial basis function networks (RBFNs). The training procedures used to adapt the networks include back propagation (BP) for FNN, and a combination of unsupervised (K-means) and supervised (Least mean square, LMS) learning for RBFN. Minimal resource allocation network (MRAN) is also discussed. The performances of the RBFN and FNN- based equalisers are evaluated by comparing with the conventional linear transversal equaliser (LTE) and the multilayer perceptron (MLP) based equalisers. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the performance of each network and algorithm. 120 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Simple charts (pie charts, bar charts, stacked bar charts, etc) are commonly used to represent data, partially because they are easy to construct and are routinely provided by software packages. However, instead of helping comprehension, they can be surprisingly difficult to interpret, especially when many values had to be compared. The purpose of this project was to investigate this problem by designing a trial program that added interactive aspects into stacked bar charts and measured user responses. The results from these trials show that interactivity helped users understand the data and gather more information from the data under certain conditions. 60 pp. Englisch. …

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In this book, a Euclidean distance based minutia matching algorithm is proposed to improve the matching accuracy in fingerprint verification system. This algorithm extracts matched minutia pairs from input and template fingerprints by using the smallest minimum sum of closest Euclidean distance (SMSCED), corresponding rotation angle and empirically chosen statistical threshold values. Instead of using the minutia type and orientation angle, which are widely employed in existing algorithms, the proposed algorithm uses only the minutia location, to reduce the effect of non-linear distortion. Experimental results show that the proposed method has higher accuracy with improved verification rate and rejection rate. 76 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Young Americans are inheriting a society that is becoming increasingly more interdependent and less dominated by one of many historic civilizations. Once again, schools have a major role to play in this process of adaptation. Global education has been promoted by many people to meet this challenge. They have been calling for a global dimension in the education of students and teachers but the questions of practice are still challenging, especially in the area of teacher education. Schools cannot prepare students capable of living successfully in a global age without the abilities and efforts of teachers to turn goals into meaningful learning experiences for students. The purpose of this book was to review the selected literature and determine the status of global education in the United States. The impact of the study was to enhance awareness for the need to include global education both in the school curriculum and in teacher training programs. Teachers in America should receive global education training through preservice and inservice programs. This book should be helpful to policy makers, school administrators, and global educators. 64 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The master thesis is devoted to an analysis of equilibrium or reaction-function models in illiquidity markets which was suggested by K. Ronnie Sircar and George Papanicolaou. The main equation is a nonlinear equation which is a perturbation of Black-Scholes model. By using Lie group analysis to determine the symmetry group of this equation. We present the Lie algebra of the Lie point transformations, the complete symmetry group and invariants. We use these invariants to reduce the PDE under investigation to ordinary differential equations (ODE). Solutions of these ODE's are subgroup-invariant solutions of the non-linear Black-Scholes equation. For some classes of those ODE's we find exact solutions and studied their properties. 64 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The aim of the study is identify the main determining factor when consumers decide to go for a mortgage loan. No previous study has been carried out in this field and therefore results obtained out of the project will be communicated to the Barclays Bank, where I belong. This paper presents an analysis of customer choice criteria in the home loans market in the following markets of UK, US and Mauritius. In particular, the study investigates the relative importance of choice criteria according to consumers and also analyses differences in the importance of choice criteria with respect to a number of demographic and related factors. Analysis of the date obtained from the survey carried out on a random population of 300 respondents from the telephone directory shows that choosing a home loan institution on the basis of professional advice is the most frequently cited choice criterion on the UK, followed by brand loyalty for the US market and finally for the Mauritian market, the most important factor comes to pricing. The analysis was done by focusing on the three main elements in terms of Focus, Differentiation and Cost Leadership. 96 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book objective was finding a computerized facilities management system for managing the Museum of the Hudson Highlands of NY. As the result, three computerized management systems were found that will be feasible for this museum, or a library management, or for running a small public office. In addition to this finding, the complexities of the facilities management profession is presented and the development of information technology applications and consequently evolution of business administration management. 92 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Previous study shows that value-to-price ratios (V/P) predict future stock returns. This empirical regularity is consistent with the notion that stock prices converge to fundamental values over time for mispriced securities. However, the existing evidence on price convergence is indirect and incomplete. This book examines the extent to which price convergence to fundamental value explains the success of V/P trading strategy. In addition, evidence is provided to show the effects of analyst forecast, price momentum and earnings announcement in the convergence process. An ex ante model is developed to predict what types of stocks are likely to exhibit the tendency of price convergence to fundamental value. The analysis should help shed some light on the debate on capital market efficiency, and should be useful to anyone who may be interested in equity valuation, fundamental analysis and stock trading strategies. 104 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book investigates how state laws and institutions may contribute to global warming. The hypothesis generally forwarded here is that state laws and institutions can have an enormous impact on the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from a state s energy generation decisions. Public service commissions have an immense amount of power over the generation decisions of electric utilities. However, this power is not always equal among PUCs, nor always used in the same manner throughout the United States. State laws and institutions provide the basis from which public utility commissions regulate electricity generation in ways that inadvertently affect climate change. Therefore, differences in these laws and institutions can and do impact each state s contribution to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted annually. Three separate studies are used to investigate the importance of laws and institutions in shaping a state s carbon emissions profile. The research findings indicate that some state laws and institutions have made a significant difference in halting states carbon dioxide emissions, and without a doubt political determinants play a role in a state s emissions profile. 100 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Enterprises financing is a core issue in all economies as the access to any financing source asks for the preliminary study of financial performances. Information provided by analyzing financial performances is at the basis of decisions taken by investors, shareholders, banks and crediting institutions, insurance societies and even contracting authorities that grant non-reimbursable funds. The enterprises studied in this monograph are acting in the building sector, for which we tried to achieve an aggregate index of financial performance. Modelling the financial performance offers the possibility of ordering of enterprises acting in the building sector, in accordance with their financial performance, based on the financial-accountancy data in previous years, but also financial performance prevision for an enterprise in the case in which we can make a prevision as real as possible of the financial rates that constitute the model variables. The analysis should be especially useful to professionals in Finance and Financial modelling fields, to practitioners in the enterprises or anyone else who may be interested in the enterprise financial performance analysis. 116 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In many parts of rural Australia, tourism is a relatively new economic activity. Traditionally regional economies have relied on primary industries, such as agriculture, fishing and mining to sustain their populations. For a host of reasons many of these activities have been in decline or have ceased altogether in recent years. This may be due to the depletion of the resource, changes in the environmental ethic of the broader population, or government land management policies. Whatever the reason, the consequences of a decline in, or loss of a region's economic base may have a profound impact on a rural community. There is thus pressure to find an alternative or supplementary economic base so that the community can be sustained. This work explores new ways of assessing a rural community's response to a tourism development scenario in their area. The work uses psychological values theories to interpret the attitudes and economic valuations of rural residents to further tourism development. The foundations of this new approach to values assessment is the contingent valuation method and the Personal Construct Theory (PCT) repertory grid. 320 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book discusses a study that explores spirituality and its potential impact on health conditions of persons with diabetes. For people who have diabetes, spirituality may be significant as a part of their management of the disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether persons with diabetes in Eastern North Carolina who use spirituality as a coping mechanism have better health conditions. The objectives of this study were: To study the impact of the use of spirituality used as a coping mechanism on health conditions of persons with diabetes in Eastern North Carolina; To study other explanatory variables that may potentially influence health conditions in persons with diabetes; and Disseminate beneficial knowledge of diabetes management to current and future persons with diabetes, their family members, and health care providers in an effort to provide better health outcomes for persons with diabetes. 120 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In an intensely competitive landscape where the boundaries of firms have become increasingly permeable, a firm s survival is dependent on how well it manages resources within its control to deal with factors outside its direct control. Results of this study show that IC is an important organisational capability which should be considered as a strategic resource. IC provides an important link in explaining that successful firms are those that can respond well to the new dynamics of firm competition by being able to strike an optimal balance between their employment of tangible and intangible resources through exploiting the firm s dynamic capabilities in responding to the dynamisms in the environment. Environmental dynamism is shown to positively moderate the relationship between human capital and performance. In a dynamic environment, frequent changes occur with a lesser degree of predictability. Whether a firm would succumb to or triumph over the detriments brought about by the frequent changes depends largely on the resources available at its disposal. 76 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The significant social problems that confront immigrant families that have immigrated to Western countries have been described in the literature. However, these investigations have not focused on how the situation of these families can be improved. Therefore, Dr. Alireza Moula conducted an intervention study involving Iranian families in Sweden. After the empirical study, Dr. Moula initiated a two-year intervention program. This program was carried out within the Swedish Organization for the Rights of Children (BRIS) and used communication technology such as live local radio lectures and a telephone help-line to provide support. RAHYAB (Moula Empowerment Model) was used both in educative radio programs and in the help- line conversations. 212 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Dimensions of the well-Being of nations Economic research on what determines the well-being of nations is one of the most active inquiries. Yet, while tremendous progress has been made with respect to the effects of economic factors and forces on the well-being of nations, both economic theory and practice continue to treat lightly non-economic determinants of well-being across countries. The overemphasis on economic factors and forces is troubling as it leaves a knowledge gap in understanding and advancing effective policy. This little book identifies indirect measures of non- economic determinants, and estimates their effects on the well-being of nations. Measuring well-being by the human development index, analysis reveals important relationships between well-being and investment in physical capital, national symbols, national identity, and even holidays - relationships that represent economic and non-economic dimensions of the well-being of nations. In the end, the book makes a significant contribution to both policy and further research. 100 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Participatory Budgeting is an experience of direct democracy inspired by the Paris Commune. It promotes the participation of people in local decisions. Notwithstanding that the participation is restricted to the government budget, its tremendous social importance comes from the process of educating people about how they can be active members in the social collective they are part of. This expanded engagement in social activity develops the participants themselves in two ways. First, it develops their awareness and understanding of the entire social environment they are presently part of, far beyond only budgetary matters. This understanding of their subordination and of the block that capitalism imposes on their human goal of self development then serves to motivate them to end their subordination, and to do with the system of capitalism that subordination is an essential part of. Second, this activity begins to develop the social and technical skills necessary for self-governance in a nonhierarchical society. Activity such as participatory budgeting thus can serve as the foundation for both the desire and ability to create a different future. 92 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The potential effects of wood chip mill harvests on forest management practices of NIPF landowners in North Carolina were analyzed. The study estimated the impacts of changes in timber market returns to NIPF owners. Economic welfare effects of producer and consumer surpluses attributable to market adjustments were also calculated. Potential savings from reduced site preparation costs from cleaner harvests were estimated. Additionally, the potential changes in financial returns to growing timber with wood chip markets were estimated using discounted cash flow analyses of typical forest management returns. A second component of this research involved the analysis of archival tax data on the North Carolina Use-Value Property Tax Program. An analysis of the effects of property values, property taxes and population density on landowner decisions to sell, subdivide, or withdraw their properties from the use-value program in North Carolina was conducted. Parcel level tax data from nine counties representing the three geophysical regions and urban levels of North Carolina for the period 1987 through 1999 were collected and analyzed using logistic regression. 116 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This research explores the progression of the Cuban American community from an ethnic enclave to a social movement. The Cuban American community of Miami, Florida, is currently the largest concentration of Cuban Americans in the United States, and had been selected for this study due to its cohesiveness and the high political activity at the local, state, and national level. Moreover, I utilize the resource mobilization perspective as a framework to investigate the political progression and assess the influence upon the political arena within Dade County, Florida and its effect on local and national politics. A major focus of the resource mobilization is to trace the development of the interlocking socio-political organizations such as the Cuban American National Foundation (herein after referred to as CANF) and the Cuban American National Council (herein after referred to as CNC), and analyze the effect these networks and alliances have on movement growth and internal dynamics. 104 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Econometrics has been a rather intimidating academic subject that both undergraduate as well as postgraduate students come across in courses of mainly economic nature. In spite of the daunting element attached to it, econometrics can be a rather exciting subject for both teachers and students. Complicated issues that individuals, businesses and policy makers are trying to address can be investigated thoroughly providing quantitative answers to important quantitative questions. Econometrics provides a platform on which complicated relationships are exposed, driving hence key players in the economy to base their decisions. An Introductory Note on Econometrics is a supplementary book that primarily aims at presenting key themes in econometrics in a rather concise and effective way. It can be perceived as an effort to brush up the memory of students who have been taught econometrics before and/or enable the mere tyros to this subject to gain an insight into the basic concepts that pervades the world of econometrics. 96 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Modeling land degradation & food import This research develops a soil conservation model for smallholder farmers who apply little or no fertilizer. Empirical results drawn from northern Tanzania imply that ignoring the fertility mining problem in model specification leads to overestimation of profits for farms that apply little or no fertilizer. Wheat cultivation in the Hanang wheat complex, northern Tanzania erodes an average of 11 mm of soil each year. The rate of soil fertility mining averaged 22.2 kg of nitrogen/ton of wheat. Consequently, wheat yields in HWC have been decreasing. Part II of this research examined the international trade for foods with uncertain quality attributes. It is shown that enforcement is the most effective instrument for reducing importation of poor quality foods. This implies, for the government of Tanzania to check the current upward trend of importation of poor quality foods, it needs to increase its current efforts of enforcing the quality of imported foods. 76 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -There has been a strong interest worldwide in the effort to protect the environment in development. Public parks and landscape designs have become more important in human life especially in the urbanised area. However, as more public parks and green spaces developed, the more input and cost required in managing these landscapes. Therefore, a new mindset in landscape management must be set out, which could minimise the overall cost of managing without compromising on the purpose and the function of the landscape. The objective of the book is to explore public perception and preferences towards different form of shrubs so that a less managed but acceptable design can be suggested in a landscape. It will list out recommendations towards appropriate planting scheme of shrubs and the contexts that may benefit in reducing the overall cost of landscape management. The book should be beneficial for those who involve in the design and management of parks and landscape. The content can also be as a references in the academic outdoor-based curriculum, includes landscape architecture, park management, amenity studies, recreation design, outdoor facilities management etc. 80 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In 1993, a dispute arose in the French literary press concerning the merits of the two French translations of Virginia Woolf's 'The Waves', a translation by Marguerite Yourcenar, and a second version by Cécile Wajsbrot. Kathleen Shields explains that a critic had accused Wajsbrot of having rendered Woolf incomprehensible to the French reader. This is connected to the fact that, according to feminist translation scholars, the deletion of significant elements in key texts by women writers is a recurrent tendency. This, together with the latest trends in translation studies since the 1980 s, prompted a comparison of two French translations of 'To the Lighthouse', a key text by a writer who has iconic status within modernism and feminism. We took as the basis for the analysis the paradigm proposed by Massardier-Kenney (1997) in order to answer the following questions: are any of these translation strategies implemented by the French translators How does its use or non-use affect the translation product How effective are these in order to translate Woolf This analysis should be of interest to researchers in translation studies and, particularly, those who study feminist translation. 96 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The FDI is a kind of long term commitment on behalf of foreign countries and MNE s together that brings significant benefits for the hosting countries in the shape of economic growth and reduction of external vulnerability. Pakistan has tremendous GDP growth and notable FDI flow during last few years. The industrial growth and increasing demand of energy from the consumers has disturbed the supply and demand of energy. The country categorizes a power shortage despite of having tremendous abundant energy resources, prices of oil and gas has surged because of international prices and more and more demand from the consumer. The country has potential abundant sources of energy and the Government Of Pakistan is trying to attract the private investor to made contribution to meet the future energy needs. This book highlights the some historical and recent Foreign Direct Investment flows and policies related to FDI. The focus of this book is particularly related to potential investment opportunities in the energy sector with the evidence of projected future energy needs and required investment. 48 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This short book reveals the secret of Dubai's long-term economic success by showing that its governance structure, institutional setting, market structure, and economic policies have all been highly supportive of powerful market forces which have channeled investments into the most profitable sectors in Dubai. Although the emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, is not endowed with abundant natural resources, it has nevertheless experienced large inflows of capital which have shifted resources into non-tradable sectors as evidenced by the booming real estate, tourism, and financial sectors. The book argues that counterintuitive ideas - in both industry and government - are key to the economic success of Dubai with scarce natural resources and a small native population. Although there is a huge literature on the competitive advantage of nations in the form of resource abundance, low labor costs, and good governance, very little has been said on the ability of nations to create this competitive advantage; what is termed as super-competitiveness in the form of achieving improvements in the many factors that affect overall economic performance. 64 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -National security discourses have a significant impact on migrant, refugee and immigrant communities. This publication will address the impact that national security legislations have on vulnerable ethnic communities using the Tamil community in Canada as a case study. In highlighting concerns about rashly buying into the dominant discourses of terrorism and security, critical insights into how laws and policies impact community groups and society as a whole will be raised by exploring the discourses of fear and victimization. In particular, two important questions will be addressed. Firstly, how does the dominant discourse on fear of terrorism in national security legislation impact on the victimization of community groups, such as Tamil-Canadians And secondly, what methods should be employed by communities so that the cycle of fear and victimization can be broken to enable the community to act with agency and resist these dominant discourses 116 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book provides a comprehensive overview of corporate payout behavior of Japanese and European firms for the period 1980-2006, examines the substitution hypothesis of share repurchase in these regions, provides alternative measures of transitory earnings and examines the effect of transitory earnings on share repurchase decisions. It analyzes two questions- first, whether managers prefer share repurchases over dividends in Japan and Europe and second, whether transitory earnings drive share repurchases decisions in these two regions. 92 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The Brazilian ethanol fuel program (Proalcool) is the world's largest biomass to energy program. The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of the Brazilian experience with ethanol as a substitute for gasoline and analyse its future prospects in both Brazil and the world market. Initiated in 1975 as a response to the first oil crisis and the resulting sharp increase in worldwide oil prices, the program has experienced prolonged periods of both splendour and gloom. Early success was followed by a period during which the program came under intense criticism on economic grounds due to low oil prices and high ethanol production costs. On the verge of collapsing, Proalcool was only lately revived due to a multiplicity of socioeconomic and environmental reasons. In recent years there has been renewed global interest in biofuels and a rapid expansion of biofuels markets. This book will therefore be of great help to policymakers, academics and business people curious to learn how was Brazil able to create the competitive assets that made Proalcool a success in terms of developing institutional and technological capabilities for using a renewable fuel in large scale. 64 pp. Englisch.…