springer international publishing aug 2013 (143 risultati)

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Video context analysis is an active and vibrant research area, which provides means for extracting, analyzing and understanding behavior of a single target and multiple targets. Over the last few decades, computer vision researchers have been working to improve the accuracy and robustness of algorithms to analyse the context of a video automatically. In general, the research work in this area can be categorized into three major topics: 1) counting number of people in the scene 2) tracking individuals in a crowd and 3) understanding behavior of a single target or multiple targets in the scene. This book focusses on tracking individual targets and detecting abnormal behavior of a crowd in a complex scene. Firstly, this book surveys the state-of-the-art methods for tracking multiple targets in a complex scene and describes the authors' approach for tracking multiple targets. The proposed approach is to formulate the problem of multi-target tracking as an optimization problem of finding dynamic optima (pedestrians) where these optima interact frequently. A novel particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm that uses a set of multiple swarms is presented. Through particles and swarms diversification, motion prediction is introduced into the standard PSO, constraining swarm members to the most likely region in the search space. The social interaction among swarm and the output from pedestrians-detector are also incorporated into the velocity-updating equation. This allows the proposed approach to track multiple targets in a crowded scene with severe occlusion and heavy interactions among targets. The second part of this book discusses the problem of detecting and localising abnormal activities in crowded scenes. We present a spatio-temporal Laplacian Eigenmap method for extracting different crowd activities from videos. This method learns the spatial and temporal variations of local motions in an embedded space and employs representatives of different activities to construct the model which characterises the regular behavior of a crowd. This model of regular crowd behavior allows for the detection of abnormal crowd activities both in local and global context and the localization of regions which show abnormal behavior.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 104 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This unique, engaging, and highly authoritative volume enlightens readers on changes needed in the way society accesses, provides, and uses water. It further shines a light on changes needed in the way we use food, energy, and other goods and services in relation to water, and offers projections and recommendations, up to 2050, that apply to water access challenges facing the poor and the common misuse of water in industry, agriculture, and municipalities. Written by an unparalleled slate of experts convened by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the book takes on one of the most critical issues on the planet today. In a frank yet optimistic assessment of major developmental challenges, but also opportunities, facing future generations, the author elucidates linkages between water and a range of other drivers from various disciplinary and stakeholder perspectives. Ultimately portraying the belief that Humanity can harness its visionary abilities, technologies, and economic resources for increased wellbeing and sound stewardship of resources, the book presents an optimistic statement stressing actions scientists, policy makers, and consumers can and must take to meet the water management challenges of a warming planet anticipating nine billion inhabitants by 2050.Gulbenkian Think Tank on Water and the Future of Humanity: Benedito Braga, Pres. World Water Council & Prof. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of São Paulo, Brazil; Colin Chatres, Director General of the International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka; William J. Cosgrove, Pres. of Ecoconsult Inc. & Senior Adviser for the UN World Water Development Report, Canada; Luis Veiga da Cunha, Prof. Environmental Science and Engineering, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal; Peter Gleick, Pres. of the Pacific Institute, USA; Pavel Kabat, Director, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria; and Prof. & Chair, Earth Systems Science, Wageningen University, TheNetherlands; Mohamed Ait Kadi, President of the General Council of Agricultural Development, Morocco; Daniel P. Loucks, Prof. of Civil Engineering, Cornell Univ. USA; Jan Lundqvist, Senior Scientific Advisor, Stockholm International Water Institute, Sweden; Sunita Narain, Director, Center for Science & Environment, New Delhi, India; Jun Xia, Pres., International Water Resources Association, Chair Prof. & Dean, The Research Institute for Water Security (RIWS), Wuhan University, China.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book is about the Arduino microcontroller and the Arduino concept. The visionary Arduino team of Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles, Tom Igoe, Gianluca Martino, and David Mellis launched a new innovation in microcontroller hardware in 2005, the concept of open source hardware. Their approach was to openly share details of microcontroller-based hardware design platforms to stimulate the sharing of ideas and promote innovation. This concept has been popular in the software world for many years. This book is intended for a wide variety of audiences including students of the fine arts, middle and senior high school students, engineering design students, and practicing scientists and engineers. To meet this wide audience, the book has been divided into sections to satisfy the need of each reader. The book contains many software and hardware examples to assist the reader in developing a wide variety of systems. The book covers two different Arduino products: the Arduino UNO R3 equipped with the Atmel ATmega328 and the Arduino Mega 2560 equipped with the Atmel ATmega2560. The third edition has been updated with the latest on these two processing boards, changes to the Arduino Development Environment and multiple extended examples.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 516 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This lecture discusses the use of graph models to represent reconfigurable antennas. The rise of antennas that adapt to their environment and change their operation based on the user's request hasn't been met with clear design guidelines. There is a need to propose some rules for the optimization of any reconfigurable antenna design and performance. Since reconfigurable antennas are seen as a collection of self-organizing parts, graph models can be introduced to relate each possible topology to a corresponding electromagnetic performance in terms of achieving a characteristic frequency of operation, impedance, and polarization. These models help designers understand reconfigurable antenna structures and enhance their functionality since they transform antennas from bulky devices into mathematical and software accessible models. The use of graphs facilitates the software control and cognition ability of reconfigurable antennas while optimizing their performance.This lecture also discusses the reduction of redundancy, complexity and reliability of reconfigurable antennas and reconfigurable antenna arrays. The full analysis of these parameters allows a better reconfigurable antenna implementation in wireless and space communications platforms. The use of graph models to reduce the complexity while preserving the reliability of reconfigurable antennas allow a better incorporation in applications such as cognitive radio, MIMO, satellite communications, and personal communication systems. A swifter response time is achieved with less cost and losses. This lecture is written for individuals who wish to venture into the field of reconfigurable antennas, with a little prior experience in this area, and learn how graph rules and theory, mainly used in the field of computer science, networking, and control systems can be applied to electromagnetic structures. This lecture will walk the reader through a design and analysis process of reconfigurable antennas using graph models with a practical and theoretical outlook.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This short booksoffers the reader a remarkable new perspective on the way markets, laws and societies evolve together. It can be of use to anyone interested in development, market and public sector reform, public administration, politics & law. Based on a wide variety of case studies on three continents and a variety of conceptual sources, the authors develop a theory that clarifies the nature and functioning of dependencies that mark governance evolutions. This in turn delineates in an entirely new manner the spaces open for policy experiment. As such, it offers a new mapping of the middle ground between libertarianism and social engineering. Theoretically, the approach draws on a wide array of sources: institutional & development economics, systems theories, post-structuralism, actor- network theories, planning theory and legal studies.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This volume presents recent advances in the dynamic field of Artificial Economics and its various applications. Artificial Economics provides a structured approach to model and investigate economic and social systems. In particular, this approach is based on the use of agent-based simulations and further computational techniques. The main aim is to analyze the outcomes at the overall systems¿ level as results from the agents¿ behavior at the micro-level. These emergent characteristics of complex economic and social systems can neither be foreseen nor are they intended. The emergence rather makes these systems function. Artificial Economics especially facilitates the investigation of this emergent systems¿ behavior. ¿Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 272 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -In the postwar period, Koreäs economic and social-political metamorphosis is a rare example of a successful transition from one of the world¿s poorest developing countries to a highly sophisticated industrial society¿an experience which many developing countries are keen to emulate. The change is particularly significant as Korea was able to reduce poverty and keep social inequality at a modest level during its rapid economic development. This volume analyzes the Korean transition in regards to the political and institutional foundation of its government and public policies. The government of Korea single-mindedly carried out public policies to stimulate economic growth, but the government and public policies have themselves been affected and changed by the process. The contention of this volume is that the transition of Korean society and the evolution of the Korean government are the results of two-way interactions. In this context, the volume analyzes the way in which the dynamics of public administration were shaped within the Korean government and the kinds of public policies and instruments that were adopted to encourage this economic and social development. This analysis will allow a more complete understanding of the economic and social transformation of Korea. Surprisingly, there is a paucity of research on this aspect¿a gap which this volume seeks to fill. This volume shows that it is necessary to maintain consistency and coherence in government and public policy in order to achieve economic and social transformation, making it of interest to both scholars and policy-makers concerned with development in the Asia-Pacific.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 148 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -InhaltsangabeConference Papers.- Automatic Detection of the Prosodic Structures of Speech Utterances.- A Method for Auditory Evaluation of Synthesized Speech Intonation.- Acoustic Modeling with Deep Belief Networks for Russian Speech Recognition.- An Analysis of Speech Signals of the Choapam Variant Zapotec Language.- Analysis of Expert Manual Annotation of the Russian Spontaneous Monologue: Evidence from Sentence Boundary Detection.- Application of l1 Estimation of Gaussian Mixture Model Parameters for Language Identification.- Application of Automatic Fragmentation for the Semantic Comparison of Texts.- Auditory and Spectrographic Analysis of the Words of 2-8 Years-Old Russian Children.- Auditory and Visual Recognition of Emotional Behaviour of Foreign Language Subjects (by Native and Non-native Speakers.- Automatic Detection of Speech Disfluencies in the Spontaneous Russian Speech.- Automatic Morphological Annotation in a Text-to-Speech System for Hebrew.- Comparative Study of English, Dutch and German Prosodic Features (Fundamental Frequency and Intensity) as Means of Speech.- Covariance Matrix Enhancement Approach to Train Robust Gaussian Mixture Models of Speech Data.- Dealing with Diverse Data Variances in Factor Analysis Based Methods.- Detection of the Frequency Characteristics of the Articulation System with the Use of Voice Source Signal Recording Method.- Encoding of Spatial Perspectives in Human-Machine Interaction.- Evaluation of Advanced Language Modeling Techniques for Russian LVCSR.- Examining Vulnerability of Voice Verification Systems to Spoofing Attacks by Means of a TTS System.- Exploiting Multiple ASR Outputs for a Spoken Language Understanding Task.- Fast Algorithm for Automatic Alignment of Speech and Imperfect Text Data.- GMM Based Language Identification System Using Robust Features.- Hierarchical Clustering and Classification of Emotions in Human Speech Using Confusion Matrices.- Improvements in Czech Expressive Speech Synthesis in Limited Domain.- Improving Prosodic Break Detection in a Russian TTS System.- Investigation of Forensically Significant Changes of Acoustic Features with Regard to Code-Switching (on the Basis of Russian and German).- LIMA: A Spoken Language Identification Framework.- Language Identification System for the Tatar Language.- Language Model Comparison for Ukrainian Real-Time Speech Recognition System.- Lexicon Size and Language Model Order Optimization for Russian LVCSR.- Lingua-cognitive Survey of the Semantic Field 'Aggression' in Multicultural Communication: Typed Text.- Method for Pornography Filtering in the WEB Based on Automatic Classification and Natural Language Processing.- Noise and Channel Normalized Cepstral Features for Far-speech Recognition.- Parametric Speech Synthesis and User Interface for Speech Modification.- Phrase-Final Segment Lengthening in Russian: Preliminary Results of a Corpus-Based Study.- Pseudo Real-Time Spoken Term Detection Using Pre-retrieval Results.- Results for Variable Speaker and Recording Conditions on Spoken IR in Finnish.- SVID Speaker Recognition System for NIST SRE 2012.- Segmentation of Telephone Speech Based on Speech and Non-speech Models.- Software for Assessing Voice Quality in Rehabilitation of Patients after Surgical Treatment of Cancer of Oral Cavity, Oropharynx and Upper Jaw.- Speaker Turn Detection Based on Multimodal Situation Analysis.- Speech and Crosstalk Detection for Robust Speech Recognition Using a Dual Microphone System.- Speech and Language Resources within Speech Recognition and Synthesis Systems for Serbian and Kindred South Slavic Languages.- Statistical Language Aspects of Intonation and Gender Features Based on the Lithuanian Language.- Text Understanding as Interpretation of Predicative Structure Strings of Main Text's Sentences as Result of Pragmatic Analysis (Combination of Linguistic and Statistic Approaches).- The Diarization System for an Unknown Number of Speakers.- The Problem of Voice Template Aging in SpeakerSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 384 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Machine Learning in Medical Imaging, MLMI 2013, held in conjunction with the International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2013, in Nagoya, Japan, in September 2013. The 32 contributions included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 57 submissions. They focus on major trends and challenges in the area of machine learning in medical imaging and aim to identify new cutting-edge techniques and their use in medical imaging.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 276 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Spatial Information Theory, COSIT 2013, held in Scarborough, UK, in September 2013. The 28 papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 62 full paper submissions. The following topics are addressed: spatial change, wayfinding and assistance, representing spatial data, handling language data, spatial language and computation, spatial ontology, spatial reasoning and representation.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 552 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This quick reference guide for medical students and residents presents over sixty clinical case studiesofmajor neurological conditions and their associated neuroimaging characteristics. A primer on thefundamental physics which underlie neuroimaging techniques is also provided. The content is organized by pathology type and the structure of every topic is similar to help the reader develop his or her thinking process in a stepwise fashion and to provide a rational approach to imaging interpretation.Neuroradiology in Clinical Practice is aimed at medical students and residents doing their rotations in neurology, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and family medicine, but will also be useful for allied health professionals, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other primary medical care providers.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 120 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This titleexamines the structure of approximate solutions of optimal control problems considered on subintervals of a real line. Specifically at the properties of approximate solutions which are independent of the length of the interval. The results illustrated in this book look into the so-called turnpike property of optimal control problems. The author generalizes theresultsof the turnpike property by considering a class of optimal control problems which is identified with the corresponding complete metric space of objective functions.This establishes the turnpike property for any element in a set that is ina countable intersectionwhich is open everywhere dense sets in the space of integrands; meaning that the turnpike property holds for most optimal control problems. Mathematicians working in optimal control and the calculus of variations and graduate students will find this bookuseful and valuable due to its presentation of solutions to a number of difficult problems in optimal controland presentation of new approaches, techniques and methods.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 136 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Internet Protocol (IP) telephony is an alternative to the traditional Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN), and the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is quickly becoming a popular signaling protocol for VoIP-based applications. SIP is a peer-to-peer multimedia signaling protocol standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and it plays a vital role in providing IP telephony services through its use of the SIP Proxy Server (SPS), a software application that provides call routing services by parsing and forwarding all the incoming SIP packets in an IP telephony network.SIP Proxy Server Performance closely examines key aspects to the efficient design and implementation of SIP proxy server architecture. Together, a strong design and optimal implementation can enable significant enhancements to the performance characteristics of SPS. Since SPS performance can be characterized by the transaction states of each SIP session, the book analyzes an existing M/M/1-network performance model for SIP proxy servers in light of key performance benchmarks, such as the average response time for processing the SIP calls and the average number of SIP calls in the system. It also presents several other real-world industrial case studies to aid in further optimizations.This book is intended for researchers, practitioners and professionals interested in optimizing SIP proxy server performance. Professionals working on other VoIP solutions will also find the book valuable.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 216 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -¿¿Edgar Rubinwas one of the outstanding pioneers of perceptual psychology in the early twentiethcentury. His approach involved a turning away from an earlier elementaristic psychologytowards an approach based on ¿perceptual wholes.¿ Rubin¿s approach is closelylinked to the Gestalt revolution in perceptual psychology and was eagerly embraced by the Gestaltists. This has often led to Rubin being classified as a Gestalt psychologist. This misrepresents his position as isshown in the book. Rubin¿s aim was to develop a descriptivepsychology ¿ or aspective psychology to use his terminology ¿ which would do full justice to the complex nature of psychological phenomena. Thus he rejected attempts by the Gestalt psychologists to explain diverse phenomena within a single overarching framework. While Rubin is internationally often misclassified as a Gestalt psychologist, in Denmark he is often hailed as a pioneer of a specific Danish ¿school of phenomenology.¿ This also misrepresents Rubin¿s approach who was highly critical of psychological ¿schools.¿ His criticisms of the overambitious theoretical aspirations of Gestalt psychology, his negative attitude towards school formationin psychology were both highly prescient. What remains today of Gestalt psychologyis primarily its descriptive parts; the idea of schools of psychology, so common in earlytwentieth century psychology is now seen as a totally outmoded viewpoint. There isan interesting moral in this story for the history and status of psychology; to wit,that Rubin¿s emphasis on the correct description of psychological phenomena showswhat is likely to live on as classic contributions to psychology. This certainly holds forhis own work on figure and ground which, after almost a century, is still universallyknown and admired by psychologists. He was indeed a consummate psychologicalobserver. The book argues for the importance of description in psychology.¿Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 240 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -¿¿This book contains three sections. Part I includes an introductory chapter and an applied chapter on conducting a risk assessment. Part II provides adescription of how the measures were organized and quick-view tables that provide easy access to measures with enough information to allow for an estimate of the likelihood that reading additional information about a particular measure would prove fruitful. Measures are organized alphabetically into tables for measures of anger, aggression, or violence. Each of the tables provides the name of the measure, the purpose for which the measure was developed, and the targeted population. The tables also provide information on the method of assessment, the amount of time required to use the measure, and the page number where additional information is available. Part II also contains the review of eachmeasure. Part III provides examples of measures that can be copied for research or clinical purposes.¿Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 440 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book analyzes the productivity and effectiveness of a variety of time investments in education. It explores the methods used in education to optimize the time that students are exposed to learning content. Such methods include expanding official school time, optimizing ¿time on task¿, providing homework assignments, and creating learning opportunities beyond lesson hours. The book presents a review of earlier reviews and meta-analyses, secondary analyses of international data sets, and new meta-analyses concerning the effects of instruction time, homework and extended learning, beyond official school time. It explores the concept of time as a condition to enhance student achievement and discusses methodological issues in separating ¿genuine¿ time effects from related facets of educational quality. The book shows that the dependence of time effects on the quality of content choice and delivery raises critical questions for both researchers and policy planners. It further showsthat sophisticated research designs are required to properly assess time effects, and that policy makers should be concerned about the bluntness of time as an instrument to enhance educational productivity.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 168 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -¿The book presents different models for the simultaneous optimization problem of capacity investment and work release rule parameterization. The overall costs are minimized either including backorder costs or considering a service level constraint. The available literature is extended with the integration of a distributed customer required lead time in addition to the actual demand distribution. Furthermore, an endogenous production lead time is introduced. Different models for make-to-order production systems with one or multiple serial processing stages are developed. Capacity investment is linked to the processing rates of the machines or to the number of the machines. Results are equations for service level, tardiness, and FGI lead time insuch a productionsystem.For special cases with M/M/1and M/M/s queues explicitsolutions oftheoptimization problems or optimality conditions concerning capacity investment and work release rule parameterization are provided.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 156 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book offers an essential bridge between college-level introductions and advanced graduate-level books on special relativity.It begins at an elementary level, presenting and discussing the basic concepts normally covered in college-level works, including the Lorentz transformation. Subsequent chapters introduce the four-dimensional worldview implied by the Lorentz transformations, mixing time and space coordinates, before continuing on to the formalism of tensors, a topic usually avoided in lower-level courses. The book¿s second half addresses a number of essential points, including the concept of causality; the equivalence between mass and energy, including applications; relativistic optics; and measurements and matter in Minkowski space-time. The closing chapters focus on the energy-momentum tensor of a continuous distribution of mass-energy and its co-variant conservation; angular momentum; a discussion of the scalar field of perfect fluids and the Maxwell field;and general coordinates.Every chapter is supplemented by a section with numerous exercises, allowing readers to practice the theory. These exercises constitute an essential part of the textbook, and the solutions to approximately half of them are provided in the appendix.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 324 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -To British television viewers, the name ¿Patrick Moore¿ has been synonymous with Astronomy and Space Travel since he first appeared on The Sky at Night in 1957. To amateur astronomers he has been a source of inspiration, joy, humour and even an eccentric role model since that time. Most people know that his 55 years of presenting The Sky at Night is a world record, but what was he really like in person What did he do away from the TV cameras, in his observatory, and within the British Astronomical Association, the organisation that inspired him as a youngster Also, precisely what did he do during the War Years, a subject that has always been shrouded in mystery Martin Mobberley, a friend of Patrick Moore¿s for 30 years, and a former President of the British Astronomical Association, has spent ten years exhaustively researching Patrick¿s real life away from the TV cameras. His childhood, RAF service, tireless voluntary work for astronomy and charity and his endless book writing are all examined in detail. His astronomical observations are also examined in unprecedented detail, along with the battles he fought along the way and his hatred of bureaucracy and political correctness. No fan of Sir Patrick Moore can possibly live without this work on their bookshelf!Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 684 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The economies of the European countries are still in recession, the development process is at a standstill, companies are facing financial difficulties, and the EU¿s monetary policy is tight and focused on lowering inflation. The fiscal problems and high debt levels of the northern European countries are of great importance, and they are the consequences of both the European economy¿s structural characteristics and the EU¿s policies. The economic area of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Black Sea countries is also vital, due to its special economic characteristics. The effects of the economic crisis on this particular area are catalytic, while the prospects for recovery are doubtful. The present book deals with the key aspects of the economic crisis in Europe, especially focusing on southeast Europe and the Balkans. The consequences of the crisis in these countries are analyzed and suggestions for how to address the crisis are outlined.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 252 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The Fund Reporting Cloud® has made tax reporting less complex, but comparing the effective tax treatment of investment funds and their investors in an international environment is still an ambitious task. Against this background, this study examines the tax consequences at fund, asset, and investor level. In geographical terms our comparison covers eleven European countries, the USA, and Japan. Our analysis of the relevant tax provisions, which is of a primarily qualitative nature, is complemented by a quantitative comparison of the tax burden for a model investor investing assets nationally in the form of a collective investment. It will be of interest both for investors seeking tax advantages and for governments to check whether there is a need for tax reforms. It also ties in perfectly with the current evaluations at OECD level in the context of TRACE.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 172 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -InhaltsangabeNon-Holomorphic Deformations of Special Geometry and Their Applications.- Black Holes in String Theory.- From Black Strings to Lifshitz Black Branes.- Non-Extremal Black-Hole Solutions of N=2, d=4,5 Supergravity.- Non-Supersymmetric Extremal Black Holes: First-Order Flows and Stabilization Equations.- Non-extremal Black Holes From the Generalised R-Map.- Black Hole Microstate Geometries From String Amplitudes.- From Clock Synchronization to Dark Matter as a Relativistic Inertial Effect.- On Symmetries of Extremal Black Holes With One and Two Centers.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 368 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The book highlights and analyses the distress to buildings caused by sulphate-induced heave, with particular reference to the recent problems in the Dublin area of Ireland. It describes the formation of pyrite, the processes involved in its oxidation and the various ways in which consequential expansion takes place. For the first time in the literature it discusses the way that buildings can be raised above their supporting foundation walls by the expansion of pyritiferous fill which has been used beneath ground-bearing floor slabs in Ireland. The significance of fractures through the iron sulphide microcrystals for the rate and extent of oxidation is discussed. Photographs and profiles of sulphate ingress into concrete/concrete blocks are presented. Case histories from the UK, North America and Ireland are discussed.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 316 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book offers a state of the art collection covering themes related to Advanced Intelligent Computational Technologies and Decision Support Systems which can be applied to fields like healthcare assisting the humans in solving problems. The book brings forward a wealth of ideas, algorithms and case studies in themes like: intelligent predictive diagnosis; intelligent analyzing of medical images; new format for coding of single and sequences of medical images; Medical Decision Support Systems; diagnosis of Down¿s syndrome; computational perspectives for electronic fetal monitoring; efficient compression of CT Images; adaptive interpolation and halftoning for medical images; applications of artificial neural networks for real-life problems solving; present and perspectives for Electronic Healthcare Record Systems; adaptive approaches for noise reduction in sequences of CT images etc.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 256 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -By outlining a new design or the Kuroshio power plant, new approaches to turbine design, anchorage system planning, deep sea marine engineering and power plant operations and maintenance are explored and suggested. The impact on the local environment, particularly in the face of natural disasters, is also considered to provide a well rounded introduction to plan and build a 30MW pilot power plant.Following a literature review, the six chapters of this book propose a conceptual design by focusing on the plant¿s core technologies and establish the separate analysis logics for turbine design and the relay platforms. This is tempered against the ecological impact of both the construction and operation of the plant.These proposed technologies and plans can be further applied to power generation in other waters such as the Gulf Stream, the East Australian Current the Humboldt Current and the East Africa Coastal Current. Engineers, students and industry professionals are provided with a solid introduction to power plant technology as well as a design with specific real world applicationsSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 240 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book presents a comprehensive introduction to the concepts of almost periodicity, asymptotic almost periodicity, almost automorphy, asymptotic almost automorphy, pseudo-almost periodicity, and pseudo-almost automorphy as well as their recent generalizations. Some of the results presented are either new or else cannot be easily found in the mathematical literature. Despite the noticeable and rapid progress made on these important topics, the only standard references that currently exist on those new classes of functions and their applications are still scattered research articles. One of the main objectives of this book is to close that gap. The prerequisites for the book is the basic introductory course in real analysis. Depending on the background of the student, the book may be suitable for a beginning graduate and/or advanced undergraduate student. Moreover, it will be of a great interest to researchers in mathematics as well as in engineering, in physics, and related areas. Further, some parts of the book may be used for various graduate and undergraduate courses.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 320 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book presents the state-of-the-art in theory and practice regarding similarity and distance measures for intuitionistic fuzzy sets. Quantifying similarity and distances is crucial for many applications, e.g. datamining, machine learning, decision making, and control. The work provides readers with a comprehensive set of theoretical concepts and practical tools for both defining and determining similarity between intuitionistic fuzzy sets. It describes an automatic algorithm for deriving intuitionistic fuzzy sets from data, which can aid in the analysis of information in large databases. The book also discusses other important applications, e.g. the use of similarity measures to evaluate the extent of agreement between experts in the context of decision making.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 156 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Ion Correlations at Electrified Soft Matter Interfaces presents an investigation that combines experiments, theory, and computer simulations to demonstrate that the interdependency between ion correlations and other ion interactions in solution can explain the distribution of ions near an electrified liquid/liquid interface. The properties of this interface are exploited to vary the coupling strength of ion-ion correlations from weak to strong while monitoring their influence on ion distributions at the nanometer scale with X-ray reflectivity and on the macroscopic scale with interfacial tension measurements.This thesis demonstrates that a parameter-free density functional theory that includes ion-ion correlations and ion-solvent interactions is in agreement with the data over the entire range of experimentally tunable correlation coupling strengths. The reported findings represent a significant advance towards understanding the nature and role of ion correlations in charged soft-matter.Ion distributions underlie many scientific phenomena and technological applications, including electrostatic interactions between charged biomolecules and the efficiency of energy storage devices. These distributions are determined by interactions dictated by the chemical properties of the ions and their environment, as well as the long-range nature of the electrostatic force. The presence of strong correlations between ions is responsible for counterintuitive effects such as like-charge attraction.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 128 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This monograph presents the latest results related to bio-mechanical systems and materials. The bio-mechanical systems with whichhis bookis concerned areprostheses, implants, medical operation robots and muscular re-training systems. To characterize and design such systems, a multi-disciplinary approach is required which involves the classical disciplines of mechanical/materials engineering and biology and medicine. The challenge in such an approach is that views, concepts or even language are sometimes different from discipline to discipline and the interaction and communication of the scientists must be first developed and adjusted. Within the context of materials' science, the book covers the interaction of materials with mechanical systems, their description as a mechanical system or their mechanical properties.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 156 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This thesis explores a route to induce and control the structure formation process in thin films by the use of strong electric fields. We investigate, establish and apply the use of the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) lithography as a versatile patterning tool on the sub-micrometre and nanometre length scales for functional materials. Thin films are ubiquitous, they are found in nature and used in almost every aspect of daily life. While film instabilities are often undesirable in nature and technology, they can be utilized to produce structures by precisely controlling the destabilization of the film. EHD lithography utilizes instabilities induced by means of an electric field to fabricate periodic structures. EHD patterning is set to become a competitive candidate for low-cost lithographic technology for a number of applications. Herein, the applied potential of this lithographic process is explored by expanding its applicability to a broad range of materials and by a simultaneous patterning of multilayer systems or functional polymers yielding hierarchical architectures with novel functionalities.EHD pattern formation enables for instance, the fabrication of multi-scale structured arrays as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active platforms. Furthermore, crystalline and conductive polymers are patterned using the EHD approach and the underlying structure formation mechanisms are discussed. This extension towards functional material systems offers interesting prospects for potential applications. Findings of this thesis are very promising for use in optoelectronic devices.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 156 pp. Englisch.