springer international publishing okt 2020 (Oltre 2.100 risultati)

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The problem of dealing with missing or incomplete data in machine learning and computer vision arises in many applications. Recent strategies make use of generative models to impute missing or corrupted data. Advances in computer vision using deep generative models have found applications in image/video processing, such as denoising, restoration, super-resolution, or inpainting.Inpainting and Denoising Challenges comprises recent efforts dealing with image and video inpainting tasks. This includes winning solutions to the ChaLearn Looking at People inpainting and denoising challenges: human pose recovery, video de-captioning and fingerprint restoration.This volume starts with a wide review on image denoising, retracing and comparing various methods from the pioneer signal processing methods, to machine learning approaches with sparse and low-rank models, and recent deep learning architectures with autoencoders and variants. The following chapters present results from the Challenge, including three competition tasks at WCCI and ECML 2018. The top best approaches submitted by participants are described, showing interesting contributions and innovating methods. The last two chapters propose novel contributions and highlight new applications that benefit from image/video inpainting. 152 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book examines animal welfare themes in fiction, and considers how authors of the last two centuries undermine dominative attitudes toward the nonhuman. Appearing alongside the emerging humane movements of the nineteenth century and beyond is a kind of storytelling sympathetic to protectionist efforts well-described as a literature of protest. Compassion-inclined tales like the Dolittle adventures by Hugh Lofting educate readers on a wide range of ethical questions, empathize with the vulnerable, and envision peaceful coexistence with other species. Memorable characters like Black Beauty and Beautiful Joe, Ivan the gorilla and Louis the trumpeter swan, Hazel and Cheeta, Mr. Bultitude and Doctor Rat do not merely amuse. They are voices from the margins who speak with moral urgency to those with ears to hear. This broad survey of ethical themes in animal fiction highlights the unique contributions creative writers make toward animal welfare efforts. 272 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book challenges the conventional wisdom that the European Union (EU) is an example of governance without opposition. Building on a concept of opposition that honors both the institutional features of the EU polity and the fundamental functions of political opposition, it argues that legal mobilization and litigation before constitutional courts provides actors and organizations from civil society with an opportunity to challenge and overturn policy decisions that originate at the EU level. Further, it presents case studies of constitutional challenges to the implementation of the EU Data Retention Directive in four Member States (Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Ireland) to illustrate the motivations for, as well as the preconditions and pitfalls of, mobilizing constitutional law. By connecting the literature on social movements, law and politics and comparative government, this book will appeal to readers interested in political science, sociology and legal studies. 168 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Fifty years of feminist thought have made the idea that women stay at home while men dominate the streets seem outdated; nevertheless, Ceuterick argues that theoretical considerations of gender, space, and power in film theory remain limited by binary models. Looking instead to more fluid models of spatial relations inspired by Sara Ahmed, Rosi Braidotti, and Doreen Massey, this book discovers wilful, affirmative, and imaginative activations of gender on screen. Through close, micro-analysis of historic European Messidor (Alain Tanner, 1979) and contemporary world cinema: Vendredi Soir (Claire Denis, 2002), Wadjda (Haifaa Al-Mansour, 2012), and Head-On (Fatih Akin, 2004), this book identifies affirmative aesthetics: light, texture, rhythm, movement and sound, all of which that participate in a rewriting of bodies and spaces. Ultimately, Ceuterick argues, affirmative aesthetics can challenge the gender categories and power structures that havebeen thought to determine our habitation of cars, homes, and city streets. Wilful women drive this book forward, through their movement and stillness, imagination and desire, performance and abjection.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 204 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Target balances are the largest single item in some of the balance sheets of the Eurosystem¿s national central banks (NCBs), and yet very little is known about them by the general public and even by economists. This book shows that Target balances measure overdraft credits between the NCBs that resemble ordinary fiscal credit and which have grown disproportionately, exceeding one billion euros. There is, however, no parliamentary legitimation for the Target balances. The book sheds light on the economic significance of the balances, questions their limitlessness, and addresses controversial views that have been expressed regarding them. It uses the Target statistics to analyze the course of the euro crisis and the ECB¿s policy reactions from the time of the Lehman bankruptcy up to the outbreak of the Corona crisis. It analyses the credit risks involved for the Eurosystem and concludes with a reform proposal.This book will be of interest to non-specialist economists and policy makers.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 164 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Current research lays emphasis on exploring natural products for use in nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals to overcome various side effects of synthetic drugs. Fungi occupy an eminent position among natural sources of food and medicinal importance since ancient times. Many fungal species have been eaten as food and used in folk medicine for the treatment of many human ailments as mentioned in traditional medical literature. However, scanty information is available pertaining to the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical importance of fungi which merits an extensive review. This book spotlights the use value macrofungi in human health. Macrofungi with health benefitting properties largely belong to Basidiomycota followed by Ascomycota growing indoor (cultivated) and outdoor (wild). We endeavoured to throw light on the benefits of macrofungal taxa in relation to their food and medicinal significance in human life. We provided knowledge pertaining to the ethnomycological significance of macrofungi with respect to their uses as food and medicine by the people inhabiting different parts of the world. This book highlights the nutritional composition and bioactive compounds present in macrofungi. We also focused on the pharmacological activities of macrofungi contributing towards their medicinal value against several human disorders. We cited many commercially available nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products of macrofungal origin. This work will hopefully serve as a basic reference for general public, mycologists, researches and industry men, interested in consumption, research and marketing of macrofungi.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 128 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -In a business climate marked by escalating global competition and industry disruption, successful mergers and acquisitions are increasingly vital to the growth and profitability of many corporations. If history is any guide, 60 to 70 per cent of new mergers will fail ¿ and will destroy shareholder value. To date, analyses of the M&A failure rate tend to focus on individual causes ¿ e.g., culture clashes, valuation methods, or CEO overconfidence ¿ rather than examining the problem holistically. The Value Killers is the first book based on a holistic analysis of successful and unsuccessful transactions. Based on research, interviews with top executives, and case studies, this book identifies the key causes of failures and successes and offers prescriptions to increase the odds that future transactions will deliver all the anticipated synergies. The Value Killers offers practical advice in the form of 5 Golden Rules. These rules will help managers and boards to ensure that target companies are properly valued; potential synergies and risks are identified in advance; checks and balances are installed to make sure that the pros and cons of the transaction are rationally and objectively evaluated; mechanisms are created that will trigger termination of bad deals; and obstacles to successful post-merger integrations are assessed (and solutions developed) before the deal closes. Each chapter includes questions for executives considering future M&As to allow them to see whether they are on the right track or not.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The contents of this brief Lecture Note are devoted to modeling, simulations, and applications with the aim of proposing a unified multiscale approach accounting for the physics and the psychology of people in crowds. The modeling approach is based on the mathematical theory of active particles, with the goal of contributing to safety problems of interest for the well-being of our society, for instance, by supporting crisis management in critical situations such as sudden evacuation dynamics induced through complex venues by incidents.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 100 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book, Introduction to Optics I: Interaction of Light with Matter, is the first book in a series of four covering the introduction to optics and optical components. The author's targeted goal for this series is to provide clarity for the reader by addressing common difficulties encountered while trying to understand various optics concepts. This first book is organized and written in a way that is easy to follow, and is meant to be an excellent first book on optics, eventually leading the way for further study. Those with technical backgrounds as well as undergraduate students studying optics for the first time can benefit from this book series.The current book includes three chapters on light and its characteristics (Chapter 1), on matter from the standpoint of optics (Chapter 2), and on the interaction of light with matter (Chapter 3). Among the characteristics of light, the ones characterizing its speed, color, and strength are covered. The polarization of light will be covered in the next book of the series, where we discuss optical components. Chapter 2 discusses various atomic and molecular transitions activated by light (optical transitions). Different kinds of natural bulk material media are described: crystalline and amorphous, atomic and molecular, conductive and insulating. Chapter 3 on the interaction of light with matter describes naturally occurring phenomena such as absorption, dispersion, and nonlinear optical interactions. The discussion is provided for the natural bulk optical materials only. The interfaces between various materials will be covered in the next book on optical components.The following three books of the series are planned as follows. In the second book, we will focus on passive optical components such as lenses, mirrors, guided-wave, and polarization optical devices. In the third book, we will discuss laser sources and optical amplifiers. Finally, the fourth book in the series will cover optoelectronic devices, such as semiconductor light sources and detectors.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 112 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book deals with the simultaneous making of Portuguese engineers and the Portuguese nation-state from the mid seventeenth century to the late twentieth century. It argues that the different meanings of being an engineer were directly dependent of projects of nation building and that one cannot understand the history of engineering in Portugal without detailing such projects. Symmetrically, the authors suggest that the very same ability of collectively imagining a nation relied on large measure on engineers and their practices. National culture was not only enacted through poetry, music, and history, but it demanded as well fortresses, railroads, steam engines, and dams.Portuguese engineers imagined their country in dialogue with Italian, British, French, German or American realities, many times overlapping such references. The book exemplifies how history of engineering makes more salient the transnational dimensions of national history. This is valid beyond the Portuguese case and draws attention to the potential of history of engineering for reshaping national histories and their local specificities into global narratives relevant for readers across different geographies.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 160 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Close Encounters of Art and Physics is a voyage in time through the abstract ideas harboured in the minds of humans, starting from the graffiti art of cave dwellers and extending to the street art of contemporary men and women. In seeking parallels with science, the author looks far back to the first geometric ideas of our ancestors as well as ahead to the contemporary science of present-day physicists. The parallelism and analogies between these two fields bear witness to a real entanglement in the human brain.The second part of the book contains about 25 colour images showing the author's stunning glass artwork representing ideas such as dark matter, quantum entanglement, cellular automata and many others that are almost impossible to capture in words. Furthermore, many of the physicists who have themselves made major contributions in these fields provide their comments and analysis of the works.The book provides entertaining and informative reading, not only for practicing artists and physicists, but also anyone curious about art and physics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Since the 1960s, astrophysical discoveries have blossomed, due to the emergence of powerful and new observational tools. Among them, a fantastic improvement of the sharpness of astronomical images, obtained with ground based optical telescopes, has been the result of two revolutions: adaptive optics and optical interferometry.Written for a general audience, interwoven with fascinating details about the evolution of vision and optics, this book tells a personal story of these revolutions in observational astronomy, born two centuries ago and blossoming in the past fifty years. With the construction of the Very Large Telescope in Chile, Europe played a leading role where young scientists, joining creative astronomers and engineers, have developed a superb creativity. Today, incredibly sharp images of exoplanetary systems and black hole environments are obtained and reveal new questions about Earth-like objects or fundamental physics.The author has been one of the actors of this adventure. His first-hand testimony is opening the future to new horizons.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 288 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -'Perez Velazquez has written a little gem that I advise reading to anyone persuing a scientific career, as well as for the general public interested in the sociological aspects of science. It alerts the reader about the rise of a new type of scientist, buried in bureaucracy and financial issues. In contrast to past generations, this 'new scientist' is sadly left with minimal time to dedicate to creative work. It studies the consequences of this state of affairs, the problems associated with peer reviewing, the dilemma of funding innovative research, the nature of corporate academic culture and the trivialization of scientific achievement by grant agencies and universities. It also provides possible solutions for these problems. All this is magnificently exemplified and documented, including personal experiences from the author and a touch of humor illustrated in the accompanying cartoons. Despite the humor, it is a serious piece of work that would also be useful for the conscientious academic worried about the difficulties of the current research scene.'Marina Frantseva, MD, PhDJose Luis Perez Velazquez is a Spanish biochemist/biophysicist. He has a degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Molecular Physiology & Biophysics. His research activities are mainly in the fields of the brain-behaviour relation at a high level of description, seeking principles of biological organisation. He worked as a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and was Professor at the University of Toronto, where he taught a graduate course on consciousness and self-awareness, which derived in part from his book The Brain-Behaviour Continuum (World Scientific). He also edited the book Coordinated Activity in the Brain (Springer), and edited special issues for The Journal of Biological Physics, Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience and Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. Currently he is a Research Scholar at the Ronin Institute, where he continues to investigate a possible global principle, a scheme that combines theoretical studies and experimental observations, aimed at conceptualizing how consciousness arises from the organization of matter.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This collection gathers together an exciting new series of critical essays on the Romantic- and Victorian-period poet John Clare, which each take a rigorous approach to both persistent and emergent themes in his life and work. Designed to mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Clare¿s first volume of poetry, Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, the scholarship collected here both affirms Clare¿s importance as a major nineteenth-century poet and reveals how his verse continually provokes fresh areas of enquiry. Offering new archival, theoretical, and sometimes corrective insights into Clare¿s world and work, the essays in this volume cover a multitude of topics, including Clare¿s immersion in song and print culture, his formal ingenuity, his environmental and ecological imagination, his mental and physical health, and his experience of asylums. This book gives students a range of imaginative avenues into Clare¿s work, and offers both new readers and experienced Clare scholars a vital set of contributions to ongoing critical debates.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 336 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book provides a comprehensive introduction to Conversational AI. While the idea of interacting with a computer using voice or text goes back a long way, it is only in recent years that this idea has become a reality with the emergence of digital personal assistants, smart speakers, and chatbots. Advances in AI, particularly in deep learning, along with the availability of massive computing power and vast amounts of data, have led to a new generation of dialogue systems and conversational interfaces. Current research in Conversational AI focuses mainly on the application of machine learning and statistical data-driven approaches to the development of dialogue systems. However, it is important to be aware of previous achievements in dialogue technology and to consider to what extent they might be relevant to current research and development. Three main approaches to the development of dialogue systems are reviewed: rule-based systems that are handcrafted using best practice guidelines; statistical data-driven systems based on machine learning; and neural dialogue systems based on end-to-end learning. Evaluating the performance and usability of dialogue systems has become an important topic in its own right, and a variety of evaluation metrics and frameworks are described. Finally, a number of challenges for future research are considered, including: multimodality in dialogue systems, visual dialogue; data efficient dialogue model learning; using knowledge graphs; discourse and dialogue phenomena; hybrid approaches to dialogue systems development; dialogue with social robots and in the Internet of Things; and social and ethical issues.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Using data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Hate Crime Statistics Program and the National Crime Victimization Survey, this brief highlights the uniqueness of hate or bias crime victimization. It compares these to non-bias crimes and delineates the situational circumstances that distinguish bias from non-bias offending.The nuances of under-reporting shed light on bias-group and victim reasons for not reporting. By examining measurement issues associated with data collection systems, this brief helps explain why eighty-nine percent of participating law enforcement agencies report zero hate crimes each year. It describes patterns and trends in reporting the volume of general bias motivations and specific bias types, as the most prevalent hate crime offense types and most likely victims and offenders.With recommendations to address issues in measurement and under-reporting, including an action plan by the Enhance the Response to Hate Crimes Advisory Committee and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a best practice model by the Oak Creek Police Department, and other promising law enforcement reporting models, this brief provides an increasingly critical resource for law enforcement practitioners and researchers dealing with hate crimes.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Artificial intelligence changes everything.This book encourages readers to consider the challenges of the digital transformation driven by Artificial Intelligence. The reader will discover why this transformation is to be regarded as the greatest cultural revolution since the invention of mass printing and how it can be shaped positively in a value-oriented way.The author pursues the thesis that intelligent objects on the internet, as well as physical objects, are attaining their own consciousness. Using many examples, he shows how these digital companions become our digital partners.This non-fiction book provides many suggestions for one's own living and working environment and is full of examples of how artificial intelligence systems can be implemented. The reader learns what is already possible today and what can be expected in the next ten to twenty years.The book is of interest to anyone interested in AIand the digital transformation - from those responsible in companies, public institutions, and in politics, to all teachers and parents who want to understand what the next generation can expect.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 148 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book provides a guide to the diagnosis and management of melanoma. Clinical cases are examined to give the reader an understanding of new diagnostic tools including total body photofinders, two photon excitation florescence microscopy and confocal microscopy. Each case is presented in relation to immunotherapy and quality of life and examines the therapeutic outcomes of newly introduced therapies.Clinical Cases in Melanoma highlights evidence-based best practice through a multidisciplinary approach that is relevant to dermatologists, as well as oncologists, pharmacologists and pathologists.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 228 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This text presents readers with an engaging while rigorous manual on the use of oscilloscopes in laboratory and field settings. It describes procedures for measuring and displaying waveforms, gives examples of how this information can be used for repairing malfunctioning equipment and developing new designs, and explains steps for debugging pre-production prototypes. The book begins by examining how the oscilloscope displays electrical energy as traces on X and Y co-ordinates, freely transitioning without loss of information between time and frequency domains, in accordance with the Fourier Transform and its modern correlate, the Fast Fourier Transform. The book continues with practical applications and case studies, describes how oscilloscopes are used in diagnosing pulse width modulation (PWM) problems--looking at serial data streaming and analyzing power supply noise and premises power quality issues¿and emphasizes the great functionality of mixed-signal as opposed to mixed-domain oscilloscope, and earlier instruments. Featuring many descriptions of applications in applied science and physics, Oscilloscopes: A Manual for Students, Engineers, and Scientists is ideal for students, faculty, and practitioners.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 280 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book focuses beyond the bully-victim dyad to highlight how bullying commonly unfolds within a complex system that involves many individuals interacting with one another. As the vast majority of bullying episodes occur in front of a peer audience, this book examines the ways in which bystanders can act to either fuel or deter bullying. Each chapter highlights a particular participant role: bully, assistant, reinforcer, outsider, defender, and victim. Attention is also devoted to the important influence parents and teachers have on the peer ecology and bullying dynamics. By viewing bullying through the eyes of each individual role, the authors provide an in-depth exploration of bullying as a group process with special attention to implications for prevention and intervention. This book refreshes and expands our understanding of bullying as a group process by highlighting classic research while integrating new findings with attention to changing technology and the modernization of our society. It provides a unique resource that will appeal to teachers and educational psychologists in addition to researchers in the areas of psychology, public health, and education.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 260 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Artificial Intelligence (AI) is redefining the nature and principles of general management. The technological revolution is reshaping industries, disrupting existing business models, making traditional companies obsolete and creating social change. In response, the role of the manager needs to urgently evolve and adjust. Companies need to rethink their purpose, strategy, organisational design and decision-making rules. Crucially they will also need to consider how to nurture and develop the business leaders of the future and develop new ways to interact with society on issues such as privacy and trust.Containing international insights from leading figures from the world of management and technology, this book addresses the big challenges facing organisations, including: Decision-making Corporate strategy People management and leadership Organisational designTaking a holistic approach, this collection of expert voices provides valuable insight into how firms will discover and commit to what makes them unique in this new big data world, empowering them to create and sustain competitive advantage.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 268 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This open access volume presents a novel computational framework for understanding how collections of excitable cells work. The key approach in the text is to model excitable tissue by representing the individual cells constituting the tissue. This is in stark contrast to the common approach where homogenization is used to develop models where the cells are not explicitly present. The approach allows for very detailed analysis of small collections of excitable cells, but computational challenges limit the applicability in the presence of large collections of cells.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 120 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This open access book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Semantic Systems, SEMANTiCS 2020, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in September 2020. The conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 144 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Imagine mathematics, imagine with the help of mathematics, imagine new worlds, new geometries, new forms. Imagine building mathematical models that make it possible to manage our world better, imagine solving great problems, imagine new problems never before thought of, imagine combining music, art, poetry, literature, architecture, theatre and cinema with mathematics. Imagine the unpredictable and sometimes counterintuitive applications of mathematics in all areas of human endeavour.This seventh volume starts with a homage to the Italian artist Mimmo Paladino who created exclusively for the Venice Conference 2019 ten original and unique works of art paper dedicated to the themes of the meeting. A large section is dedicated to the most recent Fields Medals including a Homage to Maryam Mirzakhani including a presentation of the exhibition on soap bubbles in art and science that took place in 2019. A section is dedicated to cinema and theatre including the performances by Claire Bardainne & Adrien Mondot. A part of the conference focused on the community of mathematicians, their role in literature and even in politics with the extraordinary example of Antanas Mockus Major of Bogotá. Mathematics in the constructions of bridges, in particular in Italy in the Sixties was presented by Tullia Iori. A very particular contribution on Origami by a mathematician, Marco Abate and an artist, Alessandro Beber. And many other topics. As usual the topics are treated in a way that is rigorous but captivating, detailed and full of evocations. This is an all-embracing look at the world of mathematics and culture.The world, life, culture, everything has changed in a few weeks with the Coronavirus. Culture, science are the main ways to safeguard people's physical and social life. Trust in humanity's creativity and ability. The motto today in Italy is Everything will be fine.This work is addressed to all those who have an interest inMathematics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 512 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Atheism Considered is a systematic presentation of challenges to the existence of a higher power. Rather than engage in polemic against a religious worldview, C.M. Lorkowski charitably refutes the classical arguments for the existence of god, pointing out flaws in their underlying reasoning and highlighting difficulties inherent to revealed sources. In place of a theistic worldview, he argues for adopting a naturalistic one, highlighting naturalism¿s capacity to explain world phenomena and contribute to the sciences. Lorkowski demonstrates that replacing theism with naturalism, contra popular assumptions, sacrifices nothing in terms of ethics or meaning. Instead, morality ultimately proves more important than religion and does not rely on it. Appropriate for classroom use, this book is meant to cultivate understanding, tolerance, and fruitful dialogue between believers and nonbelievers.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 308 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This useful textbook/reference presents an accessible primer on the fundamentals of image texture analysis, as well as an introduction to the K-views model for extracting and classifying image textures. Divided into three parts, the book opens with a review of existing models and algorithms for image texture analysis, before delving into the details of the K-views model. The work then concludes with a discussion of popular deep learning methods for image texture analysis.Topics and features: provides self-test exercises in every chapter; describes the basics of image texture, texture features, and image texture classification and segmentation; examines a selection of widely-used methods for measuring and extracting texture features, and various algorithms for texture classification; explains the concepts of dimensionality reduction and sparse representation; discusses view-based approaches to classifying images; introduces the template for the K-views algorithm, as well as a range of variants of this algorithm; reviews several neural network models for deep machine learning, and presents a specific focus on convolutional neural networks.This introductory text on image texture analysis is ideally suitable for senior undergraduate and first-year graduate students of computer science, who will benefit from the numerous clarifying examples provided throughout the work.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 272 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Social work leaders constantly strive to incorporate cutting-edge research and promote international collaboration in a dynamic contemporary environment. To address these ongoing concerns, this unique book focuses specifically on strategic leadership, asking critical questions about change-making, political strategy, and the opportunities that present themselves to lead new directions in social work education.Among the topics covered:Disruptive agendas and research dialogues in social work educationDiversity leadership and perspectives beyond the mainstreamThe role of international bodies in advancing social work educationIntellectual leadership and anticipating future advances in teaching strategies Democratising social work educationCollaborative leadership modelsStrategic Leadership in Social Work Education examines the ability of social work to shape futures through education, training, and effective leadership, and suggests strategies for advancing responsible social work education in order to best meet tomorrow¿s needs and aspirations.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book explores in detail new protest organisation and mobilisation strategies of young activists in the digital age with the aim to identify the tactics that worked well against those creating high risks in the context of digitally supported protests. Focusing on Egyptian protests as well as peaceful protests in Syria, the book offers rich and unique data as it brings together the experiences and voices of the key figures involved in the protests, both on the ground and online. It challenges perspectives that defined the Arab uprisings as leaderless movements formed through the non-hierarchical communication of digital technologies. The author presents three kinds of leaders that shape the political communication environment in digitally supported protests and highlights the significance of their leadership skills to the movements¿ capacities.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 260 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book offers a comprehensive theory of invisibility as a critical sociological concept, addressing the relationship between social suffering and invisibilization.Herzog draws on social theory and a variety of empirical examples to analyze social grammar and unveil various mechanisms of social suffering. Presenting an original theory of silencing and suffering, this book outlines a substantive theory and methodology of invisibilization as an instrument of authority. This systemic analysis of visibility as both a liberating and dominating mechanism will be a major contribution to the field of critical theory, offering an original framework to help improve the situation of excluded groups and individuals.Invisibilization of Suffering will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars across sociology, social philosophy, social work, political sciences, criminology, linguistics and education, with a focus on justice theory, marginalization, discrimination and exclusion.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 236 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book critically explores the impact of national security, violence and state power on citizenship rights and experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean. Drawing on cross-country analyses and fieldwork conducted in two ¿garrisons,¿ a middle-class community and among policy elites in Jamaicäwhere high levels of violence, in(security) and transnational organized crime are transforming state power ¿the author argues that dominant responses to security have wider implications for citizenship. The security practices of the state often result in criminalization, police abuse, violation of the rights of the urban poor and increased securitization of garrison spaces. As the tension between national security and citizenship increases, there is a centrality of the local as a site where citizenship is (re)defined, mediated, interpreted, performed and given meaning. While there is a dominant security discourse which focuses on state security, individuals at the local level articulate their own narratives which reflect lived-experiences and the particularities of socio-political milieu.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 192 pp. Englisch.