Microsoft Project 2013 is a powerful software tool, and like all tools it requires knowledge and skill to be used to its maximum potential. This fully revised new edition provides users with everything they will need to more easily and effectively manage projects to a successful conclusion. Designed for the busy, practicing project manager, Dynamic Scheduling With Microsoft Project 2013 will help you get up to speed quickly with the new and enhanced features of Project 2013 (including Project Pro for Office 365) and enable you to create effective schedules using best practices, tips & tricks, and step-by-step instruction. Through the use of helpful screenshots, hands-on exercises, illustrations, and review questions, this guide instructs you on how to build dynamic schedules that will allow you to explore what-if scenarios and dramatically decrease the time you spend making static schedule changes. ""A must read, reread, and use daily for all project managers"" is what PMI's Project Management Journal had to say about previous editions. This updated version is even better!

This book presents concisely the full story on complex and hypercomplex fractals, starting from the very first steps in complex dynamics and resulting complex fractal sets, through the generalizations of Julia and Mandelbrot sets on a complex plane and the Holy Grail of the fractal geometry - a 3D Mandelbrot set, and ending with hypercomplex, multicomplex and multihypercomplex fractal sets which are still under consideration of scientists. I tried to write this book in a possibly simple way in order to make it understandable to most people whose math knowledge covers the fundamentals of complex numbers only. Moreover, the book is full of illustrations of generated fractals and stories concerned with great mathematicians, number spaces and related fractals. In the most cases only information required for proper understanding of a nature of a given vector space or a construction of a given fractal set is provided, nevertheless a more advanced reader may treat this book as a fundamental compendium on hypercomplex fractals with references to purely scientific issues like dynamics and stability of hypercomplex systems.

This book looks closely at the endings of narrative digital games, examining their ways of concluding the processes of both storytelling and play in order to gain insight into what endings are and how we identify them in different media. While narrative digital games share many representational strategies for signalling their upcoming end with more traditional narrative media - such as novels or movies - they also show many forms of endings that often radically differ from our conventional understanding of conclusion and closure. From vast game worlds that remain open for play after a story's finale, to multiple endings that are often hailed as a means for players to create their own stories, to the potentially tragic endings of failure and "game over", digital games question the traditional singularity and finality of endings. Using a broad range of examples, this book delves deeply into these and other forms and their functions, both to reveal the closural specificities of the ludonarrative hybrid that digital games are, as well as to find the core elements that characterise endings in any medium. It examines how endings make themselves known to players and raises the question of how well-established closural conventions blend with play and a player's effort to achieve a goal. As an interdisciplinary study that draws on game studies as much as on transmedial narratology, Forms and Functions of Endings in Narrative Digital Games is suited for scholars and students of digital games as well as for narratologists yet to become familiar with this medium.

Since 1980, in-the-know computer gamers have been enthralled by the unpredictable, random, and incredibly deep gameplay of Rogue and those games inspired by it, known to fans as "roguelikes." For decades, this venerable genre was off the radar of most players and developers for a variety of reasons: deceptively simple graphics (often just text characters), high difficulty, and their demand that a player brings more of themselves to the game than your typical AAA title asks. This book covers many of the most prominent titles and explains in great detail what makes them interesting, the ways to get started playing them, the history of the genre, and more. It includes interviews, playthroughs, and hundreds of screenshots. It is a labor of love: if even a fraction of the author's enthusiasm for these games gets through these pages to you, then you will enjoy it a great deal. Key Features: Playing tips and strategy for newcomers to the genre Core roguelikes Rogue, Angband, NetHack, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, ADOM, and Brogue The "lost roguelikes" Super Rogue and XRogue, and the early RPG dnd for PLATO systems The Japanese console roguelikes Taloon's Mystery Dungeon and Shiren the Wanderer Lesser-known but extremely interesting games like Larn, DoomRL, HyperRogue, Incursion, and Dungeon Hack "Rogue-ish" games that blur the edges of the genre, including Spelunky, HyperRogue, ToeJam & Earl, Defense of the Oasis, Out There, and Zelda Randomizer Interviews with such developers as Keith Burgun (100 Rogues and Auro), Rodain Joubert (Desktop Dungeons), Josh Ge (Cogmind), Dr. Thomas Biskup (ADOM), and Robin Bandy (devnull public NetHack tournament) An interview regarding Strange Adventures in Infinite Space Design issues of interest to developers and enthusiasts Author Bio: John Harris has bumped around the Internet for more than 20 years. In addition to writing the columns @Play and Pixel Journeys for GameSetWatch and developer interviews for Gamasutra, he has spoken at Roguelike Celebration. John Harris has a MA in English Literature from Georgia Southern University.

Evolutionary Psychology and Digital Games: Digital Hunter-Gatherers is the first edited volume that systematically applies evolutionary psychology to the study of the use and effects of digital games. The book is divided into four parts: Theories and Methods Emotion and Morality Social Interaction Learning and Motivation These topics reflect the main areas of digital games research as well as some of the basic categories of psychological research. The book is meant as a resource for researchers and graduate students in psychology, anthropology, media studies and communication as well as video game designers who are interested in learning more about the evolutionary roots of player behaviors and experiences.

This new edition covers some of the key topics relating to the latest version of MS Office through Excel 2019, including the creation of custom ribbons by injecting XML code into Excel Workbooks and how to link Excel VBA macros to customize ribbon objects. It now also provides examples in using ADO, DAO, and SQL queries to retrieve data from databases for analysis. Operations such as fully automated linear and non-linear curve fitting, linear and non-linear mapping, charting, plotting, sorting, and filtering of data have been updated to leverage the newest Excel VBA object models. The text provides examples on automated data analysis and the preparation of custom reports suitable for legal archiving and dissemination. Functionality Demonstrated in This Edition Includes: Find and extract information raw data files Format data in color (conditional formatting) Perform non-linear and linear regressions on data Create custom functions for specific applications Generate datasets for regressions and functions Create custom reports for regulatory agencies Leverage email to send generated reports Return data to Excel using ADO, DAO, and SQL queries Create database files for processed data Create tables, records, and fields in databases Add data to databases in fields or records Leverage external computational engines Call functions in MATLAB (R) and Origin (R) from Excel

Enterprise Systems have been used for many years to integrate technology with the management of an organization but rapid technological disruptions are now creating new challenges and opportunities that require urgent consideration. This book reappraises the implementation and management of Enterprise Systems in the digital age and investigates the vital link between business processes, information technology and the Internet for an organization's competitive advantage and success. This book primarily focuses on the implementation, operation, management and integration of Enterprise Systems with fastemerging disruptive technologies such as blockchains, big data, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data mining and data analytics. These disruptive technologies are now becoming mainstream and the book proposes several innovations that organizations need to adopt to remain competitive within this rapidly changing landscape. In addition, it examines Enterprise Systems, their components, architecture, and applications and enlightens readers on the benefits and shortcomings of implementing them. This book contains primary research on organizations, case studies, and benchmarks ERP implementation against international best practice.

This collection of essays is devoted to the philosophical examination of the aesthetics of videogames. Videogames represent one of the most significant developments in the modern popular arts, and it is a topic that is attracting much attention among philosophers of art and aestheticians. As a burgeoning medium of artistic expression, videogames raise entirely new aesthetic concerns, particularly concerning their ontology, interactivity, and aesthetic value. The essays in this volume address a number of pressing theoretical issues related to these areas, including but not limited to: the nature of performance and identity in videogames; their status as an interactive form of art; the ethical problems raised by violence in videogames; and the representation of women in videogames and the gaming community. The Aesthetics of Videogames is an important contribution to analytic aesthetics that deals with an important and growing art form.

Praise for the first edition: [This book] reflects the extensive experience and significant contributions of the author to non-linear and non-Gaussian modeling. ... [It] is a valuable book, especially with its broad and accessible introduction of models in the state-space framework. -Statistics in Medicine What distinguishes this book from comparable introductory texts is the use of state-space modeling. Along with this come a number of valuable tools for recursive filtering and smoothing, including the Kalman filter, as well as non-Gaussian and sequential Monte Carlo filters. -MAA Reviews Introduction to Time Series Modeling with Applications in R, Second Edition covers numerous stationary and nonstationary time series models and tools for estimating and utilizing them. The goal of this book is to enable readers to build their own models to understand, predict and master time series. The second edition makes it possible for readers to reproduce examples in this book by using the freely available R package TSSS to perform computations for their own real-world time series problems. This book employs the state-space model as a generic tool for time series modeling and presents the Kalman filter, the non-Gaussian filter and the particle filter as convenient tools for recursive estimation for state-space models. Further, it also takes a unified approach based on the entropy maximization principle and employs various methods of parameter estimation and model selection, including the least squares method, the maximum likelihood method, recursive estimation for state-space models and model selection by AIC. Along with the standard stationary time series models, such as the AR and ARMA models, the book also introduces nonstationary time series models such as the locally stationary AR model, the trend model, the seasonal adjustment model, the time-varying coefficient AR model and nonlinear non-Gaussian state-space models. About the Author: Genshiro Kitagawa is a project professor at the University of Tokyo, the former Director-General of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, and the former President of the Research Organization of Information and Systems.

The book addresses the problem of accuracy of spatial databases, and comprises of papers drawn from a wide range of physical and human systems, taking approaches which vary from statistical to descriptive. Together they present both a comprehensive review of existing knowledge, techniques and experience, and an analysis of critical research needs in this area of spatial data handling.

The Digital Gaming Handbook covers the state-of-the-art in video and digital game research and development, from traditional to emerging elements of gaming across multiple disciplines. Chapters are presented with applicability across all gaming platforms over a broad range of topics, from game content creation through gameplay at a level accessible for the professional game developer while being deep enough to provide a valuable reference of the state-of-the-art research in this field. Key Features: International experts share their research and experience in game development and design Provides readers with inside perspectives on the cross-disciplinary aspects of the industry Includes retrospective and forward-looking examinations of gaming Editor: Dr. Roberto Dillon is a leading game studies educator with more than 15 years of experience in the field of game design and development.

This hard-hitting research report presents a rigorous critique of the most widely used trade models based on computable general equilibrium (or CGE) models. The authors present concise analytical arguments explaining the fundamental weaknesses of typical CGE models. They show that these models tend to make unrealistic assumptions about the macro-economy and do not allow an accurate estimation of the welfare gains that trade liberalisation is supposed to induce. The report appeals for honest simulation strategies showing a variety of possible outcomes, which would enable policy-makers to assess the different scenarios for themselves.

A hands-on guide to using Excel in the business context First published in 2012, Using Excel for Business and Financial Modelling contains step-by-step instructions of how to solve common business problems using financial models, including downloadable Excel templates, a list of shortcuts and tons of practical tips and techniques you can apply straight away. Whilst there are many hundreds of tools, features and functions in Excel, this book focuses on the topics most relevant to finance professionals. It covers these features in detail from a practical perspective, but also puts them in context by applying them to practical examples in the real world. Learn to create financial models to help make business decisions whilst applying modelling best practice methodology, tools and techniques. - Provides the perfect mix of practice and theory - Helps you become a DIY Excel modelling specialist - Includes updates for Excel 2019/365 and Excel for Mac - May be used as an accompaniment to the author's online and face-to-face training courses Many people are often overwhelmed by the hundreds of tools in Excel, and this book gives clarity to the ones you need to know in order to perform your job more efficiently. This book also demystifies the technical, design, logic and financial skills you need for business and financial modelling.

Modeling spatial and spatio-temporal continuous processes is an important and challenging problem in spatial statistics. Advanced Spatial Modeling with Stochastic Partial Differential Equations Using R and INLA describes in detail the stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE) approach for modeling continuous spatial processes with a Matern covariance, which has been implemented using the integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) in the R-INLA package. Key concepts about modeling spatial processes and the SPDE approach are explained with examples using simulated data and real applications. This book has been authored by leading experts in spatial statistics, including the main developers of the INLA and SPDE methodologies and the R-INLA package. It also includes a wide range of applications: * Spatial and spatio-temporal models for continuous outcomes * Analysis of spatial and spatio-temporal point patterns * Coregionalization spatial and spatio-temporal models * Measurement error spatial models * Modeling preferential sampling * Spatial and spatio-temporal models with physical barriers * Survival analysis with spatial effects * Dynamic space-time regression * Spatial and spatio-temporal models for extremes * Hurdle models with spatial effects * Penalized Complexity priors for spatial models All the examples in the book are fully reproducible. Further information about this book, as well as the R code and datasets used, is available from the book website at http://www.r-inla.org/spde-book. The tools described in this book will be useful to researchers in many fields such as biostatistics, spatial statistics, environmental sciences, epidemiology, ecology and others. Graduate and Ph.D. students will also find this book and associated files a valuable resource to learn INLA and the SPDE approach for spatial modeling.

Computer simulation is an effective and popular universal tool that can be applied to almost all disciplines. Requiring only basic knowledge of programming, mathematics, and probability theory, Computer Simulation: A Foundational Approach Using Python takes a hands-on approach to programming to introduce the fundamentals of computer simulation. The main target of the book is computer science and engineering students who are interested mainly in directly applying the techniques to their research problems. The book will be of great interest to senior undergraduate and starting graduate students in the fields of computer science and engineering and industrial engineering.

Handbook of Robust Low-Rank and Sparse Matrix Decomposition: Applications in Image and Video Processing shows you how robust subspace learning and tracking by decomposition into low-rank and sparse matrices provide a suitable framework for computer vision applications. Incorporating both existing and new ideas, the book conveniently gives you one-stop access to a number of different decompositions, algorithms, implementations, and benchmarking techniques. Divided into five parts, the book begins with an overall introduction to robust principal component analysis (PCA) via decomposition into low-rank and sparse matrices. The second part addresses robust matrix factorization/completion problems while the third part focuses on robust online subspace estimation, learning, and tracking. Covering applications in image and video processing, the fourth part discusses image analysis, image denoising, motion saliency detection, video coding, key frame extraction, and hyperspectral video processing. The final part presents resources and applications in background/foreground separation for video surveillance. With contributions from leading teams around the world, this handbook provides a complete overview of the concepts, theories, algorithms, and applications related to robust low-rank and sparse matrix decompositions. It is designed for researchers, developers, and graduate students in computer vision, image and video processing, real-time architecture, machine learning, and data mining.

Ranging from blockbuster movies to experimental shorts or documentaries to scientific research, computer animation shapes a great part of media communication processes today. Be it the portrayal of emotional characters in moving films or the creation of controllable emotional stimuli in scientific contexts, computer animation's characteristic artificiality makes it ideal for various areas connected to the emotional: with the ability to move beyond the constraints of the empirical "real world," animation allows for an immense freedom. This book looks at international film productions using animation techniques to display and/or to elicit emotions, with a special attention to the aesthetics, characters and stories of these films, and to the challenges and benefits of using computer techniques for these purposes.

Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 15 is a high-performance, mission-critical database management system designed to meet the increasing demands of large databases and high-transaction volumes, while providing a cost-effective database management system. "The Official New Features Guide to Sybase ASE 15" focuses on the many enhancements in Sybase ASE 15 including semantic partitions, computed columns, functional indexes, and scrollable cursors.

Learn how to paint on your iPad like the professionals in Beginner's Guide to Procreate, a comprehensive introduction to this industry-standard software. Accessible and versatile, Procreate is an ideal tool for anyone wanting to give digital painting a go. Step-by-step tutorials, quick tips, and inspiring artwork ensure you'll have all you need to create stunning concept art quickly and easily.

Nature-Inspired Computing: Physics and Chemistry-Based Algorithms provides a comprehensive introduction to the methodologies and algorithms in nature-inspired computing, with an emphasis on applications to real-life engineering problems. The research interest for Nature-inspired Computing has grown considerably exploring different phenomena observed in nature and basic principles of physics, chemistry, and biology. The discipline has reached a mature stage and the field has been well-established. This endeavour is another attempt at investigation into various computational schemes inspired from nature, which are presented in this book with the development of a suitable framework and industrial applications. Designed for senior undergraduates, postgraduates, research students, and professionals, the book is written at a comprehensible level for students who have some basic knowledge of calculus and differential equations, and some exposure to optimization theory. Due to the focus on search and optimization, the book is also appropriate for electrical, control, civil, industrial and manufacturing engineering, business, and economics students, as well as those in computer and information sciences. With the mathematical and programming references and applications in each chapter, the book is self-contained, and can also serve as a reference for researchers and scientists in the fields of system science, natural computing, and optimization.

Practical Guidance on the Efficient Development of High-Quality Software Introduction to Software Engineering, Second Edition equips students with the fundamentals to prepare them for satisfying careers as software engineers regardless of future changes in the field, even if the changes are unpredictable or disruptive in nature. Retaining the same organization as its predecessor, this second edition adds considerable material on open source and agile development models. The text helps students understand software development techniques and processes at a reasonably sophisticated level. Students acquire practical experience through team software projects. Throughout much of the book, a relatively large project is used to teach about the requirements, design, and coding of software. In addition, a continuing case study of an agile software development project offers a complete picture of how a successful agile project can work. The book covers each major phase of the software development life cycle, from developing software requirements to software maintenance. It also discusses project management and explains how to read software engineering literature. Three appendices describe software patents, command-line arguments, and flowcharts.

For organizations operating in a modern business environment, adopting the latest information technologies (IT) is of paramount importance. Organizational decision makers are increasingly interested in IT acquisition, constantly seeking the most advanced solutions in order to give their constituents a distinct competitive advantage. Managing Enterprise Information Technology Acquisitions: Assessing Organizational Preparedness provides leaders and innovators with research and strategies to make the most of their options involving IT and organizational management approaches. This book will serve as a critical resource for leaders, managers, strategists, and other industry professionals who must be prepared to meet the constant changes in the field of information technologies in order to effectively guide their organizations and achieve their respective goals.

A radical approach to getting IT projects done faster and cheaper than anyone thinks possible

"Software in 30 Days" summarizes the Agile and Scrum software development method, which allows creation of game-changing software, in just 30 days. Projects that use it are three times more successful than those that don't. "Software in 30 Days" is for the business manager, the entrepreneur, the product development manager, or IT manager who wants to develop software better and faster than they now believe possible. Learn how this unorthodox process works, how to get started, and how to succeed. Control risk, manage projects, and have your people succeed with simple but profound shifts in the thinking.

The authors explain powerful concepts such as the art of the possible, bottom-up intelligence, and why it's good to fail early--all with no risk greater than thirty days. The productivity gain vs traditional "waterfall" methods has been over 100% on many projectsAuthor Ken Schwaber is a co-founder of the Agile software movement, and co-creator, with Jeff Sutherland, of the "Scrum" technique for building software in 30 daysCoauthor Jeff Sutherland was cosigner of the Agile Manifesto, which marked the start of the Agile movement

"Software in 30 Days" is a must-read for all managers and business owners who use software in their organizations or in their products and want to stop the cycle of slow, expensive software development. Programmers will want to buy copies for their managers and their customers so they will know how to collaborate to get the best work possible.

Since its official release in 2011, Minecraft has sold nearly 50 million copies across all gaming platforms. The premise of Minecraft is simple: destroy, collect, build and interact in a world made entirely of colored cubes. Unlike Lego blocks or other construction toys, Minecraft's digital play space allows for virtually limitless creation without the cost and limitations of physical building materials. Creator Mojang's generous policies toward modification and other uses of their intellectual property also engender enthusiasm and creativity from fans who make music, art and animation inspired by the software. The first essays in this collection cover Minecraft's origins, describing its relationship to other video games and toys and examining the learning models implicit in its design. Later essays describe and theorize the various ways players interact with the software, which simultaneously presents them with structural constraints and limitless possibility.

R Visualizations: Derive Meaning from Data focuses on one of the two major topics of data analytics: data visualization, a.k.a., computer graphics. In the book, major R systems for visualization are discussed, organized by topic and not by system. Anyone doing data analysis will be shown how to use R to generate any of the basic visualizations with the R visualization systems. Further, this book introduces the author's lessR system, which always can accomplish a visualization with less coding than the use of other systems, sometimes dramatically so, and also provides accompanying statistical analyses. Key Features Presents thorough coverage of the leading R visualization system, ggplot2. Gives specific guidance on using base R graphics to attain visualizations of the same quality as those provided by ggplot2. Shows how to create a wide range of data visualizations: distributions of categorical and continuous variables, many types of scatterplots including with a third variable, time series, and maps. Inclusion of the various approaches to R graphics organized by topic instead of by system. Presents the recent work on interactive visualization in R. David W. Gerbing received his PhD from Michigan State University in 1979 in quantitative analysis, and currently is a professor of quantitative analysis in the School of Business at Portland State University. He has published extensively in the social and behavioral sciences with a focus on quantitative methods. His lessR package has been in development since 2009.