Over the past decade the field of Human-Computer Interaction has evolved from the study of the usability of interactive products towards a more holistic understanding of how they may mediate desired human experiences. This book identifies the notion of diversity in users' experiences with interactive products and proposes methods and tools for modeling this along two levels: (a) interpersonal diversity in users' responses to early conceptual designs, and (b) the dynamics of users' experiences over time. The Repertory Grid Technique is proposed as an alternative to standardized psychometric scales for modeling interpersonal diversity in users' responses to early concepts in the design process, and new Multi-Dimensional Scaling procedures are introduced for modeling such complex quantitative data. iScale, a tool for the retrospective assessment of users' experiences over time is proposed as an alternative to longitudinal field studies, and a semi-automated technique for the analysis of the elicited experience narratives is introduced. Through these two methodological contributions, this book argues against averaging in the subjective evaluation of interactive products. It proposes the development of interactive tools that can assist designers in moving across multiple levels of abstraction of empirical data, as design-relevant knowledge might be found on all these levels. Foreword by Jean-Bernard Martens and Closing Note by Marc Hassenzahl.

This Festschrift in honour of Ursula Gather's 60th birthday deals with modern topics in the field of robust statistical methods, especially for time series and regression analysis, and with statistical methods for complex data structures. The individual contributions of leading experts provide a textbook-style overview of the topic, supplemented by current research results and questions. The statistical theory and methods in this volume aim at the analysis of data which deviate from classical stringent model assumptions, which contain outlying values and/or have a complex structure. Written for researchers as well as master and PhD students with a good knowledge of statistics.

Discover 40+ recipes like Mooshroom Burgers, Suspicious Stew, and The Cake! Featuring recipes that are ideal for every skill level (and player type), this cookbook is just what you need to bring a touch of Minecraft into your kitchen. So, what are you waiting for? It's time to gather, cook, and eat! Building can be hungry work. And sometimes, you just need to take a break and enjoy the fruits of your labor, whether that's a quick baked potato while you're hunkered down, waiting for a creeper to quit skulking at your door, or creating a celebratory feast for all your friends! Minecraft: The Official Cookbook gives you everything you need to build awesome meals, no matter your skill level.

The "Handbook of Simulation Optimization" presents an overview of the state of the art of simulation optimization, providing a survey of the most well-established approaches for optimizing stochastic simulation models and a sampling of recent research advances in theory and methodology. Leading contributors cover such topics as discrete optimization via simulation, ranking and selection, efficient simulation budget allocation, random search methods, response surface methodology, stochastic gradient estimation, stochastic approximation, sample average approximation, stochastic constraints, variance reduction techniques, model-based stochastic search methods and Markov decision processes.

This single volume should serve as a reference for those already in the field and as a means for those new to the field for understanding and applying the main approaches. The intended audience includes researchers, practitioners and graduate students in the business/engineering fields of operations research, management science, operations management and stochastic control, as well as in economics/finance and computer science.

This state of the art monograph presents a unique introduction to thinking about cuteness and its incorporation into modern, especially computer-based, products and services. Cuteness is defined and explored in relation to user-centered design concepts and methods, in addition to considering the history of cuteness and cuteness in other cultures, especially in relation to eastern Asia. The authors provide detailed analyses and histories of cuteness in Japan and in China, the rise of Kawaii and Moe cultural artifacts, and their relation to social, psychological, and design issues. They also attempt an initial taxonomy of cuteness. Finally, detailed interviews with leading designers of cute products and services, such as Hello Kitty, provide an understanding of the philosophy and decision-making process of designers of cuteness. Cuteness Engineering: Designing Adorable Products and Services will be of interest and use to a wide range of professionals, researchers, academics, and students who are interested in exploring the world of cuteness in fresh new ways and gaining insights useful for their work and studies.

Who are we in simulated worlds? Will experiencing worlds that are not 'actual' change our ways of structuring thought? Can virtual worlds open up new possibilities to philosophize? Virtual Worlds as Philosophical Tools tries to answer these questions from a perspective that combines philosophy of technology with videogame design.

This volume presents an original framework for the study of video games that use visual materials and narrative conventions from ancient Greece and Rome. It focuses on the culturally rich continuum of ancient Greek and Roman games, treating them not just as representations, but as functional interactive products that require the player to interpret, communicate with and alter them. Tracking the movement of such concepts across different media, the study builds an interconnected picture of antiquity in video games within a wider transmedial environment. Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames presents a wide array of games from several different genres, ranging from the blood-spilling violence of god-killing and gladiatorial combat to meticulous strategizing over virtual Roman Empires and often bizarre adventures in pseudo-ancient places. Readers encounter instances in which players become intimately engaged with the "epic mode" of spectacle in God of War, moments of negotiation with colonised lands in Rome: Total War and Imperium Romanum, and multi-layered narratives rich with ancient traditions in games such as Eleusis and Salammbo. The case study approach draws on close analysis of outstanding examples of the genre to uncover how both representation and gameplay function in such "ancient games".

With the increasing advances in hardware technology for data collection, and advances in software technology (databases) for data organization, computer scientists have increasingly participated in the latest advancements of the outlier analysis field. Computer scientists, specifically, approach this field based on their practical experiences in managing large amounts of data, and with far fewer assumptions- the data can be of any type, structured or unstructured, and may be extremely large. Outlier Analysis is a comprehensive exposition, as understood by data mining experts, statisticians and computer scientists. The book has been organized carefully, and emphasis was placed on simplifying the content, so that students and practitioners can also benefit. Chapters will typically cover one of three areas: methods and techniques commonly used in outlier analysis, such as linear methods, proximity-based methods, subspace methods, and supervised methods; data domains, such as, text, categorical, mixed-attribute, time-series, streaming, discrete sequence, spatial and network data; and key applications of these methods as applied to diverse domains such as credit card fraud detection, intrusion detection, medical diagnosis, earth science, web log analytics, and social network analysis are covered.

This book establishes play as a mode of humanistic inquiry with a profound effect on art, culture and society. Play is treated as a dynamic and relational modality where relationships of all kinds are forged and inquisitive interdisciplinary engagement is embraced. Play cultivates reflection, connection, and creativity, offering new epistemological directions for the humanities. With examples from a range of disciplines including poetry, history, science, religion and media, this book treats play as an object of inquiry, but also as a mode of inquiry. The chapters, each focusing on a specific cultural phenomenon, do not simply put culture on display, they put culture in play, providing a playful lens through which to see the world. The reader is encouraged to read the chapters in this book out of order, allowing constructive collision between ideas, moments in history, and theoretical perspectives. The act of reading this book, like the project of the humanities itself, should be emergent, generative, and playful.

This book reports on the theoretical foundations, fundamental applications and latest advances in various aspects of connected services for health information systems. The twelve chapters highlight state-of-the-art approaches, methodologies and systems for the design, development, deployment and innovative use of multisensory systems and tools for health management in smart city ecosystems. They exploit technologies like deep learning, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, cyber physical systems and sensor networks. Presenting the latest developments, identifying remaining challenges, and outlining future research directions for sensing, computing, communications and security aspects of connected health systems, the book will mainly appeal to academic and industrial researchers in the areas of health information systems, smart cities, and augmented reality.

Digital geometry is about deriving geometric information from digital pictures. The field emerged from its mathematical roots some forty-years ago through work in computer-based imaging, and it is used today in many fields, such as digital image processing and analysis (with applications in medical imaging, pattern recognition, and robotics) and of course computer graphics. Digital Geometry is the first book to detail the concepts, algorithms, and practices of the discipline. This comphrehensive text and reference provides an introduction to the mathematical foundations of digital geometry, some of which date back to ancient times, and also discusses the key processes involved, such as geometric algorithms as well as operations on pictures.
*A comprehensive text and reference written by pioneers in digital geometry, image processing and analysis, and computer vision
*Provides a collection of state-of-the-art algorithms for a wide variety of geometrical picture analysis tasks, including extracting data from digital images and making geometric measurements on the data
*Includes exercises, examples, and references to related or more advanced work

"This volume provides essential guidance for transforming mathematics learning in schools through the use of innovative technology, pedagogy, and curriculum. It presents clear, rigorous evidence of the impact technology can have in improving students learning of important yet complex mathematical concepts -- and goes beyond a focus on technology alone to clearly explain how teacher professional development, pedagogy, curriculum, and student participation and identity each play an essential role in transforming mathematics classrooms with technology. Further, evidence of effectiveness is complemented by insightful case studies of how key factors lead to enhancing learning, including the contributions of design research, classroom discourse, and meaningful assessment.
The volume organizes over 15 years of sustained research by multiple investigators in different states and countries who together developed an approach called "SimCalc" that radically transforms how Algebra and Calculus are taught.
The SimCalc program engages students around simulated motions, such as races on a soccer field, and builds understanding using visual representations such as graphs, and familiar representations such as stories to help students to develop meaning for more abstract mathematical symbols. Further, the SimCalc program leverages classroom wireless networks to increase participation by all students in doing, talking about, and reflecting on mathematics. Unlike many technology programs, SimCalc research shows the benefits of balanced attention to curriculum, pedagogy, teacher professional development, assessment and technology -- and has proven effectiveness results at the scale of hundreds of schools and classrooms.
Combining the findings of multiple investigators in one accessible volume reveals the depth and breadth of the research program, andengages readers interested in: "

"* Engaging students in deeply learning the important concepts in mathematics
* Designing innovative curriculum, software, and professional development
. Effective uses of technology to improve mathematics education
* Creating integrated systems of teaching that transform mathematics classrooms
* Scaling up new pedagogies to hundreds of schools and classrooms
* Conducting research that really matters for the future of mathematics learning"

"* Engaging students in deeply learning the important concepts in mathematics
* Designing innovative curriculum, software, and professional development
. Effective uses of technology to improve mathematics education
* Creating integrated systems of teaching that transform mathematics classrooms
* Scaling up new pedagogies to hundreds of schools and classrooms
* Conducting research that really matters for the future of mathematics learning"

"

This book discusses a variety of methods for outlier ensembles and organizes them by the specific principles with which accuracy improvements are achieved. In addition, it covers the techniques with which such methods can be made more effective. A formal classification of these methods is provided, and the circumstances in which they work well are examined. The authors cover how outlier ensembles relate (both theoretically and practically) to the ensemble techniques used commonly for other data mining problems like classification. The similarities and (subtle) differences in the ensemble techniques for the classification and outlier detection problems are explored. These subtle differences do impact the design of ensemble algorithms for the latter problem. This book can be used for courses in data mining and related curricula. Many illustrative examples and exercises are provided in order to facilitate classroom teaching. A familiarity is assumed to the outlier detection problem and also to generic problem of ensemble analysis in classification. This is because many of the ensemble methods discussed in this book are adaptations from their counterparts in the classification domain. Some techniques explained in this book, such as wagging, randomized feature weighting, and geometric subsampling, provide new insights that are not available elsewhere. Also included is an analysis of the performance of various types of base detectors and their relative effectiveness. The book is valuable for researchers and practitioners for leveraging ensemble methods into optimal algorithmic design.

Relational Database Systems provides a timely introduction to the type of systems that are the current mainstay of the database management field. This book serves as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as an informative reference for researchers and professionals in all database aspects of computer science. It presents important querying systems including SQL and QUEL, and covers their respective theoretical foundations in relational algebra, tuple calculus, and domain calculus.
The presentation of SQL adheres to the ANSI standard; however, the book discusses the most popular SQL dialects; a separate chapter covers imbedded SQL. The text also contains references to many significant relational database products, including INGRES, ORACLE, DB2, PARADOX, and SYBASE.
Relational Database Systems concentrates on those issues that are most relevant to database design and application development. Exercises that constitute important extensions of the material are provided at the end of each chapter. The book assumes a knowledge of programming languages and datastructures, and some mathematical induction.
Key Features
* Includes coverage of embedded SQL, the most important existing application development tool
* Presents query systems within their theoretical context
* Discusses supporting mathematical theory
* Offers a comparison of SQL dialects
* Provides supplemental exercises for each chapter
* Contains references to significant relational database products, including INGRES, ORACLE, DB2, PARADOX, and SYBASE

Organizations and enterprises are becoming more competitive about enlarging their target markets and developing innovative products and services, all the while transforming their business models to better fit the new technological era. Enterprise Interoperability (EI) is an emerging and thriving research domain, but a lack of standardized guidelines inhibit its complete reuse. Revolutionizing Enterprise Interoperability through Scientific Foundations offers information on the latest advancements and research for Enterprise Interoperability knowledge as well as core concepts, theories, and future directions. This book is an essential resource for researchers and practitioners in the Enterprise Interoperability field and related areas.

Innovations in Database Design, Web Applications, and Information Systems Management presents ideal research in the areas of database theory, systems design, ontologies, and many more. Including examples of the convergence of ideas from various disciplines aimed at improving and developing the theory of information technology and management of information resources, this book is useful for researchers and practitioners in the IT field.

Technology has vastly advanced over the years and created new developments and uses across various industries. By applying these new approaches in the business world, process management and organization can be significantly improved. Maximizing Business Performance and Efficiency through Intelligent Systems is an essential reference publication for the latest research on methods to use artificial intelligence in organizational settings. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as information retrieval, fuzzy systems, and neural networks, this book is ideally designed for students, professionals, and researchers seeking research on emerging advances in business technology applications.

Written to bridge the information needs of management and computational scientists, this book presents the first comprehensive treatment of Computational Red Teaming (CRT). The author describes an analytics environment that blends human reasoning and computational modeling to design risk-aware and evidence-based smart decision making systems. He presents the Shadow CRT Machine, which shadows the operations of an actual system to think with decision makers, challenge threats, and design remedies. This is the first book to generalize red teaming (RT) outside the military and security domains and it offers coverage of RT principles, practical and ethical guidelines. The author utilizes Gilbert's principles for introducing a science. Simplicity: where the book follows a special style to make it accessible to a wide range of readers. Coherence: where only necessary elements from experimentation, optimization, simulation, data mining, big data, cognitive information processing, and system thinking are blended together systematically to present CRT as the science of Risk Analytics and Challenge Analytics. Utility: where the author draws on a wide range of examples, ranging from job interviews to Cyber operations, before presenting three case studies from air traffic control technologies, human behavior, and complex socio-technical systems involving real-time mining and integration of human brain data in the decision making environment.

This book brings together a rich selection of studies in mathematical modeling and computational intelligence, with application in several fields of engineering, like automation, biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical, electronic, geophysical and mechanical engineering, on a multidisciplinary approach. Authors from five countries and 16 different research centers contribute with their expertise in both the fundamentals and real problems applications based upon their strong background on modeling and computational intelligence. The reader will find a wide variety of applications, mathematical and computational tools and original results, all presented with rigorous mathematical procedures. This work is intended for use in graduate courses of engineering, applied mathematics and applied computation where tools as mathematical and computational modeling, numerical methods and computational intelligence are applied to the solution of real problems.

The first volume of the proceedings of the 7th conference on "Finite Volumes for Complex Applications" (Berlin, June 2014) covers topics that include convergence and stability analysis, as well as investigations of these methods from the point of view of compatibility with physical principles. It collects together the focused invited papers, as well as the reviewed contributions from internationally leading researchers in the field of analysis of finite volume and related methods. Altogether, a rather comprehensive overview is given of the state of the art in the field.

The finite volume method in its various forms is a space discretization technique for partial differential equations based on the fundamental physical principle of conservation. Recent decades have brought significant success in the theoretical understanding of the method. Many finite volume methods preserve further qualitative or asymptotic properties, including maximum principles, dissipativity, monotone decay of free energy, and asymptotic stability. Due to these properties, finite volume methods belong to the wider class of compatible discretization methods, which preserve qualitative properties of continuous problems at the discrete level. This structural approach to the discretization of partial differential equations becomes particularly important for multiphysics and multiscale applications.

Researchers, PhD and masters level students in numerical analysis, scientific computing and related fields such as partial differential equations will find this volume useful, as will engineers working in numerical modeling and simulations."

Online education continues to grow exponentially, and the majority of universities now offer online courses. However, the unprecedented explosion of online learning courses has resulted in increased demands for online teachers, and regular classroom teachers are often asked to teach in an online environment.Tools for Successful Online Teaching introduces teachers to the tools of the learning management system (LMS), or the online learning environment. These tools, including chat, threaded discussion, e-mail, surveys, exam builders, and more, are explored to show the strengths and weaknesses of each tool. Multiple examples of objectives and activities are provided to instill a deep understanding, and the reader will gain a long-term ability to create a unique curriculum.