This book brings together some of the most influential pieces of research undertaken around the world in design synthesis. It is the first comprehensive work of this kind and covers all three aspects of research in design synthesis:- understanding what constitutes and influences synthesis;- the major approaches to synthesis;- the diverse range of tools that are created to support this crucial design task.The chapters are comprised of cutting edge research and established methods, written by the originators of this growing field of research. They cover all major generic synthesis approaches i.e., composition, retrieval, change and repair, and tackle problems that come from a wide variety of domains within architecture and engineering as well as areas of application including clocks, sensors and medical devices. The book contains an editorial introduction to the chapters and the broader context of research they represent. With its range of tools and methods covered, it is an ideal introduction to design synthesis for those intending to research in this area as well as being a valuable source of ideas for educators and practitioners of engineering design.

This book presents the selected results of the XI Scientific Conference Selected Issues of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (WZEE) which was held in Rzeszow and Czarna, Poland on September 27-30, 2013. The main aim of the Conference was to provide academia and industry to discuss and present the latest technological advantages and research results and to integrate the new interdisciplinary scientific circle in the field of electrical engineering, electronics and mechatronics. The Conference was organized by the Rzeszow Division of Polish Association of Theoretical and Applied Electrical Engineering (PTETiS) in cooperation with Rzeszow University of Technology, the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Rzeszow University, the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

The 2nd edition of Chopra's Google SketchUp provides key pedagogical elements, which help prepare readers for the workforce. The content provides real-world and applied material including better PowerPoint presentations and how-to animations. Additional features include updated content to reflect software upgrades and market use; new pedagogy elements and interior design; and more robust resources that will are appropriate for different users of Google Sketch.

The book also addresses the similarities between the adapted title, Google SketchUp 8 for Dummies, and Google SketchUp 2. This includes a title that contains the core content and basic software how-to from For Dummies; revised TOC to reflect the course; and new material developed/written by writer and academic advisors/reviewers. This edition goes beyond the basic software use to teach on portions of SketchUp.

UPDATED EDITION FEATURING VERSION 2.0 CONTENT! Dreaming of an island getaway? Now you can create the perfect island paradise in Animal Crossing: New Horizons with the Animal Crossing New Horizons Residents' Handbook. Newly updated with version 2.0 content, this essential unofficial guide contains everything you need to prepare for your new island life, including tips on how to: - build and design your dream home - gather resources and recipe cards to craft and customize tools, furniture and other decorative items - populate your island with friendly animal villagers - each with their own, often very funny, personalities - help Blathers fill your island's museum with fossils, critters and art - connect with up to 7 friends and share your personal paradise online What's more, Animal Crossing New Horizons Residents' Handbook contains plenty of inspirational landscaping and terraforming ideas, insider information and guides to characters, resources and special events. It's the perfect book to help you live your best deserted island life!

This book provides a comprehensive and practically minded introduction into serious games for law enforcement agencies. Serious games offer wide ranging benefits for law enforcement with applications from professional trainings to command-level decision making to the preparation for crises events. This book explains the conceptual foundations of virtual and augmented reality, gamification and simulation. It further offers practical guidance on the process of serious games development from user requirements elicitation to evaluation. The chapters are intended to provide principles, as well as hands-on knowledge to plan, design, test and apply serious games successfully in a law enforcement environment. A diverse set of case studies showcases the enormous variety that is possible in serious game designs and application areas and offers insights into concrete design decisions, design processes, benefits and challenges. The book is meant for law enforcement professionals interested in commissioning their own serious games as well as game designers interested in collaborative pedagogy and serious games for the law enforcement and security sector.

This book explores inductive inference using the minimum message length (MML) principle, a Bayesian method which is a realisation of Ockham's Razor based on information theory. Accompanied by a library of software, the book can assist an applications programmer, student or researcher in the fields of data analysis and machine learning to write computer programs based upon this principle. MML inference has been around for 50 years and yet only one highly technical book has been written about the subject. The majority of research in the field has been backed by specialised one-off programs but this book includes a library of general MML-based software, in Java. The Java source code is available under the GNU GPL open-source license. The software library is documented using Javadoc which produces extensive cross referenced HTML manual pages. Every probability distribution and statistical model that is described in the book is implemented and documented in the software library. The library may contain a component that directly solves a reader's inference problem, or contain components that can be put together to solve the problem, or provide a standard interface under which a new component can be written to solve the problem. This book will be of interest to application developers in the fields of machine learning and statistics as well as academics, postdocs, programmers and data scientists. It could also be used by third year or fourth year undergraduate or postgraduate students.

Are you thinking about working in the board game industry? Here's what you need to know. There are so many jobs and roles that need to be filled in the board game industry. You might just have the right skills and experience to excel. But first you need to know what opportunities exist and what the hardest gaps are to fill! In this book, you'll discover * What jobs are really in demand * How you can get your foot in the door with a publisher * Jobs in the industry you've never even thought of * What other opportunities exist for people with skills just like yours With insights from over 40 industry pros, as well as the author's many years of experience, you'll be able to put your own skills and experience to great use in an amazing, growing industry.

Making a great board game and pitching it to publishers are two completely different things. If you've got a game that you want to share with the world but don't know what to do next, this book will help you navigate through exactly what steps to take. You'll discover: How to find the right publisher Exactly what publishers are looking for How to create a sell sheet that will actually sell your game How to negotiate the best deal and get paid more for your game What to look out for in contracts to make sure you don't get exploited You'll learn from Joe's experiences as a full-time board game designer and instructor, along with tips and stories from a dozen other published designers, plus the exact things that publishers want. Direct from 16 established publishers.

The first edition (94301-3) was published in 1995 in TIMS and had 2264 regular US sales, 928 IC, and 679 bulk.

This new edition updates the text to Mathematica 5.0 and offers a more extensive treatment of linear algebra. It has been thoroughly revised and corrected throughout.

Learn how to program JavaScript while creating interactive audio applications with JavaScript for Sound Artists: Learn to Code With the Web Audio API! William Turner and Steve Leonard showcase the basics of JavaScript language programing so that readers can learn how to build browser based audio applications, such as music synthesizers and drum machines. The companion website offers further opportunity for growth. Web Audio API instruction includes oscillators, audio file loading and playback, basic audio manipulation, panning and time. This book encompasses all of the basic features of JavaScript with aspects of the Web Audio API to heighten the capability of any browser. Key Features Uses the readers existing knowledge of audio technology to facilitate learning how to program using JavaScript. The teaching will be done through a series of annotated examples and explanations. Downloadable code examples and links to additional reference material included on the books companion website. This book makes learning programming more approachable to nonprofessional programmers The context of teaching JavaScript for the creative audio community in this manner does not exist anywhere else in the market and uses example-based teaching

This book has the unique intention of returning the mathematical tools of neural networks to the biological realm of the nervous system, where they originated a few decades ago. It aims to introduce, in a didactic manner, two relatively recent developments in neural network methodology, namely recurrence in the architecture and the use of spiking or integrate-and-fire neurons. In addition, the neuro-anatomical processes of synapse modification during development, training, and memory formation are discussed as realistic bases for weight-adjustment in neural networks. While neural networks have many applications outside biology, where it is irrelevant precisely which architecture and which algorithms are used, it is essential that there is a close relationship between the network's properties and whatever is the case in a neuro-biological phenomenon that is being modelled or simulated in terms of a neural network. A recurrent architecture, the use of spiking neurons and appropriate weight update rules contribute to the plausibility of a neural network in such a case. Therefore, in the first half of this book the foundations are laid for the application of neural networks as models for the various biological phenomena that are treated in the second half of this book. These include various neural network models of sensory and motor control tasks that implement one or several of the requirements for biological plausibility.

II Challenges in Data Mapping Part II deals with one of the most challenging tasks in Interactive Visualization, mapping and teasing out information from large complex datasets and generating visual representations. This section consists of four chapters. Binh Pham, Alex Streit, and Ross Brown provide a comprehensive requirement analysis of information uncertainty visualizations. They examine the sources of uncertainty, review aspects of its complexity, introduce typical models of uncertainty, and analyze major issues in visualization of uncertainty, from various user and task perspectives. Alfred Inselberg examines challenges in the multivariate data analysis. He explains how relations among multiple variables can be mapped uniquely into ?-space subsets having geometrical properties and introduces Parallel Coordinates meth- ology for the unambiguous visualization and exploration of a multidimensional geometry and multivariate relations. Christiaan Gribble describes two alternative approaches to interactive particle visualization: one targeting desktop systems equipped with programmable graphics hardware and the other targeting moderately sized multicore systems using pack- based ray tracing. Finally, Christof Rezk Salama reviews state-of-the-art strategies for the assignment of visual parameters in scientific visualization systems. He explains the process of mapping abstract data values into visual based on transfer functions, clarifies the terms of pre- and postclassification, and introduces the state-of-the-art user int- faces for the design of transfer functions.

This book is a status report. It provides a broad overview of the most recent developments in the field, spanning a wide range of topical areas in simulational condensed matter physics. These areas include recent developments in simulations of classical statistical mechanics models, electronic structure calculations, quantum simulations, and simulations of polymers. Both new physical results and novel simulational and data analysis methods are presented. Some of the highlights of this volume include detailed accounts of recent theoretical developments in electronic structure calculations, novel quantum simulation techniques and their applications to strongly interacting lattice fermion models, and a wide variety of applications of existing methods as well as novel methods in the simulation of classical statistical mechanics models, including spin glasses and polymers.

Social media is now ubiquitous on the internet, generating both new possibilities and new challenges in information analysis and retrieval.

This comprehensive text/reference examines in depth the synergy between multimedia content analysis, personalization, and next-generation networking. The book demonstrates how this integration can result in robust, personalized services that provide users with an improved multimedia-centric quality of experience. Each chapter offers a practical step-by-step walkthrough for a variety of concepts, components and technologies relating to the development of applications and services.

Topics and features: provides contributions from an international and interdisciplinary selection of experts in their fields; introduces the fundamentals of social media retrieval, presenting the most important areas of research in this domain; examines the important topic of multimedia tagging in social environments, including geo-tagging; discusses issues of personalization and privacy in social media; reviews advances in encoding, compression and network architectures for the exchange of social media information; describes a range of applications related to social media.

Researchers and students interested in social media retrieval will find this book a valuable resource, covering a broad overview of state-of-the-art research and emerging trends in this area. The text will also be of use to practicing engineers involved in envisioning and building innovative social media applications and services.

Agent-based modelling on a computer appears to have a special role to play in the development of social science. It offers a means of discovering general and applicable social theory, and grounding it in precise assumptions and derivations, whilst addressing those elements of individual cognition that are central to human society. However, there are important questions to be asked and difficulties to overcome in achieving this potential. What differentiates agent-based modelling from traditional computer modelling? Which model types should be used under which circumstances? If it is appropriate to use a complex model, how can it be validated? Is social simulation research to adopt a realist epistemology, or can it operate within a social constructionist framework? What are the sociological concepts of norms and norm processing that could either be used for planned implementation or for identifying equivalents of social norms among co-operative agents? Can sustainability be achieved more easily in a hierarchical agent society than in a society of isolated agents? What examples are there of hybrid forms of interaction between humans and artificial agents? These are some of the sociological questions that are addressed.

The book Multimedia for Accessible Human Computer Interfaces is to be the first resource to provide in-depth coverage on topical areas of multimedia computing (images, video, audio, speech, haptics, VR/AR, etc.) for accessible and inclusive human computer interfaces. Topics are grouped into thematic areas spanning the human senses: Vision, Hearing, Touch, as well as Multimodal applications. Each chapter is written by different multimedia researchers to provide complementary and multidisciplinary perspectives. Unlike other related books, which focus on guidelines for designing accessible interfaces, or are dated in their coverage of cutting edge multimedia technologies, Multimedia for Accessible Human Computer Interfaces takes an application-oriented approach to present a tour of how the field of multimedia is advancing access to human computer interfaces for individuals with disabilities. Under Theme 1 "Vision-based Technologies for Accessible Human Computer Interfaces", multimedia technologies to enhance access to interfaces through vision will be presented including: "A Framework for Gaze-contingent Interfaces", "Sign Language Recognition", "Fusion-based Image Enhancement and its Applications in Mobile Devices", and "Open-domain Textual Question Answering Systems". Under Theme 2 "Auditory Technologies for Accessible Human Computer Interfaces", multimedia technologies to enhance access to interfaces through hearing will be presented including: "Speech Recognition for Individuals with Voice Disorders" and "Socially Assistive Robots for Storytelling and Other Activities to Support Aging in Place". Under Theme 3 "Haptic Technologies for Accessible Human Computer Interfaces", multimedia technologies to enhance access to interfaces through haptics will be presented including: "Accessible Smart Coaching Technologies Inspired by Elderly Requisites" and "Haptic Mediators for Remote Interpersonal Communication". Under Theme 4 "Multimodal Technologies for Accessible Human Computer Interfaces", multimedia technologies to enhance access to interfaces through multiple modalities will be presented including: "Human-Machine Interfaces for Socially Connected Devices: From Smart Households to Smart Cities" and "Enhancing Situational Awareness and Kinesthetic Assistance for Clinicians via Augmented-Reality and Haptic Shared-Control Technologies".

This book examines the historical roots and evolution of simulation from an epistemological, institutional and technical perspective. Rich case studies go far beyond documentation of simulation 's capacity for application in many domains; they also explore the "functional" and "structural" debate that continues to traverse simulation thought and action. This book is an essential contribution to the assessment of simulation as scientific instrument.

Computational finance deals with the mathematics of computer programs that realize financial models or systems. This book outlines the epistemic risks associated with the current valuations of different financial instruments and discusses the corresponding risk management strategies. It covers most of the research and practical areas in computational finance. Starting from traditional fundamental analysis and using algebraic and geometric tools, it is guided by the logic of science to explore information from financial data without prejudice. In fact, this book has the unique feature that it is structured around the simple requirement of objective science: the geometric structure of the data = the information contained in the data.

Computational finance deals with the mathematics of computer programs that realize financial models or systems. This book outlines the epistemic risks associated with the current valuations of different financial instruments and discusses the corresponding risk management strategies. It covers most of the research and practical areas in computational finance. Starting from traditional fundamental analysis and using algebraic and geometric tools, it is guided by the logic of science to explore information from financial data without prejudice. In fact, this book has the unique feature that it is structured around the simple requirement of objective science: the geometric structure of the data = the information contained in the data.

Fundamental solutions in understanding information have been elusive for a long time. The field of Artificial Intelligence has proposed the Turing Test as a way to test for the "smart" behaviors of computer programs that exhibit human-like qualities. Equivalent to the Turing Test for the field of Human Information Interaction (HII), getting information to the people that need them and helping them to understand the information is the new challenge of the Web era. In a short amount of time, the infrastructure of the Web became ubiquitious not just in terms of protocols and transcontinental cables but also in terms of everyday devices capable of recalling network-stored data, sometimes wire lessly. Therefore, as these infrastructures become reality, our attention on HII issues needs to shift from information access to information sensemaking, a relatively new term coined to describe the process of digesting information and understanding its structure and intricacies so as to make decisions and take action.

The objective of this monograph is to improve the performance of the sentiment analysis model by incorporating the semantic, syntactic and common-sense knowledge. This book proposes a novel semantic concept extraction approach that uses dependency relations between words to extract the features from the text. Proposed approach combines the semantic and common-sense knowledge for the better understanding of the text. In addition, the book aims to extract prominent features from the unstructured text by eliminating the noisy, irrelevant and redundant features. Readers will also discover a proposed method for efficient dimensionality reduction to alleviate the data sparseness problem being faced by machine learning model. Authors pay attention to the four main findings of the book : -Performance of the sentiment analysis can be improved by reducing the redundancy among the features. Experimental results show that minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance (mRMR) feature selection technique improves the performance of the sentiment analysis by eliminating the redundant features. - Boolean Multinomial Naive Bayes (BMNB) machine learning algorithm with mRMR feature selection technique performs better than Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier for sentiment analysis. - The problem of data sparseness is alleviated by semantic clustering of features, which in turn improves the performance of the sentiment analysis. - Semantic relations among the words in the text have useful cues for sentiment analysis. Common-sense knowledge in form of ConceptNet ontology acquires knowledge, which provides a better understanding of the text that improves the performance of the sentiment analysis.

Introduction The exponential scaling of feature sizes in semiconductor technologies has side-effects on layout optimization, related to effects such as inter connect delay, noise and crosstalk, signal integrity, parasitics effects, and power dissipation, that invalidate the assumptions that form the basis of previous design methodologies and tools. This book is intended to sample the most important, contemporary, and advanced layout opti mization problems emerging with the advent of very deep submicron technologies in semiconductor processing. We hope that it will stimulate more people to perform research that leads to advances in the design and development of more efficient, effective, and elegant algorithms and design tools. Organization of the Book The book is organized as follows. A multi-stage simulated annealing algorithm that integrates floorplanning and interconnect planning is pre sented in Chapter 1. To reduce the run time, different interconnect plan ning approaches are applied in different ranges of temperatures. Chapter 2 introduces a new design methodology - the interconnect-centric design methodology and its centerpiece, interconnect planning, which consists of physical hierarchy generation, floorplanning with interconnect planning, and interconnect architecture planning. Chapter 3 investigates a net-cut minimization based placement tool, Dragon, which integrates the state of the art partitioning and placement techniques."

Soft City Culture and Technology: The Betaville Project discusses the complete cycle of conception, development, and deployment of the Betaville platform.

Betaville is a massively participatory online environment for distributed 3D design and development of proposals for changes to the built environment an experimental integration of art, design, and software development for the public realm. Through a detailed account of Betaville from a Big Crazy Idea to a working "deep social medium," the author examines the current conditions of performance and accessibility of hardware, software, networks, and skills that can be brought together into a new form of open public design and deliberation space, for and spanning and integrating the disparate spheres of art, architecture, social media, and engineering.

Betaville is an ambitious enterprise, of building compelling and constructive working relationships in situations where roles and disciplinary boundaries must be as agile as the development process of the software itself. Through a considered account and analysis of the interdependencies between Betaville's project design, development methods, and deployment, the reader can gain a deeper understanding of the potential socio-technical forms of New Soft Cities: blended virtual-physical worlds, whose "public works" must ultimately serve and succeed as massively collaborative works of art and infrastructure."

Medical imaging is an important topic which is generally recognised as key to better diagnosis and patient care. It has experienced an explosive growth over the last few years due to imaging modalities such as X-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and ultrasound.This book focuses primarily on state-of-the-art model-based segmentation techniques which are applied to cardiac, brain, breast and microscopic cancer cell imaging. It includes contributions from authors based in both industry and academia and presents a host of new material including algorithms for:- brain segmentation applied to MR;- neuro-application using MR; - parametric and geometric deformable models for brain segmentation;- left ventricle segmentation and analysis using least squares and constrained least squares models for cardiac X-rays; - left ventricle analysis in echocardioangiograms;- breast lesion detection in digital mammograms;detection of cells in cell images.As an overview of the latest techniques, this book will be of particular interest to students and researchers in medical engineering, image processing, computer graphics, mathematical modelling and data analysis. It will also be of interest to researchers in the fields of mammography, cardiology, pathology and neurology.