Solving pattern recognition problems involves an enormous amount of computational effort. By applying genetic algorithms - a computational method based on the way chromosomes in DNA recombine - these problems are more efficiently and more accurately solved. Genetic Algorithms for Pattern Recognition covers a broad range of applications in science and technology, describing the integration of genetic algorithms in pattern recognition and machine learning problems to build intelligent recognition systems. The articles, written by leading experts from around the world, accomplish several objectives: they provide insight into the theory of genetic algorithms; they develop pattern recognition theory in light of genetic algorithms; and they illustrate applications in artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic. The cross-sectional view of current research presented in Genetic Algorithms for Pattern Recognition makes it a unique text, ideal for graduate students and researchers.

The U.S. healthcare system is in "complete chaos-disarray." Medical costs have increased significantly over the past 6 years with 70% increase for deductibles and 24% or more for health insurance premiums. All the while, workers earnings have either not increased or if they did, the pay raises were for less than the increase in the cost of medical care. The situation is unsustainable and the public wants the system fixed. This book offers ways of fixing the problems in healthcare. HEALTHCARE's OUT SICK - PREDICTING A CURE - Solutions that WORK !!!! first defines the "healthcare in crisis" problem. Through real patient experiences, the book describes the difficulties of getting through the maze of complexity among the plethora of "silo providers" which make up the industry. The heart of the book provides readers with a comprehensive solution that can work, a disruption that is necessary to provide Americans the medical care they need without the US public and healthcare providers and payors going into bankruptcy, insolvency or closure. This book delves into digitized medicine, payor and provider reimbursement models, and value-based healthcare delivery. It also includes a philosophy or mode of thinking and operation for the solutions that are needed for diagnosis-effective, cost-effective, and time-efficient healthcare delivery, of which digitized medicine, value-based care, and payor reimbursement modes are just some of the factors. The authors propose that the real solution involves having the patient at the center of the issues and changing from an archaic gold standard way of thinking to a "Predictive Analytic thinking" where one gets at the real truth by doing "real science" that in the end becomes effective not only for the population but for the individual person. This all leads to real person-centered and person-directed medicine and healthcare delivery.

This book presents new original numerical methods that have been developed to the stage of concrete algorithms and successfully applied to practical problems in mathematical physics. The book discusses new methods for solving stiff systems of ordinary differential equations, stiff elliptic problems encountered in problems of composite material mechanics, Navier-Stokes systems, and nonstationary problems with discontinuous data. These methods allow natural paralleling of algorithms and will find many applications in vector and parallel computers.

In this age of Big Data and analytics, knowledge gained through experiential learning and intuition may be taking a back seat to analytics. However, the use of intuition should not be underestimated and should play an important role in the decision process. How Well Do Executives Trust Their Intuition covers the Fulbright research study conducted by this international team of editors. The main question of their investigation is: How well do executives trust their intuition? In other words, do they typically prefer intuition over analysis and analytics. And equally importantly, what types of intuition may be most favorable looking at different variables? The research utilizes survey and biometrics approaches with C-level executives from Canada, U.S., Poland, and Italy. In addition, the book contains chapters from leading executives in industry, academia, and government. Their insights provide examples of how their intuition enabled key decisions that they made. This book covers such topics as: Using intuition How gender, experience, role, industry, and country affect intuition Trust and intuition in management Trusting intuition It's a matter of heart Leadership intuition and the future of work Creating an intuitive awareness for executives Improvisation and instinct. The book explores how executives can use intuition to guide decision making. It also explains how to trust intuition-based decisions. How Well Do Executives Trust Their Intuition is a timely and prescient reminder in this age of data-driven analytics that human insight, instinct, and intuition should also play key roles.

Explaining how going green can pay for itself, Green Computing: Tools and Techniques for Saving Energy, Money, and Resources ties the green agenda in IT to the broader corporate agenda in risk management, brand management, and reputation management. Written by a leading author in the IT field, this authoritative reference provides easy access to quotable budget justifications that readers can use to place IT stakeholders on the same page for this new agenda that can save valuable resources and the planet. Bringing together everything IT professionals need to know about green computing, the book embodies a new philosophy on how to deploy IT devices, software, and services in a way that makes people more effective with fewer resources. It presents helpful tips on how to maximize energy savings as well as how to present information gradually to allow peers and stakeholders to absorb it. The book's comprehensive coverage includes various types of hardware and software, including the changes currently happening, underlying trends, products currently on the market, and what to expect-or, in some cases, what organizations should ask for-from suppliers in the future. On the hardware side, the book considers tablet computers-examining the iPad (R) and Android (R)-based tablets. On the software side, it examines the general trend toward cloud computing. It provides important examples of this rapidly emerging trend as well as guidance on how to use the cloud to make software available and to store large amounts of data. Demonstrating the savings and increased business resiliency that can result from green computing, this book offers C-suite executives, senior IT management, project managers, suppliers, and market analysts with the tools required to understand why you need to act, how to act, what to buy, when to do it, and who should act.

Project Management: Theory and Practice, Third Edition gives students a broad and real flavor of project management. Bringing project management to life, it avoids being too sterilely academic and too narrowly focused on a particular industry view. It takes a model-based approach towards project management commonly used in all industries. The textbook aligns with the latest version of the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK (R)) Guide, which is considered to be the de facto standard for project management. However, it avoids that standard's verbiage and presents students with readable and understandable explanations. Core chapters align with the Project Management Institute's model as well as explain how this model fits real-world projects. The textbook can be used as companion to the standard technical model and help those studying for various project management certifications. The textbook takes an in-depth look at the following areas important to the standard model: Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) Earned Value Management (EVM) Enterprise project management Portfolio management (PPM) Professional responsibility and ethics Agile life cycle The text begins with a background section (Chapters 1-9) containing material outside of the standard model structure but necessary to prepare students for the 10 standard model knowledge areas covered in the chapters that follow. The text is rounded out by eight concluding chapters that explain advanced planning approaches models and projects' external environments. Recognizing that project management is an evolving field, the textbook includes section written by industry experts who share their insight and expertise on cutting-edge topics. It prepares students for upcoming trends and changes in project management while providing an overview of the project management environment today. In addition to guiding students through current models and standards, Project Management: Theory and Practice, Third Edition prepares students for the future by stimulating their thinking beyond the accepted pragmatic view.

In this ground-breaking book, Cambridge-trained sociologist Anthony Elliott argues that much of what passes for conventional wisdom about artificial intelligence is either ill-considered or plain wrong. The reason? The AI revolution is not so much about cyborgs and super-robots in the future, but rather massive changes in the here-and-now of everyday life. In The Culture of AI, Elliott explores how intelligent machines, advanced robotics, accelerating automation, big data and the Internet of Everything impact upon day-to-day life and contemporary societies. With remarkable clarity and insight, Elliott's examination of the reordering of everyday life highlights the centrality of AI to everything we do - from receiving Amazon recommendations to requesting Uber, and from getting information from virtual personal assistants to talking with chatbots. The rise of intelligent machines transforms the global economy and threatens jobs, but equally there are other major challenges to contemporary societies - although these challenges are unfolding in complex and uneven ways across the globe. The Culture of AI explores technological innovations from industrial robots to softbots, and from self-driving cars to military drones - and along the way provides detailed treatments of: The history of AI and the advent of the digital universe; automated technology, jobs and employment; the self and private life in times of accelerating machine intelligence; AI and new forms of social interaction; automated vehicles and new warfare; and, the future of AI. Written by one of the world's foremost social theorists, The Culture of AI is a major contribution to the field and a provocative reflection on one of the most urgent issues of our time. It will be essential reading to those working in a wide variety of disciplines including sociology, science and technology studies, politics, and cultural studies.

In this new era of computing, where the iPhone, iPad, Xbox Kinect, and similar devices have changed the way to interact with computers, many questions have risen about how modern input devices can be used for a more intuitive user interaction. Interaction Design for 3D User Interfaces: The World of Modern Input Devices for Research, Applications, and Game Development addresses this paradigm shift by looking at user interfaces from an input perspective. The book is divided into four parts: Theory of input devices and user interfaces, with an emphasis on multi-touch interaction Advanced topics on reducing noise on input devices using Kalman Filters A collection of hands-on approaches that allows the reader to gain experience with some devices A case study examining speech as input Most of the chapters contain exercises that provide practical experience to enhance knowledge of the material in the related chapter. With its hands-on approach and the affordability of the required hardware, this book is an excellent flexible resource for both the novice and the expert in 3D user input device development. Researchers and practitioners will gain a much deeper understanding about user input devices and user interfaces. Game developers and software designers will find new techniques to improve their products by adding intuitive user interaction mechanisms to their games and applications. In addition to the resources provided in the book, its companion website, http://3DInputBook.com, provides additional resources, which include: additional exercises and project ideas, additional chapters, source code, and class instructors' resources. The additional resources are provided to keep helping you with new research and new technology as it becomes available to help you stay up to date.

Business managers have long known the power of the Balanced Scorecard in executing corporate strategy. Implementing the Project Management Balanced Scorecard shows project managers how they too can use this framework to meet strategic objectives. It supplies valuable insight into the project management process as a whole and provides detailed explanations on how to effectively implement the balanced scorecard to measure and manage performance and projects. The book details a tactical approach for implementing the scorecard approach at the project level and investigates numerous sample scorecards, metrics, and techniques. It examines recent research on critical issues such as performance measurement and management, continuous process improvement, benchmarking, metrics selection, and people management. It also explains how to integrate these issues with the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard: customer, business processes, learning and innovation, and financial. Filled with examples and case histories, the book directly relates the scorecard concept to the major project management steps of determining scope, scheduling, estimation, risk management, procurement, and project termination. It includes a plethora of resources on the accompanying downloadable resources-including detailed instructions for developing a measurement program, a full metrics guide, a sample project plan, and a set of project management fill-in forms.

Nanoengineering, Quantum Sciences, and Nanotechnology Handbook provides a consistent coverage to a broad spectrum of issues in nanoscale electronics, energy sources and materials. Basic fundamentals, recent innovations, novel solutions, emerging technologies, far-reaching developments, and new paradigms are covered in the book. The Handbook's chapters document practical solutions with applications. The contributed chapters focus on balanced coverage on technology frontiers, envisioned innovations and discoveries with substantiation and justifications towards technology developments.

A lively and engaging look at logic puzzles and their role in mathematics, philosophy, and recreation Logic puzzles were first introduced to the public by Lewis Carroll in the late nineteenth century and have been popular ever since. Games like Sudoku and Mastermind are fun and engrossing recreational activities, but they also share deep foundations in mathematical logic and are worthy of serious intellectual inquiry. Games for Your Mind explores the history and future of logic puzzles while enabling you to test your skill against a variety of puzzles yourself. In this informative and entertaining book, Jason Rosenhouse begins by introducing readers to logic and logic puzzles and goes on to reveal the rich history of these puzzles. He shows how Carroll's puzzles presented Aristotelian logic as a game for children, yet also informed his scholarly work on logic. He reveals how another pioneer of logic puzzles, Raymond Smullyan, drew on classic puzzles about liars and truthtellers to illustrate Kurt Goedel's theorems and illuminate profound questions in mathematical logic. Rosenhouse then presents a new vision for the future of logic puzzles based on nonclassical logic, which is used today in computer science and automated reasoning to manipulate large and sometimes contradictory sets of data. Featuring a wealth of sample puzzles ranging from simple to extremely challenging, this lively and engaging book brings together many of the most ingenious puzzles ever devised, including the "Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever," metapuzzles, paradoxes, and the logic puzzles in detective stories.

Technological advance affects almost all areas of human life. Rapid digitization, increased mobility, new biotechnologies, and nanotechnology deeply influence, amongst others, industrial production, entertainment, work, military affairs, and individual life. Besides overwhelmingly positive effects on wealth, comfort, innovation, and development, this also raises questions of unintended effects, of tensions with democracy, of the role of citizens, and of its sustainability facing environmental issues. Tools and procedures are needed to cope with this challenging situation. Technology assessment (TA) has been developed more than fifty years ago to enable science, the economy, and society to harvest the potential of new technology to the maximum extent possible and to deal responsibly with possible adverse effects. It was developed more than 50 years ago in the U.S. Congress and has diversified considerably in the meantime. Parliamentary TA in many European states and at the international level, participatory TA at the local and regional levels worldwide, and TA as part of engineering processes are the most relevant fields today. Technology assessment is a growing field of interdisciplinary research and scientific policy advice. This volume (a) gives an overview of motivations of TA, its history and its current practices, (b) develops a fresh theoretical perspective on TA rooted in social theory and philosophy, and (c) draws conclusions from the theoretical perspective for the further development of TA's practices. It provides the first comprehensive view on the growing field of TA at the international level.

This unique and useful textbook presents a comprehensive review of the essentials of image data mining, and the latest cutting-edge techniques used in the field. The coverage spans all aspects of image analysis and understanding, offering deep insights into areas of feature extraction, machine learning, and image retrieval. The theoretical coverage is supported by practical mathematical models and algorithms, utilizing data from real-world examples and experiments. Topics and features: Describes essential tools for image mining, covering Fourier transforms, Gabor filters, and contemporary wavelet transforms Develops many new exercises (most with MATLAB code and instructions) Includes review summaries at the end of each chapter Analyses state-of-the-art models, algorithms, and procedures for image mining Integrates new sections on pre-processing, discrete cosine transform, and statistical inference and testing Demonstrates how features like color, texture, and shape can be mined or extracted for image representation Applies powerful classification approaches: Bayesian classification, support vector machines, neural networks, and decision trees Implements imaging techniques for indexing, ranking, and presentation, as well as database visualization This easy-to-follow, award-winning book illuminates how concepts from fundamental and advanced mathematics can be applied to solve a broad range of image data mining problems encountered by students and researchers of computer science. Students of mathematics and other scientific disciplines will also benefit from the applications and solutions described in the text, together with the hands-on exercises that enable the reader to gain first-hand experience of computing.

Following in the tradition of its popular predecessor, A Practical Guide to Content Delivery Networks, Second Edition offers an accessible and organized approach to implementing networks capable of handling the increasing data requirements of today's always on mobile society. Describing how content delivery networks (CDN) function, it provides an understanding of Web architecture, as well as an overview of the TCP/IP protocol suite. The book reports on the development of the technologies that have evolved over the past decade as distribution mechanisms for various types of Web content. Using a structural and visual approach, it provides step-by-step guidance through the process of setting up a scalable CDN. Supplies a clear understanding of the framework and individual layers of design, including caching and load balancing Describes the terminology, tactics, and potential problems when implementing a CDN Examines cost-effective ways to load balance web service layers Explains how application servers connect to databases and how systems will scale as volume increases Illustrates the impact of video on data storage and delivery, as well as the need for data compression Covers Flash and the emerging HTML5 standard for video Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages associated with these types of networks, the book explains how to use the networks within the Internet operated by various ISPs as mechanisms for effectively delivering Web server based information. It emphasizes a best-of-breed approach to building your network to allow for an effective CDN to be built on practically any budget. To help you get started, this vendor-neutral reference explains how to code Web pages to optimize the delivery of various types of media. It also includes examples of successful approaches, from outsourcing to do it yourself.

The use of new information and communication technologies both inside the courts and in private online dispute resolution services is quickly changing everyday conflict management. However, the implications of the increasingly disruptive role of technology in dispute resolution remain largely undiscussed. In this book, assistant professor of law and digitalisation Riikka Koulu examines the multifaceted phenomenon of dispute resolution technology, focusing specifically on private enforcement, which modern technology enables on an unforeseen scale. The increase in private enforcement confounds legal structures and challenges the nation-state's monopoly on violence. And, in this respect, the author argues that the technology-driven privatisation of enforcement - from direct enforcement of e-commerce platforms to self-executing smart contracts in the blockchain - brings the ethics of law's coercive nature out into the open. This development constitutes a new, and dangerous, grey area of conflict management, which calls for transparency and public debate on the ethical implications of dispute resolution technology.

With the majority of IT projects being delivered late, over budget, or cancelled altogether, it is clear that traditional project management methodologies do not provide an effective framework for today's IT projects. It is evident that a new Return-on-Investment (ROI) oriented approach is required that focuses on the ROI of a project from its inception. Maximizing Benefits from IT Project Management: From Requirements to Value Delivery provides comprehensive guidelines for determining an accurate ROI before the project has progressed to the point where it's over budget and over-run. It applies an iterative approach to the entire project management life cycle that re-visits the ROI, re-assesses the value delivered, defines the project scope, and allows the project to be planned as successive iterations based on the value delivered. This book details a systematic and simplified approach for effectively and efficiently selecting and evaluating IT projects for your organization. Filled with equations, tables, and figures that facilitate understanding, it explains how to evaluate subsequent success of a project so that it is simpler to manage, more efficient, and yields the ROI estimated at the outset. Using the novel approach outlined in the book, you will be able to deliver value throughout the project life cycle and make sure your projects are delivered on time, on budget, and within the constraints of the resources available.

Presenting the work of prominent researchers working on smart grids and related fields around the world, Security and Privacy in Smart Grids identifies state-of-the-art approaches and novel technologies for smart grid communication and security. It investigates the fundamental aspects and applications of smart grid security and privacy and reports on the latest advances in the range of related areas-making it an ideal reference for students, researchers, and engineers in these fields. The book explains grid security development and deployment and introduces novel approaches for securing today's smart grids. Supplying an overview of recommendations for a technical smart grid infrastructure, the book describes how to minimize power consumption and utility expenditure in data centers. It also: Details the challenges of cybersecurity for smart grid communication infrastructures Covers the regulations and standards relevant to smart grid security Explains how to conduct vulnerability assessments for substation automation systems Considers smart grid automation, SCADA system security, and smart grid security in the last mile The book's chapters work together to provide you with a framework for implementing effective security through this growing system. Numerous figures, illustrations, graphs, and charts are included to aid in comprehension. With coverage that includes direct attacks, smart meters, and attacks via networks, this versatile reference presents actionable suggestions you can put to use immediately to prevent such attacks.

This discounted two-book set contains BOTH: Fundamentals of Image, Audio, and Video Processing Using MATLAB (R) introduces the concepts and principles of media processing and its applications in pattern recognition by adopting a hands-on approach using program implementations. The book covers the tools and techniques for reading, modifying, and writing image, audio, and video files using the data analysis and visualization tool MATLAB (R). This is a perfect companion for graduate and post-graduate students studying courses on image processing, speech and language processing, signal processing, video object detection and tracking, and related multimedia technologies, with a focus on practical implementations using programming constructs and skill developments. It will also appeal to researchers in the field of pattern recognition, computer vision and content-based retrieval, and for students of MATLAB (R) courses dealing with media processing, statistical analysis, and data visualization. Fundamentals of Graphics Using MATLAB (R) introduces fundamental concepts and principles of 2D and 3D graphics and is written for undergraduate and postgraduate students of computer science, graphics, multimedia, and data science. It demonstrates the use of MATLAB (R) programming for solving problems related to graphics and discusses a variety of visualization tools to generate graphs and plots. The book covers important concepts like transformation, projection, surface generation, parametric representation, curve fitting, interpolation, vector representation, and texture mapping, all of which can be used in a wide variety of educational and research fields. Theoretical concepts are illustrated using a large number of practical examples and programming codes, which can be used to visualize and verify the results.

Public Policy Analytics: Code & Context for Data Science in Government teaches readers how to address complex public policy problems with data and analytics using reproducible methods in R. Each of the eight chapters provides a detailed case study, showing readers: how to develop exploratory indicators; understand 'spatial process' and develop spatial analytics; how to develop 'useful' predictive analytics; how to convey these outputs to non-technical decision-makers through the medium of data visualization; and why, ultimately, data science and 'Planning' are one and the same. A graduate-level introduction to data science, this book will appeal to researchers and data scientists at the intersection of data analytics and public policy, as well as readers who wish to understand how algorithms will affect the future of government.

Contributions from leading international experts in the field. Discusses open questions and urgent needs. Covers a broad spectrum of topics including evolution, structure, and function of viruses, including coronaviruses.

This book contains a number of elementary ideas on numbers, their representations, interesting arithmetical problems and their analytical solutions, fundamentals of computers and programming plus programming solutions as an alternative to the analytical solutions and much more. Spanning seven chapters, this book, while keeping its lucid storytelling verve, describes integers, real numbers and numerous interesting properties and historical references; followed by a good collection of arithmetic problems and their analytical solutions. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Written by high performance computing (HPC) experts, Introduction to High Performance Computing for Scientists and Engineers provides a solid introduction to current mainstream computer architecture, dominant parallel programming models, and useful optimization strategies for scientific HPC. From working in a scientific computing center, the authors gained a unique perspective on the requirements and attitudes of users as well as manufacturers of parallel computers. The text first introduces the architecture of modern cache-based microprocessors and discusses their inherent performance limitations, before describing general optimization strategies for serial code on cache-based architectures. It next covers shared- and distributed-memory parallel computer architectures and the most relevant network topologies. After discussing parallel computing on a theoretical level, the authors show how to avoid or ameliorate typical performance problems connected with OpenMP. They then present cache-coherent non-uniform memory access (ccNUMA) optimization techniques, examine distributed-memory parallel programming with message passing interface (MPI), and explain how to write efficient MPI code. The final chapter focuses on hybrid programming with MPI and OpenMP. Users of high performance computers often have no idea what factors limit time to solution and whether it makes sense to think about optimization at all. This book facilitates an intuitive understanding of performance limitations without relying on heavy computer science knowledge. It also prepares readers for studying more advanced literature. Read about the authors' recent honor: Informatics Europe Curriculum Best Practices Award for Parallelism and Concurrency.

*Covers not just the basics of storytelling with data but also the more complex issues of data searching, cleaning and scraping from a journalist's, rather than a computer scientist's, perspective. *Data Journalism courses are taught at BA and MA level on most Journalism degrees around the world, both as compulsory and elective modules. *Mike Reilley is a leading authority in this area- he founded the Journalist's Toolbox newsletter which shares digital and data tools and has over 51k followers on Twitter, so his name will draw a lot of attention to this book.

This book presents an introduction to strategies for qualitative digital social research on emotions in a digital world. The book emphasizes the connections that exist between emotional ecologies, emotions as texts, and the virtual / mobile / digital world that brings us closer to a hermeneutics of the practices of feeling. In the context of 'Society 4.0', the book explores: Changes in the organization of daily life and work in virtual, mobile and digital environments. The impact of apps and social networks on sensations, emotions and sensibilities. Necessary changes in social research to employ the power of these apps and networks for social enquiry. As such, this book shares a set of social inquiry practices developed and applied to capture and understand emotions today. It should be considered as a first step in a long journey of exploring the close connections between sensibilities, emotions, and social research methodology. The book will appeal to students and instructors of emotion studies from across the social sciences, including sociology, psychology, organization studies, ethnography, history, and political science.