Globalization has pushed the use of technology in business with advancing information and communication technology becoming a key factor in the future development of the retailing industry. Technology applications have significantly contributed to the exponential growth and profits of retailing institutions worldwide. ""Information Communication Technologies and Globalization of Retailing Applications"" critically examines the synergy of technology use and conventional wisdom in retailing and explores contemporary changes determining higher customer value. Discussions in this book encompass strategy implications for managers to optimize their advantage in retailing through the application of ICT, bridging the customer-technology gap.

This book contains the combined proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing Application and Wireless Sensor Network (UCAWSN-15) and the 16th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing, Applications and Technologies (PDCAT-15). The combined proceedings present peer-reviewed contributions from academic and industrial researchers in fields including ubiquitous and context-aware computing, context-awareness reasoning and representation, location awareness services, and architectures, protocols and algorithms, energy, management and control of wireless sensor networks. The book includes the latest research results, practical developments and applications in parallel/distributed architectures, wireless networks and mobile computing, formal methods and programming languages, network routing and communication algorithms, database applications and data mining, access control and authorization and privacy preserving computation.

This pioneering book develops definitions and concepts related to Quality of Experience in the context of multimedia- and telecommunications-related applications, systems and services and applies these to various fields of communication and media technologies. The editors bring together numerous key-protagonists of the new discipline Quality of Experience and combine the state-of-the-art knowledge in one single volume."

With the popularity of the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standard 802.11 WiFi and the growing interest in the next generation Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) standard 802.16 WiMax, the need for effective solutions to the inherent security weaknesses of these networking technologies has become of critical importance. Thoroughly explaining the risks associated with deploying WLAN and WMAN networks, this groundbreaking book offers professionals practical insight into identifying and overcoming these security issues. Including detailed descriptions of possible solutions to a number of specific security problems, the book gives practitioners the hands-on techniques that they need to secure wireless networks in the enterprise and the home.

This book presents the theory of electromagnetic (EM) waves for upper undergraduate, graduate and PhD-level students in engineering. It focuses on physics and microwave theory based on Maxwell's equations and the boundary conditions important for studying the operation of waveguides and resonators in a wide frequency range, namely, from approx. 10**9 to 10**16 hertz. The author also highlights various current topics in EM field theory, such as plasmonic (comprising a noble metal) waveguides and analyses of attenuations by filled waveguide dielectrics or semiconductors and also by conducting waveguide walls. Featuring a wide variety of illustrations, the book presents the calculated and schematic distributions of EM fields and currents in waveguides and resonators. Further, test questions are presented at the end of each chapter.

This book reports the latest findings on intelligent energy management of Internet data centers in smart-grid environments. The book gathers novel research ideas in Internet data center energy management, especially scenarios with cyber-related vulnerabilities, power outages and carbon emission constraints. The book will be of interest to university researchers, R&D engineers and graduate students in communication and networking areas who wish to learn the core principles, methods, algorithms, and applications of energy management of Internet data centers in smart grids.

The proceedings collect the latest research trends, methods and experimental results in the field of electrical and information technologies for rail transportation. The topics cover intelligent computing, information processing, communication technology, automatic control, and their applications in rail transportation etc. The proceedings can be a valuable reference work for researchers and graduate students working in rail transportation, electrical engineering and information technologies.

This book systematizes recent research work on variable-structure control. It is self-contained, presenting necessary mathematical preliminaries so that the theoretical developments can be easily understood by a broad readership. The text begins with an introduction to the fundamental ideas of variable-structure control pertinent to their application in complex nonlinear systems. In the core of the book, the authors lay out an approach, suitable for a large class of systems, that deals with system uncertainties with nonlinear bounds. Its treatment of complex systems in which limited measurement information is available makes the results developed convenient to implement. Various case-study applications are described, from aerospace, through power systems to river pollution control with supporting simulations to aid the transition from mathematical theory to engineering practicalities. The book addresses systems with nonlinearities, time delays and interconnections and considers issues such as stabilization, observer design, and fault detection and isolation. It makes extensive use of numerical and practical examples to render its ideas more readily absorbed. Variable-Structure Control of Complex Systems will be of interest to academic researchers studying control theory and its application in nonlinear, time-delayed an modular large-scale systems; the robustness of its approach will also be attractive to control engineers working in industries associate with aerospace, electrical and mechanical engineering.

This book presents high-performance data transmission over plastic optical fibers (POF) using integrated optical receivers having good properties with multilevel modulation, i.e. a higher sensitivity and higher data rate transmission over a longer plastic optical fiber length. Integrated optical receivers and transmitters with high linearity are introduced for multilevel communication. For binary high-data rate transmission over plastic optical fibers, an innovative receiver containing an equalizer is described leading also to a high performance of a plastic optical fiber link. The cheap standard PMMA SI-POF (step-index plastic optical fiber) has the lowest bandwidth and the highest attenuation among multimode fibers. This small bandwidth limits the maximum data rate which can be transmitted through plastic optical fibers. To overcome the problem of the plastic optical fibers high transmission loss, very sensitive receivers must be used to increase the transmitted length over POF. The plastic optical fiber limited bandwidth problem can be decreased by using multilevel signaling like multilevel pulse amplitude modulation or by using an equalizer for binary data transmission.

This book primarily illustrates the rationale, design and technical realization/verification for the cooperative guidance and control systems (CGCSs) of missile autonomous formation (MAF). From the seven functions to the five major compositions of CGCS, the book systematically explains the theory and modeling, analysis, synthesis and design of CGCSs for MAF, including bionics-based theories. Further, the book addresses how to create corresponding digital simulation analysis systems, as well as hardware in the loop (HIL) simulation test systems and flight test systems, to evaluate the combat effectiveness of MAF. Lastly, it provides detailed information on digital simulation analysis for a large range of wind tunnel test data, as well as test results of HIL system simulations and embedded systems testing.

As electronic designers pack more and more circuits onto a single chip to create increasingly complex devices, they run into a daunting obstacle: intermodulation distortion. This distortion occurs when are circuits are too closely placed together and their operating frequencies begin to interfere with each other. This manual addresses all aspects of intermodulation distortion. From the basics of circuit design, to cutting-edge techniques, it offers practitioners hands-on guidance for their challenging projects.

Hardware Based Packet Classification for High Speed Internet Routers presents the most recent developments in hardware based packet classification algorithms and architectures. This book describes five methods which reduce the space that classifiers occupy within TCAMs; TCAM Razor, All-Match Redundancy Removal, Bit Weaving, Sequential Decomposition, and Topological Transformations. These methods demonstrate that in most cases a substantial reduction of space is achieved. Case studies and examples are provided throughout this book. About this book: * Presents the only book in the market that exclusively covers hardware based packet classification algorithms and architectures. * Describes five methods which reduce the space that classifiers occupy within TCAMs: TCAM Razor, All-Match Redundancy Removal, Bit Weaving, Sequential Decomposition, and Topological Transformations. * Provides case studies and examples throughout. Hardware Based Packet Classification for High Speed Internet Routers is designed for professionals and researchers who work within the related field of router design. Advanced-level students concentrating on computer science and electrical engineering will also find this book valuable as a text or reference book.

A handbook for technicians, applying knowledge of important wireless communications technologies to the real-world situations that technicians encounter every day. This second edition features material on such critical technologies as GPRS, EDGE, CDMA-2000 and WCDMA, and includes an introduction to network design and performance issues.

"Fault Detection and Isolation: Multi-Vehicle Unmanned System" deals with the design and development of fault detection and isolation algorithms for unmanned vehicles such as spacecraft, aerial drones and other related vehicles. Addressing fault detection and isolation is a key step towards designing autonomous, fault-tolerant cooperative control of networks of unmanned systems. This book proposes a solution based on a geometric approach, and presents new theoretical findings for fault detection and isolation in Markovian jump systems. Also discussed are the effects of large environmental disturbances, as well as communication channels, on unmanned systems. The book proposes novel solutions to difficulties like robustness issues, as well as communication channel anomalies. "Fault Detection and Isolation: Multi-Vehicle Unmanned System" is an ideal book for researchers and engineers working in the fields of fault detection, as well as networks of unmanned vehicles.

This book proposes a data-driven methodology using multi-way data analysis for the design of video-quality metrics. It also enables video- quality metrics to be created using arbitrary features. This data- driven design approach not only requires no detailed knowledge of the human visual system, but also allows a proper consideration of the temporal nature of video using a three-way prediction model, corresponding to the three-way structure of video. Using two simple example metrics, the author demonstrates not only that this purely data- driven approach outperforms state-of-the-art video-quality metrics, which are often optimized for specific properties of the human visual system, but also that multi-way data analysis methods outperform the combination of two-way data analysis methods and temporal pooling.

"Introducing Spoken Dialogue Systems into Intelligent Environments "outlines the formalisms of a novel knowledge-driven framework for spoken dialogue management and presents the implementation ofa model-based Adaptive Spoken Dialogue Manager(ASDM) called OwlSpeak. The authors have identified three stakeholders thatpotentially influence the behavior of the ASDM: the user, the SDS, and a complex Intelligent Environment (IE) consisting of various devices, services, and task descriptions.
The theoretical foundation of a working ontology-based spoken dialogue description framework, the prototype implementation of the ASDM, and the evaluation activities that are presented as part of this book contribute to the ongoing spoken dialogue research by establishing the fertile ground of model-based adaptive spoken dialogue management.
Thismonograph is ideal for advanced undergraduate students, PhD students, and postdocs as well as academic and industrial researchers and developers in speech and multimodal interactive systems."

This book covers diverse aspects of advanced computer and communication engineering, focusing specifically on industrial and manufacturing theory and applications of electronics, communications, computing and information technology. Experts in research, industry, and academia present the latest developments in technology, describe applications involving cutting-edge communication and computer systems and explore likely future directions. In addition, access is offered to numerous new algorithms that assist in solving computer and communication engineering problems. The book is based on presentations delivered at ICOCOE 2014, the 1st International Conference on Communication and Computer Engineering. It will appeal to a wide range of professionals in the field, including telecommunication engineers, computer engineers and scientists, researchers, academics and students.

This new edition of the Phosphor Handbook comprises three volumes and provides a comprehensive source of knowledge for researchers interested in synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications of phosphor materials. The first volume covers the theoretical background and fundamental properties of luminescence as applied to solid-state phosphor materials. New sections include the rapid developments in principal phosphors in nitrides, perovskite, and silicon carbide. The second volume provides the descriptions of synthesis and optical properties of phosphors used in different applications, including the novel phosphors for some newly developed applications. New sections on smart phosphors, quantum dots for display applications, up-conversion nanophosphors for photonic application, phosphors for solar cells. The third volume addresses the experimental methods for phosphor evaluation and characterization and the contents are widely expanded from the Second Edition, including the theoretical and experimental designs for new phosphors as well as the phosphor analysis through high pressure and synchrotron studies.

This book contains research contributions from leading global scholars in nature-inspired computing. It includes comprehensive coverage of each respective topic, while also highlighting recent and future trends. The contributions provides readers with a snapshot of the state of the art in the field of nature-inspired computing and its application. This book has focus on the current researches while highlighting the empirical results along with theoretical concepts to provide a comprehensive reference for students, researchers, scholars, professionals and practitioners in the field of Advanced Artificial Intelligence, Nature-Inspired Algorithms and Soft Computing.

This book collects a wealth of information about spatial audio coding into one comprehensible volume. It is a thorough reference to the 3GPP and MPEG Parametric Stereo standards and the MPEG Surround multi-channel audio coding standard. It describes key developments in coding techniques, which is an important factor in the optimization of advanced entertainment, communications and signal processing applications. Until recently, technologies for coding audio signals, such as redundancy reduction and sophisticated source and receiver models did not incorporate spatial characteristics of source and receiving ends. Spatial audio coding achieves much higher compression ratios than conventional coders. It does this by representing multi-channel audio signals as a downmix signal plus side information that describes the perceptually-relevant spatial information. Written by experts in spatial audio coding, Spatial Audio Processing: * reviews psychoacoustics (the relationship between physical measures of sound and the corresponding percepts) and spatial audio sound formats and reproduction systems;* brings together the processing, acquisition, mixing, playback, and perception of spatial audio, with the latest coding techniques;* analyses algorithms for the efficient manipulation of multiple, discrete and combined spatial audio channels, including both MP3 and MPEG Surround;* shows how the same insights on source and receiver models can also be applied for manipulation of audio signals, such as the synthesis of virtual auditory scenes employing head-related transfer function (HRTF) processing and stereo to N-channel audio upmix. Audio processing research engineers and audio coding research and implementation engineers will find this an insightful guide. Academic audio and psychoacoustic researchers, including post-graduate and third/fourth year students taking courses in signal processing, audio and speech processing, and telecommunications, will also benefit from the information inside.

This book shows how to model selected communication scenarios using game theory. The book helps researchers specifically dealing with scenarios motivated by the increasing use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G Communications by using game theory to approach the study of such challenging scenarios. The author explains how game theory acts as a mathematical tool that models decision making in terms of strategies and mechanisms that can result in optimal payoffs for a number of interacting entities, offering often antagonistic behaviors. The book explores new technologies in terms of design, development and management from a theoretical perspective, using game theory to analyze strategic situations and demonstrate profitable behaviors of the cooperative entities. The book identifies and explores several significant applications/uses/situations that arise from the vast deployment of the IoT. The presentation of the technological scenarios is followed in each of the first four chapters by a step-by-step theoretical model often followed by equilibrium proof, and numerical simulation results, that are explained in a tutorial-like manner. The four chapters tackle challenging IoT and 5G related issues, including: new security threats that IoT brings, e.g. botnets, ad hoc vehicular networks and the need for trust in vehicular communications, content repetition by offloading traffic onto mobile users, as well as issues due to new wearable devices that enable data collection to become more intrusive.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to all major topics in digital signal processing (DSP). The book is designed to serve as a textbook for courses offered to undergraduate students enrolled in electrical, electronics, and communication engineering disciplines. The text is augmented with many illustrative examples for easy understanding of the topics covered. Every chapter contains several numerical problems with answers followed by question-and-answer type assignments. The detailed coverage and pedagogical tools make this an ideal textbook for students and researchers enrolled in electrical engineering and related programs.