This unique text/reference provides an overview of crossbar-based interconnection networks, offering novel perspectives on these important components of high-performance, parallel-processor systems. A particular focus is placed on solutions to the blocking and scalability problems. Topics and features: introduces the fundamental concepts in interconnection networks in multi-processor systems, including issues of blocking, scalability, and crossbar networks; presents a classification of interconnection networks, and provides information on recognizing each of the networks; examines the challenges of blocking and scalability, and analyzes the different solutions that have been proposed; reviews a variety of different approaches to improve fault tolerance in multistage interconnection networks; discusses the scalable crossbar network, which is a non-blocking interconnection network that uses small-sized crossbar switches as switching elements. This invaluable work will be of great benefit to students, researchers and practitioners interested in computer networks, parallel processing and reliability engineering. The text is also essential reading for course modules on interconnection network design and reliability.

Marking the 30th anniversary of the European Conference on Modelling and Simulation (ECMS), this inspirational text/reference reviews significant advances in the field of modelling and simulation, as well as key applications of simulation in other disciplines. The broad-ranging volume presents contributions from a varied selection of distinguished experts chosen from high-impact keynote speakers and best paper winners from the conference, including a Nobel Prize recipient, and the first president of the European Council for Modelling and Simulation (also abbreviated to ECMS). This authoritative book will be of great value to all researchers working in the field of modelling and simulation, in addition to scientists from other disciplines who make use of modelling and simulation approaches in their work.

This comprehensive text presents cutting-edge advances in the theory and methodology of modeling and simulation (M&S) and reveals how this work has been influenced by the fundamental contributions of Prof. Tuncer OEren to this field. Exploring the synergies among the domains of M&S and systems engineering (SE), the book describes how M&S and SE can help to address the complex problems identified as "Grand Challenges" more effectively under a model-driven and simulation-directed systems engineering framework. Features: examines frameworks for the development of advanced simulation methodologies; presents a focus on advanced modeling methodologies; reviews the reliability and quality assurance of models; discusses the specification and simulation of human and social behavior, including models of personality, emotions, conflict management, perception and anticipation; provides a survey of the body of knowledge in M highlights the foundations established by the pioneering work of Prof. Tuncer OEren.

The advancement of computing and communication technologies have profoundly accelerated the development and deployment of complex enterprise systems, creating an importance in its implementation across corporate and industrial organizations worldwide.""The Handbook of Research on Enterprise Systems"" addresses the field of enterprise systems with more breadth and depth than any other resource, covering progressive technologies, leading theories, and advanced applications. Comprising over 25 articles from 47 expert authors from around the globe, this exhaustive collection of highly developed research extends the field of enterprise systems to offer libraries an unrivaled reference.This title features: 27 authoritative contributions by over 45 of the world's leading experts on enterprise systems from 16 countries; comprehensive coverage of each specific topic, highlighting recent trends and describing the latest advances in the field; more than 800 references to existing literature and research on enterprise systems; and, a compendium of over 200 key terms with detailed definitions. It is organized by topic and indexed, making it a convenient method of reference for all IT/IS scholars and professionals. It also features cross-referencing of key terms, figures, and information pertinent to enterprise systems.

Knowledge and Technology Management in Virtual Organizations: Issues, Trends, Opportunities and Solutions presents a collection of the most recent contributions in the areas of organization, knowledge, and technology management in the context of virtual enterprises. This book contains important and in-depth information on four dimensions: semantic, managerial, technological, and social. The semantic dimensions covered in this book are ontological and organizational approaches, concepts, organizational models, and knowledge management models. In respect to managerial dimensions, this book covers process management, integration management, relationship management, process integration, knowledge management, technology integration management, and information integration. ""Knowledge and Technology Management in Virtual Organizations: Issues, Trends, Opportunities and Solutions"" presents the technological dimension by explaining the infrastructures and technologies to support technology and information integration standards and protocols. Lastly, this title highlights the social dimension, including human resources management, human resources integration, social issues, social impact, social requirements, and communities of knowledge.

This book serves not only as an introduction, but also as an advanced text and reference source in the field of deterministic optimal control systems governed by ordinary differential equations. It also includes an introduction to the classical calculus of variations.
An important feature of the book is the inclusion of a large number of examples, in which the theory is applied to a wide variety of economics problems. The presentation of simple models helps illuminate pertinent qualitative and analytic points, useful when confronted with a more complex reality. These models cover: economic growth in both open and closed economies, exploitation of (non-) renewable resources, pollution control, behaviour of firms, and differential games. A great emphasis on precision pervades the book, setting it apart from the bulk of literature in this area. The rigorous techniques presented should help the reader avoid errors which often recur in the application of control theory within economics.

Most books on linear systems for undergraduates cover discrete and continuous systems material together in a single volume. Such books also include topics in discrete and continuous filter design, and discrete and continuous state-space representations. However, with this magnitude of coverage, the student typically gets a little of both discrete and continuous linear systems but not enough of either. Minimal coverage of discrete linear systems material is acceptable provided that there is ample coverage of continuous linear systems. On the other hand, minimal coverage of continuous linear systems does no justice to either of the two areas. Under the best of circumstances, a student needs a solid background in both these subjects. Continuous linear systems and discrete linear systems are broad topics and each merit a single book devoted to the respective subject matter. The objective of this set of two volumes is to present the needed material for each at the undergraduate level, and present the required material using MATLAB (R) (The MathWorks Inc.).

This book introduces a novel framework for accurately modeling the errors in nanoscale CMOS technology and developing a smooth tool flow at high-level design abstractions to estimate and mitigate the effects of errors. The book presents novel techniques for high-level fault simulation and reliability estimation as well as architecture-level and system-level fault tolerant designs. It also presents a survey of state-of-the-art problems and solutions, offering insights into reliability issues in digital design and their cross-layer countermeasures.

The VHDL Reference: The essential guide for students and professionals working in computer hardware design and synthesis. The definitive guide to VHDL, this book combines a comprehensive reference of the VHDL syntax with tutorial and workshop materials that guide the reader through the principles of digital hardware design. The authors describe the concept of VHDL and VHDL-AMS for modelling and synthesis and explain how VHDL can be used for the design of digital systems. The CD-ROM features workshop and reference material to familiarise beginners with the use of VHDL for simulation and for synthesis. In-depth examples of VHDL construct are explained in compact and easy to follow form providing immediate help and answers to specific problems. The VHDL Reference is a highly accessible single source reference to the industry standard language for computer-aided electronic system design. It is not only an essential guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students in electrical engineering but also an indispensable aid to researchers and hardware designers and teachers using VHDL and logic synthesis. Features include:

• Accompanying CD-ROM version of the VHDL Reference including demonstration tools and workshop material covering language aspects for digital systems.
• Modelling tutorial featuring VHDL-AMS, the new standard for modelling and simulating mixed signal micro systems. Real-life examples enable the reader to test their knowledge and clarify their understanding of the concepts.
• Design workshop format taking the reader through an entire circuit design using an actual design problem, allowing beginners to put their VHDL skills into practice.
• A user friendly reference section providing in-depth coverage of the VHDL language for digital systems.
• Includes tools, on CD-ROM, for editing VHDL source files, simulating and synthesising VHDL models.

System on chips designs have evolved from fairly simple unicore, single memory designs to complex heterogeneous multicore SoC architectures consisting of a large number of IP blocks on the same silicon. To meet high computational demands posed by latest consumer electronic devices, most current systems are based on such paradigm, which represents a real revolution in many aspects in computing. The attraction of multicore processing for power reduction is compelling. By splitting a set of tasks among multiple processor cores, the operating frequency necessary for each core can be reduced, allowing to reduce the voltage on each core. Because dynamic power is proportional to the frequency and to the square of the voltage, we get a big gain, even though we may have more cores running. As more and more cores are integrated into these designs to share the ever increasing processing load, the main challenges lie in efficient memory hierarchy, scalable system interconnect, new programming paradigms, and efficient integration methodology for connecting such heterogeneous cores into a single system capable of leveraging their individual flexibility. Current design methods tend toward mixed HW/SW co-designs targeting multicore systems on-chip for specific applications. To decide on the lowest cost mix of cores, designers must iteratively map the device's functionality to a particular HW/SW partition and target architectures. In addition, to connect the heterogeneous cores, the architecture requires high performance complex communication architectures and efficient communication protocols, such as hierarchical bus, point-to-point connection, or Network-on-Chip. Software development also becomes far more complex due to the difficulties in breaking a single processing task into multiple parts that can be processed separately and then reassembled later. This reflects the fact that certain processor jobs cannot be easily parallelized to run concurrently on multiple processing cores and that load balancing between processing cores - especially heterogeneous cores - is very difficult.

Information Systems Development: Business Systems and Services: Modeling and Development, is the collected proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Information Systems Development held in Prague, Czech Republic, August 25 - 27, 2010. It follows in the tradition of previous conferences in the series in exploring the connections between industry, research and education. These proceedings represent ongoing reflections within the academic community on established information systems topics and emerging concepts, approaches and ideas. It is hoped that the papers herein contribute towards disseminating research and improving practice.

"The healthcare industry in the United States consumes roughly 20% of the gross national product per year. This huge expenditure not only represents a large portion of the country's collective interests, but also an enormous amount of medical information. Information intensive healthcare enterprises have unique issues related to the collection, disbursement, and integration of various data within the healthcare system.Information Systems and Healthcare Enterprises provides insight on the challenges arising from the adaptation of information systems to the healthcare industry, including development, design, usage, adoption, expansion, and compliance with industry regulations. Highlighting the role of healthcare information systems in fighting healthcare fraud and the role of information technology and vendors, this book will be a highly valued addition to academic, medical, and health science libraries."

This book surveys the recent development of maintenance theory, advanced maintenance techniques with shock and damage models, and their applications in computer systems dealing with efficiency problems. It also equips readers to handle multiple maintenance, informs maintenance policies, and explores comparative methods for several different kinds of maintenance. Further, it discusses shock and damage modelling as an important failure mechanism for reliability systems, and extensively explores the degradation processes, failure modes, and maintenance characteristics of modern, highly complex systems, especially for some key mechanical systems designed for specific tasks.

"The Supply of ConceptS" achieves a major breakthrough in the general theory of systems. It unfolds a theory of everything that steps beyond Physics' theory of the same name. The author unites all knowledge by including not only the natural but also the philosophical and theological universes of discourse. The general systems model presented here resembles an organizational flow chart that represents conceptual positions within any type of system and shows how the parts are connected hierarchically for communication and control. Analyzing many types of systems in various branches of learned discourse, the model demonstrates how any system type manages to maintain itself true to type. The concepts thus generated form a network that serves as a storehouse for the supply of concepts in learned discourse. Partial to the use of analogies, Irving Silverman presents his thesis in an easy-to-read style, explaining a way of thinking that he has found useful. This book will be of particular interest to the specialist in systems theory, philosophy, linguistics, and the social sciences.

Irving Silverman applies his general systems model to 22 system types and presents rationales for these analyses. He provides the reader with a method, and a way to apply that method; a theory of knowledge derived from the method; and a practical outlook based on a comprehensive approach. Chapters include: Minding the Storehouse; Standing Together; The Cognitive Contract; The Ecological Contract; The Social Contract; The Semantic Terrain.

Applying TQM to systems engineering can reduce costs while simultaneously improving product quality. This guide to proactive systems engineering shows how to develop and optimize a practical approach, while highlighting the pitfalls and potentials involved.

The main objective of pervasive computing systems is to create environments where computers become invisible by being seamlessly integrated and connected into our everyday environment, where such embedded computers can then provide inf- mation and exercise intelligent control when needed, but without being obtrusive. Pervasive computing and intelligent multimedia technologies are becoming incre- ingly important to the modern way of living. However, many of their potential applications have not yet been fully realized. Intelligent multimedia allows dynamic selection, composition and presentation of the most appropriate multimedia content based on user preferences. A variety of applications of pervasive computing and - telligent multimedia are being developed for all walks of personal and business life. Pervasive computing (often synonymously called ubiquitous computing, palpable computing or ambient intelligence) is an emerging ?eld of research that brings in revolutionary paradigms for computing models in the 21st century. Pervasive c- puting is the trend towards increasingly ubiquitous connected computing devices in the environment, a trend being brought about by a convergence of advanced el- tronic - and particularly, wireless - technologies and the Internet. Recent advances in pervasive computers, networks, telecommunications and information technology, along with the proliferation of multimedia mobile devices - such as laptops, iPods, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cellular telephones - have further stimulated the development of intelligent pervasive multimedia applications. These key te- nologiesarecreatingamultimediarevolutionthatwillhavesigni?cantimpactacross a wide spectrum of consumer, business, healthcare and governmental domains.

The variety and abundance of qualitative characteristics of agricultural products have been the main reasons for the development of different types of non-destructive methods (NDTs). Quality control of these products is one of the most important tasks in manufacturing processes. The use of control and automation has become more widespread, and new approaches provide opportunities for production competition through new technologies. Applications of Image Processing and Soft Computing Systems in Agriculture examines applications of artificial intelligence in agriculture and the main uses of shape analysis on agricultural products such as relationships between form and genetics, adaptation, product characteristics, and product sorting. Additionally, it provides insights developed through computer vision techniques. Highlighting such topics as deep learning, agribusiness, and augmented reality, it is designed for academicians, researchers, agricultural practitioners, and industry professionals.

Whether you re new to systems analysis or have been there, done that and seen it all but especially if you want to ponder the significance of information systems analysis in the scheme of the universe, this book is for you. The author brings a unique perspective to the problems of computer system analysis