Standard Hollywood narrative movies prescribe linear narratives that cue the viewer to expect predictable outcomes and adopt a closed state of mind. There are, however, a small number of movies that, through the presentation of alternate narrative paths, open the mind to thoughts of choice and possibility. Through the study of several key movies for which this concept is central, such as Sliding Doors, Run Lola Run, Inglourious Basterds, and Rashomon, Nitzan Ben Shaul examines the causes and implications of optional thinking and how these movies allow for more open and creative possibilities. This book examines the methods by which standard narrative movies close down thinking processes and deliver easy pleasures to the viewer whilst demonstrating that this is not the only possibility and that optional thinking can be both stimulating and rewarding.

A Paradigm for Decentralized Process Modeling presents a novel approach to decentralized process modeling that combines both trends and suggests a paradigm for decentralized PCEs, supporting concerted efforts among geographically-dispersed teams - each local individual or team with its own autonomous process - with emphasis on flexible control over the degree of collaboration versus autonomy provided. A key guideline in this approach is to supply abstraction mechanisms whereby pre-existing processes (or workflows) can be encapsulated and retain security of their internal artifacts and status data, while agreeing with other processes on formal interfaces through which all their interactions are conducted on intentionally shared information. This book is primarily intended to provide an in-depth discussion of decentralized process modeling and enactment technology, covering both high-level concepts and a full-blown realization of these concepts in a concrete system. Either the whole book or selected chapters could be used in a graduate course on software engineering, software process, or software development environments, or even for a course on workflow systems outside computer science (e.g., in a classical engineering department for engineering design, or in a business school for business practices or enterprise-wide management, or in the medical informatics department of a health science institution concerned with computer-assistance for managed care). Selected portions of the book, such as section 2.2 on Marvel, could also be employed as a case study in advanced undergraduate software engineering courses. A Paradigm for Decentralized Process Modeling is a valuable resource for both researchers and practitioners, particularly in software engineering, software development environments, and software process and workflow management, but also in electrical, mechanical, civil and other areas of engineering which have analogous needs for design processes, environmental support and concurrent engineering, and beyond to private and public sector workflow management and control, groupware support, and heterogeneous distributed systems in general.

Standard Hollywood narrative movies prescribe linear narratives that cue the viewer to expect predictable outcomes and adopt a closed state of mind. There are, however, a small number of movies that, through the presentation of alternate narrative paths, open the mind to thoughts of choice and possibility. Through the study of several key movies for which this concept is central, such as Sliding Doors, Run Lola Run, Inglourious Basterds, and Rashomon, Nitzan Ben Shaul examines the causes and implications of optional thinking and how these movies allow for more open and creative possibilities. This book examines the methods by which standard narrative movies close down thinking processes and deliver easy pleasures to the viewer whilst demonstrating that this is not the only possibility and that optional thinking can be both stimulating and rewarding.

Images are the core of television news, particularly in the coverage of terror events and war, where pictures often overwhelm the verbal commentary. A Violent World analyzes images on global CNN, Israeli IBA, and Palestinian PATV that contribute heavily to how the current violence in the Middle East is framed. Nitzan Ben-Shaul draws from critical media theory, and from qualitative and aesthetic approaches out of cinema studies, to examine how dominant ideologies are embedded in mainstream TV news. Specifically, he focuses on the American elites' global ideology and the conflicting dominant national-peripheral ideologies of Israeli-Palestinian elites. His in-depth study, of particular interest to scholars of Middle East studies and international communication, further offers a new model of analysis for contemporary television news.

A Paradigm for Decentralized Process Modeling presents a novel approach to decentralized process modeling that combines both trends and suggests a paradigm for decentralized PCEs, supporting concerted efforts among geographically-dispersed teams - each local individual or team with its own autonomous process - with emphasis on flexible control over the degree of collaboration versus autonomy provided. A key guideline in this approach is to supply abstraction mechanisms whereby pre-existing processes (or workflows) can be encapsulated and retain security of their internal artifacts and status data, while agreeing with other processes on formal interfaces through which all their interactions are conducted on intentionally shared information. This book is primarily intended to provide an in-depth discussion of decentralized process modeling and enactment technology, covering both high-level concepts and a full-blown realization of these concepts in a concrete system. Either the whole book or selected chapters could be used in a graduate course on software engineering, software process, or software development environments, or even for a course on workflow systems outside computer science (e.g., in a classical engineering department for engineering design, or in a business school for business practices or enterprise-wide management, or in the medical informatics department of a health science institution concerned with computer-assistance for managed care). Selected portions of the book, such as section 2.2 on Marvel, could also be employed as a case study in advanced undergraduate software engineering courses. A Paradigm for Decentralized Process Modeling is a valuable resource for both researchers and practitioners, particularly in software engineering, software development environments, and software process and workflow management, but also in electrical, mechanical, civil and other areas of engineering which have analogous needs for design processes, environmental support and concurrent engineering, and beyond to private and public sector workflow management and control, groupware support, and heterogeneous distributed systems in general.

Over the last decades, the study of surfactants (detergents, for example) has been profoundly changed by ideas and techniques from physics, chemistry, and materials science. Among these are: self assembly; critical phenomena, scaling, and renormalization; high-resolution scattering, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This book represents the first systematic account of these new developments, providing both a general introduction to the subject as well as a review of recent developments. The book will be a very useful tool for the biophysist, biochemist or physical chemist working in the field of surfactants.

Film: the Key Concepts presents a coherent, clear and exciting overview of film theory for beginning readers. The book takes the reader through the often conflicting analyses which make up film theory, illustrating arguments with examples from mainstream and independent films. It isolates 6 key concepts in film theory - the photogenic in film, dialectic film montage, film constructs, imaginary signifiers, voyeuristic pleasures and simulacra - each with its own, short essay. Through these concepts it covers the main sites in film theory: realism, formalism, structuralism, semiotics, Marxism, psychoanalysis, feminism, cognitivism, post-colonialism, postmodernism, gender and queer film theories. Each chapter stands on its own, tracing the historical evolution of each concept to the present. The book as a whole provides a complete overview of the evolution of film theory. In order to help introductory students, each chapter includes boxed summaries of key theorists, bulleted summaries and an Annotated Guide to Further Reading.