Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This monograph presents a broad treatment of developments in an area of constructive approximation involving the so-called "max-product" type operators. The exposition highlights the max-product operators as those which allow one to obtain, in many cases, more valuable estimates than those obtained by classical approaches. The text considers a wide variety of operators which are studied for a number of interesting problems such as quantitative estimates, convergence, saturation results, localization, to name several. Additionally, the book discusses the perfect analogies between the probabilistic approaches of the classical Bernstein type operators and of the classical convolution operators (non-periodic and periodic cases), and the possibilistic approaches of the max-product variants of these operators. These approaches allow for two natural interpretations of the max-product Bernstein type operators and convolution type operators: firstly, as possibilistic expectations of some fuzzy variables, and secondly, as bases for the Feller type scheme in terms of the possibilistic integral. These approaches also offer new proofs for the uniform convergence based on a Chebyshev type inequality in the theory of possibility. Researchers in the fields of approximation of functions, signal theory, approximation of fuzzy numbers, image processing, and numerical analysis will find this book most beneficial. This book is also a good reference for graduates and postgraduates taking courses in approximation theory.

Leonardo da Pisa, perhaps better known as Fibonacci (ca. 1170 ca. 1240), selected the most useful parts of Greco-Arabic geometry for the book known as De Practica Geometrie. This translation offers a reconstruction of De Practica Geometrie as the author judges Fibonacci wrote it, thereby correcting inaccuracies found in numerous modern histories. It is a high quality translation with supplemental text to explain text that has been more freely translated. A bibliography of primary and secondary resources follows the translation, completed by an index of names and special words.

This book presents a mathematically-based introduction into the fascinating topic of Fuzzy Sets and Fuzzy Logic and might be used as textbook at both undergraduate and graduate levels and also as reference guide for mathematician, scientists or engineers who would like to get an insight into Fuzzy Logic.

Fuzzy Sets have been introduced by Lotfi Zadeh in 1965 and since then, they have been used in many applications. As a consequence, there is a vast literature on the practical applications of fuzzy sets, while theory has a more modest coverage. The main purpose of the present book is to reduce this gap by providing a theoretical introduction into Fuzzy Sets based on Mathematical Analysis and Approximation Theory. Well-known applications, as for example fuzzy control, are also discussed in this book and placed on new ground, a theoretical foundation. Moreover, a few advanced chapters and several new results are included. These comprise, among others, a new systematic and constructive approach for fuzzy inference systems of Mamdani and Takagi-Sugeno types, that investigates their approximation capability by providing new error estimates.

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This book advances alternative approaches to understanding media, culture and technology in two vibrant regions of the Global South. Bringing together scholars from Africa and the Caribbean, it traverses the domains of communication theory, digital technology strategy, media practice reforms, and corporate and cultural renewal. The first section tackles research and technology with new conceptual thinking from the South. The book then looks at emerging approaches to community digital networks, online diaspora entertainment, and video gaming strategies. The volume then explores reforms in policy and professional practice, including in broadcast television, online newspapers, media philanthropy, and business news reporting. Its final section examines the role of village-based folk media, the power of popular music in political opposition, and new approaches to overcoming neo-colonial propaganda and external corporate hegemony. This book therefore engages critically with the central issues of how we communicate, produce, entertain, and build communities in 21st-century Africa and the Caribbean.

Reading Scripture with Paul Ricoeur is a unique volume in which twelve diverse contributors illuminate and analyze Paul Ricoeur's personal religious faith and intellectual passion for Scripture. The co-editors, Joseph A. Edelheit and James F Moore, each studied with Ricoeur at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago and bring the perspectives of a rabbi and of a Lutheran pastor and theologian, respectively. This book engages topics such as translation, biblical hermeneutics, and prophecy, as well as specific scriptural passages: Cain and Abel, the Epistles, and a feminist reading of Rahab. It provides both students and scholars alike a new resource of reflections using Ricoeur's scholarship to illuminate and model how Ricoeur read and taught.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. The practice of converting corn to ethanol is controversial, with debates currently being raged in both public policy and science. While biofuels from corn have important implications in alleviating some of the global energy crisis, critics argue that it takes away from vital agricultural products needed to feed the world's growing population. The current volume maintains there is a third way, a method of producing biofuel that only uses biomass that is left behind after all agricultural and nutritional products have been harvested from corn. This biomass is referred to as corn stover. The book serves as an important introduction to this method of producing biofuels from agricultural waste. Edited by a professor from the State University of New York, Geneseo, this reference is important not only for research scientists, but for students and public policy makers who wish to learn more about this alternative method of producing ethanol from corn. The sections found in Fuel Production from Non-Food Biomass: Corn Stover describe the following topics: An overview of why corn stover is a good alternative use of power The technology that makes this process possible on various scales Considerations for policy formation, including economic, land-use, and environmental arguments for and against using corn stover as a biofuel Although controversy still exists about the use of corn stover-with some critics saying that it will cause food shortages, particularly for developing nations-the research in this book focuses on using corn's already existing, non-food biomass and argues that food and biofuel could potentially be produced from the same fields.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. As the world's energy hunger grows ever larger, fossil fuel reserves are diminishing-and concerns about climate change remind us that our love affair with fossil fuels cannot continue much longer. This has inspired intense research into sustainable energy sources. Biofuels seemed initially promising, but the world soon realized that food-based biofuel has its own dangers. Second-generation biofuels, however, use biomass from crops' inedible parts-such as the stalks and leaves of sugarcane-offering a far more practical, sustainable, and commercially viable solution. In this book, researchers from around the world review some of the most important and timely topics related to using sugarcane feedstock for biofuel. After a basic overview, topics such as these are included: Pretreatment methods The use of various microbial technologies, including bacteria and yeast, to enhance biofuel production Environmental impacts Economic feasibility The viability of electricity being produced side by side with biofuel Essential reading for graduate students and research scientists investigating second-generation biofuels, this book is also recommended for environmentalists, environmental engineers, and microbiologists.