In order to be effective for their users, information retrieval (IR) systems should be adapted to the specific needs of particular environments. The huge and growing array of types of information retrieval systems in use today is on display in Understanding Information Retrieval Systems: Management, Types, and Standards, which addresses over 20 types of IR systems. These various system types, in turn, present both technical and management challenges, which are also addressed in this volume. In order to be interoperable in a networked environment, IR systems must be able to use various types of technical standards, a number of which are described in this book-often by their original developers. The book covers the full context of operational IR systems, addressing not only the systems themselves but also human user search behaviors, user-centered design, and management and policy issues. In addition to theory and practice of IR system design, the book covers Web standards and protocols, the Semantic Web, XML information retrieval, Web social mining, search engine optimization, specialized museum and library online access, records compliance and risk management, information storage technology, geographic information systems, and data transmission protocols. Emphasis is given to information systems that operate on relatively unstructured data, such as text, images, and music. The book is organized into four parts: Part I supplies a broad-level introduction to information systems and information retrieval systems Part II examines key management issues and elaborates on the decision process around likely information system solutions Part III illustrates the range of information retrieval systems in use today discussing the technical, operational, and administrative issues for each type Part IV discusses the most important organizational and technical standards needed for successful information retrieval This volume brings together authoritative articles on the different types of information systems and how to manage real-world demands such as digital asset management, network management, digital content licensing, data quality, and information system failures. It explains how to design systems to address human characteristics and considers key policy and ethical issues such as piracy and preservation. Focusing on web-based systems, the chapters in this book provide an excellent starting point for developing and managing your own IR systems.

Bringing together contributors from a wide range of disciplines, countries and perspectives this book provides a thought-provoking overview of the human dimension of the workplace. It covers workplace problems as well as potential solutions. Essential reading for anyone committed to making the workplace a humane and effective place.

"Bringing together contributors from a wide range of disciplines, countries and perspectives this book provides a thought-provoking overview of the human dimension of the workplace. It covers workplace problems as well as potential solutions. Essential reading for anyone committed to making the workplace a humane and effective place"--Provided by publisher.

This book is a guide to concepts and practice in numerical algebraic geometry - the solution of systems of polynomial equations by numerical methods. Through numerous examples, the authors show how to apply the well-received and widely used open-source Bertini software package to compute solutions, including a detailed manual on syntax and usage options. The authors also maintain a complementary web page where readers can find supplementary materials and Bertini input files. Numerically Solving Polynomial Systems with Bertini approaches numerical algebraic geometry from a user's point of view with numerous examples of how Bertini is applicable to polynomial systems. It treats the fundamental task of solving a given polynomial system and describes the latest advances in the field, including algorithms for intersecting and projecting algebraic sets, methods for treating singular sets, the nascent field of real numerical algebraic geometry, and applications to large polynomial systems arising from differential equations. Those who wish to solve polynomial systems can start gently by finding isolated solutions to small systems, advance rapidly to using algorithms for finding positive-dimensional solution sets (curves, surfaces, etc.), and learn how to use parallel computers on large problems. These techniques are of interest to engineers and scientists in fields where polynomial equations arise, including robotics, control theory, economics, physics, numerical PDEs, and computational chemistry.

Presents Stevens' notebooks containing excerpts from his reading, his comments and aphorisms.

This book focuses largely on enabling technologies for network convergence. A principal aim is to show where parallel functions exist in fixed and mobile voice network architectures and to explain how these functions will be combined. The authors describe the components of a future converged architecture and consider the following key aspects: QoS Requirements, Proposed Solution Architectures, Protocol and Interface options, Underlying Network Issues and Security issues. The book also compares and describes initiatives from several standards bodies working to simplify to a clean architecture and a common set of protocols. The impact on a Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, the preferred method of transport for the core network, will be considered in detail.

When author David J. Bates left the active duty military at age twenty-two in 1998, he had no idea what he was going to do with the rest of his life. A fortuitous meeting on the interstate led him to Dallas, Texas, where he was tasked to establish a Leadership Cadet Corps at the middle-school level to boost student performance. In Narrow It Down, Bates details the insight he gained during the establishment and facilitating of that program using his experience gained during his military service. Through the eyes of an educator, this combination of educational guide and memoir discusses the lessons he learned in this educational setting and touches on specific priorities that enable educators to focus on what's important in the classroom and in life. Bates shares ideas that could create a better educational system-one that encourages pro-active thinking to solve problems. Praise for Narrow It Down "Narrow It Down is a book about making a difference in the things you can control and focuses on raising the bar when it comes to the educational system. ... Programs like Coach Bates' can significantly help in keeping young North Texans-the future of our great state and nation-in school, and I applaud him on his efforts to build this program." -Congressman Pete Sessions

Once, there were two interesting women who led separate lives ... until fate decided it had other plans for them. Marie, who is single, lives in an apartment in the city and is a social worker. Jane is divorced and a mother of two; she lives in a home in the suburbs and works in real estate.

When they happen to meet at a conference, they bond on the spot. A casual invitation to go tent camping turns into the start of a beautiful relationship-and the seed of an epic, four-year adventure in which they will explore the United States in an RV.

Along the way, the ladies find themselves in some sticky situations. They find love and lust in unexpected places. They find themselves floating high above Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a hot-air balloon. They somehow wind up trapped in a den of foxes. And then they witness an abusive relationship that ends in murder ...

The two friends soon learn that life in an RV is much different than they expected. But through it all, they are carried forward on a wave of fun, friendship, and excitement. What will they get into next?

The Kentucky State Guard's campaign against the Silent Brigade in 1907-1909 offers lessons for the operational art of civil security and supporting civil law enforcement. The Silent Brigade was a guerrilla army that terrorized western Kentucky in a conflict that came to be known as the Black Patch War. Scholars disagree about whether the Kentucky State Guard was effective in its campaign, or whether other circumstances led to the decline of the Silent Brigade. This monograph argues that the Kentucky State Guard contributed significantly to a permanent reduction in crimes committed by the Silent Brigade. The reduction in Silent Brigade attacks can be explained through the concept of "centers of gravity" introduced by Carl von Clausewitz and incorporated as an element of operational design in American military doctrine. The strategic concept of interaction and isolation, introduced by American defense theorist John Boyd, further explains why these actions of the State Guard were effective. The Kentucky State Guard's campaign in the Black Patch War demonstrates the effectiveness, against an economically motivated guerrilla enemy force, of targeting the enemy's economic center of gravity while simultaneously disrupting its command and control.

The Influenza Pandemic Response Plan for Office Buildings has been established as an operational guideline for building services designed to respond to a variety of emergency pandemic situations.

This is a comprehensive look at the steps commercial real estate professionals can take to protect a building and its occupants. This manual has also been designed to address situations when a specific person in charge is not able to carry out his/her duties.

Meet Abbie Arden, a quirky young woman who at last realizes her life's passion: the written word. Abbie, fledgling editorial assistant, is assigned to the American Open, a tennis tournament held each August, where, among other things, she must interview Max Tadeo, a gorgeous, Spanish, professional tennis player (poor Abbie has a fetish for accents), and, well... Max is a tad unusual himself. Abbie encounters a few problems on her mission to become "superjournalist": she thinks tennis is for people who enjoy chasing green balls (boring!); she has sworn off all men (even sexy Spaniards); and last but not least, Abbie wants "real" stories, not tennis fluff! Within the pages of Love Match, a sense of belonging envelops Abbie out of the blue, new friendships develop and investigative reporting takes a life-threatening twist. Love Match follows along as the neurotic but lovable heroine ultimately has to choose to live for love or for fear.

What Americans refer to as the Vietnam War embraces much more than the conflict with North Vietnam. Milton J. Bates considers the other conflicts that Americans brought to that war: the divisions stemming from differences in race, class, sex, generation, and frontier ideology. In exploring the rich vein of writing and film that emerged from the Vietnam War era, he strikingly illuminates how these stories reflect American social crises of the period. Some material examined here is familiar, including the work of Michael Herr, Tim O'Brien, Philip Caputo, Susan Sontag, Francis Ford Coppola, and Oliver Stone. Other material is less well known - Neverlight by Donald Pfarrer and De Mojo Blues by A. R. Flowers, for example. Bates also draws upon an impressive range of secondary readings, from Freud and Marx to Geertz and Jameson. As the products of a culture in conflict, Vietnam memoirs, novels, films, plays, and poems embody a range of political perspectives, not only in their content but also in their structure and rhetoric. In his final chapter, Bates outlines a 'politico-poetics' of the war story as a genre. Here he gives special attention to our motives - from the deeply personal to the broadly cultural - for telling war stories.

Updating and expanding upon the author's bestselling Introduction to T1/T3 Networking, this book gives you detailed instructions on how to meet the challenges of installing, maintaining and troubleshooting digital transmission systems for voice, data, video and LAN communications.

Written especially for end-users, telecommunications data managers, and cable television and long-distance telephone carriers, the book fortifies your understanding of T1/T3 networking concepts. It includes:
-- A detailed introduction to E1/E3, the international standards for digital transmission systems
-- A comparison of SONET and SDH, Fractional T1, and T1 applications with ATM
-- An overview of wireless access

All of the available digital transmission technologies are compared and discussed in depth, including ISDN, HDSL, ADSL, and Frame Relay on T1. The guide even provides fresh insights on the financial and administrative aspects of line maintenance, troubleshooting, purchase and installation.