A double bill of children's feature films. 'Hop' (2011), a state-of-the-art blend of CGI-animation and live action, follows E.B. (voice of Russell Brand), the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. When E.B. arrives in Hollywood with ambitions of finding fame, his dreams are almost cut short when he is hit by a car driven by unemployed slacker Fred (James Marsden). Deciding to get what he can out of the situation, E.B. convinces Fred to take him home while he recovers from his injuries. Fred finds himself with a very demanding house-guest and the duo embark on a battle of wills that may just teach them both something important. 'Despicable Me' (2010), a computer-animated feature, follows an arch criminal who has a change of heart. Trying to outdo his main rival Vector (voice of Jason Segel), serial villain Gru (Steve Carell) hatches a plan to steal the moon, aided by his army of genetically altered corn pops. All goes according to plan until the arrival at his door of three little orphan girls, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (Elsie Fisher) and Edith (Dana Gaier), in search of a father figure.

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.

Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Value Creation provides a detailed and insightful exploration of both the possibilities and the challenges that accompany widespread Artificial Intelligence. Providing a cutting edge analysis of the impact of AI in business and society, the editors offer an opportunity to assess what is known about managing other forms of information systems, strategy, and marketing, and to re-examine this knowledge in situations involving AI. This comprehensive book explores how human- centric AI systems create value inside organizations, distinguishing three main components: ethical value, societal value, and business value. Using a multidisciplinary perspective, this discerning book addresses the interests of a wide spectrum of practitioners, students, and researchers alike who are interested in identifying the value generated by AI systems in management.

Arch-criminal Gru (voice of Steve Carell) and his minions return in this Academy Award-nominated, computer-animated comedy sequel.

Now living a life of domestic bliss in suburbia with adopted daughters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (Elsie Fisher) and Edith (Dana Gaier), Gru's world is turned upside down when he finds himself abducted by agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) of the Anti-Villain League on the orders of boss Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan).

All is not what it seems, however, for with the world threatened by the new and dastardly super-villain known as Eduardo (Benjamin Bratt), it falls to the unique talents of Gru and his minions to step up to the plate and finally save the day.

Focusing on the city's role as the nexus for new forms of relationships between politics, economics and society, this fascinating book views the city as a political phenomena. Its chapters unravel the city's plural histories, contested political, legal and administrative boundaries, and its policy-making capacity in the context of multi-level and market pressures. Accommodating numerous approaches drawn from a variety of European countries and metropolitan settings, contributors make extensive use of case studies in order to both interpret the variety of processes of metropolitanisation at work over the past few decades and provide insight into the various conceptual and theoretical approaches that the social sciences - and the political sciences in particular - have adopted to explain this phenomenon. This book both studies cities that have developed their own forms of governance, with tailored institutions, a large policy making capability and sometimes a new democratic legitimacy, yet also offers an alternative understanding of cities as objects of public policy; the intended targets of the development of European-level or national urban policies. Students of comparative politics, urban studies and European studies will welcome the mix of conceptual, comparative and case study based approaches that this book encompasses. Practitioners will also benefit from the chance to avail themselves of cutting edge research. Contributors include: F. Artioli, S. Cadiou, J. Caillosse, J. Carpenter, A. Cole, S. Couperus, A. Dowling, D. Galimberti, I. Gordon, H. Heinelt, M. Hure, C. Parnet, R. Payre, C. Pin, P. Prat, K. Zimmermann

This book brings together 10 experiments which introduce historical perspectives into mathematics classrooms for 11 to 18-year-olds. The authors suggest that students should not only read ancient texts, but also should construct, draw and manipulate. The different chapters refer to ancient Greek, Indian, Chinese and Arabic mathematics as well as to contemporary mathematics. Students are introduced to well-known mathematicians-such as Gottfried Leibniz and Leonard Euler-as well as to less famous practitioners and engineers. Always, there is the attempt to associate the experiments with their scientific and cultural contexts. One of the main values of history is to show that the notions and concepts we teach were invented to solve problems. The different chapters of this collection all have, as their starting points, historic problems-mathematical or not. These are problems of exchanging and sharing, of dividing figures and volumes as well as engineers' problems, calculations, equations and congruence. The mathematical reasoning which accompanies these actions is illustrated by the use of drawings, folding, graphical constructions and the production of machines.

This is the first textbook entirely dedicated to the endovascular treatment of complications related to arteriovenous accesses for hemodialysis (native fistulas and prosthetic grafts). The book addresses the anatomy of upper limb arteries and veins as well as the clinical presentation of patients and the way to perform and read a fistulogram. Many details and illustrations are provided, clarifying the subtleties in catheterization and the dilation of stenoses. From a strategic point of view, it is explained for the first time that many stenoses must either be ignored or deliberately underdilated. A wealth of images helps to understand the different stages of access recovery from thrombosis. As the number of incident dialysis patients is increasing by 5% every year, this is a field of growing interest. In testament to this there are several annual or bi-annual meetings held by numerous national and international societies (vascularaccesssociety.com, sfav.org, vasamd.org, dialysiscontroversies.org, asdin.org).

This book about the Mekong Delta presents a unique collection of state-of-the-art contributions by international experts from different scientific disciplines about the characteristics and pressing water-related challenges of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The Mekong Delta belongs to one of the areas, which are to expect the largest challenges concerning environmental change and climate change induced sea level rise . The Delta acts as the "rice bowl" of Southeast Asia and is home to over 17 Million people, who need to cope with ecologic as well as socio-economic changes linked to the rapid economic development of the country. Annual floods, severe droughts, salt water intrusion, degrading water quality, tropical cyclones, hydrologic changes due to hydropower projects in the upstream of the Mekong, coastal erosion, and the loss of biodiversity are some of the problems in the region. Heterogeneous resource management responsibilities, and the fact that the Mekong - and thus also the Delta - is influenced by six countries aggravate the situation. Integrated water resources management and fostered cooperation and information exchange are pressing needs for the sustainable development of the Delta.

AI and technological developments have begun to transform and aid creative and complex processes, as well as challenge what we believe to be creative thinking. Whilst AI can effectively augment some human capabilities, it cannot replace individual's ability to foster introspection and creativity. Creative employees enjoy challenges requiring an innovative approach, can bring fresh concepts to the table and are not afraid to challenge the status quo. That’s why companies need human skills such as creativity, even in an age of automation and AI. This book considers Human Centric Artificial Intelligence as AI which possesses an ethical dimension in addition to its technical capabilities. It explores how Human Centric AI, applied to complex and creative tasks, can influence in creative industries the human soul of creativity or stimulate and foster entrepreneurial creativity in the organizational context. The authors offer insights for managers of the future to develop a set of new critical skills which combine technical skills with new human abilities, to work in collaboration with machines. The book addresses scholars and both existing and emerging managers interested in discovering the potential of AI for business and how to boost workforce creativity.

How do various concepts of God impact the moral life? Is God ultimately required for goodness? In this edited collection, an international panel of contemporary philosophers and theologians offer new avenues of exploration from a theist perspective for these important questions. The book features several approaches to address these questions. Common themes include philosophical and theological conceptions of God with reference to human morality, particular Trinitarian accounts of God and the resultant ethical implications, and how communities are shaped, promoted, and transformed by accounts of God. Bringing together philosophical and theological insights on the relationship between God and our moral lives, this book will be of keen interest to scholars of the philosophy of religion, particularly those looking at ethics, social justice and morality.

Optical Microscanners and Microspectrometers using Thermal Bimorph Actuators shows how to design and fabricate optical microsystems using innovative technologies and and original architectures. A barcode scanner, laser projection mirror and a microspectrometer are explained in detail, starting from the system conception, discussing simulations, choice of cleanroom technologies, design, fabrication, device test, packaging all the way to the system assembly.

An advanced microscanning device capable of one- and two-dimensional scanning can be integrated in a compact barcode scanning system composed of a laser diode and adapted optics. The original design of the microscanner combines efficiently the miniaturized thermal mechanical actuator and the reflecting mirror, providing a one-dimensional scanning or an unique combination of two movements, depending on the geometry. The simplicity of the device makes it a competitive component.

The authors rethink the design of a miniaturized optical device and find a compact solution for a microspectrometer, based on a tunable filter and a single pixel detector. A porous silicon technology combines efficiently the optical filter function with a thermal mechanical actuator on chip. The methodology for design and process calibration are discussed in detail. The device is the core component of an infrared gas spectrometer.