The hand is quicker than the eye. In many cases, so is digital video. Maintaining image quality in bandwidth- and memory-restricted environments is quickly becoming a reality as thriving research delves ever deeper into perceptual coding techniques, which discard superfluous data that humans cannot process or detect. Surveying the topic from a Human Visual System (HVS)-based approach, Digital Video Image Quality and Perceptual Coding outlines the principles, metrics, and standards associated with perceptual coding, as well as the latest techniques and applications. This book is divided broadly into three parts. First, it introduces the fundamental theory, concepts, principles, and techniques underlying the field, such as the basics of compression, HVS modeling, and coding artifacts associated with current well-known techniques. The next section focuses on picture quality assessment criteria; subjective and objective methods and metrics, including vision model based digital video impairment metrics; testing procedures; and international standards regarding image quality. Finally, practical applications come into focus, including digital image and video coder designs based on the HVS as well as post-filtering, restoration, error correction, and concealment techniques. The permeation of digital images and video throughout the world cannot be understated. Nor can the importance of preserving quality while using minimal storage space, and Digital Video Image Quality and Perceptual Coding provides the tools necessary to accomplish this goal. Instructors and lecturers wishing to make use of this work as a textbook can download a presentation of 786 slides in PDF format organized to augment thetext. accompany our book (H.R. Wu and K.R. Rao, Digital Video Image Quality and Perceptual Coding, CRC Press (ISBN: 0-8247-2777-0), Nov. 2005) for lecturers or instructor to use for their classes if they use the book.

Industrial Applications of Carbon Nanotubes covers the current applications of carbon nanotubes in various industry sectors, from the military to visual display products, and energy harvesting and storage. It also assesses the opportunities and challenges for increased commercialization and manufacturing of carbon nanotubes in the years ahead. Real-life case studies illustrate how carbon nanotubes are used in each industry sector covered, providing a valuable resource for scientists and engineers who are involved and/or interested in carbon nanotubes in both academia and industry. The book serves as a comprehensive guide to the varied uses of carbon nanotubes for specialists in many related fields, including chemistry, physics, biology, and textiles.

This work explores the association of social networksin understanding likelihood transitions principallyinto work or training and education achieved byclients in Scotland, and considers the context withinwhich access to and mobilisation of social capitalleads to successful employment status. From thisperspective, the aim is to statistically evaluate theWorking for Families program run by Scottish Government to help vulnerable and disadvantaged parents in some of most deprived areas in Scotland into sustained employment and training. Theevaluation was obtained with aid of statistical methods, such as: exploratory analysis, cluster analysis and binomial logistic regression. According to the analyses, it was found that none of the socialnetwork variables had significant impact on theclients' achieving transitions. The reason behindthis finding might be relying upon the small samplesize and large amount of missing data, but mainlyshould be due to that the clients were too poor toaccess their social capital or they did have accessbut could not mobilise it. The target audience ofthis work may comprise scholars, policy makers andresearchers.

Most of the guidelines and methods available to measure and assess survey quality are based on qualitative descriptions. In practice, they are difficult to implement. Hence there is a demand to develop a quantitative tool to effectively measure and assess survey quality. The tool developed in this book enables survey researchers and/or commissioners to make a holistic assessment of the value of the particular survey(s). It is an Excel based audit following all stages of the survey from inception, to design, construction, execution, analysis and dissemination. At each stage a set of criteria are applied to assess quality. Scores attained against these assessments are weighted by the importance of the criteria and summed to give an overall assessment of the stage. The total score for a survey can be obtained by the combination of the scores for every stage weighted again by the importance of each stage. The advantage of this tool is to construct a means of survey assessment which can be used in a diagnostic manner to evaluate and improve survey quality. The target audience of this book may comprise students, scholars, practitioners and researchers.