This book presents state-of-the-art probabilistic methods for the reliability analysis and design of engineering products and processes. It seeks to facilitate practical application of probabilistic analysis and design by providing an authoritative, in-depth, and practical description of what probabilistic analysis and design is and how it can be implemented. The text is packed with many practical engineering examples (e.g., electric power transmission systems, aircraft power generating systems, and mechanical transmission systems) and exercise problems. It is an up-to-date, fully illustrated reference suitable for both undergraduate and graduate engineering students, researchers, and professional engineers who are interested in exploring the fundamentals, implementation, and applications of probabilistic analysis and design methods.

Overtime I've learned the nature of purpose. In theory, we all pursue life seeking some form of validation. What cultivates uniqueness? What empowerment can we offer the world? How can we improve ourselves? These questions have sent me on a provocative journey- The Poetic Zeal. This literature is presented in five categories. The first chapter illustrates self- reckoning. In my teen years my mother would always tell me, "Son, success is not determined by where you come from- it's about where you are going."Mothers it seems know best. However once in college, I put a slight twist to her saying. I have a faith that success is not only measured by where one is going or from. It's about what you want in life and the desire to achieve goals will ultimately lead you to the success.Sometimes life's experience has led me to believe that sticking with the program and staying where you are was the virtuous act. In my continued battle of that assertion, I come to the conclusion that the threat of regression is greater than the fear of subjection. Nevertheless, I've acquired the instinct to accept trails and tribulations of the past as a lesson, while acknowledging the present and forgoing the future. Expressions in Japanese calligraphy (Shodou) are great examples of poetic method. The Western absorption of this art influenced the development of haiku. Haikus are a structure of three stanzas with a distinct set of syllables (respectively 5, 7, and 5.) In relevance to the facets of form, the second chapter of this book features a composition of haiku's.The third chapter addresses the predominating and prevalent issues within society. Life in the ghetto was a growing pain (i.e. frequent candle lit shrines, the infeasibility of educational and economic advancement and the ever present dilemma of identity.) Initially I had reservations not to include societal topics in my work. I thought harping on controversial issues would diminish from the art of poetry and could project as condemning. The focus of this section is not to condemn but to shed light on the neglected corners of society. For the most part, I believe the overall struggle for a democratic livelihood is something we all should aspire to achieve.The third part of this manuscript acknowledges war and pays tribute to the sacrifices thereof. As an Iraqi war veteran I've experience close hand the impact in fighting overseas and can identify with its affect. Leadership within our system of government is a constant balancing act. Despite political turmoil and its mandates of approach, our service members are the true granters' of the free world.The deliverance of former Vice-President Al Gore warns that our planet has a fever. In figurative sense our subtle differences and worldly conflicts fueled through prejudice, greed, pride and profits contributed to this infection. In fact they are the infection. But whatever happened to compassion? The final part of this manuscript is my take on empathy and the arts. Parts of this section are sensually expressive while others are morsels of artistry.

This book describes for readers technology used for effective sensing of our physical world and intelligent processing techniques for sensed information, which are essential to the success of Internet of Things (IoTs). The authors provide a multidisciplinary view of sensor technology from materials, process, circuits, and big data domains and showcase smart sensor systems in real applications including smart home, transportation, medical, environmental, agricultural, etc. Unlike earlier books on sensors, this book will provide a "global" view on smart sensors covering abstraction levels from device, circuit, systems, and algorithms. Profiles active research on smart sensors based on CMOS microelectronics; Describes applications of sensors and sensor systems in cyber physical systems, the social information infrastructure in our modern world; Includes coverage of a variety of related information technologies supporting the application of sensors; Discusses the integration of computation, networking, actuation, databases, and various sensors, in order to embed smart sensor systems into actual social systems.

This book describes technology used for effective sensing of our physical world and intelligent processing techniques for sensed information, which are essential to the success of Internet of Things (IoT). The authors provide a multidisciplinary view of sensor technology from materials, process, circuits, to big data domains and they showcase smart sensor systems in real applications including smart home, transportation, medical, environmental, agricultural, etc. Unlike earlier books on sensors, this book provides a "global" view on smart sensors covering abstraction levels from device, circuit, systems, and algorithms.

This book presents a survey of past and recent developments on human walking in virtual environments with an emphasis on human self-motion perception, the multisensory nature of experiences of walking, conceptual design approaches, current technologies, and applications. The use of Virtual Reality and movement simulation systems is becoming increasingly popular and more accessible to a wide variety of research fields and applications. While, in the past, simulation technologies have focused on developing realistic, interactive visual environments, it is becoming increasingly obvious that our everyday interactions are highly multisensory. Therefore, investigators are beginning to understand the critical importance of developing and validating locomotor interfaces that can allow for realistic, natural behaviours. The book aims to present an overview of what is currently understood about human perception and performance when moving in virtual environments and to situate it relative to the broader scientific and engineering literature on human locomotion and locomotion interfaces. The contents include scientific background and recent empirical findings related to biomechanics, self-motion perception, and physical interactions. The book also discusses conceptual approaches to multimodal sensing, display systems, and interaction for walking in real and virtual environments. Finally, it will present current and emerging applications in areas such as gait and posture rehabilitation, gaming, sports, and architectural design.

Recent advances in electronic and computer technologies have paved the way for the proliferation of ubiquitous computing and innovative applications that incorporate these technologies. This proceedings book describes these new and innovative technologies, and covers topics like Ubiquitous Communication and Networks, Security Systems, Smart Devices and Applications, Cloud and Grid Systems, Service-oriented and Web Service Computing, Embedded Hardware and Image Processing and Multimedia.

A fascinating ethnographic study of a high school in Toronto, with surprising insights into how these adolescents identify themselves in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality.

High definition video requires substantial compression in order to be transmitted or stored economically. Advances in video coding standards from MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 to H.264/AVC have provided ever increasing coding efficiency, at the expense of great computational complexity which can only be delivered through massively parallel processing.

This book will present VLSI architectural design and chip implementation for high definition H.264/AVC video encoding, using a state-of-the-art video application, with complete VLSI prototype, via FPGA/ASIC. It will serve as an invaluable reference for anyone interested in VLSI design and high-level (EDA) synthesis for video.

This book can simply be summed up as the thermodynamics 'bible' for mechanical engineering students. It gives the fundamentals of engineering thermodynamics and their application to particular fluids and the ways in which work and heat transfer are affected.
Part I is devoted to the principles of thermodynamics, Part II to applications of the principles to particular fluids, and Parts III and IV respectively to ways in which work and heat transfers are effected. This scheme leaves it open to the lecturer to choose any preferred order of presentation, but also provides the student with a book which enables principle to be distinguished from application.

Tried and trusted and easy-to-use, Headstart English is a sound First Additional Language course for the Foundation Phase that guarantees accurate and comprehensive CAPS coverage. The accessible language and step-by-step progression secures a solid language foundation for all young learners. Features include: the CAPS focus in Grade 2 includes oral, reading, writing and language skills; the Grade 2 learner's books are designed to develop and consolidate these skills; to support step-by-step learning in Grade 2, each theme starts with a page focused on the teaching of vocabulary central to the theme; this vocabulary is re-enforced as learners work through the themes; activities are carefully designed to support step-by-step learning; and the A4 format supports accessibility.

This book originated from a workshop held at the DATE 2005 conference, namely Designing Complex SOCs. It is a state-of-the-art in issues related to System-on-Chip (SoC) design by leading experts in the fields, and covers IP development, verification, integration, chip implementation, testing and software. SOC design is fast becoming the key area of focus that engineers and researchers from the Electronic Design Automation field are focussing on in their quest to further develop Integrated Circuit technology. The more systems and even networks that we can integrate on one piece of silicon, the faster, cheaper, more powerful and efficient the technology will become. Essential Issues in SOC Design contains valuable academic and industrial examples for those involved with the design of complex SOCs, all contributors are selected from a region of the world that is generally known to lead the SOC-Revolution, namely Asia.

This book is about thin films; what they are, how they are prepared, how they are characterized, and what they are used for. The contents of this book not only showcase the diversity of thin films, but also reveals the commonality among the work performed in a variety of areas. The chapters in this volume are based on invited papers presented by prominent researchers in the field at a Symposium on "Thin Films: Preparation, Characterization, Applications" at the 221st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society held in San Diego, California. The coverage of the symposium was extensive; topics ranged from highly-ordered metal adlayers on well-defined electrode surfaces to bio-organic films on non-metallic nanoparticles. An objective of this book is for the readers to be able to draw from the experience and results of others in order to improve and expand the understanding of the science and technology of their own thin films systems.

Formation of Periodical Authorship in 1920s Korea argues that Korean authors who entered the literary scene during modern literature’s formative years were the subject mediated by periodicals. However, it has been difficult to substantiate this statement because periodicals, including magazines, were open to different groups of writers; various social, literary, religious, and cultural discourses; and dissimilar genres. The multi-level interactions between terms, knowledge, and writing styles in circulation unfolded at a larger scale at some times and at other times, in such an ordinary manner that one can hardly identify and synthesize them to make any sense. Employing not only conventional close reading, but also modes of distant reading developing out of cultural analytics, Lee investigates the specific ways in which patterns of social, semantic, and stylistic interactions in Korea’s major magazines configured three kinds of authorship, namely the “narcissistic author,� the “prophetic critic,� and the “everyday reviewer.� He rereads artist stories, leftist social discourses, religious cosmology, and joint reviews through quantitative analyses; and offers an engaging account on the importance of repetitions in creating literary originality. This book extends periodical studies through cultural analytics and opens up a new horizon for the next generation of literary scholars seeking innovative experiments in a digital age. Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com

This book constitutes the proceedings of the third international conference AsiaHaptics 2018, held in Songdo, Korea. It presents the state-of-the-art of the diverse haptics (touch)-related research, including perception and illusion, development of haptics devices, and applications to a wide variety of fields such as education, medicine, telecommunication, navigation and entertainment. This book is a valuable resource not only for active haptics researchers, but also for general readers wishing to understand the status quo in this interdisciplinary area of science and technology.