This book presents comprehensive, thorough and updated analyses of key cognitive individual difference factors (e.g., age, intelligence, language aptitude, working memory, metacognition, learning strategies, and anxiety) as they relate to the acquisition, processing, assessment, and pedagogy of second or foreign languages. Critical reviews and in-depth research syntheses of these pivotal cognitive learner factors are put into historical and broader contexts, drawing upon the multiple authors' extensive research experience, penetrating insights and unique perspectives spanning applied linguistics, teacher training, educational psychology, and cognitive science. The carefully crafted chapters provide essential course readings and valuable references for seasoned researchers and aspiring postgraduate students in the broad fields of instructed second language acquisition, foreign language training, teacher education, language pedagogy, educational psychology, and cognitive development.

A service economy era is coming As the basic discipline of service dominant era, service science mainly studies common rules of service activities, aiming to provide theoretical bases for creating service value in the new era. The book, which integrates knowledge of service management, operational management, logistics and supply chain management, constructs a research system for this emerging discipline. Service science research system constitutes service philosophy, resource allocation, operational management and service technology. Many cases about China s service enterprises are incorporated in the book, in the hope of providing readers an insight into not only service science but also the development of China s service economy."

This book introduces wireless traffic steering as a paradigm to realize green communication in multi-tier heterogeneous cellular networks. By matching network resources and dynamic mobile traffic demand, traffic steering helps to reduce on-grid power consumption with on-demand services provided. This book reviews existing solutions from the perspectives of energy consumption reduction and renewable energy harvesting. Specifically, it explains how traffic steering can improve energy efficiency through intelligent traffic-resource matching. Several promising traffic steering approaches for dynamic network planning and renewable energy demand-supply balancing are discussed. This book presents an energy-aware traffic steering method for networks with energy harvesting, which optimizes the traffic allocated to each cell based on the renewable energy status. Renewable energy demand-supply balancing is a key factor in energy dynamics, aimed at enhancing renewable energy sustainability to reduce on-grid energy consumption. Dynamic network planning adjusts cell density with traffic variations to provide on-demand service, which reduces network power consumption with quality of service provisioning during off-peak hours. With intra- or inter-tier traffic steering, cell density is dynamically optimized with regards to the instant traffic load for conventional homogeneous and multi-tier heterogeneous cellular networks, respectively. This book is beneficial for researchers and graduate students interested in traffic management and future wireless networking.

This book is the first of its kind on environmental change research devoted to monsoon-arid environment evolution history and its mechanism involved. Capturing the most prominent features of Asian climate and environmental changes, it gives a comprehensive review of the Asian Monsoon records providing evidence for spatial and temporal climatic and environmental changes across the Asian continent since the Late Cenozoic. The dynamics underlying these changes are explored based on various bio-geological records and in particular based on the evidence of loess, speleothems as well as on mammal fossils. The Asian monsoon-arid climate system which quantifies the controlling mechanisms of climate change and the way it operates in different time scales is described. Attempts to differentiate between natural change and human-induced effects, which will help guide policies and countermeasures designed to support sustainable development on the Chinese Loess Plateau and the arid west.

This book introduces an approach to understanding and measuring working memory components and functions in second language learning, processing and development. It presents comprehensive, thorough and updated reviews of relevant literatures from cognitive sciences and applied linguistics. Drawing on multidisciplinary research, the book advocates a conceptual framework for integrating working memory theories with second language acquisition theories. An innovative theoretical model is also presented, which illuminates research studies investigating the distinctive roles of phonological and executive working memory as they relate to specific L2 learning domains, skills and processes. Theoretical and methodological implications of this integrative perspective are further elaborated and discussed within the specific realms of L2 task-based performance and language aptitude research.

This book introduces an approach to understanding and measuring working memory components and functions in second language learning, processing and development. It presents comprehensive, thorough and updated reviews of relevant literatures from cognitive sciences and applied linguistics. Drawing on multidisciplinary research, the book advocates a conceptual framework for integrating working memory theories with second language acquisition theories. An innovative theoretical model is also presented, which illuminates research studies investigating the distinctive roles of phonological and executive working memory as they relate to specific L2 learning domains, skills and processes. Theoretical and methodological implications of this integrative perspective are further elaborated and discussed within the specific realms of L2 task-based performance and language aptitude research.

This unique volume offers a comprehensive discussion of essential theoretical and methodological issues concerning the pivotal role of working memory in second language learning and processing. The collection opens with a foreword and introductory theoretical chapters written by leading figures in the field of cognitive psychology. Following these are three research sections containing chapters providing original data and innovative insights into the dynamic and complex relationships between working memory and specific areas of second language processing, instruction, performance and development. Each section concludes with a commentary which is written by a noted SLA researcher and which charts the course for future research. This book provides a fascinating collection of perspectives on the relationship between working memory and second language learning and will appeal to those interested in the integration of cognitive psychology with SLA research.

This unique volume offers a comprehensive discussion of essential theoretical and methodological issues concerning the pivotal role of working memory in second language learning and processing. The collection opens with a foreword and introductory theoretical chapters written by leading figures in the field of cognitive psychology. Following these are three research sections containing chapters providing original data and innovative insights into the dynamic and complex relationships between working memory and specific areas of second language processing, instruction, performance and development. Each section concludes with a commentary which is written by a noted SLA researcher and which charts the course for future research. This book provides a fascinating collection of perspectives on the relationship between working memory and second language learning and will appeal to those interested in the integration of cognitive psychology with SLA research.

Language Aptitude: Advancing Theory, Testing, Research and Practice brings together cutting-edge global perspectives on foreign language aptitude. Drawing from educational psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, the editors have assembled interdisciplinary authors writing for an applied linguistics and education audience. The book is broken into five major themes: revisiting and updating current language aptitude theories and models; emerging insights from contemporary research into language aptitude and the age factor or the critical period hypothesis; redefining constructs and broadening territories of foreign language aptitude; exploring language aptitude from a neurocognitive perspective; and exploring future directions of foreign language aptitude research. Focused on critical issues in foreign language aptitude and second language learning and teaching, this book will be an important research resource and supplemental reading in both applied linguistics and cognitive psychology.

Language Aptitude: Advancing Theory, Testing, Research and Practice brings together cutting-edge global perspectives on foreign language aptitude. Drawing from educational psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, the editors have assembled interdisciplinary authors writing for an applied linguistics and education audience. The book is broken into five major themes: revisiting and updating current language aptitude theories and models; emerging insights from contemporary research into language aptitude and the age factor or the critical period hypothesis; redefining constructs and broadening territories of foreign language aptitude; exploring language aptitude from a neurocognitive perspective; and exploring future directions of foreign language aptitude research. Focused on critical issues in foreign language aptitude and second language learning and teaching, this book will be an important research resource and supplemental reading in both applied linguistics and cognitive psychology.

Distributed controller design is generally a challenging task, especially for multi-agent systems with complex dynamics, due to the interconnected effect of the agent dynamics, the interaction graph among agents, and the cooperative control laws. Cooperative Control of Multi-Agent Systems: A Consensus Region Approach offers a systematic framework for designing distributed controllers for multi-agent systems with general linear agent dynamics, linear agent dynamics with uncertainties, and Lipschitz nonlinear agent dynamics. Beginning with an introduction to cooperative control and graph theory, this monograph: Explores the consensus control problem for continuous-time and discrete-time linear multi-agent systems Studies the H and H2 consensus problems for linear multi-agent systems subject to external disturbances Designs distributed adaptive consensus protocols for continuous-time linear multi-agent systems Considers the distributed tracking control problem for linear multi-agent systems with a leader of nonzero control input Examines the distributed containment control problem for the case with multiple leaders Covers the robust cooperative control problem for multi-agent systems with linear nominal agent dynamics subject to heterogeneous matching uncertainties Discusses the global consensus problem for Lipschitz nonlinear multi-agent systems Cooperative Control of Multi-Agent Systems: A Consensus Region Approach provides a novel approach to designing distributed cooperative protocols for multi-agent systems with complex dynamics. The proposed consensus region decouples the design of the feedback gain matrices of the cooperative protocols from the communication graph and serves as a measure for the robustness of the protocols to variations of the communication graph. By exploiting the decoupling feature, adaptive cooperative protocols are presented that can be designed and implemented in a fully distributed fashion.

Modeling and Control of Magnetic Fluid Deformable Mirrors for Adaptive Optics Systems presents a novel design of wavefront correctors based on magnetic fluid deformable mirrors (MFDM) as well as corresponding control algorithms. The presented wavefront correctors are characterized by their linear, dynamic response. Various mirror surface shape control algorithms are presented along with experimental evaluations of the performance of the resulting adaptive optics systems. Adaptive optics (AO) systems are used in various fields of application to enhance the performance of optical systems, such as imaging, laser, free space optical communication systems, etc. This book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students, professors, engineers, scientists and researchers working on the design of adaptive optics systems and their various emerging fields of application. Zhizheng Wu is an associate professor at Shanghai University, China. Azhar Iqbal is a research associate at the University of Toronto, Canada. Foued Ben Amara is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, Canada.

The last few years have witnessed exponential growth in research output within the field of language aptitude. With contributions from an international team of leading experts, this volume provides the most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date overview of developments in language aptitude theory and practice. It addresses central and newly emerging methodological and theoretical issues, and revisits and re-examines the most popular language aptitude tests, including the most durable and innovative batteries. It also provides in-depth demonstrations of language aptitude research paradigms, including well-established and emerging ones, scrutinizing them from multidisciplinary perspectives. Aptitude treatment interactions studies are reported and discussed, and pedagogical implications are provided, to illuminate theory construction, test development, policymaking, curriculum design and classroom practice. Seamlessly integrating theory, research, assessment and practice, it is essential reading for anyone seeking to learn more about language learning, training and teaching, and will further advance the research in this exciting, fast-paced field.

Bringing together cutting-edge research, this Handbook is the first comprehensive text to examine the pivotal role of working memory in first and second language acquisition, processing, impairments, and training. Authored by a stellar cast of distinguished scholars from around the world, the Handbook provides authoritative insights on work from diverse, multi-disciplinary perspectives, and introduces key models of working memory in relation to language. Following an introductory chapter by working memory pioneer Alan Baddeley, the collection is organized into thematic sections that discuss working memory in relation to: Theoretical models and measures; Linguistic theories and frameworks; First language processing; Bilingual acquisition and processing; and Language disorders, interventions, and instruction. The Handbook is sure to interest and benefit researchers, clinicians, speech therapists, and advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in linguistics, psychology, education, speech therapy, cognitive science, and neuroscience, or anyone seeking to learn more about language, cognition and the human mind.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Health Information Science, HIS 2018, held in Cairns, QLD, Australia, in October 2018. The 13 full papers and 5 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 43 submissions. The papers feature multidisciplinary research results in health information science and systems that support health information management and health service delivery. They relate to all aspects of the conference scope, such as medical/health/biomedicine information resources such as patient medical records, devices and equipments, software and tools to capture, store, retrieve, process, analyze, and optimize the use of information in the health domain; data management, data mining, and knowledge discovery, management of public health, examination of standards, privacy and security issues; computer visualization and artificial intelligence for computer aided diagnosis; development of new architectures and applications for health information systems.

This book introduces wireless traffic steering as a paradigm to realize green communication in multi-tier heterogeneous cellular networks. By matching network resources and dynamic mobile traffic demand, traffic steering helps to reduce on-grid power consumption with on-demand services provided. This book reviews existing solutions from the perspectives of energy consumption reduction and renewable energy harvesting. Specifically, it explains how traffic steering can improve energy efficiency through intelligent traffic-resource matching. Several promising traffic steering approaches for dynamic network planning and renewable energy demand-supply balancing are discussed. This book presents an energy-aware traffic steering method for networks with energy harvesting, which optimizes the traffic allocated to each cell based on the renewable energy status. Renewable energy demand-supply balancing is a key factor in energy dynamics, aimed at enhancing renewable energy sustainability to reduce on-grid energy consumption. Dynamic network planning adjusts cell density with traffic variations to provide on-demand service, which reduces network power consumption with quality of service provisioning during off-peak hours. With intra- or inter-tier traffic steering, cell density is dynamically optimized with regards to the instant traffic load for conventional homogeneous and multi-tier heterogeneous cellular networks, respectively. This book is beneficial for researchers and graduate students interested in traffic management and future wireless networking.

A service economy era is coming! As the basic discipline of service dominant era, service science mainly studies common rules of service activities, aiming to provide theoretical bases for creating service value in the new era. The book, which integrates knowledge of service management, operational management, logistics and supply chain management, constructs a research system for this emerging discipline. Service science research system constitutes service philosophy, resource allocation, operational management and service technology. Many cases about China's service enterprises are incorporated in the book, in the hope of providing readers an insight into not only service science but also the development of China's service economy.

Modeling and Control of Magnetic Fluid Deformable Mirrors for Adaptive Optics Systems presents a novel design of wavefront correctors based on magnetic fluid deformable mirrors (MFDM) as well as corresponding control algorithms. The presented wavefront correctors are characterized by their linear, dynamic response. Various mirror surface shape control algorithms are presented along with experimental evaluations of the performance of the resulting adaptive optics systems. Adaptive optics (AO) systems are used in various fields of application to enhance the performance of optical systems, such as imaging, laser, free space optical communication systems, etc. This book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students, professors, engineers, scientists and researchers working on the design of adaptive optics systems and their various emerging fields of application. Zhizheng Wu is an associate professor at Shanghai University, China. Azhar Iqbal is a research associate at the University of Toronto, Canada. Foued Ben Amara is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, Canada.

This book constitutes the revised selected papers of the combined workshops on Web Information Systems Engineering, WISE 2011 and WISE 2012, held in Sydney, Australia, in October 2011 and in Paphos, Cyprus, in November 2012. The seven workshops of WISE 2011-2012 have reported the recent developments and advances in the contemporary topics in the related fields of: Advanced Reasoning Technology for e-Science (ART 2012), Cloud-Enabled Business Process Management (CeBPM 2012), Engineering in the Semantic Enterprise (ESE 2012), Social Web Analysis for Trend Detection (SoWeTrend 2012), Big Data and Cloud (BDC 2012), Personalization in Cloud and Service Computing (PC-S 2011), and User-Focused Service Engineering, Consumption and Aggregation (USECA 2011).

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Health Information Science, HIS 2020, which took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, during October 20-23, 2020. The 11 full papers and 6 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 62 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: mental health; medical record processing; medical information systems; medical diagnosis with machine learning; and health behavior and medication.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the International Conference on Internet of Things, ICIOT 2020, held virtually as part of SCF 2020, in Honolulu, HI, USA, in September 2020. The 8 full and 4 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 20 submissions. The conference Internet of Things (ICIOT 2020) covers state-of-the-art technologies and best practices of Internet of Things, as well as emerging standards and research topics which would define the future of Internet of Things.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Web Information Systems Engineering, WISE 2020, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in October 2020.The 81 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 190 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Part I: network embedding; graph neural network; social network; graph query; knowledge graph and entity linkage; spatial temporal data analysis; and service computing and cloud computing Part II: information extraction; text mining; security and privacy; recommender system; database system and workflow; and data mining and applications

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Web Information Systems Engineering, WISE 2020, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in October 2020.The 81 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 190 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Part I: network embedding; graph neural network; social network; graph query; knowledge graph and entity linkage; spatial temporal data analysis; and service computing and cloud computing Part II: information extraction; text mining; security and privacy; recommender system; database system and workflow; and data mining and applications

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Health Information Science, HIS 2019, held in Xi'an, China, in October 2019. The 14 full papers and 14 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 60 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections named: Medical Information System and Platform; Mining Medical Data; EEG and ECG; Medical Image; Mental Health; and Healthcare.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Health Information Science, HIS 2017, held in Moscow, Russia, in October 2017. The 11 full papers and 7 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 44 submissions. The papers feature multidisciplinary research results in health information science and systems that support health information management and health service delivery. They relate to all aspects of the conference scope, such as medical/health/biomedicine information resources such as patient medical records, devices and equipments, software and tools to capture, store, retrieve, process, analyze, and optimize the use of information in the health domain; data management, data mining, and knowledge discovery, management of publichealth, examination of standards, privacy and security issues; computer visualization and artificial intelligence for computer aided diagnosis; development of new architectures and applications for health information systems.