Monday 17 January 2011

Small Intarsia: Woodworking Projects You Can Make



Small Intarsia: Woodworking Projects You Can Make
Judy Gale Roberts and Jerry Booher | 1996-01-01 00:00:00 | Fox Chapel Publishing | 70 | Do It Yourself
The second book by award-winning intarsia artist Judy Gale Roberts includes a collection of exciting patterns and all-new projects for small-scale intarsia, the art of making picture mosaics in wood, using different woods and wood grains. Includes a comprehensive how-to section, 13 ready-to-use patterns, and more than 150 color photos.
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The Happiness Revolution: Creating Balance and Harmony in Your Life



The Happiness Revolution: Creating Balance and Harmony in Your Life
Blair Lewis | 2007-01-01 00:00:00 | Alive and Healthy Institute Press | 380 | Happiness
Reviews
I got this book for a class I was taking for my licensing. Frankly I find it entirely too preachy for my liking, and would not have gotten it if it wasn't on the required reading list. Content-wise, it's written with a heavy slant to it, and I kind of think that the author is being at least a little hypocritical with the way he wrote the book.



In fairness, *some* ideas are good, but there is a lot of material that will be kept to heart only for as long as it takes to pass the course, then it will promptly be purged from memory and the book left to gather dust somewhere.
Reviews
This book has very potent and inspiring information that is practical for everyday use. The author has an entertaining, conversational style which makes the book a joy to read. If you would like to improve any aspect of your life, simply follow his wisdom!
Reviews
The ideas in this book seem nice enough on the surface, but at the same time quite out of step with reality. Yes, happiness is great, but there is more to life than this. The book contains nothing new, and in my option, may lead people in the wrong direction. Not worth the money. If you're sick or not happy, you won't find anything lasting here. The author seems to enjoy "listing" to the sound of his own words too much. Maybe the happiest I got reading this book was when I used it to cover my eyes as it put me to sleep.


Reviews
As a current medical student, I've just found the addendum to the medical school curriculum I've been searching for! After reading The Happiness Revolution, I have be shown a completely new framework upon which the rest of my own life and education will be laid--a framework that involves more emphasis on understanding the entirety of the human being; more efficient ways of achieving optimal health through such simple things as diet, sleep, meditation, and holistic medicine (to name but a few); and most importantly, a clearer picture of what it is that we are all striving for in our careers, family lives, hobbies, and each and every other aspect of our lives: happiness. This book is a truly integrative and innovative guide to living with purpose and joy!
Reviews
I continue to be amazed at how practical and accessible the author makes the insights contained in this MUST HAVE book. As a person sincerely interested in exploring all that life has to offer I am so grateful to have finally found a book that connects the dots between the esoteric teachings of the east and a much needed common sense approach to applying those ancient teachings to today's world.

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Classical Arabic Humanities in Their Own Terms: Festschrift for Wolfhart Heinrichs on His 65th



Classical Arabic Humanities in Their Own Terms: Festschrift for Wolfhart Heinrichs on His 65th
Beatrice Gruendler,Michael Cooperson | 2008-03-30 00:00:00 | Brill Academic Publishers | 611 | World

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Internal Conflict and Regional Security in South Asia: Approaches, Perspectives and Policies



Internal Conflict and Regional Security in South Asia: Approaches, Perspectives and Policies
Shiva Hari Dahal | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | United Nations Publications | 64 | Politics

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The Biographies of Rechung-pa: The Evolution of a Tibetan Hagiography (RoutledgeCurzon Critical Studies in Buddhism)



The Biographies of Rechung-pa: The Evolution of a Tibetan Hagiography (RoutledgeCurzon Critical Studies in Buddhism)
Peter Roberts | 2007-04-11 00:00:00 | Routledge | 304 | Tibet
Rechung-pa (1084-1161) is a Tibetan folk-hero whose biography is one of the most well-known literary works in Tibet. This book traces the life story of the student of the famous teacher Milarepa using rare and little-known manuscripts. The author compares significant episodes in the life of Rechung-pa as portrayed in a succession of texts and thus demonstrates the evolution of Rechung-pa's biography. This is the first survey of the surviving literature which includes a detailed analysis of their dates, authorship and interrelationships. It shows how Rechung-pa was increasingly portrayed as a rebellious, volatile and difficult pupil, as a lineage from a fellow-pupil prospered to become dominant in Tibet.

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Computation and Visualization for Understanding Dynamics in Geographic Domains: A Research Agenda



Computation and Visualization for Understanding Dynamics in Geographic Domains: A Research Agenda
May Yuan,Kathleen S. Hornsby | 2007-12-26 00:00:00 | CRC Press | 120 | Software Engineering
The world is ever changing, and a comprehensive understanding of the world will not be achieved without theoretical and methodological advances to decode complex dynamics in human and environmental systems.

Computation and Visualization for the Understanding of Dynamics in Geographic Domains: A Research Agenda synthesizes key ideas and issues discussed during the UCGIS hosted workshop on computation. It expands upon popular discussions to provide a comprehensive overview of geographic dynamics and new approaches to advance our understanding of geographic dynamics through computation and visualization.

The text gives an overview of the state of research and how this research relates to intelligence analysis. It addresses broad issues and challenges in areas, such as spatiotemporal analysis and modeling, spatiotemporal visual analytics; spatiotemporal data mining, spatiotemporal reasoning, and spatiotemporal ontologies. The book also fuses suggestions from workshop participants with literature reviews to propose new research agendas and recommendations for future developments and collaboration.

With full coverage on current developments and probably challenges, Computation and Visualization for the Understanding of Dynamics in Geographic Domains: A Research Agenda establishes a foundation to promote further studies in geographic dynamics and provides a springboard for the next big scientific and technological breakthrough.

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The Tomes of Delphi 3: Win32 Core Api



The Tomes of Delphi 3: Win32 Core Api
John Ayres,David Bowden,Larry Diehl,Kenneth Harrison,Rod Mathes,Ovais Reza,Mike Tobin | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Wordware | 788 | Software Engineering
The authors provide software developers a comprehensive guide to the Microsoft Windows application programming interface, the heart of Windows software development. This reference covers all of the most common Windows API functions, and each function has the syntax and an example of its use in Delphi's Object Pascal. The CD includes all of the code from the book.
Reviews
I believe, it's on every Delphi programmer to concentrate on this book.
Reviews
I cannot find out for an expert trick or undocumented windows API. I expected more about this book ! Badluck for me :( But , It may OK for some beginner programmer , who know ?
Reviews
The examples shown in this book are of little more value than those found in MSDN. They're simplistic, strawman examples that you don't need a book to figure out. Moreover, the coverage of the API is incomplete. The Shell interface, for example, should be covered in depth -- it isn't. Worse yet, the writing is very bad. I've never read such boring, lackluster prose. The authors show no noteworthy ability for making difficult concepts easy to grasp -- a must for the able technical writer. I recommend that you get Delphi Unleashed instead.
Reviews
I bought this after seeing several newbie recommendations for it. What a waste of money! This is nothing but a dead trees version of the Win32 API help with some banal examples thrown in for good measure. It's an embarrassing hack of a book. If you want to actually *master* the core API, get Delphi Unleashed or Delphi Developer's Guide and study MSDN extensively.
Reviews
This is nothing more than a reproduction of the MSDN andBorland help. Some of the examples are copied verbatim from MSDN andtranslated to Pascal. Do not waste your money on this book. It does not deserve shelf space in your library.

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Integrated Product and Process Design and Development, Second Edition



Integrated Product and Process Design and Development, Second Edition
JEdward B. Magrab | 2009-01-01 00:00:00 | CRC | 304 | Management
Product Description:

The second edition of a bestseller, this book discusses an integrated product and process design which has been successfully use to conceptualize, design, and rapidly product competitively-priced quality products. It examines the overlapping, interacting, and iterative nature of the engineering aspects that impact the product realization process. A detailed introduction to the creation of high quality products, the new edition explores the role of innovation, requirements engineering, smart materials, different rapid prototyping methods, and life-cycle cost determination, to name just a few. The book delineates proven methods that have been used successfully to create products.
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The Development of Science-based Guidelines for Laboratory Animal Care: Proceedings of the November 2003 International Workshop



The Development of Science-based Guidelines for Laboratory Animal Care: Proceedings of the November 2003 International Workshop
International Workshop on the Development of Science-based Guidelines for Laboratory Animal Care Program Committee,National Research Council | 2004-10-21 00:00:00 | National Academies Press | 264 | Research

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Anesthesiologist's Manual of Surgical Procedures



Anesthesiologist's Manual of Surgical Procedures
Richard A. Jaffe | 2009-02-26 00:00:00 | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins | 1408 | Urology

Completely updated, and now in full color, this practical reference is a comprehensive guide to the anesthetic and perioperative management of patients during all procedures performed by general and subspecialist surgeons. The book explains each procedure from both the surgeon's and the anesthesiologist's perspective, presents details on anesthetic technique, and guides the anesthesiologist and surgeon through the decisions that must be made before, during, and after surgery. Emphasis is on factors that impact the anesthesiologist, including patient positioning, duration of surgery, and complications. The Fourth Edition covers almost 40 new surgical procedures, with an increased focus on laparoscopic and endovascular procedures.

A companion Website will offer the fully searchable text and an image bank.


Reviews
I have found Jaffe's book to be incredibly helpful for the surgeries that it covers. Surgical procedures are grouped by categories with broad descriptions from the surgeon's perspective of what the surgeries will entail. Then specific surgeries are discussed and specific surgical and anesthetic concerns presented. Finally, basic surgical and anesthetic concerns are presented for the class of surgery.



Many specific surgeries are not covered, but you will probably be able to find something close. The text does not present itself as a "cookbook" for anesthesia, but rather seeks first and most to describe the surgical procedure and some of the major anesthetic implications of that procedure. Proposed methods of anesthesia are often presented; however, the anesthesia provider will often find himself/herself disagreeing with the specifics of the plan, but should find the evidence cited for the presented plan helpful.



It seems that many complain that this is written primarily from a surgeon's point of view. I find that this makes Jaffe's text a unique resource among the other resources out there. There will be times when it is frustrating, sure. There are many basics simply skipped or ignored. However, as a text to help the anesthesia provider understand the basics of what's happening on the other side of the drape, I have found Jaffe very valuable.



As an added bonus, the text comes with access to the full online version of the text. I saved the site to my phone and am able to quickly look up a procedure even while at the hospital using this feature.
Reviews
I was very disappointed with this book. I was hoping for a text in which I could look up cases I wasn't already familiar with (I am in 4th year of Residency in Canada), but I found that every time I wasn't familiar with a case, neither was this book; i.e. it didn't have ANY listing of the procedure at all. This kept happening repeatedly, and now I rarely bother to open it. If you are a beginning resident who doesn't know how to do anesthesia for a lap chole, this book would be great. But for Anesthesiologists and senior residents looking for a more encyclopedic reference for outlining not-so-common surgeries, save your money (it's not cheap) and look elsewhere.



As a good point, the layout is excellent and very useful for those procedures that are there; I hope the authors intend to expand this book in the future as it has great potential.



AJ
Reviews
Book arrived in condition promised. Fast shipping. Arrived before date promised. Thanks.
Reviews
I'm an SRNA who recently entered residency. I have no experience in the OR, so this book has been worth it's weight in gold for me. It's incredibly helpful in terms of accurately describing the procedure as well as cueing the anesthetist on potential concerns pre, intra, and post procedure. The price is a bit steep, but it's well worth it!!
Reviews
I am a anesthesiologist at an academic hospital. It is difficult for our residents to understand all the issues that they will face during the day. I find the ones that prepare (even for just a few minutes) with this book seem much more prepared. If you need a practical guide to anesthesia, this is the book to get.

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151 Quick Ideas to Get New Customers



151 Quick Ideas to Get New Customers
Jerry Wilson | 2006-01-01 00:00:00 | Career Press | 151 | Finances and Money
For most businesses, attracting new customers is a never-ending effort mired in uncertainty, frustration and knee-jerk reactions. Jerry Wilson̢۪s 151 Quick Ideas to Get New Customers takes the mystery out of creating an ongoing plan with proven tactics to keep the phone ringing and the door swinging.
The basic concept: Attract an endless flood of new customers at little or no cost!
151 Quick Ideas to Get New Customers demonstrates that you don’t have to use expensive and never-ending sales events, coupled with expensive advertising and energy-zapping promotions, to turn on a constant, inexhaustible flow of new prospects. And you don’t have to invent any new approaches, concepts, or buzz words to do it! Just follow some of Jerry Wilson’s 151 proven ideas and discover amazing results…fast!
Jerry Wilson has spent more than 25 years researching what his clients – small and medium sized businesses just like yours – need to do to be successful in today’s marketplace. These powerful ideas work! Each is presented in a bite-sized package that encourages instant execution. No long chapters with endless justifications, pontifications, philosophy, or personal stories. Just 151 great, practical ideas any business manager and owner can use to make an immediate difference in his or her business success.
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Major Recessions: Britain and the World, 1920-1995



Major Recessions: Britain and the World, 1920-1995
Christopher Dow | 2000-11-30 00:00:00 | Oxford University Press, USA | 496 | Economics
In the twentieth century there have been five major recessions: two in the interwar period, and three more starting 1973, 1979, and 1989. This book focuses on events in the UK, but sets them in their international context, and makes frequent comparisons with other countries.

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Georges Pachymeres. Relations historiques III. Livres VII-IX (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae)



Georges Pachymeres. Relations historiques III. Livres VII-IX (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae)
A. Failler | 1999-01-01 00:00:00 | Peeters Publishers | 305 | Middle East
Georges Pachymeres donne une relation detaillee de l'histoire de l'empire byzantin durant cinquante ans exactement (1258-1307). Notre connaissance de l'epoque est principalement fondee sur son oeuvre. Tandis que la premiere partie de l'Histoire (Livres I-VI), editee en 1984, rapporte l'arrivee au pouvoir de Michel VIII Palaiologos (1259-1282) et la reprise de Constantinople apres plus de cinquante ans d'occupation latine, la seconde partie (Livres VII-XIII) est consacree a la premiere moitie du regne d'Andronie II Palaiologos (1282-1307). clerc de Sainte-Sophie de Constantinople, decrit les meandres des querelles ecclesiastiques qui suivirent la denonciation de l'Union de Lyon (1274) par le nouvel empereur et opposerent entre eux clercs et moines durant quelques decennies, mais il s'interesse avant tout a la politique hesitante d'un empereur faible et indecis. Il a observe avec tremblement et clairvoyance l'avancee progressive des tribus turques, des Ottomans en particulier, que la campagne eclair de la Compagnie catalane en Asie Mineure, en 1304, n'arretera que temporairement. Esprit encyclopedique et temoin de la renaissance des lettres et des arts sous les Palaiologoi, l'historien etend sa curiosite a tous les domaines, dans un souci d'histoire totale. A une large description de la politique civile, militaire et religieuse, il jaxtapose, sous forme de digressions, de petits tableaux qui sont faits d'observations diverses, litteraires, sociologiques, meteorologiques ou astronomiques. d'une annotation concise, qui replace les hommes et les evenements dans un contexte plus large. Le riche contenu de l'Histoire est ainse mis a la portee de tous les lecteurs, meme sans recours a l'original grec (Peeters 1999)

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A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness



A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
Anne Rogers,David Pilgrim | 2005-07-01 00:00:00 | Open University Press | 296 | Mental Health

A vital text for studying the effects of mental health and illness on a society

This bestselling textbook provides a clear overview of the major aspects of the sociology of mental health and illness. In this new edition, the authors update each chapter, taking into consideration recent social science and social psychiatric literature.



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Open-hole log analysis and formation evaluation



Open-hole log analysis and formation evaluation
Richard M. Bateman | 1986-01-13 00:00:00 | Springer | 647 | Engineering

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The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.



The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
Sandra Gulland | 1999-01-01 00:00:00 | scribners | 438 | Historical
Reviews
A joy to read the book just fly's by with the story of Josephine B and her early life before Napoleon

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Algebra Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 4th Edition



Algebra Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 4th Edition
LE Editors | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 | | 1 | Mathematics
Algebra Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 4th Edition is a wonderful introduction or refresher course in basic algebra, including working with integers, equations, inequalities, radicals, and the quadratic formula. It offers 20 simple lessons that promote quick but thorough coverage of practical, essential skills. There is an emphasis on the applicability of algebra skills to real-world and real-work problems. Algebra Success includes a FREE online link to instantly scored practice exercises.
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Pattern Recognition, Third Edition



Pattern Recognition, Third Edition
| 2006-02-24 00:00:00 | | 0 | Artificial Intelligence


A classic -- offering comprehensive and unified coverage with a balance between theory and practice!

Pattern recognition is integral to a wide spectrum of scientific disciplines and technologies including image analysis, speech recognition, audio classification, communications, computer-aided diagnosis, and data mining. The authors, leading experts in the field of pattern recognition, have once again provided an up-to-date, self-contained volume encapsulating this wide spectrum of information.

Each chapter is designed to begin with basics of theory progressing to advanced topics and then discusses cutting-edge techniques. Problems and exercises are present at the end of each chapter with a solutions manual provided via a companion website where a number of demonstrations are also available to aid the reader in gaining practical experience with the theories and associated algorithms.

This edition includes discussion of Bayesian classification, Bayesian networks, linear and nonlinear classifier design (including neural networks and support vector machines), dynamic programming and hidden Markov models for sequential data, feature generation (including wavelets, principal component analysis, independent component analysis and fractals), feature selection techniques, basic concepts from learning theory, and clustering concepts and algorithms. This book considers classical and current theory and practice, of both supervised and unsupervised pattern recognition, to build a complete background for professionals and students of engineering.

FOR INSTRUCTORS: To obtain access to the solutions manual for this title simply register on our textbook website (textbooks.elsevier.com)and request access to the Computer Science or Electronics and Electrical Engineering subject area. Once approved (usually within one business day) you will be able to access all of the instructor-only materials through the `Instructor Manual` link on this book's full web page.

* The latest results on support vector machines including v-SVM's and their geometric interpretation
* Classifier combinations including the Boosting approach
* State-of-the-art material for clustering algorithms tailored for large data sets and/or high dimensional data, as required by applications such as web-mining and bioinformatics
* Coverage of diverse applications such as image analysis, optical character recognition, channel equalization, speech recognition and audio classification

User review
A very comprehensive book about pattern recognition techniques
Pattern Recognition by Theodoridis and Koutroumbas is ideal for anyone who wishes to have a wide overview of pattern recognition and machine learning schemes. The book is organized very well and provides a very good stand-alone insight into the corresponding subjects.

User review
not intuitive enough
Just a quick browse through, I find that the materials are not intuitive

enough. I tried to look for the explanation for Figure 6.21, but did not

find clear explanation. Some of the deeper stuff probably can be

generated by readers once the basic stuff is discussed in detail and

intuitively. In general, for someone with an excellent math background

tries to go into the pattern recongnition field, this is NOT the book.



User review
Excellent
Many who work in artificial intelligence have commented that it is the ability of the human brain to engage in pattern recognition that gives it true intelligence. Without a quantitative measure of machine intelligence it is difficult to assess this claim, but there is no doubt that being able to implement pattern recognition and classification in a machine in a manner that enables it to distinguish objects, find profitable patterns in financial time series, teach itself how to play a game by examining the moves, identify subsequences in genome data, identify malicious behavior in networks, and detect fraudulent behavior in mortgage contracts would be a major advance in artificial intelligence and also a profitable one from a financial standpoint. Even if the machine required assistance from a human to do these tasks it would still be very useful. If it were able to do them on its own without any supervision one could justifiably describe it as being more intelligent than one that required such supervision (the counterexample to this imputation of intelligence is simple trial-and-error, which of course is unsupervised).


This book is a formal treatment of pattern recognition that is geared to a readership with a strong mathematical background and which makes as its major theme the difference between `supervised' and `unsupervised' pattern recognition, with this difference sometimes being more qualitative than what one would like. In the introduction to the book the authors make clear the distinction between these approaches, motivate the problem of the classification of features, and outline briefly the stages in the design of a pattern classification system. As is well known, supervised pattern recognition involves the use of training data, whereas unsupervised pattern recognition does not. In the latter case, it is left to the machine to find similarities in the feature vectors, and then cluster the similar feature vectors together. Researchers in the field of pattern recognition have devised an enormous number of algorithms and reasoning patterns to perform both unsupervised and supervised learning, and they have not necessarily developed these approaches in the context of machine intelligence. Thus the book could also be viewed as a mathematical theory of pattern recognition instead of one that is embedded in the field of artificial intelligence. However it is classified it is a useful and important work, and is well worth the time taken to read and study.


One of the most interesting (and esoteric) discussions is found in chapter 15 of the book. One of these concerns algorithms for `competitive learning' wherein representatives are designated and then `compete` with each other after a feature vector X is presented to the algorithm. The `winner` is the representative that is closer to X and the representatives are then updated by moving the winner toward X, with the rest remaining constant or move toward X at a slower rate. The competitive learning algorithm is parametrized by the learning rates of the winner and the losers, and the losers can have different learning rates. The investigator however selects the values of these parameters beforehand, and therefore competitive learning strictly speaking should not be classified as totally unsupervised. To be really unsupervised the competitive learning algorithm would have to make the selection of these parameters and tune them as needed to reach the convergence criterion. The authors do discuss briefly a version of the algorithm where the learning rate is variable, but the rate is still subject to certain constraints. Chapter 15 also contains a brief discussion of the use of genetic algorithms in clustering.


Another topic in the book that is both interesting and important and is still surprisingly unknown by many is that of `independent component analysis'. Independent component analysis (ICA) is a generalization of principal component analysis in that it tries to find a transformation that takes a feature vector into one whose components are mutually independent, instead of merely decorrelated. All of the random variables must be non-Gaussian in order for this technique to work, since the Gaussian case gives back the usual principal component analysis. Independent component analysis is beginning to be applied to many different areas, including finance, risk management, medical imaging, and physics. It remains to see whether it will become a standardized tool in the many mathematical and statistical software packages that exist at the present time. The authors discuss two different ways to perform independent component analysis, one being an approach based on higher order cumulants, and the other, interestingly, on mutual information. In the latter approach, the mutual information between the transformed components is calculated to be the Kullback-Leibler probability distance between the joint probability distribution of the transformed components and the product of the marginal probability densities. This distance is of course zero if the components are statistically independent. The strategy is then to find the transformational matrix that minimizes the mutual information, since this will make the components maximally independent. As the authors point out, the problem with this approach is that the elements of the transformation matrix are hidden in the marginal probability distribution functions of the transformed variables. They then outline an approach that allows them to calculate the mutual information with the assumption that the transformation matrix is unitary.



User review
centred around clustering methods
[A review of the 3rd EDITION 2006.]


The authors give us an indepth survey of pattern recognition methods. All sorts of ideas. Like using a neural network approach with a multilayer perceptron that has back propagation implemented. Or using a Bayesian to classify and infer. Nor do they neglect support vector machines, which is a relatively recent idea that has gained some adherants.


Much of the text centres on clustering algorithms. Sequential and hierarchical, amongst others. Notice that many of the clusters found are rather subjective. Often depending on some initial choice of parameters. Here is one place where you might have to use your expert knowledge, in choosing some clustering method that yields reasonable results for your application.

User review
Pattern Recognition
Professor Theodoridis has written an exciting new book on pattern recognition. The topic is sometimes neglected, particularly in the fields of biomedical and electrical engineering, but it is essential to the understanding of signal and image shape on a mathematical basis, including similarities and differences in shape as well as how to extract, recognize, and measure the important components. Professor Theodoridis covers all of the classic steps in pattern recognition in great detail and in a readily understood fashion: sensors and pattern extraction, features extraction and selection, clustering, classification, supervised and unsupervised recognition, and evaluation of the system. Each section is backed up with computer simulation examples so that the reader can gain practical experience while reading the book. The author discusses essential concepts for computer programming of the pattern recognition techniques that are discussed. This work is necessarily mathematical, and therefore will tend to be of greatest interest to advanced students and practicing engineers in a variety of fields. Biomedical engineering is a rapidly expanding field that is key to the improvement of health care quality. There are plenty of biomedical examples including those in the section of the book on computer-aided diagnosis, such as for the detection of cancerous lesions in x-ray mammography. The section on speech recognition will be useful to engineers who are designing turnkey pattern recognition systems that include speech recognition as input and/or for use as a security key. Also included in the work are the most recently developed topics of interest including fuzzy clustering algorithms, and neural networks using genetic and annealing methods. This comprehensive work should prove to be an invaluable tool for the library of design engineers who work with signals and images. I heartily recommend it to all with a basic engineering background.


Edward Ciaccio, PhD

Assoc. Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Columbia University in New York


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Modern Physics Student Solutions Manual



Modern Physics Student Solutions Manual
Mark Llewellyn | 2003-01-01 00:00:00 | W. H. Freeman | 120 | Physics
Contains worked solutions to every third end-of-chapter problem in the text.

Reviews
I am a physics major at Wake Forest University, and I love my modern physics class, as well as the subject. Quantum comes to me naturally (well, as naturally as nonsense can), and I absolutely love it. So know that I am not hating on this book because I dislike and or can't do physics.



The book does an interesting combination of history, and a heavily mathematical approach. The little pieces of history are nice, as I always appreciate knowing how ideas were developed.



That being said, if you're someone who likes to think of physics in more conceptual / real world terms, this book is not for you. they derive everything, and represent everything in terms of expressions. While it's nice to see the derivations, they dont do a good job of connecting the math to the concepts. Rather than explaining something qualitatively, the authors will always opt for a quantitative approach. While I feel that this is necessary and good, it is not always helpful for getting a good grasp on some of the more advanced concepts. The derivations are also often confusing, skipping non-trivial steps and introducing new variables without defining them.



The topics covered however, are really nice. the pace at which they are introduced is nice as well. I appreciate the up to date information, and the fact that the book doesn't dumb down hard concepts. The program is good, but the approach is just not what I would expect for such a complicated subject.
Reviews
The worst physics book I have ever seen.



There are enormously many mathematical errors in this book. So many details messed up or even left out. So many claims seem unlikely to be true. So many ambiguous mathematical statement.



So many sections are taken out and put online. Sometimes, a definition, an introduction of a concept or a quantity is also taken out and never officially introduced in the book. It would be extremely confusing when you are reading only the book.



Number of figures and formula jump back and forth. I guess the author has never proof-read his book after he wrote is, especially after he moves all those "Explore" or "More" sections around.



It is the 5ed already. The authors just don't do anything but get a new cover and make it a new edition to make more money. Unbelievable.
Reviews
I'm am a undergraduate student currently studying physics and this book is required for my course. I must say that I am very pleased with the condition the book was in. Also with the speed of the delivery. I had ordered my other books on a different site and this book came in weeks before my other ones did. The purchase was easy and simple, I knew what I was exactly getting at a far better price than other sites. There have been only a couple of page misprints within the book, but nothing that can't be worked around. I would recommend this seller and amazon to anybody.
Reviews
This book is of good quality. The examples are concise, but if you read and re-read carefully, they are very helpful in understanding the concepts.
Reviews
The book only has solutions to select problems. It didn't really help me.. I paid less for the actually textbook.

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to iPad and iPhone App Development



The Complete Idiot's Guide to iPad and iPhone App Development
Troy Brant | 2010-09-07 00:00:00 | Alpha | 448 | Mobile Devices
Product Description: Take a bite out of Apple's iPhone(tm) success.

The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Developing iPhone(tm) Apps is the perfect introduction for aspiring iPhone(tm) app creators, offering a step-by-step approach exploring all of the tools and key aspects of programming using the iPhone(tm) software development kit, including getting the finished product distributed through the App Store.

̢ۢApple also reports more than one billion downloads of their more than 25,000 available applications, and both the number of applications and the appetite for them keeps growing

̢ۢOf the more than 50,000 companies and individuals who have registered as program developers, 60 percent have never before developed an Apple platform
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Uchenie o pitanii



Uchenie o pitanii
R. Khaushka | 2004-01-01 00:00:00 | Dukhovnoe poznanie | 272 | Subjects

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Genetic Models in Cardiorespiratory Biology (Lung Biology in Health and Disease, Vol. 156)



Genetic Models in Cardiorespiratory Biology (Lung Biology in Health and Disease, Vol. 156)
Gabriel Haddad,Tian XU | 2001-03-16 00:00:00 | Marcel Dekker | 457 | Physiology
Yale Univ., New Haven, CT. Summarizes current knowledge of cellular movements underlying heart tube morphogenesis and the role of genetic analysis in identifying critical molecules in cardiac development and formation. Focuses on the latest advances in genetic analysis and manipulation. Expanded-outline format.

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A Plain English Guide to Financial Terms



A Plain English Guide to Financial Terms
National Adult Literacy Agency | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | National Adult Literacy Agency | 40 | Finance

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Apache Administrator's Handbook



Apache Administrator's Handbook
Rich Bowen,Daniel Lopez Ridruejo,Allan Liska | 2002-03-22 00:00:00 | Sams | 448 | PCs
The Apache Web server runs more than 55 percent of the sites on the Internet, making it the number one Web server, and more widely used than all other Web server combined. Apache 2.0 is the first majore release of Apache since its inception, and represents a complete change in Apache architecture--one requiring that administrators and developers learn new procedures and techniques for configuring and maintaining the Apache server.

Apache Administrator's Handbook is a practical hands-on guide to the installation, configuration, and administration of the Apache Web server. It will show you how to build and configure Apache with the features and modules you need, how to seucre the server, how to interpret log files, and how to tune the server's performance. While aimed primarily at Apache server administrators, the book also contains information for developers interested in building dynamic Web sites on top of the Apache server using either CGI or mod_perl.


Reviews
I'm finding this book to be a great help to be introduced to the Apache Server. I'm using it for a class and have found it to be a great piece along with my lectures. It is a little outdated, but the concepts are still good, so that helps. Plus the author adds a bit of humor, which is nice.
Reviews
The book was alright, nothing spectacular. Everything appears to be beyond the scope of the book. I got more information from a one page online article, than I got in this entire book. Yes, yes I've been using apache for quite some time; I'm not a newbie by any means. I just felt it could have been written better, and with more detail, among other things. If you need a reference of some of the things apache could do, and how to do it this book is alright, but if you're looking for a complete reference, this is not it.
Reviews
Whether you're a System Admin or Developer, the Apache Administrator's Handbook will help you understand how to build and administer Apache, as well as help you understand how it works. I've read many books on Apache, and this is by far, one of the best.
Reviews
Knowing little about web servers and nothing about Apache, I was looking for some detailed help installing and configuring Apache. The online docs were no help. I needed something that would explain, at a basic level, what needed to be done to get Apache going.

I found this book very helpful in setting up my server. It covered everything about installing and configuring Apache. Config files were explained in detail. Integration with perl and php were wll covered. I also found the chapters on Security and logging helpful as well.

This book is geared toward Unix servers but also contains specific information for the Win32 crowd. I highly recommend this book.

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Gateway to Memory: An Introduction to Neural Network Modeling of the Hippocampus and Learning (Issues in Clinical and Cognitive Neuropsychology)



Gateway to Memory: An Introduction to Neural Network Modeling of the Hippocampus and Learning (Issues in Clinical and Cognitive Neuropsychology)
Mark A. Gluck,Catherine E. Myers | 2000-11-27 00:00:00 | The MIT Press | 464 | Certification Central
This book is for students and researchers who have a specific interest in learning and memory and want to understand how computational models can be integrated into experimental research on the hippocampus and learning. It emphasizes the function of brain structures as they give rise to behavior, rather than the molecular or neuronal details. It also emphasizes the process of modeling, rather than the mathematical details of the models themselves.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part provides a tutorial introduction to topics in neuroscience, the psychology of learning and memory, and the theory of neural network models. The second part, the core of the book, reviews computational models of how the hippocampus cooperates with other brain structures--including the entorhinal cortex, basal forebrain, cerebellum, and primary sensory and motor cortices--to support learning and memory in both animals and humans. The book assumes no prior knowledge of computational modeling or mathematics. For those who wish to delve more deeply into the formal details of the models, there are optional "mathboxes" and appendices. The book also includes extensive references and suggestions for further readings.
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reading this book, i think very interesting neural network modeling hippocampus. so GOOD
Reviews
To those students, mostly at the undergraduate level, that are not applied mathematic specialists and have looked for an easy to understand, well written, introduction to Neural Networks in learning processes; this is a must-have book. "Gateway..." is an excellent read, targeted to readers from a wide scope of backgrounds, from Biologists to Computer Science Majors through Medical Sciences.

Although leaning a bit too heavily on the conceptual view of the subject, the book introduces the reader gradually to what a Neural Network is, what a computer model is and how it works.

Two basic tools are of special interest to the reader. First, the beginning half of the book gives a general, yet very complete, introduction of the concepts, history and theory to be used. Second, for those with a little more interest in the mathematics there's a good number of "Math Boxes" delving into the details of the subject(s).

The effect of these tools is that, by the time you reach into the core matter of how neural networks models are constructed and worked in the field of Hippocampal memory, the reader suddenly finds his/herself well-familiarized with the theory. A comfortable, gradual, learning process has taken place without any discomfort (and in less time than you would think!).

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Astrophysical Hydrodynamics: An Introduction, 2nd edition



Astrophysical Hydrodynamics: An Introduction, 2nd edition
Steven N.Shore | 2007-01-01 00:00:00 | Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co KGaA | 468 | Physics
The universe is the most wonderful hydrodynamics laboratory imaginable. Every kind of flow we observe in terrestrial environments occurs in the cosmos an a truly grand scale. Supersonic motion, magnetohydrodynamic flows, turbulence of every variety, and instabilities of perplexing richness all present themselves to the alert eye. It is the purpose of this book to introduce these processes to astronomers in the hope that they will find the tools necessary for understanding both their observations and the related theoretical literature. Since the first edition of the book, the expansion in instrumentation – wavelength coverage, spatial resolution, and sensitivity – has been astounding. Interferometric optical spectropolarimetry is now possible, virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum is avaialble. Not only can we determine velocities and observe structure, we can also get true flux measurements for objects fainter than ever before accessible.
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Mr. Marvel and His Magic Bag 2 Video


Mr. Marvel and His Magic Bag 2 Video
David Allan | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | unknown | 0 | For Children
Mr Marvel and his Magic Bag is an exciting English language video series for primary level containing a mixture of animation, puppets, animals, people and places.
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e-Procurement: From Strategy to Implementation



e-Procurement: From Strategy to Implementation
Dale Neef | 2001-05-26 00:00:00 | FT Press | 207 | E-commerce
e-Procurement is hot. And no wonder: companies are reporting that e-Procurement systems are saving them millions of dollars annually -- in some cases, billions. GE's Jack Welch claims that GE will save $10 billion dollars from e-procurement. Cisco Systems's John Chambers says it is Cisco's #1 priority. Now, there's a start-to-finish guide to implementing e-Procurement in any enterprise. Dale Neef covers it all -- from making the business case to architecting the solution, managing the risks to reaping the benefits. Neef begins with an up-to-the-minute overview of the promise of B2B e-procurement in supporting globalized, extended enterprises. He reviews the options for deploying e-Procurement, including internal solutions and e-Hubs; then identifies key issues associated with e-procurement in the enterprise. Learn how to make the business case for (or against) e-Procurement, and how to architect the optimal solution. You'll find detailed coverage of today's leading e-procurement technologies, including XML; and today's leading approaches, from ERP-based solutions to enterprise application integration. Neef covers the entire lifecycle of the e-Procurement initiative, identifying key pitfalls and areas of risk -- and proven solutions.
Reviews
This book can be divided into 3 main parts. The first 4 chapters essentially put forward the case for e-procurement with an opening chapter containing some 33 references alone!

The intermediate section ranges from main players on the market, the software landscape & architecture, models, classification schemes and government/military tendering processes. If this chunk don't win you over then I don't know what will.

Finally, the last 4 chapters deal with issues that an intrepid implementer of an e-procurement initiative should consider. Guiding principles, structures & phases, elements to productive executive workshops and the all important change management issues. Dale places great importance on change management even going so far as to quote Mark Twain. This section is quite admonitory but the author is a management consultant by trade so I guess it's quite logical for him to advise us on issues that we should be considering before getting our hands dirty. Perhaps it will earn him some business ;-)

One thing I noticed about this author is that he is very competent at is finding synonyms. For example "maverick purchasing" can also be termed "off-contract buying" or even "rogue procurement". All of which help the reader to become more fluent in the lingua france of B2B electronic trade and keeps the narrative fresh and interesting. Early on he broadly classifies goods into white-collar ORM and blue-collar MRO introducing these colorful terms in large bold print - a common characteristic of this book.

Chapter 5: "The E-Procurement Software Landscape" requires more work IMHO. The sheer fact that I found myself tabulating the main players like Commerce One & Ariba, the solution/s they offered (whether enterprise or network based), it's name and their strategic partners would tend to indicate that the author should have done so. The main diagram provided is a pie-graph showing macroscopic market detail but it just too encompassing. Don't get me wrong - the information is provided (in text format) but it's all over the shop (no pun intended). A table would have gone down well.
Chapter 6: "The Architecture of Web-Based Procurement" is fantastic. It should have come earlier. Dale breaks down the environment broadly into "one-to-many" and "many-to-many" type approaches. Another class he introduces is the "buy-side", "sell-side" and "independent portal" type offerings. He further sub-classifies the buy-sponsored focus into 'desktop' (e.g. Concur Procurement) and 'central' type offerings. He provides us with a powerful classification scheme here but I felt he could of tied examples of each type closer to said classes. One other thing that I found surprising was the fact that he only mentions the 3 main pricing models in passing (subscription fee, transaction charge & percentage of exchange fee). I though he would of elaborated on this like he did with the mentioning of vertical e-markets like the Covisint alliance (forged by the "market creators" Ford, General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler and Renault-Nissan) and the corresponding horizontal e-market offering: OrderZone.com/ (which comes compliments of W. W. Grainger). Once again the information is provided all right but I felt that a suitable table could have easily consolidated the stuff at chapter end.
Chapter 8: "Government and E-Procurement" is riveting and current. If you're in favor of lowering the cost of government (raise hands) this exploration should give you warm, tingly feelings all over. Firstly, he introduces us to how government traditionally puts out tenders, then comes the e-procurement advantage bit and finally he rounds of with the one-and-only example of Singapore's "GeBiz" portal. This is a common technique that Dale employs of teaching us about the old bad way, then introducing us to the new good way and finally topping off with a great example. Also covered at the end is military procurement, which in current times is quite poignant. Need I say any more?
Finally, concerning predictions, Dale is not afraid to stick his neck out and make a few non-obvious ones. He sees no particular model becoming *the* dominant one but rather continued coexistence of "...the buyer-sponsored enterprise model and the third-party sponsored exchange model..." and foresees "...dramatic changes in terms of focus and consolidation..." to boot. He upholds Gartner Group's forecast that each vertical will only be able to support a max of 3 players and hence foresees "consolidation of the vertical e-marketplaces" which "...has already begun." Auctions in said verticals most evolve "...toward fuller functionality or extinction." The broad distinction between direct and indirect goods will remain but "...continuing to blur" Government can help "set standards" (like XML which he praises because it "...will greatly help intersystem connectivity.") and the whole e-government thing will "...soon see significant growth." In general though, survivors "...will need to offer supply chain management expertise as opposed to simple purchasing leverage."

To summarize therefore what you will procure is 196 pages spread over 14 chapters with an average of 5 citations per chapter. 10 diagrams, 8 short case studies and about 5 graphs. Common industry terms are introduced and defined in large bold print, TLAs are kept to a minimum and the cover has some pretty trees on it!

This book is very suitable for people who do not come from a business background - like me for example ;-) After reading this hardback I certainly increased my business vocabulary and was able to "talk the talk" with the best of them. I obtained extremely useful classification schemes that greatly helped me with business model deconstruction & system analysis and became familiar with the main players on the market at the same time.

Personally I would of loved to see more on auctions and their variations, perhaps including some game theory - but perhaps that's just wishful thinking!

Quote of the book though, definitely has to go to the chap deep inside an e-procurement project who shrewdly observed: "I like the supplier savings here, but I don't plan to be one of the transactional savings."

Blue collar MRO anyone? :-)
Reviews
eProcurement is an excellent book for the basic fundamentals of of eprocurement (eprocurement 101). We are the authors of a more advanced version for purchasing professionals already using some form of epurchasing. Our book is titled ePurchasingPlus and has input from over 30 experts and practitioners from US, UK & Canada that use ePurchasingPlus products and concepts. We recommend both books for the purchasing professional to find about the future of our profession.
Reviews
Mr. Neef did an excellent job with this book. It is not a down and dirty technical book that describes the inner workings of an e-procurement system. Then again, I think that is why I like it so much. After reading this book I feel I know the business behind e-procurement and that is THE most important issue when it comes to any system.

As a result of reading this book I have a better understanding of what e-procurement is all about. I also feel I have gained an appreciation for the different types of systems as well as where the entire e-procurement market is headed. He discussed the importance of things such as Decision Support and Business Intelligence. He supported most, if not all, of his points with solid research.

I am an systems engineer and not a business person. I got a lot out of this book. I would recommend it to both members technical groups as well as business people. The technical person will gain an appreciation for the business aspects of e-procurement. While the manager/business person will be given good direction and insights into e-procurement. I would imagine this to be of benefit to anyone whose organization is contemplating e-procurement or just some one generally interested in the area. This is even a good read for the manager who is not currently involved with e-procurement. It may show you how much you DO need it.

KUDOS to Dale Neef.
Reviews
I am a professional in the e-business thought leadership arena, and have searched high and low for a solid book on e-procurement. Neef's book has it all!!

It is well orginized, and backed up with solid data and research. Whether your an e-business professional or an executive looking to understand what B2B commerce and e-procurement can mean to your business, buy this book.

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Phonetics and Philology: Sound Change in Italic



Phonetics and Philology: Sound Change in Italic
Jane Stuart-Smith | 2004-08-19 00:00:00 | Oxford University Press, USA | 296 | Foreign Languages
This book presents an exhaustive treatment of a long-standing problem of Proto-Indo-European and Italic philology: the development of the Proto-Indo-European voiced aspirates in the ancient languages of Italy. In so doing it tackles a central issue of historical linguistics: the plausibility of explanations for sound change.

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Vegetables (Agile Rabbit Editions)



Vegetables (Agile Rabbit Editions)
Pepin Press | 2006-12-30 00:00:00 | Pepin Press | 248 | Graphic Design
This book contains stunning images for use as a graphic resource, or inspiration. All the illustrations are stored in high-resolution format on the enclosed free CD-ROM and are ready to use for professional quality printed media and web page design. The pictures can also be used to produce postcards, or to decorate your letters, flyers, etc. They can be imported directly from the CD into most design, image- manipulation, illustration, word-processing and e-mail programs; no installation is required. For most applications, single images can be used free of charge. Please consult the introduction to this book, or visit our website for conditions.

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Synchronizing Science and Technology with Human Behaviour: The Co-Evolution of Sustainable Infrastructures



Synchronizing Science and Technology with Human Behaviour: The Co-Evolution of Sustainable Infrastructures
Ralf Brand | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Earthscan Publications Ltd. | 192 | Politics
Believing that technical and social realms are much more connected than most people concerned with sustainability tend to admit, the author has developed an innovative and practical text that encourages people to "co-design" technologies that make socially-desired behaviors more attractive. Written primarily at a community-initiative level, with practical case studies and guidelines for applying the concepts discussed, this will be invaluable for students of science and technology, regional policy and planning, and practitioners including city and regional planners, policymakers and consultants.

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Theory of Concentrated Vortices: An Introduction



Theory of Concentrated Vortices: An Introduction
S.V. Alekseenko,P.A. Kuibin,V.L. Okulov | 2007-12-12 00:00:00 | Springer | 494 | Engineering

This book presents comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the wide field of concentrated vortices observed in nature and technique. The methods for research of their kinematics and dynamics are considered. Special attention is paid to the flows with helical symmetry. The authors have described models of vortex structures used for interpretation of experimental data which serve as a ground for development of theoretical and numerical approaches to vortex investigation. Achievements in the fields of stability analysis, waves on vortices and vortex breakdown are also presented.



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100 Years of Pragmatism: William James's Revolutionary Philosophy (American Philosophy)



100 Years of Pragmatism: William James's Revolutionary Philosophy (American Philosophy)
John J. Stuhr | 2009-12-09 00:00:00 | Indiana University Press | 228 | Philosophy

William James claimed that his Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking would prove triumphant and epoch-making. Today, after more than 100 years, how is pragmatism to be understood? What has been its cultural and philosophical impact? Is it a crucial resource for current problems and for life and thought in the future? John J. Stuhr and the distinguished contributors to this multidisciplinary volume address these questions, situating them in personal, philosophical, political, American, and global contexts. Engaging James in original ways, these 11 essays probe and extend the significance of pragmatism as they focus on four major, overlapping themes: pragmatism and American culture; pragmatism as a method of thinking and settling disagreements; pragmatism as theory of truth; and pragmatism as a mood, attitude, or temperament.



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Image Based Measurement Systems: Object Recognition and Parameter Estimation (Design & Measurement in Electronic Engineering)



Image Based Measurement Systems: Object Recognition and Parameter Estimation (Design & Measurement in Electronic Engineering)
Ferdinand van der Heijden | 1995-02-07 00:00:00 | Wiley | 348 | Printing
What makes this book unique is that besides information on image processing of objects to yield knowledge, the author has devoted a lot of thought to the measurement factor of image processing. This is of direct practical use in numerous sectors from industrial quality and robotics to medicine and biology.
Reviews
I have this book with me for years. I did implement a visual measurement system on PCB fault detection, with the algorithms (image operation and statistical measurement) given , I able to improved my first prototype. This book provided practical and workable case studies. It is a must for those would like to work practically on visual measurement system.

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WDM Technologies, Active Optical Components


WDM Technologies, Active Optical Components
A.K. Dutta & Assoc.rar | 2002-01-01 00:00:00 | Academic Press | 710 | Networking
WDM Technologies, Active Optical Components
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C# 4.0 Pocket Reference



C# 4.0 Pocket Reference
Ben Albahari, Joseph Albahari | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 | O'Reilly Media | 224 | C and CPP
When you're programming C# 4.0 and need a little help, this tightly focused and practical book tells you exactly what you need to know -- without long introductions or bloated examples. It's ideal as a succinct quick reference or as a guide to get you rapidly up to speed if you already know Java, C++, or an earlier version of C#.

Written by the authors of the acclaimed C# 4.0 in a Nutshell (O̢۪Reilly), this book covers the entire C# 4.0 language -- without skimping on the details -- including:
Features new to C# 4.0, such as dynamic binding, optional and named parameters, and type parameter variance
All of C#'s fundamentals
Advanced topics, including operator overloading, custom conversions, type constraints, covariance and contravariance, lambda expressions and closures, iterators, nullable types, and operator lifting
LINQ, starting with sequences, lazy execution, and standard query operators; finishing with a complete reference to query expressions
Unsafe code and pointers, custom attributes, preprocessor directives, and XML documentation
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JavaTech, an Introduction to Scientific and Technical Computing with Java



JavaTech, an Introduction to Scientific and Technical Computing with Java
| 2005-10-13 00:00:00 | | 0 | Java


JavaTech is a practical introduction to the Java programming language with an emphasis on the features that benefit technical computing. After presenting the basics of object-oriented programming in Java, it examines introductory topics such as graphical interfaces and thread processes. It goes on to review network programming and develops Web client-server examples for tasks such as monitoring remote devices. The focus then shifts to distributed computing with RMI. Finally, it examines how Java programs can access the local platform and interact with hardware.

User review
JavaTech
Expected it to focus more on scientific programming using Java. Rather, it details the development of Java apps/applets. There are worthwhile nuggets, e.g file I/O, class/object organization. I would not recommend this as an introduction to Java programming.

User review
the RMI and CORBA are awkward to build and use
One of Java's strengths is that you can run its bytecode on many different types of hardware. But one merit of this book is that it shows how you can customise your code to take advantage of binaries on particular platforms, and use specific devices.


The book also talks about distributed or remote computing. Giving explantions of RMI and CORBA. You should be aware that RMI has fallen under a relative cloud. Systems using it can be awkward to run, even if there are no bugs. While CORBA's limitations have become painfully apparent, independently of any Java usage. Nowadays, distributed computations written in Java tend to go to Web Services and using XML text messages to communicate between entities, as opposed to CORBA's binary messages.


If you have never used RMI and CORBA before, then the book doesn't really educate you about their drawbacks. So they might seem like really nifty ideas. The book should perhaps talk more about Web Services.


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Grammar Connection 3-Instructors Manual+Classroom CD-Rom: Instructor's Manual with Classroom CD-ROM Level 3



Grammar Connection 3-Instructors Manual+Classroom CD-Rom: Instructor's Manual with Classroom CD-ROM Level 3
Marianne Celce-Murcia | 2007-09-14 00:00:00 | Thomson ELT | 0 | English as a Foreign Language

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Multimedia Introduction to Programming Using Java



Multimedia Introduction to Programming Using Java
| 2004-09-09 00:00:00 | | 0 | Java


Although vital to modern software development, Java and object-oriented programming can pose significant challenges to newcomers. This text, unique in both scope and approach and accompanied by an interactive CD-ROM , addresses that learning curve by providing a careful, classroom-tested presentation of Java -- from the fundamentals of variables, types, and expressions to procedural concepts like loops and sophisticated object-oriented ideas.

Multimedia Introduction to Programming Using Java anchors its pedagogy in the CD-ROM ProgramLive, a complete multimedia module in itself. Containing over 250 recorded lectures with synchronized animation, ProgramLive allows users to see, first-hand and in real time, processes like stepwise refinement of algorithms, development of loops, execution of method calls and associated changes to the call stack, and much more. The disk also includes all programs from the book, 35 guided instruction sets for closed lab sessions, and a 70-page hyperlinked glossary.

Additional key features of this work:

Provides clear and accessible treatment of all aspects of a first course, along with more advanced topics such as recursion, exceptions, interfaces, inner classes, and GUIs.

Introduces objects and classes early in the exposition, rendering object-oriented programming intuitive and natural.

Develops programs, rather than simply showcasing them.

Supports all concepts through complementary lectures on the CD-ROM.

Contains numerous self-help exercises that encourage readers to practice programming.

Emphasizes rigor and accuracy through user-friendly exposition and a flexible organizational style.

With its comprehensive appendices and bibliography, systematic approach, and helpful CD, this exciting work provides the key tools they needed for successful object-oriented programming. It is ideal for use at the undergraduate and graduate beginning level, whether in the classroom or for distance learning; furthermore, the text will also be a valuable self-study resource or reference volume in any programmer? library.



User review
Very Good
One of the authors of this book, David Gries, is my Computer Science teacher and hearing his voice (and that of his son Paul) on the multimedia CD is a weird experience, but extremely helpful. I can't stand just reading textbooks, and the multimedia CD allows me to have an interactive learning experience and not just stare at pages. The book is great as well but the learning CD is really what stands out. There are videos, exercises, sample programs, labs, you name it. Very easy to learn Java with it.

User review
interested CD with recorded presentations
The multimedia CD is clearly the most distinctive aspect of the book. I found the recorded presentations to be quite interesting and these can be helpful to the Java beginner. They would specifically be useful to a reader who learns best from a live teacher than from text. But who, for whatever reason, lacks that teacher.


The text of the book is competently done. With Springer's usual technically accurate content. Though I can't say that the text is necessarily distinctive or better than other pre-existing texts on Java.


On a passing note, the CD's content must have been quite expensive to produce. Given that Springer's texts tend to be fairly small circulation, one might wonder if they will ever recoup the cost of development.


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