Multilingual Development : English in a Global Context
English as a global lingua franca interacts with other languages across a wide range of multilingual contexts. Combining insights from linguistics, education studies, and psychology, this book addresses the role of English within the current linguistic dynamics of globalization. It takes Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai as case studies to illustrate the use of English in different multilingual urban areas, arguing that these are places where competing historical assessments, and ideological conceptions of monolingualism and multilingualism, are being acted out most forcefully.
Multilevel Urban Governance and the `European City : Discussing Metropolitan Reforms in Stockholm and Helsinki
Urban scholars have come up with very different answers to the question of what the main defining characteristics of urban Europe are and whether they can be described in a distinct ideal-typical model, the ’European City’. In order to fully understand the prevailing political arrangements and ongoing transformations in urban Europe, they have increasingly turned towards ‘multilevel governance approaches’ to conduct more comprehensive and comparative analyses of urban politics and policies. Nico Giersig reflects on these debates and exemplifies the specificities of Nordic cities within Europe as a whole. He accomplishes this by means of a systematic comparison of governance arrangements and their dynamics in two Nordic capital regions.
Multilevel Block Factorization Preconditioners : Matrix-based Analysis and Algorithms for Solving Finite Element Equations
This monograph is the first to provide a comprehensive, self-contained and rigorous presentation of some of the most powerful preconditioning methods for solving finite element equations in a common block-matrix factorization framework. Topics covered include the classical incomplete block-factorization preconditioners and the most efficient methods such as the multigrid, algebraic multigrid, and domain decomposition. Additionally, the author discusses preconditioning of saddle-point, nonsymmetric and indefinite problems, as well as preconditioning of certain nonlinear and quadratic constrained minimization problems that typically arise in contact mechanics. The book presents analytical as well as algorithmic aspects.
Multilateralism, regionalism and bilateralism in trade and investment : 2006 World report on regional integration
The present first volume of the World Report on Regional Integration is a timely product of the research undertaken at UNU-CRIS. This new series of World Reports will certainly contribute to the discussion on the interaction between regional and global governance. And by bringing together insights from different parts of the UN system, in particular the five UN regional economic commissions and UNCTAD, this report will also contribute to a better understanding of the role of regions in the UN.
Multigenic and Induced Systemic Resistance in Plants
This comprehensive volume consists of a series of up-to-date reviews, each incorporating current models and knowledge related to mechanisms of resistance either expressed constitutively or induced systemically in plants. Each chapter covers a topic related to the phenomenon of plant resistance to fungal and bacterial pathogens, insects, nematodes, viruses or abiotic stress in plants, as well as the application of this knowledge to protect crops now and in the future. Researchers, upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, and those teaching courses in plant physiology, entomology and plant pathology will find this volume a much needed asset.
Multifunctional Land Use : Meeting Future Demands for Landscape Goods and Services
The book contributes to the scientific basis for future land development strategies and helps supporting land use decision making on the political, planning and management level. In this publication they (i) analyse general principles of land use multifunctionality, (ii) highlight the specific requirements and approaches of implementing multifunctional land use from different disciplinary viewpoints, (iii) report on success stories of multifunctional land use from different geographic and political settings, and (iv) discuss modelling and monitoring approaches to scientifically assess the impact of mutlifunctional land use implementation.
Multifunctional Barriers for Flexible Structure : Textile, Leather and Paper
The intent of this book is to give a complete overview of the present state of the art of flexible barrier materials such as textile, paper and leather, including methods for barrier evaluation. It will be of interest to readers in industries, consumers, and members of the scientific community. The scope of the field is clearly delineated here for the first time, and it deals with a number of specific topics such as barrier to fire, antibacterial properties, resistance to waves (electrostatic, electromagnetic, acoustics), anti-odor, etc. combined with characterization techniques as well as material nanotechnology.
Multifield Problems in Solid and Fluid Mechanics
This book summarizes the main scientific results of the Collaborative Research Center on Multifield Problems in Continuum Mechanics. The book is divided into three main sections: A: Volume-Coupled Problems, devoted to fields which are coupled inside the processing domain or volume, B: Boundary-Coupled Problems, here physical fields and processes are coupled via domain boundaries, C: Fundamental Methods, search into the mathematical concepts and backgrounds of multifield and multiscale modeling.
Multidimensional Screening
The book brings into a focus all necessary mathematical knowledge necessary to understand the economics of multidimensional results screening and applies them straightaway to economic models. The first part of this book contains a review of vector calculus, the theory of partial differential equations, and the theory of generalized convexity. These techniques are extensively used in multidimensional screening models. Part II is devoted to the economics of sceening models. It starts with a detailed discussion of economics and mathematics of unidimensional screening problems and three approaches to their solution: direct, dual, and Hamiltonian. It uses the Hamiltonian approach to unify all known results, which were previously obtained using different arguments. Then the major difficulties with direct and dual approach in the multidimensional context are discussed and the Hamiltonian approach is used to provide the most complete characterization of the solution known in the literature.
Multidetector-Row CT Angiography
Multidetector-row CT has dramatically improved the results of computed tomography in all clinical applications, but its beneficial impact has been most striking in vascular imaging. The simplicity of acquisition and the wide availability of equipment make this modality especially suitable for routine clinical application. In this book the basic aspects of multidetector-row CT angiography are comprehensively reviewed. Individual chapters are included on technical principles, image processing techniques and contrast agent administration. All clinical applications are then discussed in depth, with lucid descriptions of the examination technique for particular clinical indications and of the findings that characterize specific diseases. Limitations and advantages in comparison with other imaging modalities are considered. A large number of high-quality black and white and color illustrations help to explain the clinical findings.
Multicriteria Scheduling : Theory, Models and Algorithms
Scheduling and multicriteria optimisation theory have been subject, separately, to numerous studies. Since the last twenty years, multicriteria scheduling problems have been subject to a growing interest. However, a gap between multicriteria scheduling approaches and multicriteria optimisation field exits. This book is an attempt to collect the elementary of multicriteria optimisation theory and the basic models and algorithms of multicriteria scheduling. It is composed of numerous illustrations, algorithms and examples which may help the reader in understanding the presented concepts. This book covers general concepts such as Pareto optimality, complexity theory, and general method for multicriteria optimisation, as well as dedicated scheduling problems and algorithms: just-in-time scheduling, flexibility and robustness, single machine problems, parallel machine problems, shop problems, etc.
Multichain Immune Recognition Receptor Signaling : From Spatiotemporal Organization to Human Disease
The central idea of this book is to show that the structural similarity of the MIRRs determines the general principles underlying MIRR-mediated transmembrane signaling mechanisms and also provides the basis for existing and fixture therapeutic strategies targeting MIRRs. The reviews assembled in this book detail the prog-ress in defining and controlling the spatiotemporal organization of key events in immune cell activation. An improved understanding of MIRR-mediated signaling has numerous potential practical applications, fi-om the rational design of drugs and vaccines to the engineering of cells for biotechnological purposes.
Multi-Carrier Spread Spectrum 2007 ; Proceedings from the 6th International Workshop on Multi-Carrier Spread Spectrum, May 2007,Herrsching, Germany
This combination known as multi-carrier spread spectrum (MC-SS) benefits from the advantages of both systems and offers high flexibility, high spectral efficiency, simple detection strategies, narrow-band interference rejection capabilities, etc. The basic principle of this combination is straightforward: The spreading is performed as direct sequence spread spectrum (DS-SS) but instead of transmitting the chips over a single carrier, several sub-carriers are employed. The MC modulation and demodulation can easily be realized in the digital domain by performing IFFT and FFT operations. The separation of the users’ signals can be performed in the code domain. MC-SS systems can perform the spreading in frequency direction, which allows for simple signal detection strategies. Since 1993, MC-SS has been deeply studied and new alternative solutions have been proposed.
Multi-Agent-Based Simulation VIII ; International Workshop, MABS 2007, Honolulu, HI, USA, May 15, 2007, Revised and Invited Papers
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Multi-Agent-Based Simulation, MABS 2007, held in Honolulu, HI, USA in May 2007 as an associated event of AAMAS 2007, the main international conference on autonomous agents and multi-agent systems.The 10 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 20 submissions.The papers are organized in topical sections on architectures; teams, learning, education; economy, trust and reputation.
Multi-Agent-Based Simulation VII ; International Workshop, MABS 2006, Hakodate, Japan, May 8, 2006, Revised and Invited Papers
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Multi-Agent-Based Simulation, MABS 2006. The 12 revised full papers presented together with three short papers and two invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 25 submissions during two rounds of reviewing.
Multi-Agent-Based Simulation VI ; International Workshop, MABS 2005, Utrecht, The Netherlands, July 25, 2005, Revised and Invited Papers
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Multi-Agent-Based Simulation, MABS 2005, held in Utrecht, The Netherlands in July 2005 as an associated event of AAMAS 2005, the main international conference on autonomous agents and multi-agent systems. The 12 revised full papers presented together with 1 invited talk were carefully reviewed. The papers are organized in topical sections on coalition emergence, theories and models, applications, and environments.
Multi-Agent Systems and Applications ; 9th ECCAI Advanced Course ACAI 2001 and Agent Link's 3rd European Agent Systems Summer School, EASSS 2001, Prague, Czech Republic, July 2-13, 2001. Selected Tutorial Papers
The Advanced Course on Artificial Intelligence ACAI 2001 with the subtitle M ulti- Agent Systems and Their Applications , held in Prague, Czech Republic, was a joint event of ECCAI (the European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence) and AgentLink, the European Network of Excellence for Agent-Based Computing. Whereas ECCAI organizes two-week ACAI courses on different topics every second year, AgentLink s European Agent Systems Summer School (EASSS) has been an annual event since 1999. This year, both of these important events were merged together, giving weight to the fact that multi-agent systems currently represent one of the hottest topics in AI research. The name, ACAI 2001 Summer School, is intended to emphasize that this event continues the tradition of regular ECCAI activities (ACAI), as well as the EASSS summer schools of AgentLink.
Multiagent System Technologies ; Vol. 4196 ; 4th German Conference, MATES 2006, Erfurt, Germany, September 19-20, 2006, Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th German Conference on Multiagent Systems Technologies, MATES 2006, co-located with Net.ObjectDays (NoDe 2006). The 15 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 52 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on agent communication and interaction, applications and simulation, agent planning, agent-oriented software engineering, as well as trust and security.
Multiagent System Technologies ; Vol. 3550 : 3rd German Conference, MATES 2005, Koblenz, Germany, September 11-13, 2005, Proceedings
After two successful MATES conferences in Erfurt 2003 and 2004, the 3rd G- man conference on Multi-agent System Technologies (MATES 2005) took place in Koblenz, Germany, in September 2005, and was co-located with the 28th German Conference on Arti?cial Intelligence (KI 2005). Building onotheragent-related events in Germany in the past, and organized by the GI German Special Interest Group on Distributed Arti?cial Intelligence, the MATES conference series aims at promoting the theory and applications of agents and multiagent systems. In corporating the 9th International Workshopon Cooperative Information Agents (CIA 2005), the topics of interest for MATES 2005 also covered the ?elds of intelligent information agents and systems for the Internet and the (Semantic) Web. As in recent years, MATES 2005 provided a distinguished, lively and int- disciplinary forum for researchers, users, and developers of agent technology, to present and discuss the latest advances of research and development in the area of autonomous agents and multiagent systems. Accordingly, the topics of MATES 2005 covered the whole range from the theory to applications of age- and multiagent technology. The technical program included a total of 24 sci- ti?c talks, and demonstrations of selected running agent systems, and both the MATES 2005 Best Paper and the CIA 2005 System Innovation awards.
Multiagent System Technologies ; 6th German Conference, MATES 2008, Kaiserslautern, Germany, September 23-26, 2008. Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th German Conference on Multiagent Systems Technologies, MATES 2008, held in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in September 2008 - co-located with the 31st German Conference on Artificial Intelligence, KI 2008.The 16 revised full papers presented together with 2 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 35 submissions. The papers present and discuss the latest advances of research and development in the area of autonomous agents and multiagent systems ranging from theoretical and methodological issues to applications in various fields.



















