My Heavens : The Adventures of a Lonely Stargazer Building an Over-the-Top Observatory
Whether you might want to undertake building an over-the-top dome observatory yourself or not, you are sure to enjoy this informative tale by Gordon Rogers, told with humor and humility, of his torturous but ultimately rewarding experience with building for himself, attached to his own home, a fancy and sophisticated dome observatory, just for the pleasure of sky watching on beautiful nights (of which there are far too few in England!). Read about all the thinking and planning that went into this venture, and the options considered and rejected. Read about the choices and mistakes made along the way. Finally, read and discover the joys of sky watching using state-of-the-art equipment, and share in the author’s frustrations and triumphs as he completed this project of a lifetime.
Mutual Funds : Fifty Years of Research Findings
"This book presents an outstanding wealth of information on mutual funds in a remarkably readable format. It is probably the most comprehensive work currently available on funds. The book sheds light on the numerous issues surrounding mutual fund performance and pricing and is an important resource for any serious investor."
Multivariate Public Key Cryptosystems
Multivariate public key cryptosystems (MPKC) is a fast-developing new area in cryptography. In the past 10 years, MPKC schemes have increasingly been seen as a possible alternative to number theoretic-based cryptosystems such as RSA, as they are generally more efficient in terms of computational effort. As quantum computers are developed, MPKC will become a necessary alternative. Multivariate Public Key Cryptosystems systematically presents the subject matter for a broad audience. Information security experts in industry can use the book as a guide for understanding what is needed to implement these cryptosystems for practical applications, and researchers in both computer science and mathematics will find this book a good starting point for exploring this new field. It is also suitable as a textbook for advanced-level students.
Multi-Source National Forest Inventory : Methods and Applications
The book describes in detail the full MS-NFI process, and the input data used – including field data, satellite images, and digital map data, as well as coarse-scale variation of forest variables. It also presents comprehensive information on the types of outputs which can be derived, including maps and statistics, describing, for example, stock volumes and development, dominant tree species, age-class distribution, and large and small-scale variation. The book will provide an invaluable resource for those involved in forest inventory, including government departments and bodies involved in forest policy, management and monitoring, forest managers, and researchers and graduate students interested in forest inventory, modelling and analysis. It will find an additional market among those interested in Earth observation, ecology and broader areas of environmental and natural resource management.
Multirate Statistical Signal Processing
This book introduces a statistical theory for extracting information from signals that have di?erent sampling rates. This new theory generalizes the conventional (deterministic) theory of multirate systems beyond many of its constraints.Furthermore,itallowsfortheformulationofseveralnewproblems such as spectrum estimation, time-delay estimation and sensor fusion in the realm of multirate signal processing. I have arrived at the theory presented here by integrating concepts from diverse areas such as information theory, inverse problems and theory of - equalities. The process of merging a variety of concepts of di?erent origin results in both merits and shortcomings. The former include the fresh and - di?erentiated view of an amateur, providing scope of application. The latter include a lack of in-depth experience in each of the original ?elds. Granted, this may lead to gaps in continuity, however it goes without saying that a complete theory can seldom be achieved by one person and in a short time.
Multiple-Aspect Analysis of Semantic Trajectories ; First International Workshop, MASTER 2019, Held in Conjunction with ECML-PKDD 2019, Würzburg, Germany, September 16, 2019, Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the First International Workshop on Multiple-Aspect Analysis of Semantic Trajectories, MASTER 2019, held in conjunction with the 19th European Conference on Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases, ECML PKDD 2019, in Würzburg, Germany, in September 2019.
Multiple Heterogeneous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Aerial robots can be considered as an evolution of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). This book provides a quite complete overview of issues related to aerial robotics, addressing problems ranging from flight control to terrain perception and mission planning and execution. The major challenges and potentials of heterogeneous UAVs are comprehensively explored. It builds on the results of the European project COMETS, and highlights a number of key research topics in the area of UAV development, including communication, perception, teleoperation and decision making. The monograph emphasizes the current state of technology, the existing problems and potentialities of systems consisting of multiple UAVs which are heterogeneous in view of the different characteristics of the aerial vehicles, the different on-board payloads, and the different on-board information processing capabilities. The book also examines potential applications of UAVs and details a relevant application case: forest fire detection and monitoring.
Multiple Classifier Systems ; 7th International Workshop, MCS 2007, Prague, Czech Republic, May 23-25, 2007, Proceedings
These proceedings are a record of the Multiple Classifier Systems Workshop, MCS 2007, held at the Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague in May 2007. the workshop achieved its objective of bringing together researchers from diverse communities (neural networks, pattern rec- nition, machine learning and statistics) concerned with this research topic.
Multiobjective Optimization : Interactive and Evolutionary Approaches
Multiobjective optimization deals with solving problems having not only one, but multiple, often conflicting, criteria. Such problems can arise in practically every field of science, engineering and business, and the need for efficient and reliable solution methods is increasing. The task is challenging due to the fact that, instead of a single optimal solution, multiobjective optimization results in a number of solutions with different trade-offs among criteria, also known as Pareto optimal or efficient solutions. Hence, a decision maker is needed to provide additional preference information and to identify the most satisfactory solution. Depending on the paradigm used, such information may be introduced before, during, or after the optimization process. Clearly, research and application in multiobjective optimization involve expertise in optimization as well as in decision support.
Multimodality in architecture : Collaboration, technology and education
Examines multimodality in architecture and its impacts on collaborative, technical and educational processes or systems. Multimodality is becoming increasingly critical in contemporary architectural practice and education. Creative design teams face new challenges when they embrace new modes of communication, technology, and knowledge development processes. From diverse online modes of communication to shared digital environments, generative AI and advanced hardware solutions, new modes of information creation, sharing, and application are changing the ways architects and designers work. The book presents new research which empowers international researchers and designers to work more effectively in a diverse range of digital environments. Whether the readers are architects, teachers, students, or scholars, this book provides critical insights and practical tools for understanding and optimising processes in architecture and design.
Multimodal User Interfaces : From Signals to Interaction
The book presents a common theoretical framework for fusion and fission of multimodal information using the most advanced signal processing algorithms constrained by HCI rules, described in detail and integrated in the context of a common distributed software platform for easy and efficient development and usability assessment of multimodal tools. The book also demonstrates the use of the multimodal framework for the development of a set of applications in the areas of edutainment, interfaces for disabled people and interfaces for medical applications.
Multimodal Technologies for Perception of Humans ; 1st International Evaluation Workshop on Classification of Events, Activities and Relationships, CLEAR 2006, Southampton, UK, April 6-7, 2006, Revised Selected Papers
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the First International CLEAR 2006 Evaluation Campaign and Workshop on Classification of Events, Activities and Relationships for evaluation of multimodal technologies for the perception of humans, their activities and interactions. The workshop was held in the UK in April 2006.
Multimodal Processing and Interaction : Audio, Video, Text
Multimodal Processing and Interaction: Audio, Video and Text presents high quality, state-of-the-art research ideas and results from theoretic, algorithmic and application viewpoints. This edited volume contains both state-of-the-art reviews and original contributions by leading experts in the scientific and technological field of multimedia. It grew out of a four-year collaboration among research groups participating in the European network of Excellence on Multimedia Understanding, Semantics, Computation and Learning (MUSCLE).
Multimodal Intelligent Information Presentation
Intelligent Multimodal Information Presentation relates to the ability of a computer system to automatically produce interactive information presentations, taking into account the specifics about the user, such as needs, interests and knowledge, and engaging in a collaborative interaction that helps the retrieval of relevant information and its understanding on the part of the user.The volume includes descriptions of some of the most representative recent works on Intelligent Information Presentation and a view of the challenges ahead.
Multimedia Services in Intelligent Environments : Advanced Tools and Methodologies
This book presents a sample of recent research results in multimedia services. Besides the introductory chapter, this book includes fourteen additional chapters. Nine of these chapters cover various aspects of data processing in multimedia services in intelligent environments, such as storage, recognition and classification, transmission, information retrieval, and information securing. Four additional chapters present multimedia services in noise and hearing monitoring and measuring, augmented reality, automated lecture rooms and rights management and licensing. Finally, the last chapter is devoted to an intelligent recommender service in scientific digital libraries.
Multimedia security : Algorithm development, analysis and applications (algorithms for intelligent systems)
Provides an insight about various techniques used in multimedia security and identifies its progress in both technological and algorithmic perspectives. In the contemporary world, digitization offers an effective mechanism to process, preserve and transfer all types of information. The incredible progresses in computing and communication technologies augmented by economic feasibility have revolutionized the world. The availability of efficient algorithms together with inexpensive digital recording and storage peripherals have created a multimedia era bringing conveniences to people in sharing the digital data that includes images, audio and video. The ever-increasing pace, at which the multimedia and communication technology is growing, has also made it possible to combine, replicate and distribute the content faster and easier, thereby empowering mankind by having a wealth of information at their disposal.
Multimedia Retrieval
The single chapters of this textbook explain the general architecture of multimedia information retrieval systems; various metadata languages like Dublin Core, RDF, or MPEG; pattern recognition through Markov models, unsupervised learning, and pattern clustering; various indexing approaches to audio and video streams; interaction and control; the protection of content and user privacy; and search effectiveness and efficiency.
Multimedia Forensics
Media forensics has never been more relevant to societal life. Not only media content represents an ever-increasing share of the data traveling on the net and the preferred communications means for most users, it has also become integral part of most innovative applications in the digital information ecosystem that serves various sectors of society, from the entertainment, to journalism, to politics. Undoubtedly, the advances in deep learning and computational imaging contributed significantly to this outcome. The underlying technologies that drive this trend, however, also pose a profound challenge in establishing trust in what we see, hear, and read, and make media content the preferred target of malicious attacks.
Multimedia Database Retrieval : A Human-Centered Approach
Multimedia Database Retrieval: A Human-Centered Approach presents the latest development in user-centered methods and the state-of-the-art in visual media retrieval. It includes discussion on perceptually inspired non-linear paradigm in user-controlled interactive retrieval (UCIR) systems. It also features a coherent approach which focuses on specific topics within content/concept-based retrievals via audio-visual information modeling of multimedia. Highlights include: * Exploring an adaptive machine that can learn from its environment * Optimizing the learning system by incorporating self-organizing adaptation into the retrieval process * Demonstrating state-of-the-art applications within small, medium, and large databases
Multimedia Cartography
The various sections of this book cover the theoretical backgrounds, applications and future developments of Multimedia Cartography. This second edition of Multimedia Cartography includes updated applications areas that are Internet-focussed. Since the release of Edition 1 in 1999 the focus of the delivery of Multimedia Cartography applications now includes the World Wide Web and mobile services, as well as discrete media. New chapters in the book reflect this. As well, the book includes additional chapters on 3D applications and Virtual Reality applications.



















