Formal Methods for Components and Objects ; 6th International Symposium, FMCO 2007, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, October 24-26, 2007, Revised Lectures
Formal methods have been applied successfully to the verification of medium-sized programs in protocol and hardware design.This book presents 12 revised papers submitted after the symposium by the speakers of each of the following European IST projects: the IST-FP6 project Mobius, developing the technology for establishing trust and security for the next generation of global computers; the IST-FP6 project SelfMan on self management for large-scale distributed systems based on structured overlay networks and components
Formal Methods and Software Engineering ; Vol. 3785 ; 7th International Conference on Formal Engineering Methods, ICFEM 2005, Manchester, UK, November 1-4, 2005, Proceedings
This volume contains papers presented at the 7th International Conference on Formal Engineering Methods (ICFEM 2005), 1-4 November 2005, Manchester, UK. Formal engineering methods are changing the way that systems are dev- oped. With language and tool support, these methods are being used for se- automatic code generation, and for the automatic abstraction and checking of implementations. In the future, they will be used at every stage of development: requirements, speci?cation, design, implementation, testing, anddocumentation. The aim of ICFEM 2005 was to bring together those interested in the - plication of formal engineering methods to computer systems. Researchers and practitioners, from industry, academia, and government, were encouraged to - tend, and to help advance the state of the art. The conference was supported by sponsorships from Microsoft Research, USA, the Software Engineers Association of Japan, the University of Man- ester, Manchester City Council, FormalMethods Europe (FME) and the British Computer Society FormalAspects ofComputing Specialist Group(BCS-FACS). We wish to thank these sponsors for their generosity. The ?nal programme consisted of 3 invited talks and 30 technical papers selected from a total of 74 submissions. The invited speakers were: Anthony Hall, independent consultant, UK; Egon B] orger, University of Pisa, Italy; John Rushby, SRI, USA. Their talks were sponsored by BCS-FACS, Microsoft - search and FME respectively. We wish to thank the invited speakers for their inspiring talks.
Formal Approaches to Agent-Based Systems ; 3rd International Workshop, FAABS 2004, Greenbelt, MD, April 26-27, 2004, Revised Selected Papers
The 3rd Workshop on Formal Approaches to Agent-Based Systems (FAABS-III) was held at the Greenbelt Marriott Hotel (near NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) in April 2004 in conjunction with the IEEE Computer Society. The first FAABS workshop was help in April 2000 and the second in October 2002. Interest in agent-based systems continues to grow and this is seen in the wide range of conferences and journals that are addressing the research in this area as well as the prototype and developmental systems that are coming into use. Our third workshop, FAABS-III, was held in April, 2004. This volume contains the revised papers and posters presented at that workshop. The Organizing Committee was fortunate in having significant support in the planning and organization of these events, and were privileged to have wor- renowned keynote speakers Prof. J Moore (FAABS-I), Prof. Sir Roger Penrose (FAABS-II), and Prof. John McCarthy (FAABS-III), who spoke on the topic of se- aware computing systems, auguring perhaps a greater interest in autonomic computing as part of future FAABS events. We are grateful to all who attended the workshop, presented papers or posters, and participated in panel sessions and both formal and informal discussions to make the workshop a great success. Our thanks go to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Codes 588 and 581 (Software Engineering Laboratory) for their financial support and to the IEEE Computer Society (Technical Committee on Complexity in Computing) for their sponsorship and organizational assistance.
Forecasting and Assessing Risk of Individual Electricity Peaks
The overarching aim of this open access book is to present self-contained theory and algorithms for investigation and prediction of electric demand peaks. A cross-section of popular demand forecasting algorithms from statistics, machine learning and mathematics is presented, followed by extreme value theory techniques with examples.
Financial cryptography and data security Vol. 3570 ; 9th International Conference, FC 2005, Roseau, The Commonwealth Of Dominica, February 28 - March 3, 2005, Revised Papers
The 9th International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security (FC 2005) was held in the Commonwealth of Dominica from February 28 to March 3, 2005. This conference, organized by the International Financial Cryptography Association (IFCA), continues to be the premier international forum for research, exploration, and debate regarding security in the context of finance and commerce. The conference title and scope was expanded this year to cover all aspects of securing transactions and systems. The goal is to build an interdisciplinary meeting, bringing together cryptographers, data-security specialists, business and economy researchers, as well as economists, IT professionals, implementers, and policy makers. We think that this goal was met this year. The conference received 90 submissions and 24 papers were accepted, 22 in the Research track and 2 in the Systems and Applications track. In addition, the conference featured two distinguished invited speakers, Bezalel Gavish and Lynne Coventry, and two interesting panel sessions, one on phishing and the other on economics and information security. Also, for the first time, some of the papers that were judged to be very strong but did not make the final program were selected for special invitation to our Works in Progress (Rump) Session that took place on Wednesday evening.
FastSLAM : A Scalable Method for the Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Problem in Robotics
This monograph describes a new family of algorithms for the simultaneous localization and mapping problem in robotics (SLAM). SLAM addresses the problem of acquiring an environment map with a roving robot, while simultaneously localizing the robot relative to this map. This problem has received enormous attention in the robotics community in the past few years, reaching a peak of popularity on the occasion of the DARPA Grand Challenge in October 2005, which was won by the team headed by the authors. The FastSLAM family of algorithms applies particle filters to the SLAM Problem, which provides new insights into the data association problem that is paramount in SLAM. The FastSLAM-type algorithms have enabled robots to acquire maps of unprecedented size and accuracy, in a number of robot application domains and have been successfully applied in different dynamic environments, including the solution to the problem of people tracking.
Exploring the Vertebrate Central Cholinergic Nervous System
The volume’s eleven chapters cover a wide variety of topics including the complexity of synthesis of acetylcholine, cholinesterases, cholinergic teratology, anticholinesterase agents, clinical use of cholinergic drugs, central cholinergic pathways and behaviors with cholinergic correlates. The figures and diagrams help illustrate various subjects and its photographs of "cholinergikes" of the past and present bring a personal note to the book. The book illustrates the peaks that have been reached in the course of the history of cholinergic research and challenges the perennial frontier of human science: the understanding of ourselves.
Evolutionary Multi-Criterion Optimization ; 4th International Conference, EMO 2007, Matsushima, Japan, March 5-8, 2007, Proceedings
Multicriterion optimization refers to problems with two or more objectives (normally in conflict with each other) which must be simultaneously satisfied. Evolutionary algorithms have been used for solving multicriterion optimization problems for over two decades, gaining an increasing attention from industry. This book included four keynote speakers: Hirotaka Nakayama on aspiration level methods, Kay Chen Tan on large and computationally intensive real-world MO optimization problems, Carlos Fonseca on decision making, and Gary B. Lamont on design of large-scale network centric systems.
Evaluation of Text and Speech Systems
Provides an overview of the state-of-the-art and best practice in several sub-fields of evaluation of text and speech systems and components. The evaluation aspects covered include speech and speaker recognition, speech synthesis, animated talking agents, part-of-speech tagging, parsing, and natural language software like machine translation, information retrieval, question answering, spoken dialogue systems, data resources, and annotation schemes. With its broad coverage and original contributions this book is unique in the field of evaluation of speech and language technology.
Evaluating Information Retrieval and Access Tasks : NTCIR's Legacy of Research Impact
This open access book summarizes the first two decades of the NII Testbeds and Community for Information access Research (NTCIR). NTCIR is a series of evaluation forums run by a global team of researchers and hosted by the National Institute of Informatics (NII), Japan. The book is unique in that it discusses not just what was done at NTCIR, but also how it was done and the impact it has achieved. For example, in some chapters the reader sees the early seeds of what eventually grew to be the search engines that provide access to content on the World Wide Web, today’s smartphones that can tailor what they show to the needs of their owners, and the smart speakers that enrich our lives at home and on the move. We also get glimpses into how new search engines can be built for mathematical formulae, or for the digital record of a lived human life.
English Literacy Instruction for Chinese Speakers
Written with an emphasis on instruction, policy, practice, and assessment, this book focuses on English literacy at the pre-primary/primary, secondary, and university level, and discusses literacy policies in the region.
English in the German-Speaking World
Borrowings from English in present-day German, as well as the use of English in public places, is also discussed, as is the use of English by non-Germans living in Germany, and the situation of Germany as a country with English as a foreign language.
English Grammar in Use Supplementary Exercises Book with Answers : To Accompany English Grammar in Use
The first choice for intermediate (B1-B2) learners. This book contains 200 varied exercises to provide learners with extra practice of the grammar they have studied.
English for everyone : English grammar guide practice book
A comprehensive reference book that makes even the trickiest grammar rules clear and simple. The Practice Book mirrors the unit-by-unit structure of the Grammar Guide. Each Practice Book unit is full of carefully graded grammar exercises to drill and reinforce the grammar you have learned in the corresponding Grammar Guide unit. These exercises will help you build up your confidence and become more fluent, giving you the chance to practice using the most important English grammar constructions again and again.
Engineering of Crystalline Materials Properties ; State of the Art in Modeling, Design and Applications
This volume collects the lecture notes delivered by the main speakers at the Erice 2007 International School of Crystallography, generously selected by NATO as an Advanced Study Institute (# 982582). The aim of the school was to discuss the state-of-the-art in molecular materials design, that is, the rational analysis and fabrication of crystalline solids showing a predefined structural organization of their component molecules and ions, which results in the manifestation of a specific collective property of technological interest.
Energy in Africa : Challenges and Opportunities
This open access book presents a picture of the current energy challenges on the African continent (and the Sub-Saharan region in particular) and proposes pathways to an accelerated energy transition. Starting with an analysis of the status quo and the outlook for Africa’s energy demand and energy access, it provides an account of the available resources, including hydrocarbons and renewable energy resources, which are playing an increasingly crucial role. It then moves on to analyze the level of investment required to scale-up Africa’s energy systems, shedding light on the key barriers and elaborating on potential solutions. It also provides a suggestion for improving the effectiveness of EU–Africa cooperation. While mainly intended for policymakers and academics, this book also speaks to a broader audience interested in gaining an overview of the challenges and opportunities of the African energy sector today and in the future.
Ecosystem Organization of a Complex Landscape : Long-Term Research in the Bornhöved Lake District, Germany
Presents the major findings of a 12-year ecological study of the Bornhöved Lake District, situated some 30 km south of Kiel. Historically speaking, the present research scheme, like comparable long-term ecosystem studies at Göttingen, Bayreuth, München, and Berchtesgaden, has been conceived as the core of a comprehensive ecological surveillance system for Germany (Ellenberg et al. 1978). Comprising three interrelated components, namely an ecological monitoring network, comparative ecosystem research, and an environmental specimen bank, this system is intended to promote both ecological science and planning and policy. In this connection the geo- and bioscientifically based ecosystem research aims at understanding the structure and functions of systems, the natural equilibrium and stress tolerance of singular components and the entire system against changes and disturbances from within and from outside, and the relationships between diversity, productivity, and stability. Thus, ecosystem research forms the indispensable basis for the rational analysis of the comprehensive data sets made available by ecological monitoring networks and for the adequate selection of plant, animal, and soil specimens for environmental specimen banking purposes.
Disfluency and Proficiency in Second Language Speech Production
This book explores the concept of disfluency in speech production, particularly as it occurs in the context of second language acquisition. Drawing on examples from learner speech at three levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced), the author argues that acquiring target language norms for performing disfluency is essential to an individual being recognized as fluent in a language by fellow-speakers. Starting with a survey of the psycholinguistic research in this area, he then applies a sociolinguistic lens to examine how a learner's social and educational background impacts the types of disfluencies in their speech.
Dense Molecular Gas around Protostars and in Galactic Nuclei : European Workshop on Astronomical Molecules 2004
The European Workshop on Astronomical Molecules was held at ‘The Conference Building’ in Zwolle, the Netherlands, on 18–20 February 2004. The idea behind the workshop was to bring together astronomers studying similar processes in different astrophysical environments; masers and dense molecular gas around young stars and galactic nuclei. There is considerable overlap in physical and chemical phenomena between these environments, with scales ranging from circumstellar to central regions of galaxies. This issue includes 12 reviews and 27 contributed papers presented in this Wo- shop, all of them were refereed by invited speakers or the editors. The quality of the papers is outstanding. The projects discussed here are often in an early stage and undoubtedly their progress has bene?ted greatly from the opportunity to discuss results with the experts in a wide range of areas. Similarly,
DARPA Grand Challenge : The Great Robot Race
The goal of the new series of Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) is to bring, in a timely fashion, the latest advances and developments in robotics on the basis of their significance and quality. It is our hope that the wider dissemination of research developments will stimulate more exchanges and collaborations among the research community and contribute to further advancement of this rapidly growing field. The volume edited by Martin Buehler, Karl Iagnemma and Sanjiv Singh presents a unique and extensive collection of the scientific results by the teams which took part into the DARPA Grand Challenge in October 2005 in the Nevada desert. This event reached an incredible peak of popularity in the media, the race of the century like someone called it! The Grand Challenge demonstrated the fast growing progress - ward the development of robotics technology, as it showed the feasibility of using mobile robots operating autonomously in real world scenarios.



















