A Taste of Topology
The present book grew out of notes for an introductory topology course at the University of Alberta. It provides a concise introduction to set-theoretic topology (and to a tiny little bit of algebraic topology). Great care has been devoted to the selection of examples that are not self-serving, but already accessible for students who have a background in calculus and elementary algebra, but not necessarily in real or complex analysis.
A Successful Transformation? : Restructuring of the Czech Automobile Industry
This book investigates the complex processes of the post-1990 transformation in the Czech automotive industry and its selective integration in the West European automobile manufacturing system. The post-1990 restructuring of the Czech automotive industry is analyzed in the context of its pre-1990 development and in the context of the Central and East European automobile industry as a whole. Specifically, the book examines the development and post-1990 restructuring of the Czech passenger car industry, the components industry and truck manufacturing. Major topics covered include the development of the Czech automotive industry before 1990, the detailed case study of Škoda Auto, the effects of the post-1990 privatization in the Czech automotive industry, the role and effects of foreign direct investment during the post-1990 restructuring, the restructuring of the Czech truck industry, and the rapid development of the automotive components manufacturing.
A Subtle and Mysterious Machine : The Medical World of Walter Charleton (1619-1707)
Walter Charleton (1619-1707) has been widely depicted as a natural philosopher whose intellectual career mirrored the intellectual ferment of the ‘scientific revolution’. Instead of viewing him as a barometer of intellectual change, I examine the previously unexplored question of his identity as a physician. Examining three of his vernacular medical texts, this volume considers Charleton’s thoughts on anatomy, physiology and the methods by which he sought to understand the invisible processes of the body.
A Structural Framework for the Pricing of Corporate Securities : Economic and Empirical Issues
This book is the first comprehensive treatment, of structural credit risk models for the simultaneous and consistent pricing of corporate securities. Through the development of a flexible economic framework based on the firm's EBIT, the reader is taken from the economic principles of firm value models to the empirical implementation. Analytical solutions are provided, if EBIT follows an arithmetic or geometric Brownian motion.
A Stakeholder Rationale for Risk Management : Implications for Corporate Finance Decisions
Ordinarily, only the interests of shareholders, debtholders, and corporate management are taken into account when analyzing corporate financial decisions while the interests of non-financial stakeholders are often neglected. Gregor Gossy develops a so-called stakeholder rationale for risk management arguing that firms which are more dependent on implicit claims from their non-financial stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, and employees, prefer conservative financial policies. In order to perform panel data analyses of the determinants of corporate financial decisions, the author uses data from Austrian and German industrial companies. He shows that variables for a firm’s most important non-financial stakeholders explain the firm’s capital structure and cash holding decisions. His findings suggest that a firm’s choice of accounting standards have a moderating effect on the determinants of corporate finance decisions.
A Space of Their Own : The Archaeology of Nineteenth Century Lunatic Asylums in Britain, South Australia and Tasmania
The history of lunatic asylums – what do we really know about them? Films and television programs have portrayed them as places of horror where the patients are restrained and left to listen to the cries of their fellow inmates in despair. But what was the world of nineteenth century lunatic asylums really like? Are these images true? This book will explore this world using the techniques of historical archaeology and history.
A Software-Defined GPS and Galileo Receiver : A Single-Frequency Approach
Satellite navigation receivers are used to receive, process, and decode space-based navigation signals, such as those provided by the GPS constellation of satellites. There is an increasing need for a unified open platform that will enable enhanced receiver development and design, as well as cost-effective testing procedures for various applications. This book provide hands-on exploration of new technologies in this rapidly growing field. One of the unique features of the work is the interactive approach used, giving readers the ability to construct their own Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers. To construct such a reconfigurable receiver with a wide range of applications, the authors discuss receiver architecture based on software-defined radio (SDR) techniques. The presentation unfolds in a systematic, user-friendly style and goes from the basics to cutting-edge research.
A software process model handbook for incorporating peoples capabilities
Offers the most advanced approach to date, empirically validated at software development organizations. This handbook adds a valuable contribution to the much-needed literature on people-related aspects in software engineering. The primary focus is on the particular challenge of extending software process definitions to more explicitly address people-related considerations. The capability concept is not present nor has it been considered in most software process models. The authors have developed a capabilities-oriented software process model, which has been formalized in UML and implemented as a tool. A Software Process Model Handbook for Incorporating People's Capabilities guides readers through the incorporation of the individual’s capabilities into the software process. Structured to meet the needs of research scientists and graduate-level students in computer science and engineering, A Software Process Model Handbook for Incorporating People's Capabilities is also suitable for practitioners in industry.
A Singular Introduction to Commutative Algebra
Aims to lead a further stage in the computational revolution in commutative algebra. Another feature of the book is its breadth of coverage of theoretical topics in the portions of commutative algebra closest to algebraic geometry, with algorithmic treatments of almost every topic.
A short guide to clinical pharmacokinetics
Consists of seven chapters that cover various aspects of pharmacokinetics and its clinical applications. The chapters are structured to provide clear objectives and keywords are bolded throughout the text to facilitate understanding. The topics covered include the significance of pharmacokinetics in clinical practice, factors affecting pharmacokinetic parameters, pharmacokinetic drug interactions, therapeutic drug monitoring, dosage adjustment in different population groups, the influence of hepatic diseases on pharmacokinetics and the impact of pharmacogenomics on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
A Short Course on Operator Semigroups
Gives a streamlined and systematic introduction to strongly continuous semigroups of bounded linear operators on Banach spaces. It treats the fundamental Hille-Yosida generation theorem as well as perturbation and approximation theorems for generators and semigroups.
A Short Course in Quantum Information Theory : An Approach From Theoretical Physics
This short and concise primer takes the vantage point of theoretical physics and the unity of physics. It sets out to strip the burgeoning field of quantum information science to its basics by linking it to universal concepts in physics.
A Seat on the Aisle, Please! : The Essential Guide to Urinary Tract Problems in Women
In this concise, clearly written, and sympathetic new book, Elizabeth Kavaler suggests that a new approach to UT disorders is long overdue. One of the surprisingly small number of female urologists practicing in the U.S., Dr. Kavaler explains what these diseases are and what patients can do to get themselves diagnosed and treated properly. But more than that, she extends an expert, sympathetic, and skilled hand to those who’ve been distressed, isolated, and embarrassed for too long.
A Sea Change: The Exclusive Economic Zone and Governance Institutions for Living Marine Resources
A Sea Change in a Changing Sea The oceans, seas and coastal areas encompass over 70% of the earth’s surface. They are a critical driver of the earth’s hydrologic cycle and climate system, important for c- merce, transport, and tourism, a source of economically important living marine resources, minerals such as hydrocarbons, as well as new pharmaceutical compounds. The marine environment provides essential habitats for thousands of marine living 1 2 resources, which in turn contribute significantly to global food security, employment, 3 and trade. Overall, the sea’s contribution to human welfare, in terms of market and non-market resources and environmental services, has been estimated at US$21 trillion/year (Costanza, 2000). However, despite the importance of the ocean realm to humans, there is a growing sense that human impacts are destabilizing this system. Some experts believe that current fishing levels are approaching or exceeding the total 4 productivity of the ocean ecosystem (National Research Council, 1999).
A Rosicrucian Utopia in Eighteenth-Century Russia : The Masonic Circle of N.I. Novikov
The author undertakes an investigation into the history of Russian Freemasonry that has not been attempted previously. Her premise is that the Russian Enlightenment shows peculiar features, which prevent the application of the interpretative framework commonly used for the history of western thought. The author deals with the development of early Russian masonry, the formation of the Novikov circle in Moscow, the ‘programme’ of Rosicrucianism and the character of its Russian variant and, finally, the clash between the Rosicrucians and the State. The author concludes that the defenders of the Ancien Régime were not wrong. In fact the democratic behaviour, the critical attitude, the practice of participation, the freedom of thought, the tolerance for the diversity, the search for a direct communication with the divinity.
A rose armed with thorns : Spinoza’s Philosophy under a novel lens
Presents a systemic analysis of Spinoza’s philosophy and challenges the traditional views. It deals with Spinoza’s concepts of substance, truth conditions, attributes, and the first, second, and supreme grades of knowledge. Based upon an analysis of the relevant details in all of Spinoza’s philosophical works, reveals many important points, including the following: Spinoza’s system is not, nor is meant to be, a foundational-deductive system but was meant to be a coherent system of a network model. Spinoza’s reality is not made in the image of a mathematical model. Imaginatio, the first grade of knowledge, and ratio, the second grade, are parts or properties of the supreme grade of knowledge, scientia intuitiva, which is their essence.
A Roadmap for Formal Property Verification
Develops the answers to these questions and fits them into a roadmap for formal property verification – a roadmap that shows how to glue FPV technology into the traditional validation flow. A Roadmap for Formal Property Verification explores the key issues in this powerful technology through simple examples – you do not need any background on formal methods to read most parts of this book.
A Risk-Benefit Perspective on Early Customer Integration
Customer integration in the early innovation phase has been considered the method of choice in theory and practice. Growing experience with the concept has shown unexpected side effects that may even outweigh its recognized advantages. Therefore, management needs to be able to assess in advance whether the involvement of customers will add overall value to each particular innovation project. To support but not to replace the final managerial decision, a mathematical formula is developed. It can be applied to all kinds of process structures, takes into account the risks and benefits contingent on a company's situation as well as risk-reducing and benefit-increasing measures and translates them into numerical values. The resulting figure indicates the prospective value of customer integration in a specific project.
A Review on Dental Materials
A Review on Dental Materials discusses the current biomaterials used for dental applications and the basic sciences underpinning their application.
A Remarkable Collection of Babylonian Mathematical Texts : Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection: Cuneiform Texts I
This new text from Jöran Friberg, the leading expert on Babylonian mathematics, presents 130 previously unpublished mathematical clay tablets from the Norwegian Schøyen collection, and provides a synthesis of the author's most important work. Through a close study of these tablets, Friberg has made numerous amazing discoveries, including the first known examples of pre-Classical labyrinths and mazes, a new understanding of the famous table text Plimpton 322, and new evidence of Babylonian familiarity with sophisticated mathematical ideas and objects, such as the three-dimensional Pythagorean equation and the icosahedron.



















